North Battleford City Councillor Ryan Bater had a chance to meet with the board of the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce June 18.
It was the first meeting Bater, the newly-appointed city representative on the board, had attended since the annual general meeting in January, as scheduling conflicts had prevented his previous appearances.
At this meeting Bater had a chance to update the other directors on some of the City policies impacting business in the community.
One of those was the property tax notices that had recently gone out in the mail. Bater acknowledged that people would see changes in their tax bill due to the fact that 2013 is a reassessment year in the city, with property value changes causing big fluctuations.
He said the City remained interested in an idea being proposed by the Chamber for a luncheon on the budget, which could see Director of Finance Matthew Hartney and other officials explain the impact. Bater also welcomed doing something similar on an annual basis after the budget is passed.
As well, Bater noted the City's economic development department is now doing a voluntary business survey to "get a finger on the pulse of any of the issues that are out there that we should know about."
Results will be made public in August and Bater encouraged the Chamber to relay their reaction to the results as well.
Bater also took questions from directors about an issue that came up at the previous council meeting about run-down houses on 99th Street and 19th Avenue as well as the vacant Shell station next door on 100th Street.
In the case on 100th Street, Bater told the Chamber the issue was that the properties where the gas station was located are contaminated, and therefore very difficult to develop.
The issue is one facing several communities in Saskatchewan. "Brownfields" are contaminated sites where oil companies simply abandon former gas stations or similar sites and pay property taxes every year, instead of spending the even larger amount of money needed to clean them up.
The practice was discussed at a recent SUMA convention and is a particularly acute issue in smaller communities struggling to find lots where new developments could be located.
Based on what he heard from the premier at SUMA, it was Bater's opinion that the provincial government was thinking of legislation to address the issue, and that could be something brought in with the fall throne speech or next year's budget.
But Bater also said bringing in incentives to encourage oil companies to clean up would likely not fly as an idea.
"You start getting into dangerous territory when you start putting in incentives to get companies to clean up their own mess," said Bater. "They should clean up anyway."
