The Town of Olds hopes public consultation will take place in 2017 on what the legacy of Canada's 150th birthday will look like in town.
Until then, the town is waiting for decisions on a few grant applications that will help to pay for four projects.
If all four applications are successful, there are a few options to budget for them in 2017, said chief operating officer Doug Wagstaff.
"One is to defer some of the Open Spaces Trails Master Plan. The other is, we look at whether there's a fit for using some of the franchise fee for arts, culture, heritage. Those are a couple different options if we were blessed to be successful," he said.
Two grant applications have been sent to the Department of Canadian Heritage's Canada 150 Fund.
One is a $35,000 request to help fund the project, Eye of the Lens Canada. From January to October next year, 15 pop-up photo booths would emerge in town. Residents would be asked to take self-portraits and share their stories about what Canada means to them. An art show would then take place in the winter.
The total cost of Eye of the Lens would be $45,350.
Eye of the Lens is also a chance for public engagement for a commemorative sculpture, which would be funded by a second Canada 150 grant. The town is asking for a grant to cover $21,000 of the $50,655 cost.
Wagstaff shared the town's grant application, which stated that initially, there were suggestions that the sculpture could depict a scene from the Canadian Pacific Railway. To some, the railway represents innovation, hope for the future and national unity.
However, the Canada 150 Fund prioritizes projects that meet certain criteria, two of which include: "diversity and inclusion and the building of common interests and relationships" as well as "supporting efforts towards reconciliation of Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Canadians."
After more public consultation with regional First Nations elders and those knowledgeable on indigenous culture, "we discovered that the use of the symbol of the railway to celebrate Canada has another perspective to it," said Wagstaff. "It was technology of a conqueror."
To that community, the railway is also seen as a mode that carried children to residential schools.
As well, the railway marked the death of numerous labourers, many from China, during its construction.
Canadian Heritage also has its Cultural Spaces Fund and the town is applying for $125,000 to install either a permanent stage or amphitheatre in Centennial Park.
A few groups already use the park for outdoor church services or movie screening. Having a permanent stage, that will come pre-wired, will make hosting events easier, Wagstaff said.
The total project cost would be $277,000.
The town is making a $150,000 application to Western Economic Diversification Canada's infrastructure program, another Canada 150 grant fund. That money would be spent on erecting permanent prairie village silhouettes in Centennial Park. Solar lights would also light the pathway.
The project cost would be $318,500.
"We discovered that the use of the symbol of the railway to celebrate Canada has another perspective to it. It was technology of a conqueror."DOUG WAGSTAFFCHIEF OPERATING OFFICER TOWN OF OLDS
