Town of Coaldale breaks ground on new $50M joint school and recreation centre despite local pushback

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. -

Coaldale will soon be home to a brand new state-of-the-art school and recreation centre.

Officials from town council, the Palliser School Division and the Government of Alberta gathered at the site of the project Friday to put shovels in the ground, symbolizing the beginning of construction.

"This sod turning is a symbol of shared commitment and shared responsibility," said Palliser School Division Superintendent Dave Driscoll.

"The partnership between the Government of Alberta, our school division, the Town of Coaldale and the community has allowed boundaries to be expanded in envisioning what the new facility will look like, and has made it possible to build a school that truly reflects the community’s values and needs."

The school will be located in northwest Coaldale and will be able to accommodate 855 students from grades 7 to 12, serving as a replacement for the aging Kate Andrews High School. Also included in the provincial government funded $50M project is a brand new recreation centre which students at the school will have direct access to.

The school will be located in northwest Coaldale and will be able to accommodate 855 students from grades 7 to 12, serving as a replacement for the aging Kate Andrews High School.

Also included in the provincial government funded $50M project is a brand new recreation centre which students at the school will have direct access to.

"As a council, we are thrilled to be breaking ground on this once-in-a-generation project," said Coaldale Mayor Kim Craig.

"For me, it's sort of like a swan song by my all-time favourite singer Neal Diamond with 'Sweet Caroline'. Good times never felt so good, and this is a great time for Coaldale."

SOME RESIDENTS AGAINST LOCATION

However, not everyone in town is thrilled with where the project is situated.

According to community group 'Citizens for a Better Coaldale', the vast majority of the town's residents are against the location of the new school and rec centre.

"2,300 people singed a petition that said no to that area and yet, it's just been totally ignored," said concerned resident Liz Allen.

"The school itself is more than welcome, the rec centre is more than welcome. The input from people has not been appreciated or accepted."

The current location, on the other side of Hwy. 3 and the train tracks, is problemmatic for the majority of the town's population, with their main concern being student safety.

There are also environmental worries from the nearby Alberta Birds of Prey Centre that claims the location on the north end 'defies explanation'.

"Why is the town going ahead with this project and actually not considering the impact on our bird centre and the surrounding wetlands here?" said Colin Weir, the centre's managing director.

"Instead of an expanded wetland that could become a wetland of provincial significance, we're getting a recreation centre, a school and several hundred houses that could go elsewhere."

There's a sense among those who are against the site that town council is rushing to get as far as possible on construction before the municipal election on October 18^th.

However, town officials say they have spent countless hours weighing their options before agreeing on a location to develop, and it's a decision they didn't make lightly.

"Change always conjures up imaginations of the worst case scenario and possible bad things and you can't discount all those thoughts," said Craig.

"But you also need to consider what good can come from something like this as well."

Craig added that he expects the massive development project to be complete some time in 2023.