Don’t look now folks, but opportunities are opening up for the Town of Ponoka.
With the big Town Hall move to the new civic centre and the Ponoka Jubilee Library in the same space, a lot of property has just become available.
The current (now old) library building, along with the old town hall property sits right across the old town-owned buildings, which have since been demolished. It’s a big space with big potential for commercial development.
The old hospital, which was known around central Alberta not for its aesthetics but for its potential of being extremely haunted, is gone.
Let’s think about that for a second folks. The old hospital is no longer in existence. We were getting so used to seeing it that it was getting to the point that we didn’t know what it was like to live without it.
To a small degree, it’s possible us as residents and community leaders had become complacent with no idea what or how to get rid of that building and use the space.
There are more opportunities available to the town; the Visitor Centre will be up for sale and if the town decides to construct services to the annexed land just east of Highway 2, things will really start to move.
These are development opportunities folks and while it’s early days yet, it’s a lot more promising than a few years ago.
While we’re on the discussion of opportunity, let’s take a look at the Hudson Green Nature and Activity Centre. The town could consider selling the entire property for development, which would expand the area for residential development.
We really need to take a look at what that building/property is actually doing for the town. Granted, redoing that building was a great idea and had some serious potential, but once it was actually redone, it was clear that the council and administration of the day may not have had a real plan for the future of the area. What they were doing was looking at grant funding for shovel ready projects and rather than spend the money on demolishing it, they spent the money on doing something to it.
Demolishing the building today may be costly, so selling it as a residential spot would be something to consider. It’s actually a decent structure with decent architectural additions and would make a pretty amazing home. As a community space, however, in the middle of nowhere with no actual plans as to what the neighbourhood will like, it’s possible that it’s not ideal.
I digress.
We’re in a position now where aged structures are disappearing and new buildings and opportunities are starting to take shape. When was the last time real development with potential to benefit all residents, besides the Calnash Ag Event Centre, has been seen in this town? We have something to celebrate folks.
Of course there are other challenges that come with the new civic centre, such as higher taxes for residents. The goal, I assume, is that these new steps will generate interest so businesses and families move here, which will generate more tax dollars.
To avoid the financial risk, one option would be to keep things status quo. But friends, will the status quo end up saving our little community? If your answer is ‘growth’, it’s important to realize two per cent annual growth isn’t really that much when you look at the current population.
Generally, residents have shown a desire to see change, and while we’ve fought some of the processes — let’s face it, change is hard — we’ve also seen some benefits, albeit reluctantly.
Now is the time for us to look at the opportunities around us and see how to enhance this community even further. Things are growing and moving around us, let’s not get stuck in the rut of “this is how it’s always been done” but rather how we can ensure it continues.
Ponoka News editor Jeffrey Heyden-Kaye is chairperson of the Ponoka Jubilee Library
jeff.heyden-kaye@ponokanews.com
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