There’s lots going on within your community, and the Town of Kindersley Council strives to keep residents up to date on upcoming changes and plans. The first change on the radar? The retirement of Chief Administrative Officer and Director of Corporate Services Audrey Hebert
Audrey Hebert became the Town of Kindersley’s CAO in 2018. Accomplishments in the tourism sector include finishing the swimming pool, upgrading nearly all the parks with irrigation and playground equipment, and making the beach an even greater attraction.
“Kindersley is still a growing community, and I hope it continues to grow, change, evolve.”
Hebert will be retiring in late summer. Communications Coordinator Anna Polsfut enjoyed her time spent with Hebert over the last years, and notes that Hebert always had a great hand in community engagement events. Recent projects include the naming of the 7th Street West park, and the . Postcard Contest. Polsfut and Hebert have also helped residents with family history projects.
Hebert thanks the community for their support during her time as CAO, thanking residents for their patience and understanding, and thanking staff for their hard work and resolve to face any problems that arise.
“They do a heck of a job, and I can’t commend them enough.”
Passing the torch along, Hebert advises the next CAO to continue working with Council while promoting Kindersley and its many qualities.
As one of the largest towns in the province, Kindersley boasts a large amount of services, allowing residents to live in a smaller rural community while enjoying amenities comparable to what one would find in a city. Mayor Ken Francis notes that, while Kindersley is still a town, they remain able to build, operate, and maintain large facilities, especially in the recreation sector.
“What sets Kindersley apart maybe from other towns in Saskatchewan is that we have city-like facilities that residents get to enjoy.”
Deputy Mayor Warren Schafer lists infrastructure goals for Kindersley Council that include the Main Street water line replacement, fixing roads, and staying on top of landfill needs. They also hope to attract new businesses through tax incentives.
“It’s the town of opportunity for people,” Schafer adds. “The opportunity for good jobs and a good lifestyle. It’s a nice, clean town, and it’s busy- lots of work in the ag sector, energy sector, government sector.”
Francis stepped up from the position of Deputy Mayor to Mayor in 2018, and is pleased to see that bettering the town one step at a time is still the main goal.
“We still have a very business-focused Council. We continue to focus on fiscal management while still building. We have to build for the future. Even before I got into town council, Kindersley always had a plan, whether it was for streets, roads, water, sewer. Kindersley’s always, in my mind, planning for the future, and this present Council is still dialed in to that.”
Future community projects include the paving project at the hospital, the Main Street watermain upgrade, and a new mulching, concrete, and asphalt crushing contract. Several tenders have recently come back in well under budget- good news for local taxpayers. Francis notes that this allows Kindersley’s budget to stretch further.
“In the same breath, we want to make sure that we’re trying to keep taxes as low as we can,” Francis states. “There’s really only one revenue source for municipalities, and it’s taxpayer dollars. So we want to be very prudent with their dollars, but we still want to build for the future. So finding that balance is probably an overall vision and goal that we’re going to try to shoot for.”
Beyond infrastructure and incentives, attractions and amenities, the biggest draw to Kindersley remains the people.
“I love Kindersley,” Polsfut shares. “I love the people here. It’s safe. It’s friendly. It’s big enough that you can host events. But it’s small enough that you know your neighbors, the people down the block, the store owners, and I think that’s my favorite thing- just telling people about the people in Kindersley.”
Stay up to date on what’s going on in your community on the town website