Home » City Council Discusses Care Home Application and Sask Lottery Grant Funding Allocation

City Council Discusses Care Home Application and Sask Lottery Grant Funding Allocation

by Shanine Sealey
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The City of Martensville held their monthly Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday, April 14th. Once again, this meeting was held electronically due to the restrictions that are in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Members of the public are still invited to attend, and can do so by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at 306-931-2166 to obtain call in information for the meetings.

The first item on the agenda was a public hearing regarding a discretionary use for a residential care home – type II, at 101 Anna Cres from Oasis Development and Construction Ltd. The City of Martensville received an application from the company to construct and operate a care home at this location, which would house up to ten seniors. The owner of Oasis Development & Construction Ltd, Jim Goodlad was in attendance to speak to Council about the project and answer any questions or concerns they may have had. Goodlad noted that the company had spoken to people within the community to answer questions and that they were looking forward to going ahead with the project.

In the proposal that was provided to Council, concern about items such as parking, traffic generation, water & wastewater consumption estimates, refuse containment options and screening and more were included. The report stated that Residential Care Homes are not required to follow the Discretionary Use Evaluation Criteria within the R1A District, as those apply to two unit dwellings, semi-detached dwellings and multiple unit dwellings, the applicant has made a significant effort to meet or exceed the criteria. Council voiced some concerns regarding this project, which consisted of how the parking would work, wanting to avoid having numerous vehicles parked on the street, as well as how much waste would be accumulated and proper storage of waste containers so as not to create an eyesore on the street.

Benefits to this project would include the added housing option for seniors, ideal proximity to amenities, including the New Horizon’s Senior Centre and a single family dwelling appearance along the streetscape. Council requested some changes be made to the request and the topic will be brought back to Council next week for formal approval.

City Manager Scott Blevins then spoke to Council regarding a Remote Work Policy proposed by Trent Kolbe, City of Martensville Human Resources & Safety Manager. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous City employees are currently working from home and this policy was created to provide details on the proper structure for this in both short and long-term scenarios.

Ted Schaeffer, Director of Recreation & Community Services, then presented the 2020 Sask Lotteries Grant Funding Allocation to Council. In total, the City of Martensville will receive $74,243 through Sask Lotteries, which will be provided to local schools, organizations and service groups within the community. Funding must be utilized throughout the period from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021 and upon completion, groups are required to submit follow-up reports for submission to Sask Lotteries. “Given the unique situation created by COVID-19, administration will work closely with groups to ensure the funding is utilized within the grant period. If projects can’t be completed within the period, funding will be re-allocated accordingly,” Schaeffer stated.

Dillon Shewchuk, Community Economic Development Manager, presented a report to Council with various updates from the past month. One update included the creation of the COVID-19 Task Force, which is a collaboration between the City of Martensville, City of Warman and the Prairie Sky Chamber of Commerce. This was created as a forum for businesses to come together to discuss various challenges that they may be facing in these uncertain times.

Shewchuk noted that this was made to act as a response plan for businesses where they can share their experiences, learn more about the various Government funding programs that have been put in place and express concerns about continuing to afford expenses, as well as taking on additional debt.

The COVID-19 Task Force is open to all businesses within Martensville, Warman and the surrounding area and businesses can participate in calls on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 3pm. For more information, contact the Prairie Sky Chamber of Commerce.

The next City of Martensville Council meeting will be taking place on Tuesday, April 21st.

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