The April 10th Committee of the Whole meeting began with a moment of silence to honour all of those affected in the tragic Humboldt Broncos accident that occurred on April 6th and took the lives of sixteen people and injured 14 others.
Following this, the local RCMP presented statistics for the Martensville detachment to City Council, which compared the stats from January 1st to April 1st for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018. During the presentation, the RCMP noted that certain areas such as theft and mischief are down from previous years; with mischief seeing a 22% decrease and theft under $5000 a 24% decrease. In addition, the total calls for service are also down for 2018. The RCMP stated that they believe these numbers are seeing decrease is due to the increased visibility of Traffic Enforcement within the community. During the conversation, Councillor Bob Blackwell expressed concern over residents posting information about the location of police services on the roadways, noting that “they are there for people’s safety.”
Dave Bosch, the Director of Recreation/Community Services brought a ‘Request for Decision’ to Council regarding the 2018 Sask Lotteries Grant Funding Allocation. This funding comes from proceeds from lottery ticket sales and the total amount received is based on per capita formula. The total received for 2018 is based on Martensville at $8.58 per capita with a population of 7,716 for a total of $66,203 and RM of Corman Park for $7,500 of funding, for a total of $73,703, the same amount received in 2017.
Once funding requests are received, a proposed funding list is created, which includes all requests, a description of the request and grant amount requested. According to Bosch’s report, “The proposed funding allocation is based on the organization’s project and what benefits to the organization and community it serves, number of people served and finally whether it meets the criteria as established by the Sask Lotteries Trust Fund.” Within the Saskatchewan Lotteries guidelines, it is stated that 30% of the funding must be allocated towards Targeted Projects, which includes; seniors, youth at risk, handicapped accessibility, low income families, etc. The remaining amount is then distributed among community groups/associations and community projects/programs sponsored by Recreation Services. This year, the City of Martensville received an additional 10 applications from Community Organizations.
Bosch added that this funding is distributed to a large number of local sport, recreation and service groups to enhance their organizational operations. A portion of the funding is allocated towards city projects as well. Once the allocated amounts are determined, each recipient will receive a letter notifying them of the amount being awarded to their organization.
Community Economic Development Manager Dillon Shewchuk presented a month report to Council, updating them on recent site and business inquiries as well as current marketing and communications initiatives. Shewchuk stated that he had been contacted by a major Saskatoon Taxi Company, who he plans on meeting with to discuss licensing, the future direction of the Vehicle for Hire bylaw and information that the City has received regarding the Transportation Network Company Services. Shewchuk also noted that he has met with a Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) and clients regarding local opportunities.
Two physicians have agreed to commit to Martensville and have plans to join a local practice. Leading up to this, Shewchuk has been providing information regarding local accommodations for them.
The City of Martensville is planning for an Open House this May, date to be determined.
