UNITY ‑ Unity has a new councillor. Welcome to Chris Halter. We had been looking at an election, but Jim Quick was informed that if he was elected to council, he would be in conflict at work, so he withdrew his name. We are working to have Halter sworn in and ready for the Nov. 9 meeting. It’s always exciting to have someone step up from the younger generation.
Staff will be working with their committees to submit budget proposals for 2022. We already know things will be tight with the expected costs of the 1st Avenue West infrastructure project.
The 1st Avenue West project was engineered in 2017 to put a proposal forward for grants to help with the costs. The town received notice from the Infrastructure Improvement Program earlier this year that the project was in the running for approval. Of course, the project total cost had increased significantly. Town engineers got to work on preparation for tender after we received confirmation that we were approved for the grant. Once again, the cost increased. We are going ahead with the project because we can’t justify passing the grant money up. It will mean no other significant work for our community for two, possibly three years as we pay the town’s portion of the project. 1st Avenue certainly needs the upgrade.
As of Nov. 8, everyone who enters health facilities will have to show proof of vaccine or a negative approved test result. Currently residents have to travel to Lloydminster, North Battleford or Saskatoon to be tested. Our community is looking into the feasibility of offering the required testing here in Unity. We will certainly keep you informed if this can be accommodated.
Unity hosted the Oct. 28 meeting of the West Central Municipal Government Committee. Thank you to the RM of Round Valley and the RM of Grass Lake for helping with the costs of this.
There was a presentation by Saskatchewan Parks. Ms. Bailey informed us of the online courses available to members. Also, there will be a grant available to arenas again this year to help offset power costs. This grant is COVID-related as participation numbers are down for recreation programs.
We also had an informative presentation by SaskPower. They are also working on their infrastructure with the plan to provide services needed now and in the future. The grid will need to accommodate charging for all electric half-tonsUnity has a new Councillor, welcome to Chris Halter. We had been looking at an election, but Jim Quick was informed that if he was elected to Council, he would be in conflict at work, so he withdrew his name. We are working to have Mr. Halter sworn in and ready for our November 9th meeting. It’s always exciting to have someone step up from the ‘younger’ generation.
Staff will be working with their Committees to submit their budget proposals for 2022. We already know things will be tight with the expected costs of our 1st Ave West infrastructure project so funds will be very limited.
There is some thought that now may not be the best time for a public meeting. We will see how things look in the spring regarding COVID and those in our community isolating.
For now, continue masking in all public places and follow the regulations that are in place. While this has carried on a lot longer than I would have thought, we will get through this together.
