Downtown Business Revitalization Zone Association of Grande Prairie fonds. — 1973-2000. — 79.5 cm of textual records.
Agency History
When the City of Grande Prairie updated its General Plan in the early 1970s, the conclusion was made that “the downtown area was threatened with serious deterioration and unless this trend was stopped, it would result in major losses to those who were located in the area.…” In response to this concern, the Central Business Association was formed in October 1974.
In December 1983, City Council enacted by-law C-801, creating The Downtown Business Revitalization Zone and funding became available for the organization through a business and property levy imposed on all members and through contributions from the City. This eventually allowed the group to hire a manager and an administrative secretary. The long-term goals of the organization were “to make the downtown a destination place rather than store specific, to increase retail sales, to encourage new business into the zone, and to educate the members on all the benefits that derived from the association.” Over the years the same goals were furthered by an increasing number of community activites such as Secretaries Thank You Luncheons, the Christmas Tree of Hope and Santa Claus Parades, and Summer Festivals, all with the aim of making the downtown a more exciting place to be.
Scope and Content
The fonds consists of records of The Central Business Association; executive records of the Downtown BRZ; records of its dealings with the City of Grande Prairie; administrative documents including correspondence and financial records; newsletters and other member communications; projects dealing with beautification, street cleaning, and decorating of downtown; promotions for downtown through special events, parades, trade shows and sales promotions; sponsorship of community events coordinated with other city groups; liason with Heritage Canada; and scrapbooks featuring news clippings of BRZ initiatives.
Table of Contents
| Series 141.01 | Central Business Association |
| Series 141.02 | Executive Records |
| Series 141.02.01 | Terms of Reference |
| Series 141.02.02 | Minutes |
| Series 141.02.03 | Annual Meetings and Reports |
| Series 141.02.04 | Annual Financial Statements |
| Series 141.02.05 | Planning Documents |
| Series 141.03 | City of Grande Prairie |
| Series 141.03.01 | Legal Documents |
| Series 141.03.02 | Membership Tax Levies |
| Series 141.03.03 | Parking and Transportation |
| Series 141.03.04 | City Correspondence |
| Series 141.04 | Administration |
| Series 141.05 | Member Affairs |
| Series 141.06 | Beautification Program |
| Series 141.07 | Promotions |
| Series 141.08 | Community Relations |
| Series 141.09 | Government Liason |
| Series 141.10 | Scrapbooks |
| Series 141.01 | Central Business Association. — 1974-1983. — 4.5 cm of textual records, 1 maps.The Central Business Association was formally organized in October 1974 by ten business owners in the downtown core and representation from the City of Grande Prairie and Peace River Regional Planning Commission. The area it covered was east to the railroad tracks, west to 102 Street, south to 97 Avenue, north to 102 Avenue, and included all property facing on these streets and avenues. The objectives of the association were to promote and enhance business as well as cultural development within the defined area in cooperation with all levels of government; to improve the attractiveness of the area as well as parking and traffic circulation; and to engage in long range planning. These goals were furthered by a number of committees: Civic Affairs, Public Relations, New Business Development and Retension, Membership, Special Projects, Publicity, Parking and Traffic Control, and CBA Long Range Planning. In 1983, a by-law (C-801) was passed to create the Downtown Business Revitalization Zone Association, which assumed the responsibilities of the Central Business Association.
The series consists of the organization’s minutes of general and executive meetings. Incorporated in the minutes are minimal financial records, correspondence and membership lists. It includes one over-sized engineers’ report by William Graham Consultants on “Downtown Redevelopment of the City of Grande Prairie”. |
| Series 141.02 | Executive Records. — 1983-1998. — 23 cm of textual records.The Grande Prairie Downtown BRZ Association was first of its kind in Alberta. Its Board of Directors was made up of seven members appointed by Grande Prairie City Council—one councillor and six members from the Downtown Business Revitalization Zone. The City Manager attended board meetings in an advisory capacity. Yearly budgets were approved and funded by council. Initial committees were parking and re-development, community relations, government liaison, finance and sales/promotions.
The series consists of executive documents such as Terms of Reference; minutes of executive meetings; annual reports containing minutes, committee reports; annual financial statements; planning documents regarding the development and re-development of downtown Grande Prairie. |
| Series 141.02.01 | Terms of Reference. — 1984-1997. — 1 cm of textual records.The sub-series consists of terms of reference for committees and staff, mission statements, governing by-laws, and reviews of goals and objectives of the organization over the years. |
| Series 141.02.02 | Minutes. — 1983-1991. — 12.5 cm of textual records.The sub-series consists of minutes of BRZ Board of Directors meetings. |
| Series 141.02.03 | Annual Meetings and Reports. — 1981-1997. — 4 cm of textual records.The sub-series consists of minutes of annual meetings, committee reports, program plans and reviews. |
| Series 141.02.04 | Annual Financial Statements. — 1989-1997. — 1.5 cm of textual records.The sub-series consists of yearly financial statements prepared by accountants. |
| Series 141.02.05 | Planning Documents. — 1986-1997. — 3.5 cm of textual records.The sub-series consists of surveys, a Heritage Canada Resource Team Report, an Initiatives ’88 review and follow-up Concept ’93 report suggesting new strategies, a downtown market research project, a downtown strategic action plan, a Development Levies report, and a Swanavon Area Development Plan. |
| Series 141.03 | City of Grande Prairie. — 1983-2000. — 15 cm of textual records.The Downtown BRZ was created by order in Council of the City of Grande Prairie, the “By-law of the City of Grande Prairie to designate the downtown as a business revitalization zone and establish a board of directors of the business revitalization zone.” The original by-law authorized City Council to pass “by by-law a levy on all business assessments in the area of a uniform rate that council considers sufficient to raise the amount required to” fulfill the duties of the board to promote, improve, beautify and maintain the downtown area. Any business located within the boundaries of the BRZ was required to be a member.
The series consists of legal documents; membership tax levies; parking and transportation concerns; and correspondence. |
| Series 141.03.01 | Legal Documents. — 1983-1996. — 1 cm of textual records.The sub-series consists of copies of the City of Grande Prairie by-law C-801 and subsequent amendments which established the relationship between the BRZ and the City; a copy of the portion of the municipal act providing for the establishment of BRZs; and agreements between the City of Grande Prairie and the Downtown BRZ Association. There is also a report from a review of the land-use by-law governing downtown and discussion documents and maps regarding boundary limits and changes. |
| Series 141.03.02 | Membership Tax Levies. — 1985-1996. — 3 cm of textual records.The sub-series consists of membership lists in the BRZ; lists of the taxes levied against the membership; minutes of tax assessment committees; an investigation of commercial land tax assessments in 1992; and some correspondence regarding changes to the amount of the levy. |
| Series 141.03.03 | Parking and Transportation. — 1990-1999. — 6 cm of textual records.The sub-series consists of proposals, petitions and correspondence for paving the alleyways behind Richmond Avenue, south side from 102 Street to 99th Street; and for lane reconstruction of the alleyways relating to 98th to 102nd Streets and 100th to 101st Street Avenues. It also includes files regarding transportaion plans; parking issues and strategies; a pedestrian study; and a discussion of the re-alignment of the railroad in the downtown core. |
| Series 141.03.04 | City Correspondence. — 1983-2000. — 5 cm of textual records.The sub-series consists of correspondence between the City of Grande Prairie and the Downtown BRZ Association regarding funding the BRZ and collaborative planning; City policies on downtown issues; by-law enforcement issues; requests for improvements to parking and traffic control; and miscellaneous issues arising in the downtown area. |
| Series 141.04 | Administration. — 1983-1999. — 6 cm of textual records.The series consists of lease and insurance agreements; financial records; correspondence; and records proposing an industrial park BRZ. |
| Series 141.05 | Member Affairs. — 1985-2000. — 4.5 cm of textual records.The series consists of communications; newsletters; and Downtowner of the Year. Lists of members and businesses can also be found in the City of Grande Prairie Membership Tax Levies series and in the Promotions series. |
| Series 141.06 | Beautification Program. — 1984-2000. — 2.5 cm of textual records.The series consists of the Beautification Agreement between the City of Grande Prairie and the Downtown Association delineating responsibilities for landscaping, furnishing and decorating the downtown core; proposals and budgets for beautification projects such as “Initiatives 88” and “Project 2000”; grants and funding for Street Cleaning staff; and correspondence about beautification issues. Also included is a file containing projects undertaken for providing music, lights and decorations for the Christmas season. |
| Series 141.07 | Promotions. — 1984-1999. — 10.5 cm of textual records.The series consists of sales promotions including sidewalk sales and Vegas Nights; regional parades and trade shows; Christmas promotions involving grant applications; Halloween events; miscellaneous promotions; and brochures and logos. |
| Series 141.08 | Community Relations. — 1987-1999. — 6 cm of textual records.The series consists of records of many events including Christmas Parades; Christmas Tree of Hope; Winterlude; Millenium Celebrations; President’s Ball; Secretaries Luncheons; Street Festivals; Summer Parades; and miscellaneous events. These events usually involved coordination with other community groups such as Chamber of Commerce, Grande Prairie Museum, City of Grande Prairie, Grande Prairie Regional College, QE ll Hospital Foundation, County of G.P., city service groups, and many volunteers. |
| Series 141.09 | Government Liason. — 1983-1992. — .5 cm of textual records.The series consists of events, workshops and surveys sponsored by Heritage Canada and documents concerning the Alberta Business Revitalization Association. |
| Series 141.10 | Scrapbooks. — 1983-1998. — 7 cm of textual records.The series consists of newsclippings from local newspapers regarding the activities and interests of the Downtown Business Association. |