'Diamond Valley' an overwhelming winner in public survey

'Diamond Valley' is the overwhelming choice in a naming contest held by two towns that are currently in amalgamation talks.

Turner Valley chief executive officer Shawn Patience said just under 1,700 votes were submitted during the week-long online survey, which ended June 20, with residents choosing between the names Diamond Valley, Sheep River and Black Valley. Of the submissions considered valid, the name Diamond Valley received 75 per cent of the votes, Sheep River 17 per cent and Black Valley eight per cent.

The Towns of Black Diamond and Turner Valley, with their down-town cores three kilometres apart, submitted a letter to the Minister of Municipal Affairs last fall about their intention to formally enter into amalgamation negotiations. If the Towns decide to proceed, a report and application for amalgamation will be submitted in September.(The towns now border one another physically since an annexation of land by Black Diamond.)

Black Diamond Mayor Ruth Goodwin said the proposed corporate name, which will not result in an address change for properties in the two communities if amalgamation occurs, represents each of the two towns well.

“It’s bringing a piece of each of those corporate names together,” she said. “We have a lot of businesses that use the name Diamond Valley. People that live outside of our communities refer to it as Diamond Valley, whether they’re travelling to the diamond or the valley, and the whole area is often referred to as Diamond Valley.”

Turner Valley Mayor Barry Crane said an appropriate name for the new town, if there is an amalgamation, is important to residents and businesses.

“The name identifies who we are and where we’re from,” he said. “That’s why there are so many people who wanted to be part of that engagement.”

Just under 1,100 of the 1,700 votes were considered valid. Crane said no more than four votes were counted from the same IP address, as some IP addresses had as many as 60 votes.

“There were some very skewed numbers for voting from some IP addresses,” he said. “We felt the top four per IP address was acceptable for a size of a family.”

Sheep River, Black Valley and Diamond Valley were the top three names among 65 suggestions by about 200 participants in an online name suggestion contest held in early June for the potentially new amalgamated municipality.

Mayors and councillors in both towns are currently in the negotiation process while gathering information on the impact of amalgamation before deciding whether or not to submit an application to move forward with merging, said Crane.

“We have some financial breakdowns that both councils want to see some more information on, and we believe the public does, too,” he said. “Financial analysis is our biggest push to get as close to a realistic number as possible when it comes to cost savings and expenses. Leading into September, we will take every bit of information we can get.”

The Towns of Black Diamond and Turner Valley share many of the same services, including garbage collection and water, since striking the Friendship Agreement in 2012.

The neighbouring municipalities explored amalgamation twice in the past 35 years, but the idea was voted down in a plebiscite both times - most recently in 2007.

For more information about the proposed amalgamation click here.