By Greg Nikkel
Weyburn city council repealed the city’s water conservation bylaw at Monday’s council meeting, and also eliminated the special summer rate for water use as a measure to continue encouraging water conservation.
The reason for repealing the water conservation bylaw was information from Public Works that the spring melt and runoff filled the Nickle Lake reservoir to capacity, restoring it to full level.
The bylaw was enacted last year after Nickle Lake was below full capacity for much of the year, even after the spring melt.
This year, the runoff began in late March, and caused the reservoir to spill over the Nickle Lake dam. In consultation with the Water Security Agency, a controlled release of water was allowed until early April, at which time the radial gates were closed. The reservoir remains over the full level and continues to spill over the gates, and the City will continue to monitor the lake level on a daily basis.
The Public Works and Parks report also noted that snow removal operations wrapped up in mid-March, and has cost the city to date $283,974.
The roof for the bell monument in front of City Hall was completed in late March, and the city has received many positive comments about its appearance.
The monument is mostly completed, with the exception of the installation of the plaque and bell from the old post office building, which will be done immediately prior to the unveiling, which will take place the week of May 15-19, with the date to be determined.
A short program will take place over the noon hour on the selected day to give those who attend some background about the historic bell, which was cast in 1913, the year Weyburn officially became a City. The City will also be recognizing the Norman Mryglod family for the donation of the bell, which was recovered when the old post office building was demolished.
The City’s Facilities Advisory Committee reported that contractors are currently on site at Crescent Point Place to do the repairs to the lobby roof.
The ceiling is down and cuts have been made in the concrete floor to facilitate the work needed to fix the roof problem.
The city expects the work will be done before the Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show, which will be held on June 6-8 at the exhibition grounds.
Header repairs will be done in the Tom Zandee Sports Arena after the Oil Show, in mid-June.
The Weyburn Fire Department presented two tenders for equipment purchases this year, including emergency rescue equipment.
In background information provided by Fire Chief Simon Almond, the extrication equipment requested for this year is part of the department’s four-year replacement program which began in 2015 to replace a set of extrication tools from 1991.
This year’s purchase is for a spreader unit through Rocky Mountain Phoenix for the price of $15,254 plus taxes. Last year, the department bought a cutting tool, and in 2015 a combination tool. Chief Almond indicated that he hopes to have this replacement program finished by 2018, which will allow them to take the old 1991 set out of service.
The second tender was to buy equipment for the training room used by the Fire Department and Public Works, a multi-use shared facility. To enable this work to be done, the Fire Department applied for a grant through Enbridge’s Safe Community Program as part of the department’s five-year plan to enhance the training room. The department was informed late in 2016 they were approved for a $10,000 grant, and the equipment to be bought will come out of that grant. Almond sought bids from New Age Electronics and from two Regina companies, and only New Age submitted a tender for $4,307 for a screen, ceiling-mounted projector and speakers. The request was passed, although council noted this was not put up for open tender.
