The Town of Sexsmith is looking at planning for the future of the area. They plan to apply for a grant from the government to conduct a Regional Growth Management Study.
Sexsmith Mayor Claude Lagace says that the study will track a number of things like population growth and land usage that he hopes will entice investors to the area.
“The plan is to have an audit done to see if we can present the whole area as one for investors. There’s a lot of land in the county to be had… but if we could present one whole area it would be more attractive.”
The study will look at factors such as population, local and regional economic development and employment demand. Lagace says that once the application has been submitted to the government it could take until January to be approved.
“I’m expecting by the time we file for the application and hear back from the government it’ll be around January of next year.”
The Town has also asked neighbouring communities to participate in the study as well. They currently have letters out to the County, the City of Grande Prairie and the towns of Beaverlodge and Wembley, Village of Hythe, Horse Lake First Nations and the MD of Greenview. Lagace says he has heard back from the City of Grande Prairie but is waiting to hear back from the rest of the communities.
“We’re waiting on the other councils of Wembley, Beaverlodge, Hythe, Horse Lake and the County to get back to us to let us know if they’re interested in pursuing this study. Even if we don’t have everybody on board we still plan to pursue it.”
If approved, the study should take around six months to complete.