Resourceful spirit, Growing Opportunity

City MattersYour City ~ Your News

www.cityofgp.com

May 2013

Alberta Venture Best Workplaces

Finalist!The City of Grande is a finalist in Alberta Venture Magazine’s Best Workplaces Competition in two categories, Overall and Health and Safety. The winners will be unveiled in the June edition of Venture.

What’s Inside:

City Matters Your City~ Your News

City Targets Outstanding ServiceThe City of Grande Prairie is taking steps to raise its level of exceptional customer service – internally and externally.

In the 2012-2014 Strategic Business Plan, City Council identified the development of a customer-centred, exceptional service model as a priority.

“This initiative is geared to assisting individual employees recognize they can make a difference on their own as well as part of their department,” says Community Living Director Garry Roth, who oversees the initiative.

An 18-month secondment position was developed under The Exceptional Customer

Service Initiative. Jackie Doucet heads up training to support and provides resources to staff to empower them to work on improving customer relations.

“The goal of this project is to improve service by adding to the great things that are already happening to WOW our customers, clients and citizens with every contact they have with the City of Grande Prairie,” -Jackie DoucetThe project is led by steering

committee whose vision is: “At the City of Grande Prairie, there is a culture of exceptional service. Every employee has a genuine desire to serve. They are empowered to approach every interaction with enthusiasm and flexibility.”

Focus groups represent employees from all City facilities. They are the champions of

the project, sharing best practices and techniques, identifying ways to enhance service and providing recognition to employees who deliver outstanding service.

The focus group setting also offers an opportunity for mentorship and encouragement as members are urged to share challenges and achievements with their teams, as well as other city groups.

A celebration workshop on Exceptional Service takes place in May. About 300 employees have signed up for the workshop offered over three days called Exceptional Customer Service that Wows! In the fall, further training will be rolled out to all employees.

“We’ve found that it is often a matter of simply educating people in order to change how they deal with others,” says Roth. “When they understand the dynamics behind a positive customer interaction it is a lot easier to put those skills into play.”

The Exceptional Customer Service Initiative is working in partnership with other initiatives within the municipality, including activateGP, the City’s Citizen Engagement Program, the Business Enhancement Review project, and Employee Engagement.

City Matters Your City ~ Your News

Message from the Mayor“residents” who can take a hands-on role in shaping the future of the community.

A new communications plan bolsters our efforts to provide accurate, useful information to residents in a timely manner – through an increasing variety of mediums. Highlights include the February launch of our new online newsletter, the transition of City Matters into Community Connections and greater emphasis on the website and social media as communications tools.

Council also recognizes the value of Neighbourhood Associations as a key to allowing residents to be more active in shaping the personality of their neighbourhoods. It’s pleasing to see we now have two associations – in Pinnacle Ridge and another for the Mission neighbourhoods.

Our third citizen satisfaction survey was administered at the end of April, early May and we expect results in June. We’ll review outcomes to see how we can reflect citizen feedback.

Balancing Excellence with Value

This focus area is intended to identify ways to refine and improve the services we offer by looking for efficiencies, encouraging new ideas and stepping up our focus on the customer.

Administration has created an Exceptional Service Program that provides increased training for

city employees and encourages sharing customer service ideas between departments. Our goal is to deliver customer service that WOWS!

Administration is in the process of launching an innovation recognition program to shine the spotlight on the great ideas and improvements that City staff as well as individuals and organizations in the community bring forward.

As we do after each winter, Council and Administration will review our snow removal practices and service levels to see what we’ve learned and where we can improve.

The opening of the Third Fire Hall last May and the first year operation of the Eastlink Centre are signs of how the City has responded to our growing community. The Eastlink Centre recorded 775,836 paying customers in 2012 and Administration is forecasting we’ll reach 7,000 members this year.

Fiscal Sustainability

Council continues to work to lower taxes in a variety of ways, recently reducing the tax rate set last fall. We need to have a long-term plan to increase our ability to deliver the services and infrastructure residents expect.

The City must diversify its tax base by attracting commercial and industrial development to offset our heavy reliance on residential properties.

It’s spring! With a new baby in our house, Susan and I are experiencing all the growth and renewal of the season in a very literal way this year.

I know many of you are also parents to little ones, so you understand that feeling.

We are also coming to the close of something; just six months are left in this Council’s term.

There is much to do in that time.

As I reported at the March 21 State of the City Address to the Chamber of Commerce, though, we’ve made progress on virtually every goal contained in the 2012-2014 Strategic Business Plan.

Community Engagement and Consultation

We’ve developed a Citizen Engagement Program, highlighted by a policy to ensure consistency in how we reach out to the public. The City is developing partnerships with school boards and community agencies to help promote the role of local government and we’re providing training to staff to enhance how we involve residents.

The first-year anniversary of gpsoup in February, an initiative from last year’s City sponsored Love For Cities Workshop, underlines that it’s important we look beyond people who live in the community as simply ratepayers.

Instead, we need to recognize they are “citizens” and

City Matters Your City ~ Your News

Message from the Mayor cont.

We need the right amount and type of land to enable us to offer a wide range of development opportunities for business.

We have been negotiating with the County of Grande Prairie to annex about 6,300 hectares of land, mainly in the west and northwest. This process has moved to mediation and we hope to submit an application to the Municipal Government Board later this year.

An Industrial Attraction Strategy approved in March will ensure Grande Prairie is an attractive place for development and investment. Its recommendations are based on input from business leaders and will position the city to broaden its industrial and commercial tax base. One of the key recommendations is for the City to consider flexible infrastructure standards that support a diverse range of development options.

A new Land Use Bylaw will be implemented this year. Council is considering reducing some of the parking requirements for downtown – making it easier and more attractive for people to invest in new construction in our city’s core. Council is also contemplating the potential for “dry-serviced” industrial zones and reduced design standards where appropriate to better compete with opportunities offered in the County.

Several steps have been undertaken on development of a Fiscal Sustainability Model. These include establishing Council policies on debt and expenditure limits. This

initiative is intended to ensure we can manage expected fiscal requirements and withstand future financial challenges so the City of Grande Prairie can continue delivering the programs and services residents count on.

Fostering relations with the Government of Alberta – last fall’s visit to the provincial legislature was a huge success. It was undertaken in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce, the Public and Catholic school boards, Grande Prairie Regional College, Aquatera, and the Homebuilders’ Association. With the support of our local MLAs, we were able to familiarize provincial politicians with our community and ongoing need for investment in our region, particularly in the areas of schools and post-secondary education.

Council has received an economic assessment report on the Crystal Centre from PricewaterhouseCoopers, working in conjunction with an architect and a professional cost estimator. We have asked for more detailed economic impact information as Council views the venue as a significant potential economic development engine.

Looking Ahead …

Among the issues to resolve in the coming months is the placement of the downtown transit terminal. This was envisioned by Administration for location on the South Montrose Site. However, Council has decided that property should be developed without the transit facility.

Administration has been directed to examine costs, identify a funding source and forecast timelines involved in providing an overall vision for the property.

Later this year, a $1.4 million investment in affordable housing will come to fruition with the completion of the Cairn on the Boulevard on 102 Street. The $11 million complex will have 83 units, of which 64 are designated for affordable housing. There is about 8,500 square feet of commercial space.

Planning is well underway for our celebrations to mark Grande Prairie’s 100th anniversary in 2014.

Flagship projects include a history book, a Homecoming Weekend and 100 days of activities.

I’m particularly excited to see expansion and refurbishment of Muskoseepi Park proceeding as a legacy of the 100th anniversary.

Many of the activities the City has undertaken this term have focused on building a strong foundation for the future.

As current and upcoming projects unfold, Grande Prairie will build on its position as a driving force within the region and province.

Although in some places the work is behind the scenes, many of the activities the City has undertaken this term have focused on building a strong foundation for the future.

That’s something that I’m proud to have been a part of.

City Matters Your City ~ Your News

Muskoseepi’s Newest Addition Opens Soon!Muskoseepi Park is excited to announce the opening of its spray area in June, giving kids all summer to enjoy the City’s newest play space.

The original water spray park near the Pavilion was constructed in 1986 and has been out of service for the last five years. The Lions Park added a spray area to its

playground in 2006. This second spray park will provide the community with another option and help reduce some of the congestion experienced at the popular area.

The recent addition was constructed in partnership with the Grande Prairie Elk’s

Lodge Association. The timing for the start of this project coincided with its National 100th Anniversary. The Service Club contributed $25,000 toward the spray park to celebrate the event.

We are delighted to add more amenities to our facilities,” says Chad Cronk, Customer Service

Manager. “It will be great to see kids enjoying splashing around here at the park again.”

Construction began in July 2012, with the bulk of the project being completed by September, and only

some minor cosmetic landscaping work around the concrete pad left to complete. All elements are expected to be up and running by mid-June.

Now there is another reason for families to pop down and enjoy all that Muskoseepi Park has to offer!

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99 Years and Counting!That’s the theme for Municipal Government Day 2013, reflecting the City is one year away from marking 100 years since incorporation as a village.

The annual celebration is a fun-filled and free event for the whole family, held rain or shine, in Muskoseepi Park on June 12, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Visitors can enjoy a community barbeque, the Amazing Race, inflated bouncing attractions, face painting, balloon animals, lawn bowling, a petting zoo and a sidewalk chalk art event. The entertainment menu is comprised of a variety of local musicians and performers.

Municipal Government Day NearsCity vehicles and equipment as well as exhibits by municipal and community organizations will be on display.

Youth Art ContestStudents at local schools and youth involved in programming at the Art Gallery of Grande Prairie and Centre for Creative Arts are invited to participate in a youth art contest in which they can develop a PowerPoint, movie or use traditional art forms to depict the theme.

The top winners for this art contest will be featured on the City’s YouTube and popularity, with 15 teams

participating this year. It starts at 4:30 p.m.

The race will see participants zipping through eight pit stops around Muskoseepi Park to win medals and other prizes!

Council members and administration from communities across the Peace Country will participate in the Municipal Olympics, a light version of the Amazing Race at 3 p.m., Residents can watch members of City Council perform tasks in competition with regional municipal representatives.

Art Contest Winner

Amazing Race Medalists

channel. Prizes include an iPad, bicycles and Eastlink Centre passes.

The Amazing RaceThe Amazing Race, organized in partnership with the Grande Prairie Get Active Network, has grown in size

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Good Neighbour AwardResidents have the opportunity to show their appreciation to neighbours by nominating them for a good neighbor award.

Submissions of no more than 225 words can be sent to communications@cityofgp.com. Nominations will be posted on the City’s website and social media accounts and winners announced on Municipal Government Day.

Community Spirit“Municipal Government Day continues to grow every year,” says Councillor Kevin O’Toole, Chair of the Municipal Government Day Team. “This is a very popular event and we continue to examine ways to get more people attending.

For example, we will be adding lawn bowling this year to help showcase the facilities available in the Park.”

Municipal Government Day typically attracts more than 4,000 people.

“We welcome everyone to join us for Municipal Government Day. It’s a chance to meet your neighbours and learn more about your community. There’s entertainment geared to the whole family.”-Councillor Kevin O’Toole

With restricted parking spots in Muskoseepi Park, residents can park at the Golden Age

Centre and the south parking lot at St. Joseph Catholic Church. Transit is also free from noon until 8 p.m.

In the case of extreme inclement weather, as much of the program as possible will be moved into the Muskoseepi Park Pavilion.

City Matters Your City ~ Your News

Centennial Celebrations Gaining Momentum

Preparations for Grande Prairie’s 100th Anniversary are well underway.

Grande Prairie is celebrating 100 years since incorporation in 2014. Highlights of plans include the launch of a history book focusing on community builders and a Homecoming Weekend.

“We’ve been working toward this important milestone for several months and everything is starting to take shape,” says Helen Rice, Chair of the 100th Anniversary Committee. “We have several subcommittees operating to make this centennial a truly memorable occasion for residents and families and friends returning to the community.”

The history book focuses on people, past and present, that have helped make Grande Prairie what it is today.

About 200 individuals will be featured.

The publication will be launched on the Homecoming Weekend, Aug. 2-4.

Other events for the weekend include:• A welcome reception • Major concert at the Crystal Centre• Carnival in the Park• Multicultural festival• Pancake breakfast• Community picnic• Hot air balloon event• Fireworks• Street festival• Soap box derby

Register or request information at gphome@cityofgp.com

Check out the Facebook Homecoming group – Grande Prairie Homecoming 2014.

Other scheduled events throughout the year include an Innovation Conference, the Alberta Fire Chiefs Association Conference June 7 to 11 and the Community Play, June 12 -15.

The DownTown Association plans to decorate downtown blocks to represent various eras. The organization is also hoping to set a Guinness World Book of Records by serving a meal to 1,000 people on a downtown street during the Stompede Parade.

The Events Subcommittee is developing a calendar of 100 days of activities.

A City of Grande Prairie initiative will see development of the Bear Creek North Trail System completed. This project, with a construction value of $683,000 begins this summer. As well, 100 parks within the city will be named.

Sponsorship opportunities are also available by contacting communications@cityofgp.com or calling 780.538-0349.

Grande Prairie City Hall 1920