By Mayor Lyn Hall

The year 2015 has been historic for the City of Prince George in many ways. We began the year with a new Council, and soon after, a new city manager, and all have been eager to take the City in exciting new directions.

First, Prince George had to ready itself to welcome the nation as BC’s first official Host City of a Canada Winter Games. And ready we were. More than 10,000 first-class athletes, coaches, friends, and family came to the city ready to compete and to have fun. Spectacular feats of athleticism were matched by amazing cultural displays, unforgettable winter concerts, and the involvement of a first-ever Host First Nation, Lheidli T’enneh.

Our community will enjoy the legacies of the Games for years to come: the extensive renovation project at Kin 1, the Canada Games Plaza, and upgrades to facilities such as the Otway Nordic Ski Centre and the Outdoor Ice Oval, to name a few.

Just six days after the closing ceremonies, we marked our 100^th anniversary with celebrations at City Hall during the day, and a gala event at the Prince George Civic Centre that evening to honour our volunteers.

City Council was also very active this year, naming long-time City employee and lifelong Prince George resident, Kathleen Soltis, as city manager. Other activities included the renaming of Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park, the permanent raising of the Lheidli flag at City Hall, taking firm remedial action on derelict properties, and bringing the City’s economic development function into City Hall.

Council has also placed a high priority on investing in road and sidewalk infrastructure, snow-clearing, and pedestrian safety. In fact, the proposed budget for snow-clearing in 2016 is $7 million, an increase of 21% over 2014. We are also planning to invest $7.25 million into road and sidewalk maintenance in 2016.

Summer and fall brought more highlights including the Summer Centennial celebrations, the first visit to Prince George by the Vancouver Canucks, and one of the largest public engagement and feedback campaigns in the City’s history via our Talktober neighbourhood conversations, Citizen Budget, and budget and customer service surveys. Since the beginning of January, 2015, the City’s social media engagement has increased by 50 per cent.

In the City’s Corporate Plan for 2016 to 2018, Council has laid out a road map for the City to achieve its myPG Community Goals.

Key focus areas include:

• Reconnecting to create an inclusive and proud community.
• Developing and integrating transportation linkages, means, and solutions.
• Continuing to advance progress in the Downtown.
• Actively communicating and engaging with employees, citizens, local organizations and partners, and key constituencies.

2015 has been a year for the ages, and we’re going to keep its spirit alive. Today, I am thrilled to announce the City’s first-ever Celebrate Prince George Winter Festival, to be held over 10 days in February, 2016.

These festivities, which the City is co-presenting with Tourism Prince George, will include a variety of fun-filled activities, and we’re planning to feature an outdoor concert at Canada Games Plaza in front of the Prince George Civic Centre on Saturday, February 13, 2016, the one year anniversary of the opening of the 2015 Games. We expect to have great bands, food trucks, cultural events, and more to celebrate our great city – just as we did during the Games.

The event is part of the City’s new Community Celebrations Program, approved this year by Council, which is meant to financially support and assist the growth and development of new and existing events for July and February in order to create summer and winter celebrations and excitement in the city.

In 2016, we also intend to build on the momentum started with community engagement activities like Talktober.  We have begun to update and revise the City’s website. By mid-January, you will be able to visit princegeorge.ca to fill out a survey to tell us what you would like the new site to include.

This New Year, we are looking forward to the results of an extensive study into the uses of the City’s park land and green spaces, as well as the state of the City’s civic facilities. We are also eagerly anticipating once again hosting the nation as 80 teams from across Canada come to Prince George for the Canadian Native Fastball Championships.

On behalf of Council, I wish you and yours a very happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.

We have much to look forward to.

Lyn Hall, Mayor of Prince George