Here is a rundown of some of the items that were on the agenda of Monday’s council meeting in the town of Battleford:
Council received the draft audited financial statements for 2015.
The draft, conducted by Holm Raiche Oberg Chartered Professional Accountants, showed Battleford with a surplus of revenue over expenses of approximately $2 million.
The town spent a little over $2.9 million on “tangible capital assets,” which included capital projects such as storm sewer improvements, paving, North Saskatchewan River bridge improvements, a new Town Hall boiler, a new fire truck, a garbage truck and a new shower house at the campground.
It was the opinion of the auditors that the financial position of the town was good. There is no long-term debt, with money set aside for savings into the future. It was also seen as positive that the Town had been fully funding its capital projects.
In other news: there was a power outage Sunday for two-and-a-half hours in Battleford around the 23rd Street and surrounding areas and that councillors discussed.
Councillor Ames Leslie noted SaskPower had responded quickly to put the power back on, but it was a situation where it could have been out for eight or nine hours. No definitive cause had been determined as of Monday but there had been a pole fire in the area.
The town building permit report was presented for May. It was reported that to date there have been nine permits issued for $1,079,000. That compares to 19 permits issued for $2,935,219 for the same period in 2015. In May, one garage and one renovation permit were each issued for $29,000
There were a few resolutions voted on. One was on a recommendation from administration to hire Sanburn Construction Ltd. to install sewer lines at 12 campsites at the Eiling Kramer Campground at a cost of $28,000 not including GST. The pre-budget approval carried 4-0, with Mayor Mahon recusing himself from that vote.
Council also discussed concerns of Battleford West residents about traffic and noise in the area. The noise was impacting residents of the new apartment block, who reported they were having trouble sleeping due to semi-trailers parking and idling on the nearby streets.
There were also problems with vehicles parking on the East side of the Co-op gas bar, and semi-trailers passing through the area and turning at Highway 40 onto 5th Avenue and then passing through the Battleford West commercial area.
Administrator John Enns-Wind mentioned a few solutions would be implemented including placing “no overnight parking” signs and some “no idling” signs depending on the location. The resolution carried to implement the proposed solutions and to monitor the changes.
The Town also approved a resolution to do something about collateral damage at both ends of the 300 block of 29th Street following the construction on that street, as well as on 30th Street. Cost of repairs are $25,000, to be billed to the initial project on 29th Street.
The next council meeting is a special council meeting scheduled for next Monday, June 27, at 7 p.m.
