The town has set its strategic priorities for 2014 and identifying new industrial lands, an issue long considered urgent for future economic growth, is at the top of the list.
Town council recently adopted an administration report that named five strategic priorities that were first discussed through a workshop with staff at a meeting last December with the Local Government Leadership Institute.
From that session, an action plan was created to develop strategies in five priority areas: identifying future industrial lands, creating an inflow and infiltration strategy to look at ways to reduce the amount of water unnecessarily sent to the sanitary sewage treatment plant, developing stronger regional collaboration between the town and Red Deer County, examining options for the redesign and location of the new waste transfer site, and finding community mobility options for Innisfailians, particularly for the community's vulnerable.
Craig Teal, the town's director of planning and operational services, said the industrial strategy to find new lands for development will examine a parcel of land of more than 600 acres in the town's northeast. The study will also look at the 55 acres of land that will be available in the southwest part of town when the sewage lagoon is eventually decommissioned.
Teal said the industrial strategy will also look at the possibility of taking a second look at the more than 160 acres of land on the west side of Highway 54 that has already been identified as residential but could be rezoned for industrial development.
He said it ìremains to be seenî whether the town will choose just one area for future industrial land development.
ìThat is part of the challenge, depending on how much resources we want to put into this. We should try to be strategic and try to get the biggest bang for our buck,î said Teal. ìEach of those areas has relative pros and cons.î
As an example, he noted the sewage lagoon lands won't be available for another two years until the town is fully connected to the new $138-million regional wastewater system.
ìThat influences our timing,î said Teal. ìThe idea of the overall strategy is to come up with a game plan on how we are going to encourage property owners and others to create opportunities for industrial development to take place in our town.î
He said it is hoped a final decision will be made by early fall of this year on what lands the town should identify for future industrial development.
As for the study into the waste transfer site, Teal said there are a couple of sites being considered for relocation and ìsomeî decisions will be made this year. He said the town is not yet at the stage for a budget or a construction timeline.
Teal said the town also wants to find a solution through the inflow and infiltration strategy to find out how much water is seeping into the town's sanitary sewer lines or being put into the town's sanitary sewer lines.
ìIt doesn't need to be treated at the wastewater treatment plant but is generating a cost for the entire system because it is going to a treatment facility,î said Teal. ìAs we get on the regional system we have to pay for every cubic metre of water that we send down to Red Deer for treatment.
ìThis exercise is about making sure that only the water that needs to be treated is going into the sanitary sewer system,î he said.
Teal said the town began looking at this issue two and a half years ago and started relining its old sanitary sewer mains. This year the town has set aside $400,000 to reline 5,000 metres of sanitary sewer lines.
ìWe probably have several more years left to go,î said Teal, adding it could be a significant savings to the town. ìIf it cuts out the infiltration that is costing us money, then yes.î
He said the strategy will also look at other potential sources of groundwater that doesn't need to be treated, including town manholes and individual service connections that come off a main and go to a specific house.
Meanwhile, council has agreed with administration that establishing stronger collaboration with Red Deer County could lead to improved opportunities for both municipalities to build a stronger and more vibrant region.
By the end of this month, town council is expected to receive a Community Mobility Report from Tammy Oliver-McCurdie, manager of the local FCSS office, which will identify transportation options for Innisfail residents who have difficulty accessing essential community programs and services.
She said there are citizens who often have to get from one part of the town to another but don't have means to do so, or they might be disabled and physically challenged and need to access available community services and resources.
ìThere are various ways we can address this but it is up to them (council) on how they want to deliver it,î said Oliver-McCurdie, adding she is unaware of any previous mobility plan being implemented in Innisfail. ìIt deals with a lot of the vulnerable population. Those are the people who don't drive and who have limited income. How are we going to help them to get to and from?î
