Sherwood Park Minute: Issue 122

Sherwood Park Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Sherwood Park politics

📅 This Week In Sherwood Park: 📅

• Strathcona County Council and its committees have no meetings scheduled this week. The next session listed on the County's public calendar is a Council meeting on September 15th at 9:00 am, followed by a Priorities Committee meeting on September 22nd.
  
  
• Nate Glubish, the MLA for Strathcona-Sherwood Park, is promoting Alberta's push to attract data centres, pointing to Meta's plan to build its first Canadian data centre in neighbouring Sturgeon County. Writing in a column, Glubish said the project represents more than $13 billion in investment, one of the largest in Canadian history, and would create over 3,000 construction jobs and 300 permanent positions while generating roughly $250 million a year for the province through royalties, taxes, levies, and fees. He said the province spent two years strengthening its regulatory framework and adopted a bring-your-own-power approach that requires large data centres to fund their own infrastructure, with Meta financing a $4-billion private power plant next door. Addressing resident concerns about water and power, Glubish claimed the campus will use closed-loop cooling that needs no water for day-to-day operations, projecting the site will use less water each year than a typical golf course. He also claimed that Meta's status as a major transmission ratepayer would reduce the transmission portion of residents' power bills by up to 6%.
  
  
• Alberta country musician Brett Kissel hosted a two-day garage sale with his family at the A.J. Ottewell Community Centre in Sherwood Park on July 21st and 22nd, with proceeds going to charities including Alberta Dreams and the Golden Circle of Champions. The singer-songwriter, born and raised in St. Paul and known for the hits "Airwaves" and "Make a Life, Not a Living", sold household goods alongside Kissel-owned and branded hats and CDs, and signed CDs for fans who asked. Kissel joked that he comes "from a family of hoarders", saying years on the road meant the family kept buying more and it was time to downsize.
  
  
• Strathcona County Library is distributing its annual Grade 1 Reading Kits, a program offered for more than 30 years to prevent the "summer slide", the loss of reading and comprehension skills that can occur when children do not read during July and August. Each kit includes activity ideas, a reading-tracking poster, a parent guide, a free library membership, and a new book for children to keep. The Library said the kits are designed to give families simple ways to keep reading part of their summer routine, and that even a few weeks of practice will make a positive difference. The kits are available until August 23rd at the first-floor information desk or on the Bookmobile, and the library asks that students pick them up in person so staff can welcome them.
  
  
• Strathcona County is inviting artists to submit portfolios for multiple public art commissions at the new Strathcona County Fieldhouse, with the largest budget set at $145,000 for a sculpture or sculpture series on the exterior plaza. Available locations include an exterior plaza and wall, an interior stairwell wall, an elevator wall, and the main vestibule. The portfolio-based call does not require artists to submit concepts for the opportunities they are applying for. The submission deadline is September 30th, with shortlisted artists interviewed in October and contracts awarded in December. The artworks are set to be installed in the summer and fall of 2027.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

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