Dave Mabell
LETHBRIDGE HERALD
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After 100 years of operation, the Lethbridge Exhibition property has seen better days.
Proposals to rebuild on the present location - or relocate close to the city limits - have been under discussion for years.
Today, city council will learn more about where those discussions are headed. Rudy Friesen, general manager at Exhibition Park, is expected to be joined by board chairman Gord Scheurman and a development consultant during a mid-afternoon presentation to council.
The exhibition board and city have created a joint committee to explore the facility's future. It includes two members of council and city manager Garth Sherwin, as well as Friesen and four members of his board. Representatives of the county and the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce are also included.
The committee has been asked to consult with key groups in the city - including Economic Development Lethbridge, the Chinook Country Tourist Association and the local hotel/motel association. Views of youth representatives will also be sought, along with comments from the race track and grandstand operator, the Rocky Mountain Turf Club.
According to the committee's terms of reference, its task is to complete an in-depth analysis of the two options - rebuild or relocate - and then to identify the better option.
Then it would develop a master plan for formal consideration. No time frame or deadline is mentioned in the committee's mandate.
In other business today, council will hear from a local group interested in bidding for the city-owned vacant property on 1 Avenue S., formerly the site of the Bridge Inn and other small businesses.
Before deciding on the off-site levies to be collected from developers this year, council will also hear a presentation from the Urban Development Institute, representing the city's major residential land developers. If approved by council, the off-site fee is scheduled to increase by $16,000 per hectare this year.
Council's meeting, open to all interested, is set to begin at 1:30 p.m.