Departments mesh with strat plan

Yorkton Council has adopted a strategic plan for the City.

At Council's Committee-of-the-Whole meeting Monday four department heads presented business plans outlining how their departments will work to meet the goals of the strategic plan.

As an example one of the strategic plan's goals is to "develop a long term infrastructure plan that includes water, sewer, roads, sidewalks, walking trails, bike paths, Facilities, Transit and future development."

Michael Buchholzer, Director of Environmental Services with the City detailed how his department would meet the goal. He said they will "design and do construction of Logan Green retention ponds and sporting fields, including an educational component on water conservation and treatment."

Buchholzer's report to Council detailed, "this innovative project is to treat backwash water through constructed wetlands and then introduce it into the local aquifer or water shed. The project is also considering using backwash water effluent to irrigate a new outdoor recreational site and a nearby tree nursery. Social advantages would include the promotion of wastewater reuse in the community, the provision of a wildlife habitat and increased biodiversity, public education on wastewater reclamation and aquifer protection, and development of an area for community recreation. This project would greatly enhance the aesthetics of the area where it is located by providing a lush facility that is both practical and attractive. The design will also reduce the loading on the City's wastewater collection and sewage treatment system. Normal operation in past years was to send thousands of gallons of backwash water through our wastewater collection system to the wastewater treatment plant. With this project we will incorporate treated water back into the water cycle."

Trent Mandzuk, Director of Public Works explained his department also has a plan to meet the same goal. He said they will, "establish a unified and comprehensive asset management/geographical information system for all divisions of City-owned infrastructure."

The report to Council detailed, "Asset management programs for all Public Works related infrastructure are expected to be fully in place by the end of 2012. Condition based assessments will continue for each type of infrastructure in the years to come. The department is already capable of generating five-year capital improvement programs with respect to sidewalks, water distribution networks and Facilities. Sanitary sewer inspection is currently in progress and will continue for the next two years. Following inspection, condition assessments will become one of the parameters driving rehabilitation programs. Roadways will begin to be inventoried and rated according to standardized condition assessments in 2011 and 2012. Asset management programs still need to be developed for the storm-water system and curbing. Once all sectors are incorporated into the GIS based software, rehabilitation programs will be modeled to correlate necessary repairs in all areas at the same time to maximize efficiencies of these programs and to minimize public disruption and inconvenience."

Similarly, a second goal of the strategic plan is to "Provide a safe community by maintaining public safety and security through a focus on strategic prevention activities and timely emergency services."

Mandzuk said the Public Works Department will, "Improve public safety via specialized asset management plans for sidewalks, roads, water distribution networks, waste-water collection systems, storm-water collection systems and City facilities."

Fire Chief Dean Clarke, said his department will "lead the development of a corporate Safety Management Program, in partnership with SK Construction Safety Association (SCSA)," and will "sustain the Safety Management Program and audit its effectiveness to ensure the City meets the required Construction Safety Association standards."

The extensive reports from the four departments, covering a range of goals and actions, which included the Department of Human Resources, were tabled pending presentations from other department Directors at upcoming meetings of Council.