Housing key priority, mayor says

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/05/2012 (5151 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mayor Shari Decter Hirst expressed a desire for Brandon to become “Calgary Light” in her annual State of the City address to the Brandon Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.

In addressing economic development issues before an audience of more than 380 people at the Keystone Centre, Decter Hirst specifically named Westman’s oilpatch as a land of opportunity that the city should look to.

“All of the service sector that services the oilpatch, whether it’s the heavy-duty mechanics, the geologists, whether it’s chemical engineers, these are the folks we are working with now to convince them that Brandon is the centre. We are in the middle of Virden, Waskada, and are a large centre.

“We have a great quality of life for employees. If you are a 23-year-old guy with more green in your jeans than you’ve ever had before, it can be a challenge to live in Waskada. This is an opportunity to bring them to a larger centre that has more amenities …That will help with industries retaining their employees.”

Also on economic development, Decter Hirst said Brandon “is not satisfied in just being a larger city.”

“We expect to be a more prosperous city,” Decter Hirst said. “The city has a responsibility for creating an environment where entrepreneurship can thrive, pursuing a transformative economic development opportunities and working with partners to address frequent labour shortages. People must have jobs, jobs that pay well and keep our community unique, healthy, clean and strong.”

The mayor said she will look for creative housing strategy ideas, such as ones currently being implemented in Saskatoon and Lethbridge, Alta., to help solve Brandon’s housing crunch.

“(Saskatoon has) a very innovative housing strategy that looks at a lot of levers that local government can control like zoning, building inspection and land use,” Decter Hirst said. “They have convince their private sector to be partners in a very aggressive housing strategy. We need that to happen here. We can’t do this alone. We need the private sector at the table.”

After a trip to Saskatoon, Decter Hirst plans to release a Brandon Housing Strategy in the fall.

Other items addressed included ongoing work on the 2017 Canada Summer Games bid, the redevelopment of buildings at the Recreation Centre (Wheat City Golf Course), the goal for city departments to find three per cent more revenue or cut three per cent of the expenditure lines, and the revitalization of downtown.

“We have had some successes downtown, with several old buildings and vacant lots brought back to life,” Decter Hirst said. “We have a few more projects on the go. The Brown Block came down, and the Brandon Inn will be coming down as its demolition permits have been scheduled for late fall.”

A second State of the City address will take place as a public event on a date and time to be determined.

» kborkowsky@brandonsun.com