The future certainly looks bright for the city of Dauphin with everything that is going on this year.
That was the message delivered by mayor David Bosiak at the Parkland Chamber of Commerce’s State of the City Address, May 14, at the Watson Arts Centre.
“I wanted to focus on the future. I know that the future is, obviously, now and going forward, but I wrapped up my statement with everybody has issues. Everybody has stuff. I want a sustainable growth in our community,” he said.
“I’d love to have large growth, but sustainable is what we’re really aiming for. Blending the strength we have around the council table with the staff at city hall is a real benefit for us.”
The relationship with the province also helps the city as it moves forward, Bosiak added, leaving him optimistic about the future.
“I’ve always been an optimist. But I’ve never been this optimistic. Because I do think that we’re on the cusp of some really great stuff. And not just my doing or our doing now, but it’s taken some years to develop and build this. But when we have the momentum, I want to strike when the iron is hot, so to speak. And that’s what we’re working on,” he said.
Bosiak emphasized during his speech that council can only set policies. It is the work of the city staff and residents that contributes to the city’s success.
“We don’t get development here because we do development. Developers want to be here for a reason. So if we can create an environment that’s good for them, it’s also good for us. And that’s what we’re working on,” he said.
The city, Bosiak said, is staying in its own lanes, with council doing policy work, while city staff does most of the hands-on work.
“But the communication is tremendous. And I’m so proud of our ability to work together. We are spending literally no time or energy dealing with issues that are based on personality or diverging opinions. We are all on the same page. All pulling in the same direction. And we’re so happy that that then allows us to do good things, because we’re lined up well with the province right now. And who knows what the potential outcomes could be,” he said.
But there are always issues to deal with. Top of mind for Bosiak is recreation funding involving the Rural Municipality of Dauphin.
Bosiak said the city has been dealing with the RM council for more than a year on the RM’s contribution to recreation.
“All of our residents benefit. They can’t quite get their head around some of the justifications, but we’re continuing to work on it,” he said.
“I’ll be honest, it’s a little bit frustrating. But we have a dialogue with them and we’re continuing to try and get them to understand the value and the benefits. We’re putting our money in. We want just a proportionate share from them. But if we take that approach with all of the relationships we have, I think we’ll be in good shape.”