Nordegg Department
West Country Department Introduction The West Country department oversees many of the activities in Nordegg, and also development activity in the surrounding crown lands that make up the West Country. The involvement of this department can be broken down into three general categories: the Nordegg Town Site, the Nordegg Mine Site, and West Country Development. Nordegg Town Site Background Clearwater County officially took over the town site of Nordegg in March of 1996 through a land trade with the Province of Alberta. The Province had operated the town since 1963 when a minimum-security camp was set up in the old historic portion. With the down sizing of the camp and plans to totally close the facility, discussions began with the County to take it over. It was agreed that additional land to the north of highway 11 would be included in the transfer so that some development would be able to occur immediately following the transfer. The West Country department oversees a number of functions in the Nordegg town site: Property Management When the County took over the Nordegg town site, there were a number of leases in place that the Province held with individuals and businesses. These leases were made up of various types ranging from duplexes and houses to trailer stalls and to parcels of land. The County had agreed at the time of transfer to honor all leases that were previously in place. Our responsibility in this area is to provide necessary maintenance and to administer the leases on a monthly or yearly basis depending on the terms of the lease agreement. Planning Over the past twelve years, the County has been involved with the planning of a new community in Nordegg on both a long term overall scale, and on a smaller project by project basis. One of the larger projects was the writing of the Nordegg Development Plan and the Nordegg Development Plan Design Guidelines. These plans provide for the long-term direction of Nordegg development and were arrived at through public consultation and the work of a committee consisting of Nordegg residents, County Councilors, consultants and staff. County Council adopted the plans in November of 2000. These documents are available at the County office for a small fee to cover copy and reproduction costs.
Development In 1996, the County undertook the construction and development of a twenty-two lot residential acreage subdivision on the north side of Highway 11. These lots were made available for sale by January of the following year. The winter of 96/97 saw the building of a twelve lot commercial subdivision just to the west of the residential lots. These lots went on sale in the spring of 97. A second phase of twenty-two residential lots was created in the spring of 98 and became available for sale by the summer of that year. In 2002, a twenty lot cottage subdivision was constructed and the lots were put up for sale in April of 2003. A third phase of residential acreages was constructed in the fall of 2003 and went on sale on August 19, 2004. Twenty-three new residential acreages and twenty-one cottage acreages were sold in 2006. An additional eight residential lots and twenty-two cottage lots were sold in 2007. The County in conjunction with Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, has undertaken a number of fuel modification projects on the northern end of the town site. This is being done in accordance with recommendations set out by the Nordegg Wildland / Urban Interface Study which revealed that the conditions for fire were extreme in the Nordegg area. This work is very labour intensive as it involves the thinning out of spruce and pine, cleaning up the deadfall on the ground and removal of the bottom three meters of ladder branches on the remaining trees. Nordegg acreage owners are encouraged to carry out similar fuel reduction measures on their properties. In 2006, a fuel modification project was initiated on the south end of Nordegg around the water infrastructure facilities, and further work was undertaken in 2009 and 2010. One other area where the County undertook some development work was with the twelve duplex units located in the old town site. The duplexes were given a facelift by replacing the windows and doors and applying new vinyl siding. The power lines were relocated in order to upgrade the back alley and rear access to the lots. Three common garages were also removed to allow for the building of the back alley. These twelve units were then subdivided into twelve separate parcels and were sold in the fall of 98. In 2006, a twenty-five acre parcel of land was surveyed out, title was created and then sold to the Nordegg Recreation Association. This organization had been leasing these lands since 1985, first from the Province and after 1996 from Clearwater County. Lot Sales The Nordegg department handles all sales of land and properties in Nordegg. The land sold to date in Nordegg consists of ninety-six residential lots, sixty-three cottage lots, twelve commercial lots, twelve duplex units, four industrial lots, one separate residence and the Recreation Association Campground. The total value of property sales in Nordegg has exceeded 9.4 million dollars to date. The County began development of a new cottage subdivision in 2009. This subdivision will consist of 69 Leisure Residential Lots, and it is intended that some of these lots will be available for sale in 2010.
Nordegg Mine Site Nordegg Historical Society The County became involved with the historical group in Nordegg in 1992. The society was known as the Nordegg Historic Heritage Interest Group at that time, and was experiencing some financial difficulties in their attempts to protect and restore the remaining buildings in town and particularly on the Brazeau Collieries mine site. The Council at the time recognized the significance of the old mine site as an historical resource and consequently got involved. The County appointed a manager to operate the daily affairs of the Society and to look for opportunities to alleviate the debt and resume with the restoration of the site. The Society operates under the direction of a Board of Directors, which is made up of two County councilors, one Town of Rocky Mountain House councilor, one representative of the Nordegg Community Association, and three members at large. There is a growing membership and an annual meeting is held each spring. Mine Site Restoration The largest area of involvement for the Society is the ongoing restoration of the forty or so structures scattered over the seventy-five acre lease. Another problem unique to the mine site is the large amount of erosion of the reject piles and the foundation damage that is caused by water moving down the hill. The last seventeen years have seen the completion of restoration projects often ranging between one to two hundred thousand dollars per project. The funds are raised through the accessing of various provincial grants, financial contributions from the County and the Town, and dollars raised by the Society through memberships, sales, tours, and various fund raising endeavors. The Society works closely with the Alberta Historic Resources Foundation and the mine site was designated as a Provincial Historic Site in 1993. The site was designated a National Historic Site in February of 2002. Nordegg Museum and Tourist Information Center The Nordegg Historical Society has operated a museum and tourist information center in the old Nordegg School since the early nineties. The museum features a vast assortment of photographs from the operational days of the mining community along with various artifacts from the town and mine sites. A large photo collection is kept at the County office and many of these pictures have been scanned into a photo accessioning, computer program. This process will be ongoing for the next number of years. The Tourist Information Center is open from the early part of May through to the middle of September. Travelers through the area can obtain an assortment of tourism materials, accommodation guides, hiking trail guides and information on activities taking place in the Nordegg area. Guided tours are available on a daily basis for the mine site for a fee, while browsing through the museum and picture gallery is free of charge. The information desk is manned by volunteers and paid summer staff. The building and washrooms are now wheel chair accessible. West Country Development Development Nodes In 1992, the David Thompson Corridor Integrated Resource Plan was adopted by the Provincial government as an attempt to accommodate development along the corridor in an orderly planned fashion. Five Development Nodes were created along the corridor, those being: Whitegoat Lakes, Bighorn Canyon, Shunda Goldeye, Nordegg, and Saunders Alexo. The County was given development authority for these Nodes; however all lands except for Nordegg remained crown land and therefore leases from the Province are still necessary. Clearwater County works along with the Province through the Alberta Tourism Recreation Leasing (ATRL) process. All applications for a lease and a development permit for the operation of a commercial/tourism/recreational development are made through the County. The County’s Municipal Planning Commission is responsible for the issuance of development permits in the nodes. Green Zone Development All crown lands in the County are divided into two Land Use Districts, that being Forestry 1 (F1) or Forestry 2 (F2). The County has development authority in the F1 district and therefore is responsible for granting approval for all proposed development in this area. Development proposed for the F2 region is referred to the County for input regarding concerns with roads, etc. however the final approval is left with the Province. Management Plans The County works in conjunction with the Province on occasion for the creation of Management Plans for particular areas within the County boundaries. This department has over the last few years been involved with the writing of Management Plans for the Whitegoat Lakes Development Node, the Saunders / Alexo Development Node and the Burnstick Lake area.
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