The City of Moose Jaw missed out on earning significant revenue when it failed to charge the provincial government landfill fees to dispose of demolition waste from the Union Hospital, one councillor believes.
During council’s Dec. 9, 2019 regular meeting, Coun. Brian Swanson asked city administration what — if any — funds were received for dumping demolition materials from the former hospital at the nuisance grounds. The finance department answered his query by providing the answer during council’s Jan. 13 regular meeting.
A review of the landfill charges for the spring of 2016 indicated the municipality charged contractor Silverado Demolition disposal levies of $36,384.80. The largest cost was in April, when the contractor paid $26,005.20, followed by $7,464.40 in May and $2,915.20 in June.
“It seems clear from this inquiry, other than the asbestos and hazardous waste from the Union Hospital, that the city did not charge the province any money for the disposal of waste material from the hospital, which I would conservatively estimate as in the hundreds of thousands of dollars as a revenue source,” Swanson said.
He pointed out city administration intends to spend $295,000 to demolish the former YMCA building on Fairford Street. He wondered if disposal costs at the landfill have been factored into that expense.
Derek Blais, director of parks and recreation, indicated that he would have to check into that question, but believed the department had done so.
Swanson thought it strange that city hall would not charge the provincial government or the Ministry of Health any fees to dispose of building materials waste from the former hospital, which could have provided the municipality with a source of revenue from outside the city. However, when city council wants to demolish the YMCA building, city administration decides to charge the municipality with disposal fees
“I don’t know if I’m the only one who sees the contradiction in that. It’s certainly bothersome,” he added. “Whether the hospital material was dumped at the landfill or city yard, we missed a huge opportunity to get a whole bunch of money from them.”
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Jan. 27.
