Mountain View County council has approved a time extension of three years for the next phase of development at Coyote Creek Golf and RV Resort west of Sundre.
The move came during the recent regularly scheduled council meeting.
“This time extension of the condition is requested for three years based on the expense incurred to build the new restaurant and renovations to the existing pro shop,” CAO Tony Martens said in a briefing note to council.
“This expense along with the economic slowdown and the moratorium that was in place has hindered lot sales. This third time extension will extend the time from June 22, 2016 to a future date considered appropriate by council.”
In a letter to council, applicant and Coyote Creek general manager Bruce Johnson said the construction of the new restaurant and the upgrade to the pro shop were “very large expenditure and Coyote Creek would like to have time to pay this debt down.”
“We also went through about a year in which Mountain View County had a moratorium on development in this area that hurt sales immensely. We are now in an economic downturn which our province is hurting badly, and will also have an effect on sales.”
Councillors voted to grant the extension.
Meanwhile, council approved a $50,000 contribution to the Water Valley Community Hall Association's plans to build a new hall in the community.
The move came by way of a motion at the recent regularly scheduled council meeting. The approval comes with the condition that the building permit for the project be approved.
On May 4 Harold Baxandall, new hall committee chairman with the association, appeared before the county's policies and priorities committee to outline plans for the new $1,030,000 hall and current fundraising efforts.
Planning for the new hall – which will be built immediately southwest of the existing hall – has involved dozens of volunteers, he said.
The 5,935-square-foot hall would have banquet seating for 270 and theatre seating for 350.
It would also have a portable stage, a meeting/flex room to seat 50 people, a commercial kitchen and a FireSmart Canada staging area.
To date about $500,000 has been raised through a casino, stud auction, bottle depot donations and turkey suppers.
The timeline for the new hall includes the selection of a project manager this month, an application to the CFEP grant program in September, application for development permits in September and building permits in January 2017.
Construction will tentatively start in June 2017.
