The Mayor Weekly Update
Village Office > Mayor's Notes
Hi There!
Each week I will endeavor to post some of the activities that have taken place in the village to keep you updated on what's going on so you aren't caught off guard by something out of the ordinary! Sincerely, Mayor Kevin Urbanoski
For week May 26 - June 1st:
- We've set a date for the upcoming candidate forum (June 12 @ 7pm) - I will be there as well to meet and greet with everyone!
- Town crew members Dwayne and Jeff have begun an experiment on the entrance road into Theoodre with a 'oil and sand ' sealing process. If it works as anticipated, we can expand to other roads within the village! While it is not 'asphalt' it will hopefully be the next best thing to having fully 'paved' roads (and more cost effective) within town limits and in turn - decrease dust, improved cosmetic image and an overall smoother drive in. A few other areas are being treated for dust control with magnesium chloride.
- The Spring cleanup program has been completed.
- The Water and Sewer line flushing program went well, with no major concerns!
- The Generator at the water plant has been closed in to protect it from the elements and with a few modifications, and paint that project will be fully completed and adds another element to our emergency preparedness.
- Machinery maintenance has been done to get everything ready for the summer months ahead.
Week of June 2 - 8
- The town crew (Dwayne and Jeff) continued their "Sand Sealing" process but ran into difficulties with the pump system and the old product. It has been set aside for the time being but will resume as soon as theyr'e able.
-Grass cutting and trimming is nearly complete and will be ongoing as needed.
-The Magnesium Chloride on Main Street is holding up reasonably well and the guys will be doing another application for better dust control. They will keep an eye on Main street to make sure it's maintained
-There has been work on Grading Railway Ave for prepping to do dust control there next and Back Blading the alleys to smooth out the pot holes.
-Town Administrator Lyndon had been away at a conference for the week but will be back in the office on June 10th.
-Upcoming Candidates forum has been adverstised in the local paper and throughout town - Set for WED June 12th @ 7pm in the community hall
Week of June 9 - 15
- The Candidates forum on Wed. June 12, was well attended and everyone had the chance to ask their questions and to meet the 3 candidates vying for the two vacant councillor positions. The By-Election is June 26th, and the ADVANCE Voting takes place on June 22nd 1- 4pm at the Village office - if you are unable to make it in for the 26th be sure to get in to cast your vote on the 22nd.
- The Provincial Gov't have instructed the village to drain and backfill the old landfill site. They would like it completed by fall if at all possible. Draining the landfill has begun but this process of draining and then backfilling is going to take some time to complete because of the work involved in this project.
-Dust Control was started on Railway Ave. Two coats of Magnesium Chloride were put down and will be monitored to see if anymore is needed.
-Grass cutting is continuing: Empty lots / ditches and other open areas that the Village is responsible for.
Week of June 16 - 22
-Council reconvened on Wed. (June 19). A lot of material was covered due to the length of time from the last council meeting.
A few key notes from council mtg: 2019 Budget was passed - Council has regrettably accepted the resignation from Terry Lastiwka as Fire Chief for the Village of Theodore, effective June 10. - Also at our June 19th council meeting, council appointed Jeffrey Mackay as our new Fire chief for the Village of Theodore.
*More information on the council meeting will be in the minutes that will be passed at the next Council Meeting July 17th and will be posted on this website at that time.
-Advance poll for the by-election was held on Saturday (22nd) from 1-4pm
-The town crew were busy filling in Pot Holes with cold mix and were able to get to the worst areas of concern. Repairs are ongoing.
Week of June 23-June 29
-A hectic week of grass cutting throughout the village. The recent rain has made the grass take off and the guys have been busy trying to keep up with the empty lots, ditches and other areas of need.
-Crew had some work to do out at the cemetary during the week
-Back blading done on the roads after the rains to level off the gravel and smooth out the road.
Week of June 30-July 6
-A shorter work week with the Canada Day long weekend but we did get the Tree planting done in the open field between the railroad tracks and Railway way ave. A huge thank you to everyone who came out to help plant the Golden Willow Trees. They are fast growing so hopefully most of them will take and in a few years we'll have a terrific looking tree line on entering the village.
-Grass Cutting continued with the ditch mower along the service road, railway ave and the sports grounds.
Week of July 7 - 13
-This week the focus was on grass cutting throughout the village and grounds preparation for the Super Swamper that was on Friday & Saturday (July 12 7 13). All the rain as of late has really made the grass grow and the guys have been busy cutting grass everywhere trying to keep up!
Week of July 14 - 20
- More grass cutting for the town crew. With the number of properties that have returned to the village the guys have been trying to keep up with all the regular grass cutting in ADDITION to cutting these lots to keep them from being overgrown.
-Council held its regular monthly meeting on the 17th with our latest councillor Danielle Knorr joining us for her first meeting. The other new councillor Dorothy Oliver has gone back home to tend to personal matters and will be joining us for the August Council mtg on Aug. 21.
Week of July 21 - 27
- Grass cutting, a recurring theme, continued all week. Dwayne was flying solo as Jeff was on vacation for the week.
- Council held a special meeting on the 24th to discuss the possibility of doing some 'Chip Sealing' / 'Sand Sealing' on a designated section of road. The area in question was the 'entrance' road to Theodore. No decision was made on the evening of the 24th until more information was available on the pipes that run under that section of the road. Council does not want to do anything and then have to 'rip it' up to repair waterlines. We were able to get the necessary information on the waterlines the next day and with that information, Council has decided to hold off on any 'Chip Sealing' / 'Sand sealing' until next year. More information on those plans will be provided at the Town Hall meeting on Sept. 25th.
**The July village newsletter will be available next week on the village website (A PDF version for you to download and read), and on the Village Facebook page (Digital Version).
Weeks of July 28 - Aug. 17
- I'ts been several weeks of vacations for staff but those around while the other is away has been focused on for the most part; upkeep of grass cutting, continual draining out the dump site (Gov't of SK has asked this hole be filled in by fall). Grading, dust control (the drier weather has compounded the issue once again) and other maintenance (water plant/lift station) being completed.
-Mayor Kevin Urbanoski and Administrator Lyndon Stachoski attended a two day conference in Regina (Aug. 13 & 14th) dealing with Municipal Governance and regulations that communities need to adhere to and guidelines to follow. There was also a session on Emergency Situation set up guidelines for communities and municipalities.
Weeks of Aug. 17 - Sept.28
- The town crew has been busy beginning work on the culverts throughout the village. This is going to be a long task that will go right up to freeze up and then begin again in the spring. There are so many culverts that are in bad shape/ covered up/ and are in need of cleaning out and flushing.
-Speed bumps were placed on Railway Ave. and on Anderson Ave to try and slow down the motorists with a bit of a lead foot. Council will look at adding a few more speed bump areas in the spring.
-The guys have also begun to spread some new sand in the arena on the floor to cover up areas of exposed piping in preparation for ice making that will begin in early October.
-Council held its regular mtg on Sept. 18 and discussed a number of issues/topics and preparation for the Town hall mtg on the 25th.
-The Town Hall on Sept. 25 was well attended by the residents and our local MLA Hugh Nerlien was in attendance, Reps from the SPRA(Sask Sports and Recreation ) as well and Access 7 was on hand to record the town hall for a future air date!
Weeks of Sept. 29 - Oct. 26
- Fall Cleanup took place over the course of the weeks of Oct. 15 - 26 and has been extended to the end of the month to finish off. Some delay to finish due to a waterline break on Railway Ave. at one of the fire hydrants and the guys have been taking a number of classes/courses as required by OHS.
-Waterline flushing took place the week of Oct. 21-26. Other than the waterline issue at the one hydrant early in the week there were no other issues. The waterline break appears to be needing some further work and could affect those areas around Railway Ave. on certain days as the guys work to repair it.
-Flooding has begun at the arena to get the ice in the for new winter season. Happy to report the artificial ice plant is running smoothly with no issues.
-The Testing for Asbestos in the Zamboni room came back positive for Asbestos so we've had to hire a contractor for Abatement. Council looked at several quotes and WinMar was the contractor we opted to go with. The Abatement work should be done by Monday the 28th.
-The other work required in the Zamboni room as required by OHS will be completed immediately after the Abatement has been completed. It will be a whole new room once the work is done and up to regulated safety standards.
-Our council meeting was on the 23rd and we went over a number of matters. Another round of Tax enforcement properties will be returned to the village within the next couple months.
-The town crew will hopefully get in some more culvert repair work before winter really arrives and then the plan is to pick up where they left in the spring with a hopeful completion by summer of 2020.
Week of Oct. 27 - Nov. 2
- The Abatement at the arena in the Zamboni room was completed and now the remaining work to get the room up to OHS standards will be completed by Nov. 6(approx.)
- With the Abatement done we've been able to get more flooding done in the arena to get the ice ready as soon as possible. Goal is to be ready by remembrance day weekend.
-The town crew has been in classes for a good portion of October to get them properly certified for their jobs. A requirement by OHS after their inspection this summer.
-Some snow this past week reminding us winter is nearly upon us. The crew moved some snow in some areas where it had piled up in drifts. The Grader won't be used until there is more of a base to safely use it without ripping up portion of the roads.
Week of Nov. 3 - 10
- Ice making was being done all week - ice painted/ lines painted to be ready for Nov. 12! The Remax arena is all ready for another winter season! Call the village office to book your ice time
-Quiet week overall, with most work being focused on getting the ice in after the Abatement and all other issues that had to be fixed to get the zamboni room up to code and regulation as directed by OHS (occupational health and safety).
Weeks Nov. 11 - Dec. 14
- OHS upgrades that needed to be done at the arena have been pretty much completed. One more issue will be addressed within the next week or so (Proper Venting in the Zamboni room).
- Council has begun the process to update our water treatment facilities. This process will be open and informative to you so you can understand why we are proceeding. These processes must be done in order before any funding will be granted whether it be Provincial or Federal and we need to be quick to get applications in once funding becomes available. We are going to have to update our water treatment facilities in the not too distant future in order to keep Theodore a viable community for the future.
-Christmas lights were put up for another holiday season, and we're looking at improving on them for 2020.