Airdrie’s top man in charge said 2015 held a number of challenges and frustrations, particularly when it comes to getting 24-hour healthcare and a new highway interchange for the city.
Mayor Peter Brown said, in reflecting on the year that was, “It’s been a rollercoaster of a ride. I can’t tell you how many different letters supporting transportation corridors (I’ve received from the Province) that are now out the window. Letters confirming we have some support on health – now out the window.
“It’s just been really frustrating and I think now it’s really up to the community to come together. We need to get a letter-writing campaign going and we need to get up in the face of government and say, ‘we’re not going to tolerate this anymore.’”
Brown said he and council have been trying to get approval from the provincial government for a new interchange at 40 Avenue and Highway 2 for a number of years.
“Now it looks like they’re going to be doing the Balzac mall interchange first,” he said. “Yes, it will alleviate problems, potentially, on Eighth Street as long as our corridors are widened to accommodate and there’s proper turning (lights) and all that stuff, but it’s frustrating when we have our residents and businesses sitting out on a highway that’s not designed as a parking lot.
“It’s an accident waiting to happen. I don’t know how to get them to understand how serious it is right now and how serious it’s going to be in the future. The City is spending $6 million of our money to design the overpass so that we’re ready, when they’re ready.”
Brown said he was equally frustrated by the new provincial government’s failure to commit to improving healthcare in the city. (See story on page 1.)
“We’ve made steps locally. We now have an obstetrics clinic here – that’s as a result of the work the community has done on the ground,” he said.
“We’ve been given an expansion (at the Airdrie Urgent Care Centre) of four beds – not even beds; three recliners and a stretcher – but no new staff to support that. How is that good for the patient and how is that good for the (healthcare) worker? It’s not a reasonable solution in a city of almost 60,000.”
On the positive side, Brown said City staff won a lot of awards in 2015 in areas such as procurement, finance and economic development. Also, Brown said surveys conducted during the year into business satisfaction and citizen satisfaction showed residents view Airdrie as a good place to live and do business.
“Council looks at the community and tries to implement things that will make it more functional, but those things come from our administration,” he said. “Where we get involved is in the decision-making process.”
Some of those decisions, which Brown said are excellent for citizens, include road improvements throughout the city, completion of a new water reservoir in Windsong and construction of a number of new multi-family housing units.
Even something which negatively impacted a lot of people – the three-month closure of the pool area at Genesis Place Recreation Centre – was done for good reasons, according to Brown.
“I know a lot of people were frustrated but I think it was a must-do situation. We could have deferred it, but I think council was unanimous in their support. We can’t have a place where people can cut their foot when they’re getting in the pool, but more importantly we now have the procedures in place that we’re not going to have to (close again).”
Another innovation that occurred in 2015 and Brown said was a positive is the online streaming of City council meetings.
“We don’t have a lot of people viewing our council meetings but the numbers are slowly going up,” he said. “When I talk to people who have watched, you can hear everything fairly clearly, you can’t always see things but I think once (we get new technology) you’ll be able to zoom in on the presenter, you’ll be able to see the councillor who is speaking.”
In summing up 2015, Brown said, “I think we have a very engaged council. I think they get involved, and certainly they connect with community. They’re always listening and always aware of what’s going on out there. It’s always the challenge of meeting everybody’s expectation.
“If there’s a piece of advice for residents and businesses, it’s to phone. Make a call, inquire. If you don’t like your tax assessment or you don’t think the water bills are what they should be, there’s always somebody here to answer the questions or point you in the direction you should go.”
