Regional Landfill Update

Last week the Western Regional Landfill Inc held their first AGM in Kerrobert. The project is moving forward and on track.

Congratulations go to Councillor Curtis Sackville on his election to Chair of the company. At the meeting Councillor Henry was elected to the Board of Directors. From the RM of Kindersley Councillor Bob Perrin was also elected to the Board.

Currently about 25 municipalities are involved in the project. Recently an RFP was tendered and the submissions are being considered for the development of the selected site. The site of the new landfill is to be on the Town's property near Teo Lake.

Mayoral Report: September - October

Here is my report for September and October.

Date	Activity	Purpose/Outcome	Follow Up	Policy Number	Expense
09/22	Mayor’s Hours	·      Met with residents, admin tasks, stakeholders, etc	·      Brought concerns to Admin/Council	·      GP.2.; GP.7.	$000
09/22	Council Meeting	·      Public Meeting	·      Refer to minutes	·      GP.0.; GP.1.	$000
09/29 – 10/3	Aon Reciprocal Symposium	·      Governance and Technical Information for oversight of reciprocals	·      Ongoing	·      GP.4.	$000
10/6	HR Meeting	·      Develop Background Info	·      Share with Council	·      GP.2.	$000
10/6	Stakeholder Meeting	·      Understand concerns and issues	·      Share with Council	·      GP.2.	$000
10/6	HR Committee Meeting	·      CAO Evaluation; Compensation Review for Senior Admin	·      Review Findings	·      GP.2.	$000
10/6	Mayor’s Hours	·      Met with residents, admin tasks, stakeholders, etc	·      Brought concerns to Admin/Council	·      GP.2.; GP.7	$000
10/9	SUMAssure	·      Governance	·      Oversight	·      GP.4.	$000
10/10	Mayor’s Hours	·      Met with residents, admin tasks, stakeholders, etc	·      Brought concerns to Admin/Council	·      GP.2.; GP.7.	$000
10/10	CAO Meeting	·      Knowledge Sharing and Communication	·      Ongoing	·      GP.2.; GP.4.	~$18.00
10/14	Mayor’s Hours	·      Met with residents, admin tasks, stakeholders, etc	·      Brought concerns to Admin/Council	·      GP.2.; GP.7.	$000
10/14	Council Meeting	·      Public Meeting	·      Refer to minutes	·      GP.0.; GP.1.	$000
10/15	HR Meeting	·      Compensation Review	·      Share Findings	·      GP.2.	$000

10/17	Mayor’s Hours	·      Met with residents, admin tasks, stakeholders, etc	·      Brought concerns to Admin/Council	·      GP.2.; GP.7.	$000
10/20	Mayor’s Hours	·      Met with residents, admin tasks, stakeholders, etc	·      Brought concerns to Admin/Council	·      GP.2.; GP.7.	$000
10/21	Kindersley Regional Park Authority	·      Knowledge sharing	·      Ongoing	·      GP.2.; GP.4.	$000
10/22	WCMGC – Marengo	·      Urban Co-Chair	·      Ongoing	·      GP.4.	$38.67
10/22	Budget Meeting	·      Share Budget & Receive Feedback	·      Ongoing	·      E.0.GP.0.; GP.2.; GP.4.; GP.7.;	$000
10/22	Budget Meeting	·      Share Budget & Receive Feedback	·      Ongoing	·      E.0.GP.0.; GP.2.; GP.4.; GP.7.;	$000
10/23	HR Meeting	·      Objectives and Goals	·      Share with Council	·      GP.3.	$000
10/23	Economic Development Meeting	·      Discuss solutions for truck parking	·      Ongoing	·      GP.2.; GP.4.	$000
10/23	Western Regional Landfill Inc	·      AGM ·      Develop new regional landfill	·      Ongoing	·      GP.4.	$000
Total Expenses					$46.67

I have been ill and missed a number of activities, meetings and events.

Moment with the Mayor: Truck Parking

Hi Neighbours:

Council is working with our commercial and industrial partners to ensure Kindersley’s sustainability.

One of the issues we are trying to find a satisfactory solution to is truck parking on the service roads. Safety and economic development are in tension with sustainability. Actions taken by the Town to date include: constructing sidewalks, curbs, and gutters; installing light standards, and restricting parking. However, the challenge with parking is still there.

Some people allege that the Town needs to recognize that we are an oil and gas town and shouldn’t choke the golden goose, so to speak, by being too restrictive either through more parking restrictions or Pay for Parking. The economic development concern is that truckers would move out of town and not use local hotels and restaurants. We have been told that one hotel has experienced a slow down due to restrictive parking. However, it should be noted that some companies shuttle their drivers to the hotel; this was also done in the past.

Economic development accentuates the need for sustainability since more heavy trucks accelerates the deterioration of the roads. Perhaps you have noticed the state of the shoulders and the wear on the service roads?

The safety issue also has to be considered. Sadly, about four years ago, tragedy resulted when a man crossed 11^th Ave near the Kindersley Inn. That brings extra emphasis to these safety considerations:

• The sidewalk along 11th is heavily used by pedestrians, and kids are often nearby using Rotary Field;
• The service road is not wide enough nor is it designed for heavy truck parking;
• Some of the trucks have dangerous goods posing a safety risk for the neighbourhood and town.

Policy GP.0 in Council’s Policy Manual states: “The purpose of the Council, on behalf of the ratepayers of Kindersley, is to see to it that the Town of Kindersley (a) achieves appropriate results for appropriate persons at an appropriate cost and (b) avoids unacceptable actions and situations.”

We are working with our partners to find an acceptable solution for everyone. We want to ensure the safety of our residents while still providing safe parking and lodging for those needing temporary accommodation; to support our local industry and promote economic development, and to do so in a way that local residents don’t have to unreasonably bear the cost of subsidizing repairs for premature road degradation.

Please write or phone if you would like me to discuss a particular topic. If you have any questions or comments, drop me a line at the town office or email me at mayorenns-wind@kindersley.ca. You can also check out my blog at http://mayorjohn.blogspot.ca/. I appreciate your feedback.

Kindersley Health Services Needs Assessment

The assessment is going along with some interviews of individuals and stakeholder groups completed. Coming up this week, on the 14th, is a public session. The public session is Tuesday night between 7:00 - 9:00 at the Elks Hall. Unfortunately Council is also meeting that night because our normal Monday time has been postponed due to Thanksgiving.

If you have some input you would like to share, both good and not so good, and want to learn more about the delivery of health care in Kindersley please attend.

Traffic Lights on HWY #7 & Ditson

There have been some complications arise as the HWY #7 & Ditson site is being prepared for new traffic lights.

• there is a disagreement between the engineers for both the supplier and the Ministry of Highways regarding how strong the stands should be to withstand wind:
• the supplier believes, based on their calculations, that the stands supporting the traffic lights needs to be stronger than the Ministry of Highways is requesting.
• a new project manager for Highways is requesting a formal resolution for a redesign of the site:
• we have had emails and phone calls discussing the redesign but now they are requesting a Council resolution.

Thank you for being patient as we work through this challenge. We are also considering how to redesign the intersection and the area so it is less congestive and less likely to have an incident.

Moment with the Mayor: Health

Hi Neighbours:

During the last two weeks, I have been stopped on the street and received phone calls and emails expressing concern about recent changes at the Kindersley Clinic. I have spoken with Heartland Health Region, the Ministry of Health, and reached out to physicians of the clinic to get background, and what I have learned exposes the instability and fragility of effective health care delivery in Kindersley. It also reinforces the need for the Kindersley Health Services Needs Assessment (KHS NA). The primary outcome of this assessment is to identify a solution to stabilize and strengthen the delivery of healthcare in Kindersley. At this time, I don’t know what the solution looks like. Here are the outcomes for the KHS NA as outlined in the contract:

i. Determine the state of primary health care and community perspectives on the health determinants that affect the community.

ii. Improve communication and build trust between Heartland Health Region and local stakeholders.

iii. Increase the understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the Heartland Health Region and local stakeholders including the Municipality, the local health foundation and others.

iv. Deliver a primary health care health needs assessment for Kindersley and the surrounding municipalities.

v. Produce a draft report indicating priority areas to meet primary health care service needs in the community for review and feedback by the Committee.

vi. Produce a final report.

vii. Communication with stakeholders throughout the process to ensure transparency.

viii. Create a joint communication plan for the public for the results/finding of the assessment.

We need stable and strong health care delivery in Kindersley and we are working towards that goal.

Often, I have been asked what we can do to help the Physicians’ Group (PG). In short, the PG is a private entity that operates according to the PG’s goals and values just like a law firm, accounting firm, an insurance firm with partners, etc. However, they can have a significant impact on the community as we have experienced in recent years. The KHS NA is a tool to identify ways to ensure the PG and Heartland Health can be successful. The PG has a tough job and I am glad they are working for us.

Please write or phone if you would like me to discuss a particular topic. If you have any questions or comments, drop me a line at the town office or email me at mayorenns-wind@kindersley.ca. You can also check out my blog at http://mayorjohn.blogspot.ca/. I appreciate your feedback.

Moment with the Mayor: Growth and its Challenges

Hi Neighbours:

Last month SK grew by 5,000 people or, put another way, another Kindersley has sprouted up. We need help as do many other municipalities across the province with housing and both hard (water) and soft (pool/arts) infrastructure. Did you know that there are 130 municipalities the province has said they cannot develop more residential, commercial and industrial properties until their infrastructure is either expanded or updated? We are not one of those communities but we still have our frustrations and we are working hard to stay ahead of events without getting too far ahead.

Our housing situation is frustrating; I share many of your feelings about this issue. I'm appalled to hear of multiple families sharing two and three bedroom units. It is saddening to learn that 6 people share a three bedroom unit or of 6 people sharing a house in a surrounding community. This is a frustrating issue and one over which Council has little control.

Last winter we were working on a deal to bring in housing around $150k per unit but the deal didn't work for reasons beyond our control. Currently the housing market in Saskatchewan is robust and developers are 'picking the low hanging fruit. Kindersley is not considered low hanging fruit because of the distance from major centres. The distance drives up costs. The estimates of the increase I have heard vary.

I, and Bernie, have spoken with people to develop apartments but there is nothing to announce.

The provincial government has not provided extra funding to the local housing authorities and as a result there has been no new housing authority inventory for at least 25 years in Kindersley. I have spoken with the housing authority about building extra units but it is a question of funding. The only municipality in the province, to the best of my knowledge, to get extra housing authority inventory funding is Moose Jaw.

People have expressed concern about the cost of the new townhouses and I do wish the market priced them lower. However, as Adam Smith said: we rely on "the invisible hand of the market' moving things forward. How this works is very much what happened with Caleb: as people move from one type of residence to another the former residence is available. In essence, the market it is developing a flow so affordable units not currently available become available. (This is market theory).

Please write or phone if you would like me to discuss a particular topic. If you have any questions or comments, drop me a line at the town office or email me at mayorenns-wind@kindersley.ca. You can also check out my blog at http://mayorjohn.blogspot.ca/. I appreciate your feedback.