St. Paul’s Champions for Change downtown revitalization committee is alive and well, and instrumental in pulling together projects and celebrations for the town, as committee member Amil Shapka explained to town council at its June 27 meeting.
He noted that he had earlier spoken to the mayor about the group and the mayor had told him he had thought the committee had died off, with Shapka advising reports of its death were greatly exaggerated.
“I’m here to let you know we are far from dead,” he said, listing several of the projects the group has spearheaded and/or helped out with, which include the downtown street banners, the mural on the Mannawanis Native Friendship Centre, the artwork on Warehouse Sports, volunteering to help put on Family Day and Canada Day celebrations, and hosting downtown street concerts. As the group expands St. Paul’s artistic presence, it has also embarked on a historical project as well, to put up panels that celebrate the town’s people and past.
Eight of the 10 panels planned for this year will be installed by summer’s end, he said, adding the response to this project has been great.
“We’re getting comments from across the province on that.”
The panels were done with the support of the Town of St. Paul, which had given three $15,000 grants to the group over a three-year-term. This money had also helped purchase the Spirit Bear statue outside of Racette, said Shapka, with the total funds for that project coming in at $34,000, with donations off-setting what would have been a higher cost for it.
“We’re grateful for that money and we think it’s been good for the community,” said Shapka of the town grants, saying he’d like to plant the seed of doing similar projects, if the town was interested in providing further funding. He said the group could provide more information if council was interested in providing support in the future.
Councillors offered their kudos to the group and thanked them for their contributions.
ATV firefighting unit
St. Paul fire chief Trevor Kotowich presented council with more information on a proposed ATV firefighter unit, after some questions arose at a previous council meeting about the Fire Department’s request to purchase it.
In an information sheet, Kotowich clarified the funds to purchase the ATV firefighting unit are held in a fire department reserve fund, which is not a town or county reserve account.
The firefighting unit will benefit both the town and county, he stated, with the information saying, “Unfortunately, emergencies don’t follow boundaries, so having a properly equipped and trained firefighting force benefits us all.”
After reviewing the rest of the information, council had no more questions and
