More jobs, steady taxes, faster Internet and new housing options.
Creighton is eyeing all of that and more, Mayor Bruce Fidler told the Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday.
“Of course [with] economic development, [we’re] never at a standstill,” Fidler told 20 guests at the Friendship Centre restaurant. “Actually I’ve been in the process in the last couple of weeks of discussions with a couple of different places, so there’s always things out there. We’re never standing still and [we’re] hoping to move forward with that.”
Asked to provide details of those discussions, Fidler said it was too early to go public.
“They are very preliminary and [we’re] just starting discussions, so at this time I’d just as soon keep it quiet,” he said politely.
Fidler, who has made economic development a cornerstone of his mayoralty, suffered a setback earlier this month when Creighton was removed from consideration for nuclear-waste storage.
Weeks earlier, one of Creighton’s major employers, The Prospector Inn, abruptly closed and went up for sale.
Fidler has no definitive information on whether a prospective buyer is waiting in the wings.
“I’ve probably heard the same rumours as everybody else has,” he said. “I hope it doesn’t sit empty for very long because that’s never a good thing, and I mean obviously for the betterment of the community as well, it’s always financially and economically beneficial to have a business like that going. But no, I don’t know anything further.”
On the budgetary front, Fidler said town council plans to hold property taxes level as it formulates its 2015-16 budget.
“We are working and planning on a zero per cent increase on the municipality portion of the taxes,” he said.
Fidler said he couldn’t speak for the education portion of the taxes, which is set by the Saskatchewan government. The province has announced education taxes will not rise this year.
What Creightonites hope will rise is the level of Internet service in their community, which many say has become slower.
Fidler said such concerns exist across most of Saskatchewan and were brought to the attention of provincial cabinet ministers at a convention last month.
“Hopefully something will be done to improve the service that we do get,” he said. “At this point that’s about all that I can say.”
In terms of housing options, Fidler said residential lots in the new Collins Crescent subdivision will go up for sale post-winter.
“We have had some interest, so hopefully once the snow is gone those will move,” he told the chamber delegates.
The 15 serviced lots will be large by local standards: no smaller than 7,535 sq. ft. and no bigger than 10,979 sq. ft. Each carries a price tag of $60,000.
As for housing for the elderly, Fidler said Creighton continues to lobby the province for a long-term care facility.
“It’s something that’s been requested and been needed for quite some time,” he said.
Also needed, in town council’s view, is further beautification work around Creighton.
This year the town has planned landscaping at the green space along Main Street. Next winter, new Christmas lights will be added along Main Street and portions of Creighton Avenue.
This spring, wrought-iron fencing will be installed around the columbarium and memory wall site at the corner of Elander Avenue and Nejedly Street.
“Which I think will add to the scenery there,” Fidler said.
$400K gift
Although the Nuclear Waste Management Organization has withdrawn from Creighton, council must still decide how to spend $400,000 gifted to the town by NWMO.
Fidler said no final decisions have been made, adding there will be some community consultation on how to dole out the dollars.
“That money was put there for something for the betterment of the community as a whole, so we want to take our time,” said the four-term mayor.
While Creighton now offers free curbside recycling pick-ups, Fidler was asked whether the town is considering further recycling incentives such as limits on free garbage pick-ups.
“No, actually we haven’t had any more discussion around that, but we’re always open to it, always open to looking for ways to improve things around the community,” he said.
Fidler then invited the questioner, Deb Odegaard of the Flin Flon Recycling Centre, to meet with council to discuss her ideas.
