Chamber urging city to focus on jobs, economy with next CIP

Economic growth and job creation should be the focus as city council prepares the City’s next Capital Improvement Program.

That’s the recommendation of the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce, as council looks at spending priorities for the next four years.

“The city has only so much money to spend and with government grants decreasing, there’s even less money for capital projects,” says chamber president Harry Gross.

“Prioritize those projects that will drive business, create more jobs and encourage more economic activity in the region,” he suggests.

When the economy slows down, he says, the City administration has less to spend on projects of any kind. So the money that is available, the chamber says, should be directed to projects that might speed up the economy so “we will have more money to spend on the many worthwhile projects that are on our community’s wish list.”

The chamber, says executive director Karla Pyrch, will make more specific recommendations during its formal presentation on CIP priorities later this month. Some possibilities, she says, include planning multi-use facilities that could meet a number of civic needs

“We could bring more organizations together,” she says. “That makes more economic sense.”

City council should also look at ways it could use private companies to meet citizens’ needs, she adds. Curbside recycling could be one of those functions. “That could reduce the cost.” Pyrch says she and Gross are expecting to make their presentation to council before month’s end, although a date has not yet been confirmed.