ESTEVAN - Estevan city council has determined its meeting schedule for next year.
Twenty-one regular meetings are slated for 2023. There will be two regular meetings each month, except for July, August and December, when there will be one regular session. Council will have a budget meeting next December.
Meetings will also typically happen on the second and fourth Monday of the month. If there is a statutory holiday – a situation that occurs in May and October – then the meeting will be on a Tuesday.
The schedule was passed at the Nov. 28 council meeting.
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Council received an inquiry from Katie Bell, who is one of the nursing managers at St. Joseph’s Hospital, about a health-care worker promotional rate for the Estevan Leisure Centre.
Bell noted the front-line health staff at the hospital believes wellness should be incorporated into their work life as part of their collective bargaining agreement.
“Employee wellness is very important to us in the hospital leadership, as this will improve staff satisfaction, health, wellness and retention,” Bell said.
Councillor Shelly Veroba said it would be difficult for leisure centre staff to distinguish who works for the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses and other health employees, and she believes the rates for the leisure centre are the lowest in town.
“I believe it would be doing a disservice to the other gyms and activity centres in Estevan if we were to lower this anymore,” said Veroba.
Councillor Rebecca Foord, who chaired the meeting because she is currently the deputy mayor and Mayor Roy Ludwig was on holidays, expressed concern with setting a precedent.
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The City of Estevan has compiled the Experience Estevan Guide, which is for the Christmas season in Estevan. Located on the city’s website or at the leisure services office, it has information on what is happening in the Estevan area before Dec. 25.
People can find Christmas recipes, Holiday Bucket List Bingo, an events calendar for Christmas events in the city, the Christmas break schedule at the Estevan Leisure Centre, and information on the Light Up Estevan Decorating and Scavenger Hunt contest, which is a partnership between the city of Estevan and the Estevan Mercury.
The guide was created by Jacquelyn Massey-Rounds, the marketing and communications manager for the city, and Sara Javier, the tourism and visitor information centre assistant.
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Council gave second and third readings to an amendment to the traffic bylaw for electronic scooters.
E-scooters will only be permitted on roads with a speed limit of 50 kilometres per hour or less. They cannot be operated at a speed greater than 24 kilometres per hour on a level surface, the minimum operator age will be 16 years or older, and all riders must wear a helmet.
An e-scooter will not exceed 500 watts.
Councillor Lindsay Clark also wanted to people to know that this would not apply to electric bikes.
