Shaunavon & District Fire & Rescue is changing it up this Boomtown Christmas!! SDFR will be collecting donations for the Shaunavon Food Bank during the Parade of Lights. Acceptable Items: Non-Perishable Food, Personal Care Items, Cleaning Supplies, Laundry Supplies or Cash Donation. Gather your items, and give them to one of our firefighters walking during the parade and share the holiday spirit with those in need!
From the Desk of the Mayor;
It appears summer quickly turned into fall, with winter following not far behind. As the joyous feelings of the Holidays set in, we would like to reflect on the past 6 months of progress at the Town of Shaunavon!
The Town of Shaunavon is developing its 2023-2028 Strategic Plan to establish new goals based on the voiced opinions from community members and priorities laid out by Council. A community survey was released this past fall to give community members an opportunity to voice their needs and concerns. Focus groups were then facilitated with committees, RMs and groups to gather input about what they envision for Shaunavon in the next 5 years. The data and responses collected are now being revised and categorized into main priorities and actions, where the new Strategic Plan will be released to the public in the near future.
Investing in Shaunavon’s existing infrastructure is one of our main priorities, as the foundation of Shaunavon requires upgrades and maintenance to keep it operating at capacity. In 2022, $543,900 was invested in aggressive paving to upgrade our streets. Additional finances were invested into the Economic Development Committee’s Development Incentives. The 50/50 sidewalk program proved successful once again, with a total of $93,839.65 invested by property owners and the Town of Shaunavon combined. In 2022, a total of 4 commercial properties were approved for the Property Improvement Program, where a Tax Relief Amount of $28,503.50 from the Town of Shaunavon has been distributed to these commercial Property Improvement Program projects. The Lateral Sewer Line Program has been successfully completed for this year’s 5 applicants to contribute to upgrading sewer infrastructure. We are happy to offer these incentives in our community to help residents with property upgrades and keep improving town beautification.
Our Regional Bylaw Officer has been working hard promoting safety and enforcing bylaws in Shaunavon. This year, a CAA School Zone Safety Assessment was done at each of Shaunavon’s schools to assist with receiving grant funding to install light up crosswalk signs at each school. Shaunavon now has a total of 7 sets of light up crosswalk signs to increase pedestrian safety!
The Grand Coteau Heritage and Cultural Centre has been a busy center for tourism and programming, with over 7,984 visitors throughout 2022! Their Culture Days Multicultural Festival was a huge success thanks to the support of people, businesses and organizations from all across the Southwest. The Grand Coteau programs and youth camps have all been a success this past year, including the summer camp partnered with Shaunavon Wellness & Leisure Summer Active.
Wellness & Leisure had another busy and successful summer season between the outdoor pool, summer programming and the summer camp partnership with the Grand Coteau! Wellness & Leisure continues to be busy in the winter with the bustling Crescent Point Wickenheiser Center that has the curling rink and skating rink in full swing!
The Grand Coteau, Shaunavon Library, Wellness & Leisure and Shaunavon EDC have partnered to create a novel initiative called “Me Time: Together for the health of it!”. This initiative’s goal is to offer a variety of programs for adults to enhance connection & wellbeing. We are so proud of this team for coming together to create this inclusive program for all adults to get out and enjoy activities!
I would like to say how grateful we are for our wonderful, hard-working staff at the Town of Shaunavon, and for our supportive community. We appreciate all the volunteers and thank each and every one of you for your time and dedication to make our town and community a great place to live. Thank you to the Shaunavon Chamber for throwing another successful Boomtown Days and Boomtown Christmas this year!
May your holidays be filled with family, love, joy and laughter this Christmas & best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year!
Sincerely,
Mayor Kyle Bennett
Town of Shaunavon