The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Mayor Dennis Ballard expects 2005 will be an eventful year for Flin Flon. One of the mayor and council's top priorities this year will be their ongoing efforts surrounding the proposed Community Plex. Mayor Ballard said the community will learn this year whether the facility, which would combine various recreational and community services under one roof, will be built. A survey is due on Thursday measuring the level of support for the project. The mayor is confident that most residents want the Community Plex and believes the federal and provincial governments will come through with funding. "I'm optimistic that there's going to be money, but that doesn't say how much," he said. "What it comes down to is, how much? If they (the governments) told us we're getting nothing, that would surprise me." The mayor called the Community Plex initiative historic, terming it "one of the three or four biggest projects ever attempted in this town, money-wise and challenge-wise." But it's not the only major project on the mayor's mind as he looks ahead. Come September, the City's new $9.4-million secondary sewage treatment plant is expected to be fully operational. "It's going to cost a heck of a lot more to run (than the current system), so you're back to the costs again; that's where your challenges come in," he said. Mayor Ballard hopes to see continued retail expansion in 2005, noting that the three new buildings at the Flintoba Shopping Centre were not completed as had been hoped. "I think of my goals, and it's about the general economic development, development to get this place going, get this place more economically viable," he said. The mayor is also excited about the province's plan to resurface Highway 10A through the community, right up to the end of Main St. "I'm looking forward to having that intersection completed," he said. "I think it will be good for a lot of reasons. I think it might help the uptown area, and certainly it's going to look better. It gives us a classier-looking community." Partnerships with surrounding communities will continue to be pursued by Mayor Ballard. "When you're talking about money, you've got to see what the cheapest way to do things is," he said. Of course the challenges that the mayor and his council faced in the past will continue to crop up. "I think that your biggest challenge all the time is the whole business of costs Ð trying to get the things that you need for the community and balancing that with what you can afford," said the mayor. "That's not going to change."
