The number of municipal employees injured so far this year is down by nearly half compared to the same time in 2018, according to a third-quarter report from city hall.
From Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, 56 employees were injured on the job, compared to 98 employees during the same period in 2018. There were three lost-time incidents and 11.5 days lost to injuries in 2019, compared to 10 and 77, respectively, during the same time in 2018.
Meanwhile, from July 1 to Sept. 30 of this year, 22 employees were injured on the job. In comparison, 28 employees were injured during the third quarter of last year. There were no lost time incidents or days lost, compared to two and seven, respectively, last year.
A report about city hall’s third-quarter activities was presented during city council’s Nov. 12 regular meeting. Council voted 6-1 to receive and file the report. Coun. Brian Swanson was opposed.
“It is a great comparison … ,” Coun. Crystal Froese said about the statistics. “Those are significant changes.”
Much of the reduction is due to a change in thinking around safety, explained city manager Jim Puffalt. Those changes began before he arrived at city hall.
“Safety is absolutely critical to us,” he continued. “Having accidents takes away from our prime focus. … Besides all the money and all the time waste, we cannot have someone not go home at night because we didn’t do our job.”
Parks and rec department
Froese also wondered about the status of the parks and recreation department’s Trails Master Plan and when a draft might come to council.
During the third quarter, the department issued a trails survey that 449 households completed. The survey focused on usage, enhancements and inclusion. That input will be incorporated into the overall master plan.
The department has undertaken an inventory analysis of all recreation assets and has consulted with the community, said parks director Derek Blais. The department is now working to complete the process, which is why it’s taking a while.
The department intends to consult with the parks and recreation advisory committee to acquire more feedback, then a first draft will be created and sent to the administrative strategic planning group for more input.
“We are a few months away (from completion) but we’re making progress,” Blais added.
Engineering department
While phase 3 of the east feeder main project was 75-per-cent complete by the end of the third quarter, Darren Stephanson, manager of utilities, told Coun. Scott McMann that the project is complete and should be ready soon. Some areas need spot pavement repairs, but they can be completed in the spring.
McMann was also concerned that the engineering department received 1,888 calls from residents during the three months, noting that is 21 calls per day.
“That (overall) number struck me as large,” he continued. He wondered if anything could be done to address the communication problem or whether the calls were simply one-offs.
Most of those calls are serviced-related, but they are split among transit, engineering and utilities, said Stephanson. Residents call about many issues, such as garbage pickups, so usually the calls are one-offs and related to specific circumstances.
Economic development
Jim Dixon, the economic development officer, explained that the provincial government is funding a project in April 2020 to update Moose Jaw’s flood mapping. He expects the report to be helpful and could result in city council having to rezone some property.
Request for proposals (RFPs) for the sale and redevelopment of the former Union Hospital site were released in the third quarter, but no submissions were received, continued Dixon. The department will reissue the RFPs in early 2020 on the city’s website under a new section created for the department.
Swanson pointed out the RFP deadline closed Sept. 23 and almost immediately people asked him how many bids had been received. He noted that he had to say he didn’t know for three weeks, until he finally received an email from city administration on Oct. 16 indicating no submissions had been received.
Swanson added that he should have been contacted within two business days saying how many submissions have been received and when a report would come to council.
The next regular council meeting is Nov. 25.
