The City received word from the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation that their proposal to receive government support for an eight unit, low-rise apartment for student families has been denied.
The building would have been used to house the doctors from the family medicine residency program that the local community health committee is trying to establish at St. Joseph's Hospital.
Although the City was denied under the terms of the rental development program, the housing corporation said in their letter that they would like to further discuss the idea and have assigned a consultant to the file.
City manager Jim Puffalt was honoured by the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators for 25 years of municipal service in a management capacity.
CAMA created the long service recognition awards program in January to celebrate the dedication of its members.
Puffalt also received the Distinguished Service Award for having been in the position of chief administrative office or city manager for 25 or more years. In his letter, CAMA president Jim Toye said Puffalt recently completed 29 years of management in a municipal service.
Council approved a special events permit for the 2012 Chili Cook-Off fundraiser at the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum.
The event, which begins at 4 p.m. on Saturday, is a major fundraiser for the gallery, supporting their education and outreach programming. Tickets for the event are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
A request for funding of the Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers was approved by council. They agreed to provide $200 for the program which was the maximum amount requested by the organization.
A suggestion from an Estevan resident led council to pass a motion that could help clean up Kensington Avenue.
A letter from Dave Michel was sent to council suggesting that the City should force businesses that have entrances along Kensington to pave at least 200 feet onto their own property.
Michel felt that if the aprons were paved, the dirt and mud from the various businesses would stay on their property and not end up on Kensington. He also suggested that the City should provide tax incentives to encourage businesses to pave their entrances.
Councillor Lynn Chipley made a motion to ask the Economic Development Officer to survey the affected businesses, if they would be interested in some type of incentive program. The motion passed unanimously.
In his regular report, Puffalt noted that Estevan has been in the media spotlight in recent weeks.
As was reported previously, Alberta Venture magazine recently named Estevan as the best community in Saskatchewan to do business in and the sixth best in Western Canada.
Global TV's national broadcast also featured Estevan in a piece that focused on the city's growth and the plethora of available jobs.
The May report from the Estevan Fire Rescue Service was presented at the June 11 meeting.
The department attended to five fires in May and two false alarms. The pair of false alarms is a positive sign as they have been averaging around five a month for much of 2012.
Council gave first reading to a rezoning application from the Estevan Shoppers Mall Ltd. The group is proposing to build a new residential subdivision, which would include 15 lots on the southeast corner of land they own in the area.
According to the proposal sent to council, 11 of the homes would be fronting Heritage Drive while the remaining four will front Petterson Drive. The land in question is currently zoned for a commercial shopping centre. Now that council has given first reading, residents in the area will have a chance to voice any objections they might have.
The much talked about Kensington Greens and Torgeson Park landscaping projects will be going ahead in 2012.
The City had initially called for tenders earlier this year and received only one from Wilco Contractors Southwest for $361,079. The problem for the City was that tender was roughly 80 per cent over their budgeted price of $200,000. After cancelling the tender they decided to approach local company Small Iron Excavating and Landscaping who agreed to do the work for $220,019.
Council passed a motion to reduce the fines for the public urination bylaw. The first offence will now carry a $125 fine. The second and subsequent offences will carry $500 fines.
