Suzanne Oel – Division 4
Greetings! Sharing my News Update…
Access to the Bragg Creek Transfer Site:
Many West Foothills County residents are connected to Bragg Creek through their postal addresses. Residents have supported local businesses in Bragg Creek and used the Rocky View County Bragg Creek Transfer Site for many years because this garbage and recycling facility is conveniently located along their travel route.
Rocky View County has recently notified residents and surveyed their addresses at the Transfer Site to request an additional payment of $25 per visit + ticket fees from Foothills County residents. Rocky View County has reported that their goal is to obtain full cost recovery from external users.
In response, Foothills County residents have contacted Rocky View County and Foothills County looking for a solution, other than paying the $25 per visit access fee, for their continued use of the Bragg Creek Transfer Site.
At the onset of this, I requested this topic be placed on the May 7 Foothills County Council Agenda: “Discussion Regarding Access to Bragg Creek Transfer Site”. Council agreed to request that Administration investigate the next steps and other considerations regarding potential discussions about options with Rocky View County for Foothills County resident access to the Bragg Creek Transfer Station services, and report back to Council. I will keep you posted while processes are underway between the two Counties. Hoping for solutions.
In the meantime, just a note that within Foothills County, the Priddis Transfer Site is available for garbage disposal.
Bags can be purchased for $2 each at the Priddis Transfer Site (a 75% subsidized service). The Priddis Transfer Site is located off Priddis Greens Drive, close to Highway 22. The site is open Tuesday and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Info: https://foothillslrrc.com/hours/
West Foothills Water Update: In 2025, Foothills County hosted two meetings with West Foothills residents who were interested to hear about fire services and extension of water services in the west end of Foothills County. The second meeting, held on April 14, took place before any movement toward initiating a process for extension of piped potable water services. This meeting was meant to be an introduction, because many residents had not yet heard about a potential water project, and many were not familiar with a Local Improvement process. A high-level engineering estimate was provided to assist residents in gauging levels of interest to proceed with a Local Improvement. The costs are meant to be refined in the next step based upon the response from residents indicating areas of interest for service.
To clarify Section 393 of the Municipal Government Act (Provincial Law under which a Local Improvement is governed) and Foothills County Council’s direction, this Local Improvement process is to be initiated by interested residents rather than the County, which is why the County has not yet undertaken detailed engineering.
Currently under way, residents are initiating the “Expression of Interest” step of the process. Residents in the north section of the Highway 762 area should have received an “Expression of Interest” letter in the mail from the volunteer group, as the next preliminary step in the initiation of a formal Local Improvement process. Residents who received a letter can respond to the volunteer residents to express preliminary interest in the project. Next, the County will work with residents to assist with preparing high-level cost information relevant to those who have responded. This would all be in advance of any decisions being made. At that point, residents can review information, ask questions and provide input.
Still not the final information. At such time that levels of interest in proceeding have been determined, and if there is adequate interest to proceed with an official Local Improvement Petition, detailed engineering would then be completed for the specific area(s) and residents could determine if they wish to proceed on that basis, or not. No commitment to the project is required until the County responds with the numbers and draft Local Improvement Tax. That’s when residents would decide/vote on proceeding or not.
Foothills County recognizes the diversity of opinions on this topic.
For Other News & Updates:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CouncillorSuzanneOel/
Email: Suzanne.Oel@FoothillsCountyAB.ca
Visit High Country News online for my previous articles.
With Best Regards,
Suzanne
