WEYBURN – The City of Weyburn will be applying for a shared-cost grant to help pay for a review of the Weyburn Planning District Plan, after receiving approval from city council to make the application.
The application will be made for a Targeted Sector Support grant, which is a provincial grant used to encourage inter-community collaboration, help build capacity and promote good governance in Saskatchewan municipalities.
For projects which are approved for a grant, the program will pay for 75 per cent of the project’s eligible costs to a maximum of $75,000. The project partners, which include the City and RM of Weyburn, are required to pay the balance, and this will be funded through the Weyburn District Planning Commission.
The City has a deadline of Feb. 1 to apply for this grant, and they will hear by April if they are approved by the government.
“We’re looking at a year-long process. The district plan is a large document,” said city manager Mathew Warren, noting they will have to ensure it meshes with the City’s Official Community Plan and with the RM’s plan.
If they are successful, the planning commission will look for a person or a firm with planning experience to help guide them through the review of the district plan.
“I’m really glad this is happening. It’s very important for inter-municipal cooperation,” said Coun. Jeff Richards.
Coun. Dick Michel agreed, and noted that grant dollars aren’t very plentiful right now. He added it’s critical that the district plan be updated for the benefit of both municipalities.
• In other council business, Coun. Laura Morrissette passed on an update from the Weyburn Public Library about how well-used it was in 2021.
She noted that physical checkouts of materials totaled 61,189 books and materials, which resulted in a total savings of $1,381,311.21 for Weyburn area residents.
She said this was just for the checkout of books and materials, and the library has many other resources as well, including e-books and online materials that are not part of this total.
