The Town of Crossfield recently won a prestigious provincial award for its new Crossfield Sustainability Plan (CSP).
The Alberta Urban Municipalities Association’s (AUMA) Municipal Sustainability-Visionary Communities award will be presented to representatives from the Town on Nov. 23 at the annual AUMA convention in Edmonton.
“This plan was put together by community volunteers and we are very, very excited at the work they have done,” said Crossfield’s Chief Administrative Officer Cheryl Skelly.
“Their commitment to the process was second to none. They did a fantastic job. This is their plan for the future of Crossfield.”
The CSP was prepared during 2009, when the Vision Committee, a group of residents and business owners, engaged Crossfield residents in coming up with the visionary document.
The committee was formulated to garner public input and make recommendations to council. It engaged hundreds of residents and business owners and dedicated more than 800 hours of volunteer time to the CSP.
Several key findings emerged during the public engagement process, according to Crossfield Town Planner Don Schultz.
“There were a lot of green priorities that came out of the community,” said Schultz.
Those priorities include attracting green business, designing green neighbourhoods, resource management and protection of the natural areas and wetlands in Crossfield.
The community also strongly recognized that changes are not solely the responsibility of the Town, but that community groups and individuals should also contribute, added Schultz.
“Winning an award like this is very extraordinary and I think it is even more extraordinary for the town of Crossfield,” said Schultz. “We discovered so many assets in Crossfield. It has a lot of potential.”
Some of those assets include location, membership in the Calgary Regional Plan, and a significant amount of industrial development and employment, said Shultz, adding that Crossfield is slated to become the future northern terminus of a regional transit system.
“The community and the Town want to plan responsibly,” said Schultz. “They want growth, but they want very well managed growth.”
Mayor Phil McCracken was pleased with the win, and gave credit to the community.
“Although the Town council supported the Vision Committee, this has been a community-driven planning process,” said McCracken.
“The CSP truly expresses what the grass roots of Crossfield want this community to be like in the future and how we are all going to work together to make that happen.”
Long-time resident Al Kenyon served on the Vision Committee, which presented its final report to council in December 2009.
He said the group participated in a lot of public engagement including attending the farmer’s market and the Crossfield rodeo breakfast. Both town residents and the rural community were given input.
“I am proud of the fact that the citizens of Crossfield are really the ones that won that award,” said Kenyon.
