News and notes from the Oct. 17 regular meeting of Estevan city council.
The newest member of council was sworn in at the Oct. 17 meeting. Jayden Dayman will serve as the student member of council for the first semester of the current school year. The ECS student used the inquiries portion of the meeting to ask council if they plan to make any repairs to the north end of Kensington Avenue which has become somewhat of a mess over the past couple of years. Kaitlyn Pilloud will serve as the student member for the second semester.
Council received a letter from SaskPower president Robert Watson informing them about the results of soil and contamination tests downstream of SaskPower wetlands near Estevan. The tests, which were carried out by an independent firm, were done in response to concerns raised by landowners in areas that were flooded out in the spring. Watson indicated that samples were collected from six water sources in the area which mingled during the flood. All samples came back normal. The report also showed that treated waste water from the SaskPower wetlands, which was the primary cause for landowners' concerns, was of higher quality than the water flowing through the Souris River.
The report also showed there were no impacts to the soil due to the water sources from the wetlands.
The City's Keep it Clean campaign is underway. The campaign began Monday and will run through Friday. City crews will be making their way throughout Estevan during the week to pick up items such as bags of leaves and garden waste and bundled branches less than four feet long and six feet in diameter. The City is also asking homeowners to place their garbage stands in an area so they can be picked up by employees. Stands to be picked up should be marked with a big red X if they are to be removed.
City manager Jim Puffalt provided an update on a number of construction projects currently underway in Estevan. The Dominion Heights land development project is nearing completion. The Kensington and Rooney Road intersection, Souris Avenue watermain replacment program and the King Street pathway are still under construction. According to the list, the Souris Valley Aquatic and Leisure Centre parking lot is still on the schedule for 2011. However, the Duncan Road and George Street projects have been bumped to 2012.
The building permit report for September was released at the meeting.
The City issued 14 permits worth $3.14 million during the month which was roughly $650,000 ahead of 2010. The bulk of September's total was from industrial permits which accounted for $2.38 million.
Overall for 2011, the City has issued 123 permits with a value of $33.97 million. That is behind 2010 when 124 permits with a value of $38 million were issued through September.
