The City of Cold Lake Releases its 5 Year Business Plan

The City of Cold Lake has released its 5 year Business Plan, which will be used as a guide through 2020. Mayor Cold Lake Craig Copeland says the document displays what City Councillors and staff hope to achieve. “It lays out Councils vision and what we’re trying to work on in the next few years.”

Mayor Copeland says the document is pretty standard, “every municipality should do this and we’ve been trying our best to update our vision every five years.” This helps the City plan and remain true to the constituents, “it really shows where are priorities are and the sustainability of the City of Cold Lake.”

Highlights from the plan include the City’s 5 Year Objectives, Strategies and Past Accomplishments:

These longterm objectives

• Enable the concept of having a complete community with flexible land supply;
•  Delivery of services that citizens are willing to pay for;
•  Improving efficiency and reducing costs where possible;
• Raising additional revenue through a mix of user fees, property taxes, and other sources as necessary;
•  Promoting economic development and tourism;
•  Enhancing the management of the infrastructure inventory and developing enhanced tools to address the deficit;
•  Protecting the natural environment within and around Cold Lake;
•  Ensuring the safety of the community;
•  Assisting the most vulnerable;
•  Promoting healthy active living;
•  Recruiting and retaining municipal employees; and
•  Improving accountability to electors.

To accomplish the long-term objectives, the following strategies were formulated

•  Conducting regular citizen satisfaction surveys;
•  Re-engage the Government of Alberta to finalize the transition of the CLAWR to Cold Lake;
•  Continue with the annexation negotiations with the M.D. and make the final application to the Municipal Government Board (MGB);
•  Implement a software supported asset management program;
• Examining the opportunities for improving employee productivity through information technology;
•  Facilitate discussions with various community groups and business to garner support for a men’s shelter program.
• Designing user fees to cover the operating and capital costs of utilities as well as externalities;
•  Lobbying the provincial government for funding for the shadow population;
•  Evaluate the opportunities of having an economic development officer to implement the economic strategy and partner with HUB;
•  Developing capacity for sustainable municipal planning;
• Evaluating opportunities for new programs/services to generate additional revenues at the Energy Centre; and
•  Adopting employee development, rewards, and succession planning to retain employees

Recent achievements and initiatives implemented in 2013 and 2014 as well as planned for 2015

•  Kinosoo Beach Splash Park
• 4 Wing Splash Park
•  Skate Board Park at the Energy Centre
•  New Family and Community Support Services and Parent Link Centre
•  Cold Lake South Fire, Headquarters, and Emergency Operation Centre
•  Community Event Arena
•  1 st Avenue Watermain and Roadway Replacement Program
•  10 Street Utility Replacement and Roadway Improvement Program
•  Kinosoo Beach Master Plan and Implementation of Phase 1 and Phase 2
•  New Standard Development Agreement w/ UDI
•  Pot Hole Patrol Program
•  Enhanced Sidewalk Repair Program
•  Energy Center Phase 2 – Community Event Arena, Opening
•  Energy Center Phase 3 – Initiated
•  Tangible Capital Assets – MDW Implementation
•  Automated Curbside Refuse Bin Implementation
•  Class “A” Composting
•  Replacement of community parks
•  Replacement of Nelson Heights outdoor rink
• New outdoor in Cold Lake South
• Successful transition of Golf and Winter Club
•  Enhancement to the Community Peace Officer Program
•  Building #9 Liftstation Overhaul
•  Commercial Lane Improvement Program
•  Commercial Service Road Improvement program
•  Sidewalk repair program

*Source The City of Cold Lake 5 Year Business Plan

“It’s a great document, I encourage people to go online and review it.” The 5 Year Business Plan is linked in this article and available through The City’s website coldlake.com. “The City staff deserves a lot of credit, it’s a pretty detailed document. If you want to understand where the City is going, I encourage you to read it.”