Most of city council was jubilant over the proposed service agreement with SaskPower and the opportunity to build a major infrastructure project that would benefit the community.
Although there were some changes in the final agreement compared to the initial conversations, this $700-million investment will benefit Moose Jaw greatly, Mayor Fraser Tolmie said during council’s Jan. 13 regular meeting. Community vendors, contractors and businesses can bid on parts of the project, which means they will have jobs, an increased workload, more money in their pockets and extra cash to spend.
There was foresight in the agreement to increase the size of the proposed water line from 12-inch municipal lines to 16-inch lines in the industrial park, he continued. This ensures council does not have to spend more money to re-dig trenches to bring water to the industrial park for future users.
“There might be some upfront risk, but there is so much potential in this industrial park,” Tolmie remarked, adding in light of the major power failure in Moose Jaw recently, this natural gas plant will benefit the community and the province.
Council unanimously approved the service agreement with SaskPower during the meeting. The Crown corporation intends to build its combined cycle natural gas plant on 43.5 hectares (108.77 acres) in the Southeast Industrial Park (SEIP) for $5,600 per acre, or $609,112. About 800 jobs will be created during construction over the next three years, while 25 permanent, full-time positions will be created once the plant is operational.
Three years of construction should excite business owners, people who own rental properties, restauranteurs, and even people who sell concert and hockey tickets, said Coun. Heather Eby. The 25 permanent employees will have good-paying jobs that will allow them to live, play and spend taxes in the community.
“And we will have a serviced industrial park, which is the diamond in the rough, which is the most valuable,” she added.
SaskPower is investing nearly $500,000 per acre once all infrastructure costs are considered, said Coun. Chris Warren. Nearly $50 million worth of infrastructure will be built throughout the community, particularly water and sewer pipelines.
The natural gas plant — which will be the anchor tenant — was one reason, he believed, why Carpere Canada decided to join the industrial park. SaskPower will now work with city administration to bring further investments to this area that will create more jobs and generate additional property taxes.
This is a project that city administration and council pursued vigorously, said Coun. Crystal Froese. These are the types of investments that council has been attempting to find since they are a natural fit for the community.
“This is going to bring construction jobs that are needed in an incredible way in our city,” she added, pointing out there are many residents who are struggling to find work, so this project could address that problem.
Providing infrastructure services to where the plant will be built has to be done by September 2021, explained city manager Jim Puffalt, which means there is work to do to find a project engineer and to complete a detailed design plan. All of that work can be completed in the 2021 construction season.
Puffalt thought it positive that SaskPower would use locally produced materials during construction and would recruit community businesses and companies to help with the project, which he believed was a once-in-a-generation initiative.
“This the best deal that could be negotiated and is a great and colossal deal for Moose Jaw,” he added.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Jan. 27.
