Cypress County
Cypress County beacon for rural atmosphere
Medicine Hat News
For several years an increasing number of urban dwellers have moved into Cypress County, looking for a rural atmosphere that still provides access to city amenities in Medicine Hat.
With the economic slowdown of 2009, migration to the county has cooled, but county reeve Darcy Geigle says he expects the thought of a country lifestyle will still draw a few new residents into the county and the hamlets of Dunmore, Seven Persons, Suffield, Ralston, Veinerville, Schuler, Walsh, Hilda, Elkwater and Desert Blume.
While new residents broaden the tax base in this region of just under 7,000 people, growth comes at a cost,
Irvine
Irvine optimistic about 2010
Medicine Hat News Irvine is ready to grow - all elected officials have to do is add water.
"There's a 52-lot subdivision there that's waiting for water for two or three years now," says Reeve Darcy Geigle, the Cypress County official responsible for Irvine. He says the company which owns the land has a residential development planned for the area, but hasn’t been able to build because of the hamlet’s water restrictions.
Cypress County officials are looking at building a new water treatment plant in the hamlet, which could also supply water to nearby Walsh.
No specific completion date is set for the project, as the county is still examining Irvine’s existing water supply and working to secure government funding.
Geigle says that once the hamlet of 300 solves its water problems, Irvine should see a resurgence in growth.
The hamlet is currently home to a recreational complex with four sheets of curling ice, a hockey rink and a dance floor. There is also a kindergarten to Grade 9 school, a general store and a bar.
Named for North West Mounted Police commissioner Colonel A. Irvine, the hamlet was originally known as 20 Mile Post, as it was literally a trading post 20 miles from Medicine Hat. The community still celebrates 20 Mile Post Days every September long weekend with a parade, rodeo, and other events.
with people selling prime farm land for residential and commercial use.
“We try to protect the agricultural land,” explains Geigle. “But some areas there's natural subdivisions, land that doesn't grow anything, where we'll allow it.”
About 55 per cent of the county’s roughly 13,000-square- kilometre land base is held in long-term government grazing leases. By contrast, only eight per cent of the land in the county is developed.
Nevertheless, protecting agricultural land is a chief priority for Geigle and county councillors George Russill, Floyd Haas, Garry Lentz, Herb Scott, Jerry Clark, Brad Betcker, LeRay Pahl and Peter Konosky.
The county is in the final stages of creating an inter- municipal development plan with the City of Medicine Hat and the Town of Redcliff to govern development in the fringe areas of the community for the next 50 years.
“It gives the county a guarantee of water, and gives the city room to expand," explains Geigle, adding it will also give the county more control over the subdividing of land for residential use and allow them to slow the pace in areas which could be overdeveloped.
The county will implement the plan once it finalizes water access agreements with the city, which Geigle expects to happen sometime in 2010.
Walsh
Walsh has room to grow
Medicine Hat News
For a moment in 2009, Walsh’s future looked uncertain. Though the hamlet’s water treatment plant is only a few years old, it no longer filters well enough to meet the standards set by Alberta Environment, and improving the plant would cost the hamlet of less than 60 people well over $200,000.
One way to deal with the water difficulties would be to decommission the hamlet and consider it an acreage, which would be governed by a different set of water standards. But Darcy Geigle, Cypress County Reeve and the official responsible for Walsh, says he doesn’t want to see the hamlet turned “into a big subdivision” on his watch.
"We're in the process of testing the wells in Irvine, to see if maybe we can bring some water from Irvine down to Walsh," he says.
Walsh has room to grow, with about 20 lots available for development. But under the current water restrictions no new construction can begin.
However, even with its water difficulties Geigle says the hamlet is slowly growing. A handful of new residents have arrived in recent years, which he attributes to the attractiveness of living in a small, friendly rural community.
The hamlet plays host to a wide array of community events, including the always- popular Walsh summer dance. And, despite its small size, Walsh’s fire department boasts one of the newest fire truck fleets in all of Alberta.
REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA 2010 ■ Celebrating our Community — 13
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