MD OF BIGHORN – Council is continuing to move forward with its recreation and community services programming and facilities plan, awarding the contract to HarGroup Management Consultants.
“It has been some time since community services and recreation was updated in the MD,” said Doug Saul, community services coordinator. “The community services board read over the proposals and met with the director of planning and through discussions, chose HarGroup consultants to take on the plan.”
HarGroup will now begin visiting all four wards in the MD, as well as the communities and hamlets. The consultants will interview community associations, a variety of residents, children, youth, single adults, families with children, families without children, and more.
“I am really happy to see that,” said Reeve Lisa Rosvold. “That is part of the engagement I really wanted to make sure was happening.”
While the report will be issued sometime in 2023, the finalization of the report won’t happen for another 18 to 24 months. This is because the MD is currently involved in updating its Municipal Development Plan (MDP).
Rosvold asked administration what the interim plan would cover and how complete it would be.
“I’m not sure how much that working document will be completed, but I certainly don’t want to wait 24 months to have this influence our budget cycles and decisions,” Rosvold said. “I would like the results of this to start impacting our decisions.”
“We will have a complete plan, it is just providing an opportunity after the MDP is wrapped up third reading in 2023,” said Peter Scholz, director of planning services. “Then they can go back to their completed plan and tweak it.”
The budget for the development of the plan follows a two-stage development. The first stage will cost a maximum of $45,000, while the second stage will cost a maximum of $8,000, for a total of $53,000.
