The site of the former Mountain View County shop near the Sundre Pioneer Museum has no shortage of potential options for the future.
Mayor Terry Leslie told the Round Up discussions to date have been preliminary and that officials have yet to delve deeper into details, but some initial ideas that have been suggested include developing more green space or perhaps even providing additional parking space for the downtown core.
The property, which was once the home of the county's operational services building, remains under an environmental remediation process following the 2015 demolition of the large Quonset-style structure. In 2008, the local municipality collaborated with the county to establish a shared operational services shop in Sundre's southwest industrial park.
"The land still belongs to the county," said Ron Baker, the county's director of operational services, adding efforts to clean the land of any contaminants will be ongoing this year. Further tests will follow to determine what the effects of the remediation were, he said.
Since that process will be continuing for the immediate future, town and county officials have so far only engaged in preliminary and informal discussions regarding what the property might be used for.
"We really haven't talked about it very much," said Reeve Bruce Beattie.
But the county certainly is receptive to working towards a suitable future use once the environmental remediation is completed, he said.
"We're very open to having a discussion with the town to see how we can make it a useful space. We would like to do whatever might benefit the Town of Sundre."
Since the environmental assessment might have an impact on what the land can be used for in the future, the reeve said that the county is for now mainly concerned with monitoring the situation. But once the remediation is complete, the county will "look to Sundre to see what kinds of proposals get brought forward."
Sundre's mayor said the site's potential lends itself to the possibility of additional parking space to improve access for a more foot-traffic friendly downtown core, or perhaps even a new green, open space with a feature such as a gazebo.
"Hopefully, that downtown area would be a showcase area," he said, calling the site of the former county shop a "prime piece of property" that could even alternatively provide an outdoor space for markets.
"There are some preliminary ideas, but we haven't gotten to the point where we've talked seriously about what the possibilities could be."
Developing future plans for the site is going to fall on the shoulders of the next council that will be elected in the fall. Local and county officials will then have the opportunity to work together to come up with plans to enhance that part of Sundre for residents and visitors alike for generations to come, he said.
But therein also lies a challenge for elected officials ó looking at existing amenities and conjuring up ways to improve them while making sure they endure for decades is no easy feat, he said.
"It's hard to commit to long-term plans. It takes a while to sit and talk about what you see as the future 15 to 20 years out."
However, the mayor expressed optimism for the future and hopes to see developed a downtown core that comfortably accommodates foot traffic as well as recreational vehicles.
"We can look forward in the next four-year term of council to have some very, very interesting and exciting conversations about the growth of this community and how we are going to enhance that growth for residents and ratepayers."
