Dennis Courtney For Okotoks Town Council
COURTNEY,
Dennis
Okotoks Town Council
for
Population
Growth
Growth
CRP
Cooperation
Cooperation
Sustainable
Okotoks
Okotoks
Population Cap
Safe Neighborhoods
Environmental Protection
Traffic
Concerns
Concerns
Recreational Facilities
Small Town Environment
Parks & Green Spaces
Property
Taxes
Taxes
Arts
Responsible
Council
Council
2010 Election Issues
Water Licencing
Community Spirit
There are many things to consider before casting your vote on October 18 .....
Consider this.....
Schools
Zoning
Urban Sprawl
Transit
Affordable Housing
October 18 will be a crucial date for our Town. We will elect six Councillors and a new Mayor who will then decide on the
many important issues that effect our lives. At the top of that list is the issue of the "Population Cap".
I love this Town, it is a remarkable place to live, work and play. I love its committment to protecting the environment and
I am proud of its award winning reputation for sustainability. I am also impressed by its pursuit of controlled development
and its ongoing efforts to ensure environmental stewardship. I love the quality of life, the community spirit, the
friendliness, and the many amenities and recreational facilities. These are the characteristics that attracted us, and made
us decide to make Okotoks our home. They are also the reason that so many others have chosen this Town, and why so many more
will choose to relocate here in the future. Every survey conducted returns the same results, we all love the small town atmosphere
and we are all anxious to preserve it. But how can it be preserved in the face of inevitable population growth? I believe that with sensible leadership and proper planning it can.
In 1998, when Okotokians numbered only about 19,000, the answer seemed to be to establish a development cap that would
limit the population to about 30,000 residents. Since then, we have experienced extraordinary growth , far faster than the
architects of that Legacy Plan ever expected, and today we number over 23,000 residents. We still love our Town, it is even more
vibrant today! We have progressed beyond being just a bedroom community of Calgary. Our leaders and administration have demonstrated exceptional wisdom and vision over the years and have led us through this period of growth while still maintaining
the important qualities of life that we all sought to protect. We have proved that we can both reap the benefits of progress and yet still experience the atmosphere and community of our "small" Town. I beleve that we not only can continue to do this into the future, but
that we must.
How we handle the the inevitable influx of new residents will determine what our quality of life will be. We can plan and
direct the settlement patterns and manage our growth properly or we can restrict development within our borders and accept
the consequences. The growth will still occur, but it will be all around us. We will still have the challenges of increased
traffic and additional pressure on our schools and facilities but we will have relinquished our ability to plan for and
control that growth. We will incur all of the costs associated with growth but we will have given control of the decisions
on how to spend the additional tax revenues to others.
Of course, we will need to find solutions to our water licensing shortages, but we must accept that the water requirements
for our region will not be lessened just because the population resides outside our town limits rather than inside them.
We need to explore all options and to constantly seek creative solutions to our challenges by working collabortively and
cooperating with our regional partners. We should embrace the future with optmism and confidence and be committed to
achieving the balance of enjoying the benefits of progress without sacrificing our quality of life, I believe it is possible.
many important issues that effect our lives. At the top of that list is the issue of the "Population Cap".
I love this Town, it is a remarkable place to live, work and play. I love its committment to protecting the environment and
I am proud of its award winning reputation for sustainability. I am also impressed by its pursuit of controlled development
and its ongoing efforts to ensure environmental stewardship. I love the quality of life, the community spirit, the
friendliness, and the many amenities and recreational facilities. These are the characteristics that attracted us, and made
us decide to make Okotoks our home. They are also the reason that so many others have chosen this Town, and why so many more
will choose to relocate here in the future. Every survey conducted returns the same results, we all love the small town atmosphere
and we are all anxious to preserve it. But how can it be preserved in the face of inevitable population growth? I believe that with sensible leadership and proper planning it can.
In 1998, when Okotokians numbered only about 19,000, the answer seemed to be to establish a development cap that would
limit the population to about 30,000 residents. Since then, we have experienced extraordinary growth , far faster than the
architects of that Legacy Plan ever expected, and today we number over 23,000 residents. We still love our Town, it is even more
vibrant today! We have progressed beyond being just a bedroom community of Calgary. Our leaders and administration have demonstrated exceptional wisdom and vision over the years and have led us through this period of growth while still maintaining
the important qualities of life that we all sought to protect. We have proved that we can both reap the benefits of progress and yet still experience the atmosphere and community of our "small" Town. I beleve that we not only can continue to do this into the future, but
that we must.
How we handle the the inevitable influx of new residents will determine what our quality of life will be. We can plan and
direct the settlement patterns and manage our growth properly or we can restrict development within our borders and accept
the consequences. The growth will still occur, but it will be all around us. We will still have the challenges of increased
traffic and additional pressure on our schools and facilities but we will have relinquished our ability to plan for and
control that growth. We will incur all of the costs associated with growth but we will have given control of the decisions
on how to spend the additional tax revenues to others.
Of course, we will need to find solutions to our water licensing shortages, but we must accept that the water requirements
for our region will not be lessened just because the population resides outside our town limits rather than inside them.
We need to explore all options and to constantly seek creative solutions to our challenges by working collabortively and
cooperating with our regional partners. We should embrace the future with optmism and confidence and be committed to
achieving the balance of enjoying the benefits of progress without sacrificing our quality of life, I believe it is possible.