Mayor Larry Johannson put 2015 in perspective at the Selkirk Biz – State of the Region address today at Gaffer’s and offered a glimpse into the future with what’s to come for the city and its citizens in 2016.
2015 Was a Good Year For Selkirk
For Selkirk and its citizens, there was no bigger accomplishment in 2015 than the removal of the Lord Selkirk II from the slough. The ship, abandoned by its most recent owners, had been rotting in the slough in Selkirk Park for decades.
Selkirk council and its administration simply wouldn’t take no for an answer in their quest to have the ship finally removed.
“As everyone knows, the big ship had sat vacant and rotting in the slough for more than 20 years. Efforts by this council, and previous, were what prompted assistance from the provincial government to have the ship removed,” Johannson said.
“It was a safety concern, an environmental concern, not to mention a massive eyesore. I am so proud to say that this council, and our administration, who worked tirelessly on it, as well as the province, got it done. It was a great accomplishment.”
Selkirk council has been making improvements to Manitoba Avenue in recent years and in 2015 work began on detailed design plans for the main thoroughfare.
“We are working with the province on this and we’re collecting data and everything we’ve learned so far shows that Manitoba Avenue is operating very efficiently. There is more traffic using Manitoba now than in years past, but the street is still handling the traffic flow very well,” Johannson said.
“We’re looking at Manitoba in the long run – we know there’s going to be more growth in the city and especially in that area, so we have to make sure we’re designing with the future in mind.”
Selkirk began work on a recreation master plan in 2015 and the city engaged local stakeholders to get their ideas on where the city’s rec facilities are at now and what the city needs to work towards in the future. Public consultations and surveys have provided some insight from citizens and stakeholders.
“The preliminary results show we’re doing OK, people are generally satisfied with the quality of facilities and services, and, a lot of what our citizens told us they were looking for wasn’t the big fancy stuff – it was more active living opportunities, things like more walking trails, biking trails, things like that,” Johannson said.
“At the same time we have to recognize that our facilities are aging fast. We know we’ve got an old curling rink and the Barn is right up there with the oldest rinks in the province; it was built long before anyone here was born, in the 1920s and it’s approaching 100 years of service. It’s served its time and then some.”
More to Come in 2016
In 2016 Johannson said the city will continue to push ahead with its Business Park, and look forward to the start of Phase 1 of the health and wellness centre that will occupy the first three lots sold in the park.
Council is also looking at land west of Annie Street and south of Manitoba Avenue. Developers are showing interest in the area, and the city wants to be prepared.
“We know that space is the next frontier for the city and we don’t want development to occur there haphazardly, we want it to be intentional,” Johannson said.
“New development has to work with what already exists and we have to make sure we’re improving our sustainability – it can’t just be sprawl, it has to make us more sustainable.”
The State of the Region event was the seventh annual, hosted by Selkirk Biz. Johannson, as well as municipal leaders from the RMs of St. Andrews, St. Clements and West St. Paul, spoke at the event.
