A Christmas break is an opportunity to recharge, but as Mayor Jeff Genung discovered it can also briefly interrupt momentum.

Freshly returning to work this week, Mayor Genung took some time to discuss some of the many issues and initiatives facing the town and its council.

"The break for me actually stopped the momentum that we were building as a team. I was happy for the break but we were just catching our stride and having meaningful agendas and the things we were voting on were making differences. Things were starting to happen and then it all stopped."

"I'm so excited for this year. I just want to get work, I want to dig in, I want to make positive change and be a positive influence on the community."

Transit Task Force

Local transit will be the testing ground for utilizing public task forces to flush out ideas on what form, if any, it will take in the community.

Much has changed since the town landed a GreenTRIP grant in 2011. Certainly, the town's population has grown by about 10,000 people, but the methods of securing rides have also blossomed with the expansion here of the Rocky View Regional Handibus and the evolvement of Uber-type services and larger fleets of taxis.

These will be among the factors taken into consideration when the town takes another crack at introducing public transportation. Council is being cautious and exploring the options available. A term position has been created to recruit a transit expert to analyze the options and lead the public engagement before presenting a final report to council. Soon the call will go out to recruit members of the community for the task force. 

Genung sees value in this approach.

"I think we've heard from multiple people that we need transit, but exactly what form it takes, if any, is what I want to nail down. Defining what it is and having the public engaged all the way along, so when we come to a decision it's no surprise, would be my ultimate outcome."

The Calgary Regional Partner is also flushing out the potential of starting a regional transportation pilot project, similar to one operating in the High River-Okotoks area.

Cultural Hub

During the election, the creation of a cultural hub on 5th Ave. came to the forefront after years of muddied waters. A budget has now been set aside to determine exactly what form it will take. 

Genung says the discussion can't strictly revolve around that one piece of land and needs to be expanded to include the land the town has also purchased on Railway Street, tentatively penciled in as a transit hub, as well as a parcel just across the street and adjacent to the library. 

"I think we'll be in a position at the end of this year where we can say this, this and this is on that site. Then we can either start saving or fundraising or both and determine when construction starts, or what is it we're building."

A huge part of that discussion will involve the Cochrane Lions Club and their wishes with their rodeo grounds and now the Cochrane Lions Events Centre. Genung says he has not personally met with the club officials at this point but it's on his list.

Also factoring in is the Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane and Area. They are tight for room and at the last council meeting, it was explained they are starting to contemplate their future location.

Other organizations are looking to the cultural hub to fulfill their future needs and Genung rattles off a list of those seeking more space. 

"Everywhere there's growth, This is something I foreshadowed during the election. So we need to catch up infrastructure. It will be interesting to see how to the juggle all of that."

Intergovernmental relations

A crack in the door has been opened to improve relationships with Rocky View County (RVC) and it can't be viewed as anything but a good thing, believes Genung.

Mayor Genung has met with RVC Reeve Greg Boehlke briefly at the municipalities' convention and they're scheduled to meet privately later this week to become more familiar with one and other. In addition, Div. 9 RVC councillor Crystal Kissel has a notice of motion coming forward next week to donate the proceeds from a small piece of land towards the aquatic and curling rink expansion as a goodwill gesture.

"On a larger view, having Rocky View take that step would be a baby step in the right direction of them wanting to contribute more. For them to actually initiate it is just a great move."

He says past disagreements are not worth dwelling upon.

"Whether there was something to fix I actually don't care. If we're both eager to have a good relationship that's what I'm focused on."

The town is in mediation over the population density of the Glenbow Ranch Area Structure Plan and he's hopeful it could result in a lesser population density at the Cochrane end of the ASP.

The town also continues to be part of the Calgary Regional Partnership and that will be coupled with the startup of the new Calgary area growth management board, at least for the time being.

Annexation

Discussions continue between the town and RVC for the annexation of some fringe area. Beyond the annexation of land in the northwest corner, where Rocky View Schools has purchased land for a future high school, the discussions will also include talks on about 40 acres of land north of the Sunset neighbourhood to allow for a second exit.

More Development 

For certain, the town will be facing more growth in the coming year and council will also be receiving a presentation on the proposed Greystone subdivision that has some residents of Riverview concerned about the added traffic pressure in their neighbourhood.

"I'm very interested in how that will shake out," pointing to its impact upon Riverview and Riversong Riveria.

"I'm hoping to make some difference with quick wins, like traffic adjustments, but adding more people will only make it worse before we can make it better."

"There is a lot of development that is yet to come that is already approved. Those cars will be on the roads, those people will be in the community, which is a good thing, but it will also bring pressure.

What's Genung is hoping to promote with developers is the need for more commercial land to try and close the gap between the commercial and residential land base 

"We need a bigger commercial base so perhaps we can get them to move some of their residential zoning to commercial. If it works for them and it works for the community, it's a win-win.

Dark Fibre

Tying directly into attracting more commercial development is the potential of the town expanding access to its dark fibre and attempting to win a Smart City funding contest. Genung believes it's a natural fit for Cochrane.

"I'm super excited about dark fibre. That's a goal of mine. I want to win that grant."

"We have a huge advantage over other communities by having Garman, 4iii and mcThings, all global players in the tech community. What other community has that in this size? Cochrane's on the verge, if we do it right, of attracting that light industrial, commercial component with the tech industry. It's not just clean, it's high-paying jobs and it's offsetting our tax base. I think it's a triple win plus if the federal government is going to give us money to help us to do it all the better. We're at the forefront of a lot of communities."

It's About People

Genung believes the bottom line of this council is people and he personally has been focusing on public engagement.

"To me, it's still about people. One of my New Year's goals is to continue to focus on people and I don't think you can go wrong with that in the forefront by making sure they're happy and they're satisfied. That has to be at the forefront of every conversation we have. My view is we have been development heavy and infrastructure light, and people are unhappy with that."

That engagement also includes hearing what town staff has to say.

"A little bit of focus has been taken off of that and I want to refocus on it. I think people are starting to feel disengaged and not heard. Even if they were heard they don't feel like they were, so that's the reconnection I would like to make."

"They're a big part of it, they're the wheels that make Cochrane turn every day and the focus has been taken off of the important work they do. We value them and we need them."

Union rumours

For years, there have been rumours of efforts to form a union of town employees. Genung says he has also heard them.

"The fact that there are rumours bothers me. We need to fix the reason why there would be a rumour and that's the reconnection piece I'm dedicated to."