Whitecourt—a year in review

 

By Laura Bohnert

It’s been a busy year in Whitecourt. With a number of projects wrapping up, on the go, and in the works for the year to come, Whitecourt has been bustling with activity, both in terms of the completion of community services an planning and development projects.

Beginning with community services, part of 2016’s plans for Whitecourt included the enhancement of the transit system. “We ordered a new dial-a-bus for seniors, and we have two new transit buses coming in early 2017,” Mayor Maryann Chichak explains. “In 2017, we might be able to achieve a 30-minute pickup service during peak hours, which brings us a long way from when the service was implemented in 2013.”

“We also bought new fitness equipment for around the running track and purchased a new Zamboni for the arena,” Chichak adds. “We installed new playground equipment in Wagner Park and added landscaping features like the Friendship Garden to Rotary Park.”

Whitecourt also hosted a number of successful events in 2016. “In terms of arts and culture, we continued on with festivals like Arts in the Park and Party in the Park—changes to that will be coming in 2017,” says Chichak. “It will be moving from the September long weekend to a Friday and Saturday in June, which is an exciting change.”

“We also hosted our first Children’s Festival for Whitecourt,” Chichak adds. “It was a huge success and is one of the exciting events that will be continuing in 2017.”

“In terms of services, the Boys and Girls Club has continued to help youth development, the Youth Advisory Committee expanded to include between 8 and 12 youth members,” says Chichak. “We’ve continued the development of our Seniors’ and Parent Link Programs, and our partnership with the library will continue.”

“We’re proud to continue to support programs that appeal to all sectors of our community,” Chichak explains.

Whitecourt also saw a number of new planning and development projects take place in 2016, “including the plotting of the municipal centre, which may include a new town office, possible library, and the potential for a new arts and culture centre,” Chichak explains. “We also continued on with vitalization and beautification grants in our downtown core, and we launched and continued our local and regional visitation program.”

“We partnered with the regional government to arrange business visits to see how businesses are doing and what issues they are having,” says Chichak. “We are working to bring more information to businesses by bringing in speakers and working with NorQuest for training opportunities.

“We are working to start and continue a two-way dialogue with the community to give assistance to businesses to help them keep their doors open and grow in the community, as well as appealing to visiting industry that might look at relocating to Whitecourt.”

“The big development in 2016 was the wastewater treatment plant master plan and odor mitigation study, which was brought to council and is now being reviewed in order to make recommendations that will fit into the budget for improvement over the next 5-10 years,” says Chichak.

“Construction of the Athabasca Flats station, which expands capacity in the area for an additional 5-7 thousand people, can double the size of the community,” Chichak continues. “It is a huge project to be completed in the near future, one that will enable us to start expanding on that area.”

“We also have a detailed design for a water system upgrade as well as another utility crossing to West Whitecourt in 2017,” Chichak adds.

“We’ve made enhancements to the Whitecourt regional landfill,” says Chichak, “and our river erosion control project along the Athabasca River is 80 per cent complete. Securing funding for that project allows us to prevent South Bank erosion, which would allow us to restore the snow mobile trail and re-open walking trails in the Rotary Park.”

“Whitecourt has been declared a 2017 FireSmart community by FireSmart Canada,” Chichak adds. “Public education and awareness campaigns on fire prevention will continue into 2017. We also started up the Citizens on Patrol program in conjunction with the local RCMP and ordered a new rescue truck for the fire department.”

“In light of the economy, we are still trying to ensure our tax dollars are spent wisely on projects that are good for the whole community,” Chichak concludes. “We’re moving forward using funds from taxation as well as reserves, and we are doing our best to ensure we are moving the community along and continuing to grow.”