Home » Council Covers Range of Items at January 21st Meeting and Gets Update on Martensville Recreation Centre

Council Covers Range of Items at January 21st Meeting and Gets Update on Martensville Recreation Centre

by Shanine Sealey
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Martensville City Council met for the only Regular Council meeting of the month on Tuesday, January 21st. The agenda consisted of numerous items that were brought back from the January 14th Committee of the Whole meeting for approval.

The first item on the agenda was for the appointment of a Board of Revisions for the purpose of hearing assessment appeals. Previously, the City of Martensville used Nor-Sask, however, they are no longer available, and based on administration’s review, they recommended that Council approve the use of Western Municipal Consulting as the City of Martensville’s Board of Revisions for 2025.

Other items from last week that were listed on the agenda included multiple two-unit dwelling requests – one for 514 5th Street South from Saskatchewan Housing Corporation, and one for 31 2nd Avenue North.

A request from IWL Steel Fabricators was made for the Economic Development Business Incentive Bylaw. The business is planning to expand their Martensville location and add 10,000 square feet to their existing 12,000 square feet, which would cost more than $3 million, qualifying them for a five-year tax abatement.

Director of Recreation and Community Services Roxane Melnyk provided an update to Council on the Martensville Recreation Centre, and the new developments, including the Williams Family Fieldhouse, which opened to the public on January 2nd. According to Melnyk, the fieldhouse is currently between 80-85% booked during prime time, which is in line with projected usage. The report also noted that arena rentals continue to show strong demand, with 90-95% of available rental slots during prime time already booked.

Melnyk noted that Discover Saskatoon, in collaboration with the Merlish Belsher and the Martensville Recreation Centre submitted a successful bid to host the ball hockey nationals in July of this year, bringing teams across Canada to the MRC from July 9th-12th. There will also be games played by the Huskie Men’s Soccer team vs Canada Games Men on February 8th at 2:30pm and February 9th at 1:30pm.

Some work is still being completed within the fieldhouse, with netting around the upper level being installed and finishing touches being done to the batting cages, score clocks and wayfinding signage.

Melnyk added that furniture has been ordered for the lobby, corridor, and the playground area of the MRC and the mini-stick arena is currently in production and is expected to arrive within the next few weeks for installation.

Items on the final deficiency list are being addressed, with plans to have all construction within the MRC completed within the next two weeks, with some deficiencies carried over and completed in the spring.

Now that the fieldhouse is open, the turf at the Martensville Athletic Pavilion has been removed, which now creates more opportunities for rentals and drop-in programming within the community.

Under the Municipal Funding Agreement for the Canada Community Building Fund Program, the City of Martensville is required to develop and approve a five-year capital plan, which describes anticipated investments in capital assets during that time. This plan is reviewed and revised each year, updating priorities and costs as needed. Administration provided a five-year draft plan to Council, which included two time-sensitive items: one for a full-time communication specialist, and the other for a new pool liner for the Martensville Aquatic Centre. The current liner is approximately 15 years old and has been patched several times throughout the years; however, to ensure it doesn’t fail for the upcoming season, a new liner is required, which is budgeted at $375,000.

Council will meet again on February 11th for the Committee of the Whole meeting. More information about Council meetings, and the agendas can be found at Martensville.ca.

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