Musical and festive entertainment, business grants and the formation of a new downtown community association were highlights of the second quarterly report card on a plan to “activate” the downtown.
At Tuesday’s regular city council meeting, the second report card was presented on progress made towards meeting the goals of council’s Strategic Plan.
Notable highlights from April to June towards the outcome of a “vibrant and enjoyable downtown” include:
– A community effort to activate the Ross Street Patio, Capstone, City Hall Park, and Paradise Plaza to create lively spaces for residents and visitors alike.
– The distribution of Downtown Activation 4 Seasons Grants: The City awarded five applicants with a total of $25,000 to support community-led projects that empower citizens to achieve the strategic moves of the Downtown Activation Playbook.
– Work is underway to create a Downtown Community Association with businesses, residents and cultural/social agencies. The association is intended to be the community voice for the downtown and will be based on models from other municipalities.
“This report card highlights a small fraction of the work that is happening across the organization to achieve the Strategic Plan,” said Karen Smilar, divisional strategist. “The vast majority of our key performance indicators are reported annually, so as we continue to progress, Council and the public will begin to see the year-over-year metrics as the most insightful into our performance.”
Council’s Strategic Plan is divided into three key focus areas: Thriving City, Community Health & Wellbeing and Connected & Engaged City. These aspirational goals and outcomes are to be achieve by 2026.
To view the report card, and to learn more about the Strategic Plan, visit www.reddeer.ca/strategicplan.
