Editor’s note: the following is the full city press release as directed by city council.
Statement from Quesnel City Council
City council is issuing this statement to express its support for the city’s staff team, with a special focus on the many positives that have been achieved over the past year.
We often overlook the need to communicate in this manner about such things, especially with the many challenges that have and continue to face our organization and our wonderful community of Quesnel.
The progress we’ve been making all starts with having a great vision and a realistic strategic plan, both of which are supported by positive, respectful leaders and dedicated loyal staff.
We think Quesnel is blessed with a very strong administrative team at all levels, including the front line individuals who deal with the public every day, right through to the senior personnel and city manager who assemble and execute the plans and programs that support residents, businesses, and industry throughout our great city.
We have a co-operative, well-led team at city hall and throughout the organization, and it really shows in our achievements.
Of great pride to council is the work that has been and continues to be done on our Strategic Plan, which, by the way,
can be found on the city’s website as part of the 2010 Annual Report.
This living and ever-developing document was first assembled in April by council and the senior administrative team and has been evolving at a positive rate; we encourage our citizens to look at the document on the city’s website.
We also take pride in the work being done to develop the many subordinate plans and management objectives that support our corporate vision and strategies and note that these documents will soon be online for public viewing as well.
These are the leadership tools that address the city’s long-term interests in such service areas as transportation, water supply, sewer service, air quality, parks and bicycle paths, to mention a few.
Aside from this planning work, which is guided by council’s overarching direction to ensure that sustainability is embedded in all plans, are several projects of great import to Quesnel.
Initiatives like obtaining sign-off on the West Quesnel Land Stability project after having expended nearly $3.34 million to date on a number of measures in West Quesnel, will lead to further near term expenditures of
close to $4.7 million to address the
stability issues in
that area.
Undertakings like rebuilding the infrastructure beneath and on St. Laurent Avenue and also the construction of a new water line on May Road, paid for by and installed to service a bus transportation company that is new to Quesnel and that will be transporting more than 100 employees by December, to local mining enterprises, are other examples.
It’s important to always remember the people side of things, since people are the city’s greatest asset. We have invested significant resources in training initiatives this year and look forward to the benefits of this investment accruing in the near term.
One such benefit, newly evident, has just been recognized by a UBCM award for best practices in the area of the city’s geographic information system (GIS), an online service enjoyed by developers, realtors, the financial sector, surveyors, engineers and the public at large.
Wherever we go as members of council, we voice our pride for Quesnel, and our support for the corporation, all of its management team and its loyal and dedicated staff.
This city is so much more than the sum of its parts and we make sure that whoever we encounter wherever we go, that message gets out.