Our mission is to lead our organization and serve our community - anticipating and
providing support - WE SUCCEEDED! I am pleased to report on the activities of the
City, our corporation, for the year 2001, a transition year. In the last year of its three year term City Council was challenged with the responsibility of setting the focus areas and goals for 2002, anticipating a new Council taking office in the fall. This new Council, while accepting the 2001 goals, have looked to the future and made some adjustments in developing the 2002 business plan.
As you will see from the following Annual Report, 2001 was a very busy year. Population and assessment growth have continued, as have the demands for use of City facilities and services. Using growth as a yardstick, 2001 was a very successful year. It was a fine example of both staff and Council working towards a very important outcome - helping to make Grande Prairie - The Greatest Place To Be!
Continued pressure to expand infrastructure and balance the debt load proved challenging. Major projects were the order of the day:
• Completed and occupied two new fire halls
• Purchased an existing building to serve as City Hall
• Community Knowledge Campus became more of a reality with site servicing and construction of 68 Avenue
from Bear Creek to Highway 40
• Centre 2000, a tourism & business development centre, completed and occupied
• Industrial Park benefited from the paving of 89 Avenue
• The north end pump station and reservoir were completed
• Planning and design for the Twin Ice Arena was completed
• Planning for use of the old Fire Hall to include the expanded space for our policing facilities and related activity,
was completed
• Partnering agreements were made on electrical generation and district heating projects at the Canfor Mill and
Water Treatment Plant sites
• A permanent snow dump site was acquired
Our drive towards providing a higher level of service Customer First Service was again emphasized. In this context our work force was challenged to Do Different, Not More. We believe that if we rethink our work and empower our most important resource, service will go up and costs will decrease, or at least not increase to the same extent as growth demands might otherwise dictate. We celebrate our successes in our Innovation Scrapbook. ( www.city.grande-prairie.ab.ca/innov_list.htm )
In 2001 we met with neighbouring municipalities on regional service delivery which resulted in City Council endorsing a statement of Principles for Regional Cooperation. The benefits of regional cooperation far outweigh the complexity of issues to be resolved.
We ended the year with an operating surplus. There were many very successful outcomes as we worked towards completing City Council's Strategic Plan. Our successes are the product of our well trained and dedicated staff members - to each of you - thank you. It has been a pleasure serving this community for the past year.
CITY CLERK
The City Clerk's Department provides a variety of services to the Public, City Council and Staff. These services include the provision of general City and transit information, Council and School Board elections, population counts, legislative support services for Council and corporate services such as records management, insurance and legal services.
• Annual Report published highlighting corporate achievements
• Archival needs pursued in cooperation with the Grande Prairie Museum
• Continued reduction of red tape and increased use of plain language
• Grande Prairie History Book publication researched
• Joint Council / School Board General Elections held
• Organizational records management practices improved
• Protection of privacy procedures implemented
• Public access to information enhanced through web page production
• Regional service delivery awareness promoted
• No smoking plebiscite held, new bylaw drafted
The Department will continue to focus on enhancing access to information, reducing red tape and increasing
the use of plain language.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The City of Grande Prairie and Economic Development Grande Prairie promotes the City as the Regional Centre of the Peace Country. Numerous promotional efforts included:
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The placement of advertisements in publications promoting Grande Prairie
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Updating and further developing the City's Economic Development Web pages www.city.grande-prairie.ab.ca/ec_dev.htm#top
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Updating the City portfolio package
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Developing new display materials
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Participating in and supporting numerous trade shows, parades, workshops and recruitment fairs
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Grande Prairie was named as one of the Top 10 Alberta Places in which to invest by Real Estate Investment Network of Calgary www.city.grande-prairie.ab.ca/invest_news.htm
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Continued growth with approximately 400 single family dwelling starts and $80 million in building value in each of the past five years
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Achieved $1 million in land sales for 2001 from the City's inventory of surplus lands.
Grande Prairie is the Regional Centre and we expect to see the current growth pattern continue. We are just starting to realize our full potential.
HUMAN RESOURCES 
The Human Resource Team plays an important role as a strategic partner with members of the Corporate Leadership Team.
• Co-championed ongoing "Customer First Service" workshops
• Implemented corporate training initiatives to meet priorities
• Facilitated annual Corporate Leadership Team retreat
• Revised recruitment and orientation practices and initiated Disability Management Program
• Participated on the team to develop a performance management format
• Revamped the City's Job Evaluation System for non-union positions
The Human Resource Team will continue to provide support and leadership in 2002 for the Health, Wellness and Safety Program, Employee Personal Services, and Fringe Benefit Idea Team.