Richard Froese
Independent reporter
Wes Holowachuk has resigned as development officer for the Town of Stettler, after serving for the town since June 2006. Holowachuk has accepted a position with the City of Prince Albert in Saskatchewan as a city planner commencing Aug 17.
“Prince Albert is home for both me and my wife so we both have families there,” said Holowachuk who completed his service in Stettler on Aug. 6.
Leaving his first fulltime position in municipal planning, he discovered that the Stettler area has great potential to grow and develop stronger.
“My greatest highlight during my time with the Town of Stettler was simply the opportunity to learn and work with such a talented and hardworking group of staff and council,” said Holowachuk.
“It’s the progressive attitude of council and administration and the community as a whole that made this position a great opportunity for me as a planner.”
Working together and growing with the County of Stettler is vital to the area’s future, he said.
“The town and county have come a long way over the past few years and have developed a strong relationship,” said Holowachuk.
“This new appreciation towards each other’s mutual growth will go a long way in being prepared for the next spike in Alberta’s economy and is portrayed through the current development of a new inter-municipal development plan and finalization of the town’s application to annex county land.”
Overall, the community has many great assets to grow.
“Stettler has a long list of attractive growth qualities including its location, larger service center, health and medical facilities, recreational facilities commercial and industrial service, proximity to Alberta’s amenities among many others.”
“The most important factor that makes Stettler growth-ready is the infrastructure and land-use planning it has in place along with the development-friendly attitude of town council and administration.”
However, he urges to town to promote the community more to help inspire growth.
“Probably some of Stettler’s greatest challenges for continued growth will be promoting and marketing all the strengths and the unique identity that Stettler has.”
“With the obvious growth demands focused on the Highway 2 corridor, it is important that Stettter is competitive with municipalities that have similar characteristics, size and population.”
When he first arrived, the town was experiencing high levels of development with building permit values exceeding records going back to 1979.
Moving from Saskatchewan three years ago, a town the size of Stettler in Saskatchewan would not have been experiencing the same level of growth, provided the same level of planning opportunities and would have not had the same level of services, he said.
“My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our time in Stettler,” said Holowachuk.
“Since day one, everyone in the community has been very welcoming and as we have spent time traveling to other communities throughout western Canada, you grow to appreciate how safe, clean, and friendly Stettler really is.”
“I would just like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank everyone at the town for the experience to have gained and the wonderful memories I will always have.”
“Although it was time for me to move on and be closer to family, Stettler will always feel like a home away from home.”