Mayor tells Chamber city doing well

Things are very positive in terms of growth in Yorkton, but with growth comes growing infrastructure needs.

That was the message those attending the regular monthly luncheon of the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce held at the Painted Hand Casino heard from Yorkton Mayor Bob Maloney.

In terms of growth there are many positive signs, said the Mayor.

So far in 2013 building permits in the city have already hit $5.7 million.

"That's a very nice number," said Maloney, adding they are projecting $60 million, "which is close to last year.

"The boom Yorkton's been experiencing is certainly not bottoming out," said Maloney.

The growth has been good news for many areas of the city, offered Maloney. He pointed to the Good Spirit School Division, where student enrollment in the city is up 48 over last year. The Division is expecting a 23 per cent growth by 2021.

"This is terrific news," said Maloney, noting that those numbers are not just Yorkton, but the whole region. " These are very significant."

In terms of education, Maloney said the announced Trades and Technology Centre for Parkland College is big, and will lead to more.

"To me, I take this as just a starting point," he said, adding he believes the local College " is very well positioned to add more programs."

The College is also a vital asset to Yorkton, said Maloney.

"It's going to be huge in the future of our city," he said.

The growth is good news for a City facing significant infrastructure costs in the immediate future.

The first project Maloney spoke of is a complete replacement of Broadway Street from Seventh Avenue to the Gallagher Centre.

"It could be the second biggest project in the City's history," sad Maloney, the biggest being the recently completed water treatment plant.

The Broadway project is estimated to be $30 million, and could be higher pending the condition of subsurface elements such as storm sewer lines.

The City will also be investing $20 million plus, in water trunk lines and related infrastructure to accommodate expected residential and commercial growth on the east side of Yorkton.

"We have to do this," said Maloney, adding as it is now there is not the capacity to handle growth. " If we want to encourage business it's something we have to do."

The system will be phased in to meet expansion.

Maloney did add "developers will pay a portion of the costs as they tie into the system."

Protecting the City from water has also become a priority for Yorkton, with drainage projects already completed on Dracup and Brodie already in place, and more in the planning stages, said Maloney, adding such projects "are relief from the storms."

That said, Maloney said all the work would not have stopped the 2010 damage, calling that storm a one-125-year event.