Before decisions can be made at council, committees are made up of city councillors and other members of the community.
Committees analyze and discuss issues using reports brought forth in council and then present their findings at the council meetings before council can vote on an issue.
When it comes to providing services around recreation and leisure, Leisure Services Director, Darrell Lessmeister and Chair, Councillor Linda Mattock are the people to talk to.
Programs at the Uniplex and taking care of the parks are an important part of their job but Leisure Services also partners with many community organizations to bring other services to the community.
Working with groups like the dance groups, the Summer Sizzler team, and other conference groups bring in many different events and festivals into Humboldt.
The city has a joint use agreement with all the schools in Humboldt so all bookings for HPS, HCI, St. Dominic, and St. Augustine can be coordinated through Leisure services.
“That’s been a really good program and it’s a great agreement. It’s been working really well.” Says Mattock.
Many programs for both kids and adults have come out of this agreement, says Mattock.
“We always say we’re the fun group.” Lessmeister laughs.
Cemetery work is also included for the committee, including the public, catholic, and most recently the convent cemetery is the responsibility of Leisure Services.
The future multiplex has been a big project for the city with Leisure Services being a big facilitator in the discussions with cultural groups and interested citizens.
Lessmeister says that they have been working closely with Cultural Services because of the theatre that is planned.
The committee meets once a month and then reports their meeting to council, everything from delegations that they had to policy and procedure discussion.
Like all committee work, any recommendations that come from committee work then is brought to council for review and voting.
The leisure services department is always changing to meets the needs of the community, says Lessmeister.
As the director, Lessmeister keeps the committee informed about what the department needs, says Mattock.
Rates for using the facilities are looked at annually by the committee to see the demand compared to the cost.
They are done annually so that there is not a huge jump if costs need to go up. This way it’s not such a jump that people will not be able to use the facility, says Mattock.
Lessmeister does the research on rate directions by looking at communities the same size of Humboldt and seeing what they charge for facility use. They are always in the ballpark, says Mattock.
Costs to use the facility do not cover the operation of the facility. Most fees cover 30-50 per cent of the operation costs, says Lessmeister.
This is not something people realize, says Mattock.
“That’s kind of a shock to people. They think they’re paying these fees and they should cover all the expenses.”
There has to be balance, says Lessmeister.
Facilities in Saskatoon were over charging for rentals and that discouraged people to use it.
It is important to balance the costs so that events are welcomed into the city. All events have spin off costs, including the people that stay in the hotels, eat at the restaurants.
The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame brought a lot of business into Humboldt with every hotel filled.
The Community and Leisure Services Committee does welcome new ideas for programs and services people want to see brought into Humboldt.
“We say things change, well we want them to change. We want to make sure we meet the needs of the community.”
