Prince George Year in Review

In what was a challenging, change-filled year, the City of Prince George faced some trying times.

Despite the turbulence, 2020 featured a number of highlights for the northern capital.

The final touches were put on the new Bob Harkins Public Library entrance, building permit values continued to be successful and a number of road safety improvements were made.

A $10 Million grant funding investment in Prince George’s new downtown pool was also received.

“Council wishes to thank City staff for their continued hard work, commitment, and service to our community – especially through the extraordinary circumstances presented by the pandemic,” said Mayor Lyn Hall.

“Going through this ‘year in review’ reminds us of how much Prince George and really the whole world has been through, how far we have come, and how resilient we have been.”

January

Early in January, Council selected the people and organizations that would make up the newly created Select Committee on a Clean, Safe, and Inclusive Community.

The committee was established to advise Council and City Staff on priorities for addressing social issues throughout Prince George with a focus on the downtown core.

The New Year also saw a spell of extremely cold weather in Prince George.

In fact, during the morning of January 15, temperatures reached -44 degrees, which resulted in some difficulties for City infrastructure and equipment.

The freezing weather caused water main breaks downtown and in College Heights and snow and ice control activities were temporarily suspended to reduce the risk of damage to equipment.

February

The City unveiled for the public the designs of the City’s new downtown pool.

Also in February, BC Athletics announced that Prince George was selected to host the 2021 BC Track and Field Championship Jamboree at Masich Place Stadium.

March

As the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, Prince George saw a period of rapid and significant change.

On March 12, the World Curling Federation announced the cancellation of the Championship due to the ongoing spread of the virus and following the lead of the Province of BC’s recommendation that the event be cancelled.

The City made many rapid changes from there that dramatically affected a number of City services and operations:

On March 13,  all civic facilities, such as the swimming pools, arenas, and public libraries, would remain open, but with increased sanitization protocols in place and following recommendations from health officials;
By March 15, the City communicated to the public that all registered pool programs at City pools would be cancelled, but that the pools would remain open;
The next day, March 16, the City announced that, following the recommendation from the Provincial Health Officer, all gatherings of greater than 50 people would be cancelled, and the City would be closing all areas of its arenas, pools, public libraries, and the Prince George Conference and Civic Centre.
On March 16, the City also activated its Emergency Operations Centre in response to the pandemic.

The City also implemented several safety measures, such as floor markings, signage, and sanitization stations, which have since become ubiquitous at all civic facilities, to help protect the safety and health of residents and staff.

BC Transit announced it was reducing the number of passengers allowed aboard BC Transit buses.

The City also asked residents visiting the Service Centre to reserve the first hour and a half of operation for seniors.

By March 31, the City announced that Bylaw Services would support orders issued by the Provincial Health Officer by providing education to residents and businesses.

In addition, Council had to hold meetings without the public being present, and elected officials were able to meet through electronic mediums.

April

Prince George announced that it was no longer enforcing time limits relating to parking downtown and near the hospital, both for on-street parking and non-reserved off-street parking.

The temporary measure remained in place until later in the spring when the Province began easing restrictions.

All civic playgrounds, ball diamonds, and sport fields were closed temporarily in order to reduce the risk of the spread of Covid-19.

Also in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, washrooms located in Canada Games Plaza were opened for the use of downtown residents and visitors.

Crews with Prince George Fire and Rescue Services started conducting daily downtown alley patrols.

During the patrols, staff looked for accumulations of combustible material that presented a fire risk and reported any suspicious activity to RCMP.

The City began administering the Federal Government’s Reaching Home Covid-19 response fund.

During the first allocation of funding, six Prince George agencies received funding to enhance service provision in a number of critical areas including food security, mental health support, neighbourhood cleanup, and drop-in support.

Prince George City Council held a special meeting to review the City’s budget in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, and establish the property tax levy for 2020.

Council approved a 1.75% increase, down from the 3.44% increase they approved earlier in the year during budget deliberations.

The City estimated that the pandemic was responsible for declining revenues amounting to nearly $1.3 Million per month.

The following items were also approved by Council:

Deferring nearly $25 million in capital projects.
Adjusting the funding sources for certain capital projects to reduce the debt owing for those projects.
Eliminating the 10% penalty on late sewer, water, and solid waste utility payments for the period of July 1 to December 31, 2020.

The City released the Road and Sidewalk rehabilitation schedule for 2020, which included 41 lane kilometres of road and 2.5 kilometres of sidewalk due for construction or rehabilitation.

May

The City of Prince George began construction at two sites downtown to add connections to the Downtown Renewable Energy System. The work occurred at 6th/7th and George and on Quebec Street between 6th and 7th in order to provide heat both for the new parkade and the future new downtown pool.

May 8 marked the 60th anniversary of Mr. PG – the iconic roadside attraction and most well-known resident of Prince George.

On May 22, the City began to reopen certain civic facilities, which had been closed since the early spring due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In keeping with the BC Restart Plan, public access was again permitted at bike and skate parks, and public tennis, pickleball, and basketball courts.

At the May 25 meeting of Prince George City Council, Council approved a new strategy aimed at reducing the greenhouse gas emissions produced in Prince George and preserving aspects of the community that absorb carbon, such as forests and wetlands.

June

By mid-June, the City of Prince George and School District 57 reopened all of the roughly 80 civic and school playgrounds within the Prince George area.

Also in June, the City had implemented all of the service enhancements approved by Council, which are aimed at increasing health, well-being, and safety in the community, with a particular emphasis on the downtown area.

The Downtown Safe, Clean, and Inclusive Package of service enhancements comprises six areas:

Increased police services, increased Bylaw Services staff dedicated to the downtown.
Contracted security are monitoring downtown civic facilities.
Funding for the two downtown homeless service hubs.
Improved lighting, security, and daily cleaning at downtown parkades and other civic facilities.
Additional staff and equipment in Public Works to manage marginalized camps and deal with downtown cleanup service requests.

July

July began with the news that Prince George’s new downtown pool had attracted $10 million in funding support from the Federal and Provincial Governments.

The City of Prince George issued an evacuation alert for the residents of Farrell Street across from Paddlewheel Park due to significant risk of flooding from the Fraser River.

River levels on the Fraser River were very high in the late spring and early summer in 2020, prompting the City of Prince George to issue a number of evacuation alerts to residences along the River.

Public access to the track at Masich Place Stadium resumed in July following a period of closure due to a construction operation to renovate the facility and restrictions relating to Covid-19.

Faced with a 2020 budget shortfall of $3 million and a desire to keep residents safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, Prince George City Council confirmed in July that a number of City facilities would remain closed for the remainder of the year, but opened one pool and three sheets of ice to provide service to local residents.

The Prince George Aquatic Centre was scheduled to re-open on September 8 and the Kin arenas on August 17.

Council also voted to keep the Prince George Conference and Civic Centre, CN Centre, Rolling Mix Concrete Arena, Elksentre Arena, and the Four Seasons Leisure Pool closed for the rest of 2020.

August

On August 17, the Kin Arenas reopened to user groups following a five-month closure due to Covid-19.

Construction began on the expansion of the Mausoleum at Memorial Park Cemetery.

September

In September, the Governments of BC and Canada announced they are contributing $6.3 million to help repair the ageing walls, roof, and various mechanical systems at the Prince George Aquatic Centre to greatly extend its life and make it a model for energy-efficiency.

Crews with the City of Prince George began working in September to upgrade the pedestrian crossing across Ospika Boulevard at Davis Road to provide safer travel for everyone in the neighbourhood. Later in the fall, a similar design was also employed to upgrade the crosswalk on Ospika Boulevard at 1st Avenue.

This fall, after 34 years of service to the City of Prince George, including the last five as City Manager, Kathleen Soltis reached a mutual agreement with Council to end her employment contract.

October

In October, City Bylaw Officers and conservation officers from the BC Conservation Officer Service announced they were starting a four-week program to go door-to-door in Prince George to help educate residents about how to keep their yards free of food sources for wildlife – particularly bears.

For the first time in the organization’s 83-year history, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities is being led by someone from Prince George. Councillor Garth Frizzell officially became FCM president in October overseeing an organization representing more than 2,000 municipalities across Canada.

Prince George City Council voted to reopen the ice at CN Centre and Rolling Mix Concrete Arena (RMCA) for user groups as well as to resume access to the CN Centre concourse for walking during the 2020/21 winter season.

The City was working to address a pandemic-related budget shortfall of about $6.8 Million in 2021 and was seeking feedback from residents and businesses about how to do it.

The results of the survey will be provide to Council at the outset of 2021 budget deliberations. sues.

November

During its November 9 meeting, Council announced that the City is receiving $6.1 million in grant funding from the Government of BC’s Safe Restart for Local Governments program. T

The funding can be used to address various expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The additional funding will be incorporated into 2021 budget deliberations in the New Year.

Also in November, construction was completed on a project to upgrade the intersection of Domano Boulevard and St. Lawrence Avenue/Gladstone Drive in lower College Heights. The updated intersection has vehicle detection technology and pedestrian-activated crosswalks.

Following new Orders from the Provincial Health Officer on November 19, the City announced that all visitors to civic facilities must wear masks.

During a meeting of Council in late November, Council received a report from the City’s Finance and Audit Committee recommending that Council reduce the City Manager’s capital project budget amendment authority to authorize budget transfers equal to either 5% of the budget for that capital project, or $100,000 per project – whichever is lower.

This followed a discovery that the George Street Parkade was over budget by nearly 50 percent.

December

All adult indoor and outdoor team sports in civic facilities would be suspended.

The suspension includes the use of ice surfaces at the Kin Arenas, CN Centre, and Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.

Per the Order, youth (under 19) sport groups may still book ice time, but these events will be reverted to Phase Two of viaSport’s Return to Sport guidelines, and restricted to practices and training involving non-contact activities.

Also in December, crews with Chandos Construction finished the concrete building foundation of Prince George’s new downtown pool, right on schedule. The City anticipates that this next phase of the project will continue into the spring of 2021.