Bradley wanted to remind the community that the changes and growth that took place in other communities, such as Fernie and Canmore, were the result of sometimes dozens of years of planning and effort. The Pass, in his opinion, has a lot more going for it than any of those other successful communities.
All of the fundamentals are here, he said, including infrastructure, services, and amenities –– the key will be to plan for it properly and build on a vision of where the community wants to be.
“This municipality doesn’t have a vision or a plan, as I see it,” said Bradley. “The community’s stuck. I view River Run as sort of the first, the catalyst.”
He said that his biggest concern for the Pass is the creation of opportunities for young people. The community has been fragmented recently, he said, and the lack of concensus has held it in place. Crowsnest Pass, he said, seems to be a community that doesn’t believe in itself.
River Run would play a strong roll in getting the ball rolling, so to speak, for community growth, said Bradley. The creation of 450 new homes would increase the tax base by 15 percent, he said, without adding any costs to the community, adding at least a million dollars in taxes to the municipality.
In addition, he said, the inclusion of 1000 new people in the community, even if a percentage only come on weekends, would be a huge boost to local businesses. He expressed disappointment that currently there are several vacant commercial spaces on main street Blairmore.
He noted one change to their plans at River Run. They no longer plan to include a hotel in the project, instead aiming for a combined indoor pool and fitness centre called River Run Club. Residents could pay either per-use, monthly, or annually to be a member, said Bradley, and the rates would be affordable.
All of this, of course, depends on their ability to secure more funding. Bradley said that they have some things in the works, and he is confident that as the economy recovers, they will be ready to launch back into the project.
In addition to their reduction of office space through the world, the company has also downsized its staff by 90 percent. Bradley added that they are and will be outsourcing more of their work than before, which is a lesson they learned after trying to do everything in-house previously.
Bradley urged the community to have patience with the project, and reaffirmed that they are committed to making it a reality in its entirity, to the benefit of the Crowsnest Pass.