Dignitaries stand with shovels ready at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new arena in September in Meadow Lake. (Matt Ryan/102.3 CJNS)

By meadowlakeNOW Staff

Many plans ahead

Mayor Merlin Seymour gives year-end update

Dec 27, 2023 | 5:03 PM

As 2023 draws to a close, meadowlakeNOW is taking a look back on some of the most important and impactful stories of the year.

The City of Meadow Lake had a busy year for development.

Mayor Merlin Seymour said in his list of end-of-year highlights that the Meadow Lake fire department experienced some changes of command.

In January, the existing fire chief Neil Marsh assumed the new position of Planning and Development Manager, while deputy fire chief Joe Grela moved into the role of Fire Chief.

The same month, Seymour had his first meeting with Flying Dust First Nation’s newly elected chief, Tyson Bear.

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“This is and will remain a very important relationship, as our communities strive to keep an open dialogue of various plans with our neighbours,” Seymour said.

In 2023, the City of Meadow Lake developed a communication strategy to keep people better informed. As a result, the city developed the new yourmeadowlake.ca website. The free Voyent Alert! notification service is also available. There is also a query form available on the City of Meadow Lake’s website. A new quarterly mail out is also available.

The past year has also been an important time for new developments on the new recreation facility being built. To help with the costs, the RM of Meadow Lake agreed to provide capital costs to ensure the field house portion was included in the project. The event centre may still possibly be incorporated into the facility. More details will be available in the first quarter in 2024.

The official groundbreaking ceremony took place in September, with an open house at the Meadow Lake Civic Centre. The new Meadow Lake Recreation and Civic Centre project is expected to be completed for the end of March 2025.

“The beautiful fall weather was more than welcome for the contractors as the trusses arrived in November, and the majority of the groundwork was completed,” Seymour said.

Another project the city is pleased to be part of is the Homeplate Coalition’s Emergency Shelter . December marked the opening of the shelter. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony took place at the Meadow Lake Homeplate Shelter Coalition site.

The city is also working on its East Side Infrastructure Project , with funding from Infrastructure Canada through the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund. Now in its fourth year, the 10-year project is focused on upgrading water and sewer mains in various areas around Meadow Lake.

The city hosted its first ever Festival of Lights in the campground at Lions Park, from Dec. 11 to 17. The fundraiser will benefit local organizations in the community.

Also in December, Meadow Lake city council passed the 2024 budget that saw a four per cent property tax increase. Seymour said the increase is due to cost increases in materials and utilities. Higher costs for capital projects “in a post-pandemic world” are also an issue in the budget.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @meadowlakenow