Last night at the regular meeting of Council, a resolution was made to direct City of Chestermere staff to explore options for an offer to purchase the Chestermere Regional Recreation Centre (CRRC) lands located at 201 West Chestermere Drive.

“We see significant benefits in owning these lands as it will help the City facilitate effective long-range planning for our recreation amenities,” says Mayor Marshall Chalmers. “We are committed to Council’s vision to create an amazing quality of life for residents by exploring more recreation opportunities for the community.”

Chestermere City Council and administration have been in frequent contact with the CRCA and Rocky View County to discuss the remediation of structural issues related to the beams and columns in the Red Rink.

“The Recreation Centre is the primary recreational facility for Chestermere and is operated by the Chestermere Regional Community Association (CRCA) through a renewable lease with Rocky View County,” says Bernie Morton, Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Chestermere. “Rocky View County owns the lands on which the Recreation Centre sits and those lands are zoned specifically for recreational purposes.”

City of Chestermere staff will now begin to research purchase options with the support of the City’s legal counsel.

“Our intention is to offer fair value to Rocky View County for the purchase of these lands,” adds Mayor Chalmers. “My commitment during the election was to do everything reasonable to end the current challenges faced by having another municipality own recreation lands in our city, which has impacted the CRCA and the recreational services they provide.”

Further updates will be posted on the City of Chestermere website when they become available.