Posted Mar 23, 2009, 8:58 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Grand Bay-Westfield :: NB
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Dieppe’s Future Full of Opportunities
DIEPPE – In his yearly municipal affairs address presented to Club Rotary members on Monday, Mayor Jean LeBlanc said 2009 will undoubtedly be a year filled with interesting projects for the City of Dieppe.
In fact, the City finished 2008 with a surplus of $663,965 in its general operating budget compared to the $30,435,789 budget estimate, and a surplus of $344,615 in its water and sewer budget. As of last December 31, the City carried a debt of $79,903,000 with property assessments evaluated at $1,742,129,657.
Even though the entire country is facing an economic slowdown that will affect many Canadians, the municipality expects to weather the storm a little bit better than large urban centres. Over the past 20 years, the City invested $133,000,000 in capital infrastructure, 50% of it in the past four years.
“Rest assured that we are already working very hard to ensure that the City of Dieppe is recognized throughout the world as the major urban, economic and cultural centre of Acadie”, said Mayor LeBlanc. “We plan on maintaining our downtown development efforts. To think that just a few years ago, we barely had a city centre; now, it is the cornerstone of our development. It has become a gathering place for families thanks to its numerous recreational, sporting and cultural activities.”
Mayor LeBlanc also mentioned the City’s commitment towards maintaining the exceptional quality of life it offers thanks to the quality of its many trails, infrastructure, parks and programs – all, according to him, essential elements to continued development.
“Dieppe offers its resident and business community with a quality of life that is second to none. It is the obvious choice for those who want to live and work in a central location”, explained the Mayor. Dieppe’s management team and the Economic Development Corporation have already held their first strategic planning meetings to set measurable goals that will allow the City to move forward on important municipal issues.
Major capital infrastructure projects on the agenda for 2009 include changes to Melanson Road (up to Dieppe Boulevard) and to Acadia Avenue (from Gauvin Road to PharmaSave).
Also in 2009, the City will begin phase one of renovations to Paul Street (includes section between Sunset Street and Highway 15).
The Mayor said he is still waiting for approval on the City’s request to prolong Aviation Avenue. The request was submitted as part of the City’s infrastructure program. Its purpose is to expand the Industrial Park and enhance the Business and Technologies Park as well as the Arts and Culture Center.
“Given the high number of economic projects and the acres of industrial land sold over the past ten years, the municipality is considering adding 150 acres to the Industrial Park and embark on a third development phase”, explained the Mayor.
The land in question is strategically situated in proximity to the airport and the intersections of Highways 15 and 2. That makes it ideal for the light industry sector, the transport and distribution sector and the aero spatial sector, as it would be accessible by air, by rail and by road. The additional development phase of the industrial park will help attract new businesses to Dieppe, which will, in turn, foster the creation of jobs, increase the municipality’s tax base and widen the scope of services offered to the ever growing population.
“As you can see, Dieppe is a city to discover, a city that offers a great lifestyle and a city that is always open to new possibilities. Each one of us plays an important role in our city’s development.” 2009/03/23
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