Estevan city council approved a lower rental fee for the Estevan Slo-Pitch League during council’s meeting on Monday night.
The league wants to use the east diamonds at Cactus Park for this season. But since the diamonds are not maintained to the standard of others in the city, the league asked council to reduce the rental rate to $3,000 for the year from the $10,000 they would have normally paid.
The remaining $7,000 will be used to pay for improvements to the ball diamonds, such as filling gopher holes and making a designated area for parking.
“We would be willing to discuss long-term agreements on having the area be developed into a great place to play adult recreation ball,” president Matt Kuntz said in a letter.
Council initially discussed tabling the request, but ultimately approved it since it had the blessing of parks manager Rod March.
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Council members presented certificates of appreciation to people involved with the Warm Welcome shelter program. Volunteers and director of hospitality Colleen Jensen were recognized for their contributions. The shelter was open from November of last year until April 1.
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Lori Carr officially submitted her letter of resignation from council. Carr was elected as Estevan’s new MLA last month, and vowed to step down from council. She verbally resigned following the election, but didn’t formally send in a letter until April 27. Council will operate with six members until October’s civic election.
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The city and the Rural Municipality of Estevan have reached an agreement on the maintenance of the access road for Woodlawn Regional Park’s Boundary Dam campground.
The RM will pay for the supply of a backhoe to facilitate repairs, and will be responsible for 50 per cent of the costs for the repair work done by the city. The work is needed because Boundary Dam will be one of the sites for the upcoming Saskatchewan Summer Games.
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Council members noted they have received concerns from the public about the junction of Highway 47 and the truck bypass, but they stressed any changes will be the province’s jurisdiction. Meetings are ongoing about the intersection.
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Council approved the new code of conduct for city employees. It’s one of multiple documents being introduced for cities that strengthen conflict of interest and conduct rules. The conflict of interest rules describe prohibited conduct, such as using information obtained through employment that is not available to the public, and using their position to influence a decision.
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Members of the Estevan Fire and Rescue Service had 35 calls for service, two bi-weekly training nights and three activities in April. Fifteen of their calls were for false alarms. Ten were for fire alarms, four were for vehicle accidents, four were for gas leaks or carbon monoxide leaks, and two were for fuel leaks.
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Seven building permits worth more than $2.48 million were issued in April, bringing the total for the year to 18 permits worth more than $6.13 million. Highlights for last month included a commercial permit worth $2 million and a single-family residential permit worth $420,000.
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Council gave three readings to a bylaw that will re-introduce an administrative review body. It’s another measure to introduce stiffer conflict of interest legislation. The review body will only meet if necessary.
