A regular meeting of the Weyburn City Council was held on May 25, here are the major points of interest:*Council approved a rate increase for the Weyburn Leisure Centre, Crescent Point Place and Tom Zandee Sports Arena. There will be a five percent increase for each of the next three years, taking effect on September 1 of each year.
Director of Leisure Services Mathew Warren said the main reason for the rate increase is the construction of the new outdoor pool, renovations to the rinks and the increased cost to run these facilities."The current goal is to achieve a 50 percent recovery on all leisure facilities," said Warren.Currently the Leisure Centre has a recovery rate of 36 percent, while the rinks recovery rate is 57 percent.General admission for individuals at the Leisure Centre will see a $0.25 increase each year for the next three years. Individuals taking advantage of Rush Ice at the rink will see a $0.50 increase year-over-year.Previous years saw four, seven and eight percent rate increases, respectively.*The Water and Sewer Connection Fund rates will be increased by five percent beginning January 1, 2011 for each the following two years in order to cover the costs of water and sewer renewals, plugged sewers, replacing water and sewer services and having sewers inspected by camera - all of which have been on the rise over the last two years.*Council approved a Landfill Decommissioning Fee of $0.60 to be charged per month on all water and/or sewer utility bills in order to contribute to a reserve which will be set-up for the future decommissioning of the Weyburn Landfill.*Council declared June as Parks and recreation Month and May 31 to June 4 as Reusable Bag Week in the city.Reusable Bag Week is a Communities in Bloom initiative. Shoppers found using reusable bags during the week will have a chance to win a prize.*The Agricultural Society Board reported an increased attendance at their annual dinner theatre. Attendance was up 23 percent over last year, with 609 people attending this year's performance. The Society will donate $1,000 of the profits raised at the dinner theatre to the Royal Canadian Legion's wheelchair elevator fund. They are also looking at purchasing 15 portable hand sanitizing stations for use at the annual exhibition and rodeos.*The Library Board had a successful spring book sale, generating $2,047.10 in sales. A portion of this money will go towards purchasing new books for the Weyburn Public Library.Mayor Debra Button reported that students in Weyburn accumulated 5,244 hours of reading during the Mayor's Mega-Minute Challenge held at the library throughout May.
