MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - The Westward Ho Campers Association (WHCA) updated council on activities and plans at the county-owned facility east of Sundre during a delegation appearance on Aug. 23.
Association president Pat Strey presented a report and discussed some of the recent projects and events at the campground, as well as the need to address riverbank erosion concerns at the facility.
Located on the Little Red Deer River south of Highway 27, the campground currently has 315 yearly sites and about 60 weekend sites. The association operates the campground under a 10-year lease.
Regarding operations, Strey said staffing levels at the park have stayed relatively constant in recent times.
“Our new resident/night attendant has been working out and we are seeing a good return are with our seasonal employees,” he said.
The current staff levels at the facility are full-time park manager, full-time officer manager, full-time park attendant, four seasonal employees on weekends, holidays and other busy days of summer, two night staff who work on weekends and holiday nights, and one full-time resident/night attendant.
“This year they have actually been fairly busy,” he said.
Regarding current reservation and book procedures, he said reservations are made by phone through the office, with campers also able to start the process through the campground’s website and email.
“We basically haven’t changed anything over the last three years,” he said.
As for current advertising and marketing plans, he said, “we renewed our website again this year, changing the company that hosts it allowing the association to utilize more marketing strategies.”
Advertising has also included the distribution of brochures to visitor information centres, hotels and RV centres.
In keeping with past practice, the association has supported the Mountain View Food Bank ($17,000), STARS ($2,000), and several other smaller local charities in 2023.
“We look forward to supporting the organizations we have helped in the past and we encourage new charities to reach out to us,” he said.
“One of our mandates when we signed the original contact with the county was that we would actually donate at least 10 per cent of our reserve funds to local charities.”
The association has started helping out the Sundre hospital with donations this year, he said.
Current capital projects at the facility include replacement of the campground’s trailer and re-level of the trailer, upgrading of the storage shed beside the fuel tanks, undertaking a riverbank study to look at erosion control strategies, replacement of the flat roof on the kitchen area of the Centennial Hall, and replacement of picnic tables and fire pits.
Proposed projects include expanding on the riverbank erosion project, installing a few new light poles throughout the park, installing removable windows on the south camp kitchen, and purchasing another automated external defibrillator for installation in the south shower house.
“We have completed an initial riverbank study and now we want to keep the process moving along and see what kind of support we can garner up from the province and the county,” he said.
“The erosion along the south part of the park its getting bad. We have lost a good portion of four to five sites, and it gets worse every time the Little Red Deer River experiences high flows. The study points out that doing nothing will result in the loss of sites further inland as well.”
The association is hoping the county “will be willing to work with us to push this project forward. Getting the province onboard will require support from the county and commitments from multiple stakeholders. So far, the county has been a great asset helping put together the information we require.”
The recent report cost about $7,000 and was paid for by the association, council heard.
The association is interested in working with stakeholders to address erosion concerns, he said.
He commended Coun. Peggy Johnson, whose Division 6 includes the campground, for her efforts on behalf of the campground over the years.
Council carried a motion instructing administration to bring the recent 26-page river bank stabilization assessment report before the next council meeting and that “decisions be deferred until council has a chance to consider the report.”
Council also accepted Strey’s delegation appearance as information.
