Bowden mayor Robb Stuart says 2014 was a year of accomplishments and he's looking forward to more in 2015.
One major accomplishment this year was persuading Alberta Transportation to provide funding once again for the rest stop along Highway 2 in Bowden.
After the province stopped funding the rest area, council voted in April to keep it closed until they could hammer out a funding deal with the provincial government. Councillors kept lobbying the government for the cash.
In late spring, the province agreed to provide $20,000 a year in funding over three years.
More work was done on the Community Action Park this year, including efforts to dampen down the noise created by the skateboard park.
“The Community Action Park has -- and will continue to be -- a great asset to the town,” Stuart says, adding it provides “many recreational opportunities for our local community” including young and old, rural and urban residents.
“There will continue to be progress in 2015,” Stuart says. “There have been issues, but we will continue to be proactive in dealing with concerns as they come forward.”
The town had to postpone its largest 2014 capital project, a $ 1.2-million sewer, water and street repair project, until 2015.
However, Stuart is confident it will go ahead in the new year.
“This will go ahead in the spring, as the grant funding has already been approved,” he says.
Bowden Daze, the town's annual rodeo weekend in the summer, was marred this year by the death of a horse – the first time that's ever happened in the 21-year history of the rodeo.
Witnesses say the horse died after falling during an event.
Despite that unfortunate incident, Stuart says overall, the rodeo was “very entertaining,” and he is confident it will go ahead next year.
“We look forward to another great event in 2015. We sincerely appreciate the beneficial relationship we have with the Bowden and District Agricultural Society,” he says.
The town did not experience much growth in 2014.
“We had some residential building permits, but the majority were for renovations. We had a couple of multi-family housing and some commercial renovations,” Stuart says.
“Our building permits came in at approximately $230,000, which is significantly lower than 2013,” he says.
Stuart says the town remains hopeful it can attract some businesses to the land it has annexed on the east side of the Queen Elizabeth II Highway (also known as Highway 2).
Overall, Stuart anticipates Bowden will remain “relatively stable” in 2015.
However, the price of oil, which has fallen dramatically since the summer, could have a big impact on the town.
“We know that the provincial government will be very budget-minded in 2015. The price of oil and other constraints will probably impact provincial funding,” Stuart says.
“We hope that the downturn will make construction projects more competitive and therefore lower the costs. We hope to maintain the current service levels to our residents.”
He sees one silver lining in sliding oil prices.
“Our slip ramp and highway access should not be impacted in the near future. Alberta Transportation has many other projects that are a higher priority than the intersection that impacts our community,” he says.
Another big change is expected to occur this coming spring, when as a partner of the new South Red Deer Regional Wastewater Commission, the town will begin sending its sewage into a regional pipeline to be treated in Red Deer.
Stuart anticipates this new system will cost Bowden residents a lot of money, but he also points out the town had little choice.
“The regional wastewater line was forced on us by Alberta Environment. This is one of many items out of our control,” he says. “The town is bordered (on three sides) by provincial highways. Anything that affects these roadways is controlled by Alberta Transportation.”
Stuart has some advice for residents to try to keep cost increases arising as a result of this new system as low as possible.
“Our residents and businesses will need to be proactive in water conservation. The lower the amount of water we use, the smaller the amount of sewage that goes into the regional line,” he says.
