Martensville City Council held their monthly Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday, December 12th. During this meeting, several topics were covered, as well as updates from administration. Two delegations were also presented.
Martensville Speedway and Saskatoon Kart Racers:
David Campbell and Darnell Kuzek from the Saskatoon Kart Racers were in attendance to answer questions that Council may have regarding their request for a lease extension at Martensville Speedway. The current lease expires in May of 2022, and back in March, Council was not interested in a long-term extension; however were open to a possible five year extension. There were concerns regarding capital improvements around the track. Martensville Speedway is proposing to resurface the track, replace curbing and increase the lease rate effective on the extension date. Administration requested that the improvements are completed in the 2018 season, otherwise the extension would be denied. Concerns voiced by Council included noise and the overall benefit to the community. Council has decided to obtain feedback from the community before making a decision on the matter. See page 4 for more details.
RCMP – Coffee with a Cop:
Staff Sgt. Rob Eyre and Corporal Ken Aspen from the local RCMP were in attendance to discuss their ‘Coffee with a Cop’ program that will begin in January of 2018. The premise behind the idea is to bring officers and community members together to learn more about one another and discuss community issues. The program will take place the last Tuesday of each month at the McDonalds in Martensville and the last Wednesday of each month at the Warman McDonalds, both happening at 10:30am. The first Martensville ‘Coffee with a Cop’ will be on January 30th. “What we want is just to be there so people can feel comfortable coming up and talking to us. This will be more of a social setting to sit down and for us to get to know the community and for them to get to know the members of their local RCMP. It is about building relationships within the community,” RCMP Constable Jay Slack explained. Eventually, the RCMP plan to incorporate evening opportunities for ‘Coffee with a Cop’ which will be announced at a later date. “This is the starting point, but we do want to be able to have it available for more people to take advantage of. We want to be accessible for everyone that wants to come out. If you come out, don’t be shy! Come right up and start talking to us. We want to talk to you so come sit down and have a chat,” Slack added.
Budget Variance Report:
An update was provided from Director of Corporate Services Leah Sullivan regarding several projects taking place in Martensville. The Main Street paving project came in under the budgeted amount of $3.4 million, with a projected full cost of $2.85 million. There is $30,000 expected for OCP amendments due to annexation, which will not take place until 2018 so the City will not incur that cost for 2018. Engineering fees for 2017 came in under budget by approximately $20,000. In Kinsmen Park, three major projects were budgeted for 2017 for a total of $830,000, with actual costs expected to be approximately $660,000. Ice rentals at the Sports Centre are expected to come in over budget by approximately $50,000, which will be partially offset by building maintenance being over budget.
South East Sector Plan and West Sector Plan Steering Committee:
Director of Planning and Infrastructure Joe Doxey discussed the steering committee for the South East Sector Plan and West Sector Plan and recommended that all Council members sit on the committee. Council was in agreeance.
Home Based Business (HBB) Request:
HBB 4-Me Fitness was originally presented to Council in December of 2016 and neighboring residents had some concerns about noise and traffic. The business was granted a six month probationary period and was brought back to Council. At this time, an additional six month period was granted. Those that had expressed concern a year ago were surveyed, with no concerns voiced. Council was in favour of eliminating the requirement that a six month review take place.
Economic Development Update:
Dillon Shewchuk, City of Martensville Community/Economic Development Manager, presented an update to Council. Items included work being done with local businesses, following up with possible business ventures in Martensville, speaking to a physician interested in Martensville, welcoming new businesses, surveying regarding Transportation Network Companies, work on 2018 Communication Plan and information about the Prairie Sky Chamber of Commerce. The Communications Plan provides an overview of activities conducted in 2017, results of communications research conducted with residents and internal teams and overview of activities that will be conducted in 2018.
The December 19th Regular Council meeting covered several items including:
City Hall Repairs:
Repairs for City Hall have been awarded to Lydale Disaster Clean-Up through insurance. The target for inside repairs will be the end of March 2018, and weather permitting for the outside work.
Speed Limit on Main Street East of 10th Discussion:
City Council discussed the 40km/hr current rate of speed for Main Street east of 10th and it was thought that this stretch of road required a more reasonable rate of speed. This was a discussion item to see what Council’s thoughts were on the matter. This topic will be brought back for the January Committee of the Whole meeting.
Nice Rink Leisure Skating Surface in Kinsmen Park
Dave Bosch, Director of Recreation and Community Services, noted that the City would be installing a Nice Rink Leisure Skating Surface in Kinsmen Park south of the Kyle Syrenne Skate Park. The installation for this began Wednesday, December 20th.
For more information on City news and upcoming Council meetings, visit www.martensville.ca.
