ESTEVAN - Bernadette Wright and Roberta DeRosier have been appointed as members at large for the Estevan board of police commissioners for two-year terms.
Estevan city council approved the appointments during Monday night’s meeting. Wright and DeRosier were the only two people to apply for the posts.
Mayor Roy Ludwig is the chairperson, and Councillors Shelly Veorba and Lindsay Clark are also on the board.
Wright will be back for a fourth year. She said the board has allowed her to be more involved in her community and learn aspects of the role and responsibility of the Estevan Police Service (EPS) and board.
Confidentiality is particularly important, she said, as she encountered sensitive information while keeping all information, discussions and conversations private.
DeRosier, meanwhile, will be on the board for the first time. She said she wanted to be on the board partly from a desire to help restore the reputation of the EPS. Many in the community have lost faith in the department, she said, and DeRosier believes that with some work, the people in the community will be able to once again, recognize the dedication, knowledge and skill of the officers.
“We have a department that we can be very proud of, and I believe we need to help people see that,” said DeRosier.
She has been a member of the fire department and an emergency measures organization co-ordinator, and worked closely with the emergency management team in several different roles. She has also volunteered with the Canadian Red Cross and Southeast Regional Victim Services.
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Council approved its memberships for the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) for 2022.
The SUMA fee is $10,971.04. There is a $.60 per capita fee, using Estevan’s 2016 census population of 11,483, and the city pays $554.98 per delegate, for a fee of $8,96.41.
As for FCM, the city will pay $2,883.68, plus tax, for a total fee of $3,027.86. There will be a $540 base fee for a community of this size, and a $.2041 per capita rate, which amounts to $2,343.68.
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The city will enter into a partnership with the RM of Estevan and Woodlawn Regional Park for cost sharing dust suppressant on the Boundary Dam Beach access road next year.
In a letter to council, RM of Estevan Reeve Jason LeBlanc said Woodlawn is an important location for tourism in the area and attracts a large number of people. For the safety of those travelling to the park, he believes it would be beneficial to apply dust suppressant on the entire length of the road, which is nearly four kilometres.
The estimated cost for one application at four litres per foot is $17,580.
LeBlanc said the RM is committed to arranging the application and providing preparation work required, including grading, gravelling and supplying water, in addition to its one-third contribution.
Councillor Kirsten Walliser wanted to know what would happen if more than one application would be needed. Mayor Roy Ludwig said the city would commit to one, and if another is needed, it could be discussed.
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Council discussed vehicles being allowed to park on boulevards on Fourth Street.
Land development services manager Richard Neufeld said over the last few years, a few businesses along Fourth Street have had display vehicles or trailers parked in front of their businesses, either intermittently or on a regular basis.
Ludwig noted one business has had an arrangement with the city for years.
That arrangement is now expired, but allowed for the parking of vehicles on the boulevard that separates the curb from the sidewalk. A lease agreement was also entered into that allowed for a billboard on the boulevard.
There have been concerns raised regarding visibility for motorists wanting to turn onto Fourth Street from Fourth Avenue.
Moving forward, parking on the boulevard will be limited to display vehicles for commercial businesses. Parking on the boulevard shall require an approved lease at a rate of $150 per year per parking space.
Vehicle parking on boulevards is subject to a 7.5-metre spacing requirement from a
billboard as established in the city zoning/sign bylaw.
Vehicles must not obscure a sidewalk or impede pedestrian movements.
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A total of 97.6 million litres of water were treated in November at the water treatment plant, and 94.3 million litres were pumped into the distribution system. There were no plant upsets, and all regulated parameters for drinking water, except for aluminum, were below government regulations.
The city is currently working on testing and options to correct aluminum carryover from its clarifier.
Shane Bucsis, the manager of the city’s water division, said a localized boil water notice was issued on Oct. 29 for the 800-block of Henry Street for work in the area. A test came back on Nov. 3 that was positive for E. coli and total coliform.
Saskatchewan Public Health issued a boil water advisory on top of the local advisory. Three places were resampled twice in a 24-hour span, and all samples came back clear. The area was cleared of any harmful water and the advisory was lifted.
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Three building permits worth $199,042 were issued in November, bringing the total for the year to 46 permits worth more than $4.47 million.
All three permits were classified as miscellaneous.
