Highlights from the March 4 meeting of Estevan City Council:
*The Souris Valley Museum is seeking $128,500 in funding from the City of Estevan this year. The museum received $70,000 in 2012. The museum is now operating separately from the Estevan Chamber of Commerce, so expenses that were covered by the Chamber are now the museum's responsibility.
*Tickets were selling quickly for the Mötley Crüe concert in Estevan on May 4. About 500 tickets were still available as of the evening of March 4. A total of 256 tour holds, which includes VIP passes, were released the afternoon of March 4.
*The list of people attending the public consultation for Estevan's housing plan has been finalized. The meeting will be held on Friday, April 5.
*The City is planning to finalize the tender for waste collection and recycling, and there are four options for pricing: the status quo with back alley collection once per week; curbside waste collection once per week; back alley waste collection once per week with curbside recycling every two weeks; and curbside waste collection every two weeks with curbside recycling every two weeks. An open house is tentatively scheduled for April 30.
*Snow removal from Priority 1 streets started in the evening of March 4. More than 18 centimetres of snow fell on the Estevan area March 3 and 4. Much of the snow was whipped around, creating large snow drifts.
*Estevan Motors was awarded a tender for a new Public Works truck for $27,260. The truck will replace one that was written off in an accident last year. The money that the City received in insurance will cover the cost of replacing the truck.
*A tender for a new generator for Estevan Fire and Rescue Services was tabled, because Council would like to see more local companies given a chance to bid on the project. *Council approved a line of credit increase from $11 million to $12 million. The City is awaiting more than $1.3 million in revenues through land sales, the gas tax, provincial police funding and other accounts receivable. Once the money comes in, the line of credit will be reduced back to $11 million. Councillor Lori Carr voiced concern, since the line of credit was increased from $10 million to $11 million a few months ago, and has yet to return to $10 million.
*Council gave first reading to a bylaw that will fix the cemetery rates for this year. The bylaw calls for a 10 per cent in many of the services provided, to cover the cost of a burial or columbarium usage. The previous rate increase was in 2010.
