ESTEVAN - Estevan is among the communities from across the country dealing with a shortage of street paint.
In a letter to Estevan city council on May 9, Norm Mack, the manager of public works’ roads and drainage division, said back in January, the city was made aware there could be a street paint shortage in North America due to a raw material supply chain issue and COVID-19.
The city immediately prepared its tender for street paint.
The city has received word from General Paint that it would not be receiving its shipment of paint this year due to supply chain challenges. The price for the tender was $70,830.10.
General Paint did find another manufacturer of street paint in Quebec, but the price has risen from $95 per five-gallon pail to $140. Delivery could take four weeks.
“I have talked to other cities and private contractors about the shortage and every community is in the same situation,” said Mack.
Council ultimately decided to spend the tender amount and receive less paint. It means crosswalks and some of the other jobs might not get done this year.
Mack noted there is some paint being stored at the Estevan Regional Airport that can be used to paint lines around town now. He believes it is important to get as much painting done as possible before the Centennial Cup begins Thursday.
“Maybe the supply chain will ease up and we’ll get our paint later,” said Mack.
He also pointed that governments are at the top of the list for getting paint.
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The Estevan Patch Garden concept is going to have a different location than what was originally proposed.
Council once again discussed the project at its meeting on May 9. The initial proposed location was an empty parcel of city land off of Smith Street in central Estevan, which was viewed as ideal for the project, but there was opposition from some area residents.
Councillor Shelly Veroba said council wanted to know if there was a better location. She believes there are a lot of positives associated with the project, but it should be in another spot.
The nearby residents aren’t opposed to the concept, but they don’t want it on that site, she said.
“I think it would be different if we had no other alternative location … but I honestly think that there’s going to be a different location available,” said Veroba.
Councillor Travis Frank, who called this a great endeavour, said they have been working with the management team to find an ideal location to fit the neighbourhood.
Veroba suggested the garden be in an area that is more open. Once the garden is open, everyone in the community will understand what it is and the benefits.
Chris and Bethany Paul have conceived the idea of a “take as you need” garden for Estevan that would help families struggling to provide healthy meals for their families. There would be a number of measures in place for when people would be able to take produce, and it would have community involvement and mentorship as well.
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Council granted a community event permit for the Estevan Oilfield Technical Society to have a supper and dance at the Power Dodge Arena during the annual OTS golf tournament from June 3-5.
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Five building permits worth $2.27 million were issued in April, bringing the total for the year to 11 permits worth more than $2.38 million.
Included in last month’s total was one multi-family permit worth $1.8 million and a commercial permit worth $300,000. There was also a garage permit and two miscellaneous permits.
