Weyburn's city council approved changes to some of the bylaws governing how council and committees work.
In regard to the council procedures bylaw, the time frame required to submit items for the council’s agenda was reduced from 10 days down to seven, the Committee of the Whole was removed from the order of business, and the youth council was expanded to allow more than one youth, where the terms of reference allows up to five members on the youth council.
In addition, the operations committee and employee relations committees were removed from the list of standing committees.
The bylaw for the Leisure Services Committee was expanded to amalgamate the Facilities Advisory Committee, established now as the Leisure Services Commission. It will have seven members, two from council and five from the public-at-large. The commission will also include the duties of the Heritage Advisory Review Committee.
The Arts Council bylaw also had a minor change, removing the requirement for a city council member to be on the council. The Arts Council will still maintain a membership of nine citizens-at-large, and it will act as a subcommittee of the Leisure Services Commission.
• Council also approved a discretionary development permit to allow a church to develop in a building formerly used as an office building at 96 17th Street.
The owner, Kurtis Bourassa, proposed to convert the contractor shop into a church building, with parking already available on the property.
As the building had been formerly zoned for light industrial use, the use as a church building was considered a discretionary use. The building has been vacant for about five years now, and in answer to a councillor’s question, the taxes for the property have been paid.
The developer will have to pay offsite development levies of $4,648, due to the change in the use of the building and the forecast increased impact on the water and sewer lines.
Asked if the church would have to pay taxes on this property, planning and development coordinator Amanda Kaufmann said this will depend on whether the church will own the property or if they are just leasing it from the owner. She estimated the annual property taxes right now are around $11,000.
