Blackfalds

Welcome

Welcome to the Town of Blackfalds! It is a pleasure on behalf of the Council and Staff of the Town of Blackfalds, to welcome you to our Town. We are fortunate to have newcomers, like yourself, relocating to Blackfalds.

What makes ours a great community is its citizens and their involvement in the Town activities and organizations. I hope that you enjoy Blackfalds and everything that it has to offer its citizens.

Thank you for choosing our great community.

Should you require any future assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me, the Council Members or any of the Town Staff at the Blackfalds Mailbox.

Sincerely,

Wayne Tutty
Chief Elected Official
Town of Blackfalds

Blackfalds IS a nice place to grow!

Area Overview

Blackfalds, a fast growing community with a population of 3,955, is nestled halfway between Red Deer and Lacombe in Central Alberta. The ten minute commute in either direction provides the residents of Blackfalds not only a wide range of employment opportunities and post secondary educational institutions, but also regional-scale shopping outlets and entertainment.

Through the Municipal Development Plan, the Town is fulfilling its commitment to maintaining a small town atmosphere while expanding the industrial and residential base and improving the quality of life for its citizens. Affordable housing, a quiet place to live, new recreational facilities, plus ample business opportunities and close proximity to major transportation routes will continue to increase the population and economy making it easy to say that, indeed, Blackfalds is..."A Nice Place to Grow!"

Blackfalds is a friendly community of young families. Currently, eighty-five per cent of the population consists of people under the age of 40 years.

In 1995, it was known as the "Birth Capital of Alberta." Thirty-five per cent of the population are children.

Blackfalds residents choose their community over others because of its quality of life. Results of a recent survey show: sixty-five per cent of the population indicated they live in the community because of its rural lifestyle, recreational amenities and low crime rate. The remaining thirty-five per cent prefer the town for its affordable cost of housing and living.

"Community Pride" is not just talked about in Blackfalds. It's evident in the participation in community events such as Blackfalds Days held each spring as well as other events throughout the year. It shows up in the well-tended yards and flower gardens seen throughout the town and it is evident in the response to volunteer needs. Some projects have seen men, women and children working together for the betterment of the community. In Blackfalds, people know their neighbors. They watch out for each other's children and property. They're like family. If you'd like to live in that kind of community you'd be welcome in Blackfalds!

Blackfalds is a "Community of Commuters." At present, over sixty-five per cent of the working population travel to Red Deer for employment. The remainder work in Blackfalds; the nearby petrochemical plants, or the Blindman Industrial Park. Blackfalds is their home-base, partly due to its central location and convenient highway access.

Community Services

Blackfalds is proud of its commitment to providing quality community services to all
residents. A variety of recreation and culture programs are offered through the town or
by local community groups. These programs, in combination with some first-rate
facilities and big-time special events, should offer everyone a healthy dose of
community spirit.

Stoking community spirit is a key mission of the Community Services Department. One
method of accomplishing this mission is to hold community-wide special events. The
most notable of these is Blackfalds Days, which is held the first weekend of June.
Blackfalds Days is a huge event that involves three days of activities, including a
parade, soapbox derby, community dinner, cabaret, youth dance, and tons of other fun
events. Canada Day, Volunteer Appreciation Week, and Senior Citizen's Week are also
celebrated.

Our Community: Groups, Events and Neighbourhood Place.

Community Lifestyle

You are welcome to experience our progressive small-town lifestyle by viewing our Community and Town newsletters, and you are welcome to subscribe online at the Blackfalds newsletter page.

Economic Facts

Summary of Projects underway in Blackfalds as of 2004: 
Commercial/Retail 2 $835,000
Institutional 2 $7,000,000
Residential 3 $1,160,000
Tourism/Recreation 1 $50,000
Total 8 $9,045,000
This inventory lists projects in Alberta that have recently been completed, are under
construction, or are proposed to start construction. Not all projects are listed due to
reasons of confidentiality and/or due to information not being available at the time of
printing. Project data is obtained from public information sources, where possible, this
data has been verified with the project proponent/developer, users of the Inventory
may wish to confirm project data with the proponent/developer. The inventory does not
breakdown project expenditures by any given year. The cost of a project is the value of
expenditures expected over all phases of project construction, which may span over
two or more years. Cost of projects listed in the Inventory are estimated values only.

Source:
Alberta Economic Development, 2004.

Education

Under the Wolf Creek School Division No.72 and Red Deer Catholic REgional Division No. 39, Blackfalds has an excellent reputation for academic achievement. Many parents report moving to Blackfalds specifically for the quality of educational service available in the local school system.

Due to the growing student population at the existing Kindergarten to Grade 9 school in Blackfalds, it was decided several years ago to split the school into two campuses. The new campus is located along Leung Road on the west side of town and opened at the beginning of the 2004/2005 school year.

In light of this exciting change for Blackfalds, it was agreed that the name of the original school should be changed to the “Iron Ridge Campus”. This will be the official name of both school sites. The sites will be differentiated with the following names: Iron Ridge Elementary Campus and Iron Ridge Junior Campus. Alda Lovell is principal for both schools.

At present, Catholic students are bused into Red Deer, just 10 minutes south. The town eagerly awaits the construction of a local Catholic school, although the future dates for this have not yet been confirmed. The high school students are bused to Lacombe Composite High School in Lacombe-10 minutes north of Blackfalds. L.C.H.S. is one of the top secondary schools in all of Alberta.

Emergency Services

Emergency 911 Service
Lacombe Municipal Ambulance Service - Advance Life Support Service

Law Enforcement
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) from Red Deer's Rural Detachment supplies
police coverage. The Town of Blackfalds employs a provincially appointed Special
Constable for the enforcement of various provincial statutes and town by-laws. All by-
law information concerning land use, garbage, dog licensing, etc. can be obtained at the
Town Office.

Fire
The Blackfalds Volunteer Fire Department considers safety and training to be their two
high priorities. In addition to basic training requirements, the Department practices two
evenings each month. They also receive two sessions per year at the NOVA gas plant
east of Blackfalds. Firefighters are called out at any time of the day or night to respond
to fires or similar emergencies. There are an average of 45 – 50 calls per year, ranging
from fire calls to motor vehicles accidents and personal distress requests.

Blackfalds Days Event: firefighters offer the firetruck a lift home

Key Contacts for Business Development

Municipal (updated June 2003)
Town of Blackfalds
Box 220
5016A Waghorn Street
Blackfalds, Alberta
T0M 0J0
Telephone: 403-885-4677
Fax: 403-885-4610
E-Mail:Blackfalds General Mailbox

Wayne Tutty
Mayor
Wayne Tutty

Lyle Wack
C.A.O.
Lyle Wack

Gail Long P
lanning & Development Officer
Gail Long

Provincial (Updated December 2004)
Alberta Economic Development
2rd Floor, Provincial Building
4920 - 51 Street Red Deer, Alberta
T4N 6K8
Tel: 403-340-5300
Fax: 403-340-5231
Andre Tremblay, Regional Manager
andre.tremblay@gov.ab.ca
Dawna Allard, Regional Development Officer
dawna.allard@gov.ab.ca
Lisa Houle, Regional Project Officer
lisa.houle@gov.ab.ca

Raymond Prins
Member of the Legislative Assembly [MLA]
Lacombe-Stettler Constituency
131 Legislature Building
10800 - 97 Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta
T5K 2B6
Telephone: 780-427-1807
Fax: 780-427-1234

Federal (Updated May 2006)
Red Deer, Alberta
MILLS, Robert (Bob) (Conservative)

Parliamentary Address
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Telephone: (613) 995-0590
Fax: (613) 995-6831
E-Mail: Mills.B@parl.gc.ca

Constituency Address
4921 - 47th Street
Red Deer, Alberta
T4N 1R4
Telephone: (403) 347-7426 1-800-667-0523
Fax: (403) 347-7423
TTY:
E-Mail: bmillsmp@telusplanet.net

PLEASE NOTE: The following charts, graphs and tables are based Federal and Municipal
Government statistical releases. For more current information you may contact the
Town Office.

Location

Blackfalds is situated in mid-south central Alberta, just a few minutes north of the bustling City of Red Deer. Blackfalds is located on Highway 2A, a two lane highway, and has a connector access one kilometer away to Highway 2 which, incidentally, is Alberta’s main north-south four lane divided highway running between Edmonton and Calgary.

The Town of Blackfalds is able to boast the quickest commute to a city center of any town in Alberta - 10 minutes or less. Locally, the Town of Blackfalds is the closest urban center to the Joffre area petrochemical plants. It is less than five minutes away from Burbank Park, adjacent to the Blindman River, and just twenty minutes east of two major outdoor recreational areas, Sylvan Lake and Gull Lake.

Blackfalds is on highways 2, 2A and secondary 597, 7 km north of Red Deer and within 150 km of Calgary and Edmonton. Click here for link to maps and area information

Blackfalds & Area Location Map

Taxation

	Residential/Farmland	Non-Residential
2005
Municipal Tax Rate	11.9790	11.9790
Education - Alberta School Foundation Fund Tax Rate	2.8000	5.4110
Seniors Lodge Accommodation Tax Rate	.0820	.0820

Population

Total Population 1991-2001

Blackfalds Population by Age Group (2001)

Education Statistics

Blackfalds Highest Level of Schooling 2001

Labour Force

Blackfalds Labour Force By Industry - 2001

Income

Family Expenditure

Blackfalds Family Expenditures (1996)

Building Permits

Total Housing Starts

Value of Building Permits

Dwellings

Projects

Summary of Projects in Blackfalds as of September 2006

Value of Projects by Sector (as of September 2006)

Largest Projects in Blackfalds as of September 2006