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Mayor's Message: The Future Looks Bright

By 250 News

Mayor Colin Kinsley begins his 4th term in Office

After taking the Oath of Office and Oath of Allegiance, Mayor Colin Kinsley delivered his inaugural address to a packed Council Chambers.

The Mayor's message looked back on City Council's accomplishments over the last three years, and his desire to build on that momentum over the next three years.

"The outlook for the next few years is bright and Prince George continues to be well positioned to aggressively achieve our vision of pursuing opportunities to grow our economy and, thus, our tax base, which will improve the quality of life for all Prince George residents."

The Mayor's highlights from the last three years included:
-- a boom in city building permits,  "With over 670 building permits issued, construction values are at close to $100-million dollars, showing its highest total overall since 1997."

-- heeding residents' calls for road improvements,  "the budget (for road rehabilitation) now closes in on $3-million dollars a year and $550-thousand of that comes from the lease-in, lease-out agreement with Terasen gas and the successful "Yes" vote in the referendum."

-- concrete action in revitalizing the downtown core,  UNBC moving into the old Royal Bank building, "will host an amazing amount of activity in the heart of the community."   While the Mayor says the Ghiai development with residential and student housing, "will be a catalyst to major investment, I'm sure."

-- last fall's 5-3 vote in favour of replacing the Cameron Street Bridge, "And we cannot forget to mention our commitment to find a way to replace the Cameron Street Bridge in a cost effective way, shared by senior government."

"With the election now behind us, "  the Mayor told his newly-elected Council colleagues, "It's time to focus our attention on the hard work ahead."

Kinsley says, "It is obvious marketing the City of Prince George will continue to play a role in the City Council's day-to-day activities."  He says the City must market its competitive advantages in wood fibre, modern processing plants, and researching capabilities.

"We're positioned very well to access future Asian markets with the Port of Prince Rupert now becoming a reality and being 30-hours closer to the Orient than Vancouver.  And the opportunities for Prince George to grow an inland port are very real indeed."

The Mayor went on to say that in the run-up to the 2010 Olympics and beyond, sport hosting and tourism offer tremendous opportunities for the City as well.

He finished his 20-minute speech by saying, "I look forward to serving you with integrity and vision over the next three years."
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