OLDS — The town of Olds is well positioned to grow after the COVID-19 pandemic is over, Mayor Michael Muzychka says.
Muzychka made that point in an address during the Olds & District Chamber of Commerce annual general meeting, held March 10 via Zoom.
“Olds is perfectly situated between Red Deer and Calgary. We’re 50 minutes from the international airport, we’re on the railroad, we have wastewater and water treatment that will take us into the future,” Muzychka said.
“We can triple our size and be able to have all the infrastructure and be able to house those people.”
Muzychka conceded that Olds – like other Alberta communities – experienced some tough times before COVID hit, thanks to the downturn in oil and gas prices that began in late 2014.
“I don’t want to diminish the hurt that’s out there but I’m going to be optimistic. I’m going to try to find a way that we can all get together and that we can all come out of this and be stronger together,” he said.
Muzychka said over the past four years or so, he and his fellow councillors have worked hard with town staff and partners such as Olds College and Mountain View County to make the community more attractive for businesses and investors.
That includes working with the province. He noted that’s resulted in grants to help businesses weather COVID and come out the other side of the pandemic.
It also includes about $25 million worth of infrastructure spending for the college announced last year.
Muzychka also defended the town’s decision to go ahead with plans to construct a roundabout on Highway 2A near the southeast industrial park and an upgraded intersection at Highway 27 and 70th Avenue complete with traffic lights and turning lanes just north of the new Rotary Athletic Park.
He acknowledged the fact town officials have received some flak for those decisions, but said the province provided some grants for those projects that made them much more financially feasible and there’s a strong possibility that if those grants aren’t accessed now, they may not be there years from now.
"Council took the proactive approach to say ‘hey, you know what? Five years from now, this project that’s $6 million is going to be eight, nine maybe even $10 million.
“We can do it today for six, plus we have $3 million worth of grant money out of the provincial government which may not be there in two, three, five years,” he added.
"So let’s strike while the iron’s hot and get Olds ready to be able to have a massive growth without trying to scramble and upgrade our infrastructure on the fly. We want to be able to be ready for anything that comes down the pipe in the future.”
Tourism is a big focus of the town in order to attract visitors and spur businesses, he said.
“Over the next little bit we’re going to look at developing a tourism strategy. I think that’s one of the cornerstones that helps – especially the retail sector – come out of the fog of COVID and hopefully boost that sort of stuff,” he said.
Construction of the Rotary Athletic Park is part of that strategy because it can host high-level baseball and soccer tournaments which will attract not only athletes and coaches, but also many friends and relatives of those players who will spend money in town on gas, food and accommodation, he said.The same applies to the many hockey tournaments and other tournaments the town hosts during the year.
The murals in Uptowne and the sculptures along Highway 27 also fit into the strategy to attract tourists, he said.
“The Town of Olds is absolutely committed to your success because when you succeed, we all succeed,” he said.
