City council sets priorities

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This article was published 23/11/2014 (3441 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Steinbach city council is laying out its vision for the new term. Council held its first study session over the weekend.

Steinbach mayor Chris Goertzen said council has established four strategic priorities for the next four years. Infrastructure renewal remains council’s top priority, followed by recreation and cultural centre renewals, traffic planning and city advocacy.

The priorities will guide the decisions of council until 2018.

Traffic planning is the only new priority for this council, compared with those set in 2010. Policing and security as well as fiscal responsibility have been dropped from council’s priority list.

Goertzen noted council has agreed an arena, a performing arts centre and a field house are to be the primary focus of multiplex plans going forward.

“Those are the three that we are examining carefully,” he said, agreeing this is most definite direction that has been stated so far.

The mayor said they will move forward with public consultations in the new year, including the possibility of open houses to solicit feedback.

Goertzen added that council has agreed to maintain a tax freeze in the 2015 budget. He said the budget has many challenges but he says they are confident that needs can be met without increasing taxes.

The city partnered with the province last year to invest in improvements along Highway 12. Goertzen said one example of council’s new traffic planning priority will be to focus on improving traffic flow out of new residential developments into commercial areas.

Health projects continue to be top of mind as the city considers advocacy work. Last year, the city contributed $300,000 to the Bethesda Foundation towards health capital project work that is being explored by the foundation.