Latest News

I hope you are enjoying the heart of the summer of 2026!  Early summer was a busy time with a successful Neighbour Day at the hall in June.  In July, there was the Stampede Breakfast held jointly with Tuxedo Park and Mount Pleasant Community Associations at Our House restaurant.  A big thank you to all of the members who volunteered to make these events great successes!

The next event on the calendar is the Community Clean Up that will be held in the WHMCA Hall parking lot on Saturday, September 5^th.  Bring out your large and small items for the landfill or recycling.  Metal objects and electronics will be given special treatment.  If you would like to volunteer or need more information, please see the article in this newsletter or email events@winstonheights.ca.

On the projects side, there has been some success with funding inititatives in the past month.  The Federation of Calgary Communities has indicated that the Urban Hen Project is eligible to receive a Good Places grant.  Please  congratulate Jile Meyn for his work to get this grant.  This is in addition to a generous community donation of $4,500 has been pledged in memory of Robin Swiderski, a local resident and backyard chicken keeper who passed away earlier this year.  If you are interested in this project please visit https://winstonheights.ca/chickens/.

The other project that is ongoing is the Kitchen Renovation.  The WHMCA has been working with the City of Calgary and its architects and engineers over the past five years to design a renewed kitchen in the main building.  Since this is a very large project which includes electrical, air makeup, plumbing, wheelchair access and cabinetry upgrades, grants are being pursued with the Province of Alberta and the City of Calgary.  In 2025, we submitted an expression of interest to the Alberta Community Facility Enhancement Program Large grant program but were rejected.  A new expression of interest was submitted this May which was accepted.  A full application was submitted in July, and we will find out if we are successful or not in December.  Many, many thanks are due to Jile Meyn, Marcia Xavier, Suzanne Mott, Ben McKenzie, Jeffrey Haussecker and Tyler Ellis for their work on this project, which at times has been quite intensive.  If you would like to help with this project, or anything related to facilities & operations, please email me at president@winstonheights.ca.

Thanks, Alex Reed, President.

Hello All,

Here is the most recent update regarding ENMAX’s proposed transmission line replacement project.

ENMAX has presented eight different route options for the Central Calgary Transmission Line. Detailed information is available by visiting the ENMAX Central Calgary Transmission Line Replacement Project Page .

More than 100 residents attended the two ENMAX open houses in early June to provide initial feedback, but you still have time to share your input. The online survey is open from June 2 to July 15.

How to provide feedback:

• Online: Complete the official questionnaire directly via the ENMAX Project Survey Link.
• Phone: 403-514-1471
• Email:stakeholderrelations@enmax.com

Community & City Alignment
The Winston Heights-Mountview Community Association (WHMCA) maintains that Option 8 on the survey is the only viable route. There is significant institutional alignment on this position:

• The City of Calgary Real Estate and Development Services supports burying the line.
• City Parks and Open Spaces oppose overhead transmission lines through parks and residential areas.
• Councillor DJ Kelly is firmly opposed to overhead transmission lines.
• Alpha Built, the developer for two parcels in Midfield Heights is opposed to overhead lines and is retaining legal counsel to act as an intervenor.

Further Updates
Our previous lawyer, Gavin Fitch, has moved from McLennan Ross to Cassels. He has agreed to represent WHMCA again under the same terms if we decide to act as intervenors in the next round of Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) hearings.

Additionally, long-time community volunteer and returning resident Linda Sharp has connected with the property managers at The Munro (the rental complex above the Co-op). They have agreed to let Linda host upcoming information sessions on-site for residents.

Next Steps
In the early fall, ENMAX will review all stakeholder feedback to finalize the routes for its AUC application. Once finalized, they will circulate these options to stakeholders, though the scope of further community feedback remains unclear.

Later in the fall, ENMAX will formally submit its application to the AUC. Depending on the route options they choose, WHMCA will make a final decision on whether to officially step in as legal intervenors.

Please feel free to share this update with your neighbours etc.

Sincerely,

The Winston Heights-Mountview Powerline Committee

I want to thank everyone who came to the WHMCA Annual General Meeting on May 26th.  There was a very full agenda including updating of the bylaws and objects of the Association, discussion of the Urban Hen Program, and recognition of the outstanding efforts of our volunteers.

The Michelle Hogaboam Volunteer Award for exceptional recent impact was given to Craig Baskett.  Craig has led the Power Line Committee for the last eighteen months.  Craig unfailingly has kept on top of the transmission line issues; arranged virtual meetings with the powerline committee, the lawyer, & with other parties; prepared the powerline updates for the mailing list that he maintains; chased down property owners to inform them about potential impacts; and communicated directly with politicians & ENMAX personnel.  Thank you Craig for all of your efforts.

The WHMCA Long Service Award was given to Ben McKenzie.  Ben was honoured as he does so very much for our community, including volunteering for almost all of our events, participating on the Facility and Operations Committee, and helping with repairs and maintenance of our halls.  He is often the lead to meet with contractors if access to our halls is needed and to obtain quotes for work so that the WHMCA Board can make decisions and apply for grants to maintain the facility.  Thank you Ben for your quiet dedication for well over a decade.

I would also like to introduce you to the new General Manager for the WHMCA Hall, Heather Fox.  Heather lives in the neighbourhood and has been an active volunteer at a number of WHMCA events in the past two years.  Please drop by the hall and say hello to Heather and welcome her to this new role.

Finally, I wish to thank Suzanne Mott for her last ten years as Hall Manager.  She has done an outstanding job welcoming renters and members to our facility, been an organizer for a number of volunteer activities, and provided significant advice to the Facilities & Operations and Finance Committees and the Board.  She says she is still interested in volunteering in retirement, so we should still see her around in future.

One of the great pleasures of living in Winston Heights-Mountview is walking and playing in the many parks we have.  In addition to Winston Heights, Munro, Marsden and Victory Parks, there is the great stretch of semi-wilderness along the valley edge from 6^th Street NE to Midfield Heights adjacent to the Winston Golf Course.  As the snows of winter recede, it is hard not to notice the pieces of litter that blew into these locations.  As you walk through your favorite park please keep it beautiful by picking up five or ten pieces of litter and throwing them into your black bin.  I personally find that once I pick up one piece I notice ten more, then ten more after that, and so on and so on.  If you chip in by picking up a small number that will still make a great difference to our green spaces.

Speaking of Munro Park, it is currently fenced off while the City of Calgary Parks & Recreation department revitalizes the space.  The walking loop, open playfield, fitness equipment, and most of the mature trees will be retained.  A kids’ play zone, a community plaza, salvaged public art from Olympic Plaza, rain gardens and other features will be added.  Work is expected to be completed in autumn 2026.  To learn more details search for “Munro Park Upgrades” on calgary.ca.

Can you think of any member of the WHMCA that deserves recognition?  At the Annual General Meeting  we will recognize two community members with the following awards:

• Long Service Award – for outstanding long-term commitment (greater than 15 years).
• Michelle Hogaboam Volunteer Award – for exceptional recent impact.

Please send an email to Alex Reed (president@winstonheights.ca) to nominate your favorite volunteer.

The WHMCA Annual General Meeting will be held in the Main Hall (520-27th Avenue NE) on Tuesday, May 26th at 7:00 pm.  Wine and cheese will be served starting at 6:30 pm.  Friendships & conversation will continue thereafter.

On November 11 & 12, 2025, volunteers from the WHMCA worked at Pure Casino in northeast Calgary to raise funds for the community association.  The cheque arrived from AGLC in February totalling $89,637.25 – a record amount!  I especially want to thank Beth Lawton for organizing this event, which she does every 18 months.  Great thanks also to the 32 members who worked over the course of both days.  Over 256 hours, each volunteer earned $350/hour.  That’s a lot more money than most of us will earn working!

Casino revenues are an extremely important part of the WHMCA budget.  Casino funds are used for small capital projects (for example, for part of the cost to replace two HVAC units on the hall in 2025), small equipment, and if necessary, operations costs.  These funds keep the budget balanced each year.

Incidentally, Beth and Dave Lawton received WHMCA Long Service Award at the Annual General Meeting in May 2025.  Over many years, they have both organized volunteer activities such as the casinos and also assisted with building maintenance.  Is there any member of the WHMCA that you can think of that deserves recognition?  At the Annual General Meeting  we will recognize two community members with the following awards:

• Long Service Award – for outstanding long-term commitment (greater than 15 years).
• Michelle Hogaboam Volunteer Award – for exceptional recent impact.

Please send an email to Alex Reed to nominate your favorite volunteer.

The WHMCA Annual General Meeting will be held in the Main Hall (520-27th Avenue NE) on Tuesday, May 26^th at 7:00 pm.  Wine and cheese will be served starting at 6:30 pm.  Friendships & conversation will continue thereafter.

Thanks,

Alex

Enmax hosted two public information sessions about the Central Calgary Transmission Line Replacement Project (CCTL) on December 6th and 10th.  About 90 people attended both sessions in total.  At these sessions Enmax was only looking for input from the public including on routing options.  Enmax indicated that buried lines are more expensive than aboveground lines.  To address this the WHMCA Power Line committee has suggested that if an aboveground component is required that it be routed along the south side of 16^th Avenue NE.  If the line has to be routed along 17^th Avenue NE, the committee is advocating that it be buried for its full length.  If you want more information about the project visit enmax.com/cctl.  Contact the WHMCA Power Line Committee at powerline@winstonheights.ca.

As of this writing (January 11th) the City of Calgary was still requiring water restrictions due to the Bearspaw water main break.  Completion of repairs was expected within the week.  During the outage all of the water for the city was coming solely from the Glenmore Reservoir which has a limited capacity, particularly in winter.  Thank you for reducing your personal water usage during this time as it benefitted all of us by conserving water for later use.  The moral of the story is that Calgary requires redundant pipelines that can ensure we still have 100% access to water even if another pipeline break occurs.  Please contact your local officials to advocate for this.

The water restrictions affected both outdoor skating rinks at the WHMCA grounds and Marsden Park.  No flooding occurred during this time.  Buckets of water were used to repair the worst gouges and holes if necessary.  Please show your love of the outdoors by skating or playing hockey this February.  The Marsden Park rink is being taken care of by Craig Baskett and Shawn Gostola and is a small rink intended for families.  The large WHMCA rink has boards and nets and can be used for family skating and hockey games.  The volunteer team for the latter rink is headed by Blair Cosgrove, Joseph Chan, and Dave Ironside.  If you would like to volunteer please email rink@winstonheights.ca.  There may be hot chocolate on weekends!  If you would like more information on this program please contact hallmanager@winstonheights.ca.

Finally, the WHMCA Board of Directors is looking for additional board members and committee members.  The Board of Directors meets the first Tuesday of every month except August starting at 7 pm.  As a board member you can see all aspects of how the community association works and have a say in its direction.  Want to be more focussed instead?  The Communications and Facility & Operations committees need additional members to progress ongoing activities and larger projects.  If any of these roles are of interest to you please contact Alex Reed at president@winstonheights.ca or 587-582-5342.

Thanks,

Alex

Winston Heights–Mountview Residents,

The Winston Heights–Mountview Powerline Committee met with ENMAX yesterday to receive an update on the Central Calgary Transmission Line Replacement Project. We want to share the key points from that meeting with our community.

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New Application Coming

ENMAX confirmed that they plan to submit a new application to the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) for the transmission line replacement. Because the AUC declined the first application, all route options are once again under consideration.

This means ENMAX is reviewing several potential routes, including:

• 16th Avenue
• The alley south of 16th Avenue
• 17th Avenue (overhead or underground)
• 18th, 19th, and 20th Avenues

The start and end points of the line—Substation 3 and Nose Creek Valley—remain fixed, but the route between them is open for evaluation.

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Community Consultation Timeline

ENMAX emphasized that they are committed to improving their consultation process with all stakeholders, including our community. They outlined the following timeline:

• December 2025: Public sessions to gather general input
• Q1 2026: Consultations to present route concepts and gather feedback
• Q2 2026: Consultations to present the preferred route options that will be part of the new application

ENMAX aims to submit the second application to the AUC in June 2026. The AUC typically takes about 10 months to make a decision, so a final decision is likely in 2027.

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Why This Matters to Our Community

Because the potential route area now extends as far north as 20th Avenue, this project could affect many parts of Winston Heights–Mountview. It’s imperative that everyone in our community is aware of the possible impacts and participates in the consultation process.

Please share this email with your friends and neighbours in the community, and encourage them to join our mailing list to stay informed.
To subscribe, simply send an email with the word “subscribe” in the subject line to powerline@winstonheights.ca.

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Next Steps for the Committee

Once we know what route options ENMAX plans to include in their second application, the committee will decide whether to act as interveners again in the AUC process.
If we proceed, we will once again engage McLennan Ross LLP to represent our community’s interests.

At this point, thanks to a generous community donor who provided a top-up, we currently have $15,000 held in trust with McLennan Ross for future use related to this project.

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Our committee will continue to stay engaged in this process and share updates as new information becomes available. We strongly encourage residents to participate in the upcoming consultations to ensure our community’s voice is heard.

If you have questions or would like to share your thoughts ahead of the consultations, please contact ENMAX at stakeholderrelations@enmax.com.

Thank you for your continued interest and involvement in this important project.

Warm regards,
Winston Heights–Mountview Powerline Committee

This month, I would like to introduce you to the inner workings of two of the WHMCA communications channels.  The paper newsletter is distributed to every community household at the beginning of each month by Canada Post.  However, our editorial deadline is the 9^th of the previous month which means some information will be more than three weeks old by the time you read it.  This can be too slow for fast-moving developments such as the ENMAX power line proposals.  To compensate for that, we also send e-newsletters once or twice per month to all WHMCA members by email.  If you wish to have timely community information please sign up for membership.  Household membership is only $20 per year and also allows you to volunteer, have free admission to seasonal events, vote at general meetings, and other benefits.

Following public engagement earlier this year, the City of Calgary will start work on upgrades to Munro Park in November.  These upgrades will be additive to the work done in 2017 and will include natural play areas and gardens, 120 new trees,  a community plaza, salvaged public art from Olympic Plaza, and a 3-on-3 basketball court.  The work is scheduled to take a year to complete.  Learn more.

Finally, the WHMCA Board of Directors is looking for additional board members and committee members.  The Board of Directors meets the first Tuesday of every month except August starting at 7 pm.  As a board member you can see all aspects of how the community association works and have a say in its direction.  Want to be more focussed instead?  The Communications and Facility & Operations committees need additional members to progress ongoing activities and larger projects.  If any of these roles are of interest to you please contact Alex Reed at president@winstonheights.ca or 587-582-5342.

Thanks,

Alex
Winston Heights-Mountview Community Association
Calgary, Alberta

Paper Newsletter Distribution Problems

One of the goals of the WHMCA in the past year has been to increase the number of ways we communicate with you, our community members.  Unfortunately, the Canada Post strike has been a severe disruption to the WHMCA newsletter.  The September newsletter was given to Canada Post but they have not distributed it.  Great News Media, our publisher, has made arrangements for a private contractor to place these newsletters in your mailbox going forward.  If you or your neighbours have not received them, please contact newsletter@winstonheights.ca or president@winstonheights.ca.

ENMAX Power Line

Despite the AUC decision in August to turn down the ENMAX application to build a powerline along 16th and 17th Avenues and through Munro Park, ENMAX may soon submit a revised application to the AUC, potentially including a similar route through our neighborhood. The Power Line Committee is still active and has retained Gavin Fitch of McLennan Ross to provide legal representation to ensure our community’s concerns are effectively heard and considered. If you live near the route and would like to help the committee, please email powerline@winstonheights.ca.

Would You Like to be a Board Member?

Finally, the WHMCA Board of Directors is looking for additional board members and committee members.  The Board of Directors meets the first Tuesday of every month except August starting at 7 pm.  As a board member you can see all of the aspects of how the community association works and have a say in its direction.  Want to be more focussed instead?  The Communications and Facility & Operations committees need some additional members to progress ongoing activities and also larger projects.  If any of these roles are of interest to you please contact Alex Reed at president@winstonheights.ca or 587-582-5342.

AUC Denies ENMAX Application

As many of you may have heard, the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) has denied ENMAX Power Corporation’s application for the Central Calgary Transmission Line Replacement Project.

The AUC’s decision was based primarily on two issues:

• Insufficient consultation with adjacent landowners
• Safety concerns related to the proposed above-ground route

This is a significant win for our community—thank you to everyone who contributed time, effort, and support throughout the process.

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Potential Second Application

Despite the positive outcome, ENMAX may soon submit a revised application to the AUC, potentially including a similar route through our neighborhood. If that happens, it will be important to have legal representation in place to ensure our community’s concerns are effectively heard and considered.

Gavin Fitch of McLennan Ross, who represented us in the first hearing, has indicated he is willing to represent us again under the same condition: securing a $15,000 retainer to cover any legal expenses not reimbursed through the AUC’s participant cost recovery program.

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Financial Update & Community Contributions

As part of the first hearing, individuals who formally intervened on behalf of the community received small honoraria from McLennan Ross in recognition of their time and efforts. We’re pleased to share that every intervener who received an honorarium has generously donated it back to the legal fund, in anticipation of the possibility that we may need to respond to a new application.

Thanks to these donations—totalling $1,100—we are now only short $429.25 between the total legal fees billed and the amount reimbursed by the AUC. This remaining amount will be covered by the retainer currently held in trust by McLennan Ross.

With the approval of the original donors, we will keep the remaining $14,540.75 in trust for now, pending ENMAX’s next steps.

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Upcoming Meeting with ENMAX

At ENMAX’s request, the Powerline Committee will be meeting with them on October 29 to learn more about their updated plans. We will share a summary of that discussion with the broader community afterward.

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Committee Update

King Yip has stepped down from the Powerline Committee.
A heartfelt thank you for all your contributions, King! Your work has made a real and lasting impact.

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We’ll continue to keep you informed as the situation develops. Thank you again for your continued interest and support.

The Winston Heights–Mountview Powerline Committee (Craig Baskett, Jack Jonasson, DJ Kelly, Trish Kotow, Alex Reed, Anne Scott)