2024 was a busy year for the City of Swift Current filled with many accomplishments and accolades.
Mayor Al Bridal reflects on one of the biggest projects of the year.
"An exciting nuts and bolts part for me is Chinook Pathway completion from the hospital area the north east tying under the number one and number four highways back to the rest of the city so children and adults can walk and ride their bikes and not have to cross the highways and parents can feel safe about that."
Mayor Bridal added that it was also a successful season fixing streets and sidewalks and in addition the city tried micro-surfacing for the first time. The cost of this process is less and Mayor Bridal says so far it looks good and appears to be good for the future.
Other construction highlights for 2024 according to Mayor Bridal included the completion of the North Hill Reservoir Pumping Station which will improve water pressure in the north west and north east part of the city as well as the first set of traffic lights being installed on the south side of the city thanks to an SGI grant.
Another of the major accomplishments this past year was a reduction of city debt as Mayor Bridal explains
"We paid down over 6.3 million in debt this year. People say why is this exciting? It means that for this year we had to spend over 2 million fixing our old aquatic center and in the next four years we will need a new aquatic center. So having that 6.3 million paid down in debt allows us some room to borrow some money."
With regards to a new aquatic center, Mayor Bridal says the Southwest Facility Foundation has done a great job this year raising money for the new facility and field house. He appreciates their efforts and says people are getting behind them not just within the city but the entire surrounding area.