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Town looking at future of culture, heritage

A new plan will look at the place for culture and heritage in Okotoks’ future. The Town has hired consultant group Intelligent Futures to help compile data and develop a new culture and heritage master plan for Okotoks.

A new plan will look at the place for culture and heritage in Okotoks’ future.

The Town has hired consultant group Intelligent Futures to help compile data and develop a new culture and heritage master plan for Okotoks.

Okotoks culture and heritage manager Allan Boss said the plan is intended to set a direction for culture and heritage over the next 15 to 20 years.

“It’s going to be looking at numerous things well beyond facilities,” said Boss. “It’s going to look at the cultural make-up of our community, the diversity of our community, trying to figure out what our community wants to see in the way of culture.”

The process will include a lot of public consultation, he said. There will be one-on-one interviews with stakeholder groups and a community-wide public survey, which should reach each Okotoks household, he said.

A design workshop will gather a group of community members together over four-days to work with the consultants and has out what the plan should look like, he said. There is no date set for any public consultations at this time.

The previous heritage and culture master plan was completed in 2009, when the town was supposed to cap its population at 30,000.

“We’re in a position where Okotoks is growing and things have changed,” said Boss. “We’ve reached some of the goals in the previous plan and we’re trying to create a plan that will allow us to go forward into the future.”

The previous plan recommended increasing the number of community events in Okotoks. The Town has established new traditions like Taste of Okotoks, Chili Fest, Pop Up in the Park, and other events, he said.

Another priority in the 2009 plan was a performing arts centre. Boss said he considers the goal met because a new performing arts centre is part of current conversations, such as what to do with the creamery site on Riverside Drive.

“Nothing has been decided and likely nothing will be decided until somewhere down the road, but for now there has been some movement in that direction,” said Boss. “This new plan will take those goals and successes and solidify a little bit more about what the community wants in the way of arts and culture and heritage.”

It’s also important for the Town to align its various plans, he said. That includes the new municipal development plan in the works and the recreation and sustainability master plans that came forward over the past year.

“We’re in a very opportune moment right now in Okotoks where annexation has happened, but there’s not going to be growth for a little bit until water licensing and everything happens,” said Boss. “So that puts us in a position of being able to really plan for what’s going to be happening in our community for the next few years.”

Okotoks CAO Elaine Vincent said that’s part of the reason for developing new master plans for the Town. It will help plan for growth, which was not anticipated by previous plans, she said.

“Once that growth cap was removed and we needed to move forward on annexation, move forward on growth and put in place the infrastructure requirements in order to move forward, that drove a lot of the need for these plans,” said Vincent.

Documents like the culture and heritage master plan will speak to the amenities residents want to see in their community as the town continues to expand, she said.

She said it’s about having a strategy in place in all departments that will define how Okotoks grows while keeping its unique identity intact.

“We’re trying to get all these plans done because as growth will continue we want to make sure we protect our historic past and provide a sustainable future,” said Vincent.

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