The City of Yorkton saw big projects come to a conclusion in 2012, and now it's time for the city to focus on infrastructure. That's the message from Mayor Bob Maloney, who recently spoke to The News Review about the year that was.
The past year saw the water treatment plant open its doors, the biggest project in the city's history. Maloney says that it was a rare project that saw federal and provincial money, and that the design of the facility could influence other municipalities, given that it is green in a way that's less expensive.
The year also saw what Maloney describes as "annexation peace" finally arriving, as deals were reached to annex land from the RM of Orkney and the RM of Wallace. He says he doesn't expect to have to revisit any deals for the next four years. He's also optimistic about the future relationship between the city and the RMs. He says that the relationship with the RM of Wallace has always been a positive one, and he hopes to build the same kind of relationship with Orkney.
"I think we'll have improving relations with the RM of Orkney... They've got some new people over there as well, so we're hopeful we can foster improving relations, because there's no reason to have to go to municipal boards and things like this, because at the end of the day I think there was $2,000 difference between what we offered originally and what they ended up with. It's just silly, because when you look at lawyers' bills on both sides we should be able to work together better than we have," he suggests.
Another highlight for the community was receiving the Aviva Community Fund dollars to build the skate board park. He says that the city was glad to help out, but the community was the real force behind getting the project built.
"You have to give the skateboard community credit for that, because they did the real hauling on that, getting the votes and that type of thing. Council is happy to help out, but without the funding from Aviva it would have been difficult to get that project going," Maloney says.
He adds, the project also demonstrates the importance of getting the community involved in things like planning and development. The project was something that Maloney admits he didn't expect to be as big as it was, but that shows the importance of having input from outside council to give a different perspective.
This is part of the reason the city is focused on getting involved in community planning, including a new cultural plan coming in 2013.
Growth is going to be a major issue in the city continuing into the future, especially after a year which saw building permits increase to $82 million.
Maloney suspects that part of the reason for the growth is speculation surrounding potash mines in the area, and the city needs to prepare for that growth, which could result in higher rent and housing costs.
"There is a downside to that, you see inflation when communities grow this quickly. As a council, we worry about that, because we would like to see housing as affordable as it can be, but you're conflicted. Cities don't build housing. We need to have people building houses, we need developers, we need apartments, so we have to work with the province to make sure the tax climate is there so people can invest in apartments and get a return on investment," Maloney says.
While the boom does come with challenges, he says that it's an exciting time for the City of Yorkton.
"Any time you see more businesses opening and things happening it's good for your community. It draws more people to the city, and when they're here they go to more than one business," Maloney says.
There will be new housing starts, including Head Start on the Home projects in entry level housing. He says that the housing committee, with Tom Seeley and Ron Skinner, have been doing excellent work, and it's an area that will be a priority in the future.
One of the reasons why is the potential expansion of the Parkland College, which Maloney says he is hoping to see an announcement on in March.
The proposed Trades and Technology Center would bring students to the city, so student housing will be part of that project.
The ongoing project would be fulfilling needs in the province, Maloney says, but it needs provincial support to go ahead, and he says that if the project gets announced it would attract people to the community and cause good things to happen in the city.
"If it was a matter of just the bricks, that's not the problem, it's a matter of the staff and the ongoing expenses when you have a college," Maloney says.
Drainage is going to be the major project for the city in 2013, with new ponds being built and the city's current drainage system being examined. Maloney says that getting the drainage system in order is expensive, but the problems need to be fixed.
"We're finding a lot of problems, with root intrusion and debris. I mean, shopping carts and railroad ties that find their way into these things... People are throwing stuff into ditches, and of course as it washes through you have to haul all that stuff out of there... We're getting that work done, it's expensive and it's boring but if the pipes are blocked the ponds aren't going to do you a lot of good," Maloney says.
He doesn't expect to see any huge projects on the horizon in 2013, so the city will be focused on getting on top of infrastructure and paying off debts.
