Estevan Mercury

Page 1

Bruins Take Two From Terriers

⇢ B1

Carolling Kids

⇢ A3

December 18, 2013

New Fire Truck Passes First Test

WEDNESDAY

The St. John the Baptist children’s choir performed when the Estevan Rotary Club held their 61st annual carol festival Sunday evening at St. Paul’s United Church. See more photos on A3.

www.estevanmercury.ca Issue 33

2013 Christmas Edition Inside

Vacancy rate improves slightly It’s not a big increase, but when the previous benchmark was zero per cent, it’s a notable event. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation released its fall rental vacancy report last week. The report says that Estevan’s rate has climbed to 1.8 per cent. That is up from the fall of 2012 when the rate was 0.6 per cent and also over the 2013 spring report where the rate had plummeted to 0.0 per cent. Unfortunately for renters in Estevan, the increase in vacancy has not translated into lower prices. The Energy City continues to lead the way with an average price of $1,106 per month. In an interview Friday, Mayor Roy Ludwig said the City is pleased to see any increase in the vacancy rate but remains well aware that their efforts to bring more rental accommodations to Estevan are far from complete. “I guess (their work) is starting to bear fruit,” Ludwig said. “We’ve got a lot of developers in town, and they are working hard to make a difference. “I think we are starting to see incremental,

Festival Of Trees A Financial Success

⇢ B7

Mayor Roy Ludwig positive change. We have been working for years on this file with the Ministry of Housing and with our developers. This is absolutely good news, but I don’t think it means that we can ease up.

We have to remain focused, but it is good news.” As always, the report delves into many aspects of the local rental market. With respect to vacancy, the availability of bachelor suites and one-bedroom apartments has helped to increase the overall rate. The rate for bachelor suites was 4.2 per cent compared to 0.0 per cent last year. The availability of one-bedroom suites has risen to 4.1 per cent from 1.2 per cent in 2012. Two-bedroom suites have dropped to 0.0 per cent while the rate for three-bedroom suites was not available due to unreliable data. On the price side, Estevan experienced the largest year-over-year increase in the province at 10.4 per cent. Bachelor suites rose to $740 from $657 and one-bedroom suites increased by $87 to $1,031. Two bedroom suites averaged out at $1,175 compared to $1,111 in 2012. The largest increase was in three or more bedroom properties, which cost an average of $1,262 compared to $1,101 last year. City ⇢ A2

Population figures point to increase WEATHER & INDEX Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Careers .......B16-18 Church Dir........ B14 Classifieds ..B10-12 Obituaries ....... B12 Perspective........ A6

Business .......... A17 Energy ........B18-19 Services Dir. .... B13 Sports .......... B1 - 6 Community ....... B7

High -20º Low -26º High -15º Low -23º High -20º Low -26º High -16º Low -24º

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According to figures collected by the provincial Ministry of Health, Estevan enjoyed a modest population boom in 2013. The covered population report was recently posted to the ministry’s website and showed that Estevan had an increase of almost 700 residents in 2013. The report is a count of all persons who held Sas-

katchewan health coverage on June 30, and although it’s not a census since it only counts those with health coverage, it is considered a good snapshot of a community’s population on a year-by-year basis. Estevan jumped from 12,444 residents to 13,115, an increase of 686 residents in just one year. The increase is somewhat of a surprise. Estevan

had experienced a steady increase from 2008 to 2011 due to the resource sector boom. But as the once frenzied pace slowed, many had anticipated that the population growth would also cool off. Instead, the opposite proved true with the city experiencing an increase of roughly five per cent. Mayor Roy Ludwig said he was pleased to hear

of the increase and feels it vindicates their argument that the 2011 census, which said Estevan’s population was 11,054, was incorrect. The City felt so strongly about their claim that they appealed the census results only to have their bid denied. “We’ve always argued the fact that the census was low,” Ludwig said. “With our transient population we

felt we were much higher than what the stats were saying. We are not surprised with those numbers, we’ve argued between 13,000 and 14,000.” Ludwig added the City has placed an emphasis on attracting more residents as well as improving the ongoing housing situation and feels the report shows they are on the right track. Mixed ⇢ A2

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