CARSTAIRS - Council has decided not to support a request from the Town of Olds in that municipality’s bid to have a multiplex feasibility study conducted.
The move came during Jan. 22 council meeting in response to a request from Olds mayor Judy Dahl.
“On behalf of the Town of Olds council, we are respectfully asking for Carstairs’s support to an Alberta Community Partnership (ACP) grant application for Phase 2 of a regional multiplex study,” Dahl said in a letter to council. “This support would require a resolution from Carstairs town council.”
In the letter Dahl explained that Olds is currently undertaking a condition assessment and feasibility study of the Olds Sportsplex (Phase 1).
“This effort, which should be concluded by March 2024, will provide an engineering report on the current state of the building and its machinery; an opinion on its suitability for the current and future recreational needs of Olds and area.”
The current study will also provide a high-level cost to achieve about 30 more years of life from the building and whether the town should invest in the existing building or seek to build a new facility, she said.
“Regardless of the outcome of Phase 1, we are certain that a significant capital project will be required, probably within seven to 10 years,” she said. “Starting to plan now is imperative for the Town of Olds.”
The Town of Olds has already received letters of support from the Town of Sundre, Mountain View County, Olds College of Agriculture and Technology, and Chinook’s Edge School Division.
“The Town of Olds will be the managing partner. No financial cost is being asked of Carstairs for this (Phase 2) study and this project will not proceed in 2024 should the grant application be unsuccessful,” she said.
Lance Colby is the mayor of Carstairs. In an Albertan interview, he explained council’s decision not to pass a resolution as requested by Olds.
“We thought it wasn’t a regional enough initiative for all of us to benefit from,” said Colby. “They might get it (the grant) anyway, I don’t know what support they have and don’t have, but we felt it might be better to not support that and maybe down the road support something that is more central.
“Everyone from the south would have to drive up from the north. Regional should be something that everyone can access easily. I know a lot of our people go to Didsbury or south.
“We didn’t see the need for us to be part of it. As far as us being part of it, we would rather wait until there is a good initiative that we feel is regional.”
Carstairs chief administrative officer Rick Blair says a letter will be sent to the Town of Olds informing them of council’s decision not to pass a resolution in support of the Town of Olds grant application.
