Mayor Jeff Genung and members of town council will be meeting with Alberta cabinet ministers, including transportation minister Brian Mason, this week during the convention of the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA).

Meetings have been arranged to with Transportation minister Brian Mason, Health minister Sarah Hoffman, Human Services minister Irfan Sabir and senior staff of Seniors and Housing ministry during the three-day convention in Red Deer, Sept. 26-28.

Discussions with Mason will centre upon reconfirming the go-ahead for the Hwy. 1A- Hwy. 22 interchange, says Mayor Genung.

"I understand we're getting closer on the design so I'd like to keep the pressure on there. That will be the big one for me."

Originally, town officials were scheduled to meet with senior transportation officials.

"Just last week we heard he (Mason) had made himself available," says Genung. "I think that's positive."

They will be discussing medical services in Cochrane will Hoffman and the need for stable social services funding with Sabir. Affordable housing will be discussed with the Seniors and Housing officials.

Six members of council are attending the convention, the largest delegation in some time.

Councillor Morgan Nagel has opted out and says he found the two conventions he attended in the past a waste of his time and taxpayers' money.

"The info sessions I attended at AUMA in the past have been packed full of impractical bureaucratic fluff," says Nagel.

"As far as the ministerial meetings go, council had a chat about not sending everyone into the meetings. We only have 20 minutes with each minister, and it was decided fewer voices in the room would be more effective."

Mayor Genung sees value in networking and learning from other municipal leaders and returning with something of value to the community. Council had a strategic planning session on the convention and town administration has been preparing detailed briefs.

"I really want to make a dedicated effort to AUMA," says Genung, who is attending the convention for the second time as mayor. "A lot of years in the past it was every person for themselves and you just show up and get the best of what you can as an individual."

He believes it can offer much more.

"It provides the opportunity to be with other leaders and talk about how they do things in their community. We're all dealing with similar issues and how they are dealing with it, or what type of legislation they have done may be of value. We don't always need to recreate the wheel here in Cochrane.  You can fast forward a few of your projects by just connecting with somebody."

Cochrane town councillor Tara McFadden is also running for the AUMA board as the towns south director that represents 40 towns from Olds to Milk River.