Archived Springbrook and Area News
April 2008

April 25, 2008
Airport Authority Seeks Jazz Flights to Vancouver
At its Annual General Meeting last night, the Red Deer Regional Airport Authority announced that it was making a presentation to Air Canada Jazz to encourage them to offer three flights per day from Red Deer to Vancouver, using 37-seat or 50-seat Dash 8 aircraft. They are also promoting the idea of Jazz flights to Saskatoon to connect with other Canadian destinations. A 2007 study showed Central Albertans bought 232,000 airline tickets but only 1,000 flew out of Red Deer, mostly due to the lack of full passenger service. The remainder flew out of Calgary or Edmonton. The destination preferred by the most passengers was Vancouver. As the patronage develops, a new or expanded terminal will be necessary. If a new terminal is built, it may be built at the north end of the runway, making it closer to the city and with easy access to Highway 2.
The employees at the airport and outgoing CEO Merv Phillips were praised for their efforts in creating a first class regional airport in spite of aging infrastructure. A major study being funded by the three primary stakeholders (Red Deer County, City of Red Deer and Red Deer Chamber of Commerce) is expected to be completed by November that will outline the options available for all aspects of the airport including passenger service, land development, leasing and employment opportunities. An area structure plan will be required in order to proceed with further development of airport lands.

April 19, 2008
New Springbrook Community Board Members Required
Due to a couple of resignations from the Springbrook Community Association Board of Directors, one or two more members of the Board are required. The community will have an opportunity to elect new members at an upcoming General Meeting and Open House to be held at the new Community Centre at the Trinidad Fitness and Recreation Facility (formerly Bear Training) on Thurs. May 8 at 7 pm. The event also provides an opportunity to see the new facility. Light refreshments will be available. The Board expressed their gratitude for the service provided by the two outgoing members -- Phil Heck and Jason Winters, both of whom resigned for personal and family reasons.
Date Set for Annual Springbrook Community Clean-Up
The Springbrook Community Association is asking residents to come out and help keep Springbrook beautiful with the annual spring clean-up of park areas, playgrounds, municipal reserve and sports fields. The event will take place Sat., May 10 at the Oak St. turnaround, where the playground and all-purpose pad are located, between 10 am and 2 pm. Garbage bags will be provided by Red Deer County and the Association will provide coffee, donuts and juice. Participants are asked to bring their own gloves and appropriate tools.
Playgrounds and Park Furniture to be Upgraded This Year
Red Deer County will be upgrading two of the community playgrounds this year -- the Mynarski Park (Willow) playground and the Oak St. turnaround. It's part of a program to upgrade all playgrounds in the county to meet current safety standards. In addition, the community association is replacing the benches and picnic tables with more durable ones.

April 16, 2008
Assessments Up, Taxes Up for County Property Owners
Average residential assessments are up 38%, non-residential up 29% and farm assessments stayed the same in 2007 compared to the year before, according to a report presented to Red Deer County council yesterday. Expenses for the county are up 14% ($3.9 million) this year, requiring a corresponding increase in revenues. Although the mill rate in all categories will be reduced, taxes will likely go up significantly this year. The actual mill rate will not be set until the county knows what the provincial education requisition is. Assessment notices will likely go out May 15 and taxes are due by July 31. Next year, taxes will be due a month earlier.
Red Deer County Councillors Get 15% Pay Raise
For the first time in 5 years, Red Deer County councillors have given themselves a 15% pay hike. The mayor's annual salary has risen from $48,427 to $56,000 and councillors' annual salary has risen from $35,387 to $41,000, effective March 1. In the future, an independent authority will review council salaries one year prior to an election.

April 13, 2008
Spring Fling Attracts Residents of All Ages
The annual Spring Fling supper and dance was held Saturday night at Harvard Loft with 115 residents of all ages attending. The event was co-sponsored by the Springbrook Community Association and Division 3 Recreation and Culture Board. All children received door prizes. Adult door prizes included gift certificates from Wal-Mart and Tim Hortons. Donors included Sky Wings Aviation and an anonymous donor.

April 7, 2008
Airport CEO Decides to Retire
The Red Deer Regional Airport Authority is seeking a new Chief Executive Officer after current 76-year-old CEO Merv Phillips announced he was retiring at the end of June. The airport has reached a critical turning point and Phillips says it's time for someone else to take the helm. A former chairman of the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce, Phillips became chairman of the authority when it formed in 1996. He became CEO in 2003 and oversees a staff of four. The airport recently received a $2.1 million grant to upgrade the runway lighting and Red Deer County will soon be upgrading the aging water and wastewater infrastructure. A presentation will be made soon to Air Canada Jazz for scheduled passenger service to Vancouver.

April 3, 2008
County Proposal for Springbrook-Penhold Trail Discussed
Representatives from Red Deer County Community Services and consultants from Urban Labs University of Calgary and Dillon Consultants (who also jointly developed the Open Spaces Master Plan and the Springbrook-Gasoline Alley Area Structure Plan) were available last night at an open house in Springbrook to determine the degree of area support for the County's preferred route of the Springbrook-Penhold walking and bicycle trail. A handful of people were on hand to look over the proposal to build the trail through the treed natural area south of the hamlet and then along unpaved Range Road 281 to Penhold. The trail, once built, will become part of the Trans Canada Trail system and will eventually connect with the popular Red Deer trail network. The open house did not address the routing of the trail through Springbrook or from Springbrook to Red Deer.
The original route, proposed by Central Alberta Regional Trails Society and the two communities, along the old Highway 2A right of way immediately east of the railway tracks, was determined to be undesirable by the County due to the possibility that the trail would be temporary and was controlled by Alberta Transportation. If adjoining landowners agree to the trail, it is expected to be built in 2009. Groups have been working toward getting the trail built for nine years, partly to discourage children from walking and biking along the busy Highway 2A or the adjacent railway tracks. At one time, the Penhold Lions Club was prepared to fundraise and build the trail but pulled out when the county decided to not support the original route.

April 1, 2008
Northwestern Air Expands Service to Calgary
Twice weekly scheduled flights to Calgary started today from Red Deer Regional Airport by Northwestern Air Lease. The Fort Smith-based airline has been flying out of the airport since December 2006 with two airplanes, four pilots and support staff based here. The Calgary flights depart Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:15 am. From Calgary, the plane flies to Edmonton and then to Peace River. The flight takes the opposite route back and arrives back at the Red Deer airport at 3 pm.
High Speed Rail Possible in Five Years
An engineer with Alberta High Speed Rail Inc. claims that Red Deer passengers could be riding North America's first bullet train in as little as five years if the provincial government decided to proceed today. The company proposes that the Alberta government buys the land and build the tracks. The company would then provide the trains, operate and maintain the line. They estimate that taxpayers would only have to invest $1.8 billion which would be returned over several years from a small toll on each passenger ticket.  The train would cut travelling time from Red Deer to each of the province's two largest cities to 42 minutes with trips running every hour from 6:30 am to 9:30 pm. A couple of possible station locations have been identified for the Red Deer area including the Red Deer Regional Airport.

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