Lac La Biche County's Mayor is emphasizing the word "safe" when he offers his 2019 well-wishes for a safe, healthy and prosperous new year for area residents.
Speaking to the POST just days after attending two separate funerals for people killed in a pre-Christmas collision, and a little more than a month after his community's downtown was turned into the scene of a police car chase for wanted fugitives, Omer Moghrabi wants to bring a feeling of safety back to residents.
"First and foremost, on behalf of Lac La Biche County Council, I wish everyone a safe, very safe, and happy new year," Moghrabi told the POST as the final days of 2018 wound down.
Lac La Biche County Mayor Omer Moghrabi.
"We will focus on crime reduction and increasing our visibility to visitors to make all of our communities safe and attractive," he said.
Helping to get things on the right track, the mayor and his council see 2019 as a continued building year. He said the hope is to see continued focus on infrastructure projects that will increase the quality of life for residents and serve as an attraction for visitors.
"One of our continuing items is the revitalization of the main streets in Plamondon and Lac La Biche," he said, adding more infrastructure projects like connector roads from the area's major highways, utility service upgrades and more recreation projects will hopefully draw investment. "We are looking forward to better roads, increased quality of life affordable housing... I think if we build it, they will come."
Moving ahead
Of course, looking ahead, the mayor realizes that the overall economic outlook will continue to play a huge role across the municipality, the province, and the country. Low oil prices, political concerns and low consumer confidence have forced many economic forecasters to hedge any bets of an economic recovery.
Moghrabi says it's time to step away from blaming governments and industries for the situation, and time to move forward.
"The recession has been in the making for the last 35 years, all political groups have had their chances to do something ... but that's all water under the bridge. Now is the time we need to get this ship sailing again," the mayor said, emphasizing a need to increase the tourism potential of the Lac La Biche region and the culture of its many diverse citizens. "We need to diversify our economy and work with what we have."
One of the biggest things the community has, he said, is one of the most important pillars of any business.
"Location, location, location,"he said, suggesting tourism, fishing, boating and camping as areas that will see a lot of focus in the coming year. "Lac La Biche County, like other municipalities has been affected by the economy, but we have a major strength, and that is we are still one of the most beautiful spots in the province."
