The Assiniboia Town Council met on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. During the last council meeting on Nov. 26, the members voted to change these twice-monthly meetings to Wednesday – this has now been reversed to Monday in a renewed vote.
The meetings could move to another area such as the Forum Room or the Prince of Wales Cultural and Recreation Centre to maintain two metres of social distancing. At present, masks are required when attending these meetings – this ruling will continue in accordance with provincial regulations until further notice.
Norm Nordgulen, Reeve for RM 72 Lake of the Rivers, congratulated the Assiniboia Town Council at the meeting’s start. “I am looking forward to working with you all. I think we can do more to make this a better place to live. We’re all glad to have a forward-looking council," Nordgulen said.
“We as council are looking forward to working the RMs,” Mayor Sharon Schauenberg replied in part.
“Public service means public access,” Nordgulen said in agreement.
Another part of the meeting concerned a discussion over the rebranding of SUMA (Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association) into Municipalities of Saskatchewan.
Councillor Bob Ellert talked of remaining opposition to the name change for many reasons, including expenses in the measure designed to appear more inclusive – rather than seeming to only represent Saskatchewan’s cities, Municipalities of Saskatchewan is a name meant to epitomize populations of all sizes in the province, such as towns and villages.
In the library report, Councillor Graham Harvey said the Assiniboia and District Public Library is closed and open by appointment only in December, with curbside service still appearing as the best option whenever signing out materials. “The curbside service is working quite well,” Harvey noted.
Councillor Paul Tendler talked about the Deep South Economic Partnership and how Coronach’s Westmoreland Coal Poplar River Mine’s closure would affect many of the surrounding communities. He wanted Assiniboia join the Deep South Economic Partnership, since the councillor believed the mine closure will dramatically affect Assiniboia too.
“The bottom line is Assiniboia should be approaching these groups – Assiniboia will be impacted,” Tendler said.
Town meetings were held on October 6-7 in 2019 and were chaired by Jordan Tidey of Winnipeg’s MDB INSIGHT and Kristen Catherwood; Coronach’s Economic Transition Coordinator in response to the Poplar River Mine’s eventual shutdown by 2030.
Roundtable meetings organized in Coronach, Rockglen and Big Beaver by MDB were deciding which communities in South Central Saskatchewan would suffer the most after work at the mine had ended.
“They came up with a list of the communities that would be affected,” Tendler said. “And they didn’t include Assiniboia.”
“We were part of the study,” CAO Carol White replied. “Then after the study, the Deep South Partnership was formed,” she added.
All the councillors along with Mayor Schauenberg agreed the mine’s closure would negatively influence Assiniboia’s business community and general finances. The council and the mayor agreed to draft a letter to show Assiniboia’s interest in becoming involved with the Deep South Partnership in order to address the town’s economic shortfall after the Poplar River Mine’s cessation.
In order to address the pandemic, Saskatchewan’s provincial government introduced a public health order on gatherings, effective Nov. 27 – the new guidelines suspended team sports in the province.
In this light, Councillor Kent Fettes reported that minor hockey in Assiniboia is “on pause.”
At this time, the arena is available for small family group bookings by the hour, but public skating, shinny and hockey games at the rink are out-of-bounds in accordance with the province’s strengthened COVID-19 regulations.
Councillor Peter Kordus discussed a recent government inspection of the town’s water plant. Assiniboia’s water has a high degree of salinity this December, in part because hot and cold water are mixing and creating density, since the temperatures outdoors have fluctuated from -17 C and colder to warmer temperatures in single digit plus ranges from the end of November to early December.
“We’re only running water from Dominion right now,” Kordus stated then discoursed over the water plant’s mechanical issues with leaky pipes, unreliable heaters and boilers – these problems were further compounded with the presence of rusted valves.
“The workers are afraid to touch them,” Kordus said. “They could fall right off.”
Socks at Assiniboia’s Salvation Army can be purchased to assist the needy this Christmas; on this point, the Town of Assiniboia has become involved with gifting woollen socks for those who can’t afford them this winter.
“Giving back to our community is a huge part of what we’re about,” said Mayor Schauenberg.
Another item of discussion at Wednesday’s council meeting involved the future of the Assiniboia Rubber Plant on 631 Campbell Street in the town’s industrial area on the northwest side.
At the present the soil at the plant is thought to be contaminated – but the extent of contamination is unknown. Moreover, the piles of shredded rubber at the plant are a fire hazard.
“Rubber is approved for fill – it can’t break down if it’s buried in the soil where the UV rays won’t get at it,” Councillor Tendler said. “If we take possession, there could possibly be a move to market or sell the shredded rubber,” Tendler further remarked.
A vote was called on Dec. 2 to proceed with the possession of the plant to manage the mess Shercom Industries of Martensville were previously hired to clean up the tire plant, but they failed to complete the task.
The final mark on Wednesday night’s agenda involved the set-up of a bank account to enable the Assiniboia Civic Improvement Associate to receive federal grant funds for the town’s new arena and sports complex.
Although Mayor Schauenberg realized this item hadn’t appeared on the evening’s agenda, CAO White had “no problem with the bank account being opened.”
Councillor Harvey said if the Civic Improvement Association arranged an open account, the administration could manage audits for the General Project Bank Account, thus ensuring these federal funds were secure.
