Rocky View residents will soon have the opportunity to provide their input into the future of the county.
The Reeve’s Task Force has announced a series of four open houses to take place in various locations around the county, starting Sept. 1 at Balzac Community Hall at 7:30 p.m.
The other open houses will be held Sept. 8 at Indus Hall, Sept. 16 at the Springbank Heritage Club and Sept. 22 at the Bearspaw Lifestyle Centre. All the meetings will start at 7:30 p.m., with doors opening at 7 p.m.
“Any Rocky View residents, business owners or anyone who wants to have a say in growth planning and the future of growth in Rocky View (are welcome),” said Task Force consultant Wendy Grosfield. “There is no barrier to anyone.”
The open houses will feature a town hall format, with open microphones to allow for discussion.
“We really hope that we get a cross section of people,” said Stan Church, Task Force chairman. “We want to have a real town hall-like meeting where people can express themselves to the whole group. There will be an opportunity to raise your points verbally or comment on other points.”
Residents can also submit written comments and suggestions.
The Reeve’s Task Force was commissioned on July 6 to help define the direction of growth in the county.
The 17-member group, which consists of a wide spectrum of stakeholders including business owners and community leaders, has been tasked with providing recommendations on growth to council, which are due in December.
The group has had two meetings and, so far, the process has been positive, according to Church.
“There seems to be a good attitude amongst the Task Force,” said Church. “We are trying to look forward and not look back.”
Church said the committee will base its recommendations partly on feedback from residents.
Church said that the possibility of a new council, after this fall’s municipal elections, doesn’t affect the group.
“New council, old council, it will simply be a recommendation for us,” said Church. “Whichever council (it is) decides how well we did our job and how well we represented the feelings of the people. They will react accordingly.”
For more information on the Reeve’s Task Force, visit www.reevestaskforce.ca
