ESTERHAZY — At Esterhazy's town council meeting on June 14, Jon Zapski, the engineer on site for the town’s water treatment plant upgrade, informed council about Phase 2 of the project almost being completed, and discussed the next steps for the project.
Phase 2 of the system included building the structure of the water treatment plant building.
Council passed a motion to approve construction for Phase 3 of the water treatment plant which will include installing the floor inside the building. After the flooring is done, all of the mechanics for the water system itself will be put in place.
“In regards to where the project is moving from here, obviously contract three is going to be out now, but we’re working feverishly on the finalization of the process of equipment selection, and into the process of mechanical tendering and final design drawings. This will be one of the largest contracts for this project and obviously the heart of the entire operation in itself,” Zapski told council members.
Council is aiming to have Zapski attend council meetings regularly to provide updates as the project nears completion. They also discussed having a public forum for residents so that they can ask any questions about the water treatment plant with council and Zapski present.
The sod-turning for the more than $29.9 million project was held last June. Through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP), the Government of Canada has contributed $11.9 million towards the project, and the Government of Saskatchewan has contributed up to $9.9 million. The town is responsible for funding the remainder of the project.
Recycling bins moved
Council passed a motion to move the two free recycling blue bins in town from their current location—behind the S.N. Boreen Community Centre—to the town’s landfill, due to the bins not being used properly. CAO Tammy MacDonald informed council that the bins were being filled with non-recyclable material and contaminating all of its items. Council discussed moving the bins to a different location in town to lessen the likelihood of the recycling bins being contaminated. The two blue bins will now be at the town’s landfill for a trial period of six months.
Event planned for Canada Day
Rec Director Garth Forster told council that the recreation committee is planning on hosting a few activities in town for residents in the community on Canada Day.
“We’ll be getting some things done for Canada Day at the museum. The staff was pretty excited and are coming up with all kinds of ideas to get something going for this year,” he said.
Daycare tax abatement
Council passed a motion to approve the Esterhazy Community Daycare Co-operative’s request for a tax abatement of the centre’s 2023 municipal portion of their taxes, due to the centre’s building being recently built. This is the third year the town has approved the tax abatement for the child care centre.
Working toward recording council meetings
CAO Tammy MacDonald informed council that the video conferencing Owl system—which would record town council meetings live—had arrived at the town office. Council will be familiarizing themselves with the video system before using it at their meetings. Council estimates they will start using the system to record meetings around the end of August.
Flower pots placed along Main Street
MacDonald thanked the town employees for putting out all of the flower pots in town at last Wednesday’s council meeting. “The flower pots are out on Main Street. I want to say a big thanks to all of our departments working together—public works and recreation, administration staff helped plant and place them on our Main Street,” said MacDonald.
Motion for new Housing Authority Board members
CAO Tammy MacDonald informed council that the Housing Authority Board received two nominations from people in the community who are interested in being a part of the Esterhazy Housing Authority board. However, due to only one position being available, MacDonald, who is on the board, offered to step down to allow a community member to be a part of the board instead. Council passed a motion to appoint Carol Nagy and Bryant Campbell to the board.
Plans to install cross-walk lights
A motion was passed to order a set of double-sided flashing crosswalk lights that will be placed at the end of Main Street so that people can safely cross the highway towards the town’s museum and market area. “It’s a very busy intersection during summer, winter, fall, all season round so we want to make it safer at that specific area of Main Street and the museum,” said CAO Tammy MacDonald.
Another motion was also made to install a second set of flashing crosswalk lights somewhere within the town, most likely near the school. The town already has these lights on hand, and the location will be decided by a sub-committee. Council discussed the options for placing the lights at a high-traffic area where pedestrians often cross.
