The City of Martensville is poised to put the finishing touches on a joint-servicing contract that’s been seven years in the making.
Since 2014, Martensville has been working with Saskatoon to have the larger city supply its potable water needs directly instead of relying on SaskWater, a provincial crown corporation, as an intermediary agency. The two cities are likewise coordinating their systems to have Saskatoon treat Martensville’s wastewater.
The new system is anticipated to be in operation in 2024.
At a Martensville City Council committee of the whole meeting on Tuesday, December 14, Martensville City Manager Scott Blevins tabled a report indicating the two cities are in the final stages of concluding the deal.
The City of Saskatoon’s Mayor and senior administration officials have already given the stamp of approval to both the ‘Master Service Agreement’ and the ‘Transition Agreement.’
Now the ball is in Martensville’s court.
The big decision that Martensville Council has to make at its next meeting on Tuesday, December 21 is whether to commit to paying a ‘transition fee’ to SaskWater of $19,542 per month for the next ten years.
The City of Saskatoon has already agreed to pay that monthly amount to SaskWater for the next decade as part of the overall agreement.
The transition fees were endorsed by Saskatoon North Partnership for Growth (P4G) member municipalities Saskatoon, Martensville, Warman, Corman Park and Osler in 2017. The fees are designed to compensate SaskWater two-thirds of the net margin loss incurred for a ten-year period after the supply of potable water is transitioned.
In 2018, a Letter of Understanding was signed between the P4G municipalities and SaskWater to outline a framework for regional partners to enter into servicing agreements directly with the City of Saskatoon. In 2019, Saskatoon set up a ‘re seller’ rate category that reflected the lower cost of delivering water to communities outside Saskatoon. Prior to that, Saskatoon charged ‘commercial’ rates for water supplied through SaskWater pipelines.
Under the Transition Agreement, Martensville and Saskatoon agree to pay SaskWater two-thirds of the net margin loss incurred for a ten-year period after the supply of potable water is transitioned. The payment is to be made in 120 equal monthly installments of $39,084 (equally split between Saskatoon and Martensville), commencing on the first day of the month immediately following the actual transition date in 2024. The transition fee may be reduced if SaskWater secures new contracts to resell potable water to new customers or communities to utilize existing infrastructure.
The Master Service Agreement stipulates the contract between Martensville and Saskatoon will run for an initial period of 20 years, with opportunities to renew in 10-year increments. It spells out the roles and responsibilities of Saskatoon, Martensville and SaskWater; and commits the parties to “collaborate on long-term infrastructure planning.”
The Master Service Agreement also stipulates that SaskWater will be paid a ‘transition fee’ when a municipal member in the Partnership for Growth (P4G) area north of Saskatoon moves to follow Martensville’s lead in connecting directly with Saskatoon instead of buying Saskatoon-supplied water via a SaskWater pipeline connection.