Sherwood Park Minute: Issue 131

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

📅 This Week In Sherwood Park: 📅

• Council will hold a public hearing tomorrow at 9:00 am, with four planning bylaws on the agenda. One of them would amend the Collingwood Cove Area Structure Plan to cut the number of residential lots that could be subdivided from one Ward 7 property from 35 to 5. The amendment, requested by ISL Engineering and Land Services on behalf of owner High Five Investments, would also let the owner pay money in place of land for its municipal reserve dedication. Administration argues that because Collingwood Cove is not a growth hamlet, fewer lots can be accepted, since another part of the hamlet and some existing vacant lots can absorb future growth. It also claims the hamlet already has a significantly sized municipal reserve parcel, so taking cash instead would let reserve dedication be directed to areas of the most benefit to the community. Residents who responded to the applicant's open house and information letter supported the reduction, while raising concerns about trees, wildlife, traffic, noise, and emergency response. 
  
  
• Mayor Rod Frank is calling affordability the top concern of Strathcona County residents, in a column in the Sherwood Park News. Frank wrote that the County's Spring 2026 budget survey found the rising cost of living is the biggest financial challenge facing households, and that residents are worried about future property taxes and want municipalities to limit costs while maintaining essential services. He claims the County's budget strategy balances responsible investment with fiscal discipline, and that its property taxes remain among the lowest in Alberta and the Edmonton region. According to Frank, the 2026 municipal tax increase for the average homeowner works out to about $9.16 per month. He also cited the County's most recent satisfaction survey, in which 93% of residents rated it a good or very good place to live. Frank credited work with industry partners, including the Alberta Industrial Heartland Association, for attracting more than $65 billion in investment to the region and helping create over 30,000 direct and indirect jobs. He argued that addressing affordability requires action from all levels of government, and that municipalities have an important role to play.
  
  
• Strathcona County has launched Go Strathco, a new tourism marketing identity aimed at visitors rather than residents. The County says the brand, developed as a key action from its Tourism Strategy and Implementation Plan, is meant to raise the region's visibility and strengthen the visitor economy. It will run separately from the County's existing municipal brand, which serves residents. Go Strathco will be used across the County's tourism marketing, including the annual Go Guide publication featuring local businesses, a dedicated Instagram account, digital campaigns, and a recently announced tourism website. Director of Corporate Strategy and External Relations Sean McRitchie described the launch as an exciting moment for the community, businesses, and tourism partners. The County is now in year six of a ten-year tourism strategy. Its announcement did not say what the new identity or its marketing will cost.
  
  
• Elk Island Public Schools has opened Forest Grove, a new elementary and junior high school in Sherwood Park that combines two of the community's oldest schools, École Campbelltown and Sherwood Heights. The division celebrated the grand opening on September 18th at the three-storey school on Fir Street, which has two gymnasiums and room for more than 1,000 students. Strathcona-Sherwood Park MLA Nate Glubish described the building as an approximately $50-million investment in the community. Board Chair Colleen Holowaychuk credited trustees, several previous boards, division leadership, government partners, and both school communities for a project that began seven years ago. Mayor Rod Frank, who attended the opening, said generations of students will pass through the building. 
  
  
• Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan MP Garnett Genuis is calling on the federal government to disclose what it is seeking in trade negotiations with the United States. In a column in the Sherwood Park News, Genuis wrote that there is wide consensus in Parliament that the US administration's treatment of Canada has been unacceptable, including its unilateral tariffs and public attacks on Canadian sovereignty. He argued that any eventual deal will involve trade-offs, and that it is legitimate for Parliament and Canadians to know what kind of deal the government is pursuing and which trade-offs it is prepared to accept.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

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