Mayor Delivers State Of The City Speech In A Year Dominated By COVID -19
Traditionally at the first Council meeting of the year the Mayor stands up and delivers the annual State Of The City Speech.
The speech reflect on the past, speaks of the present and points the way to what the Mayor sees for the City’s future. The speech often includes future initiatives, plans and policies to the lead the City on its journey.
We have have provided here the 2021 State Of The City Address by Mayor Fraser Tolmie, unedited in its entirety. We encourage our readers to give it a read.
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Council Says No To Adult School Zone
School and playground zones are designed for children and so the students at Sask Polytechnic won’t be getting them around their campus.
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Council Pumps Brakes On Cutting Saturday Transit Service
After voting just under two weeks ago to discontinue the regular Transit service on Saturdays effective February 1st Council decided to use their $20,000 travel budget to extend the service until May 1st.
Additionally Council will survey residents and businesses about the service and how to improve it and increase the ridership to make it less costly to subsidize. Such moves may mean the service is maintained in some form on Saturdays.
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Stock Market Turnaround Results In Higher Than Targeted Returns
In what looked like it could be a disaster for the City’s invested reserve funds a market reversal has the City earning higher than targeted earnings in 2020 - some of the earnings are now earmarked to help fund the 2021 Budget.
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Update Given On Future Of 4th Avenue Bridge
A detailed update on the future plans to upgrade and repair the 4th Avenue Bridge was delivered to Council.
The question remains though where will Council find the money?
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Policy Change Partially Used To Justify A Subsidy Elimination
A seemingly innocent policy change years ago on the ownership of the service connections to property owners was used partially as a reason to eliminate a long running program to subsidize the replacement of no corrode service connections.
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Movement Made To Fix Broken Bridge
It has been a highly publicized issue becoming almost a serialized novel in the Moose Jaw Express, created animosity and set off some tempers, but it now seems a deal is at hand in repairing the 7th Avenue SW Bridge.
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Council Approves Affordable Housing Proposals
As long as they can get funding approval from a Federal program a developer is planning on erecting 40 affordable housing units on part of the former Moose Jaw Union Hospital site.
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City And SaskWater Strike A Deal
Council agreed to a deal that will see SaskWater customers getting a water deal but at the same time the necessary work to the geo-thermal wells that supply Temple Gardens Mineral Spa got a much needed workover.
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Council Discusses Hiring More Temporary Workers To Tidy Up Green Spaces
An initiative aimed at improving the look of City-owned green spaces is going to have to wait until the end of the Budget deliberations to see if it does not overtax residents.
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City Management Pay Reclassification Once Called "Gobbledegook" Deferred To 2022
A reclassification touted as a way to promote equality and fairness in the salary paid to Administration ran into COVID - 19 money concerns and deferred until next year.
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No Additional Parking Meters For 1st Avenue NW In 2021
An initiative that would have seen parking meters installed along the east side of 1st Avenue NW from Manitoba Street W to Oxford Street W was received and filed by Council.
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Transit Takes Major Hit In Budget Deliberations
Low ridership and the need for an increasing subsidy has the City eliminating Saturday service from its regular transit schedule for at least one year and raising the fare to ride the bus. Both changes are effective February 1, 2021.
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Council Says A Big NO To Bi-Weekly Garbage Collection
It is an issue that could be equated with running through a mine field and that is moving towards bi-weekly garbage collection all year round.
It is also an issue that had Council remaining in their trenches and not showing their heads on.
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Council Gets Update On Money Spent On Local Media
How much does the City spend for advertising with the local media.
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Bridge Deemed Not Safe For Pedestrians To Be Closed
It has been used by pedestrians and partier alike since its closure in 2015 but there is word now that the 7th Avenue SW Bridge is not even safe for a dog as the City moves to officially close it to pedestrians today.
The issue of manipulation in the bridge discussions by a private developer came up during Council’s debate.
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Duel Of Words Held On 7th Avenue Bridge
Not only was Council told the 7th Avenue SW Bridge has to be immediately closed to both vehicle and pedestrian traffic but the issue boiled over into a war of words between Council and a delegation trying to get the bridge fixed and eventually replaced.
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Councillor Comments On Mosaic Place's $1,000,000 Budget
In a comment about what was then called the Multiplex a Councillor said the $1 Million budget for Mosaic Place was ironic
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COVID - 19 Blamed For Tax Arrears Jumping In 2020
A $500,000 jump in tax arrears has been attributed to the COVID - 19 pandemic.
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City Manager Says Tax Increase A Necessity
Without a property tax increase in 2021 property owners can expect more significant increases in future years City Manager Jim Puffalt told Council.
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