Chestermere votes in favour of being city
Community just east of Calgary hopes to become a city in January 2015
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- Chestermere will officially become a city on Jan. 1 after getting provincial approval Dec. 19
Chestermere councillors have voted in favour of changing from a town to a city on Jan. 1, 2015.
The vote, which passed 6-1, took place in the community just east of Calgary Monday night in a packed council chambers.
The province still has to approve the status change.
"The biggest downside is the emotional aspect," Mayor Patricia Matthews said while responding to a question about the negatives of becoming a city.
She said in 2004 she investigated whether the community should have capped its population.
The population is now more than 17,000 people.
A town can change its status to city once it hits 10,000 residents, and Chestermere surpassed that in 2007.
Currently there are 17 cities in Alberta, and there are roughly 10 towns that have enough population to be eligible for city status.