City to update Heritage Management Plan

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on October 21, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

The Cultural and Social Standing Policy Committee of Lethbridge city council is recommending that council proceed with an updated Heritage Management Plan.

Senior community planner Ross Kilgour on Thursday made a presentation to the SPC about two options it could consider.

The recommended option was to proceed with a draft updated HMP to be finalized by administration and submitted to council for approval.

This plan, the SPC was told, will serve as a framework for recommended follow-up work with the Blackfoot Confederacy and Metis Nation of Alberta – Lethbridge and Area.

The plan was adopted by council in 2007 and is being updated to include Indigenous heritage and a greater consideration “for cultural landscapes, districts and areas and to better include under-represented stories such as women, racial and ethnic minorities and 2SLGBTQQIA peoples,” said Kilgour’s report.

The report stated the current HMP is outdated since it doesn’t reflect the City’s heritage program as it currently exists.

The updated goal is to “protect the historic places of Lethbridge/Sikoohkotok and to promote an awareness of the city’s rich heritage in order to ensure that the stewardship of our heritage – past, present and future – is at the heart” of the city’s development.

One draft update is to investigate potential for designation of the Oldman River valley as a national historic site, the SPC heard.

Since 2007, city council has designated 28 municipal historic resources.

Among objectives are to “identify, recognize and where appropriate, conserve and protect historic places” that reflect the rich and diverse heritage of the city.

The plan also wants to inspire people to discover and care about historic places to promote conservation of those historic places and to educate others about them.

The SPC consists of chair and councillor Mark Campbell, vice-chair and acting mayor Jenn Schmidt-Rempel, councillor Jeff Carlson and councillor Nick Paladino.

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