SUMA was a learning experience for Estevan city council

ESTEVAN - All seven members of Estevan city council were in Saskatoon from April 13-16 for the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association's (SUMA) annual convention.

Mayor Tony Sernick and Councillors Shelly Veroba, Kirsten Walliser, Brian Johnson, Dave Elliott, Tom Mauss and Mathew Dubowski were at the event.

Veroba and Walliser have been to the convention several times each, while Johnson had been there through his previous time on council that spanned from 2000-2016. Elliott, Dubowski and Mauss attended for the first time, while Sernick had been there before as a councillor, but this was his first time as mayor. City manager Jeff Ward was also present.

Sernick said the conference attracted about 1,000 people from cities, towns and villages across the province. It's a hectic time with seminars, speeches, networking opportunities, a large trade show and a chance to celebrate achievements. Delegates also heard from politicians, voted on resolutions from the different communities, attended an awards banquet and participated in the annual bearpit session with cabinet ministers on issues facing communities.  

It was also nice to get to know the other members of council outside of meetings, he said.

The convention was a different experience as a mayor as opposed to a councillor.

"The mayor's chair definitely garners a little more … attention … but it's definitely good. You're the face for the city everywhere you go. As a councillor you are as well," said Sernick. "There were lots of good discussions. Once a mayor finds a mayor, you get to sit down and talk about each town and all of the challenges, and the challenges seem pretty much the same out there. Everybody's [talking] infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure, and need more money, money, money."

The convention can be a little bit overwhelming the first time, Sernick said, thanks to the sheer size of the TCU Place venue, the number of people present and the amount of activity.

"You get through that Sunday [April 13], and then I would say by Monday … midday, they were all pros and knew where they were going, and had all their seminars picked up and where they would be every day," said Sernick.

A highlight of the convention came during the resolution period, when the City of Estevan's motion was approved for the provincial government to provide greater funding for the Ministry of Social Services and the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions. Sernick applauded Walliser for taking the lead on the issue.

During the bearpit session, Sernick thanked Premier Scott Moe, Minister responsible for SaskPower Jeremy Harrison and Estevan-Big Muddy MLA Lori Carr – also a cabinet minister – for the decision to look at keeping coal-fired power in the provincial power grid through the retrofitting of units with carbon capture and storage technology. A decision is to be made in July.

"It just sounds very promising and they're committed to the old slogan of affordable, reliable power, which is music to our ears," said Sernick. "We all know the infrastructure is in place already. Nuclear is the future, but it's not ready yet."