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County heritage project
a
first
for Alberta
reprinted from Red Deer
Advocate (Paul Cowley) February 3, 2010
Red Deer County is credited with being the first rural municipality
in Alberta to take a systematic approach to identifying its heritage
sites and complete a detailed management plan.
County council unanimously approved in principle a Heritage
Management Plan on Tuesday that is designed to identify, preserve
and protect historical buildings and sites.
Councillor Jim Wood expressed his support for the initiative, which
has been in the works for several years. It is a tragedy that some
communities have already lost important historical buildings that
were torn down, he said.
Bob Buckle, of Heritage Collaborative Inc., said the plan offers a
clear process for identifying potential historical sites and judging
whether they should receive special designation.
As part of the background work, 88 potential historical sites were
surveyed and 27 have been included in an initial inventory.
The main goal for the county is to create a register of municipal
historic resources. The county has already designated two sites: the
Holy Trinity Anglican Church at Pine Lake, and the Markerville
Lutheran Church. A number of other sites, such as the Markerville
Creamery and Dickson Store, have been designated by the province as
historic resources and could be added to the municipal list.
Local historian Michael Dawe offered his expertise as an informal
adviser to the county project and gave the municipality credit for
being a provincial leader on the heritage management front.
"I think the County of Red Deer has a long history of showing very
strong support for heritage identification and preservation," he
said. Dawe said the county is taking a systematic approach to
protecting its heritage resources. "They are showing the way for the
province, and a very good way to do things. I'm very impressed with
what they've been doing."
Taking a step-by-step approach to surveying the sprawling county,
identifying potential historic sites and creating a process to
review them will create a solid plan, he said.
"It will really pay off for them because as issues come up in the
future they have not only done their homework but they've also put
in a strong system to ensure that things are dealt with carefully
and objectively."
Among the consultant's recommendations is one to create a heritage
advisory board. A staff person could also be designated as heritage
officer to oversee the plan.
The county could also look at designating historical special zones,
for areas such as Markerville, which has three provincial and
municipal historic resources.
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