The City of North Battleford intends to push forward with creating a new opportunity plan for the area.
Council unanimously backed a resolution Monday authorizing City administration to proceed with a request for proposals from consultants to create a "regional opportunity plan," as well as to update the City's Strategic Plan with funding to be allocated from other budgeted projects in the 2014 budget.
City Manager Jim Puffalt spoke about the need for an economic development plan in February.
Monday, Puffalt noted some further research had turned up such plans in the Strategic Plan of September 2004 and the Battlefords Community Plan for November 2006.
As well, he noted the City's Strategic Plan dated November 2011 listed the need to manage growth, increase partnerships and communications, and creating business retention and attraction as its objectives.
Puffalt noted that the 2006 Community Plan report was the most similar type of project with a regional concept and focus to it.
However, conditions have changed "180 degrees," Puffalt said. From 2007 on, Saskatchewan had become a "have" province, he said.
"A lot of the work that has been done is pre-2007," said Puffalt. "Conditions have changed quite substantially."
Puffalt suggested whatever resources the City had were combined with others in the region and aligned together. He called for a request for proposals that would invite consultants to provide a community round table that would focus on economic development for the region.
He envisaged numerous organizations and representatives taking part as well as surrounding communities, including the Town of Battleford, area First Nations and the surrounding RMs.
Also, Puffalt suggested the same group could meet after to review and update the City's Strategic Plan, which he noted had not been reviewed for a number of years.
The cost of the community roundtable is estimated at around $30,000 and is not part of the 2014 city budget. Funding for it will come from other projects or reallocation of funds in the budget.
Puffalt noted the importance of seeing direct results from creating these plans, saying he was not a fan of writing reports and then not doing anything with them.
"It's important that whatever we do, there's deliverables," said Puffalt.
