The City of Humboldt hosted more than 200 delegates during the first-ever Municipal Infrastructure Conference held in the province.
The Learn. Lead. Grow conference was born by a group of Humboldt visionaries with the intent to address the infrastructure challenges faced by smaller-scale municipalities in Saskatchewan
"We're talking about infrastructure in the broadest sense; we're talking about roads and sidewalks, water and sewer, but we're also talking about infrastructure like our libraries, schools and recreational facilities," said Malcolm Eaton, City of Humboldt mayor and conference chairperson.
Eaton said the conference provided participants with the opportunity to come together to discuss, network and brainstorm solutions to navigate infrastructure issues related to the growth experienced in a booming Saskatchewan.
"The real value is learning," he said about the two-day conference. "We're finding out that other communities have similar problems and we're learning how they're tackling them; we're really interested in what other communities are doing."
A variety of keynote speakers, from elected officials to industry professionals, made presentations related to infrastructure funding, asset management, planning, growth and renewal, innovation, examples and best practices.
The conference acted as a platform to encourage inter-municipal and government cooperation and fostered networking amongst elected municipal officials.
"Cooperation and collaboration of both provincial and municipal (government) levels will be critical in sustaining and responding to our growing infrastructure needs," Minister of Government Relations James Reiter told the crowd during his keynote speech. "Some of our greatest success as a province has come from inter-municipal cooperation."
Reiter acknowledged that with growth comes great challenge, with a particular strain on municipal infrastructure.
"Investing in infrastructure is a key component of the Saskatchewan Plan for Growth," he said, adding increased Municipal Revenue Sharing will help municipalities mitigate growing pains.
The Municipal Revenue Sharing in Saskatchewan increased to $264.4 million this year, for an 11 per cent increase over last year and a 108 per cent increase over the 2007/08 fiscal year.
"That of course will help the added pressures that growth brings to local government," he said of the substantial increase.
The federal, provincial and municipal governments have invested more than $1 billion in Saskatchewan infrastructure over the last five years, Reiter said, but ongoing commitment is required.
"Our economic situation is unique because we're a large resource-rich provinceinfrastructure will be a key in our continued growth."
