MOOSE JAW — The City of Moose Jaw is working with the City of Swift Current to acquire provincial funding to hire a consultant to help create plans to make their communities more accessible.
During its April 7 regular meeting, city council voted unanimously to support the Targeted Sector Support (TSS) initiative grant funding application in partnership with the southwest Saskatchewan municipality.
The Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) manages the fund.
The initiative provides money on a cost-shared basis and, for successful projects, offers 75 per cent of a project’s eligible cost to a maximum of $100,000, a council report said. Project partners must share the remaining costs of their project.
The projected cost for both studies is $141,559, while the cost-sharing ratio is calculated on the number of city-owned buildings that each municipality is assessing, the document continued.
So, of the expected $100,000 in grant funding, Moose Jaw would receive $43,432 since its share is 43.43 per cent. This money would be added to the $30,000 that council committed to the initiative during its 2025 budget discussions, resulting in total funding of $73,432.
Developing accessibility plans would help both communities identify and remove barriers that hinder full participation in the community, particularly for people with disabilities, children, youths and seniors, the report said.
Moose Jaw and Swift Current are partnering because they are of similar size, have a similar number of city-owned buildings and are geographically close, the document continued. Meanwhile, the collaborative effort helps “maximize resources and ensure consistent, high-quality outcomes.”
If the grant is successful, both cities will work with a consultant to assess venues using the Rick Hansen Foundation accessibility certification rating system, the report added. Both municipalities would then use the information to develop detailed action plans; they must submit their plans to the province by Wednesday, Dec. 3.
During the meeting, city manager Maryse Carmichael explained that this partnership arose last fall after city hall hosted city managers from 16 Saskatchewan cities, where they discussed the provincial government’s requirements for all cities to have an accessibility plan. One delegate suggested using the TSS for this plan.
Over the winter, the city managers looked at applying either as a group or separately, but because of the sizes of the cities, they decided that they should pair up to maximize their advantages, she continued.
Carmichael added that, if the plan recommends pursuing capital projects, then administration would attempt to integrate those initiatives over the next five years.
Dawn Lugrin, assistant city clerk, said the consultant would also assess the “intangibles” of the project, such as reviewing signs, language usage, hiring practices and website access — things that can’t be determined by assessing a building.
Meanwhile, with Moose Jaw and Swift Current teaming up, that should make it easier to acquire the funding, she added.
“It’s a good idea,” said Coun. Patrick Boyle. “It’s supporting accessibility in the City of Moose Jaw, which is good.”
Coun. Dawn Luhning questioned whether city hall hadn’t already conducted an accessibility study several years ago, while she lamented that council had to spend money to create a new plan that the province wanted.
“It’s unfortunate that this is something we can’t get around … . I feel like we’re duplicating things,” she added.
Administration replied that the last detailed accessibility plan was created in 2000 — 25 years ago.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, April 28.
