COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION HAPPENINGS

Recreation

Rocky View has unveiled a website for the proposed community centre.  Check it out. 

The proposed project will cost approximately $15M.  We need new voices to represent Springbank! Can you help?

We appreciate the support of Alberta Indoor Comfort towards the production of our newsletter.

ROCKY VIEW COUNTY UPDATES

Recreation Governance

We are waiting for more information on the December 6 decision by the Recreation Governance Committee to establish local feedback into the recreation funding process:

MOVED by Councillor Hanson that the Recreation Governance Committee directs Administration to explore the option of creating three Community Board bylaws consisting of five community members and at least one Councillor, for consideration at the June 19, 2024, Recreation Governance Committee meeting.

Carried

Land Use Bylaws

At a report to the Governance Committee on January 16, three motions regarding land use were passed:

MOVED by Councillor Hanson that the Governance Committee direct Administration to prepare amendments to Land Use Bylaw C-8000-2020 for the consideration of Council at a public hearing no later than the end of Q1, 2024, based on the following principles:

a.    Remove the ability to apply for new Care Facility (Group) uses on agricultural or residential parcels until additional requirements are approved by Council to regulate the location and impacts of such uses.

b.    Require that the following applications be determined by Council, as Development Authority, for Care Facility (Group) uses:

                                   i.        Development Permit applications for new uses submitted to the County prior to the effective date of any amendments removing the ability to apply for the use.

                                  ii.        Development Permits for renewal of existing temporary uses.

MOVED by Councillor Wright that the Governance Committee direct Administration to prepare amendments to Land Use Bylaw C-8000-2020 for the consideration of Council at a public hearing no later than the end of Q2, 2024, based on the following principles:

a.    Create additional requirements for the Kennel use to regulate the location and impacts of the use;

b.    Create a new ‘Shipping Container’ use with associated regulations in relation to the subject district and intended use of the Shipping Container;

c.    Allow the Development Authority the ability to provide a minor variance to setback requirements for Real Property Report compliance reviews, subject to criteria;

d.    Allow automotive-related businesses to be considered as part of Home-Based Business (Type I) and (Type II) uses, subject to criteria;

e.    Create increased rules and regulations for the Bed and Breakfast use to ensure that the site and principal dwelling hosting the use is used as a permanent residence; and

f.     Create a new sign type – ‘Community Entrance Sign’ – and exempt Community Entrance Signs from requiring a development permit subject to criteria.

Carried

MOVED by Councillor Hanson that Administration be directed to present to Governance Committee a comprehensive review of the Vacation Rental and Bed and Breakfast uses in the County no later than the end of Q2, 2024.

Carried

Springbank Municipal Development Plan (MDP)

Information and Survey

The County is in the process of summarizing feedback received to date and will have another round of community engagement this spring.  It appears that the County is moving towards a plan that accommodates regional differences (i.e. west vs east vs north). 

Springbank Area Structure Plans

Visit the Website

Summary of Community Feedback

From the County’s website: 

On January 16, Council proposed consolidating the existing 3 area structure plans (North, South, Moddle) into one plan for administrative purposes.  A report on this consolidation is expected back to Council in June.

MOVED by Chair Kochan that Administration be directed to provide a report to Council in Q2 of 2024 on the feasibility of combining the Central Springbank, North Springbank and Moddle Area Structure Plans (ASP) into one ASP with the intent to maintain the existing land use strategies while implementing minor amendments that:

a)   Ensure alignment with higher order policy and guiding documents adopted since the approval of the ASPs;

b)   Update technical policies to reflect current studies; and

c)    Address policy gaps in the existing ASPs identified by Council, Administration, and the public.

Carried

Petro Canada - Land Use Change

The Master Site Development Plan (MSDP) has been submitted.  We do not have a firm timeline on when the application will appear before Council.  Thanks to everyone who answered our survey questions (all responses have been submitted to RVC).  We plan to reach out one more time with a more detailed set of questions based on the site plan in the next little while.

The contact at Rocky View County is Bernice Leyeza - bleyeza@rockyview.ca.

Fire Update

Update

Council Resolution Tracker 

More information on the council’s resolution tracker.

Highway 8 Corridor

No updates. 

PROVINCIAL PROJECTS

Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir (SR1)

We expect that the draft land use plan will be released later this month by the provincial government for public comment. Rocky View County plans additional community engagement on the draft plan (i.e. use of the dam infrastructure for a multi-use pathway). 

Recommendations by the Joint Land Use Advisory Committee

Bow River Dam

The feasibility study was supposed to be released this year but it looks to be delayed until later this year. You can find more information on the Bow River Reservoir Options initiative, including feasibility study updates and engagement opportunities HERE.

Bow and Elbow River Flood Hazard Study

The deadline for comments on flood mapping is February 12!  This has been years in the works and after several false starts, it has finally been released.  Anyone near the Elbow River in West Rocky View and Redwood Meadows should take a few minutes to look at the maps and answer the four survey questions. 

SPRINGBANK SPOTLIGHT

As many of our Springbank Minor hockey players are gearing up for playoffs, so are some of our alums. Former SMHA hockey player, Carter Yakemchuk is looking forward to WHL playoffs as a Calgary Hitmen. He was recently named WHL Player of the Week and played in the 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prosepcts game in Moncton. Carter is 2024 NHL Entry Draft-eligible, and is ranked sixth in North American skaters.

 

Photo credit: Calgary Hitmen

Congratulations, Carter! Springbank is cheering you on!

ROCKY VIEW SCHOOLS

Springbank High School

Here at Springbank Community High School, we have started a new semester. Grade 12 diploma exams and exam breaks for all students have ended, and we’re now moving on to semester two! Classes and extracurricular activities at SCHS have resumed. On the athletics side, our badminton team has started training for their competitive season, and our robotics team has qualified for provincials in March! During the last week of February, it is Kindness Week at SCHS, where we do random acts of kindness throughout the school! It is also Pink Shirt Day on the 28^th to stand up against bullying.  Lastly, the French immersion students at SCHS would also like to share their recent event held for the grade 8’s at the Middle School! 

~ Callista Tay, Youth Board Member and SCHS student

To acknowledge French culture, Springbank Community High School set up a tortière dinner for the grade 8’s at SMS. This event displayed the benefits and opportunities of continuing in the French language arts program. All participating students had so much fun creating and partaking in the festivities. We ate tortières, crème brulée and macarons while playing a french kahoot. 

 Thanks to the grade 11s, we also had a video about our favorite moments in the French program. Without Judi Hunter who spearheaded this idea, none of this would have been possible. Also a big thanks to Ms. Klatt, Mme Turner, and Mme Lightfoot who helped so much with the planning and setup.

~ Article by Juliet Charlton, SCHS Student

~ Photos by Alex Gruber, SCHS Student

ROCKY VIEW SCHOOLS TRUSTEE UPDATE
JUDI HUNTER, WARD 5

Division Administration provided an update on the progress of RVS’ 2023-2027 Education Plan, approved by the Board of Trustees in May 2023 . 

Highlights from the first four months of the 2023/24 school year include:

Goal 1 Advancing students’ literacy and numeracy skills. 

• Schools have developed School improvement plans to align with the system goals.  All schools have set literacy and numeracy goals and targets to improve student literacy and numeracy.

Goal 2 Building future-ready students.

• 33 schools formed a Career Connections Strategy to discuss current practices related to career education planning and best practices for providing students in Grades 6 – 12 with access to initiatives intended to help build career skills development programs. A Career Connections Practice Guide is being developed.

Goal 3 Creating inclusive, engaging, healthy learning opportunities for all students. 

• Schools are focused on teaching Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS)-focused lessons in each classroom, expanding their use of ‘catching kids doing good’ and rewarding them in various ways for positive behavior.

January to June will see the launching of the following initiatives: 

• Development of the RVS Math Assessment tool in the spring. 
• Implementation of the "OurSCHOOL" survey for students in Grades 4 – 12; this survey replaces the Education Plan Survey conducted by RVS in support of the previous Four Year Education Plan.
• Implementation of new curriculum and the use of learning disruption funding to support our youngest readers and mathematicians.

RVS is committed to investing time and resources in staff learning and development.

The Administrative Leadership Program (ALP) explores concepts around leadership and is intended for certificated staff interested in advancing to an administrative role. There are currently 69 individuals enrolled in the program, at various levels.  Additional opportunities for school leaders to learn more about instructional or managerial leadership are offered through focused capacity-building programs. 

The Education Centre Leadership Development and Support Program encourages Education Centre staff to develop leadership skills. Now in its second year, there are 22 participants currently in the program.

Various other professional learning and development opportunities are available through the Learning department for teachers, support staff and administrators. Since the start of the school year, 1,620 staff have participated in the 66 offerings. 

RVS’ centrally organized professional learning opportunities have a 94 percent rating from staff who said the session was valuable to them on exit surveys. 

The Airdrie community consultation on Balancing Spaces for Students continues until March 17.  A Board decision on how to proceed will be made April 25, 2024.

Communities of Springbank, Cochrane and Bearspaw have raised concerns over new developments proposed by Rocky View County and the impact on the ability of current schools to accommodate the potential new students. School space shortages are an issue across Canada.

Rocky View Schools (RVS) Divisions and the local Alberta Teachers Association (ATA) have reached a collective agreement.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Springbank Ladies Time Out

Visit springbanklto.ca

CHAPS and CHINOOKS MOMENT

As many fear continued water shortages for the coming season, our feature this month recounts the undertaking to bring irrigation into Springbank, with varying levels of success. Percy Copithorne quotes from a book written in 1924 entitled, Alberta Past and Present Vol I, p. 360 by John Blue. Vincent Robinson also recounts the effort made to construct irrigation ditches to deal with periods of drought.

Percy quotes:

               The first mutual or municipal undertaking under the Northwest District Irrigation Ordinance was projected in 1896 by settlers of the Springbank district, a tract of country west of Calgary lying between the Bow and Elbow rivers. A canal 36 miles long was planned to convey sufficient water from the Elbow river to irrigate 21,000 acres. In addition, it was proposed to construct another canal to utilize the waters of the Jumping Pound Creek to irrigate 20,000 acres more. Only about ten miles of this system was ever constucte. [sic] The completion of the scheme was prevented by disagreement among the residents and a succession of wet years which strengthened the opinion that irrigation was unnecessary. The wet years from 1901 to 1907 had a deterrent effect upon irrigation development, especially upon small schemes, but the return of a cycle of dry years beginning in 1909 and 1910 re-kindled a warm interest in the subject. (…) In wet years the farmers see no need for irrigation, and conclude the investment thereon is wasted. As soon as the dry years recur they swing to the opposite opinion. (…) Since 1883 such records have been kept up by the Meteorological Service of Canada, and they indicate a regular alternation of wet with dry years.

Vincent writes about the Calgary Irrigation Company Limited:

               There were a surprising number of settlers, with small cultivated fields along creeks and river flats, who constructed ditches for flood irrigation during drought periods in the 1880’s. (…) The 1890’s were exceptionally dry, and William Pearce and P. Turner Bone, promoted, with Scottish capital, the Calgary Irrigation Company, Limited.(…) The ditch wound in an east and north and then easterly direction again for about six miles. (…) In 1897, as the ditch was completed, it started to rain – some of the highest water on record on both the Bow and the Elbow. The head-gates were washed out, and were rebuilt again by the Company; however, it continued to be wet, so there was no sale for the water and the Calgary Irrigation Co. went bankrupt. The ditch reverted to the land owners. (…) Clem Gardner needed water for stock, as did Charlie Matthews, so they repaired the head-gates and got water running down the ditch again. On August 30, 1939, the Pirmez Creek Irrigation Society was formed.

Chaps and Chinooks, Vol I, p.64-65

Chaps and Chinooks, Vol I, p. 66-67

Editor’s note: We send our sincere condolences to the family of Beryl Sibbald (nee Edge) who we featured recently in our salute to Stampede Royalty of the past.

HARMONY HUB

Harmony is this year’s location for the Foothills Hospital Home Lottery grand prize home. Have you checked it out and bought your tickets yet?

BRAGG CREEK CORNER

Program Guide

CONNECTIONS WITH COCHRANE

Did you know….
            Cochrane Family & Community Support Services (FCSS) has a community development team focused on building and strengthening community life? Do you have ideas to make your community stronger? 

Did you know….

                The Cochrane & Area Family Resource Network (FRN) has childhood development programs for children birth to 6yrs of age and they also offer a large variety of parent education and supports for parents and caregivers with children 0-18 years of age? 

Did you know….
            Both FCSS & the FRN have resource workers that offer free and confidential meetings to connect you to supports that are unique to your family needs? 

Did you know….
            Cochrane and area have many local organizations looking for volunteers?  

Visit www.cochrane.ca for more info on how to get connected to local organizations. 

All services are open to residents of Cochrane and West Rocky View County.

To learn more about what we have to offer: 

• Families with children 0-18 call the Family Resource Network at 403-851-2265;
• Individuals and families with children 18+ call Cochrane Family & Community Support Services at 403-851-2250; or
• For more information on programs and service, please visit www.cochrane.ca/fcssfrn

Program Guide

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