More Springbrook and Area News
May 2006

May 31, 2006
Street Names Approved for Malibu Development Phase 1
Red Deer County Council recently approved the names for two streets in Phase 1 of the Malibu development in Springbrook. Redwood Boulevard will be the new collector road and main entrance to be constructed at Aiport Drive. Red Oak Close will come off the extension of Oak Street which is being constructed from the existing residential area. The first of nine phases consists of 36 single family homes. Site preparation has been underway for a few weeks and house construction is expected to commence soon. Click here for overall proposed site plan.

May 27, 2006
County to Construct New Water Line From Springbrook to Gasoline Alley
A $2.6 million water line connecting Springbrook, Gasoline Alley and Petrolia Industrial Park will be built this year in anticipation of future growth in all three areas. Current water supplies are sufficient for existing development but major expansion, especially in Gasoline Alley, will require an assured supply so Red Deer County has decided to interconnect the three areas. Gasoline Alley currently gets it water from Red Deer and nearby wells and Springbrook has two strong wells. The line will run from Well No. 2 in Springbrook to the South Hills Water Reservoir. The excess water capacity at Springbrook is needed to develop Phases 2 and 3 of Gasoline Alley until a newer regional system is constructed that would tie in with Sylvan Lake and possibly the Anthony Henday system to the south.

May 26, 2006
County Informs Residents of Delay in Infrastructure Upgrade
It could take up to four years to complete the residential portion of the Springbrook water, storm and sanitary sewer line upgrades, originally scheduled to be completed this year. The County, along with the contractor Epcor and the consultant Tagish Engineering, held a public open house at the Harvard Park Business Centre Thursday with a very light turnout. It was explained that only one bid came in for the overall project and it was $3 million over budget. Due to the high current demand for construction, very few companies were interested in bidding on a project that would take the entire season to complete. As a result, the County has decided to break the project down into smaller phases hoping to get more interest and therefore more competitive bidding. A tender will be developed in the next couple of months, construction companies surveyed and, if there is enough interest, go to tender during the summer with a possible start in the fall (but more likely next spring) on the first phase. How the phasing will break down has yet to be determined. Although some of the infrastructure was replaced in recent years, most of it is the original lines built around 1952. Epcor is committed to keeping residents informed and may even set up a hot line dedicated to the Springbrook project. They also indicated that disruption to residents will be kept to a minimum but roads will be a little messy for awhile. Country road standard gravel will be placed on the surface followed by paving once the project nears completion. Once the residential area is finished, upgrading of the commercial area will then proceed.
Search and Rescue Exercise Includes Military Aircraft Using the Airport
From Friday May 26 to Tuesday May 30, the skies above Springbrook will see more activity than normal as part of a search and rescue exercise. The aircraft, which includes 2 Canadian Forces CC-130 Hercules, a U.S. Hercules and 15 civilian aircraft, will be flying between Coronation and Revelstoke BC and using the airport as its primary base of operation. The exercise will include a mock search for a missing plane, parachute jumps into confined areas, assessing casualties and evacuation of the injured. Local fire and ambulance departments will take part as well as 60 military personnel from Winnipeg, another 60 search and rescue personnel from around Alberta and even some personnel from Florida. The Red Deer airport was chosen as it is in the centre of a wide diversity of terrain.

May 18, 2006
Gasoline Alley Business Park Selling More Lots
Ventana Properties has developed 85 acres south of McKenzie Road in the vicinity of and including Leon's Furniture and Crimtech Services. Two more businesses set to locate there include Robco Cabinets with 5 acres and McCoy Corporation with 7. Other lots have also been sold and there is a strong interest in the remainder.

May 16, 2006
County Could Tie Into Regional Water Line
Red Deer County is looking at a regional line that would serve Sylvan Lake, Penhold, Springbrook and Gasoline Alley that could eventually tie in to a larger system being proposed by Mountain View County. They are recommending to the provincial government that $35 million of funding be available to twin the existing 35 km. regional water line from the Anthony Henday Water Treatment Plant near Innisfail to Olds. The 29-year-old pipeline currently takes water to Innisfail, Bowden, Olds, Didsbury, Carstairs and Crossfield. Other communities are interested in hooking into the project including Red Deer County, Mountain View County, Cremona and Sundre.

May 8, 2006
Springbrook Soccer Field Upgrade Delayed
Due to lack of funding this year, the Renegades Soccer Association will not be upgrading the soccer fields west of the recreation centre as had been planned. Meanwhile, the soccer programs for kids this summer has seen more than expected registrations, some coming from Penhold.

May 2, 2006
Charter Service Takes Off at Red Deer Regional Airport
Well over half of the 23,000 passenger movements in 2005 were charter flights. And three quarters of those were energy related with workers flying to northern Alberta communities and projects. Users find that the charter flights are less stressful and more convenient than driving as well as faster in getting workers back and forth. It even ends up being less expensive than driving to Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie and other northern points.

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