Beaumont Communiqué January 2021

JANUARY 2021

beaumont.ab.ca

Beaumont has many reasons for hope in 2021

by Mayor John Stewart Looking to the year ahead, there’s much that brings me hope. There are still challenges ahead in 2021, but I have confidence that we’ll rise to them.

Beaumont residents showed great resiliency and strength throughout a difficult year by helping one another and shopping local.

Leaders in our business community stepped forward to assist each other and support the less fortunate.

Beaumont’s ability to rally together in tough times is one of things I love about this community and it’s what will see us through the pandemic.

City council continues working together, too, to position Beaumont for success. There is no municipal property tax increase in this year’s budget, as we recognize that many are struggling with the daily cost of living.

The 2021 budget also delivers about half a million dollars worth of internal efficiencies and savings, while protecting services to the public and making targeted investments in recreation opportunities for families.

Over the last couple of years we’ve significantly cut red tape that stifles business development and growth, streamlining Beaumont’s outdated land use bylaw from 37 separate districts to only seven, and

approving a downtown redevelopment plan that encourages innovation.

MAYOR AND COUNCIL CONTACT INFORMATION Mayor John Stewart 780.293.5650

In the coming months, council expects to begin deliberating the details of a proposed agreement that would provide Beaumont with the fastest fibre optic broadband internet technology commercially available. If it goes ahead, the network would connect every home and business with ultra high speed internet about 100 times faster than the current average download speed in Canada. Not only would you be able to stream movies uninterrupted while your kids played video games online, there are tremendous opportunities for education, health care and business.

Councillor Kathy Barnhart 780.721.5504

Financial responsibility, investing in quality of life, reducing red tape, focusing on innovation to unleash our economic potential – these are all parts of our council’s plan so that Beaumont can continue to be a great place to live, play, raise a family, and, increasingly, do business.

Councillor Sam Munckhof-Swain 780.690.0031

Thanks to scientific advancements, a number of vaccines are now rolling out that show promise in ending the COVID-19 pandemic.

We still need to be careful this year – physical distancing, regular handwashing, staying home when sick – but as we emerge from the pandemic, Beaumont is well positioned to not only survive in 2021 and beyond, but thrive.

5600 49 Street, Beaumont AB T4X 1A1 | 780.929.8782 | admin@beaumont.ab.ca

Councillor Bill Daneluik 587.357.5206 Councillor Perry Hendriks 780.929.5102

Councillor Martin Stout 780.904.9623 Councillor Steven vanNieuwkerk 780.991.0871 Email links for Mayor and Council are online at beaumont.ab.ca/council

Beaumont RCMP and City of Beaumont welcome new Detachment Commander The City of Beaumont and the RCMP are pleased to welcome the new Detachment Commander for the Beaumont Detachment, Staff Sergeant Harpreet Dhaliwal. Staff Sergeant Dhaliwal has been part of the Beaumont community since 2016; he both lives within the community and acted in a Detachment Commander role in Beaumont from April 2016 to February 2018.

Staff Sergeant Dhaliwal is excited to once again serve the Beaumont community and take on this command position permanently. He will provide a continued focus on crime reduction and community engagement and build on the strong connections he has already established.

In conjunction with the RCMP, we would like to thank (Retired) Staff Sergeant Jeff Egan who was Detachment Commander since 2017 and provided strong leadership and commitment to both the Detachment and the community.

The City of Beaumont looks forward to working closely with Staff Sergeant Dhaliwal to keep our city one of the safest communities in Alberta.

As of December 31, 2020, Municipal Enforcement changed our 24/7 phone number to 780.851.9992 Moving to a 24 hour dedicated dispatch service provides residents with the opportunity to speak with a professional dispatcher that is trained in obtaining all necessary information, determining whether or not the call should be routed to the RCMP, and assigning the file to the next available officer. Moving to this service is expected to decrease response times, improve the experience of our residents and provide an additional level of safety for our officers.

Please note that the previous phone number has been disconnected.

Let’s look after each other and avoid unnecessary outings this winter.

Learn more at beaumont.ab.ca/644. fb.com/BeaumontAB |

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