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“Moving boldly” is the theme that Saskatoon’s mayor brought to her State of the City event, as she fielded questions from businesses and media on a range of hot topics.
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Here’s a rundown of some of the discussions.
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Downtown Event and Entertainment District
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“In the 1960s, this building (TCU Place), once the Centennial Auditorium, was the front page of the newspaper and everyone was screaming ‘we don’t want this’,” Cynthia Block told the crowd on Thursday.
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Now, she said she couldn’t imagine not having TCU Place in downtown Saskatoon.
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The same thing happened in the 1970s, when railroad tracks needed to be moved to make way for Midtown Plaza, Block noted.
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“People were super mad. Could you imagine not having that anchor in our downtown?”
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She said these kinds of public investments bring in tourism — and private investment follows.
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Today’s examples, Block said, include the Link Bus Rapid Transit system and the Downtown Event and Entertainment District.
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She alluded to the possibility of a partnership still being an option for the DEED, despite the previous potential partnership being voted down by city council.
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She stressed that while there isn’t an announcement coming, she hopes there will be one in the future.
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Block acknowledged that public pushback comes from caring, and fear loss, adding that she saw the DEED as a natural evolution of Saskatoon.
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She said it’s not just a “nice to have” project: they are losing business due to less opportunities at the SaskTel Centre.
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Homelessness
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Block said Saskatoon had 1,931 people facing homelessness that were counted in the last point-in-time homelessness count.
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“That’s up 30 per cent from last year. That is not sustainable, it is unmanageable, and I don’t think there’s a single person in this room that hasn’t been impacted by it and is frustrated.”
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Block said the only way Saskatoon is improving the state of homelessness is through interim housing.
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“There is no other way out … housing is the foundation to begin recovery in 99.99 per cent of cases.”
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She said housing with wraparound services to support people facing homelessness can be really expensive, but the city is spending much more money doing what it is now to deal with homelessness.
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Funding cities
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She said cities maintain about 60 per cent of the infrastructure in the country, but only get about eight per cent of the tax revenue.
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Many people are mad about their property assessment increasing, which causes their property taxes to increase, Block noted.
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She said property taxes aren’t the right tool, and the four-year assessment cycle can create “enormous swings in assessment,” creating risk for homes and businesses.
Brody Langager
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