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Opportunity
knocking for Fort Macleod |
CHRIS BROWN
MACLEOD GAZETTE WRITER |
With Fort Macleod's
population expected to grow by 30 to 60 per cent, opportunities
are limitless.
That was the message Mayor Shawn Patience brought to Fort Macleod
Chamber of Commerce's monthly meeting last week.
Close to 20 local business leaders attended to meeting in the Green
Room of the Empress Theatre last Thursday.
"Fort Macleod was already in the midst of a growth spurt and that
was going to continue whether we were successful or not,"
Patience said in reference to last month's announcement Fort
Macleod would host the Alberta Police and Peace Officer Training
Centre. "However this particular project is going to drive and
increase that very prolifically."
Patience said the town office had already been inundated with calls
from out-of-town investment firms and individuals wanting to buy
or set up businesses and buy or build homes in the community.
"That is something we've never had before," Patience said. "It's an
exciting challenge but one that takes planning so that while in
the midst of development we don't lose what we have and that we
can build upon it."
Patience said while Fort Macleod will see outside investors come
into town over the next one or two years to set up shop, there
are also opportunities for those who have grown up or lived
here.
"They are far-reaching in the service sector," Patience said,
pointing to the need for more hotel and motel space and other
opportunities such as entertainment and the restaurant industry.
"If they believe there's an opportunity to invest, now is the time
to do that rather than waiting until the college comes,"
Patience said. "That will put you way at the back of the line.
The opportunities are out there and I want you to identify them."
As an example of one such opportunity Patience said with 1,500
trainees here each year there is an excellent opportunity for a
dry-cleaning business in town again.
"We've got a lot of smart individuals, a lot of industrious
individuals in this community and there are certainly lots of
avenues for opportunity," he said. "It's incumbent upon us to
take advantage of some of the opportunities now in front of us
so we can not only benefit as a town but also as local
investors. A lot of people have gone through periods of very
little opportunity for advancement and now it's right in front
of us."
Patience said the construction of the training centre along with
the changes to the highway in the next three to five years will
present opportunities no one has ever imagined.
"It's time to put your thinking caps on, do your homework and look
for the opportunities," he said.
Patience reported several other changes will be seen around town,
including some policy shifts for town council that will see
commercial and residential land policies tightened up.
The proposed 36-lot subdivision on the east end of town by Macleod
Pioneer Lodge already has 32 letters of intent and Patience said
council must be cautious how they deal with them. "It's not our
intent to use tax dollars to provide services for residential
properties and then have them sit there for a year before anyone
considers developing them," he said. Patience also said
development near the golf course may also go ahead soon and that
there has been a lot of interest in industrial and light
industrial properties, something the town has not experienced
recently.
"Fort Macleod is on the provincial map even moreso than we were
with our history and we are seeing investors call us from
Ontario to B.C.," he said. "It's a very exciting time and we
have a lot to look forward to."
The town will also have to look after some infrastructure issues,
including a new water treatment facility, which are all a part
of where Patience sees Fort Macleod down to the line, with a
population of between 4,500 and 5,000.
"Fort Macleod has been put on the map like never before," he said.
"To say it's an exciting time in Fort Macleod is a serious
understatement. The opportunities are boundless." |
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