A regular meeting of the Weyburn City Council was held on December 13; here are the major points of interest:
*Council established a committee and commissioned an assessment to address the housing needs in Weyburn.
Council approved a motion to enter into an agreement with the Canadian Home Builders Association to create a Housing Needs and Demand Assessment for the City of Weyburn in order for the Weyburn Housing Advisory Committee to develop a Housing Action Plan. The assessment will cost the City $22,482.50 and will help them understand what the housing needs for Weyburn are now and into the future.
Once the assessment is complete, consultants will be obtained to develop the Action Plan for a fee of approximately $30,000.
The Weyburn Housing Advisory Committee will be officially established in January 2011 and will involve individuals from different sectors of the community to discuss housing issues.
*Two inductees to the Weyburn Walk of Fame were announced during the meeting.
Tom Laing, former mayor and owner of Laing Beverages, and lawyer Harold MacKay were both inducted to 2011 Walk of Fame, both in the business and industry category.
The two men were chosen out of seven nominees by the Weyburn Walk of Fame Committee.
The official unveiling of the inductees will take place outside of City Hall on Saturday, June 18, 2011 at 2 p.m. The event will once again be held in conjunction with the Weyburn Auto Club's annual Cruise Night, which will be celebrating their 10th anniversary in 2011.
*A rental rate increase was approved for Tom Laing Park by Council. The rates will be increased by five percent per year for the next three years for all user groups. Per hour usage will also be increased by five percent for 2011.
*The City released their Building Department report for November, showing an increase in permits that more than doubles this time last year.
The year-to-date permits issued for November 2010 was 101 permits totalling $19.7 million. The year-to-date permits issued for November 2009 was 49 permits totalling $9.2 million.
There have been 44 single-family dwellings and 57 multiple-family dwellings created in 2010 so far. The City has sold 62 properties so far in 2010, compared to this time last year when property sales sat at five.
Manager of Community Services Doug Mulhall said that these figures indicate "a very strong showing for the City of Weyburn" and said that much of the action in Weyburn's new property development can be attributed to the prosperous oil and gas industry, which is bringing many new families into the area.
