News, Press Releases & Archives "Calgary Area Communities Meet to Discuss Common Interests" Citybeat - City of Calgary Press Release Date: Fri Sep 28, 2001 By Vickie Megrath CALGARY - Mayor Al Duerr joined representatives from 13 communities in the Calgary area at the semi-annual Calgary Regional Partnership meeting this morning. Mayors, Councillors and Administrators discussed a number of issues of common interest and importance in the region. The Calgary Regional Partnership has been working together for the past two years to create projects of value across the region. Projects range from a regional vision and collaboration strategy to economic development, regional transportation modeling, digital mapping for emergency services and watershed mapping. "Calgary recognizes the value of this partnership in keeping our region strong, economically viable and meeting the needs of residents and business alike," said Calgary Mayor Al Duerr. John Stinson, Partnership Chair and Councillor for the M.D. of Rocky View added: "The Calgary Regional Partnership represents a whole new way of working together in the greater Calgary community to deal with common issues of concern to our citizens." Funded by the Alberta provincial government and the13 participating municipal jurisdictions, the Partnership projects focus on: - Regional economic development — The Partnership, Promoting Calgary Inc. and Federal and provincial governments have joined together to create a region-based economic strategy entitled C-Prosperity. This cluster development model will link the Calgary region’s businesses, institutions, governments, and communities. C-prosperity will identify existing and future competitive advantages and create a long -term strategy for the attraction and retention of business opportunities. Business and institutional leaders from the Calgary region will lead the C-prosperity initiative. - Emergency response enhancement — The focus of work in 2001 is on digital mapping of the region to ensure enhanced response time in emergency situations for the 13 municipalities and jurisdictions in the region. Phase 2 (2002) will support installation and activation of on-board emergency vehicle Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers. - Watershed information management — This project supports conserving the watersheds of the Sheep, Bow, Elbow and Highwood River systems for future generations. The project focuses on building a knowledge base and understanding of the forces that affect the watersheds. Results will be a computerized information database similar to that developed for the Sheep River system. - Regional transportation — The Alberta government and the City of Calgary are combining efforts to create a regional transportation model for Calgary and nearby transportation corridors. The model will include all of the Municipal Districts of Rocky View and Foothills; parts of the Counties of Wheatland and Vulcan, and all of the Tsuu T’ina Nation. When completed, the model will support community planning processes and decision-making on urban and regional transportation issues. - Regional vision and communication — Individual communities are working on vision statements for their 20-year goals. These statements will contribute to a shared vision statement of 20-year goals for the Calgary region. Communication systems linking the communities, their elected representatives and other interested groups are being developed. Premier Ralph Klein addressed the meeting and was joined by Guy Boutilier, Alberta Minister of Municipal Affairs. The 13 municipal jurisdictions that make up the Calgary Regional Partnership are Airdrie, Black Diamond, Calgary, Chestermere, Cochrane, M.D. of Foothills, High River, Okotoks, Redwood Meadows, M.D. of Rocky View, Strathmore, Turner Valley and the Tsuu T’ina Nation. -30- Public Contact Information: John Stinson Partnership Chair and Councillor M.D. of Rocky View 403-288-0190 stinsonj@virtualhrab.com Bill McAlpine Mayor Town of Okotoks 403-938-4404 mjagert@town.okotoks.ab.ca Marina Mason Office of the Mayor The City of Calgary 403-268-8125 marina.mason@gov.calgary.ab.ca Public Email Contact: ccelbb@gov.calgary.ab.ca