It has been a year of change for the City of Humboldt.
In 2012, the City has been through many changes, with a new council elected in the fall, renovations to city facilities and many other exciting developments.
Through the changes, Mayor Malcolm Eaton explained the City has been planning for the future.
"There has been a tremendous amount of planning work going on with the city," said Eaton. "A lot of it has to do with the old infrastructure."
Infrastructure, including the water, sewer and roads, has been a huge topic for city council this past year. In order to plan for the future, the City has been working on an asset management plan.
"We are one of the Saskatchewan pilot communities that has been involved with the National Asset Management System (NAMS)," said Eaton.
Through NAMS, Humboldt has put on many asset management training events for other communities to learn about how to plan for the future.
"We were one of the original pilot communities, along with Shellbrook and a couple RMs in the province," said Eaton. "Because of that experience and the value we see (in asset management), there is a provincial asset management association that has been formed which we are a member of."
Dealing with asset management helps them address the needs of the community not just on a year-to-year basis, but long term, Eaton feels.
"For instance, we have completed an asset management plan to renew our water and sewer system," said Eaton. "Part of that asset management plan is to take stock and make a plan over the next 10 years. Of course, the really important part of that is what is it going to cost us and what kind of financial implications does that have for us."
Since the City is involved in a national infrastructure campaign, council is urging the provincal and federal governments to create a national infrastructure program to help communities deal with replacing and upgrading their assets.
Council and administration are also working towards creating a more streamlined city.
"We are planning and have been doing a lot of work on policies and procedures," said Eaton. "We need to update, modernize and act more like a city. We need to bring some of our policies and procedures and the way we do business to a new level."
Eaton explained it is not just Humboldt, but many cities around the province that are working towards a similar goal.
"We have lots of communication with cities and towns in Saskatchewan and the kind of things they are doing," said Eaton. "We are looking for their advice and they are looking for ours. There is a lot of sharing going on with that kind of stuff."
Another change the City made was the creation of a financial director position in the administration department.
"This was a new position for the city and an important position," said Eaton. "Council gave some pretty clear directions for our city management, including the financial officer to look at every line and every expenditure and every source of revenue. We are looking for savings, we are looking for efficiencies, how we can get the best bang for the buck."
The financial director will also help with looking at other cost savings, like group purchasing with other communities.
"It all comes down to how can we effectively use these tax dollars that the citizens of Humboldt put in our trust," said Eaton. "If we can make savings in one area, can we reinvest it in another area, for example, roads?"
The City has already been working closely with other communities in the region.
"We are all looking at growth in our communities, we want to work together," said Eaton. "We want to find ways to plan for the growth efficiently. We think it is always better to do it together, than to do it individually We think we have a stronger voice with the provincial and federal government that way."
Another way they may have a chance to work with other communities is through the Mid-Sask Municipal Alliance (MSMA), which they were invited to be a part of.
"We see lots of advantage to us working regionally with partners, so we are looking forward to that if we decide to join," said Eaton.
The city is growing at a steady rate, which is why they have to have a good long-term plan for the future, even when it comes to housing.
"We feel a lot better at this point about the housing work that has been going on," said Eaton. "There is still work to be done, but we know we have some majority private investment in land development going on in our community that is going to address some of the housing needs."
To help create the long-term plan for the community, this year the City did a community needs assessment study, to look at the foundation of the community. It told them what they have and where the gaps are.
"It covered infrastructure, but it also included things like recreation and culture," said Eaton. "We were pleased with the results of that. It didn't provide the answers, but it provided an assessment of where our strengths are and where we need to focus some attention as we look to the future."
They will be using the information in 2013 for a major strategic planning process.
"We are going to update our strategic planning and we are going to be looking for some pretty major community involvement in setting what the priorities and the major needs of the community are," said Eaton.
Eaton is proud to call Humboldt home, especially with the community involvement and events he saw happen over the past year.
"We had some major community events over the last year," said Eaton. "What I see out of those events is we are very fortunate to have very active, engaged and enthusiastic people and organizations."
The city was the host of the Scotties Provincial Tournament of Hearts ladies' curling playoffs and the Canadian Junior A hockey championship, the RBC Cup.
"The Curling Club did an outstanding job of hosting that event. I think we can be very proud of our curling club for the work they did on that, bringing provincial and national attention to Humboldt through that," said Eaton.
"The significant thing I see about the RBC Cup is the tremendous community volunteerism that went into that," said Eaton. "It truly was a community event with tremendous support from the business community and from lots of people in the community.
JCI Humboldt also helped put the city on the map, Eaton noted.
"JCI Humboldt hosted the national president all the way from Quebec right here in Humboldt," said Eaton. "They were able to show off their contribution to the community with the new spray park and they have received national recognition for the long-term historical demolition (derby) project they have been proud of for 40 years. This is a good example of the energy and enthusiasm there is in our community among young people in the community and I think that is worth noting."
Organizations like JCI are important to keep citizens engaged, said Eaton.
"If we look around our community, we just have so many vibrant and progressive groups and organizations that are working together to help make it a great community," said Eaton.
"I can't name them all, but there are many groups and organizations that are hosting events and organizing activities," said Eaton. "Our facilities have taken a big step forward with the renovations that have gone on and we are continuing to work towards enhancing our ability to attract and support events in the community, conferences, sporting and cultural events and commercial activities as well."
And there is a lot to look forward to for next year.
"Looking forward... the (new) council has come to the table with renewed energy and enthusiasm for working on the important goals and projects we want to move forward on to continue to make this community a great place to live, work and invest."
Eaton also noted that it is important to see where they are coming from in order to move forward.
"Old infrastructure isn't getting any younger, it's getting older. We have some challenges, in terms of getting work done, in terms of the cost, in terms of how to pay for it."
Another challenge next year will be making sure the community stays attractive for new families to move to Humboldt.
"People come to communities because of the quality of life in the communities and I think we can be proud that we provide a safe, clean, attractive community with a lot of features and a lot of recreational and cultural activities and entertainment options, groups and organizations," said Eaton. "We want to welcome people, we want to include them and make sure they know what our community has to offer, because we have an awful lot of offer... As a community, we need to look through a crystal ball at what Humboldt is going to look like when it has (over 7,000) people over the next five to 10 years. It is challenging but important work."
