First impressions mean everything.
That was no more apparent to Humboldt than when representatives from the Town of Kindersley submitted their summary of the city a couple of weeks ago.
Humboldt and Kindersley participated in a First Impressions Community Exchange (FICE) project this fall.
Visitors from Kindersley toured around Humboldt on Oct. 3, observing the city's strengths and weaknesses; areas of pride and areas that need improvement.
Afterward, they comprised an official report on their observations and recommendations, which they submitted to the city a short time ago.
"The exchange was incredibly valuable in that it helps us better understand the needs, expectations and perceptions of people who come shopping, visiting or are considering moving here," Jennifer Brooks, communications and community development director for the city said in a news release.
Similar to the Communities in Bloom competition in the sense of impartial observations of a community, the four representatives from the Town of Kindersley took in everything from Humboldt's green spaces to transportation and housing market.
After the day was over, they were able to break down their opinions and recommendations in their report back.
While stating that the entrance on Highway 5 West is in good shape in terms of roadways, the Humboldt welcome sign, while a "beautiful" art piece, "seems too small and its natural colors result in it being camouflaged" into the prairie background.
That being said, they did make note of the new hotels and businesses along the highway in that area, and suggested they indicate that Humboldt is a thriving, investible economy.
On the other end of the spectrum, they noted the road condition was poor along Highway 5 East, with no 'service' signs in the entrance. They also criticized the sudden changes between speed limits, advising that the speed limit signs be placed perhaps further up, to replace the problem.
In terms of the speed limit, they did acknowledge the city's efforts at creating safer school zones along the highways, since they observed that the "primary schools are close to major streets."
However, they lauded the Visitor Information Centre on the east part of Highway 5, run by the Humboldt & District Chamber & Commerce. They pointed out the unique way in which the golf course promotes local businesses (by having local companies sponsor a hole). They also went so far as to suggest that the building itself is a tourist attraction and should be incorporated into Humboldt's marketing strategies.
As for Highway 20, they recommended moving the Humboldt sign farther out of town, as it currently comes after a few businesses along the road in the south part; in the northern part of the highway, they applauded its appearance.
"Entering Humboldt from the north, we are greeted with a tourist attraction sign, a large attractive new hospital, an extremely well-groomed graveyard with decorative pillars at its entrance, and a tidy water treatment plant," they said in their report.
Despite the current housing dilemma that the City of Humboldt is addressing (backing such movements as FCM's call for federal intervention and attending growth summits), the representatives from Kindersley had nothing but positive things to say about the city's housing and residential areas.
They noted that over 100 homes are advertised for sale on a real estate listings website, showing the market "appears steady and reliable," while also mentioning that the buyer is getting good value for their dollar, as the pricing for a home in Humboldt is less than in Saskatoon and even Kindersley.
Aesthetically, residential districts were observed to be welcoming and impressively maintained.
"Even the mobile homes are predominantly well-maintained," they said.
While applauding the downtown's areas great customer service (specifically mentioning the Pioneer hotel and Johnny's Bistro), and the "little touches" like German facades, murals and the planters and benches, they did point out that traffic is "poorly controlled" at the Royal Bank and ReMax intersection, with vehicles parked too closely to the corners.
They also advised that some businesses along Main Street need to get more creative with their window displays, since some have hardly anything at all, but they did notice there's a good supply of senior's housing and apartments in the downtown area.
The railway seemed to be a larger concern, with the report stating that residents have witnessed people trying to "rush the trains", while another resident said that the "rail crossings are dangerous" and a mechanical arm is needed.
The participants from Kindersley called this a "prudent" matter and urged the city to investigate improving the city's railway safety, like placing crossing arms and flashing lights at the crossings, or a pedestrian bridge at one major crossing.
They gave positive feedback to the city's variety of restaurants and also seemed enamored with the Uniplex, as well as the museum.
In terms of branding, the report recommended that the city come up with an identifiable brand, or image, that they'd like to convey.
"It does have a logo and is unofficially branded as a historic German community, but we were told that this may be a brand by default, and it may or may not be embraced by the present day community," they said in their report.
To improve upon this marketing aspect of the city, some recommendations were to include overlooked tourism spots, like the information centre, water tower and entire downtown in their branding campaign, in order to attract visitors and newcomers to the area.
They included this in their five potential opportunities they laid out for Humboldt, in addition to continued support for parks and green spaces and revamping the entrance signage.
"Humboldt is a beautiful city and the people are proud of it," they concluded in the report.
