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RM of Weyburn continues to deal with flood effects

The RM of Weyburn is continuing to deal with the after-effects of the flooding this year, as council discussed a couple of locations where they will have to apply to the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority to move standing water.



The RM of Weyburn is continuing to deal with the after-effects of the flooding this year, as council discussed a couple of locations where they will have to apply to the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority to move standing water.

In one situation, said Reeve Carmen Sterling, there is no natural water channel and the water cannot get out; the RM would be required to do some work to get the water flowing into a channel, and eventually empty into Nickle Lake. The water is causing a road closure, and as the reeve remarked, "We have to get the water off the road before winter comes."

In the meantime, the RM is busy with projects all over the municipality, many of which are the results of the flooding, including repairing damages caused by excess water, and on some long-standing roads, new soft spots have developed and they are working with materials to fill in those soft spots.

The council had a visit with Gord Haines of the Department of Highways and Infrastructure, who informed the RM the detour at Weyburn is still in place for the construction ongoing on Highway 39 at Macoun, again fixing the damages done by flooding.

The council in turn told Haines that this detour is causing "a high volume of traffic on our grid roads. We've had complaints about the safety, dust and speed on these roads," said Reeve Sterling.

The RM was also visited by a representative of the Cowessess First Nation, who bought farmland in the RM of Weyburn last year.

"They updated us on their plans, telling us they're going to be farming that land. We don't have reserve land in the RM, so we wanted to know what their plans are. They want to keep a good relationship with the RM, and wanted to be aware of what our bylaws are in case they want to do any building later on," said the reeve.

The RM had hoped to open tenders for construction on 22nd Avenue at the intersection with Highway 39, but no tenders were submitted to the municipality.

"That's a little frustrating for us, because that's a safety concern. There's limited space for trucks to be turning off or coming onto the highway. I'm not sure if we'll have to do that ourselves or call around to some contractors to see if they're available. Everybody's busy and backlogged from the wet spring," said Reeve Sterling.

Personnel-wise, the RM is facing a double-challenge, as they will have to replace both their administrator and assistant administrator. Their current assistant, Tanya Moore, is moving on to become the new administrator for the RM of Griffin, replacing Audrey Trombley, while current administrator Kim McIvor will leave as of Oct. 1 to be the new administrator for the RM of Estevan.

The RM council also approved three development permits, all residential in nature, and had discussions on proposals for subdivisions, both residential; also the council donated $500 to the Weyburn Wheat Festival, as they do every year.