The City of Weyburn has followed the province鈥檚 directives in how to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and will continue to do so, Weyburn Rotary Club members heard from Mayor Marcel Roy on Thursday at their virtual club meeting.
The club has been holding their meetings via Zoom in the last few weeks since gatherings of more than 10 people were prohibited by the province when a state of emergency was declared for Saskatchewan on March 18.
Mayor Roy and other city mayors have been having virtual meetings with Municipal Affairs minister Carr since the state of emergency was declared. The meetings had been held twice a week, but are now once a week as they discuss the latest directives from the Chief Medical Health Officer and Premier Scott Moe, and their implications for municipalities.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had very few phone calls about groups not adhering to the rules,鈥� said Mayor Roy, noting that the City closed all public facilities to the public, along with a request that outdoor facilities like ball diamonds, tennis courts and playground equipment also not be used during this time.
He noted other cities have closed off all public access to these amenities, but Weyburn has simply asked that the public respect these restrictions, and so far this has been working.
Some staff are still at work at City Hall (which is also closed to the public), with a drop box set up so residents can pay bills in addition to payments taken online or by pre-authorized payments for taxes and utility bills.
Council decided to defer interest charges on such things as outstanding utility bills until Aug. 31, he said, and pointed out that council is meeting now by Zoom like the Rotary Club is.
Mayor Roy noted also that the City and RM worked with Weyburn Economic Development and the Weyburn Chamber of Commerce to develop a business response plan, to help small businesses deal with restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including six steps on how to handle the shutdown and what they could do when businesses are allowed to reopen again.
Rotary member Duane Schultz asked how the City鈥檚 finances are doing while they are dealing with the effects of the pandemic.
鈥淲e鈥檙e way better situate than some of the bigger cities. Some of the larger cities are having issues,鈥� said Mayor Roy. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e also very heavily subsidizing their transit systems. There are a lot of dynamics to running large cities.鈥�
He also pointed out that Weyburn doesn鈥檛 have a homeless situation like the larger cities do.
Asked if Weyburn has any actual cases of COVID-19, Mayor Roy said the province doesn鈥檛 release information like that about smaller centres, and pointed out that southern Saskatchewan has had a low number of infections.
The mayor spoke on the same day that Premier Moe released details of the 鈥淩e-Open Saskatchewan鈥� plan, and the mayor noted this is a five-phase gradual plan with the first step to take effect on Monday, May 4, and the second phase on May 19.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e moving ahead very slowly. I don鈥檛 think you鈥檒l see any large events until later this year,鈥� said Mayor Roy, noting the Weyburn Fair has been cancelled for this year, which was set for the last part of June and first part of July.
鈥淥ur summer is going to be very different. We鈥檙e going to have to do things very differently,鈥� he said, noting that there are children out playing more now with a lot of front-yard activities going on.
Asked if there has been any federal funding for cities, Mayor Roy replied, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a touchy one. That鈥檚 a contentious issue even with the province. They tell us that municipalities have to use everything in their toolbox before they鈥檒l get anything. We鈥檝e told them, 鈥榚verybody鈥檚 broke. We鈥檙e not borrowing money to run the city, so what are you talking about?鈥欌��
He noted the Opposition leader, Ryan Meili, has put forward a suggestion for infrastructure projects, such as building hospitals.
With all of the information coming out about what should or should not be happening, Mayor Roy said he hopes at the end of this crisis there will be a federal debriefing about how everything was rolled out and dealt with by the levels of government.
