The Tri-Municipal Industrial Partnership has dissolved, and the Municipal District of Greenview will be forging ahead with plans to create a heavy industrial park. According to a letter sent by the MD to its partners, the City and County of Grande Prairie, the municipality has decided to make a go of the project alone.
A committee of members from all three communities met in September and raised the question of how the partnership would move forward. After that, the MD made its decision.
“Appreciating that the City and County have reiterated that they will remain steadfast supporters of this project, Greenview confirms that we plan to singularly move ahead with this project,” says Reeve Dale Smith.
The Tri-Municipal Industrial Partnership was first announced at the end of 2016, with the goal of building a large-scale industrial park on 335 square kilometres of Crown land about 40 kilometres south of the city. Grande Prairie Mayor Bill Given says he is thankful to have been able to work on the project to this point, and holds no hard feelings towards the MD of Greenview for carrying on solo.
“It became clear over the last number of months that the project didn’t necessarily need all three of us at the table all the time to advance it.”
Given adds, despite a lack of direct involvement from the City of Grande Prairie going forward, he believes the project will ultimately still be a fantastic development for the city and for the region.
“It is an example of how three municipalities working together can increase the priority of the provincial government and the focus around these kinds of community initiatives,” he says.