Canada will celebrate its 150 birthday in 2017, and the Airdrie Parades and Fireworks Committee (APFC) wants to make sure Airdrie celebrates in style.
The organizers came to the Airdrie City council meeting June 20 to update council on the activities the APFC has planned for 2016, and to request additional funding to help pump up the 2017 celebration.
Esau said the committee is already looking forward to 2017 and mounting a celebration fit for Canada’s 150th birthday.
“In addition, locally it’s the 50th anniversary of the Canada Day Parade. The Airdrie Lions Club held the first Canada Day Parade on July 1, 1967. It’s also the 50th anniversary of the Airdrie Pro Rodeo,” she said.
“We’re looking to have a Canada Day concert and enhanced family activities at Chinook Winds.”
Council unanimously approved including $25,000 in the 2017 budget deliberations for the 2017 Canada Day celebrations, an increase from the $8,000 given to APFC in 2016.
In response to queries from both Mayor Peter Brown and Councillor Allan Hunter, Esau said she would confirm whether the committee could apply to the federal government for funding under the Canada 150 grant program.
Council was presented with four pieces of correspondence to consider at the meeting.
The first was from the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA), recognizing City Manager Paul Schulz’s 20 years as an administrator with the City of Airdrie. Schulz was presented with a long service recognition pin at CAMA’s annual conference in Winnipeg, Man., May 31.
“Obviously he’s very dedicated and we appreciate all his efforts,” Brown said. “We want to thank you for your years of service to the community and to the city and continued success in all you do.”
Council was also asked to consider a request from the Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre at the University of Calgary to waive the fees to rent ice time and meeting space at Genesis Place Recreation Centre to allow it to conduct a research project involving concussions in young hockey players.
The request was for two days of ice time in July. According to City of Airdrie Social Planner Patti Murray, the request met the City’s policy for waiving of fees and the timing did not conflict with requests from other, paying user groups.
Council unanimously approved the request.
A request from a resident to waive a six-month waiting period before re-submitting an application for a development permit was unanimously approved.
According to Director of Planning and Sustainable Development Tracy Corbett, staff has had discussions with the landowner.
“If he had submitted under the new (land use) bylaw, he would have been eligible to re-submit a new application, responding to requirements (requested by the Subdivision Appeal Board after the initial application) as of June 15,” she said.
“He’s caught in the older Rocky View land use bylaw that limits this to six months. He’s just asking for permission to come back – revise the application, respond to a number of those issues, re-submit and we would bring it to the (Municipal Planning Commission) MPC.”
Finally, council ratified a request for a letter of support from Creative Airdrie to accompany an application for funding from the provincial government for the Culture in the Creek event in September 2016.
