Red Deer city Mayor Ken Johnston as key speaker at the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Wednesday. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

By Alessia Proietti

Status of the city

Red Deer mayor discusses possibilities in the downtown at Chamber of Commerce luncheon

Mar 2, 2023 | 9:58 PM

His second year in office as Red Deer’s mayor, Ken Johnston told members of the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce to “keep an eye on what is possible” for the city at their luncheon this Wednesday.

“Sometimes we do focus on what we don’t have and what we wish we would have as opposed to what we do have and what we are capable of doing,” he said. “We live in a dynamic, wonderful city with an incredible quality of life.”

Held at the Red Deer Resort & Casino (3310 50 Ave), the mayor discussed the current state of the city, its ongoing projects and its “bright future”.

One topic of particular emphasis was the status of the downtown.

The mayor reiterated that in 2022, 50 new businesses opened in the downtown area. Although he did not confirm how many, he stated that many businesses have been opened or are currently run by female entrepreneurs.

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With 250 events scheduled within the area this year, the mayor encouraged the audience to visit the downtown.

“No one’s going to deny that we have problems in our downtown; but,” he said, “if you have not been downtown, have not come downtown to visit a restaurant, visit a gift store, if you haven’t done that, you are not helping the situation in our downtown. Our downtown needs traffic, it needs people to embrace it and the people that do embrace it come away impressed.”

One guest in the audience questioned the mayor on this point, stating that as a resident of the downtown area, the number one issue the city faces is “vagrancy”.

“I see regularly all day long people jumping into dumpsters, pulling things out, safe needle injection boxes flowed over in the woods, people living under bridges. I would not want my daughters walking around any time near dusk in those areas,” he said.

Mayor Johnston responded that, while it doesn’t excuse the situation, every downtown faces similar challenges and added there are also good news stories that should be highlighted from the area.

While the questions are still in the air for the permanent shelter and the need for 139 permanent supportive housing spaces, one positive note the mayor emphasized was the addition of numerous addictions recovery beds in the city. With the completion of the provincial Red Deer Recovery Community, adding roughly 70 beds, and around 40 beds from the Dream Centre, approximately 120 spaces were added for recovery-oriented services.

With a successful scooter program returning from last summer, other changes to the downtown’s landscape include the sale of the federal building to East Lincoln Properties and the demolition announcement of the Buffalo Hotel and Club Café. It is undetermined as of yet what these spaces will be used for.

Johnston also noted that Red Deer saw a decrease in almost all categories of crime from October – December 2022, according to the latest RCMP Quarterly Community Policing Report.

Finally, he spoke about the numerous cultural societies that were formed in the city over 2022, from Nigeria, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Eritrea, Columbia, Haiti, Afghanistan, Egypt, Syria and Turkey.

Other topics discussed during the mayor’s speech were how the city has the lowest taxation rates for businesses compared to other cities in the province, the Red Deer Regional Airport expansion and its potential plans, various infrastructure projects in the works, and the Capstone area, among other updates.

“It’s always great to hear Mayor Johnston speak on behalf of the city. I think he brings an enthusiastic and positive voice for the city. We certainly have challenges in the city, like every city does, but I think Ken’s positive spin on things is important,” said Scott Robinson, Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Commerce.