Barrhead to toot its own horn

The Town of Barrhead does not do enough to celebrate its accomplishments.

That is why councillors, during their Feb. 13 meeting, unanimously instructed council to apply for the Minister’s Awards for Municipal Excellence.

The award, which is sponsored by Alberta Municipal Affairs, recognizes excellence in local government practices and promotes knowledge sharing among municipalities.

The town was invited to enter the contest in a blanket letter by minister Shaye Anderson. There are five categories: innovation (population of less than 500,000), partnership, safe communities, smaller municipalities (population under 3,000), larger municipalities (populations of 500,000 plus) and outstanding achievement, which is open to all municipalities. The winners are typically prominently featured at the fall Alberta Urban Municipalities (AUMA) convention. Barrhead would be competing in the innovation category which recognizes a leading practice embodying the first use of an idea in a municipal context.

Coun. Ty Assaf said it is about time the Town of Barrhead is recognized for it achievements.

“When I go to the AUMA and see other municipalities recognized for what they have done, I always ask myself why don’t I see Barrhead up there with them. We’ve accomplished a lot,” he said. “Just this past year we put together the solar project that managed to save us $17,000 a year [on utility costs of the aquatic centre]. And I think it shows the community that we are thinking green and into the future.”

Councillors approved the $420,000, 156.8 kilowatt solar panel system in the spring. It was installed in late summer. The cost of the project will be offset by a $94,000 rebate from the Alberta Municipal Solar Program while the remainder of $326,000 would be covered through Municipal Sustainability Funding (MSI) capital grant funding.

Chief administration officer Martin Taylor agreed, saying that is why, on his own initiative, he decided to submit an application for a similar federal government award.

“What you [council] have accomplished is quite significant, but sometimes we dismiss them or don’t properly celebrate them,” he said. “We forget all the lights and plumbing fixtures in the arena were changed. That is a significant project that most communities take years to do. The same thing a few years back when we replaced all the town’s water meters in a single summer. Leduc did it and it took four years and it got a prize. We don’t celebrate our successes enough in local government.”