Mayor’s Message – July

Summer in Chestermere is always beautiful but it seems especially more so this year due to our very long winter. You may have noticed some time back in the Spring that the street sweepers were quietly out doing a primary pass on the roads to pick up gravel off the streets. There was more than normal this year because of the heavy snowfalls we received.
They’re now out doing every neighbourhood in town with great thoroughness and in order to do it properly there will be signage placed on the entrances to every community as the scheduled time draws near to have vehicles removed from the streets. This allows us to properly clean every street in town so we can continue to show off our great community in its best light.
Once again I’d like to draw your attention to the invasive species threating our greatest amenity- Chestermere Lake. Quagga mussels and Zebra mussels continue to expand westward toward Alberta and we need everyone with any kind of watercraft, motorized or not, to thoroughly check their boats before they launch them in the lake. If these mussels are found in Chestermere the damage will be catastrophic to our recreational use of the lake and detrimental to all the fish that currently live in it. Please check our website for further details on how to prevent these in the lake- www.chestermere.ca.
We’ve been busy over the past few months getting some future amenities moving forward to completion. The skateboard park behind the Gas Plus mall has been poured and is being finalized this month to be used by our many dedicated skateboarders in town. The Bike Park is open and waiting for riders! Phase one is complete and phase two, that includes the more advanced trails, will be open in August. This park is a one of a kind in Western Canada and is drawing the attention of many bike enthusiasts. Anniversary Park is still on track to be open by the end of the year and is also proving to be a marvel. Once completed this park will provide more lake access to everyone in Chestermere which was a high priority for residents in our last community survey.
There are many plans that guide Council’s decisions but the Municipal Development Plan is the main one for how we develop on the ground. This is the document that shows our path to development in the future and we need your help to make sure we have all the right points included. There will be many opportunities for you to have your voice heard and you may have already seen the boards placed around Town asking you what you think Chestermere will look like in the future. Keep your eyes peeled in the Anchor and the Town’s website for details of more public consultation meetings in the Fall.
Mocha Monday with Mayor Matthews has been successful for over 7 years but is undergoing a make-over this summer. I’ll be investigating ways for more residents to access this informal meeting with the public. If you have suggestions, I’d love to hear them; e-mail me at pmatthews@chestermere.ca. Watch for the new and improved Mocha Monday to start up again in the Fall. Of course you’re always welcome to come to any Council meeting as well for information or to ask questions of Council. We meet for these meetings on the 1st and 3rd Monday of the month.
If you or your group supporting youth in Chestermere is interested in funding up to $1000, the Dave Mikkelsen Award for Youth will be opening up for applications in September. Former Mayor Mikkelsen dedicated 12 years to our community and spearheaded the Youth group that is now YELL. Watch the website and our Facebook page for details.
Finally join us for Water Festival on July 26th at John Peake Park. This annual event is fun for kids of all ages and provides great entertainment from wakeboarding to boat rides around the lake and ending in fireworks over the water on the north end.
Hope to see you there and out enjoying the weather in our beautiful town.