Town of Aberdeen
Strategic Plan
2027 Priorities and Action Plan
Refreshed edition, October 2026
About this plan
From Planning to Implementation
This refreshed edition turns Aberdeen's 2024 to 2028 Strategic Plan into a short, practical plan for action.
Residents told the Town what they wanted through a community survey in 2023, a Think Tank session that November and a planning session with Council in January 2024. The 2024 to 2028 Strategic Plan, adopted on March 19, 2024, captured those priorities well. What it lacked was a clear lead, a budget and a timeline for each action.
This edition keeps the 2024 vision, mission and values. It focuses the Town's work on four priorities, each with a lead, a budget line and a 12-month milestone, and it reflects the decisions Council made at its strategic planning session on October 2, 2026.
How to use this plan
Council uses it to set budgets and make decisions. Town staff and partners use it to plan their work. Residents and businesses can use it to see what the Town is working on and how progress will be reported, twice a year. Council will also receive monthly updates.
The plan at a glance
One Goal, Four Priorities
Our growth goal: grow Aberdeen steadily by developing new lots and adding new homes every year. Council will set an annual target, with lots sold as the early signal. Since 2006, Aberdeen has averaged about four new homes a year.
Key commitments for 2027
- Service 25 new residential lots on 5th Avenue, Phase 1, at an estimated cost of $1.1 million
- Begin a pavement levy in 2027 and design a phased, street-by-street paving program
- Start with Main Street, using the Town's federal infrastructure funding
- Design a community trail, led by the Parks and Recreation Board, with the first phase built in 2028
- Work with a developer on a 10-bedroom assisted living home
- Report progress to the community twice a year and monthly to Council
Aberdeen today
Ready to Grow, Short on Lots
Aberdeen is a growing commuter community 30 km from Saskatoon. It has the water and sewer capacity to grow, but almost no lots ready to build on.
What we have to build on
- A K to 12 school, the ARC recreation complex, a library and well-used sports fields
- Water and sewer systems sized for 1,100 to 1,200 people
- A new water reservoir that triples the Town's emergency water supply, from one day to three
- Strong regional demand: Saskatoon expects to need about 58,600 more homes by 2036
- Residents who show up: 131 survey responses and full planning sessions
What holds us back
- Only one Town-owned serviced lot is for sale
- Three short stretches of paved road, and nothing paved since 2023
- Vacant and run-down properties on Main Street
- The new reservoir cost more than planned, which limits what the Town can spend in the next few years
About the reservoir
The new reservoir and pumphouse cost about $4.4 million. Federal and provincial grants covered about $2.5 million. Construction bids came in higher than expected, so the Town is covering the rest, about $1.9 million. That is the main reason this plan is careful about money in the next few years.
What we heard
What Residents Asked For
131 residents answered the 2023 community survey, and 26 took part in the Think Tank. Their answers shaped every priority in this plan.
Top features residents want developed
Share of survey respondents naming each feature in their top three (129 answered)
Top services wanted
Share of respondents naming each (122 answered)
Students in grades 8 to 12 asked for an outdoor skating rink, a skate park and sports courts.
Think Tank top votes
November 22, 2023
- Camping or picnic area
- 21
- Paved roads
- 16
- Walking paths
- 15
- Programs for seniors
- 15
- Mechanic shop
- 11
- Event coordinator
- 11
What this means
Paving is the clearest priority: 43 respondents put it first, twice as many as any other choice. Residents also said they did not want tax increases for paving. There is no way to pay for paving without a levy set aside for it, so the Town will create one and pave in phases, with lot sales helping to pay for more pavement over time.
Why a refreshed plan
The Right Priorities, Now With a Plan
The 2024 plan got the priorities right. This edition gives each one a lead, a budget and a timeline.
Since 2024, most of the Town's time and money has gone into the new reservoir. Many other actions were never given a lead, a cost or a start date, and the committee meant to lead several of them is no longer active. With limited staff, budget and volunteer time, the Town needs to focus.
If everything is a priority, nothing becomes a priority.
What stays the same
Vision, Mission and Values
Our vision
Aberdeen is a healthy and progressive community that supports development and community initiatives through engagement.
Our mission
To support growth by favoring innovation and development while promoting quality of life and respecting our traditions and diversity.
Our values
- Trust and Integrity
- We are honest, forthright and keep our promises.
- Solutions Oriented
- We look beyond “why we can't” to “how we can,” and we track our results.
- Financially Accountable
- We are careful with the community's dollars and manage our assets for the long term.
- Customer Focused
- We listen to residents and businesses and work to understand what they need.
- Environmentally Responsible
- We protect and enhance our natural assets for future generations.
Priority 01
Grow Aberdeen
Homes, lots and local business
New households are Aberdeen's economic engine. Every new home adds to the tax base and brings customers to local businesses. Growth needs lots that are ready to build on.
Where we are
- One Town-owned serviced lot is for sale
- The first block of the 5th Avenue development is surveyed but not yet serviced
- About four new homes are built each year
- The Saskatoon region is our target market, and the city alone expects to need about 58,600 more homes by 2036
What we'll do
- Service Phase 1 of the 5th Avenue development: 25 lots at an estimated $1.1 million. Lot sales are expected to repay the cost and help fund the next phase.
- Keep the door open to a developer for this and future phases, with stricter controls than earlier developments so lots are built to a high standard and actually sold.
- Market serviced and unserviced lots now: open a reservation list with deposits and build a lot directory that can include private and infill lots, with owners' consent.
- Pursue a 10-bedroom assisted living care home. An interested developer would need two to three lots. The CAO and Prairie Rising are working on it, including the idea of a room for a visiting doctor.
- Help local business grow: a business retention and expansion survey, an investment readiness package, community marketing and branding, and a new Town website.
How we'll measure
Homes built per year, lots under contract, new assessment
Who leads
Prairie Rising and Town staff
Priority 02
Revitalize Aberdeen
A Main Street that works
Main Street is Aberdeen's front door. A few vacant and run-down properties hold back the whole street, and residents want everyday services close to home.
Where we are
- A handful of vacant or underused properties on Main Street
- The grocery space in the Main Street mall has been empty since COVID, and the owner is looking to sell
- Farm in the Dell already beautifies downtown and donates most of the work
- A business tax incentive is in place and has already been used
What we'll do
- Contact the owner of each vacant or underused property to discuss plans and options.
- Review the bylaw enforcement budget and use the enforcement tools available under provincial law.
- Help bring a grocery store back: attract a buyer or a new tenant for the grocery space in the Main Street mall.
- Expand downtown beautification with Farm in the Dell, building on the work they already do and donate, with $20,000 proposed for enhanced beautification in Council's 2027 budget.
- Design a facade improvement grant for Main Street and for commercial businesses south of the railway, as part of a business incentive package that builds on the existing tax incentive.
How we'll measure
Problem properties resolved or in progress, active storefronts
Who leads
Prairie Rising and Town staff
Priority 03
Connect Aberdeen
Streets people can drive and walk on
Paved streets are residents' top request. The only realistic way to pay for them is a levy set aside for paving and a phased, street-by-street program.
Where we are
- Three short stretches of road are paved, and nothing has been paved since 2023
- Main Street's pavement is past its life
- The Town spends about $70,000 a year on gravel and dust control
- Sidewalks are removed when they become hazardous, with no plan for where walkways should be
What we'll do
- Create a pavement levy: research and implement a dedicated municipal tax levy for pavement, beginning in 2027.
- Pave in phases: design a street-by-street program for the 2027 budget, repairing underground services first. Lot sales help finance more pavement and more lots.
- Start with Main Street, using about $222,000 of the Town's federal infrastructure funding reserve balance.
- Build a community trail, led by the Parks and Recreation Board: update the 2015 estimate for a 2.5 km path, confirm the route, incorporate existing sidewalks, apply for grants and prepare to build the first phase in 2028.
- Create an accessible walking loop linking the new park east of Hamm Court, the school and the seniors housing on Rupert Street.
How we'll measure
Pavement levy in place, Main Street work under way, walking loop route set
Who leads
Council and Town staff (paving), Parks and Recreation Board (trail), Prairie Rising
Priority 04
Engage Aberdeen
Community life through Parks and Recreation
Community life is what keeps families here. Residents said they are glad to help but do not want to lead, so this priority runs through the Parks and Recreation Board, which is active and ready.
Where we are
- The Parks and Recreation Board is active and has funding for a Manager of Community Services
- About $215,000 is set aside in recreation reserves
- A donated outdoor rink needs a work bee to be usable
- A new park and soccer area east of Hamm Court is part of a proposed subdivision plan
What we'll do
- The Town hires a Manager of Community Services, funded by the Parks and Recreation Board for the first year. The Town will also look at longer-term funding for the position, opening the door for enhanced regional cooperation. The role will also support the community trail.
- Get the donated outdoor rink up this winter with a community work bee.
- Prepare the new park east of Hamm Court and lay out a soccer field, funded from the Community Recreation reserve.
- Choose one youth project: a skate park, courts, a pump track or a spray park, then research it and gather support from the community.
- Welcome newcomers as new lots sell and new families arrive.
How we'll measure
Rink open, new park in use, events held, volunteers recruited
Who leads
The Parks and Recreation Board and Town staff
What makes it work
Three Pieces of Groundwork
These make the four priorities affordable, allowed and visible to the community.
A 10-year capital and funding plan
One plan that shows the reservoir, the Town's reserves, federal funding, 5th Avenue servicing, the pavement levy and the cost of replacing what the Town already owns. Every priority is sized against real dollars. It comes first, alongside long-term financing for the reservoir.
A planning review
Start by bringing about seven amendments together into one updated Zoning Bylaw. Then update the 2014 Official Community Plan where it holds back the priorities, opening the door for enhanced regional cooperation.
Communication that closes the loop
A scorecard published twice a year, plain-language summaries of Council decisions and an annual town hall. The Town will explain its finances openly, including what the reservoir cost and how the pavement levy is used.
The road ahead
Finish the Reservoir, Make Lots Sellable, Then Pave
The order matters. Lot sales and the pavement levy pay for what follows.
Next 90 days
October to December 2026
- Adopt the refreshed plan
- Size long-term reservoir financing with the capital plan in view
- Commit federal funding to Main Street
- List the serviced lot and open the 5th Avenue reservation list
- Meet with developers, including the assisted living proponent
- Begin research on the pavement levy
- Outdoor rink work bee
2027
Building the foundation
- Pavement levy in place and phased paving program designed
- Main Street work with federal funding
- Service 5th Avenue Phase 1 (25 lots) and sell against reservations
- Advance the assisted living home
- Prepare the new park; design the trail and plan to build its first phase in 2028
- Consolidate the Zoning Bylaw and review bylaw enforcement
- Adopt the 10-year capital plan
2028 and beyond
Paced by the capital plan
- Pave street by street
- Build the first phase of the community trail
- Lot sales fund the next 5th Avenue phases and more paving
- Review the Official Community Plan, with enhanced regional cooperation
- Scorecard published twice a year
Two decision points
- Council funds 5th Avenue Phase 1 servicing in the 2027 budget. Without serviced lots, the growth goal stalls.
- The 10-year capital plan is adopted and reservoir financing is set. Street-by-street paving moves from design to construction once both are in place.
What waits for later
Not Cancelled, Not Forgotten
These ideas are simply not the focus for 2027. Focus creates results.
- Campground and picnic area
- The top Think Tank vote. It waits until lots and streets are funded.
- Seniors housing feasibility study
- A developer is interested in building an assisted living home, so the Town will work with them instead.
- Major recreation expansions
- The new park, the outdoor rink and the trail go ahead.
- Relocating the downtown
- It would scatter a small business core. The focus is on improving Main Street.
- A grocery or clinic recruitment campaign
- Instead, the Town will help attract a buyer or tenant to bring a grocery store back to the Main Street mall, and pursue a room for a visiting doctor in the assisted living home.
- New studies
- Except the capital plan, servicing design, pavement levy research and the trail estimate.
Who does what
Everyone Has a Part
- Council
- Sets direction and budgets, approves the pavement levy and 5th Avenue servicing, and reviews the scorecard twice a year.
- CAO and Town staff
- Deliver the plan day to day: servicing, budgets, bylaws and work with developers.
- Parks and Recreation Board
- Leads community life: the trail, the new park and the outdoor rink, and funds the first year of the Manager of Community Services.
- Prairie Rising
- The Town's economic development and marketing partner: lot marketing and reservations, the business survey, investment readiness, incentives, marketing and the new Town website.
- Residents and businesses
- Volunteer, share ideas and feedback, shop local and tell the Town what is working.
- Developers and builders
- Build homes and businesses to clear standards and timelines.
How we'll report
The 12-Month Scorecard
Each priority has a lead, a budget line and a first milestone. The Town will publish progress against this scorecard twice a year.
Grow Aberdeen
- Leads
- Prairie Rising and Town staff
- Budget line
- 5th Avenue servicing (2027)
- First 90 days
- Reservation list open; serviced lot listed; developers met
- 12-month measure
- Lots under contract
Revitalize Aberdeen
- Leads
- Prairie Rising and Town staff
- Budget line
- Bylaw enforcement; enhanced beautification
- First 90 days
- Owner letters sent; grocery space owner contacted
- 12-month measure
- Problem properties resolved or in progress
Connect Aberdeen
- Leads
- Council, Town staff, Parks and Recreation Board, Prairie Rising
- Budget line
- Pavement levy; federal funding; paving design
- First 90 days
- Federal funding committed; levy research begun; trail estimate updated
- 12-month measure
- Main Street work under way; levy in place; loop route set
Engage Aberdeen
- Leads
- Parks and Recreation Board and Town staff
- Budget line
- Community Recreation reserve
- First 90 days
- Rink work bee held; new park preparation scheduled
- 12-month measure
- Rink open; soccer field laid out
Getting involved
Aberdeen Has Done the Listening
The next chapter is results residents can see.
- Watch for the scorecard twice a year, and come to the annual town hall.
- Volunteer with the Parks and Recreation Board on events, the rink, the new park and the trail.
- Talk to the Town Office about lots, business space or an idea that fits one of the four priorities.
Contact the Town Office
Box 130, Aberdeen, Saskatchewan S0K 0A0
townaberdeen@sasktel.net
| 306-253-4311
About this edition
This edition of the Town of Aberdeen Strategic Plan was revised and prepared by Prairie Rising, the Town's economic development and marketing partner, in October 2026. It carries forward the 2024 to 2028 Strategic Plan and reflects the decisions Council made on October 2, 2026.
Sources
Town of Aberdeen community survey, September 27 to October 6, 2023; Think Tank session, November 22, 2023; Town of Aberdeen 2024 to 2028 Strategic Plan; Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2011, 2016 and 2021; City of Saskatoon, Housing Needs Assessment 2024; Town of Aberdeen budgets and records.
