Weyburn city council approved a development permit for a new cannabis retail outlet, to be located in the strip mall at 112 Railway Avenue, next to the Freshi restaurant. The decision was made at Monday evening’s council meeting, held electronically via Zoom.
The store has been proposed by Brendan Paliuk, owner of a numbered Saskatchewan company, and needed approval from council as it is a discretionary use in the Central Business District.
The retailer will now have to meet the requirements of the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA), as they have security requirements for the retail outlet, and they set the minimum requirements for hours of operation.
A neighbourhood notice was sent out to all residents in the area, and no concerns or objections were raised, said Amanda Kaufmann, licensed building official for the City of Weyburn.
Asked what parking would be provided for this business, Kaufmann pointed out that as it is located in the Central Business District and has a floor space of less than 512 square metres, they are not required to have extra parking.
She also noted that the SLGA provides the licensing of the retailer, and this will be the ongoing responsibility of the SLGA, which has to provide a written notice to the City of their pending approval before the City can grant a business licence.
Among the conditions of the approval is a final inspection by SLGA, no drive-through service is permitted, and the owner has to comply with all federal and provincial regulations regarding the sale of cannabis and cannabis accessories.
“It’s great news to see this investment coming into the community,” commented Coun. Jeff Richards.
Asked if this was under new provisions of the government or from a previous approval of retailers, Kaufmann said Weyburn is still only allowed two retail outlets at this time, and the SLGA has not removed the caps put on municipalities.
Mayor Marcel Roy noted he has heard the caps may be removed by this coming November on the number of retailers allowed.
Coun. Winston Bailey noted he had initially voted against allowing cannabis retailers in Weyburn when it first came up a couple of years ago, but pointed out he is now in favour of this new business coming to the city.
• In other council business, the City has approved a rezoning request for Hunt Street, to allow for the development of a lumber yard. The property was zoned Urban Holding, and will now be rezoned as Light Industrial.
Public notice of the rezoning request was provided in the Review and on the city’s website, and no concerns or objections were raised, so council gave three readings to the bylaw amendment.
• Council also approved the purchase of a new Zamboni ice machine to be delivered in 2021 for use in Crescent Point Place and the Tom Zandee Sports Arena.
The ice resurfacer currently being used at the rinks will be moved over to the Weyburn Recreation and Culture Centre, for use on the new outdoor rink to be built there.
The reason the pre-budget request came up now, explained Leisure Services director Andrew Crowe, is that there is a 300-day delivery period from when the order is placed until the unit will be delivered to the City.
The City received one tender bid for a Zamboni, of $138,908 for a 2021 model from Fer-Marc Equipment of Regina, which supplied the current ice machine being used.
The City follows a regular replacement cycle of seven years for this machine, and they decided to use this machine at the WRCC rink rather than trading it in on the new machine. This way, it can also act as a backup should the main machine unit at the rinks break down.
As this machine will be part of the 2021 fleet budget for the City, they will request the dealer to ensure it is not delivered until 2021.
• As council had approved the use of an automated vote tabulating machine for the municipal election on Nov. 9, a bylaw was passed by council which sets out the specific rules governing how the tabulating machine will be used, in order to comply with the Local Government Election Act.
The total cost of the equipment, training, supplies and on-site election day support will be $12,000.
With council’s approval, a request will now be sent to the Southeast Cornerstone School Division and Holy Family Roman Catholic Separate School Division for their approval for the equipment to be used.
City clerk Donette Richter noted if they don’t approve of this machine’s use, the city will have to go to the extra expense of having personnel in place for the manual tabulation of school board votes on election day.
She added that with this equipment, results should be known in less than an hour, unless there is a failure such as a power outage.
