North Battleford city council dealt with several housekeeping issues at a meeting Monday.
The City of North Battleford has accepted the recommendation of the Saskatchewan Winter Games host committee on what to do with the approximately $200,000 surplus from the games.
The funds will be transferred to the City, which will then transfer it to the Battlefords and District Community Foundation for annual endowments to local sports and recreation organizations and individuals. Once the City is ready to launch fundraising for Civic Centre replacement, a separate institutional investment portfolio account will be opened and funds will transfer back into that account for arena replacement.
There were a few internal policies discussed and adopted. One involves putting in place a “reasonable suspicion” policy to ensure there is no inappropriate use of alcohol, drugs, cannabis and other substances among city employees.
While one might think this policy was introduced in response to the legalization of marijuana Oct. 17, City officials say the real reason it is brought in is because they simply did not have a policy in place before. The resolution to immediately implement the policy carried unanimously.
The City also heard from investment advisors Brendon Boothman and Jerrod Schafer, RBC Wealth Management Dominion Securities, who provided an update on the City’s investment strategy. According to the advisors, they see “no signs of an imminent” recession and expect modest gains from equities over the next 12 months.
Their full presentation is included in the agenda for Monday’s council meeting, which can be accessed on the City’s website.
Finally, a notice of motion was presented from Councillor Kent Lindgren directing administration to develop a business tax incentive policy for the key commercial corridor, but one that is “significantly less” than the incentive offered downtown, so as “not to jeopardize the downtown core.”
This motion is in response to the recent tax incentive request from Aaron Cadrin, who is developing a new commercial strip mall at 1542 - 100th St. The motion will come back for consideration at council’s next meeting in November.
