Satisfied with the clarification provided on the source of funding, town council voted 4 to 2 in favour of spending an additional $250,000 to add the word Cochrane with a bit of flair to the 4th Ave. retaining wall that is currently under construction.

Up until that point, the vote on the controversial expenditure looked to be threatened by a tied vote.

READ: Council taking time to consider options after public pushback

Drew Hyndman told council an arts endowment reserve was established with voluntary contributions from the developers into a community enhancement levy established in the early 2000s. A portion of that went into a fund that currently has a balance of $750,000.

"It was always intended to provide community enhancements within the downtown core, and that's why it was referred to as the arts endowment fund. We had had preliminary discussions a number of years ago for a gateway feature to utilize that money for when the highway project was being completed, knowing the success of Banff's project."

Town administration continued to stress the welcome sign for Banff has become a leading attraction in the mountainous community. It has been reported to draw so much attention that it causes traffic congestion. 

Councillor Morgan Nagel reversed his position from earlier in the meeting, based on the information only being provided to council for the first time last night. Up until that point, he said he personally indicated he liked the design but stood opposed because of substantial negative feedback he had received about the project when he reached out to people.

"I will support this because it is developer funded and the number one reason for me to vote against it was to be respectful of taxpayers, and this is not taxpayer funded."

Councillor Susan Flowers had been expecting other ideas to be presented to council, but Pinky De La Cruz, director of engineering and asset services, focussed largely on the option administration preferred.

"I thought we were going to talk about artwork, a mural if that's possible on the cement or other ideas that might be less expensive. I didn't really realize we were just going to have a sales job on this particular idea. It is a lot of money and we've had a lot of feedback about it. I'm not sure where I stand. I was hoping we would have two or three choices and we could pick from them."

In the end, she says she was swayed by the fact that the funds have existed for quite a few years and that she wants to see the Jack Tennant Memorial Bridge also enhanced with art as town council had originally discussed.

Despite the funds being described as coming from what has been termed an art endowment, Mayor Jeff Genung said this isn't art, it's a sign on a wall, and he doesn't believe it should be viewed as an art piece.

He repeated his previously stated position in supporting the project. He said the town tends to build things for functionality but backs down when it comes to adding enhanced features. 

"For a lack of a better word, we chicken out at the end when it's the nice to haves, and the enhancements, the things that actually make other communities stand out from others. We've said it in our community vision, we've said it in our strategic priorities session, we want to be unique, we want to preserve our character, we want to enhance our community, well, this is an opportunity to do just that."

"We've asked our development industry to raise the bar," he continued. "We're actually going to make it harder and more expensive to buy into our community because we want them to reach that bar."

Councillor Tara McFadden liked the project but sought a friendly amendment to Councillor Alex Reed's motion to include public engagement. While he had given consideration and weighed the value of public engagement, he eventually declined the amendment. Instead, the amendment was voted on separately and failed by a 4-2 vote, with the majority opting instead for an informational campaign telling people why it's a good idea.

McFadden had proposed giving residents a chance to choose between the four designs originally presented or a fifth option of rejecting the idea altogether. She wanted it to be a short-term engagement wrapping up at the end of January.

Others, like Councillor Nagel, questioned the value of this form of public consultation, fearing the response would be minimal. He believed it would require a sampling of at least 1,000 residents. He questioned if the question would receive that level of interest and feared the risk of it becoming a niche special interest survey.

Mayor Genung was among those rejecting the need for public consultation.

"Originally when we first saw this at the committee-of-the-whole we all loved it, without knowing the cost implications, without any unfettered feedback from the community. I think that was a good sampling of the representation that has been elected by the community to make decisions on their behalf, so I don't think we need to continue down that path."

Patrick Wilson was the only councillor who supported McFadden's amendment. The two of them also opposed moving forward with the project without that consultation piece.

Wilson measured his opinion of the project as 60-40.

"I just think I could have seen value in seeing a little more public participation before we move forward with it because it was not that consequential to do, so I'll vote against it, but I won't be that upset if I lose tonight."

Councillor Marni Fedeyko was not in attendance.

The additional $250,000 is on top of the previously approved $1.5 million budget for the retaining wall that's pat of the realignment and upgrades to the Hwy. 1A corridor.

Contributions are no longer being made to the community enhancement fund due to the establishment of the town's more robust off-site levy tax, but the funds that remain are available for other projects in the community.

That's already caught the attention of Councillor Flowers.

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