Dear CRCAG Members,
It has been quite the few weeks.
First of all, we would like to extend our thanks to Premier Redford for her service and dedication to the Province of Alberta. Premier Redford was faced with the challenge of dealing with the worst natural disaster the Province of Alberta ever. It remains a daunting task to this day. The Premier provided CRCAG access to decision makers, included us in ongoing discussions and met with us personally to get updates as to how the community was recovering from the flood.
We did not agree with many policies of her government, most especially those that emerged shortly after the flood. We expressed our dismay and had conversations with government as to what the community needed instead. We certainly did not get all the outcomes we wished for but we continued to work with the Flood Task Force the Premier created towards our clear goals of preventing the City from flooding, restoring property and values and maintaining community integrity. The Premier clearly understood the risk to the City of Calgary and other communities and was active in pushing the mitigation efforts forward. We look forward to continuing to work with Minister Ken Hughes and working with Interim Premier Hancock in this regard. Interim Premier Hancock was on the Ministerial Flood Task Force and is familiar matters related to Mitigation and Recovery.
DRP Survey
We have heard that files are being closed and we have been getting letters from many of you. In order to help us understand what is happening we will be sending a new survey out shortly. Please look for it and share with anyone who might be impacted. The survey is a great way for us to know what is happening on all fronts. Great statistics give our argument strength. The High River team will also be participating.
Stampede Plans
What: Maureen Bell has organized this meeting to discuss the Stampede Plans. Notice of Meeting Stampede Flood Preparation 2014 – will it affect your property? The Stampede is building two flood walls and restoring the adjacent river bank. The concern is that the flood walls and restoration may reduce the channel and options for the river which may adversely impact both upstream and downstream communities.
AMEC, the consultant for the Stampede, will present the plans and discuss the work and hopefully explain why we ought not be concerned. We will also seek to understand the approval process. The work has begun which means we must attend to any concerns we have ASAP. See the 2013 flood waters on the Stampede grounds at http://corporate.calgarystampede.com/ar2013/ The Stampede is historically in the Floodway.
Date: Tuesday March 25th 2014
Time: 3 p.m.
We regret this meeting is booked for spring break when many people will be away but time is of the essence.
Place: Stampede Grounds – People Centre – Tenderfoot Room
2402A Second Street S.E. (access off 24th Ave. bldg before entering the park)
Free Parking
Who: We have had to act quickly. We have notified as many interested people as we have been able to including the CRC and community associations. We are private land owners with an interest in ensuring the experience of the next flood is at best no worse than the last. We have kept email addresses private, where possible. We have notified Councilors and will provide notice to both the City of Calgary officials and the Province, requesting the decision makers attend to answer questions. Please share this notice with anyone you think may be interested or affected by high river flow.
Please RSVP so we know how many to accommodate.
Maureen Bell 403-228-0377
mbell@waterrights.net