The unseasonably mild winter weather has enabled Weyburn public works crews to do some of the road work they would normally do in springtime, council members heard at their meeting held via Zoom on Monday evening.
Coun. Mel Van Betuw noted that several residents have asked him why there have been graders scraping snow off or clearing streets in recent weeks.
City engineer Jen Wilkinson said the unusually mild weather has caused freezing and thawing to occur, and has created ice ruts on a number of residential streets.
“The city crews were removing the ice ridges which can create road degradation. It’s preventive maintenance to help us out later on,” she explained, pointing out this work is normally done in spring time, and helps to prevent potholes and other road problems from developing.
Mayor Marcel Roy asked about the visibility of boulevards on Government Road near Railway Avenue and Souris Avenue, noting that when snow builds up it can be difficult to see where they are.
Wilkinson said she would get city crews to have a look at the situation, and see if there might be something they can do. There had been markers on the boulevards in the past, but they have not been in place for a while now.
The mayor also noted he and administrators will be attending the SUMA convention, which will be held virtually in early February.
“It’ll be interesting to see how it all works out,” he said.
• In other council business, council passed a resolution for the provincial government, declaring their eligibility to receive this year’s municipal revenue sharing funding. A number of criteria has to be in place for a municipality to receive the revenue sharing, which will be 0.75 of one point of the provincial sales tax from the previous two years.
• Two vacancies on the City’s Parks and Leisure Services Commission were filled on Monday night. Council approved adding Terry Kerr for a one-year position, and Terri Stadnek for a two-year position on the commission.
The commission includes councillors John Corrigan and Laura Morrissette, and appointees Sarah Satre, Dave Hodgkins and Brad Wheeler.
