Council voted Feb. 1 to put up $30,000 to gauge the feasibility of establishing a land trust in Mountain View County.The decision came after a conference call with consultant Jim Smith of Mancroft Resource Group. At the county's request, Smith presented council with a proposal that lists a feasibility report as the first of four stages in potentially developing a land trust in the county.The first phase will identify the core functions and characteristics of the land trust, and will include discussions with other municipalities and landowners to determine if a land trust is viable.ìIt could go three ways,î Smith said at the meeting. ìIt could be the municipality only, it could be the municipality and go across boundaries, or you could make it more regional.îCAO Tony Martens noted that the municipality wouldn't operate the land trust, but would merely set it up and get it started, and that the feasibility report was the key first step.ìIt's important that council decides whether we want a land trust or not,î Martens said.While saying he wasn't opposed to land trusts, Div. 6 Coun. Paddy Munro voted against the motions to proceed, arguing repeatedly that staff could contact adjacent municipalities to learn if they were interested in the idea, without it costing the county money.Martens replied that even if the answer from neighbouring municipalities was no, ìthe question would still be whether Mountain View County would set up a land trust.îStaff, he added, did not have the expertise to pitch the concept and answer questions that might come up.ìI could probably give a fairly vague description Ö but I wouldn't have all the details. That's why I rely on Jim.îMartens said he's known Smith for years and the consultant has a solid history of public service.ìThe fees he's quoted us are reduced from his regular fees because he wants to make a contribution to the community,î Martens said.Smith, a county resident with a PhD in resources and environment, is a former chairman of the Olds College Board of Governors and has done extensive work with the Canadian Land Trust Alliance and individual land trusts in the province.If council approves going forward after the feasibility report, later stages would include: setting up a governance structure, incorporation, charitable registration, funding, and a board of directors ($12,000 estimated budget); developing strategic branding and regional initiatives ($10,000); and supporting the development of the first business plan with the board of directors and executive director ($15,000).Meanwhile, at last week's policies and priorities committee meeting, Martens said he had received an email from Red Deer County administration ìand they are very interested in participating in a land trust with us. We'll try to get a meeting set up in the near future to get that going,î he said.
