(Red Deer County/ supplied photo)

By Ian Gustafson

Looking back

Year in Review: Red Deer County Mayor Jim Wood proud of community growth

Dec 25, 2024 | 6:00 AM

Red Deer County Mayor Jim Wood is proud of what they’ve been able to accomplish in 2024.

He explained, the county continues to be a sought after place to live and to own a business. He points to strong residental growth over the past year including 140 new housing starts putting the county well over its five-year average. There have also been 516 development permits.

Among the highlights in 2024, UFA opening a new store in August. Mayor Wood said their confidence in opening one of their flagship stores in the county showed him that people still want to continue to do business in Gasoline Alley, which he said has seen continued growth.

EQUS and Fire and Flood Emergency Services also opened brand new facilities in the county this year. The Red Deer Regional Airport also saw its terminal expansion project continue and new roads being built.

Wood also celebrated the development of the Springbrook wheat flour mill by P&H Milling Group in September.

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“That’s a $241 million facility, it’s a huge project and it will not only help us with taxation but it brings growth in jobs and we’ll definitely see other businesses come in, now that they’re there,” he said.

“These are the kind of things that have huge potential for economic growth and jobs. I think that’s the good news story I’m trying to come to is that we have so much good news happening in Red Deer County.”

Through tough times and inflation, Wood is proud they’ve been able to keep their taxes at a reasonable rate and not cut programs.

“I think people respect that and are happy with it. Some of these things we do day-to-day I think they’re just as important as some of the highlights because it comes back to my first comment that Red Deer County continues to be a sought after place to live and have a business,” Wood added.

With the municipal election around the corner, Wood has made it known he will not run again, marking an end to a 20-year stint on council. Despite that, he said they’re going to continue to work hard through the last few months.

“We have some work left to do on our municipal development plan. We’re hoping to get that passed prior ot the election and we’re going to go into the consultation stage with that soon,” he said.

“But I think it’s important that we continue to do the work that everyone elected us to do and it’s easy to let that work slide during an election but I’m going to continue to work with members of council to finish some of the good work that we started during this term.”

The mayor would like to wish everyone the best during the Christmas season and in the New Year. The future continues to look bright for the county, said Wood, and he looks forward to seeing it continue to improve.

“If you look all around the world, I think we live in a pretty good place.”