Regina mayor calls 2015 a year of accomplishments

As we bid adieu to 2015, we’re looking in the rearview mirror back on the past 12 months for the City of Regina.

“It was another fantastic year. A lot of action, a lot of activities, a lot of accomplishments. The city is really growing, continuing to grow and expand,” said Mayor Michael Fougere.

The city moved forward on several projects and closed the book on others.

From his office on the 15th floor of city hall, Fougere was quick to point out what the biggest issue for him was — a solution to fix the troubled pension plan.

“The resolution of that is huge. It is a thorn in the side of many governments we’ve had in the past and we’ve finally been able to resolve that,” he explained.

The year 2015 was also another important year for the continued construction of both the new Mosaic Stadium and the wastewater treatment plant.

“There’s a great deal of satisfaction knowing that they’re moving forward on time and on budget. They’re unfolding the way they should be unfolding.”

The sewage treatment plant is actually ahead of schedule.

The city’s once-tumultuous relationship with the RM of Sherwood is improving, Fougere added. As well, finding a new city manager to replace the recently-departed Glen Davies is getting closer to fruition.

Another important milestone for the city was a project many people believed would never get off the ground. But in October, shovels finally dug in to the dirt of what will eventually be Capital Pointe.

“Happy and relieved that we’re moving forward on that project. That’s a cornerstone for going to downtown and having a flat surface with a fence around it for years doesn’t look good and now we’re going to see hopefully a really beautiful project,” Fougere said.

The future is uncertain for the mayor as 2015 marked the final full year of Fougere’s first term as the head of the city. With a civic election coming in the fall of 2016, it’s unknown how long he’ll get to keep his title as mayor.