Does Estevan need a city planner? Or, are there enough visionaries within the walls of City Hall to cover our future needs?
The idea of a small city requiring a planner may seem far fetched for many residents, especially when we see property taxes and fee payments climbing annually just to pay for what we have now.
Before we ask current City Hall staffers and governors questions about Estevan's future we need to answer a few questions ourselves.
Do we really know where we're going?
What is the Energy City's sustainability plan? What are the projections for 2017 and 2025?
City council representatives, the overseers of any master plan, will come and go and they will be guided by their need to get elected, which may often run counter to what will be required.
Can our City handle a population of 17,000 or 18,000 residents? Is there a need to annex land from the RM of Estevan, or does the current agreement between the two governments cover that contingency?
What will our future potable and wastewater treatment needs be?
Should we have a fire fighting/rescue team of four or six trained personnel by 2020, or will the status quo of two plus volunteers sustain us?
How many police officers will we need on the streets and how many will we need to pull in for investigations?
Will the number of acute/primary care beds in St. Joseph's need to be increased from 53 to 63 or 65? How many more extended care beds will be needed, and what about home care? If we don't have a CT scanner by 2014, who is going to carry the message to the population outside of frightened politicians?
What do the demographic and logistical prognostications tell us?
Is there any use in spending time and money lobbying the CPR for track relocation? If so, how would we cover our costs for such a project? Who carries that ball for the city and keeps their eye on it over the long haul?
What about that heavy truck bypass?
What about the crying need for a better highway? Would a civic planner be able to assist the hard-pressed Time to Twin committee? They require civic clout, not another sympathetic ear.
Do we have enough green space? Do we have enough staff to keep everything neat in the parks along the walking paths and boulevards? Street sweeping and snow removal? How many and when?
We know there are people in each civic department who dedicate time and attention to these matters on a weekly and monthly basis. What we're asking is, is there a need to have a team of two or three people who are charged with the duties of putting it all together to make it work more efficiently?
Do we need someone to help us get to 2025 more efficiently, especially if we are going to add another 5,000 people? Or even if we don't, we might still require a person or persons to help alleviate administration loads.
The skeptics out there, and there are many no doubt, will see our question as being ridiculous and something we can't afford and don't really need. Their arguments will, of course, relate to the fact that what was good enough for us in 1970, should be good enough for us now.
To them, we simply say look at our garbage collection debates and truck bypass issues and tell us again, that we don't need some help.
We're finally reaching a decision on garbage after more than eight years of squabbling over it and our historical records indicate that the need for a truck bypass in Estevan was clearly illustrated and brought to the citizenry as far back as 1963 (as was the CPR track issue).
Look at the current condition of our streets and avenues and tell us that some planning 25 or even 10 years ago wouldn't have helped.
A little unhindered foresight can save a lot of money.
