At the most recent regular Moosomin town council meeting, the council passed a motion to adopt an amendment to the Moosomin Fire Department administrative policy manual and operating guidelines.
The new policy will limit the potential dangers of speeding, with people reporting to the fire hall not allowed to exceed 60 km/hr within town boundaries.
“You can drive faster out of town, but within town you shouldn’t exceed 60 km/hr,” said Administrator Paul Listrom.
The council was in agreement that even though they’re emergency vehicles, the speed they travel and use of sirens can become a dangerous problem that can be avoided to some extent.
“It’s been a big problem,” said Councillor Garry Towler. “I should bring in a video we had on dispatch and it’s about crashes with emergency vehicles and they actually show how turning your siren on can cause problems. It’s not safe.”
“We’ve tried to get that across, that we don’t like to use the sirens,” said Councillor Greg Nosterud.
Prairie Pride Motel cleanup
On May 12, 2019 the Prairie Pride Motel on Broadway Avenue was destroyed by a fire. Since then, the debris had sat there for over a year.
After numerous inquiries into having the remains of the motel cleaned up by owner Raj Verma to no avail, the council passed a resolution on July 22 to place an ad in the World-Spectator requesting interested contractors to tender on the cleanup.
“Raj Verma—the owner—emailed me and says he’s going to have it cleaned up by August 25,” said Administrator Paul Listrom. “I told him about the council resolution and that we had the tenders coming August 19 so you better have it cleaned up by then, but for the most part it’s going to be done and he’s not going to walk away before it’s done. I reminded him the foundation needs to come out and he said he’ll phone when it’s time for inspection. He knew he was paying for it one way or another and he’s filling in the holes where the basement was.”
The council received tenders for the cleanup at their meeting on Wednesday, but with Verma beginning the work, they won’t be needed.
“He’s (Raj Verma) going to do it all,” said Listrom. “The tenders were returned unopened.”
Ellice Street complaint
The council received a letter from a community member regarding the state of Ellice Street and the problems it has caused with the work being done on it. Ellice Street is set to be paved next year.
“We are writing this letter due to the very poor condition of Ellice Street that has been ongoing for the last three years,” the letter said. “It is pretty much a mud hole with a pool at the end of our driveway. Ellice Street is one of the main accesses into town off the service road. Residents have come home to their road closed, ripped up, and unable to get their vehicles out of their driveways, come home to no water with no notice and living with a road in disrepair with lack of maintenance unless you repeatedly complain to multiple bodies.
“The end of our paved driveway has now cracked as it is settling into the unfinished road. The street should have been properly backed when doing the water lines. Instead, they left the road to settle for a year only causing more problems from moisture and frost. It should be packed and sealed to prevent heaves in the road. Maybe major water and sewer should be contracted out so town crew can work on maintenance of the town instead of taking years to complete a road. In conclusion, we would just like the road to be maintained instead of having to complain about it before anything gets done.”
The council acknowledged there have been issues on Ellice Street, but the work being done there takes time and they’ll continue to address the issue.
“There were problems and we addressed them,” said Councillor Garry Towler. “We got it looked after and the guys did what they were supposed to do when they could. A lot of it was a mud hole for awhile and we let it settle and it’s packed in.”
“I also believe that stretch there was our first stretch,” said Councillor Murray Gray. “We’re going to get better at it as we go.”
“Once you get the curbs in then you’ll be able to settle the road out some more,” said Mayor Larry Tomlinson. “Once the curb is finished, hopefully it’s good until it gets paved next year.”
A main takeaway for the council was that it’s important to keep the community informed on work being done so they can better understand decisions being made.
“It does come back to us if we’re not keeping people aware,” said Councillor Jason Miller. “Maybe we should do a better job ourselves of letting people know.”
“I think that’s the one thing you can learn from that,” said Gray. “The sooner you can tell them, the happier people seem to be so they can plan for it. That’s something we can learn from this.”
Cook Road curb
The council received a formal request to have a curb installed on Cook Road. The council will not make a decision on this in the near future because of the impact it would have on the current road.
“You’d have to rip up the pavement and re-do the entire road just like Ellice Street,” said Foreman Danny Grainger.
Curb installation at Cook Road will be taken into future considerations, says the council.
Archery at Bradley Park
The council passed a motion to allow for the Moosomin Baptist Church to conduct children’s archery as part of a free day camp during the week of August 24-28 at Bradley Park.
Moosomin Baptist Church Children’s Ministries Co-ordinator Kyla Dietrich provided the council with the safety precautions that will be implemented at the day camp as well as the reason they wanted to do something for the kids.
“Moosomin Baptist Church (MBC) annually hosts a Vacation Bible School (VBS) at their facilities for approximately 150 community kids ages three to 10 each August,” Dietrich said in the letter. “This year, governmental restrictions regarding Covid-19 have led us to the conclusion that a regular VBS program is not feasible within the safety requirements. As such, MBC is partnering with Kenosee Lake Bible Camp (KBLC) to provide free day camps for ages six to 18 the week of August 24-28.”
The council was in agreement that with the lack of recreation for youths this summer, a week of free archery could provide them with some much needed fun.
“That church group has been awesome for our youth,” said Councillor Murray Gray. “And they haven’t had anything to do for the whole summer.”
The camp will be running free of charge every day from August 24-28 with ages six to nine from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., ages 10 to 13 from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., and ages 13 to 18 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Gas Tax Fund
The Town of Moosomin has received its Gas Tax Fund (GTF) for 2020-21. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the GTF has been accelerated this year and will be providing communities with both instalments at once rather than two separate instalments to better help with economic recovery.
Both instalments of $80,918.50 are being transfer to the Town of Moosomin in August for a total of $161,837. The GTF is aimed at contributing towards economic growth within municipalities.
AirBnB business license
AirBnB is an online rental company that allows for anybody to rent out their property through their app. The council was approached by a community member about whether or not they would need a business license to utilize AirBnB in Moosomin and rent out their home.
“We don’t need to be involved,” said Administrator Paul Listrom.
The council took into consideration how it could have an impact on hotels, but ultimately decided no business license would be needed to rent through AirBnB because it’s similar to someone renting a room to a person in town.
“How different is it than renting out your basement to people? Especially in a town where people rent frequently to pipeline workers,” said Councillor Murray Gray.
Mike Schwean named award recipient
Moosomin Rec Director Mike Schwean has been selected as the recipient of the Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association’s (SPRA) 2020 President’s Award of Distinction. Schwean was nominated for the award by the council.
The President’s Award of Distinction is one of the most prestigious awards presented by the SPRA for contributions to the recreation sector at the provincial, district, and local level. The award is given to an individual who enhances the public image and improves the services of parks and recreation.
“This year, we are producing a video to showcase the work you have done,” said SPRA Chief Executive Officer Todd Shafer in a letter. “SPRA is proud to recognize and celebrate the people, places and spaces that make recreation and parks an indispensable part of community life. Your story will inspire others to get involved, enjoy community parks and recreation services and facilities, and feel more connect to nature, their communities and themselves.”
Hockey restrictions at the Communiplex
Due to the active Covid-19 pandemic, the Conexus Communiplex will have adjustments and rules in place for hockey this season, while the situation remains fluid as the Saskatchewan Hockey Association (SHA) works to provide a safe and healthy atmosphere for minor hockey players across the province this fall.
At this time, Minor Hockey is allowed 30 people on the ice and 30 people in the building per team on ice with proper physical distancing between spectators.
“So if, for example, three novice teams of nine kids each were on the ice, they would be allowed the 27 kids plus three coaches plus 90 patrons in the building,” said Rec Director Mike Schwean.
“As October is practice month for Minor Hockey, that should work fine. I’m told to expect those numbers to change in the coming month or two should cases stay low. We will have signage and a plan in place to deal with Covid-19 rules and regulations.”
Schwean says the rec department is planning on having the ice in for October 6 and in the meantime they’re planning on having the Conexus Communiplex exterior painted in September.
Swimming pool update
With the Covid-19 pandemic impacting the pool season this year with extra precautions and restrictions, Rec Director Mike Schwean is pleased with how things have gone.
“The swimming pool has been a whirlwind to date as with the shortened season, it has been very busy,” Schwean said. “That said, things have gone extremely well. Our last day of the season is Friday, August 28.”
With protocols in place on the number of patrons able to utilize the swimming pool at one time—it’s capped at 100—Schwean says at times they’ve had to turn people away, but in those situations they’ve given a call back to them when room in the pool is available.
Rec grants and projects
Rec Director Mike Schwean has stayed busy throughout the summer even with the Covid-19 restrictions limiting recreation and activities.
The rec department has been applying for grants and, after applying for $15,000 with the Red River Mutual Community Campaign, they were awarded $25,200. The grant will be going towards the Conexus Communiplex.
Over the spring and summer, the rec department has completed 11 projects and upgrades across multiple facilities while continuing to work through others.
Completed spring/summer projects:
Bowling alley bathroom renovations.
Convention centre storage room.
Bradley Park- concession work.
Nursery refresh.
Bradley Park- in park campsites.
Signage at Bradley Park.
New Communiplex score clock.
Work to main parking lot.
Eventplex gazebo.
REMAX court development- year two of five.
Convention centre- grass on north side.
Projects currently underway:
Communiplex lobby bathroom renovations.
Eventplex- batting cage.
Communiplex basement dressing rooms project.
Liberty swing.
Completion of Generals Bunker/dressing rooms.
Completion of Kin Field.
Outdoor rink refresh.
Communiplex camera app system.
Projects planned for summer months:
Bradley Park- completion of irrigation to Kin Field.
Bradley Park- Improvements to Home Hardware Field.
Addition of Little League Sharpe’s Field by Kin Diamond.
Addition of Little League Pharmasave Field by Kin Diamond.
Eventplex- warmup batting backstops.
Paint Communiplex exterior.
New drainage culvert from Home Hardware Field.
Walking paths in Bradley Park.
