MOOSE JAW — City hall may be preparing to construct a new landfill, but it must still deal with the current dump and related issues, such as determining how many years the venue has left.
The topic of the landfill arose during the May 27 regular city council meeting as members were reviewing a report about city hall’s activities during the first quarter — Jan. 1 to March 31 — of this year.
The engineering services department plans to conduct airspace assessments of the current landfill this spring and in the fall, said Coun. Jamey Logan. He wondered what company would conduct the assessments and whether those results would give the city “a reasonably accurate end-of-life-cycle date.”
An airspace survey determined whether the city is filling the landfill properly and how close to being full the site is in accordance with the operating permit that the province issues. Meanwhile, it’s the province and not the municipality that determines how much capacity a landfill may have.
Those assessments began last year and are now happening every six months, while Pinchen, the consulting firm that’s working on the landfill closure plan, is conducting those tests, said Bevan Harlton, director of operations. Conversely, a different firm is developing a new solid waste management venue.
“So that gives us an indication that we are three to four years from closure. It will soon be time to start looking at the tonnages more carefully and better understanding that (end) date … ,” he added.
Angled parking
Coun. Doug Blanc asked city administration about plans to create angled parking on High Street East near the apartments after a resident complained to him that parking was restricted due to limited space.
Blanc pointed out that council approved a motion in 2022 to refer the issue of angled parking to the then-incomplete transportation master plan, while he wondered when council could expect to see a report about this topic.
The transportation master plan is mostly finished, so the engineering department will present it to administration in early June and then council will receive the final document at the June 24 meeting, said Harlton.
One corridor that city hall has evaluated for angled parking is High Street East and West, so council and administration will review that recommendation together and determine the cost and feasibility of making such changes, he added.
Highway intersection
Council asked Harlton whether he had received any information recently from the Ministry of Highways about its corridor study and its plans for the intersection at Ninth Avenue Northwest and Highway 1.
Harlton said he had not heard anything about the study but did know that the ministry was considering the feasibility of adding signalized traffic lights at that location, which is considered to be pre-concept planning.
As for a timeframe, city administration has been discussing this location with ministry officials regularly since the intersection is important to Moose Jaw, as it connects to South Hill and 15 Wing Airbase, he continued. Furthermore, city hall wants to promote economic development north of that location, so it will continue to speak with the province about this area.
“… We have not heard a timeline or a commitment of capital funds,” Harlton added.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, June 10.
