Instead of spending money to upgrade hockey change rooms or buy more dump trucks, one city councillor believes council should focus on upgrading infrastructure to ensure residents receive potable water.
City administration presented an update of Moose Jaw’s finances during the Aug. 24 regular council meeting, along with pandemic-delayed projects it wants to start.
After discussing the report and its projects, council voted:
- 5-2 to allow city administration to make equipment reserve purchases as contained in the 2020 to 2024 equipment reserve budget; councillors Brian Swanson and Dawn Luhning were opposed
- 5-2 in favour of intersection upgrades; Swanson and Luhning were opposed
- Unanimous support for gravel roadways
- 5-2 in favour of a slumping strategy; Swanson and Luhning were opposed
- 5-2 in favour of Sportsplex building upgrades; Swanson and Luhning were opposed
- 6-1 in favour of new dressing rooms at Pla-Mor Palace; Swanson was opposed
- Unanimous support for demolishing the YMCA building
- Unanimous support for all utility capital budget programs to proceed and for city administration to look at increasing the annual cast iron program in 2021 and beyond
Council discussion
Swanson questioned several of city administration’s spending decisions. These included giving $500,000 to the municipal airport authority from the general operating budget, spending $109,000 on dressing room upgrades, purchasing four new dump trucks, and using money for aesthetic purposes instead of replacing more cast iron piping.
He also questioned charging landfill dumping fees against the city to dispose of YMCA demolition material when it could deposit that at the city yards for free, and borrowing $10 million to replace the critical high service pump house reservoir.
“I would suggest we should reduce the amount we borrow by as much as possible,” said Swanson. “If that means not renovating change rooms so we can borrow less, I’m all for that.”
He added that council should focus on ensuring it can continue to pump water to every household.
Nothing erroneous happening
Coun. Chris Warren rejected the idea that these areas aren’t being addressed, pointing out council had already approved some of the projects at the Pla-Mor Palace, airport, and YMCA.
“Just because a typical councillor isn’t getting their way doesn’t mean that something erroneous has happened there,” he added.
Funding for the airport was supposed to come from land reserve funding, Swanson pointed out, but that money is tied up in long-term investments and is forcing city administration to use cash flows. Moreover, Moose Jaw’s airport seemed to be the only location that didn’t have a user-pay system.
Spending cautiously
Luhning agreed with Swanson’s comments about reducing borrowing, saying businesses are facing challenges and council needs to be cautious with spending.
“As I read the report, I thought we were jumping the gun. I still think that tonight … ,” she said, adding council might have approved projects in December, but the situation has changed since then.
Intersection upgrades
While upgrades to the intersections of Ninth Avenue Northwest and Caribou Street and First Avenue Northwest and Athabasca Street are ready for tender, Mayor Fraser Tolmie wondered about plans to upgrade the intersection at Thatcher Drive and Iron Bridge, as he thought that project had been included in this year’s budget.
The transportation advisory committee will reconvene soon and will discuss a report about that intersection, said city manager Jim Puffalt.
One reason council discussed that intersection during budget time is because that committee held up this project, said Tolmie. He was curious to see how this project proceeded.
Replacing equipment
It’s normal to carry forward some projects from previous years, finance director Brian Acker said. For example, the engineering department hasn’t purchased new equipment since 2017 — particularly dump trucks — so there is an urgency to address that backlog of replacements.
City hall is only replacing what is necessary, while it is also attempting to maintain old equipment, echoed Puffalt. This causes problems since it adds to operating costs — $310,000 was spent last year on maintenance — and city employees are unable to complete their work.
“We can’t keep running stuff into the ground … ,” he said, adding purchasing new equipment is better than having to rent equipment as they are now.
Coun. Scott McMann was curious about what would happen in Crescent Park after the municipality demolished the YMCA building. In response, parks director Derek Blais explained the area would be reseeded to grass, although a community garden is also possible. His department would communicate further with community groups on the best course of action.
The next regular council meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 8.
