Mayerthorpe strategic plan, Whitecourt vision aim for regional growth

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Continued growth and development in the region is a goal that local municipalities are striving toward, and the Town of Mayerthorpe has a plan in place.

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A key document that addresses the community’s vision and goals is the 2021-2025 municipal strategic plan, which aims for new businesses and some development in Gasoline Alley North.

“There is a desire and need to grow the community, and that growth is meant to help create long-term sustainability for the municipality,” Chris Leggett, town chief administrative officer, told Postmedia.

“As we all know, costs keep going up, so if council and staff aren’t focusing on growing the community, programs and the tax base, it puts the town in stagnation.”

The strategic plan was updated in 2024 after a strategic planning session facilitated by Nolan Krause in December 2023.

The plan’s vision statement is for Mayerthorpe to be “a welcoming, progressive (and) inclusive community.”

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The document identifies four “priority areas”: economic development, recreation and culture, intermunicipal co-operation and municipal services.

For development, the plan sets targets to open two new businesses in town annually and grow Mayerthorpe’s population by 1.5 per cent by 2026.

According to the corrected 2021 census, Mayerthorpe’s population was 1,343, a 1.74 per cent increase over the 2016 census.

Attracting new businesses can be challenging, but Leggett said the town has met the goal of gaining at least two new businesses in a year.

For the future, he pointed to Mayerthorpe Mayor Janet Jabush’s trade mission to India in 2024 as having provided leads for new businesses for the region.

Gasoline Alley is a private development, but Leggett said the town recognizes the property has “incredible potential” and is promoting it.

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“The biggest challenge is in the marketing and branding of the community,” Leggett said. He said he is working on spreading the word that Mayerthorpe is “open for business.”

Part of the way the town can be marketed is as a community with “a tremendous amount of recreation opportunities,” especially for its small size, Leggett said.

The strategic plan sets out goals for the town to support community events and improve recreational facilities.

Leggett said that the town also recently created a recreation co-ordinator position, hiring Kelly Granley.

The plan specifically mentions an expansion of the BMX and skateboard park and improvements to the community garden.

Expansion of the BMX park won’t happen in 2025, but Leggett said it remains a goal. This would involve increasing the “footprint” of the park and adding more track, he said.

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In the meantime, Leggett said the town will add to the programming at the park, possibly having two pump track events this year instead of just the annual one.

The growth envisioned in the strategic plan can increase overall prosperity and Mayerthorpe’s livability.

Leggett said that without an enlarged tax base, the only way the town can address rising costs would be to increase taxes for existing properties.

“Certainly, having more recreational opportunities is good for the residents’ satisfaction with the community,” he added.

“If council is successful in landing a couple big businesses, it could potentially have a notable impact on taxes for everybody.”

The strategic plan also outlines Mayerthorpe’s values. These include that “people are the heart of Mayerthorpe,” and that the town should encourage unity and diversity.

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Whitecourt also pursuing growth

Mayerthorpe’s close neighbour Whitecourt is also working on bringing new business to the region.

Whitecourt’s updated Municipal Development Plan (MDP), titled “Envision Whitecourt” and adopted by council in July 2024, lays out a long-term concept for the community.

“The plan is the town’s future vision for what we would like the community to be,” Planning Director Jennine Loberg told Postmedia.

“It’s really about getting the public together and asking them what you value in their community, what’s important to you, and how you want to see our community grow.”

Consultations were carried out via open houses, workshops and surveys, Planner Stephanie Schaffner told Postmedia.

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The consultations identified numerous needs for the MDP to address.

More affordable housing was the one that came up the most, according to Schaffner.

“They want their children to be able to afford to live here, and they want to be able to retire here, so we made that a priority,” Schaffner said.

Economic prosperity was another identified need, and Schaffner said this can involve support for industry and small businesses.

Residents spoke about how much they love Whitecourt’s parks, making environmental stewardship and promoting parks another priority.

Maintaining infrastructure, including the road and water system, remains important, Schaffner added. As a result, she said the town is currently working on a transportation master plan.

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Schaffner said the town is attempting to work toward increasing affordable housing, having revised its Land Use Bylaw (LUB) to allow more secondary suites.

Developers have reached out to the town, and Schaffner said one result was that the LUB was amended to allow different types of housing at Meadows Manufactured Home Park in 2024. The amendments will allow duplexes or secondary suites at the park near École St. Joseph School, providing more flexibility.

Working toward greater prosperity comes with its own set of challenges, including promoting and revitalizing downtown Whitecourt.

Schaffner said the town’s role is to set the stage and ensure the downtown is development-friendly. However, some developers prefer Highway 43 or other locations to the downtown core.

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“You can be development-friendly, but you still have to have people who want to develop and start businesses,” Schaffner noted.

To help, Loberg told Postmedia that the town reformed downtown zoning to allow for more options, for example more recreation and entertainment, and Whitecourt has a downtown vitalization plan.

“Envision Whitecourt” references the vitalization plan, which aims to improve downtown esthetics and building facades. The plan sets a “stone and wood” architectural theme.

A challenge here is funding, but Loberg said the town is looking for any opportunities that might arise for grants.

Whether such grants are available can depend on government priorities and economic circumstances, but Schaffner said Whitecourt officials know of other towns that obtained past grants for downtown upgrades.

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Designs are ready if the town needs to apply quickly for new grant opportunities, Schaffner added.

Another way “Envision Whitecourt” can be used to work toward increasing prosperity is looking at industrial areas.

“People (in consultations) wanted to see industrial areas in town protected,” Schaffner said.

“They want to make sure industrial land is available and serviced, so if you need lots of water you can get it.”

Consultations indicated people want to see not only more small and local businesses, but also oil-and-gas and forestry.

Whitecourt has the physical space for new industrial businesses, with Schaffner saying the town keeps its land inventory updated, considering residential, commercial and industrial uses.

Schaffner also emphasized attracting and being ready for new types of businesses and innovations.

Loberg said the town researched emerging trends and considered how the Land Use Bylaw could accommodate them.

Recently, Schaffner said the town received an application for a solar farm and was ready to consider it.

bquarin@postmedia.com

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