BONNYVILLE - Town of Bonnyville Mayor Elisa Brosseau recently took some time to reflect on council’s accomplishments and challenges in 2023, while also outlining plans for 2024.
Key highlights for the mayor from 2023 include the development of the Regional Sports Tourism Committee, along with fostering community events like Festival of Trees and the Santa Claus parade.
“I think that we've done a stellar job so far. We're very visible in the community and we often hear that residents like to see council and mayor out supporting events,” Brosseau says, as she looks back on the past 12 months.
Challenges
Some of the biggest challenges council faced was increasing costs for infrastructure and purchasing equipment, with some items significantly increasing in cost over the past few years.
On the financial side, more community groups and organizations are also asking the Town of Bonnyville for funding to support their efforts. In particular, the Bonnyville Health Foundation has asked for more financial support as the organization expands.
“We feel that they have a direct impact on our local health care, so we decided to increase our donation to them and take the number one title sponsor for that event,” says Brosseau. The Bonnyville Health Foundation’s primary goals are facility revitalization, staff development, mental health awareness and education.
The Town of Bonnyville maintained financial support for several organizations, including the Bonnyville and District Chamber of Commerce, and the Stepping Stone Crisis Centre.
“We didn't pull back on anybody, but we definitely saw an increase in asks,” Brosseau says.
Economic development
Highlights of 2023 include implementing the Regional Sports Tourism Committee and collaboration with Community Futures Lakeland to help with economic development.
“We saw some beautification grants - a collaboration that we did with community futures - as we continue to see economic development as a priority focus area,” said the mayor.
The beautification grant offers businesses in town $10,000 to fix anything from the façade in front of their business, to making other key renovations.
The events committee was also busy in 2023 as council hosted the barbecue bash at the fall fair for the second year in a row, while continuing to be part of integral community events like Festival of Trees and the Santa Claus parade.
Overall, Brosseau thinks 2023 compares favourably compared to previous years since it was the first full year coming out of the pandemic.
A $9.3 million funding plan is being developed for a new Aquatics Facility to replace the dated swimming pool.
Looking forward to 2024, council is working on a new vision for Jessie Lake which they see as a focal point for the town.
“There’s a lot of space along that area that could be used for enhanced recreation or wellness for the residents,” says Brosseau.
Council still needs to consult the public to find out what people would like developed and built, and will continue to focus on priority areas of economic growth, recreation, and wellness.
