Council briefs

The Souris Valley Museum budget was presented at the meeting.

The highlight of the budget was a request that the City provide an operating grant of $128,500 in 2013 and another $5,000 for capital expenses.

The operating grant request is up by $58,500 from 2012 which was attributed to the fact that the museum is no longer part of the Estevan Chamber of Commerce and has additional expenses as a result.

Council did not discuss the request and passed a motion to add the item to their ongoing budget deliberations.



Council approved the purchase of a new truck to replace one that was destroyed in an accident in 2012.

Estevan Motors had the lowest bid at $27,260 and was awarded the tender.



A request to allow the Estevan Fire and Rescue Service tp purchase a new generator was put on hold.
Council appeared uneasy that the EFRS had only approached two local businesses for prices and asked that other local businesses be given an opportunity to submit a price before a final decision is made.



In his regular report, city manager Jim Puffalt said ticket sales for the Motley Crue concert at Spectra Place on May 4 were going fast.

As of the meeting, 2,850 tickets had been sold. The remaining 500 tickets were being held for tour promotions, but Puffalt noted that 256 tickets were released that day. It's expected that more tickets will be released as the concert draws closer.



The City's finances were again up for discussion after a request from city treasurer Tim Leson that council approve an increase in the City's line of credit to $12 million until March 31.

In his report Leson said the City required bridge funding to the end of the month until they receive over $1 million in revenue from a number of sources.

Although they did decide to approve the request, the members of council also included in the motion that the line of credit must return to $11 million on March 31. Councillor Lori Carr, who made the motion, noted she was concerned that the line of credit was not reduced when a request was made to increase it from $10 million to $11 million.



Council approved rates for the new columbarium and cremation garden located at the City Cemetery.
They also approved a fee hike of 10 per cent for the majority of services offered at the cemetery.