"Council has the accountability to make decisions based upon the issues of the day, however we have the responsibility when making those decisions to be responsible for the future," says Mayor James Wilson.
That was the theme of 2010 for the City of Yorkton. Many of the decisions made reached far into the future, and Wilson says were made to better prepare the city for growth expected in the coming years.
Wilson says one of the accomplishments made early in the year was the deal struck with the RM of Wallace to annex two quarters of land. The annexation he believes, will better prepare the city for expected growth in the coming years.
This year also saw the completion of many projects from previous years. For instance, completion of the Bradbrook and East Broadway projects, which spilled over from 2009. Wilson notes that the two projects were completed without additional cost to local taxpayers.
A long term project which is approaching completion is the opening of the water treatment plant. Wilson admits it has taken a long time to finally get the taps turned on, but he emphasizes that it is the kind of system that needs thorough testing in order to ensure the quality of water for people in the city.
"It's a long process, but when you're dealing with water you have to do things right," Wilson says.
One of the major completed projects of 2010 was the new Fire Hall, which saw its grand opening in June. The building, which cost approximately $7.9 million, was designed to help the city cope with the increasing demands which growth brings.
"We built this fire hall as a long term project for the future of the city. As we can sustain growth, the fire hall will serve us well," Wilson says.
The capabilities of the fire hall as an emergency centre were put to the test soon after the hose was cut. The Canada Day flood in the city will go down as one of the largest disasters Yorkton has ever faced. Wilson says that if there was one good thing to come out of the situation, it was having people of the city come together for one another. "It showed the true grain of the people here. Everybody put aside their differences and put aside their interests and stepped up to help one another. I want to thank people of the community and the organizations, the non-profits and the businesses. There are so many people to thank along the way."
The recovery from the flood is an ongoing process, Wilson admits, and there are still people and businesses recovering from the aftermath, including some who are still unable to return to their homes.
"This is a critical event that took place in our history, which we will be dealing with for some time," Wilson notes. He also says the various organizations involved all learned from the flood, as it was a test that most of the organizations had never had before. He emphasizes that everyone did well, and learned how to deal with the situation as they went.
The flood itself was a major test of the city's drainage and emergency services, and the lessons learned will be put into action in order to help make Yorkton prepared for any future emergency. The city will be spending approximately one million dollars on improving drainage. "Let's be reasonable, that amount of rainfall on any municipality, you will never stop a flood from taking place. However, the case of normal rainfall we want to deal with, and we will be doing that in short order," Wilson notes.
The summer might have seen disaster, but it also saw economic development in the city. The opening of two area canola crushing plants has been a positive development for area producers. It brings jobs to the area, and has spin off benefits such as a new truck bypass in the area, phase two of which begins in 2011.
The budget of 2011 has also already been set at this time, something which Wilson says is a first for the city. "We're the first city in the province to pass our budget, and it's actually the lowest since the mid-90s for increases. I'm proud to say it will be probably be the lowest in the whole province. We're staying with the course of inflation, and that is our responsibility to do," Wilson says.
Looking into the future, the community strategic plan conference was held this year. The plan, developed to take Yorkton into the next decade and on to 2020, gives the city an idea of what people want for the next ten years. Wilson concludes by saying that some of the areas covered, such as housing, health care, and education are not necessarily the city's responsibility, but that making Yorkton grow in the direction that the people want, is.
