聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Environmental projects and infrastructure will be the focus of town council during 2018, Mayor Nancy Brunt, said recently when asked to reflect on the happenings in the community in 2017 and to look forward to the new year.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭he start of a new year provides the perfect opportunity to look back at the changes and growth our community has experienced in 2017 and to look forward with anticipation to the opportunities 2018 will bring,鈥� Brunt said, adding that 2017 was the first complete year for the newly-elected council.
鈥淎s a group, we wholly endorsed the Town鈥檚 mission statement, which is 鈥榯o promote affordable, sustainable growth and long term viability of Kamsack through leadership and vision.鈥�
鈥淔ocusing on economic growth and viability, we were able to reduce the gap between commercial and residential taxes, providing some relief to the small business community.
鈥淐ouncil also facilitated the establishment of the Kamsack Business Association with the hope this group will bring forward ideas on ways to improve our downtown business district and to encourage economic development in our community.
鈥淎nd for the third year in a row, building permits continued to grow, reaching $1.9 million in 2017,鈥� Brunt said. 鈥淎nd while we had new construction we also said goodbye to a town landmark, Assiniboine School which was demolished in the fall.
鈥淚n addition to building relationships with the business community, we started to meet regularly with the chief and council of Cote First Nation, with the intent to work together on common problems and look at opportunities for us to partner on economic development and infrastructure projects.
鈥淲e hope to extend these meeting to include the new chief and council for Keeseekoose First Nation.
鈥淲e continued to promote the Town through the local newspaper and via our website, social media pages and electronic message board. It is our hope that in the new year more groups will take advantage of these services to share their events. To encourage visitors to the park and hunters and snowmobilers to visit and shop in Kamsack, we tried using targeted social media promotions, something we will continue in 2018.
鈥淭hroughout the last few years we have been slowly working on our infrastructure and equipment needs. Going into 2017 our plan was to focus on a replacement rescue truck for the fire department and purchasing a jetter for public works, while continuing to work on infrastructure maintenance, but without planning any major facility upgrades. Not only were we able to accomplish these items, but through the generosity of Richardson Pioneer we were able to purchase a newer Zamboni for the rink and a side-by-side quad for the fire department. In addition, the organizers of the Old Dog Run donated the proceeds from their event to the fire department for the purchase of new Jaws of Life vehicular extraction equipment.
鈥�Our volunteers and the generosity found in the community are beyond compare,鈥� Brunt said. 鈥�In 2017 we saw many different groups come together to help promote Kamsack in the Communities in Bloom competition and to assist with various recreational activities and events; everything from minor ball, soccer, and hockey, to a community garden, to running the museum and theatre, to participating in the Santa parade.
鈥淲e also saw the re-establishment of a recreation board in 2017. The board is tasked with helping to determine the future recreational and cultural needs for the community and to lead the fundraising effort for facility upgrades. Its first major event was to partner with Pattison Agriculture to host a community Christmas social in December.
鈥淭o all these wonderful people and businesses who give their time and energy to make our community a better place, Council extends a sincere thank you.
鈥淎s we move into 2018, our focus will be on environmental projects and infrastructure,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e hope to do a final round of environmental testing on the old NPC (Northern Petroleum Corporation) site and have the site levelled. We also need to work on a corrective action plan for our landfill and the development of a comprehensive asset management plan.
鈥淚t will be a busy year!
鈥淥n behalf of our town council, I would like to extend a thank you to our staff and to the community for their continued support and wish you all the very best in 2018.鈥�
