I trust that Observer readers had an enjoyable holiday season and that you had time to spend with family and friends.
Having come through a time when we traditionally reflect on the past year, I thought it might be good to look ahead to 2013 – a Year in Preview.
I’m not in the habit of making predictions, but there are a few big projects the city is working on that I’d like to touch on.
No sooner does council get back together in the New Year, than we are looking at the 2013 budget.
The budget process is always a challenging yet rewarding one.
It’s one in which council works together to come up with an acceptable financial plan for this year’s activities.
And it’s important that residents be involved. I encourage you to learn about the budget process, how it impacts you and to share your ideas and suggestions with us.
While the formal input session is scheduled for Feb. 25, the public is always welcome to attend our open, public budget meetings. We’ll review the operating budget on Jan. 28 and the capital budget on Feb.18.
Another exciting project for us is the West Quesnel Land Stability Program. We’ve installed all the dewatering wells and drains – now we have to monitor them and see what effects that work is having.
We’ll have a public meeting later in the winter or early spring to tell you more.
We’ll continue to work on the Multi-Centre project in 2013 as well.
With more than $22 million raised or committed, we get closer to our goal with each day.
We need to convince our partners in the federal government to invest in this project, despite their repeated insistence that there are no funds available.
We’re not prepared to accept that answer and we’re committed to doing all we can to make this dream a reality.
We need your help – buy a seat, support the mural campaign, or let the federal government know they need to fund this project. Visit www.ourmulticentre.com to learn more.
We have a number of other big ticket projects, including: developing partnerships with First Nations; infrastructure reinvestment through the Quesnel Works Capital Reinvestment Program; completing the ourQuesnel community sustainability plan; continued work regarding affordable housing; working with the volunteer community to strengthen the community; and developing strategies for making our neighbourhoods safer and supporting seniors.
From May 1 to 3, Quesnel will host the North Central Local Government Association’s annual convention.
This is another exciting opportunity, as local government leaders from across north-central B.C. will converge on the Goldpan City to take part in workshops and seminars, to debate resolutions of regional significance, and to network with provincial ministers and organizations to discuss best practices, policies and strategies.
This is a super infusion into the local economy.
I’m also looking forward to my year serving as the president of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities.
Holding this position provides me an opportunity to be engaged with emerging trends and issues at the provincial and federal level, and to bring that knowledge back to our community.
It will be a busy and challenging position, but one that will only strengthen my capabilities as mayor.
One could list many more initiatives – it’s going to be a busy and productive year for the City of Quesnel as always!
I am proud to serve as your mayor, and have every confidence that we can achieve whatever goals we like by working together and moving forward.
Do you have a question for Mayor Mary Sjostrom? E-mail it to us at newsroom@quesnelobserver.com and we’ll forward it to the Mayor so she can answer it in an upcoming column.