The City of Warman is entering into a service agreement with Great Plains College (GPC) to provide a site and construction work for the college’s Heavy Equipment Operators (HEO) course.
Warman City Council endorsed a recommendation from the city’s administration to approve the partnership at a meeting on Monday, March 8.
Similar agreements between the city and the college in the past facilitated a considerable portion of the landscaping work in Prairie Oasis Park.
Students in the six-week GPC HEO course earn their Heavy Equipment Operators Certification through a combination of classroom theory, equipment simulation, ad practical field projects. The college offers the course in the spring and again in the fall.
The course includes safety orientation, first aid and four weeks of actual working of a dozer, excavator, loader and grader in a construction setting.
Under the service agreement, the city will provide the site`, $10,000 plus fuel costs. The funds will be sourced from the city’s $600,000 annual Streets and Roads Maintenance Budget.
Students in the HEO course will perform work on a city project as part of the practical training component of the program.
The construction work would take place from May 10 to June 4, and all COVID-19 protocols would be adhered to. Responsibility for safety rests with the college.
A site for the construction work has not yet been determined.
Warman City Councillor Trevor Peterson said during the council meeting he is “fully supportive” of the agreement, noting the city received “good value for its dollar” with past construction projects, particularly with the Prairie Oasis Park landscaping.
Warman Mayor Gary Philipchuk agreed, saying the GPC HEO course accelerated the timeline for development of Prairie Oasis Park by six to twelve months and saved taxpayers a considerable amount.
“It’s great to be able to keep this course in Warman and to work with the college when we can,” said Philipchuk.