MOOSE JAW — Potholes, tariffs and renaming the agri-food industrial park were some topics city council discussed during its March 10 regular meeting.
Pothole season
“Pothole season is upon us,” declared Coun. Patrick Boyle.
Boyle then asked city administration whether it planned to fill those nuisances with cold mix in the short-term, when it planned to deploy the new asphalt-repairing machines, and when residents would notice the benefits of this pothole patching program.
It’s an “interesting time” in the roadways branch, as a pothole repair truck has been laying cold mix asphalt as of March 8, although the asphalt recycling machine has not yet arrived, said Bevan Harlton, director of operations.
“My team advocated for me to say we would be putting down hot mix prior to the end of this winter, but I don’t anticipate we will,” he continued.
“They’re excited to use (the infrared asphalt heating machine), however, we have to get the right polymer, … the right training (and) got to make sure our mechanics know how to service it,” Harlton added. “So, there’s a few things we have to do before we put it on the road.”
Tariff threats
Asked how the threat of U.S. tariffs might affect the project tenders the city is issuing, city manager Maryse Carmichael said the finance and legal departments wrote a letter to directors recently encouraging them to review all clauses in contracts with contractors. These reviews would ensure the city is covered legally and potentially ensure purchases of supplies are made in Canada.
“Because we know at this time of year, the capital projects are getting on their way (and) many tenders and RFPs (requests for proposals) are going out,” she continued.
Carmichael added that council could provide administration with more direction about how to handle this tariff situation.
The on-again, off-again threat of tariffs is creating plenty of uncertainty for city hall with its procurements, while moving forward, it’s unknown how the municipality will clearly deal with the tariffs as a financial or legal matter, said finance director Brian Acker.
“I think there’s a lot of moral and ethical things that come into play … (and) whether the City of Moose Jaw wants to, in some ways, provide some compensation to suppliers that are caught in the middle of that,” he continued.
The finance director used the example of the city having already awarded a tender for a project and needing to determine whether it wants to proceed with that contract — legally it can — even though it knows the contractor is facing U.S. tariffs and paying extra costs. Or, the city could morally take on that financial responsibility as an organization.
Acker agreed that council should provide some direction, because if city hall approached this issue as just a “cut and dried” legal or financial issue, he didn’t think that would help contractors locally, provincially or nationally.
Renaming an industrial area
Coun. Heather Eby introduced a motion to have administration present options by May 1 to rename the Southeast Industrial Park — commonly known as the agri-food industrial park — to reflect its proximity to Moose Jaw and its use for agricultural value-added industries.
She explained that she had conversations with people about this matter, who believed giving the industrial area a Moose Jaw-specific name would ensure developers around the world know the area is here and not in a place like Southeast Asia.
“I just feel like it would be … a rebrand (or) a refresh,” Eby added. “And, the best is yet to come.”
Council then voted unanimously to accept the motion.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, March 24.
