Now, it's all up to the judges.
The two judges evaluating North Battleford's entry in the Communities in Bloom competition were in the city Monday as they sized up the local efforts towards beautifying the community.
This is the first year for North Battleford as part of the national Communities in Bloom competition, where they compete against communities of similar size. The two judges, Marion Kelly of Unity and Bonny Lundberg of Saskatoon, were greeted at city hall by members of the local Communities in Bloom committee and by civic officials including Mayor Ian Hamilton.
The judges and civic officials then headed out on their extensive tour of the community.
The city is one of several communities competing for the Communities in Bloom title. The judges are rating the city according to several factors, including community involvement, tidiness, the environment, floral arrangements, urban forestry, landscaping, heritage conservation, and turf and groundcovers. "In general, everything that makes a community look neat and tidy," said Kelly to reporters.
Kelly said they look at such things as what businesses have done to beautify their surroundings, as well as how residents have looked after their places, as part of their criteria. Community involvement was considered a major factor.
Already, the judges seem impressed with what they have seen thus far. Both judges remarked they were very impressed already with what they had seen on Railway Ave., with Lundberg saying she's noticed the gradual improvements along that road.
"I drove through in April and I thought 'something's going on here,'" she said. "When I came through from the east from Saskatoon today, I was visually and throughly impressed of the cleanliness and tidiness and the visual colour that has gone on."
However, Lundberg did note to reporters there were a couple of places on Railway Ave. that could have used improvement.
City officials can expect to get extensive feedback from the judges when they write their report this fall, evaluating the city's beautification efforts. The report is a key thing, as communities can act upon their recommendations and make improvements for the next time they compete in the Communities in Bloom competition. It's expected that will be handed down in September.
Kelly noted that Unity had been involved in the competition for four years and there has been a vast improvement in their entries since the first year to today.
"From what we have seen before to what they have done now, it is amazing what they have done, " said Kelly.
Lundberg noted that it takes getting everyone in the community on board to be successful in the competition, and that it usually takes more than one year for that to happen.
