How do we improve our quality of life in St. Albert? We plan for it. The city is currently asking you to assist in the planning in order that your needs are kept in mind throughout the process. The City of St. Albert has started the planning and it is our turn to make sure those plans represent our wants as residents. The city of has recently developed an updated Recreation Master Plan and first-time-ever Cultural Master Plan. Having these plans is a strategic component of how our community will meet our needs for the next 10 to 15 years.
According to the city website the Recreation Master Plan is the ‘blueprint’ for the future of recreation in St. Albert. Of the five theme areas that emerged throughout intensive community consultation, I believe the most important component of this plan is the “investing in recreation infrastructure” theme area that naturally connects to the seeking out new and innovative funding sources theme. I believe the identification of indoor ice facilities as the second priority should indicate the need for immediate attention. After many years of supporting the ice surfaces of surrounding communities – as distant as 70 kilometres one way – to find an hour of precious ice time, giving the rental funds back to my own community would be an improvement. I am certain this added infrastructure would improve minor hockey, adult hockey, ringette, figure skating and all other ice-based recreation activities. It seems logical that there is already an innovative funding strategy in place to support additional ice surfaces. This innovation is shown daily when St. Albertans buy, at a premium price, ice-time outside of our own community. Ensuring these funds support our own community infrastructure seems exceptionally innovative.
The city website outlines the Cultural Plan as launching the process to ensure the sustainability and vitality of the City of St. Albert’s cultural offerings. Of the 18 recommendations in this plan the recommendation to “surprise and delight” resonates with me. Since I moved to St. Albert, many cultural aspects have managed to do just that. Surprise and delight may be difficult to quantify but I measure it in smiles, butterflies and goose bumps. That is how I know the latest production of St. Albert’s own Children’s Theatre has again surpassed all expectations, the potters’ guild has awed me with talent, or a Lewis Lavoie mural has made me stop in my tracks for just a minute of appreciation. The work that is required to build a plan to continue to give both community pride and goose bumps simultaneously is a tremendous effort for a component of our community that is often undervalued and easily forgotten in society today.
Both of these plans available on the city website (www.stalbert.ca) indicate that our community will have a roadmap in place to ensure that for the foreseeable future and beyond our recreation and cultural needs are met. The city is asking residents to participant in this process though feedback mechanisms including open houses on Nov. 1 and 2 and an online survey closing Nov. 30. Have your say.
Tanya Doran is an enthusiastic St. Albert resident.
