Despite the stagnating economy and troubles associated with the low cost of oil, this past year has actually been a rather memorable one for the Town of Sundre, said the mayor.
During an interview with the Round Up last week, Terry Leslie outlined numerous reasons to celebrate 2016.
“The biggest one is probably the crisis averted when Alberta Health Services announced the closure of 15 long-term care beds at the Sundre hospital,” he said.
“In that true Sundre fashion, people came together to propose a solution.”
The result of that collaborative community effort not only protected five long-term care beds, but also helped to create improved services at the hospital for the future by introducing new levels of care not previously available, he said.
“Council didn't have much to do with it, but that was definitely a highlight of the year.”
A natural extension of the phenomenal news of Sundre's victory against Alberta Health Services was this summer's official grand opening of the new Mountain View Seniors' Housing campus of care. Getting the brand new, state-of-the-art $26.5-million facility in the community was a “huge deal” that will benefit Sundre seniors for decades to come, he said.
“That means more options for seniors to stay in the community when their health changes.”
From a council perspective, elected officials were pleased to introduce — at no additional charge to residents — a blue box recycling bin program in addition to the existing garbage and compost service, he said.
“There was no extra cost to taxpayers because of the savings realized in reductions of volumes to the landfill.”
The blue bins are a service people had been asking for, and “it was just the right thing to do.”
However, since the recycling service remains in its infancy, officials encourage residents who are experiencing any problems to report those issues, he said.
“We're still experimenting with the pickup schedule — we want to make sure we're meeting the needs of folks.”
Other projects the town has seen through to completion over the past year include two upgraded playgrounds that came in on time and under budget thanks to local contributions and volunteers, as well as the installation of new LED lights at the arena, which also got a new compressor, heating system and fresh paint, he said.
Perhaps less noticeable to the public eye was the installation of a new gas line loop at the Sundre rodeo grounds. The municipality, which runs its own gas utility, placed the line as an alternative in the event a main line in the area fails. That project came in about $32,000 under budget, he said.
Although the pilot project designed to improve pedestrian safety while maintaining an acceptable flow of traffic on the section of Main Avenue running through the downtown core won't start until 2017, most of the groundwork was laid over the past year. Town staff have worked diligently with Alberta Transportation towards making that project a reality, he said.
The mayor was modest in recounting the past year's successes, praising the municipality's dedicated employees for their efforts.
“You'll hear me say many, many times: our staff do all the real work.”
Council essentially considers detailed information prepared and compiled by staff — such as budgets for example — and either approves or requests further changes depending on the situation, he said.
Elected officials and town employees strive to be as receptive as possible to feedback from the community and are always working to improve that communication, he said.
Of course the past year has not all been sunshine and rainbows, with many people struggling through lagging economic times. The town has also experienced staff turnover that presents its own challenges, he said.
“We've had to ask staff to really step up and go above and beyond — they've met that challenge; council's proud of their work.”
Often the ones at the front lines when residents have frustrations to express, town employees are only following policy as well as fulfilling their duties as outlined by council. So the mayor urges residents who want to air a grievance to get a hold of someone on council to share their concerns.
“Staff only do what council give them opportunity to do — don't beat them up, call me!”
The mayor, who can be contacted at 403-559-7352, said residents are alternatively welcome to contact any other elected member of council.
See a coming edition of the Round Up in the new year for a story about Leslie's reasons to look forward to 2017.
