Before we turn the page on the year 2015, it would be good to reflect on some of the highlights of the year as they pertain to the City of North Battleford.
The focus of much energy and activity in the year 2015 has been the refinement and implementation of the Community Safety Program first introduced in 2014. The program is a holistic, service-based plan with emphasis on creating opportunities, helping individuals and families, co-ordination of existing programs and developing new opportunities, and crime prevention and suppression strategies.
A significant contributor to initiatives is the establishment of The Lighthouse supported living emergency shelter operations in early 2015. Working in conjunction with the Transitional Living initiative, as well as many other partners, this initiative is helping our community get closer to providing a comprehensive intervention spectrum to address issues of homelessness.
The City is recognized as a provincial leader in the development of the Community Safety Officer Program. The City is working closely with the RCMP to complement RCMP services by relieving the responsibility of low-risk, low-harm incidents from the RCMP so they may target more serious crimes that occur.
There have been some dramatic preliminary results of these initiatives as there was approximately a 16 per cent drop in rating under the Crime Severity Index for North Battleford, as compared to a three per cent drop in Canada and a one per cent drop in the province.
City council acted upon recommendation from senior management to proactively address our outdated and ever-aging infrastructure. The Underground Pipe and Asphalt Replacement program was adopted in the 2015 budget providing for dedicated funding and directly related capital expenditures to enhance the commitment to replacing failing infrastructure. As a community, we are still far behind in dealing with the issue, yet it was a great accomplishment to have six city blocks of 100th street rehabilitated in 2015 as well as one block on 106th Street. The program will continue into the 2016 fiscal year and has been expanded upon to accomplish even more in the coming year.
We must also recognize and celebrate investment in our community, demonstrating the business sector’s confidence in our future growth and development. A new nine-bay strip mall was announced and construction continues into 2016, a major restaurant franchise was announced and confirmation of a new 100-room hotel investment was announced with ground breaking slated for the spring of 2016. Additionally, the construction of the new Battlefords Trade and Education Centre has started bringing new vitality to Railway Avenue, the expansion and renovations of the Discovery Co-op Mall, the expansion of Gold Eagle Casino, the development of additional residential lots in Kildeer Park and other commercial and residential investments resulted in a robust construction season totaling in excess of $30 million of permit values.
Another significant investment and contributor to the municipal economy is the construction of the new Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford. Over the next couple of years, hundreds of millions of dollars are being invested by the provincial government that will retain and expand upon hundreds of employment opportunities for the next 100 years.
Much has been accomplished over the past 12 months and indeed the past decade. Looking forward, much more needs to be done. City Council and administration are committed to continuing efforts to not only make North Battleford a safer place to live, but to ensure our residents feel safe in their community. To accomplish that, additional efforts need to be implemented in such programs as Neighborhood Watch, Citizens on Patrol, community block parties, Crime Prevention through Environmental Design and other community building initiatives.
As citizens of North Battleford, we have much to take pride in, we have much to be grateful and thankful for and, even more, we have opportunity to work together to make North Battleford the best that it can be.”
On behalf of all city council, I wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year.
