At the recent regular Esterhazy town council meeting, the council discussed some different options for the west sign corridor.
As it stands, there’s room for eight 8x8 signs, but there’s currently only six up. Three of those six businesses would like to update their signs if possible.
With the current 8x8 signs there’s only room for eight signs and to extend the corridor for more signs the town must apply with an application to the government.
The option of switching to 4x8 signs was looked at to create more space for more businesses to have signs as there are 15 names currently on the waiting list for a sign.
With a few options for the west sign corridor the council tabled the decision for the next council meeting so more research can be done before a final decision is made.
Slideshow for graduates
The council passed a motion to have a slideshow of the Esterhazy High School graduating class photos put on the town website.
With the Covid-19 pandemic impacting the graduation ceremony for Esterhazy High School students, the school staff has asked if the town would be willing to put a slideshow of the graduating class on the town website for the month of June.
The council was in agreement that this would be a nice gesture for the students who won’t be able to celebrate in the same way as most classes.
New garbage/dog waste areas
The town purchased five concrete garbage cans in September and the council is working with Rec Director Brenda Redman on a final decision for where to put them.
The main idea with the garbage cans and which areas they will go is to help to ensure people have easy access to get rid of their dog waste.
With the garbage cans, Mayor Grant Forster would like to have signs giving credit to the 2018-2019 grade five class because it was their idea to help with keeping Esterhazy clean. He also suggested they put a message on the town website thanking the grade five class.
“It showed initiative by them to say we needed to do something to help keep the town clean,” said Forster.
Town office reopens
As of May 25 the Town of Esterhazy office has reopened as Saskatchewan begins to get back to normal with the Covid-19 pandemic slowing down.
Acting Administrator Mike Thorley says they’ve followed all proper health and safety protocol to ensure staff and the public stay safe while in the office.
They’ve set up a sneeze guard, put lines on the floor to ensure proper physical distancing is followed, have hand sanitizing stations, have limited the number of people allowed in the office at once, and have a list of protocols to follow when a member of the public comes into the office.
“The staff feels comfortable being back in the office and everybody is following the rules,” said Thorley.
Respect in the Workplace
Both Mayor Grant Forster and Acting Administrator Mike Thorley participated in Sheldon Kennedy’s Respect in the Workplace webinar and agreed it would be a good thing for employees of the town to participate in.
At a rate of $20 per employee, they intend to make the 90-minute webinar mandatory for all Town of Esterhazy staff and optional for councillors and volunteer firefighters. The town will cover the cost for everybody who does it.
“It’s worth it for that fee and the time it takes,” said Forster. “It’s something everybody is going to have to do at some point and it’s a well respected program that gives a good education.”
Car bingo and farmers market at S.N. Boreen Centre
The council passed a motion to allow Skate Esterhazy to use the S.N. Boreen Centre parking lot for car bingo.
Skate Esterhazy says everybody who participates will have to stay in their car to ensure proper physical distancing protocol is followed.
The council also passed a motion to allow for a farmers market at the S.N. Boreen Centre as long as all health and safety protocol is followed.
The main issue the council had was if people don’t follow all health and safety protocol then it’s bad for the town. They were in agreement that if any rules are broken they will shut down both events.
