Mayor Jeff Genung fought back from the heat he's been taking from some residents over the gateway sign and enhanced retaining wall along the roadway alignment connecting 4th and 5th Ave.
Today, Mayor Genung was joined by Councillor Alex Reed, Infrastructure minister Peter Guthrie, some town staff and a few residents in celebrating the completion of the project.
It's a modern-take on the community's western heritage with barn wood-type material incorporated with the word "Cochrane" that is now accented by backlighting in the evening.
The small green space and pathways in close proximity to the sign are nearing completion. The grass has to grow, and benches will be added. There's also an unintended pathway being etched, perhaps by students attending classes at the schools up the hill.
The mayor says the enhanced retaining wall and its art are an expression of community pride. Best of all, he says it was made possible without spending tax dollars.
"It's something that tells the world we love where we live, and we're proud to be in Cochrane," said Genung at the brief ceremony. "We could have simply built a rough retaining wall here of concrete that just simply did the function, the utility of just holding up this wall so the road could be here. But we're more than that. We had an opportunity to make this a special place, small but meaningful."
Genung says the town's arts endowment reserve utilized was the brainchild of former mayor Ken Beck. Developers made voluntary contribution to the fund that also has a larger component for sports and recreational projects.
"Years ago, Mayor Ken Beck had the foresight to establish the arts endowment fund," said Genung. "I just wanted to give a little shout-out to Mr. Beck. It was his idea and council supported it back, I believe in the mid-2000s, precisely for moments just like this to enhance our town with meaningful, aesthetic projects in the downtown core."
Drew Hyndman, town development and infrastructure executive director, says this is the first art project to be funded from the special pool of funding. The recreational component has been dipped into several times.
There has been a mixed reaction to the project, in particular the extra $250,00 for the sign. Many love it, others don't.
Additionally. some residents question whether it will improve traffic flow through the Cochrane Heights area without a right turning lane on to Hwy. 1A.
In the late fall of 2022, the idea that the sign would be funded out of town capital reserves was not well-received by some town councillors. One meeting later, it was clarified by Hyndman that the funding would come from an arts endowment fund.
"It was always intended to provide community enhancements within the downtown core, and that's why it was referred to as the arts endowment fund," he told council on November 28, 2022. "We had had preliminary discussions a number of years ago for a gateway feature to utilize that money for when the highway project was being completed, knowing the success of Banff's project."
Satisfied, council approved the expenditure by a 4-2 margin.
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Asad Niazi, president of Canopy Lands, who along with Schickedanz West had their Rolling Trails Area redevelopment plan approved by the town recently, attended the ceremony. His company has not yet contributed to the voluntary fund and is only in the early stages of planning their project.
"I'm very impressed with this," said Niaza. "It gives it a trendy look. My interest of coming here was not actually as a developer. It was more as someone who lives in this area, and I wanted to come and see how beautification is happening in the community. This will definitely add value in the look and the beautification of this town."
He believes the project may trigger further improvements to retail buildings on the other side of the highway or attract additional amenities.
"When these things happen, it's good thing for the value and look of the community and provides enjoyment for people who visit here."
Last night, the sign's backlighting was successfully tested and will be used going forward.