Live Work Play Economic Development with Paul Salvatore Sandy Badry Red Deer County - Ep. 5

Sandy Badry from Red Deer County discusses economic development and the projects happening in Red Deer County. She talks about how she got into economic development and the importance of building relationships. She also mentions the various economic development programs available and the importance of staying connected through associations. Sandy highlights the role of economic developers in facilitating opportunities and helping people navigate through regulations. She discusses the development of Gasoline Alley, which has transformed into a live-work community with amenities such as a truck stop, medical hub, financial district, and residential areas. The area has seen significant growth and has become an attractive destination. Good day everybody and welcome to Live, Work, Play Economic Development. We've got Sandy Badry from Red Deer County and we're just going to talk a little bit about what's happening in Red Deer County in the world of economic development and all the other things out there on the horizon on a cold day in Alberta. How are you doing, Sandy? I'm doing well, Paul. Thanks for having me. Oh, always a pleasure. It's so great to chat with you, Sandy. You've been very active in economic development over the years and one of the things that stands out is a lot of the great projects that Red Deer County has been able to put together over the years. But before we get into that, maybe for people that don't know too much about you, if you could maybe just tell me a little bit more and share with our listeners a little bit more about yourself and how you got into economic development. Well, usually when people ask how you came to be an economic development officer, I usually tell people that nobody really goes to school to become an economic development officer. They usually just kind of fall into the position, but now the up-and-comings do go to school to become economic development officers. The older group are the ones that kind of just fell into the position, which is kind of how I happened to and it goes back to working with you, Paul, in the City of Lacombe, which was the County of Lacombe back then. I ended up working with you through a grant program part-time and that's when I kind of got the economic development bug. I was doing records management at the time and just kind of fell into it. I was sitting on one of the committees and found that this was actually kind of a position that interested me and it was a good fit for me and then started taking courses and got into it that way and ended up over at Red Deer County after about three years with the city. I've been there ever since and it's been 14 and a half years over at Red Deer County now. Wow, that's amazing. I mean, it is so funny how you do talk to different people in economic development. You've got people who, like you say, kind of were involved in maybe in a municipal environment and just turned out to be good people and a good fit with a typical outgoing personality, people who like to look at opportunities and make things happen. I think, I mean, in your case, you had a business background, a small business background, were very involved in things like Rotary Club and as well as different community organizations. I think for so many economic developers out there, the big key is building relationships. From time to time, I like to say we're really in the relationship building business and economic development. We kind of form a bit of a bridge between developers and builders and investors and the people in the municipal organization that do the planning and the development control to kind of keep things in order. From time to time, that causes a bit of conflict when you get into situations where you're trying to open the doors for someone and make things as easy as possible, but sometimes there are rules that they may not be aware of and they kind of catch you by surprise. One of the greatest things that we can do, I guess, is to make sure people understand where they're going and what sort of expectations there are ahead of them before they get in too far, but it's definitely a super fun area to work in. Between the University of Waterloo and now the University of Calgary and, of course, Southern Fraser University, there's different economic development programs across the country that are building the skills for everyone. These days, we can learn so much just by finding more things out online and through our colleagues. It's so important being connected through Economic Developers Association of Alberta and EDAC as well, the Canadian-wide Economic Developers Association. Those provide great chances for us to connect, whether it's at a conference or at some of the events that they host throughout the year. Absolutely, Paul. I think a lot of us also come from an entrepreneurial background where either it's a family business that we came from. I know myself, in my former life, I owned my own business, a small business while I was raising my family, and then my husband also had his own business, which he just sold last year. Most of us, or a lot of us, come from an entrepreneurial background or really have that drive and that interest in helping people with their entrepreneurial spirits. It's encouraging to see them start up and grow and to help them make those dreams happen for them and find those ways that they can get up and started and running in their communities. Again, with myself, when we came to live in Lacombe, my interest was in how our community flourished and what drove it and how things worked and to be involved in my community and to make it a good community to live in. We're still here and I really treasure the small community aspect, but it's also becoming a city and growing. I think it's really fun to watch that happen and be a part of it and see how it grows. No doubt about it. I mean, you do see, I think, a lot of people that gravitate towards doing things in economic development. They've got that exposure to business in the past, so there's a certain amount of empathy when they're dealing with people who are coming to the organization to communicate an opportunity. There's a certain amount of excitement that you share with them in doing that, but there's also a level of care that you want to give them to make sure that they know exactly how to get through all the bobs and weaves and hoops that might be set up in front of them. In many ways, that's what you do. You facilitate getting through those hoops as easy as possible and then really help people to look and see opportunities. It's so interesting to think about it in the sense that, depending on the community, the needs vary from community to community. Every community has got a different personality as well. Whether you're in Lacombe or in Drumheller or Calgary or Cochrane or anywhere, everyone's got their own kind of personality as a community. I think understanding that really helps you to connect the dots in the best possible way so that people can really make things happen. That certainly helps us with our jobs and it helps make that pathway smoother. For sure. Looking around Red Deer County these days, if you've gone back and you've been part of the Action Network for over 14 years, if you were going to take us back 14 years ago and look around Red Deer County, it would look quite a bit different than it does today. A big part of that is the work that you've done and facilitated along the way. What would you say are some of the projects that you've been involved in in the past that have been the most exciting? Gasoline Alley is a huge project right now. Just the changes that have gone on there in the last five years even. It's changed from a gas and dine stop for the traveling community. It's more of a live-work community now. When Alberta Transportation came in and changed the egress into Gasoline Alley and put the overpass from the city into Gasoline Alley, it made it difficult for the truck drivers to gain access to the gas stations and the fast food and the restaurants that were there. Red Deer County partnered with Transportation Alberta in order to create a place where these truck drivers could be. We knew that this was going to come, so we planned Junction 42. This was in our plans for quite a few years, but it was just a matter of when it was going to happen. We partnered with Transportation Alberta and we created a paved five-acre partnership rest stop where the trucks could pull in and stop. We attracted Petro-Can along with Tim Hortons and some fast food restaurants. We've got this truck stop now for the traveling industry to pull in and the tourism industry as well. You're traveling RVs and just people up and down the highway, so it's a perfect place for everyone to pull over. It makes it a lot easier. Now Gasoline Alley has become more of a place where it's a destination. It's not just a place to stop and get your gas and have a snack on your way in between Calgary and Edmonton. So we've got our Costco, we've got the cinemas, we've got the restaurants, and there's a 190-plus bed dementia unit that's there as well, long-term care unit. So around that unit has built this medical hub. So we've got some doctors in there. We've got eye doctors, we've got dentists, we've got hearing doctors. So it's built this medical hub around there. We've also got a financial district in there as well with accountants and such. And then during the pandemic, we opened up an indoor farmer's market, which has been very successful considering the pandemic. And it's growing and thriving beautifully. So there's a lot going on in Gasoline Alley and residential as well. So we're looking at full build out over 5,000 residents being in the Liberty Landing residential area. So it's quite a whole different vision than what it really started out as. And it's a very attractive place to be now with bus stops and sidewalks and curbs and gutters, which it never had before. So it's quite the attractive community. And Council made it a hamlet a few years back, so we can make it into this attractive place for people to be. Well, it's interesting because as you say those things, the evolution of Gasoline Alley has been amazing. Like you say, it's not just a gas and go. Now it's a go there, get your medical services, go to the theater, do some of your big box shopping as well. And if not, the build out for 5,000 people down the road. So that's incredible to think about where that might have been 20 years ago and how that's really changed. And it sort of speaks to everything that's happening in Central Alberta as well. But Gasoline Alley has been really a model for a lot of communities out there trying to attract the types of businesses that really add value to the surrounding region as well. And then you talk a little bit about Junction 42. And for everybody out there, that's just east of Penhold off of Highway 42 and the number two. And another great opportunity to kind of take a challenge and then find a solution. And then if you drive through that property as well, you'll see it's built for heavy equipment. It's built for truck and trailer truck traffic. So that's great. That fills another niche in the market on that side of Red Deer. So great, great opportunities there. And I mean, in the meantime, I know a few other things that have been happening in Red Deer County as well around broadband internet service. You speak about COVID and how we all sort of just became confident using the video conferencing and we became confident with doing that work from home. Now, Red Deer County is one of the leaders in rural internet in Canada. So that's fantastic to see that. Could you tell us a little bit more about that project and what that looks like and how much impact that has? Absolutely. So Red Deer County, they noticed that especially during COVID, it was a project that came to the prior to COVID, but especially through COVID, we understood the importance of high speed connectivity, especially to our smaller communities and our farming residents in and around the outlying communities. They didn't have that high speed connectivity. So some of them were experiencing less than dial-up connectivity. So we took $18 million up to this point, it's been about four years now, and we have invested that in to bring in the high speed broadband. And we have, ironically, well not ironically, but surprisingly and not surprisingly, but Junction 42 is the backbone of where this fiber lies. So it starts along the highway there of 42, it goes all the way out to Springbrook to the west and then all the way out to Delburn on the east. So it runs east and west, and then we've got it going north and south all around the county so far. So the plan is to ensure optimal connectivity and productivity for everyone throughout the county. So we want to bring the high speed, even just like optimal connectivity to all the residents so that we have that ability to bring, like we've learned throughout COVID that you don't have to work in bricks and mortar. And people are understanding that they want to have that country lifestyle, they want to have the wide open spaces, but they still have their jobs to do. So they can move wherever they want to be, but still do their job. And we're attracting a lot of people from larger cities, they can live out here, and they can still do their jobs, but they need that connectivity. So we're allowing that to happen. And then there's also the ag community. Agriculture is dependent on internet accessibility, because a lot of these machinery that are running these high tech ag opportunities rely on high speed internet. So we're giving them that opportunity to be able to do that way out in the small corners of our county. Our county is 3,954 kilometers. So we've got a lot to cover. We're getting there. We're getting there. And it's coming. It's coming. Well, it's so cool as well, because I mean, the county and making that size of an investment really provides a catalyst for things like the Red Deer Regional Airport for that type of connection, as well as helping communities like Springbrook and Delburn to have that advantage as well, because you've been able to partner with them in order to make high speed a reality in those places. So it's just been a really great thing for the county to be able to do that. And you talk a little bit about the ag sector, but these days, ag is so involved in the development of tech, and whether that's GPS driven seeding or pesticide application, or even in some cases, it could be different drone mapping. Or just making their product available online. Exactly. And more and more farmers are becoming producers that they can sell direct to farm to table. So those things are so cool, because having that advantage positions Red Deer County so well, to be able to make it possible for their residents and the businesses there to do great things. And more and more, we're seeing that. It gives the opportunity to these smaller communities to grow. Because oftentimes, you can't attract a big business to a community that doesn't have high speed internet. You need high speed internet to run a business. Even just a small home based business, you need high speed internet. So it's imperative that we have that available to these smaller communities, if we want them to grow and thrive. Absolutely. And the big difference between the communities that are going to do things in the future, and the ones that are going to lag behind are the ones that don't have these types of services. And not everywhere has that ability. But very forward thinking for Red Deer County to consider doing this type of work, for sure. So hats off to the leadership, elected officials, and then the leadership of the county for identifying this as a priority and making it happen. It's one thing to talk, but it's another thing to make it happen. Right, right. We are so fortunate. Our council is so supportive of economic development. They're so supportive of business development. They're really forward thinkers. They want to be leaders. They're definitely allowing administration to help do this. They're very supportive of us in this. They let us drive this ship. Well, it's interesting, too, because Red Deer County, at times, there's been moments where there's been some pretty high-end competition with the city. And there's been a little bit of conflict over the years. But I think, in a lot of ways, that competition has just made the county one-up its game. And it's also made the city one-up its game as well. So it just elevates everyone that you're kind of, in some cases, you're competing for similar things. But on the other hand, as you're doing that, you're really kind of raising the bar, which is a great way to kind of look at. We've often, in times in economic development, said, hey, we're in the midst of coopetition. We're going to cooperate with you, but we're still competing. And at the end of the day, we want to create opportunities in our backyard first. But yeah, I mean, we often see a handoff when things don't necessarily fit in one community that we can hand off to the neighbour next door. So, you know, I think this... It's a really cool thing that we've sat down with the City Economic Development and their administration. And we understand, as a county, what our weaknesses are. And they, as the city, understand what their weaknesses are. And we can sit down together. And we know that their weaknesses are our strengths. Our strengths are their weaknesses. And we can work together on those things. And it's a really awesome partnership. Like they have labour force. We don't. We have large pockets of land. They don't. So we can work together on those projects. It's a really cool opportunity. Well, absolutely. And I think, you know, by recognising that, then you can really, you know, fill the niche that best suits your organisation, whether it be a county or a city. Certainly, I've seen that around Calgary, between the city and Rockyview County is another big example. But around Alberta, we see that, you know, kind of hovering around the, you know, the traditional periphery of the city. We've got these counties that are clustered up. And as cities grow, they, in some cases, aren't able to meet some of the demands for some of the big footprint opportunities. And part of that's maybe cost. But other parts are they want to have a unique build. And they want to get things done a certain way. And there are restrictions in cities, usually, that have a little bit more scrutiny than they are prepared to deal with. So, depending on where you're at, these things can pop up. And, you know, I think every day that you take out of the equation for someone having to wait for an approval is a day that you get them closer to turning a profit and putting money back into the system and getting people working. So, these things are really important to consider. And, you know, you can say, well, one organization in a region wins and the other one doesn't. But at the end of the day, it's the collective effort in the region that brings people together and creates more opportunities that wouldn't be there otherwise. Exactly. So, like Central Alberta is a fantastic example, because not only do you have the City of Red Deer, but you've got, you know, Sylvan Lake and Black Falls and Lacombe and Penhold and, you know, all these other communities that are in the area that benefit when things happen down the road. Absolutely. When we do our labour force study, we include all the communities that are around because that's where our pool comes from. That's where our people come from. So, we know that, you know, it's a benefit for us. It's a benefit for them. And in a lot of cases, you'll see, you know, the great thing about having other communities in the region is that they have a unique personality that chimes through in the way of tourism and other things that are happening, different events that are hosted. I don't think anyone in Alberta, in Central Alberta, for sure, could, you know, imagine Central Alberta without the Pinoka Stampede as an example. Yeah. Different education skills, different trade levels, different, you know, it's different pockets of skill levels in the different communities. They're all unique. Well, I mean, you take that and you translate it to, you know, a lot of the work that Red Deer Polytechnic and Old College have been up to and how that transfers back into, you know, literally in the fields of Central Alberta. Yeah. Some of the work that they're doing there and, you know, just making sure that there's enough capacity in the system to take advantage of some of the areas that are really growing, like different kinds of technology. Yeah. We're so fortunate that we have them in our backyard. They work very well with us. And, you know, like some of the legacies that come from hosting the Canada Summer Games or Winter Games in Red Deer, you know, just all the stuff that comes with that just improves everybody's life and quality of life in the region. Right. Right. So, if you want to talk about a partnership, we could talk about the airport. Oh, absolutely. Yeah, I think that's a great example. And, you know, it's been, I mean, that project's been kind of out there for a long time, but sometimes that's another example of economic development where you kind of just have to bang the table for, you know, 15 or 20 years to make things happen and keep in front of, you know, elected officials in the region, but also at a provincial and federal level to keep on the radar and make sure they know, you know, the importance of those kinds of projects. Yeah, we just put $15 million into the runway and the apron. So, we can now land the 737s, which will give us access to scheduled passenger flights as well as large cargo opportunities. So, that is a huge boon to the airport right now. And we have 800,000 square metres of airside and groundside access up at the north end of the runway, which is pretty much unheard of. So, this is a huge opportunity for the Red Deer Regional Airport. And we're very excited to see where this will lead us in the next couple of years. Yeah, and you know what? I'm kind of blessed and cursed to be on a flight path, living on a flight path in Calgary. And from time to time, I'll look up and I'll see an Amazon plane that's coming in. And now with the capabilities that you've got at the Red Deer Regional Airport, you might see some of that Purple Air airplanes coming up your way too. So, you know, it's so interesting how things have changed in terms of how people shop and what they do. But it just doesn't seem to be going anywhere different anyway. So, you know, it's just incredible what people are doing these days. Yeah, and we're looking at a new terminal as well. So, that's in the plans for the next year. Hopefully, that will be the next expenditure. Yeah, Sandy, what would you say is the time frame for, you know, when you expect that you're going to be able to land those 737s? And presumably, there's, you know, talks with the airlines in Canada these days on scheduling in the future. And of course, all that's under wraps until you make an announcement. But, you know, as far as the preparation for the airport is concerned, what kind of time frame do you think we're looking at to see those kinds of things? Well, technically, we can land them now. The runway is wide enough and strong enough, it can handle them on a daily basis. The scheduled passenger service with the talks with ultralight low-cost carriers, they are hoping to have a terminal in place before we get into discussions with them. So, we're hoping to have the funding in place to build the terminal and have it operational by the end of 2024 with passenger service by the fall of 2025. Hopefully, if all the planets align and the stars are in the right place, that's the plan. Again, it's all dependent on the low-cost carriers. And if they find that it's viable to be here, they need to do their feasibility studies as well and find out. We have been in conversations with some of them. Again, it'll be totally up to them. But it's not out of the question. We're not hanging our hat on that because that's not where the sustainability of the airport will come from. The sustainability of the airport will come from cargo and maintenance and aeronautic maintenance or other type of different support services. Yeah, manufacturing, that type of stuff. That's where the sustainability of the airport will come from. So, that's where the development along the north end of the airport will. That'll be where that manufacturing and building and hangers come in. Because we've got that airside access, Calgary has no more room for development. The Edmonton airport, I think, we're a little bit more competitive than they will be. So, I think it will be a very attractive place for businesses to come to. Yeah, I mean, you think in two and a half years, basically, it's going to really change the landscape of what's possible in that area. Absolutely. That's so cool. It'll probably relieve, in some cases, it'll probably relieve a little bit of truck traffic. But then again, you'll have room for logistics and moving off of different air cargo for transport. Probably more like east-west from there, I would guess, within the region. But that'll save some time and effort for a lot of work that's happening now in the bigger cities. Yeah, and the access to the QE2 is so close. It's so handy. And then again, Junction 42 is right there. That is our new innovative business campus that we've got a vision for. There's two quarter sections that are, the one quarter section is shovel ready at this moment. The second quarter section can be at, if a business came to us and said, we need in, we could have it ready in no time. We're looking at commercial, highway commercial. We're looking at medium industrial. We're looking at business development out there, ag tech, all kinds of different innovative support businesses that will be out there. Very high tech, green innovation businesses are our plans. So that's where we're going with Junction 42. It's not just a truck stop. It's not just a place for trucks. It's going to be our huge innovative business campus out there. Yeah, and that's so great. I mean, it really changes things when you're on the Highway 2 corridor in Alberta, like the QE2. So many businesses just want to be in proximity. In a lot of cases, Central Alberta has the unique position of being in an hour and a half from both Edmonton and Calgary. Yeah, the internationals. Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, in that case, a lot of branch offices can be located in the region. And if you've got business in Edmonton and Calgary, you can kind of head one way for meetings and head the other way. And you're not sort of taking up that extra time on the highway. Well, and a lot of vision out there is the agri-tech, the biomass, hybrid vertical farming models, that type of stuff. Just so we've kind of learned that we can't rely on California and Mexico for our food. And so if we can do it here, why not? And I can't see why we can't. These innovative, sustainable developments are the new way of doing things. And we've got to start looking at how we can take care of ourselves. And I can't see why we can't do it. And there's got to be these circular businesses that build off each other and create opportunities for other businesses to flourish and then bring in those residents, bring in those jobs that help keep the smaller communities flourishing. Exactly. And I mean, you've got good water infrastructure in the region as well, like a regional water system and regional wastewater systems that are being managed in sort of saving cost as a big regional system in a lot of cases. But even just the water supply itself through the Red Deer River and all the other tributaries coming through Central Alberta, there's lots of water there. You see examples of more sophisticated greenhouses and vertical farming, like you say, that are really changing things. And then more and more people investigating the geothermal heat option as well. And there might be some chance for that. I know some of the work that I've done across Alberta, there's even some of the trials with lithium brine extraction out of the Clearwater, which is kind of in that Vashaw area just east of Lacombe. Some down in Sudbury as well. Yeah, for sure. So there's just so many different things happening these days. And it's great to see rural Alberta really you know, pardon the pun, taking the bull by the horns and making things happen. And, you know, Sandy, you've done such a fantastic job to be a catalyst in making these things happen around you and opening so many doors for people to make things happen as well. So anyways, I think this has been a fantastic conversation. Sandy, I really appreciate you taking the time today to connect and share your story with us today. Of course, look for us online on your favorite podcast, Live, Work, Play, the economic development podcast. Thanks again, Sandy. I look forward to seeing you. Yeah, I look forward to seeing you again for real in the flesh at some of the events that are coming up here across Alberta. For sure. Absolutely. Thank you, Sandy.