Mayor Kelli Hawtin takes her oath from Judge Michelle Baldwin on Dec. 2. (Julia Lovett-Squires/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Julia Lovett-Squires

Year in Review

Hawtin takes a look at the year that was and looks to what’s next

Dec 31, 2024 | 12:00 PM

One of the favourite moments this past year for the newly elected mayor stands out clearly: the official ceremonial unveiling of the little bronze girl statue in Central Park this past September.

At just over four-foot-tall, the depiction of Annie Peyachew was placed at the entrance to a sunny, grassy grove and once her star blanket was removed, the child of the past stood tall among the children of the future.

“What the sculpture represents and what the artist represents is really, really impactful in our community where we’re trying to do as much as we can to work well with all of our neighbours and First Nations communities,” she said of the work commissioned of Artist Lionel Peyachew.

“I think it’s something that everyone involved should be really proud of and I think it’s a piece of legacy history that the community can remember for many years.”

That same day, the City of North Battleford signed the Urban Reserve Services Agreement with Sweetgrass First Nation – an event 14 years in the making and one that began with an eagle soaring overhead rendering the attendees to gasp and sigh at the blessing.

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“That was a big, monumental moment as well,” she said.

“Seeing that come to fruition was a real accomplishment I think.”

According to the city’s 2024 Year in Review they shared with battlefordsNOW, several of the highlights this year included continued UPAR work such as replacing sidewalks, upgrades to council chambers by making them more accessible, nearly $20 million in city-issued building permits and North Battleford Fire Department implementation of warming shelters.

“As an inclusive municipality, we take that goal very seriously,” Hawtin said of the accessibility upgrades.

Since joining council 10 years earlier and in the years prior, those with mobility issues were unable to access.

“Having our place of government where the public can truly come – anybody can come – be there that’s a big accomplishment because it’s one we’ve been talking about for a long time.”

Among the greatest achievements this year Hawtin said was the Community Safety Conference in which mayors and council members from 11 municipalities gathered in Saskatoon to ask Statistics Canada to change the way they report the Crime Severity Index.

“We’re not going to be ranked against other communities anymore,” she said of North Battleford’s “Crimetown” reputation.

“I think that’s a piece, we can still access public information, but we’re not going to be sort of villainized against other communities or penalized in that way, so we can start to heal and move forward as a community in a better way.”

The year also brought a ‘Huge change” for Hawtin. After 111 years, North Battleford elected the first woman to hold the mayoral title.

“But, you know, we’ve got two new councillors and our team put in a ton of work to get through the municipal election, so that’s obviously a very significant highlight to end the year off,” she said.

With that new title, Hawtin is looking ahead to a busy year.

“We’re just excited to see things moving along and honestly, we’re optimistic that 2025 and beyond is going to be even better,” she said referring to big ticket events such as the SaskSnow Provincial Snow Mobile Festival, Saskatchewan 55 + Games, The Battlefords Community Players hosted the Saskatchewan TheatreFest and the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Annual Spring Assembly – the latter of which for the second year in a row.”

“The groups that come and host here in North Battleford, they just leave with raving reviews about the amenities, about the people here, about the facilities,” she said.

“We expect just to see more of this kind of activity.”

The new year will kick off with passing the budget along with strategic planning for the next term.

“That’ll be where we really look at you know ‘Are the priorities in the current strategic plan what we see for the next four years or 10 years and beyond’ or “Where do we need to sort of revise and realign the vision for the city,” she said.

“That’s going to be a big project and then that will guide really our next four years of decision making.”

Other future plans coming up include zoning bylaw changes, the new RCMP training hub opening, and support for economic development.

“This is a big year for us for the city and for council.”

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julia.lovettsquires@pattisonmedia.com

On BlueSky: juleslovett.bsky.social