The Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association convention in Saskatoon was a four-day long opportunity for representatives from Saskatchewan's urban municipalities to meet and mingle with other representatives and learn about best practices for managing and running their communities.
The convention, which ran from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2, included education sessions and meetings to allow civic representatives to learn about how to deal with the various day-to-day issues facing their communities.
The adjoining trade show at TCU Place displayed items of interest to municipalities. The array ranged from rubberized mulch that could be used on playground to street signs.
Battleford Mayor Chris Odishaw called the convention a good opportunity to meet with different trades people and learn about the variety of services they provide, and also "sit down and talk best practices with the other mayors" and learning about what other communities must face.
Odishaw was at the convention for the entire four days and was joined by a number of town councillors as well as Sheryl Ballendine, the town's administrator.
The mayor described the event as allowing an opportunity to spend a few days where "all we think about is the big picture of the town. That is a very huge piece of being a councillor."
A particularly well-attended session dealt with emergency management and lessons learned from a Summer of Storms, a topic of interest to the Battlefords following their own storm experience in 2010.
That session featured civic leaders and officials in Yorkton and Maple Creek who talked about their flood experience. Also there were Kindersley officials who talked about a quite different situation: the major fire that burned to the ground the town's old arena.
That fire happened right in the middle of the Scotties provincial curling championships, and Kindersley officials credited surrounding communities with aiding in the emergency and for providing alternative arrangements so the curling championship could be completed. The town of Eston offered their facilities to complete the curling tournament and provide a home for the Kindersley Klippers of the SJHL.
Officials stressed the need for emergency preparedness, for good communication and praised the multi-agency co-operation that occurred. Yorkton and Maple Creek officials also warned about the multitude of shady and unscrupulous contractors and landlords who looked to take advantage of the flood situation.
The resolution session was held Tuesday and a bear-pit session Wednesday, with a number of cabinet ministers answering questions from the delegates.
On the minds of most delegates was the familiar subject of infrastructure: how to deal with roads, sewer systems, water and garbage collection.
North Battleford mayor Ian Hamilton said the issue of infrastructure was a big one on his mind, as he wanted to see some sort of certainty brought to funding infrastructure to allow communities to plan ahead for some expensive items.
"We're lobbying very strongly to come up with a long-term strategy to address the fact that roads have to be rebuilt, pipe has to be put back in the ground to be replaced - the fundamental services that the municipalities provide is huge compared to what the provinces and feds do," said Hamilton, who wants to see a predictable and determinable strategy in place.
Odishaw also pointed to infrastructure as a top issue for his town during the convention. He said Battleford is looking for ways to deal with storm sewer issues, so "a couple of councillors and I are looking at alternatives to what we're doing right now."
The Battleford mayor said the town wants to ensure they do not have a flooding issue.
Odishaw also said he wanted to look at alternatives "as we grow," and find more cost-effective ways to deal with lot development in the community. He adds he is open to new "best practices" and different ideas about the way things are done.
"Often in business and in our lives we say we do it a certain way," said Odishaw. "You have to stay a little open-minded, I think, and look to new alternatives."
