The final scheduled meeting of this term for Estevan city council proved to be a lengthy one, as council tackled a number of issues during a session that lasted more than 90 minutes.
Two delegations were on hand for the meeting. The first was the new Shop Estevan committee, who touted their plan to promote Estevan’s business community, both locally and beyond, including the U.S. once the Canada-U.S. border is open to non-essential traffic.
Robert Godfrey from Lemon Wedge Marketing and Laurel Buck from A&A Jewelry made the presentation. Numerous business owners were in attendance.
“So often we hear … about people saying ‘I had no idea I could buy these things in Estevan,’” said Godfrey.
The campaign is an effort to promote all that local businesses have to offer and the customer service that these local vendors provide.
This week’s edition of the Mercury will have more on Shop Estevan.
Also during the meeting, council approved a $150,000 sponsorship, to be paid out over the next two years to the Estevan Bruins for the 2022 Centennial Cup national junior A hockey championship.
Representatives of the Bruins were present to make the request. It was noted that the city’s contribution would cover much of the sponsorship needs for the tournament, so now the club can focus on going to local businesses to purchase tickets, rather than buying sponsorships.
The club noted the tournament will bring people to the city and that will benefit local businesses.
Members approved the remuneration for the next term. In recent years, council has appointed a committee to determine the mayor and councillors’ pay for the next term.
Moving forward, council wages will be tied to the base wage of an MLA, which is currently a little more than $100,000. The mayor will earn 55 per cent of what an MLA makes, while the councillors will take home one-third of the mayor’s wage. If the MLA’s wage increases, council wages will increase; if the MLA’s salary drops, like it did a few years ago, so will council’s.
Council also received a report on the state of the city’s finances, showing that cash is up, and the long-term debt and net debt are down since 2014. It also details the capital projects that have been completed since then.
A report from Shane Bucsis, the manager of the water and wastewater treatment plants, chronicled the improvements that have occurred in water quality since the city switched its primary water source from Boundary Dam to Rafferty Dam. Of note, trihalomethanes, which were always above regulated levels, are now well below established parameters.
(This week's Mercury will also have more on the water intake project).
Since it was the last meeting, council members talked about how much they have enjoyed the experience during this term, and offered best wishes to the next council.
Councillors Dennis Moore and Lyle Yanish have said they won’t seek another term, while Councillors Greg Hoffort and Trevor Knibbs have yet to officially announce their plans.
Mayor Roy Ludwig and Councillors Travis Frank and Shelly Veroba have said they will seek another term in their current roles.
