Okotoks Town Council voted in favour of a budget amendment to create a Municipal Heritage Designation Program to preserve and protect heritage properties within town boundaries on Monday, July 17.

The 2017 Operating Budget has been amended for $10,000 in 2017, with the overall project cost estimated at $60,000 funded from the Cultural Reserve.

Allan Boss, Culture and Heritage Manager for the Town of Okotoks, says it would be a voluntary designation program residents could sign up for.

"The heritage properties can both be tangible like buildings or parks, or intangible like oral stories that are passed down from generation to generation. Okotoks is a location that is rich with history, the program would allow business owners, homeowners, and other people to get their building designated as a heritage property."

Boss says the hope is that down the road the Municipal Heritage Designation Program would also move into incentivizing the maintenance of heritage properties.

He adds having a heritage property is not only a source of pride for the owner, but provides security as well.

"There's research that shows heritage properties do at least as good if not better than the majority of properties within the real estate market, so your property holds it's value, or gains value more than other properties would because of the designation. It also sets specific rules in place about what can, and cant be done with a heritage property, and these measures are all to try and preserve a facility."

The program, which will work in alignment with the Culture and Heritage Master Plan is expected to be complete by 2020.

Boss says he's excited to have more opportunity to protect Okotoks' history.

"Much of a municipalities' identity comes out of it's history, what brought us here, what made us what we are, how did the municipality develop, and where is it going in the future. History always informs what happens in the future, it's really important because it tells us where we have come from, and if we don't preserve it, it disappears and is forgotten."

The Town will now hire a consultant to look into policy for the Municipal Heritage Designation Program.

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