(file photo/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Angela Brown

Planning ahead

Town mayor looks back on 2021 highlights

Dec 29, 2021 | 3:09 PM

Whether it was the lagoon improvements or other capital upgrades, the Town of Battleford experienced a great deal of activity in 2021.

Mayor Ames Leslie said he is pleased to see work continue or wrap up on a number of important projects to the community.

One of the highlights of the year was the upgrade project for the town’s wastewater lagoon system.

“I think the completion of the lagoon project was a really big one,” Leslie said. “It was a jointly-funded project. It was a really significant one for the town, which will set us up for future development and growth. So it’s really good to get that one finally completed and in the books, and then we can move on.”

The town has also focused on sidewalk upgrades. One initiative in particular that’s noteworthy is the Second Avenue work.

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“With the elimination of in-town bussing, that was a focus that we heard from the community — to add more sidewalks,” Leslie said.

He said continuing to create more sidewalks will provide added safety, not just for students but for everyone needing to walk about the community.

“It’s good to see, and there will be more in 2022, so I’m excited about that,” the mayor said.

For another project Leslie is pleased to have proceed, the town was accepted for federal and provincial funding to upgrade the north-span pedestrian truss bridge that leads to Finlayson Island.

“Getting some funding from the different levels of government to make that a reality is a pretty big one in 2021,” Leslie said.

He added that it took a lot of work from the town, Herb Cox, who was MLA at the time, and current MLA Jeremy Cockrill advocating for the project.

“It won’t be completely done until the end of next summer. But it will be open for foot traffic hopefully in the spring is our goal,” Leslie said of the project.

Looking at 2022, the town also has a number of other projects ahead on the agenda.

There are seven different paving projects on the horizon for Battleford, as well as plans to install a pump track, a type of fun, challenging recreational course for youth to ride their bikes.

Town council authorized administration in its December 2021 meeting to apply for the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) grant to help with costs for the pump track.

“From the feedback I’ve been getting from meeting with a lot of youth from our community, the number one thing that is coming to the surface quite often is this pump track,” Leslie said. “It’s something for the mid-age kids in our community to do. I’m very excited that council approved it and we are going to be able to move forward.”

The mayor said hopefully the project will be able to receive some funding from the federal and the provincial governments, so the impact to the taxpayers would be minimal to add this project to the community.

Another positive initiative for the town includes plans to improve the downtown area.

Council previously approved a proposal for an incentive program to attract new businesses and encourage current businesses to renovate their buildings and operations.

Leslie said people should expect to see more new businesses coming to the area in the near future, as well as upgrades and renovations to current businesses in the downtown area.

In the next several months, he said, hopefully people should start to see “a little bit of a boom of our downtown core.”

“Council is having long-term discussions on improving the infrastructure down there as well, as the demand and the economic development of the downtown grows,” the mayor said.

The town also plans to continue to develop its action plan to make the area more inclusive as part of its commitment in joining the Coalition of Inclusive Municipalities in 2021. The public have an opportunity to provide their feedback on how to make the region more inclusive through the Welcoming and Inclusive Communities survey being conducted by the City of North Battleford and the Town of Battleford that is available online until Feb. 28, 2022.

“Once we get some feedback on the survey, we can start to create the next roadmap of where to go to become more inclusive and diverse inside our community,” Leslie said. “Council has 100 per cent bought into listening and rebuilding our community so everybody feels welcome to be there.”

The mayor also took the opportunity to acknowledge the work of the town’s leadership and staff in helping during the ongoing pandemic.

“We all went through different changes and restrictions. Then, no restrictions, and modified restrictions throughout the year,” Leslie said. “Our staff, they did a tremendous job to keep our community clean, sanitized, safe, and for the most part open. So I am very proud of the hard work that all the men and women did in the town to keep us moving through COVID.”

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow