Happy New Year! I hope everyone is surviving the cold snap. Here is some of what’s been happening in the last couple weeks:
Wind Turbine
The proposed tall wind turbine was back on the agenda at the Council meeting on January 16th. As you may have heard in the media, the request for proposals for the project was met with only one bid. Given that the bid was well over the administration’s budget, Council agreed that we would not award a contract, nor would we re-issue the RFP and allow other companies to bid. This officially ends the City’s plans to explore a wind turbine at the landfill, though the administration will report back to Council within the next two years with information about other wind power generation opportunities.
Pothole Patching Program
Council decided on Monday night to devote an additional $1.56 Million to the pothole patching program this year. This additional work will be funded from reserves, meaning that it will have no impact on the mill rate. This investment brings the total 2012 Roadway Rehabilitation budget to $9.9 Million. This is a significant allocation, but unfortunately it’s not enough, and we still face $8.6 Million worth of roadway projects for which funding is not in place. Adequately funding roadway preservation and rehabilitation is going to be a major challenge this year, but I know this is a priority for residents and for me.
City Website
If you’ve ever tried to find information on the City of Saskatoon website, I’m sure you’ve noticed that it’s less than perfect. The City has started the first phase of a website redesign, and part of this process is collecting feedback from residents and website users. If you’ve got ideas or suggestions about the City’s website please take a moment to fill out this short survey: http://goo.gl/NzQh5
Miscellaneous
You may have noticed that your garbage collection has been disrupted by the recent cold weather. Check the city’s website (www.saskatoon.ca) to see if your route will be affected. If you’re not sure how the new 2012 collection schedule will affect you, please check the calendar here: http://goo.gl/YE0bX
Take care,
Mairin