Cranbrook Council Report

By Coun. Denise Pallesen

It has been a year since I last wrote a council update for the newspaper. And what a year it has been!

So many projects have been completed over the past year by our city staff. I would like to thank them all for their vision and continued hard work on behalf of all Cranbrook citizens. Without their dedication our city would not be as successful and look as beautiful as it does!

With the dedication of our engineering and planning departments many bylaws including the sign and building bylaws have been updated. Thanks to the many businesses and citizens who provided input and ideas to ensure that these bylaws will continue to be relevant to Cranbrook’s future.

I commend our Public Works department for going the extra mile during all seasons. Under their watchful eye, we enjoy good clean drinking water, maintenance of our facilities and keeping the Highway 3 corridor and other city areas looking beautiful. They look after our roads – plowing, salting and ‘pothole patrol’ so we as citizens can get where we need to go. This department does so much behind the scenes to keep our city running smoothly.

The Leisure Services department continues to successfully operate our parks and arenas, most notably Western Financial Place which is home to the Kootenay ICE. Many thanks to the staff at Leisure Services for many well-attended events and programs while making it a friendly, well used facility.

One of the departments that we seldom think of as a “city” department is our airport. There have been many improvements over the past few years to the Canadian Rockies International Airport, with a facelift, runway expansion and a significant increase in passengers. Thanks so much to the staff of the Canadian Rockies International Airport for continuing to move the facility forward!

Thanks to the Cranbrook Public Library for continuing to provide an excellent home to thousands of books and programs for our citizens! The library continues to grow its membership and in the past year made the decision to stay open seven days a week for our reading pleasure.

Thank you to our emergency services men and women from Cranbrook Fire & Emergency Services and the RCMP for putting their lives on the line for our safety. These employees are constantly upgrading their skills and knowledge to keep us, our friends and family safe. They also spend many extra hours supporting non-profit organizations that help to make Cranbrook a better place to live.

And finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the City Hall staff – what a wonderful group! These folks are constantly working to improve our city and addressing the concerns of all citizens. Some work at the front counter, some work through our Finance & Computer Services department to keep our budget balanced, while others provide support through Corporate Services and Bylaw Services. The City Hall staff work to move Cranbrook forward whether from Economic Development and Planning to Communicating with our citizens.

Thanks so much to all the hardworking, dedicated staff of the City of Cranbrook!

– Councillor Denise Pallesen – Opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the City of Cranbrook.

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