High River Alberta - Over the past few months, council has been working to secure a deal with Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) to acquire land for the Town of High River.
 
At the 8 Jun 2015 council meeting, it was officially announced both parties had reached an agreement.
 
"This is everything from the north boundary to the south boundary," said Mayor Craig Snodgrass.
 
"Everything that has to do with CP we now own."
 
Included in the deal is an easement agreement of 3.5 metres on the east side of the lands which allows for future infrastructure additions such as fibre optics.
 
However, Snodgrass said provisions have been included to ensure the Town of High River can build its own infrastructure, such as parking lots, on top of the easement.
 
In total, the purchase cost $1.8 million.
 
Council gave first reading to a bylaw to borrow the funds from the Alberta Capital Finance Authority to paid back over 10 years with an interest rate of 1.62 percent.
 
Snodgrass said this deal would not have been possible without the help of Senator Scott Tannas and local businessman Cam Crawford, who were able to use their expert knowledge and connections to finalize negotiations with high-level executives.
 
Councillor Emile Blokland also thanked former councillor Al Brander for his past work on this initiative.
 
"He put in countless hours on this project and kept it on the hot place to keep it in front of executives at CP," Blokland said.
 
"He did a ton of work to advance the interest of the Town of High River in regards to CP."
 
Snodgrass said he was thoroughly satisfied in his dealings with CP who were more than willing to negotiate and work with the town.
 
"The original proposal that we gave to CP, they took it up a notch and sweetened the deal for us even better," he said.
 
"I can't thank CP enough. They have been nothing short of wonderful to deal with and I can't be happier."
 
With this deal comes plenty of opportunities, Snodgrass added.
 
The town now has space to increase parking in the downtown area, begin work on the Centre Street bridge, finish the Centre Street roundabout, and complete flood mitigation projects to the south.
 
On Centre Street between Seventh and 12th Avenue, Snodgrass said he would prefer not to develop that land and instead extend the green space from Rotary Park.
 
"It's a massive asset to have these green spaces right in the heart of your community," he said, adding he hopes more parks and trails will further increase the town's walkability and connectivity.
 
Council will need to complete second and third reading on the borrowing bylaw by mid-June.
 
Once the town has secured financing, acquisition of CP lands and transfer of funds will be executed by November with the final transfer of ownership taking place by 31 Dec 2015.

Pauline Zulueta.