If Battleford mayor Derek Mahon has any governing philosophy, it is a simple one: paperwork in the winter, construction in the summer.
Mahon has big shoes to fill, occupying the mayor's seat after six years of Chris Odishaw. His predecessor's term saw several important projects finished, from the highway twinning project to the water treatment plant, and his term was viewed positively by many in the community. Mahon is no exception, as he described the projects implemented under Odishaw as "fixtures of the community."
His council also concurs. During the all-candidates forum prior to Battleford's election, all of the candidates except for one were full-throated in their support for Chris Odishaw's policies, and only the pro-Odishaw faction was elected.
After the rancorous departure of former councillor Lavin, Mahon is lucky to be working with a council who seems agreeable and open to compromise. Mahon spoke positively of his new council, emphasizing its mix of experience (from councillors McLean-Tady, David George and Gordon Yarde) and newness, as well as its varied background. He also stressed that the new council is not likely to disagree much on policy.
Last year's budget process ended with an argument over whether to raise the base tax rate, the mill rate or some combination of the two. In the end, former councillor Lavin disagreed with the rest of council over their decision to raise the base tax rate, though she could only delay the process. With the town's budget deliberations set to begin in the upcoming weeks, Mahon predicted that there would be no such disagreements.
"I can't say that there's a strong agreement/disagreement direction it wants to be headed either way right now, I think it's just a feeling-out process as we enter the new fiscal year. I wouldn't say there would be a whole bunch of disagreement on any fact or I haven't seen that yet. We're a group where everyone brings a different perspective and we'll see how that works out going forward."
As for the future, Mahon explained that much of the job during his tenure will relate to less glamorous, more routine projects, as well as the completion of projects started under Odishaw. In 2014, one of the largest of these projects will begin - the town's ambitious infrastructure renewal project. Early in our conversation, Mahon showed me the map of the town, annotated with the streets and roads that will require some kind of work. With the exception of the brand-new subdivisions, every street in town was marked for some process.
Mahon explained that the map represented the town's commitment to the infrastructure renewal projects being proposed by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association, and that work would essentially continue as long as money and programs were available. But to rehabilitate all the streets in the town would take an estimated 10 to 15 years.
"There's not a lot of new asphalt here, and a lot of the streets in the core are approaching 20 years of age," he continued. "It's almost a question of where you start."
The question of street renewal should be on the mind of many Battleford residents, as the previous council devised a revenue-sharing strategythat determines the proportion that residents themselves pay for road projects. The exact numbers vary for every process and street, but property owners should be expected to pay for 40 per cent of the renewal process.
The town has also signed a well-publicized development and servicing agreement with Kramer, and is currently working on similar agreements with other developers west of the Highway 4 corridor. Expect to hear more about those agreements in the coming weeks.
As for ongoing projects, the town's commitment to the Highway 4 twinning project and the water treatment plant will continue. In the latter case, the town has the opportunity to add another well to the treatment facility, so though the building is finished, work will be ongoing.
And, of course, the town will continue work on 32 lots in the Battle Springs subdivision set to come on stream, and is looking into the conceptual planning for about 70 lots to be located between First avenue west and Central avenue.
Work on the Opera House, which was started in earnest under Odishaw, will be ongoing, though the Town has taken an arm's length approach to the actual renovation plans, delegating much of the work to the Opera House Committee. It is hoped the project can be completed with a large proportion of the cost paid for by grants, and the committee has been working to apply for these grants. The Town's role in this has been supportive, as they have been writing bylaws and passing resolutions to help the process along.
"Hopefully there's a large sum of money out there starting April 1 in the federal government. We don't know," Mahon says.
Because of the complexity and cost of the process, it is not clear whether the Opera House Project will be completed under Mahon's watch. I asked him if he expected to complete any "legacy projects."
"To say that we're going to do A, B, C and D, I can tell you what we're doing with the subdivisions. If we're looking for a 'legacy project,' I'm not sure if subdivisions are a legacy project. I think a lot of what you're going to see over the next few years will be driven by the commercial development west of the Highway 4 corridor. I wouldn't necessarily say it's a legacy thing, I think it's in the hands of the developers that are out there."
Town council will spend the next few weeks working on its budget, and the News-Optimist Mahon if he expected any departures from the previous council's budget process. Though the town is expecting additional revenue-sharing dollars, it does not yet have the clear numbers, and this is likely to be the only major change.
Mahon's final comments?
"Just that we're looking forward to 2013, the council that's been put in place is eager, and we're looking forward to moving the town forward."
