ST. PAUL – The Town of St. Paul (ONE organization not plural) has seen significant developments in 2024, meeting several milestones.
Mayor Maureen Miller said among those projects is the collaboration between the Town of St. Paul, County of St. Paul, the Town of Elk Point, and the MD of St. Paul Foundation to expand and build a new facility for Sunnyside Manor.
The MD of St. Paul Foundation’s $50 million Lodge Project aims to replace and expand Sunnyside Manor with a new 90-unit residential building and lodge services.
“It’s been a need to our community,” said the mayor, who is also the head of the foundation’s board of directors. “We have been extremely focused [on the project] for the last two years,” and the project is finally gaining traction.
Last year, all three municipalities committed $4 million to the project. The project also received an $8 million conditional approval from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
This means the project is now waiting for funding support from the provincial government before it can proceed to the construction phase, according to Miller.
“For us to be at this phase heading into 2025, I would say I’m extremely optimistic,” she said.
Hospital upgrades
The Town of St. Paul also completed a needs assessment, in conjunction with Alberta Health and the Alberta Health Services (AHS), of the St. Therese - St. Paul Healthcare Centre in the fall of 2024
The assessment, submitted to the provincial government in the summer of 2024, identifies local healthcare needs and provides a detailed framework for addressing them, whether through renovations or a new facility, said Miller.
“We now need the [provincial] government to hopefully put it on a budget line for 2025,” she said.
Challenges persist
While celebrating progress, Miller acknowledged the Town continues to grapple with ongoing challenges in healthcare, mental health and addictions, crime, and vagrancy.
Miller said these are complex issues that exist across the country, requiring multi-level government collaboration. At the municipal level, she said that while the Town has been working with RCMP and inter-agency groups to help address the challenges, the continued need for resources in rural areas remains a significant hurdle.
“We are not closing a blind eye to the changes within our community over the last three to five years,” she said. “We're addressing what we can on the ground, on the daily, but we are looking regionally to address it as a bigger picture.”
Concerns have been raised to the provincial government regarding the lack of resources, and “We’re definitely getting the ear of the members of the government,” she said.
Infrastructure also remains a critical focus. Some regional advocacy efforts within the Lakeland involve prioritization of infrastructure projects like upgrades to Highway 881, which Miller said plays a vital role in the economic corridor.
Additionally, the Town continues to address long-term water and sewer infrastructure needs, ensuring the community remains viable for future development.
Recruitment challenges in healthcare and other sectors also persist.
A partnership with Portage College to create a nursing program in St. Paul is a “huge win,” said the mayor.
“When you recruit local and you train local, hopefully we can retain local,” added Miller.
Goals for 2025
Moving into 2025, Miller said economic development will continue to be among the major focuses for the Town in 2025.
“It’s very difficult for us to provide the services that our community needs . . . when we’re heavily reliant on the residential tax base,” she explained.
Miller said the municipality has been working on ways to reduce barriers in economic development to better attract potential investors or businesses in the region, in partnership with the County of St. Paul, through improvements of the St. Paul North Intermunicipal Area Structure Plan (IASP), for example.
The Town also seeks to improve its Municipal Development Plan which would provide a long-term goal on how both small and long-term projects could fit within the Town of St. Paul.
Development is not “going to arrive in our laps,” Miller said. “We need to make ourselves accessible, as well as have the proper initiatives and incentives in place,” to attract investors in town and the region.
Miller believes Town of St. Paul has a lot to offer.
“We’re sitting right in the centre of the Lakeland region,” she said, adding the town is also a hub to several other smaller communities in the St. Paul region.
“We [also] have accessibility to major highways that travel through our region,” that businesses could take advantage of, she added.
“We have what industries require,” while still providing that “small town feel.”