The spring delegation day of the Cochrane Parks and Recreation Committee will focus on potential users of the future Horse Creek Sports Park.

On Jan. 13, committee members Jacques Sauve and Brooke Sabourin provided town council with a review of the work they completed in 2019 and what their work plan includes this year.

Its upcoming annual spring delegation day is especially important for recreationers and sports organizations because of the new sports park.

"They can have an opportunity to present to us, and we can learn a little bit more about their needs, what things they may be looking for in the park or other areas," Sabourin explained to council. "That will give us the information we need to make a more educated decision on what we recommend."

The date will be set shortly, and all interested are welcome to make submissions or attend.

Before this, the committee provided input on the sports park.

"At this point, it's a very high-level initial design but it was a lot of fun to provide input. It's going to be awesome," said Sauve.

The 2020 work plan also includes an update of the parks and open spaces bylaw, development of a Mitford Park/Ranche Site Master Plan, and reviewing how our local trail systems align with regional and the TransCanada trails.

In 2019, the committee also established off-leash criteria in existing and new neighbourhoods, developed a sponsorship policy, examined the potential of Cochrane hosting future Alberta games, and worked on aligning programs of the town and Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre. 

The idea of Cochrane hosting a provincial game in the future is appealing to the committee. In examining, the current provincial games (winter, summer, seniors and masters), they lean towards first hosting a masters game, because it would be the easiest to facilitate.

"It would great exposure to the Town of Cochrane, and its businesses," says Sauve. "So, it's something to consider down the road."