News Releases

Flags have been lowered at all City of Saskatoon facilities to honour Saskatoon Meewasin MLA Roger Parent who passed away on Tuesday, November 29, 2016.

“This is a real loss to our community,” says Mayor Charlie Clark. “I was personally privileged to serve with Mr. Parent on a number of boards and committees related to economic development, affordable housing and the Meewasin Valley Authority over the last decade. Our city will feel his absence in these key areas.”

Prior to being elected as an MLA in 2011, Parent was involved with a number of local committees and organizations including, among other initiatives, indigenous economic development and homelessness.

The City of Saskatoon extends condolences to Parent’s wife Sheila and their family.

Following an aggressive response to a perceived public safety threat, emergency responders are confident there is no community danger; the substances in question were identified as common baking soda and talcum powder.  The matter is now the subject of a police investigation.

Fire Chief Morgan Hackl says emergency workers can’t take any chances.

“We have to approach it with diligence, we have to go through all the proper steps,” Hackl says.  “Whether it’s a malicious call or not, we can’t take that into account – we have to take the due course and take it seriously.”

Saskatoon Emergency Measures Organization, Saskatoon Fire Department, Saskatoon Police Service, Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment as well as Saskatchewan Emergency Management and Fire Safety were involved in a response to five dangerous goods calls.

Starting around 12:30 p.m. and for a period of about two hours, emergency crews went to three addresses along Fourth Avenue and two more near Cynthia Street and Avenue C North.

For the remainder of the afternoon and into the early evening, the job of hazardous materials specialists was to identify the suspicious substance, neutralize it, and remove it from the affected area.  This process was successfully completed at all five locations.

Preliminary testing of the substance points strongly in the direction of a non-harmful powder: talcum powder was detected in one location, sodium bicarbonate, more commonly known as baking soda was identified in four locations.

“Sodium bicarbonate is just a standard everyday product that people can find in their homes, there’s no danger to it,” Chief Hackl says.

The samples collected will then be sent to the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg for final testing.

City officials activated the Emergency Operations Centre with a command post set up in the mobile unit and later in a public office building. 

Over 60 emergency personnel responded to the calls Tuesday afternoon.  

City Council yesterday awarded a contract to build two much-needed road interchanges at McOrmond Drive/Highway 5 and at Boychuk Drive/Highway 16.  The tender closed at $29 million less than the estimated cost.

“Keeping people and goods safely moving around in Saskatoon is a key priority,” says Jeff Jorgenson, General Manager of Transportation and Utilities.  “We are proud that the City and city developers have a funding strategy in place to help move these projects forward, and we are also thankful to the federal and provincial governments for their contributions towards the Boychuk/Highway 16 interchange.”

Council approved a tendered award of $56.7 million at its meeting yesterday afternoon. PCL Construction Management Inc. is the successful builder following an independently monitored competition between three companies.

The Saskatoon Interchange Project has bundled these two interchanges together as a way of reducing overall costs of construction.

The McOrmond Drive/College Drive interchange is fully funded by land developers. Saskatoon is unique in the province, in that it self-funds a significant portion of interchange costs through development levies rather than taxation.

The Boychuk Drive/Highway 16 interchange is funded by both federal and provincial governments, development levies and developer contributions.

“This award has no positive or negative impact on the 2017 civic operating budget,” Jorgenson says.  “The capital cost of these projects is funded through development levies, developer contributions, and other orders of government.”

Construction will start in early 2017 with substantial completion currently targeted for October 31, 2018 for McOrmond/College Drive and July 31, 2019 for Highway 16/Boychuk Drive.

A Sale Agreement has been reached with Duchuck Holdings Ltd. for the former Saskatoon Police Service Headquarters (SPSHQ) property, situated at 130 and 140 - 4^th Avenue North.

Today, City Council approved the sale of the former property based on the Terms and Conditions included in the Sale Agreement.

Noteworthy details of the Sales Agreement are as follows:

• Purchase price of $10.7M.
• Provision of a five-year tax abatement of the full taxes on 130 - 4^th Avenue North (building site) subject to completion of a renovation or redevelopment of the property sufficient to constitute a change of predominant use to housing, office, structured parking, or a combination thereof;
• Provision of a $395,000 credit to the purchase price for the Purchaser to remove hazardous materials that currently exist within the building.  The Purchaser thereby accepts full responsibility for the hazardous materials located within the building and indemnifies the City from any and all future claims;
• The City agrees to retain responsibility for environmentally contaminated soil found to be located on the vacant site (140 – 4^th Avenue North), or which is proven to have migrated on to any surrounding property; and
• Possession Date and Closing Date will be Tuesday, February 14, 2017 or such other date that may be agreed to by the parties.

In a report to City Council, Administration considered the offer to be fair and reasonable given current market conditions in Saskatoon.

Proceeds from the sale of 130 and 140 - 4^th Avenue North will be applied to the City’s cash holdings to replenish the funds used to purchase 202 - 4^th Avenue North (Civic Square East) and related parking lots at 209 and 221 - 5^th Avenue North.

The objective of the recommended tax abatement is consistent with the intent of the Vacant Lot and Adaptive Re-use Incentive (VLAR) Program. The value of the five-year tax abatement is estimated to be $200,000 per year, based on a property being a fully renovated, multi-tenant office building. The full tax abatement will result in foregone revenue for five years, to begin the year following completion of the renovation or redevelopment.

The Rush, Go Green with eBill! Contest is ending soon, switch and get in to win!

Choose to say goodbye to your traditional paper utility bill, and make the choice to rush and go green by signing up for eBill paperless utility billing,  it’s better for the environment, and more convenient for you!

All new customers who sign-up for eBill before November 30, 2016 will be entered into the eBill Contest. We’ll draw December 1, 2016 for a pair of 2017 Season Tickets to the Saskatchewan Rush Lacrosse Club. All valued utility bill customers currently on eBill are also automatically entered into the eBill Contest.

“Our eBill service has always been a customer focused initiative, and it also supports our environmental initiatives for the City as we are committed to savings, service and sustainability,” says Shelley Sutherland, Director of Corporate Revenue.

Choosing eBill instead of traditional paper billing, reduces paper clutter and a need to file. eBill is easy to use, secure and gives customers 24/7 access to their utility account history and current consumption charges

“If the City gained ten per cent more customers on eBill, we could save approximately 513 kilograms of paper per year,” says Sutherland. “Any time we can use less paper and importantly, leave less of a carbon footprint, savings add up.”

eBill customers receive an email notification when their bill is ready for online viewing at My Utility Account on the City’s website, saskatoon.ca.

It’s easy to sign up for your ebill!  Rush – get in to win and go green today!

Visit saskatoon.ca/ebillrush to sign-up or switch over, and for eBill Contest rules. Or, call 306-975-3200 for more information.