Barb Shepherd after her unanimous re-election as the Lacombe County Reeve in October 2024. (Supplied/Lacombe County)

By Ashley Lavallee-Koenig

LIKELY SHEPHERD'S FINAL TERM

2024 wrap up: Success grows in Lacombe County

Dec 25, 2024 | 12:00 PM

This year, Lacombe County has been taking steps to improve the quality of life for its citizens and set the county up for success.

“In 2023, we changed our motto to ‘success grows here’ and I think in 2024 we saw that success growing in almost everything we did. Obviously, we aren’t perfect, and I wouldn’t say there haven’t been any challenges, but we certainly had some good successes we can build on for the future,” reflected Reeve Barb Shepherd.

In 2023, the town hired an economic development officer who really got the ball rolling in 2024, Shepherd said.

“She reached out to the businesses in the county and we now have an online business directory, and we have a business retention and expansion strategy going forward. That part really helped us to move forward on the economic development side,” said the reeve.

Other highlights of the year included the launch of a golf cart pilot program for the county’s lakeside communities, offering mobility mats at Sandy Point Beach so wheelchair- or mobility aid-users could access the beach, and showcasing the county’s highlights to a group of more than 30 global ambassadors during their tour of Alberta.

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The county also received three awards this year:

• The Friends of Education Award (Zone Four) from the Alberta School Boards Association, for the County’s contribution to funding social workers in Wolf Creek Public Schools.
• The 2024 Planning Award of Merit for Implementation Success from the Alberta Professional Planners Institue, for the County’s innovative, forward-thinking and collaborative approach to its annual review process of the Municipal Development Plan and Land Use Bylaw.
• The 2024 Municipal Excellence Award in the Red Tape Reduction category, awarded by Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver. This was also awarded to the County for its annual review process of the Municipal Development Plan and Land Use Bylaw.

While success certainly grew in Lacombe County over 2024, the region also experienced challenging dry conditions, prompting the creation of a Drought Management Plan.

Shepherd explained, “We now have tools and resources to help our residents and businesses manage water a little more effectively than they have in the past, because Lacombe County really hasn’t had a water shortage problem and this year, there were parts of the county that experienced some pretty dry conditions.”

She added, the plan will likely evolve moving forward as it is a new challenge county administration is still learning more about.

That plan will likely move forward under another reeve, however, as Shepherd shared that she’s considering not running in the 2025 election, at least at this point. She said though the decision was difficult to come to, she has been reeve for 12 years and thinks someone else deserves an opportunity to be so connected to the community.

“It’s an incredible opportunity to serve your community in this way. I think the thing I’ll miss the most is being aware of everything that’s happening,” she reflected.

The next municipal election is slated for October 2025.

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More Lacombe County highlights:

• Dairy Innovation West (milk) shakes up western market
• Lacombe County devises plan for future of QEII West areas
• Lacombe County and Wolf Creek celebrate 5-year SRO partnership
• Lacombe County boosts Family and Community Support programs

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