MOOSE JAW — Coun. Dawn Luhning was the only member of city council to say anything during the Aug. 26 regular meeting about Riverside Mission’s closure, as she briefly expressed her dismay.
“Thank you to Riverside Mission for their service to this community over the last number of years. Many of us are now aware of the decision that they’ve made to leave our community,” Luhning said at the start of the meeting during public acknowledgements.
“I just wanted to take an opportunity to say thank you to that organization and to (executive director) Mr. (Joe) Miller and make that statement that that service and those services will be sorely missed in this community,” she continued.
“I just feel a very strong urge to make that comment and thank Mr. Miller and Riverside Mission (for) the services they provided.”
Meanwhile, after the charity permanently closed its doors on Aug. 23, city hall issued a brief statement.
“The City of Moose Jaw is saddened to hear the sudden news of Riverside Mission deciding to close its doors permanently after today’s supper offering. The city would like to extend a sincere thank you to all the individuals who made up the staff and board over the years,” the city said.
“They provided support to vulnerable residents in our community and offered valuable services, services we hope will continue through other community organizations,” the statement continued. “Though their current location was no longer viable due to health and safety concerns, we understand how difficult of a decision this must have been to make.
“We believe in supporting all our residents and their needs and will continue to work with community-based organizations to fill this gap.”
that one reason he and the SHRM board decided to shutter the Moose Jaw location is because they became frustrated attempting to acquire a building permit. He had submitted the paperwork three months ago but felt that city hall moved too slowly in approving it.
He also accused city hall of failing to respond to emails or phone calls and not taking the project seriously.
City manager Maryse Carmichael told MooseJawToday.com that city hall was “in constant communication” with Souls Harbour and its project manager about the project, encouraging the charity to fulfill all the necessary permit requirements. However, the city did not reach a point where it could issue the development permit.
Issuing a building permit takes time — usually three to four weeks for residential projects and six to eight weeks for small- to medium-sized commercial initiatives — although it may take longer for bigger projects if there are issues, she said. For example, it took city hall several months to approve the building permit for the Canadian Tire project.
Besides the municipality, city hall must consult with other agencies on some permits — such as the fire department and public health — before approving them.
When asked, Carmichael declined to give reasons about what the sticking points were for the Riverside Mission application, saying that information was private.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Sept. 9.
