Mayor Cook's Weekly Column - Week of Apr 1st

Courtesy of the City of Williams Lake:

I had the pleasure of visiting Mike’s Spot restaurant and Bosley’s Pet Foods last week as part of my monthly new business visits. Mike McLean is doing what he loves, and showing confidence in Boitanio Mall. Way to go Mike! Bosley’s Pet Foods is a big, bright, modern store, and manager Shawna Heintz has some great ideas for engaging the community and their pets. These new investments in our community confirm what we already know: Williams Lake is a great place to start a business and be successful.

I will be attending the Council of Forest Industries annual convention this week in Prince George. Topics to be discussed include timber supply, recruiting and retaining the next generation workforce, and other issues. As forestry is a mainstay in Williams Lake, it is of prime importance to the city.

It’s budget time again. The City’s Finance Committee has been busy working to present recommendations to Council in the coming weeks. By improving the process last year, we already have a provisional budget approved, which makes the final budget discussion and adoption more straightforward. We don’t have all the final figures yet, but due to the closure of the Creekside mill and the fire protection agreement, among other factors, there are going to be some tough decisions to be made. Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks.

This is the time of the year for potholes, and City workers have been busy patching for the last few weeks. If you see a pothole, please report it so it can be patched. This can be done via the City’s website (click here) by clicking “Report” under “I Want To...” in the main menu, or by calling the Development Services department at 392-1765. The sooner potholes are reported, the sooner they can be fixed.