Highlights from the March 25 Creighton town council meeting:
No more loans
Mayor Bruce Fidler expressed his disappointment over a provincial decision to pull the plug on a small-business loan program.
On March 19, the Saskatchewan government terminated the Small Business Loans Association (SBLA) program.
“It was a way of helping out the small businesses of the community,” Fidler said of the program.
The province funded SBLA. Local agencies in Saskatchewan communities acted as conduits in awarding SBLA loans to small businesses.
While SBLA had only one local client at the time of its demise, Fidler said a number of local businesses have benefitted over the years. He believed there were once as many as 10 local clients at the same time.
Fidler said SBLA was part of Creighton’s now-defunct CREDO economic development organization. The loans were more recently handled through the town’s recreation department.
In a letter, Bill Boyd, Saskatchewan’s economy minister, said any loans approved before SBLA folded will be honoured.
Boyd wrote that SBLA assisted thousands of small businesses across the province after being established in 1989.
But over the past decade, uptake in the program has declined more than 67 per cent, Boyd added.
Projects
Meeting minutes from the committee level listed a dozen infrastructure projects and community initiatives to be considered by council in 2015.
For one, a new fire truck worth about $350,000, before taxes, is expected to arrive this fall.
Council has spent the past four years setting aside dollars for the truck, which will replace an aging model that is now 30 years old.
Creighton will continue to have two fire trucks and one rescue unit. The truck being phased out will go up for public tender.
Also, as early as possible this spring, the town hopes to repair the aging Sportex roof.
Fidler said the roof is the victim of wear and tear. He couldn’t say what the work will cost, as a contractor still needs to look at the roof.
Hiring and spending
Council hired a new staff member and approved some spending requests.
They voted to name Joy Capyk a full-time office clerk. She replaces Cindy Davis, who is moving up to assistant administrator in light of Kate Aasen’s retirement.
Capyk had been a part-time office clerk for the town. She was also a part-time project administrator for the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), which is no longer in talks with Creighton.
On the spending front, council approved a $100 donation to Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers, which offers cash rewards for crime-solving information.
A letter from Crime Stoppers noted the program received 1,100 tips last year, resulting in 30 arrests and the recovery of $240,000-plus in property and drugs.
Another $100 went to the Mixed Bonspiel to be held over the weekend at the Uptown Curling Club.
“Curling is part of our community culture in Flin Flon and part of our collective identity,” wrote bonspiel organizers Ken Tetreault, Rob Lengyel and Philipp Mirzoev in a letter to council.
Council further donated $160 to the Northern Chill AAA novice team’s skateathon to help with travel costs for the young hockey players.
