With the calendar turning over soon there is a lot to reflect on, as has been the case for Rocky View County (RVC) Reeve and Division 3 Coun. Crystal Kissel, who sat down in an interview to discuss all the things that she and council are proudest of and the challenges facing the County in 2024.
Kissel, who was re-elected to the position of Reeve a few months ago, started off by stating that 2023 has been a very busy year for the County and council.
“The County’s had a very productive year,” Kissel said. “This council has moved forward a lot of items that are going to help the County become more efficient and I think accountable more than anything."
In the last month, RVC council passed the County’s 2024 budget, which includes a three per cent tax rate increase.
A few weeks after the passing of the budget, council held the first reading for a proposed Recreation and Fire Service levy that, if passed fully, would make RVC one of the first municipalities in the province to collect levies of that nature. The second and third readings for the proposed levies will come in the new year.
Kissel also stated that the County’s Aggregate Resource Plan is another achievement that council is particularly proud of this year. According to Kissel, a committee has been selected that will work in an advisory capacity to look at best practices and to give council guidance on how to move forward with resource extraction in RVC.
“The [Aggregate Resource Plan] will allow our stakeholders to be heard and understood and will give a clear definition to guide the development of our resources and all the extraction projects that come forward to the County,” said Kissel.
As Kissel reflected on the past, she made it clear that the County always had eyes set on the future.
“We’re looking at long range financial forecasting," she said. "We’re looking further ahead to our future financial capacity and trying to shift the organizational thinking towards considering what are the long term implications and what are the costs to sustain what we build into the future.”
But like all governments, the County has struggled to balance the practical goals of RVC with the needs, wants, and desires of its residents.
However, Kissel said she understands the pushback from community groups and that her job on council is to listen.
“We want feedback from the residents and we want feedback from anybody who is affected or feels affected,” she said. “The best way for us to do our jobs is to understand all sides and that will allow us to come to some sort of compromise and maybe the answer is just no for some development…and that’s ok.”
“For me personally, my job is to listen and I’ve found that has served me well. I’m generally not affected personally and I have to listen to the people who are,” said Kissel.
A controversial topic that highlights the complicated relationship between County needs and community desires has been the County’s gravel policy.
In 2023, council struggled with gravel pit development due to pushback from community groups that were concerned over health risks that an open gravel excavation might have on the population.
“Everyone uses gravel,” said Kissel. “Whether you’re in a rural [setting] or in the city, it is a commodity, there is a use and a need.”
Kissel admitted that gravel policy has been a really tough topic for the County this year, but also said that the Aggregate Resource Plan would help set expectations for issues like that in the future.
As a veteran of municipal government, Kissel knows that not everyone is going to be happy with decisions made in council–knowing that still doing what needs to be done is often the hardest part about the job, according to Kissel.
“There is always a winner and a loser–whether you like that statement or not–because there are people who are going to be happy with the decision and there are people who are going to be unhappy with the decision," she said. "Council's job is to find a balance, and that’s a really hard thing to do."
With RVC moving into 2024, Kissel said that the County has a solid vision for what the future will look like and how the policies before council will help the people of RVC.
“Council is looking to the future,” she said. “They’re looking at what will our operations cost be in five, ten, fifteen, or even twenty years?”
“I think if we can start looking more forward, I think it will make it better to understand…we’re trying to be careful on where we spend the money and how we invest it to make sure we’re getting the best bang for our buck,” said Kissel.
For Kissel, council’s vision for the future will hopefully help county residents.
“I think the biggest thing that’s going to take us forward is this council’s vision [and] how we sustain it," she said.
