CANMORE – A new budget and levy, executive director and fresh faces on Canmore’s Downtown BIA board will potentially see more prominence for the local organization.
Canmore council approved the BIA’s budget and levy – as mandated under Alberta law – with $130,700 required from its members for the coming fiscal year for the downtown organization.
Gradey McMahon, the BIA’s new executive director, told council that there's a sense of optimism in promoting the downtown area, with new members set to join the board of directors at the April 16 annual general meeting.
“I’m excited because with the [annual general meeting] we have a number of openings on the board we need to fill, so there’s going to be a lot of new faces. … Seeing the new people come in, I think it gives us an opportunity to refresh. It’s been a bumpy year or two for the BIA in transitioning leadership,” he said.
“I think looking at what we have the potential to do to help promote downtown, the activations we have the ability to do through some grant money and other things … gives us the opportunity to really engage the town.”
The 2024 budget comes in at $232,200, with $77,209 from the Town Centre grant generated from paid parking revenue a major revenue source. The bulk of the expenses are administrative at $88,760; enhancements, projects and events at about $85,000 and roughly $24,000 for marketing.
As part of the funding, the BIA receives a maximum $50,000 annually from the Town’s paid parking program. The grant is designed to be used for improvements in the downtown area. Any unused amount is carried over to the subsequent year.
The executive director position saw a pay bump from $65,000 to $75,000 and the BIA board made it a full-time position to entice more potential candidates.
Coun. Wade Graham, who has previously spoken on the need to have better pay for the position, said it “was long overdue, in my opinion.”
The position has gone through flux in recent years, with long-time head Beth Vandervoort retiring and being replaced by Stefan Bullock. He resigned in early 2023, which left Vandervoort temporarily returning.
“We’ve gone through some changes over the last couple of years,” McMahon said.
The rate structure is broken down into the square footage of a building and whether its front area is on Main Street, other downtown streets and if it’s a lower, rear or upper unit.
The levy can vary from $294 to $706, depending on the size and placement of a business. The assessment role has the lowest payment from a business at $294 and the highest $5,468.
Graham noted there were no tourist homes included in the assessment roll, with McMahon saying he’s hoping to put together a working group to better address funding. He added an aim is to avoid sporadic jumps in tax rate, which has previously seen large hikes one year, smaller increases the next followed by larger hikes.
“If we’re able to leverage a little more from those different properties, the increases for everyone else could be slightly more controlled,” he said. “Looking back at (past) years, there’s been drastic jumps, then nothing, a minor jump, then nothing.”
Graham, a business owner in the downtown area, said he felt a “sustainable funding model is critical” and without an increase, particularly when factoring in inflation, it ultimately leads to “cutting your budget.”
A long-awaited area redevelopment plan for downtown launched late last year aims to return for council consideration in 2025.
The Town Centre enhancement concept plan was adopted by council in 1998, with recommendations to be developed and created over 15 years. It left the existing guiding document largely out-of-date by about a decade until the new plan began its process of development.
Though in the distance, the downtown area will eventually have significant underground utility work that is outlined as needed between 2037-39, but it could be moved up if necessary.
An anticipated redevelopment had been pushed back several times and ultimately halted during the COVID-19 pandemic. A new public policy planner position was approved by council in the 2022 budget to focus solely on the Palliser Trail area structure plan and the downtown plan.
“There’s the opportunity for us to do considerably more given our funding and the fresh faces that are coming onto the board,” McMahon said.
