By Greg Nikkel
Weyburn will be expanding the Board of Police Commissioners by two members to allow for more members of the public to be involved with the board.
The bylaw governing the formation of the Police Commission was amended to double the number of public members from two to four members, to join the mayor and two councillors.
“By increasing the board, this will allow more involvement by the public,” said Coun. Winston Bailey.
At the most recent meeting of the Police Commission, the mayor’s report indicated that for the month of September, crimes against persons increased by four, crimes against properties increased by six, and total calls for service to the Weyburn Police Service decreased by 23 compared to September of a year ago.
Police Chief Marlo Pritchard presented a report on overtime hours by police members, showing there was a 15 per cent reduction in overtime in the third quarter of this year.
The overtime hours decreased by 352.75 hours compared to the third quarter of a year ago. Chief Pritchard forecast there will be a further decrease in overtime hours between 25 and 40 per cent by the end of 2017.
The Police Commission made a resolution that Chief Pritchard be designated as the freedom of information officer for the Weyburn Police Service, and this was passed unanimously.
The entrance to River Park will be completely redone, the Parks Board reported to council, as the board feels the entrance is in need of upgrading.
The plans are to remove the three-tier railway tie terrace, and replace it with a one-metre high single tier retaining wall, with the possible addition of entrance pillars with signage for River Park.
There were concept drawings for this upgrade made two years ago, and public works superintendent Claude Morin will bring these to a future board meeting for the board to consider.
The board was also told a section of the Signal Hill Trail is in great need of resurfacing. A grant was applied for last year but was not approved.
There is money in the reserve fund for the Tatagwa Parkway, but the Parks Board felt that the River Park entrance was a higher priority, so the recommendation was that the city continue to seek out possible grants to help resurface the pathway, and that public works perform general upkeep and maintenance of the pathway in the meantime.
The board recommended putting the River Park entrance project in the 2018 budget for approval by city council.
The Parks Board will begin to make plans for Winterfest 2018, to be held on Family Day on February 19, 2018, and are hoping to have more activities that can be organized for indoors, as in three of the past four years outdoor activities have not been able to be held due to the weather.
The board also discussed Multicultural Day, which was held on June 24 in conjunction with the Weyburn United Way at River Park. The event had 21 vendors in total, and an estimated 750 people were in attendance.
The board said they would like to continue to work with the United Way to see the event grow, and will set a planning day soon so they can begin promoting the event early in 2018.
Council was told that the Parks Department received a proposal for the establishment of a third columbarium at Hillcrest Cemetery.
The first one was established by Fletcher’s Funeral Chapel in 1997, and a second one for 60 niches was established in 2016 by RD Family Funeral Chapel.
Fletcher’s is proposing the most recent columbarium with construction of a 40-niche unit, with the terms to include that Fletcher’s would be responsible for all costs, including the unit purchase, concrete foundation and installation, and will also be responsible for marketing the niches.
Under the proposed agreement with the City, the City is to receive 35 per cent of the total sales, and 100 per cent of the open and close fees for interments. Upon reaching capacity, the City will assume ownership of the unit. These are the same terms the City set for the agreement with RD last year.
