Hey Chestermere,
Thursday was an incredible win for our community as we hosted the inaugural Mayor and Council Charity Golf Tournament at Lakeside Greens Golf Course. Thank you to our sponsors and to everyone who came out and participated in the event. Thanks to you, we were able to raise over $100 000. Final numbers will be presented at the October 8, 2024 Regular Meeting of Council. 75% of the proceeds will go to the Chestermere Public Library and 25% of the funds will go to the Town of Jasper. The event also supported the Chestermere Food Bank as participants brought food donations. Thank you to all of the city staff and council members who put in a tremendous amount of effort to make this tournament happen in a very short time frame. Thank you to Lakeside Greens for hosting the event. We look forward to making this an annual event and plans are already in the works for 2025.
One of my favorite parts of the event was to see so many areas of our community represented in the room. We had representatives from Synergy, Chestermere Public Library, Chestermere Food Bank, Rotary Club of Chestermere, Lakeside Greens Preservation Society, Chestermere Regional Community Association, builders, developers, businesses, city staff and city council. Having this wide cross section of representation in the room was incredibly invigorating. There was a tangible sense of community and the energy, laughter, and positivity in the room last night was a testament to why I love this community. It was just awesome to see our community come together, support two great initiatives, and represent Chestermere well. Thank you again everyone for an incredible event.
Deputy Mayor Grant stepped up this week to chair our Governance and Priorities meeting as I was in training for Subdivision Appeal Board. We were able to inform the public that we continue to make progress on the site for a new high school and recreation facility. Council received an update from the RCMP and were able to ask questions about priorities moving forward in further promoting community safety. There was also a rich discussion on transportation in Chestermere and multiple councillors expressed their concerns with current levels of transportation in Chestermere and a desire to find ways to better service all of Chestermere. This is work that will take time, but it was encouraging to hear how committed council is to this process. Council was also provided with a presentation from the Calgary Metropolitan Regional Board and were able to gain a greater understanding of what this board does and our involvement in it.
On Tuesday afternoon, council and many members of our administration attended FOIP training. Throughout the week, members of council attended a Mid Sized Cities Mayor’s Caucus meeting, a Calgary Intermunicipal meeting, and a Joint Planning Area meeting. This work is fostering strong relationships with our regional and provincial partners.
We were pleased to hear the announcement from the province for the School Accelerator Program. This aligns well for Chestermere with the work council and administration are doing to get school sites site ready. Members of council were able to attend a town hall with the province on Wednesday afternoon to learn more details about the program and we were able to connect with Rocky View School Board Trustee Shali Baziuk. Full details about the program are still being rolled out from the province and council is following these developments closely and working to put us in the best position possible to receive funding.
Council will be meeting on Monday September 23 for our Regular Meeting of Council as we will be off to Red Deer for the rest of the week for Alberta Munis Conference.
Have a great weekend Chestermere.
- Mayor Shannon Dean