Raymond anticipating successful 2024 building on previous year

Posted on January 25, 2024 by admin

By Heather Cameron
Westwind Weekly News

Kurtis Pratt, Chief Administrative Officer for the Town of Raymond, states that 2023 was a successful year for the Town of Raymond.

“Raymond’s Canada Day Celebrations were the biggest yet and record crowds took in the last Raymond Stampede at its Victoria Park location,” said Pratt. “Our facilities, such as Victoria Sports Park, Hell’s Creek Golf and Footgolf Course, the Aquatic Centre and the Ice Arena, as well as the many youth sporting programs, were all heavily used and met or positively exceeded budgetary expectations.”

Change, Pratt says, is hard and it was with mixed feelings that the Town demolished the historic Raymond Stampede grounds. That said, Pratt emphasizes that the demolition of the grounds allowed for the beginning of the $37.6 million Raymond High School project that will be built on that land while the Stampede grounds will be located to land generously donated by the RK Heggie family. 

“Having the new Raymond High School announced in April 2023 was a tremendous success,” said Pratt. “The $37.6 million investment is likely the largest capital investment in our community’s history. Our current schools are bursting at the seams. The new school will become an anchor tenant within Victoria Sports Park and our students will all benefit from a higher standard of education and more opportunities for active living. We also submitted our annexation application that we hope will be approved on July 1, 2024. This annexation will provide an important opportunity to attract significant investment in our community.”

In addition to those two legacy projects, Pratt says, the Town is also pushing forward on a project that will see the expansion and rehabilitation of the Town’s Wastewater Treatment system.

Pratt says that other projects the Town has been involved in include having 13 new homes start construction in 2023, an active real estate market in Raymond, working with Canada Post and the local MP to have additional PO Boxes installed in Raymond because the waiting list to access a Postal Box keeps growing; and lobbying the province for additional capital funding to expand Ridgeview Lodge as the waiting list of people wanting to either remain in Raymond or move to Raymond keeps growing.

Early in 2024, Pratt says, Rogers will be bringing their application for a new 5G tower in Raymond to the Municipal Planning Commission.

“Every year we are working hard to strengthen our financial position and improve the quality and condition of our existing assets, while planning to support our current and future growth,” said Pratt. “Council has strived to be as open and transparent as possible with the public and has sought ways to engage. Council has reaffirmed their Vision and Mission Statements, and our organizational values and principles. They have also reviewed their term priorities which are based around four key pillars: the environment, growth, infrastructure and quality of life. This year, we will be working hard to achieve as many of these goals as our budget permits.”