Mayor David Gillan at the State of the City Address Wednesday. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Update to community

Importance of partnerships key in State of the City Address

Mar 8, 2023 | 5:26 PM

Creating partnerships was one of the main focuses in the City of North Battleford’s State of the City Address.

Mayor David Gillan gave the community an update on the city’s affairs Wednesday during the annual event held at the Tropical Inn conference room.

Funds raised from the luncheon talk will benefit the local Food Bank.

Some of the issues discussed during the event include work the city has done to build relationships with surrounding communities.

A few years ago, the city joined with partners – the Town of Battleford and five-member First Nation communities – Moosomin, Sweetgrass, Saulteaux, Little Pine First Nation, and Lucky Man Cree Nation – to form the Battlefords Regional Community Coalition .

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Gillan said looking to create partnerships has been the city’s strategy on many levels.

“In just about every aspect of what we do in the city, we try to develop partnerships, nurture partnerships for the betterment of the city and the region,” he said. “Whether it’s crime and safety, whether it’s economic development, we work tirelessly to develop relationships that better the city and the region.”

Gillan said the city has been working in partnerships for projects with the federal or provincial governments, as well as area municipalities and First Nations, and citizen volunteer groups.

“That I believe is how it moves us forward,” he said. “We can’t be in silos. We must work together with our neighbours. That’s where we can combine our resources, combine our expertise and get the attention of other levels of government for funding and programming.”

During his talk, the mayor also stressed the importance of inclusivity in the community and region, working with Indigenous neighbours on common goals, as well as showing support for the LBGT community.

He said the city is also focused on helping its Indigenous neighbours working on creating urban reserves. Currently, there are two urban reserves in North Battleford. The city is already working with two more that are in the process of starting in the future.

Crime Severity Index

On the issue of crime, always a hot topic for North Battleford, Gillan said city council continues to look for ways to reduce the city’s high ranking on the Crime Severity Index (CSI).

“We understand the challenge this negative moniker can bring to you, your business, to our community,” he said. “We have committed significant resources to do our best to tackle this and improve our community’s public image, which if you asked almost anyone, I think it has been misrepresented.”

Gillan said work is being done to tackle the issue of crime in the area. He pointed to the success of the RCMP Gang Task Force unit in the Battlefords, focusing on dealing with violent offenders in the community.

“Our violent CSI numbers are dropping,” Gillan said. “However, and unfortunately, our non-violent CSI index numbers have been rising in the last few years as we focus our attention on more violent offenders.”

He said residents can help prevent non-violent crimes, such as mischief and thefts, by taking a few simple steps, such as locking their car doors at night to prevent vehicle thefts, and installing surveillance cameras outside their homes.

“We all have a part to play,” Gillan said.

Some other issues discussed at the event include North West College’s plans for a new campus in the Battlefords. Gillan said a site for the new campus has now been selected inside North Battleford as a positive sign.

“We must bring more programming to the Battlefords,” he said.

Looking at the future for the city’s aging rinks – the Access Communications Centre and the Don Ross Arena, Gillan said the city is beginning to plan for the eventual replacement of these two facilities.

“This won’t be tomorrow, but it’s on the city’s radar,” he said. “It will certainly require the support from our surrounding communities and all levels of government.”

During question period, North Battleford resident Orville Bilous asked how soon the rink replacement plans might get started for the Access Communications Centre venue, so people can get a committee together to begin work on fundraising for the project.

Gillan said the city will need to start looking into that issue later.

“We’re open to that,” he said. “It’s a bit further down in our planning list right now. But our city manager [Randy Patrick] is here today, and we’ll take note of that, and try to get that initiated in this [council’s] term.”

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow