The construction industry and homeowners can breathe a sigh of relief after city councillors and Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark decided not to move forward with a proposed new fee at Monday’s council meeting.
Being proposed was a fee for the temporary use of a right-of-way (ROW). The example given by James Polley, owner of Allen’s Landscaping, was a dumpster bin, often used during landscaping and construction projects.
“For a six yard bin sitting on the street or boulevard in Saskatoon it would be $91.12 for 30 days compared to the same bin in Regina sitting on the boulevard or on the street at $20,” Polley explained.
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The City of Saskatoon currently doesn’t have any ROW fees. Council felt there wasn’t enough consultation with stakeholders and decided not to move forward with the proposal at this time.
Also discussed at Monday’s council meeting was the cost to operate and maintain parks in Saskatoon. Per person, per year, parks cost Saskatonians $52.07 and that number will remain the same as the mayor and city councillors voted to maintain current park service levels.
Some cost savings options included eliminating mowing side boulevards for a savings of $50,000, eliminating 256 flower pots in centre medians to save $50,000, and decreasing the amount of water used to water parks by 20 per cent for a cost savings of $100,000.
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Council chose to stick with the current service level but is looking into watering parks with raw water to see if that could create any savings.
And, the mayor has been cleared of controversy springing from last October’s election.
Clark received an endorsement from his in-law, actor Zach Galifianakis – best known for his role on The Hangover.
Don Atchison was also endorsed by Toronto Maple Leafs coach, Mike Babcock.
Questions arose whether the endorsements should be declared as campaign contributions but since there was no monetary value the complaints officer has dismissed the endorsements.