For Mayor Scott Goodmanson, 2024 has been another year of steering the ship that is Langford towards its “next evolution.”
Progress has been slow and steady, but he and his team are making waves, says Goodmanson.
“We're not here to turn the boat 90 degrees,” he says. “If you have a super tanker, they don't turn on a dime, but if you nudge them just two or three degrees port of starboard, 20 knots down the way, they miss the rocks, and over time it's slowly heading in that new direction.”
Work has been ongoing to create “major” planning documents for the city, he says, something Langford has not had in its 32 years as a municipality.
“We've never had a transportation master plan, an active transportation plan … it’s never had a full parks and recreation plan,” said Goodmanson.
And the list goes on: arts and culture, economic development, asset management and more.
Goodmanson expects most of these plans to be completed in 2025.
“These are documents that set the city forward for x number of years, until they're reviewed,” he says. “And then they've got to be living documents.”
One of the master plans coming to fruition in 2024 was the Urban Forest Management Plan, which councillors gave a green thumbs-up to in November.
The plan will help maintain and improve tree canopy coverage across the city.
“That was huge because Langford was basically the only municipality around without one,” said Goodmanson.
“It's an honour to be able to plan the next course for Langford on the foundations already existing from the previous 30 years of mayor and council,” he adds.
According to Goodmanson, 2024 was a record-breaking year for construction investment.
“Last year [2023] we did over half a billion dollars in construction investment,” he says. “This year, the numbers aren't fully in for the end of the year yet, but this is likely to be the biggest year for the city ever.”
Also breaking records this year was the purchase of the Westhills YW/YMCA Langford Aquatic Centre for $35 million, the biggest in the city’s history.
While the decision divided residents, Goodmanson says he is proud of the level of engagement the city had from the community.
“[There were] lots of opportunities for the public to weigh in,” he says.
But while the city has been planning and building for its future, the day-to-day work continues. And for Goodmanson, it’s some of the more modest achievements that have been his highlights of 2024.
A new off-leash dog park, the grand opening of Lone Oak Park and plans to open a new play area in Porcher, are all on his list.
“Sometimes the little things are the best,” he says. “It’s not huge or flashy, but for people that are gonna use it, it's great.”
Community events, holiday parades and taking part in the Victoria Pride Parade for the first time in the city’s history also stand out as “huge” core 2024 memories for Goodmanson.
“There were just smiles on everyone's faces,” he said about the Pride parade. “Celebrating openness, power, inclusivity, all those things, and I expect that we're gonna be in it next year, probably with a bigger and better float.”
Cheering on Team Canada's women's rugby sevens team at the Paris Olympics had Goodmanson bursting with pride, knowing Langford had played a small part in their success.
The team, who train at Starlight Stadium, went on to claim an Olympic silver medal, Canada's best-ever result in the event.
“It felt huge,” said Goodmanson, who says he follows the Olympics religiously. “I think there was a bit of a roar and sigh across Langford, with it being so close.
“But, people forget, silver medals are huge,” he adds.
“Let's hope five, 10 years from now, we have more sports in Langford that are trying to get to the national, international stage, that we can help.”
Looking ahead to 2025, Goodmanson says the city will be continuing to focus on finishing its list of master plans and reviewing the official community plan.
“I wish it was big flashy stuff,” he says. “But this is basic stuff that we want to get in as a foundation, so years from now the city can build and work on them … these are fundamental foundational plans that cities need.”
Challenges facing the city include the downloading of costs from the province, including funding for 911 call-taking and police dispatch service.
“It’s frustrating to think about that one, as it's unequal,” says Goodmanson, referring to how dispatch services in most areas across B.C. will continue to be funded by the province and federal governments.
And ambitiously looking even further ahead, Goodmanson is confident he will be running again for council in 2026.
“There's been so much good news,” he says about his term so far. “It's not all roses and cherries, but I'm still happy.
“If the election was tomorrow, I would be running, I think all the council would be too."
