The Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Corporation plans to ask city council during Tuesday night’s meeting to support its goal of securing a loan of up to $60 million to finance the plant renewal project.
The project will ensure the water treatment plant’s long-term viability and ensure it can meet its mandate to provide safe and clean water into the future. It has been nearly 30 years since the building was last rehabilitated or upgraded.
The total project is expected to cost $252.8 million. The corporation has applied for roughly $163.4 million in federal funding, leaving about $60 million still to be acquired.
According to a city council report, since the City of Moose Jaw has a 26-per-cent ownership stake at Buffalo Pound, the city would be required to guarantee $15.6 million of the borrowing. If council approves this borrowing, the municipality will have used $70.2 million of its $95-milion debt limit.
Besides this topic, council will also look at six other issues during the regular meeting. Those issues included appointing a member of council to the tourism board, the 2020 fourth-quarter financial report, the fourth-quarter city hall department reports, the annual report of the administrative review officer, approving a transfer of a geothermal well to SaskWater, and changes to the work for a water supply transmission line project.
Tourism board
Coun. Jamey Logan’s appointment to the Moose Jaw Tourism Board could be rescinded and Coun. Kim Robinson could be appointed instead if council approves the change.
City administration is recommending this so that councillors share an equal number of appointments to boards, committees and commissions.
Fourth-quarter report
A report about the municipality’s finances during the fourth quarter of 2020 looks at revenues for municipal taxation, licences and permits, fines and penalties, interest and tax penalties, recreation services revenue, and total revenue.
Council will be asked to receive and file the report.
As of Dec. 31, 2020, the municipality had received $48.3 million in revenue or about 98 per cent of budgeted income, the council report said. This leaves a shortfall in revenue of about $1.11 million.
Meanwhile, the city spent $48.3 million, which represents 98 per cent of budgeted expenses. This means the municipality did not spend $1.14 million as expected, leaving a small surplus of roughly $30,000 for 2020.
Administrative review officer
The administrative review officer’s report shows that he received zero public complaints in 2020, similar to 2019.
Council will be asked to receive and file the document.
Geothermal well
City administration will ask council to approve the transfer of ownership of the municipality’s rehabilitated geothermal well to SaskWater and execute all other agreements related to the sale.
SaskWater drilled and developed a production well and an injection well in 1989, with Temple Gardens Mineral Spa becoming the sole user of the geothermal water. However, in 2019 the Crown corporation notified the city that the wells needed to be rehabilitated due to age and high-pressure operations.
The estimated cost to rehabilitate one well and decommission the second well was $501,719. SaskWater agreed to split the cost, with the stipulation that the remaining well be transferred to the company afterward.
City hall will also pay SaskWater $133,087 to compensate the company for the cost of rehabilitating the production well.
Water supply project
Council is being asked to approve a change in a work order for a project related to the Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plan transmission line initiative, at the cost of $162,236.48. This money will go toward additional engineering services.
The executive committee meeting starts at 4 p.m. on Feb. 16.
