An online petition started by Rocky View County (RVC) resident Daria Holden has given a voice to residents who are concerned with RVC council’s recent decision to accept proposals for a County-owned section of land currently occupied by the Cochrane and District Agricultural Society.
“The land was seen as surplus to the County’s needs, and will be for sale at some point or another,” Holden said. “We got over 500 signatures in the first 24 hours, and now I have a responsibility to make sure that I represent those people who signed that petition and submitted comments. I want to make sure that those comments are heard by council.”
Area Councillor Bruce Kendall moved Jan. 26 to accept RVC administration’s recommendation to accept proposals for the land and deny the Ag Society an extension on their current lease, which expires in 2025. According to Kendall, RVC is under no obligation to sell the property, and he’s hoping to start a conversation with the community about what could be done with the 145-acre parcel of land.
“We’ve heard there is some interest there and this would allow us to get to a point where we could actually have some meaningful discussions, if we knew what the property was worth from a purchaser’s point of view,” he said. “I would never simply pull the rug out from under (the Ag Society), I’m a past director there and I think they do great work. This just gets us looking at what possibilities could become reality.”
Kendall said the Ag Society has indicated they would be willing to relocate, and he said RVC has promised to work with them to find a suitable location. Ag Society President Kathy Pack said they have yet to find an appropriate site.
“Any home that we could move to, we would really need to make sure it met the needs of our user groups and the Ag Society,” she said. “We can’t have our horses running on gravel, we don’t want to be 10 miles out of town. These lands are critical to the success of Cochrane and residents, a bridge between the rural and the urban.”
Pack added the organization would love to make improvements to their current facilities, but without an extension to the lease they are unable to move forward with plans. While Kendall said the County intends to honour the terms of the current lease, Pack said it’s impossible for the group to raise money with a lifespan of only nine years.
“It makes zero economic sense to put money into it if the lease is up,” she said. “That’s why we requested a lease extension. We need to change to meet the changing needs of our community. It’s critically important to keep this society alive and well and growing.”
For Holden, moving the Ag Society to a new location would mean losing valuable amenities provided by the current lands. In addition to having the barn and the arena visible from the town, she said the cross-country course and BMX track would be impossible to replicate at a different site.
“This Ag Society is not just about horses and cows, it’s not just about 4-H,” she said. “This is much bigger than that. We have races, horse trials and hundreds and thousands of people who come out here every year to take part in a huge variety of events. And you just can’t take that stuff with you. There is no better piece of land for them.”
Kendall said he is planning to organize a meeting with the Ag Society and area residents to discuss the issue and potential solutions. When administration comes back with a report for council regarding any proposals, he said, they will have a “starting point” to move forward.
“The purpose of this is to build a better community, and I have to recognize that community is bigger than Division 9,” Kendall said. “This gets all the cards on the table.”
