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Location Options for Future Industrial Lands Presented to Council
Public Input will inform Council decision and future direction
The City of St. Albert is taking another step towards sustainable economic development by identifying options for lands that can be developed by light industry.
The options for potential areas for future light industrial development were presented to City Council on November 7, 2011.
"One of the top priorities for City Council is to find ways to increase businesses, visitors and investment to strengthen and diversify St. Albert's economy," said Mayor Nolan Crouse. "Assigning industrial land for future development is one of the keys to economic sustainability and allowing residential taxes to be more sustainable, while ensuring and enhancing the programs, services and quality of life that residents have come to expect of St. Albert."
On August 11, 2011, Council directed Administration to identify 260-300 gross hectares (642-741 acres), contiguous and non-contiguous for future industrial land use in a Future Study Area Review. The area takes into account existing industrial lands. As an option, 150-175 hectares (371-432 acres) contiguous and 150-175 hectares (341-432 acres) non-contiguous should be identified for consideration for future light industrial land use, which is estimated to be the demand within the next five to 10 years.
The Municipal Development Plan, has clear objectives regarding light industrial land development that is environmentally sustainable, promotes innovation and employment opportunities and that enhances the quality of life of residents. Any future industrial land development will always keep those objectives in mind. The Future Study Area Review including maps of the proposed locations is available online at www.stalbert.ca/future-industrial.
Public and stakeholders were invited to read the report and related materials on the website and provide their feedback and comments to the City by Friday, November 25, 2011 through email at IndustrialLands@st-albert.net. The input gathered will help guide City Council's decision on the location option and future direction. Once Council has selected locations, the City will need to amend its Municipal Development Plan and the Land Use Bylaw to zone the selected areas as light industrial and pave the way for future development.
The process will also continue to be transparent, with several opportunities for public input and feedback, which will be presented to Council before any final decisions are made for designating lands for future industrial development.
Updated information can be located at stalbert.ca/future-industrial
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Botanic Christmas Dresses
The must have for this Christmas season is the botanic dress. Why would you wear chiffon or velvet when nature provides options such as cedar, pine and balsam?
Embrace the season and travel throughout the north region and view all nine botanic dresses on display. Each dress will feature an identifier that you will need in order to complete a passport, which are available at all dress locations the week of December 5th.
St. Albert is proud to be home to four of these botanical beauties. Starting December 1, the dresses can be found at these St. Albert locations:
- St. Albert Place, 5 St. Anne Street
- Wine Kitz, 100 41 St. Thomas Street
- Business & Visitor Centre, 71 St. Albert Trail
- Seasons Gift Shop, 8665 Mckenney Avenue
The other five dresses will be located on The High Street, Edmonton and at First Choice Tree Nursery north east of Morinville. Once you have completed your passport you are eligible to WIN your very own botanic Christmas dress for 2012, valued at $4275!
Visiting the dresses also provides a great shopping opportunity. These areas offer interesting shops that just might provide the perfect gift for someone on your list!
A sneak peak at some of the dresses as well as a list of dress locations will be available by December 1 on www.visitstalbert.com. But in case you cannot wait, I have included a picture of what one of the dresses could look like.
Happy travelling with your passport! |
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Jenkins Family Receives the 2011 St. Albert Philanthropy Award
 Mayor Nolan Crouse, on behalf of the St. Albert Philanthropy Award Committee, is pleased to announce that the 2011 St. Albert Philanthropy Award recipients are the Jenkins Family of St. Albert: parents Joan and Art Jenkins; son Chad and wife Gidget Bouchard; daughter Justine Jenkins-Crumb and husband Stephen Crumb.
"The Jenkins family are extremely generous in giving back to the community in every aspect of 'giving'," says Mayor Crouse. "They provide financial support to many causes, they allow groups to post their information in their location, they supply their product to events, they volunteer...and on and on. This is a well deserved recognition for the family and we're very proud and fortunate to have such a fine family in St. Albert."
The family owns the Tim Horton's in St. Albert.Through the years, they have been avid supporters of a long list of local charitable and community activities, assisting financially, in-kind, through volunteering and providing leadership.
The Awards are organized and administered by a group of citizen volunteers who select and recognize a community leader(s) with the St. Albert Philanthropy Award during National Philanthropy Week, November 14 -18, 2011. |
Help us Fill Our Kinette Christmas Hamper!
 The Kinette Club of St. Albert has placed bright red Kinette Christmas boxes around town to collect non-perishable food items and new, unwrapped toys for their Christmas Hampers.
The boxes are out in full force and we have one at our Business and Visitor Centre - 71 St. Albert Trail waiting to be filled up!
Other drop-off locations are at the Save-On Foods, Superstore, Tudor Glen Veterinary Hospital, Stapes, Royal Bank, St. Albert Place, and the three high schools in the city.
Any cash donations may be sent to St. Albert Fire Hall #3 or Kinette Club of St. Albert located in Mission Hill Plaza. All items and monies received stay in the St. Albert community.
For more information or to volunteer with the program call 780.418.3930 or email kinettehamper@yahoo.ca |
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What is Live Local Alberta?
 Live Local is a program exclusively designed for Alberta's independent businesses. The program works to ensure independent business remains a vibrant part of our uniqueness and character.
We work together to jointly promote the importance of independent business by fuelling customer interest, to increase traffic to locally owned companies and to encourage citizens to think local first.
We are a membership based organization and operate programs like "Shop Local First Month" "Fork Fest" and "www.eatlocalfirst.com"
Live Local currently has no members in St. Albert but would love an opportunity to connect with St. Albert businesses and talk about the benefits of working together to promote shopping locally.
If you would like more information on how this organization could benefit your business please email us at info@live-local.ca or visit us online at www.live-local.ca |
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So What? Who Cares? Why You?
These three intriguing questions were explored in detail, November 18, 2011 at the Apex Casino in a full day workshop presented by Wendy Kennedy and hosted by NABI. There were 68 participants, some travelling from as far south as Calgary and as far north as Fort McMurray in attendance.
These questions delved in detail into:
So What? - What is the business problem you are solving and how "burning" is that problem. If the idea has a real opportunity, in what market space does it fit.
Who Cares? - Is there a cluster of potential customers that are willing to pay money to solve this problem? If so, how do you plan to reach them?
Why You? - What makes your idea different? What is your competitive advantage edge and how do you plan to sustain it?
The general consensus of the participants was the workshop was a worthwhile exercise to get a basic understanding of how much work should be put into this phase of starting a business and several have now registered for more comprehensive sessions that will have them focus specifically on "their idea."
The end result is entrepreneurs will be able articulate So What? Who Cares? Why You? and it will provide them with a strong foundation to build their business on.
For further information on this and other business courses contact Dar at NABI, 780-460-1000 or visit www.nabi.ca |
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Focusing on...
Hayabusa Training Centre
Claudia, from our Business Licencing Department recently caught up with Luke Harris of Hayabusa Training Centre to talk about Mixed Martial Arts in St. Albert.
 | | Luke Harris |
After living and training in Japan, Brazil and Montreal, what drew you back to St. Albert to start open your training centre?
I grew up in St. Albert and have always thought it to be a great place to live. Growing up here, there weren't any places to train in mixed martial arts (MMA), as the sport was in its infancy. I would say primarily the community, people and opportunity to start a new business drew me back to St. Albert and I'm very happy to be back after spending so many years abroad developing the skills that I needed to run a world class MMA facility.
Who is your target market and who are your customers?
Our target market is people from diverse backgrounds. We offer classes for children ages 4-8, MMA youth classes for kids ages 8-15 and adult classes for those interested in training in martial arts and fitness. We have a wide variety of people with varied motivating factors who take our classes from people looking to get fit, to Professional fighters and athletes looking to compete in our various disciplines.
What makes your business different or stand out from others?
- Our coaching staff is world class. You'll be hard pressed to find another facility who's instructors are all professional fighters from various disciplines and qualified in martial arts instruction.
- Our facility is world class and includes a large mat area, boxing ring and soon an MMA cage
- Safety is one of our mandates. Both in regards to the instruction and training
- Our pro shop offers all the equipment that you'll need for classes and our change rooms come equipped with accessible washrooms, showers & even ice baths
- Cleanliness and comfort for our members is also a very high priority for our staff
- We also have specialized programs from elementary to junior high school groups to WHL and NHL players who take our MMA Hockey specific program
- We also cater to private events, workshops and classes
Of all your successes with Hayabusa Training Centre, what are you most proud of?
We just had one of our fighters sign with the UFC (Ultimate fighting Championships) and we have produced several other fighters who are some of the top ranked fighters in Canada & North America. I also train a few WHL players who are in the process of signing with NHL teams. However, who we're really most proud of are our students. We've seen peoples lives change in front of our eyes as they strive to accomplish their health, competition and fitness goals and have seen some troubled youths turn their lives around for the better as they've discovered this outlet.
Do you incorporate technology into marketing your business? (twitter, facebook, web etc.)
We definitely do. You can find us...
On the web: www.HayabusaMixedMartialArts.com
"Like" us on Facebook: Hayabusa Training Centre Ltd.
Follow us onTwitter: Hayabusa_TC
What's your favourite thing about St. Albert?
I would have to say the people in this community and St. Albert's commitment to athletics, health and wellness. We have great people in our gym and meet great people everyday that come through our doors. We're very proud to be part of St. Albert!
Hayabusa Training Centre
#105, 125 Carleton Drive, St. Albert, AB T8N 3S6
p. 780.419.7177
www.hayabusamixedmartialarts.com |
New Businesses in St. Albert
Commercial/Industrial Businesses Centralta Tourism Society 780-460-1034 2211 13 Mission Ave Enhance the Appreciation of Canada's Duality centraltatourism@gmail.com Everlasting Health & Weight Loss 780-459-6382 106 1 Hebert Rd Ideal Protein Weight Loss Products, Vitamins, Health and Wellness Coaching dwaterman@everlastinghealthandweightloss.com Kimit Dental Laboratories Ltd. 780-426-3517 100 56 St Michael St Dental Laboratory itowataru@gmail.com Summ It Corporation 780-453-7002 Ext 3148 201 24 Inglewood Dr Investment Company sbarwick@summit-corp.net
Divine I Deals 1-888-570-7937
Online Gifts and Home Decor Sales
divine-ideals@shaw.ca
Icicle Electric 587-987-7060
Electrical Contractor
theblakefamily@shaw.ca
Profiles Hair Design 780-569-5073
Hair Salon
jandsanderson@shaw.ca
Sun In A Gun 780-667-8458
Mobile Spray Tanning
suninagun@yahoo.ca
The Prosperity Power Company 780-264-2531
Fresh "Power Bar" Cookies Company
mdwing@telus.net |
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Follow Joan Barber around St. Albert as she blogs about her adventures in this fine City. Joan doesn't sit still for long, whether she is out cross-country skiing, dining or visiting local attractions, she will share her unique perspective on life in St. Albert.
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October Charts & Stats
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St. Albert Business & Tourism Development proudly supports all of our local businesses. If you are not afraid of the camera and would like to answer a few questions, we would be pleased to feature you in an upcoming edition of Focus. If interested, please contact Leanne at 780.459.1759 or lmcbean@st-albert.net. |
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