Estevan city council gave second and third readings to a pair of bylaws at their final meeting of the year on Dec. 16.
The first bylaw was for a rezoning of the land that will be included for the expansion of the Estevan Police Service (EPS) building.
The property to the east of the police station, which will be encompassed by the expansion, is currently zoned for residential purposes, which would not allow for a police station as a proper use.
Zoning had to be amended to commercial to match the current police station.
A public hearing was held at the meeting regarding the expansion, but nobody spoke against the motion.
The other bylaw was the borrowing bylaw, which was needed for the city to borrow $2 million to pay for key capital projects, including Power Dodge Ice Centre upgrades, the new splash park in Centennial Park, the first phase of the police station addition and the water intake project.
The city has paid down more than $4 million in long-term debt this year, so that number has dropped by another $2 million this year.
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Council approved the 2020 membership fee for the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA). Mayor Roy Ludwig said it amounts to about $11,000.
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During a discussion of the 小蓝视频 East Transportation Planning Committee, it was noted that the rumble strips south of the intersection of Highways 47 and 13 near Stoughton will not be reinstalled. They were removed earlier this year because a neighbouring resident complained about the noise. There were discussions about the issue earlier this year, and while many wanted the strips returned, the government decided no.
Councillor Dennis Moore, who is the chairperson of the committee, said he was not happy with the government鈥檚 decision.
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Council had to pass a declaration in order to be eligible for municipal operating grants from the provincial government in 2020.
The city has met the government鈥檚 criteria by submitting its audited financial statement and public reporting on municipal waterworks to the Ministry of Government Relations. It is in good standing regarding the reporting and remittance of the education portion of property tax, and it has adopted a procedures bylaw and employee code of conduct. All members of council must file an annual update of their public disclosure statements.
This is a new procedure that municipalities have to follow to receive the grants.
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The water treatment plant treatment chemical tenders were approved. Border Chemical Company received the aluminum sulphate tender for $76,020; ClearTech was awarded the liquid chlorine tender for $21,332.64; and Brenntag received the potassium permanganate tender for $22,554, the ammonium sulphate tender for $15,225, the hydrofluosilicic acid tender for $10,470.60, and the sodium hydroxide tender for $61,005. While most of the tenders were higher than a year ago, there was a three per cent decrease for the sodium hydroxide tender.
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In the monthly water quality report, it was noted the city treated more than 143 million litres of water in November and pumped nearly 119 million litres into the distribution system. There weren鈥檛 any plant upsets and all regulated parameters were below government regulations, except trihalomethanes, which are 小蓝视频 addressed with the construction of the new water intake project.
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Two building permits worth $10,000 were issued in November, bringing the total for the year to 30 permits worth $1.93 million.
Both of November鈥檚 permits were classified as miscellaneous.
In the first 11 months of 2018, there were 33 permits worth a little more than $2.0 million.
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Councillor Greg Hoffort reiterated his desire to see reform in the way in which the Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency (SAMA) does its reassessments every four years. City manager Jeff Ward other municipalities are concerned with the assessment cycle, the length of the term and how properties are valued. Most cities have significant issues, but not as big as Estevan鈥檚.
It was brought up at the city managers and city mayors鈥� caucus, but it does not sound like SAMA is ready to make changes at this time.
The deadline has passed to bring forward a motion at the upcoming SUMA convention, but council can make a motion from the floor.
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