MOOSOMIN - At the Esterhazy town council meeting on February 2, council members discussed on how to move forward with the ongoing project of building a new hospital in town.
Mayor Grant Forster said there has been a group from town that’s been working behalf on the new hospital replacement.
“The group has approached the province and has been working with the government on trying to get the money secured to build the new hospital,” says Forster.
“This committee that was formed a number of years ago, they’ve raised the money in donations and commitments for the community portion, of what is required. It’s 20 per cent that the community has to put up towards the total project. That money has been raised and is sitting there, we’re at this point now as a community waiting for the government to give us the word that they are going to spend the 80 per cent and build us a new hospital.”
At the meeting, council members expressed their frustration about the delay of the project.
“There was a little bit of frustration from council members that the project is taking too long, and that we should start to put some heat on the government to at least give us an indication as to when things are going to happen.”
Forster says it’s important that Esterhazy has a new hospital in the area, as their current hospital is not in the greatest shape.
“Our current facility is over 50 years old, it’s approaching 60 years old and it’s on its last legs. It needs some serious repairs, things like the oxygen system not functioning properly, and certain level of patients can’t be admitted here because of that, and we’re supposed to be a COVID hospital,” says Forster.
“It needs to be replaced and that’s a goal the community has had now for 10 years at minimum to get the old hospital replaced and our current council as well as councils of the past have been onboard with that and pushing as best as we can with all levels of the government to try and get it to come to fruition.”
It’s been years now since the community has raised their portion dedicated to funding the hospital, however they are still waiting for the government to complete their end of the project.
“For a community it’s what brings people here and it’s what keeps people here, we just need to get back to where we had a functioning hospital and one that is capable of taking patients and not be shut down all the time for whatever reason. A hospital would certainly help us get back to that point.”
To move forward with the project, council members made the decision to reach out to the MLA to get an update about where the government is at of assisting with a new hospital being built in town.
“We’re going to invite him to a meeting and just express our concerns as to where it’s at, and hopefully be able to get his ear,” says Forster.
“It’s not that he’s been ignoring us. We’ve had chats about this in the past, but we just want to let him know that we’ve gone through multiple shut downs of our emergency services in our labs and it’s becoming a bigger concern than it was a year ago and a bigger concern than two or three, and five years ago. It’s just to make him aware of it and hopefully that speeds the process up.”
Snow removal bylaw approved
Council passed a motion to give third and final reading to a new snow removal bylaw.
The town did not have a snow removal bylaw previously, only a policy.
The bylaw lays out which streets receive priority over others. Emergency routes will be cleared first to so that hospital, police and fire services can be accessed. School routes and main arteries, including the downtown business core are the second priority, and the residential areas are the third priority. The bylaw also states what residents should do with their snow when removing it from sidewalks and driveways.
Rink rates raised, no change to hall and pool rates
Council passed a motion to raise rental rates at the Dana Antal Arena, and to keep rates at the SN Boreen Centre and the swimming pool the same.
Rec Director Garth Forster presented a community fee comparison to council for ice fees per hour, noting that Esterhazy’s ice fees tend to be on the lower side when compared to other communities around Southeast Saskatchewan that are similar in size to Esterhazy.
He suggested a 17 per cent rate increase over three years, with rates going up 10 per cent for the 2022-23 rink season, 3.5 per cent for the 2023-24 rink season, and 3.5 per cent for the 2024-25 rink season.
With pool and hall rates more on par with what other communities charge, there will be no change to those rates for users in 2022.
Town will continue agreement with high school for sign content
Council decided to continue on with an agreement with Esterhazy High School to create content for the town’s electronic message board at the Historical Park.
As part of the agreement, students at the school do graphics work for the board for high school credit. The content is used on the town’s message board, and the town pays the school a fee for the work.
Previously the town used the message board for advertising for a fee to local businesses, but with the message board becoming older, it no longer works well, and will be used mainly to promote community events.
The town is looking at replacing it at some point.
Town increasing summer staff
Council passed a motion to hire six general labourers for the summer months this year and to increase their wage by a dollar an hour. Last year the town hired four general labourers, but Rec Director Garth Forster said they could have used more.
In total the town will be hiring six labourers, four staff for the historical park, and 10 staff for the pool this summer.
Snowblower purchase approved
Council passed a motion to approve the purchase of a Schulte snowblower that will attach to one of the town’s John Deere tractor. The cost of the snowblower is $30,750, however before making the purchase, the town is planning to check with one more business to see if they can get a better deal on a snowblower.
Water treatment plant tenders to be reviewed soon
CAO Mike Thorley reported to council that a meeting is coming up soon for the town’s new water treatment plant, and that tenders will be reviewed around that time for the superstructure of the building.
Town agrees to five-year lease on building
Council passed a motion to enter into a five-year lease agreement with United Rentals for a building that United Rentals leases from the town at 306 Sumner Street. United Rentals also asked for an option to renew for five more years once the lease is up, and five more years after that.
Service Canada lease renewed
Council passed a motion to renew their lease with Service Canada for office the rental of office space on the provincial side of the town office. Service Canada has rented office space in the town office for some time.
Civic address for water treatment plant
Council passed a motion to set a civic address for the new water treatment plant. The civic address will be 901 Sumner Street.
