Margaret Bahcheli’s first term as Reeve of Rocky View County (RVC) council has been a busy one, and after her reappointment in October, she is looking forward to another exciting year with the County.
“It’s such an honor to have been selected for another one-year term to provide leadership to council,” she said.
“It says a lot about being able to do the job of managing council – and that’s not just in chambers, but outside of chambers, as well.”
“The first year of being Reeve, it’s kind of a trial period, and until you get your report card back and are reappointed, you don’t really know how well it’s going,” she added.
“I have great pride and respect for council, that they’ve decided to let me go for another year.”
One of the biggest highlights of the year for Bahcheli was seeing the County Plan implemented. According to Bahcheli, the plan was developed over the course of the year in 2013, with what she said is the “broadest consultation process we are aware of in Alberta, if not Western Canada.”
“It’s so focused and follows such great planning principles,” she said.
“We started the new year with this plan in place and have been watching it unfold, and I think everyone is experiencing a lot of pride in how well it fits and gives people direction going forward.”
Going forward for RVC involves a number of things, according to Bahcheli. One of the first issues that will be looked at in the new year is the $32 million brand-new municipal building, which she said will involve more public engagement.
“The new facility was approved prior to the 2013 election, and because funding was already approved, it wasn’t really discussed after that,” she said.
“I think some people in the public don’t feel they’ve had adequate opportunity to become informed or discuss it as a financial issue.”
Prior to the 2015 budget finalization in April, Bahcheli said RVC will provide these engagement opportunities to the public, so residents can weigh in on how they feel about this large financial item.
The County will also be introducing a number of new Area Structure Plans (ASP) in 2015, which Bahcheli said will affect many residents throughout RVC.
There will also be a new option for developers to pay for an ASP to be written for a particular area.
“This is something the City of Calgary has experimented with for a year, and we are going to try it as well,” Bahcheli said.
“We may see some additional ASPs coming forward under that program, so it becomes a bit of a question of how many ASPs can one county take?”
Bahcheli said she is also looking forward to RVC council adopting a councillor Code of Conduct. A draft was presented to council in November, but was rejected. According to Bahcheli, since a similar policy is required at most large businesses, it’s important for a Code of Conduct to be in place at the municipal level of government.
“People take it personally, and unfortunately, politics isn’t about taking things personally,” she said. “I see it as a real challenge that way, as we negotiate our way and plot our course through how far it’s going to go and how it’s going to work. This will be one of our bigger challenges, at least at the beginning of the year.”
RVC council’s first meeting of 2015 takes place on Jan. 13, 2015.
