Building on Success – Mutually Beneficial Collaboration Continues Between the Town of Peace River and Northern Sunrise County

Posted October 1, 2019

Over the past ten years, the Town of Peace River and Northern Sunrise County have found ways to successfully collaborate to deliver a wide range of programs, services and facilities that have enhanced the quality of life and positively benefited the residents of both communities. Some of these past successes have resulted in upgrades or construction of facilities throughout the Town and the County, including Cecil Thompson Park, the Curtis Marshall Memorial Skateboard Park, the Baytex Energy Centre Multiplex, Peace Regional Pool, the Peace Regional Outreach facility, Shell Rotary House, and the new medical clinic under construction in the Town of Peace River.

The Councils from the Town of Peace River and Northern Sunrise County have recently begun comprehensive discussions to complete an Intermunicipal Collaboration Framework (ICF) and identify opportunities for the two municipalities to work together to find mutually beneficial ways to better serve their residents into the future.

These discussions will continue over the next several months and will explore many different avenues and possibilities for enhanced collaboration and partnership. Although the primary focus will initially be on completing an ICF as is required by the Municipal Government Act, the two Councils see this as an ideal opportunity to build on the successes of the past several years and to explore new and innovative ways to collaborate to ensure that the residents of the region have high quality and affordable programs and services for many years to come.

Reeve Carolyn Kolebaba notes that “Although some of the discussions are required under municipal legislation, the really important conversations will focus on ensuring that residents of the County, the Town of Peace River, and the Peace Region overall, have access to quality programs, services, and facilities, that provide a high quality of life now and into the foreseeable future. When the committee members sit together at the table, we know that although we are from two different municipalities, the reasons that we are there are the same, we are there for the people.”

Mayor Tom Tarpey concurred, adding that – “There is no doubt in my mind that the work of this ICF Committee will supercharge our Town and our Region. Residents won’t have to compromise—they will have access to the opportunities of an urban centre with the natural splendour of a rural area.”