Estevan city council gave second and third readings to a new heritage bylaw at the Nov. 23 meeting.
The previous council gave first reading at the meeting in September, while the new council finished off their first regular meeting.
This document allows council or the owners of these buildings to be able to seek a historical building designation. There are currently two buildings in Estevan that have this designation –the North West Mounted Police building, which is near the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum, and the Estevan Court House.
The bylaw stipulates a step by step process for what is needed to be declared a heritage building.
Mayor Roy Ludwig noted that there used to be a guided heritage walking tour of the city, and he would like to see it return, so that people know the historical buildings in the city.
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Council received a letter from Peter Quesnel, a Regina resident who recently visited Estevan but had no place to charge his electric car.
Quesnel would like to see a Level 2 charger installed in Estevan for those with electric vehicles. He pointed out that Level 1 stations – a 120-volt outlet like those found in a house – are great for nighttime charging in a garage, but not sufficient for a quick charge when travelling.
The Level 2 charging station is 240 volts, with 30-40 amp plugins. They represent the best balance of cost and efficiency, and they cost a lot less than Level 3, which is more powerful.
A lot of drivers use an app that will tell them the locations of Level 1, 2 and 3 chargers in a community.
“I think a lot of communities have figured out that the cost is worth it for the ability to draw people to local retail outlets immediately surrounding it, even in COVID times,” Quesnel said in his letter.
Peavey Mart’s chargers have been down recently, but Ludwig said they will be working again soon.
Councillor Kirsten Walliser suggested the business community or economic development could look at implementing more of these stations. She also believes Woodlawn Regional Park’s Boundary Dam beach site could be a good location.
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Council also approved an amended social media policy. The original policy was adopted more than seven years ago, but this one was updated with new language for technology that has come forward in recent years.
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The September and October reports from Shane Buscis, the water treatment plant and wastewater treatment plant manager, showed that they treated more than 143 million liters of water and pumped 133 million liters into the distribution system for September, and they treated more than 109 million liters and pumped more than 103 million liters into the distribution system for October.
There were no plant upsets and all regulated parameters were below government standards.
Mayor Roy Ludwig noted they have had much better water since shifting the primary water source from Boundary Dam to Rafferty Dam in August.
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Building permit reports for September and October were also released. Four permits worth $196,300 were issued in September. All three permits were classified as miscellaneous. The October report showed three permits worth $213,000 were approved.
Forty-seven permits worth more than $3.7 million were issued in the first 10 months of the year. Forty of those permits were listed as miscellaneous. There have also been five garage permits, and one permit each for commercial and institutional.
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A water main break forced the closure of the intersection of King Street and Hillcrest Drive on Nov. 22 and 23. It was a connection from the old, existing water main to a new water main, and not an issue with the new water main itself, but the area that was torn up was pavement that was only a few months old.
