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Sun Country expects tight budget By Norm Park normpark@estevanmercury.ca
It won’t be easy, but then achieving a balanced budget never is, especially in a growing industry. The Sun Country Regional Health Authority approved a balanced budget for 2015-16 that will be slightly above $153 million. The motion to approve the budget was passed by the board of directors during their May 27 meeting at Tatagwa View in Weyburn. Sun Country’s CEO Marga Cugnet said that while there will be a struggle and a balancing act to perform, she was pleased to see where they could achieve that objective without layoffs of personnel or cutting any existing programs. During the budget presentation, John Knoch, the vice-president of corporate and finance, noted that to achieve the target, some positions left vacant by retirement or resignation, may not be filled immediately, thus giving the region a little flexibility in managing the financial side of the business that employs nearly 2,400 people, who fill 1,365 fulltime equivalent positions in the sprawling health region that covers all of southeast Saskatchewan with 28 health-care facilities. The operating budget has been reduced by about eight per cent for the next fiscal year as the region struggles to meet expectations with no allowances for inflation. The restraints will be felt on the salary scales as well. No increases in salaries are expected for out-ofscope employees ⇢ A2 Tight
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Wed., June 3, 2015
Issue 3
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Getting that sinking feeling By Alex Coop acoop@estevanmercury.ca
Residents in Estevan may have discovered an inconvenience, in the form of a sinkhole, blocking their path while driving since Monday. A sinkhole about 20 feet wide emerged on Sixth Street at noon on Monday, causing a stir among motorists who suddenly had to detour around the street, which was closed as of the Mercury’s press deadline. According to Peter Kennedy, public works manager, a leak in the water connection beneath the street initiated the sinkhole. “They’re still working on identifying where exactly that leak is,” Kennedy said on Tuesday morning, adding the bottom of the hole has been reached. He also said he was hopeful crews would find the leak by the end of teh day on Tuesday but added he doesn’t anticipate the road to be open, yet. Mayor Roy Ludwig told the Mercury after the city council meeting on Monday that it may take a little while for the road to be re-opened. “We ask for the patience of the public, es-
Motorists were confronted with a surprise sinkhole on Monday, which emerged on Sixth Street shortly after the noon hour. City officials say the bottom has been reached, but repairs are still ongoing. pecially the drivers of the larger trucks,” said Ludwig. He said there may be signs posted at the ports of entry and trucks were being diverted through Estevan
on Fourth Street. Ludwig said he doesn’t recall a sinkhole quite like this Estevan since he has been here. “I think what we have was not just one small leak
underground but perhaps a few leaks underground over time to make this large of void,” said the mayor. Kennedy said the hole in the ground will be covered with gravel. He
also noted that the section of road on Sixth Street between 13th Street and Souris Avenue has been scheduled for an upgrade through the capital works program later this year.
Special council meeting addressed tenders Estevan City councillors approved a number of tenders during a special council meeting Monday in the hope of keeping construction around the city on schedule. The City’s landfill geotechnical tender, however, was not approved by council. Coun. Kevin Smith noted there were five bids less expensive than the recommended option and asked for more information to be provided on the other bids. The project at the landfill includes a geotechnical
investigation and environmental site characterization and is mandated by the province. With 13 bids submitted for the project, a rating matrix was used to select the top bid. The matrix system considers all areas of the proposals, from organization to company experience in the field and value added, to rate each bid based on a points system. With $150,000 budgeted for the project, the recommended bid went to Tetra Tech at a cost of $138,062.
City engineer Kiflom Weldeab said that proposal was being recommended because the product being pitched was above and beyond the other bids, providing monitoring of the landfill and annual reports. He said some of the bids did not address issues the City needed addressed, and Mayor Roy Ludwig noted the City is roughly 20 years behind in getting to this work. Smith requested a more detailed and complete report as to what the other bids were not addressing
and what made the recommended but more expensive bid stand out so much. The matter will return to council for further review. On Monday, the water treatment plant roof membrane replacement tender was awarded for $311,719, which came in higher than the originally budgeted $240,000. Water treatment plant manager Kevin Sutter said the increase in costs will be accommodated within the existing utility capital budget. In 2013, the roof on
one side of the plant started to leak. The following year, the City hired an engineering firm to complete an inspection to determine the extent of the problem. That inspection found a simple repair wasn’t possible and a full replacement would be required. The roof is composed of three segments, and Sutter noted no fall arrest anchors were built into the original design. The consultants recommended all three segments be replaced and a fall arrest system be ⇢ A2 Plant
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