Tax policies for the new year and a roofing project for the Canora Civic Centre were among the main discussion points at the recent town council meeting.
Town council met for its regular meeting on December 6 at the town office. The meeting began with a public forum, in which Sgt. Greg Smith of the Canora RCMP discussed the community’s police services.
Council made the decision to hire Con-Tech General Contractors, a company from Saskatoon, for the Canora Civic Centre project. The construction will involve new roofs being installed for the Centre’s lobby and compressor room. The estimated cost of the project is $163,570.
Jo-Anne Sigurdson, the community development officer, was approved by council to attend the East Central planning session in Kamsack on December 6.
Council appointments for the Canora Leisure Services Board and Canora Tourism Committee were amended. Brent Pelechaty will now be head of the Canora Leisure Services Board with Sheldon Derkatch as an alternate. For the Canora Tourism Committee, Brad Gabora is the head and James Trofimenkoff is the alternate.
The new tax concession and discount policies for 2017 were decided. According to the policy, if vacant land owned by the Town of Canora is purchased, the value attributable to the virgin land value will be given free of charge. The value for the services to the land shall be paid with a 100 per cent tax cancellation in the first year, 75 per cent in the second year and 50 per cent in the third year. If a building is constructed on the land with a value of over $50,000, tax concessions will apply to the structure. An addition to an existing building with a value of over $50,000 will also be permitted tax concessions.
If a commercial or industrial building that has been vacant for over one year is purchased and the new owner operates a business there, a 50 per cent tax concession will be applied to the first and second years with a 25 per cent tax concession for the third year.
Tax prepayment discount rates for 2017 are: January, four per cent; February, three per cent; March, two per cent, and April, one per cent. Property tax penalty rates in November and December of 2017 are at one per cent.
One of the final orders of business was the adoption of Bylaw No. 16-16, which authorized the Town of Canora to enter into an easement agreement with Saskatchewan Power Corporation and Saskatchewan Telecommunications. The bylaw was read three times before being adopted.
