The year of 2013 in Yorkton was one defined by growth. Mayor Bob Maloney recently spoke with The News Review about the year that just wrapped.
The biggest highlight of 2013 was the expansion of the Parkland College, with the announcement of the Trades and Technology Center. The facility was needed in the area, and Maloney says that with the amount of work that has gone into the project, from Parkland College staff to the many businesses that have contributed to the capital campaign, it's rewarding to see it finally come to fruition with construction set to begin in the new year.
Another highlight of the year was the new Water Treatment Plant, which has seen widespread recognition with provincial and national awards for its design. Work is still going on in the area, and Maloney says that some aspects of the surrounding area reflect changing priorities for people.
"People never used to get out and walk the way they do now, I certainly don't remember it, but the walking paths in that area... In spring we'll be re-establishing all of the trails in the area so people can get out and enjoy the area," Maloney says.
The city has also continued to grow, with more business development in the region, including new developments on Highway 9. Maloney says that the growth has been surprising in how fast it has happened, outpacing his own expectations, but that the new developments are a boon for the city.
"Any time you get more businesses that means more jobs in the community, and jobs are what makes everything tick."
For 2014, Maloney sees a year filled with construction around the city, with confirmed projects like the college expansion and the Rona development, as well as interest in some of the city's other new developments like the Roundhouse subdivision. Maloney expects that the coming year will be as busy as the outgoing one for projects, with construction and growth continuing to be the big stories for the new year.
"It's amazing how much work is being done. It's good, you like to see the development, you like to see the work, you like to see the jobs coming into the community... We're fortunate because we're building business. When you build businesses and they come to your community, that means jobs, that's where you're going to get your housing starts, and that's where things develop. I think it's always healthier when business leads to more people coming."
The expansion does bring some challenges, especially with housing, but Maloney says that this is an opportunity for homeowners to develop secondary suites for new people and students, which he says are useful for handling a mortgage and will be one way to handle any shortage of housing.
"We're not used to that here, but I hope we get used to it, because there are going to be a lot of students looking for places."
The big challenge for the city is infrastructure, and Maloney says this will continue to be the priority for the city into the next decade.
"It has been too long since we put things in the ground and walked away, hoping they would be okay.
"We're at the point that things have to start to getting fixed, and that is the course our council has chosen as we move into the next decade," Maloney says.
One project that the city hopes to undertake is an expansive project repairing the infrastructure under Broadway, but the scale of the work depends on how much support the city can get for the project. He says that they want to redo Broadway properly, and upgrade the water and sewer so it doesn't need to be touched for decades, but the project is ambitious and will require more than just the city to do work to the scale they want to. Without provincial and federal grants, Maloney says the city will have to reconsider the scale or timing of the project.
"We've waited this long, a lot of the pipes under Broadway were put there in the 1960s. We would like to upsize those pipes and renew that infrastructure. People will say why now, but if we do it now and do it properly, we will be doing something that will good for the next 75 years," Maloney says.
Growth was the theme of 2013, especially in terms of business, and Maloney predicts that the themes will remain the same into the new year, as more business sets up shop in the city.
