The Nose Creek Park Off-Leash Area will now be known as the Airdrie Festival of Lights Society (AFOLS) Off-Leash Park after City council unanimously approved a request to rename the facility in honour of AFOLS on March 7.
AFOLS asked the off-leash park be renamed to recognize the contribution the organization has made to the city in the past 20 years, according to Festival Co-ordinator Michelle Pirzek.
“It is clear that the AFOLS has established deep roots within our city and become an integral part to many other organizations and groups,” she said. “Having successfully completed our 20th season and acknowledging the contributions AFOLS has made over the years, we would appreciate the opportunity to have a lasting legacy that lives on for years and years to come. Our request is to have the off-leash area renamed for our contributions within the city (which we) continue to make.”
The off-leash park, which is sometimes used for extra parking during large public events such as the Airdrie Festival of Lights, was purchased in 1999 by the City of Airdrie on a debenture plan at a cost of $381,000. AFOLS was required to pay back 75 per cent of the original loan in the next 15 years, making its final payment in 2014.
Tour of Alberta
The Tour of Alberta cycling race won’t be making a stop in Airdrie in 2016 after council unanimously approved accepting the recommendation of staff to decline a request from the tour organizers, citing a lack of time and budget.
At its Feb. 1 regular meeting, City council was presented with a proposal from the Tour of Alberta cycling race to become a finish host city during the tour, set to begin in Lethbridge Aug. 31. At that meeting, council directed staff to look into the implications of hosting the event. The results of that investigation were presented to council March 7.
The cost to host the stage would be $150,000, paid as a fee to the organizers, plus an additional estimated $50,000 in expenses.
Given the high cost to host the event and the short time to pull it together, council voted to decline the opportunity.
Smoking Bylaw
A request from a resident to add public playgrounds to the list of areas where smoking is banned under the City of Airdrie’s Smoking Bylaw was presented to council. The resident had taken her two-year-old to a playground in the Reunion neighbourhood and called Municipal Enforcement when other adults showed up and began smoking. The City does not currently have any provisions for banning smoking in public playgrounds with the smoking bylaw.
Deputy Mayor Darrell Belyk made a motion to ask staff to look into how other municipalities handle public playgrounds in their smoking bylaws. The motion passed by a vote of five to two with Councillor Fred Burley and Brown opposed.
“I voted against it because I think we didn’t need to have more research done,” Burley said. “I do agree that maybe we need to do something around the playgrounds but I don’t know if we need staff to come back with a full report.”
