The City of Warman has agreed to continue leasing space in a city-owned building to the Warman Arts Centre and Prairie Sky Chamber of Commerce (PSCC).
Warman City Council passed a resolution at its regular meeting on Monday, February 13 to approve a two-year lease agreement with the Warman Arts Centre.
The arts organization will pay $440 per month in the first year; and during the second year the rent payments will rise 10% to $484 per month. The terms of the lease will be reviewed after two years.
The Warman Arts Centre had initially proposed a three-year lease agreement at a rate of $440 per month. That proposal was turned down by council at a meeting on January 23; and several options were subsequently put forward by city administration to the February 13 council meeting. One of those options was amended and approved by council.
The Warman Arts Centre, formerly known as the Route 11 Creative Arts Centre, occupies a 2,600 square foot portion of the old library building at 101 Klassen Street West. During the Covid-19 pandemic over the past three years, the organization was forced to cancel much of its programming and saw a sharp reduction in revenue. In response, city council voted in early 2020 to reduce the organization’s monthly rental from $1,000 per month to $440 per month.
Warman City Council had previously voted at its January 23 meeting to approve a three-year lease with the Prairie Sky Chamber of Commerce at a rate of $422.40 per month. The PSCC leases a 660-square-foot office space in the building.
ARENA BOILER REPAIRS
Warman City Council voted at its February 13 meeting to allocate $86,995, plus tax, from the city’s Recreation Reserves to cover the costs of replacing the heat exchangers of two boilers within the Warman Home Centre Communiplex.
The boilers were inspected in early January, according to a report by Warman Recreation and Community Services Manager Paul McGonigal. At that time, it was determined that two of the building’s four boilers had stress fractures to the heat exchangers. The two boilers, both of which have been in service for 12 years, were decommissioned following the inspection. The average lifespan of this type of boiler is between 10-15 years.
McGonigal stated in his report to council that replacing the heat exchangers would prolong the life of the boilers.
The city received three competitive bids to replace the heat exchangers. The lowest bid was submitted by Core HVAC of Saskatoon. Since the cost of the replacements was not included in this year’s civic budget, the funds will be drawn from reserves.
The other two boilers, which had been replaced in 2019, are in perfect working condition.
HEALTH CARE MEETING
During the February 13 meeting, Warman City Councillor Doug Ramage stated that a meeting between City of Warman elected representatives and provincial Health minister Paul Merriman in early February regarding the provision of health care services in the community was “encouraging.”
“There are some short-term solutions in the works, and a long-term timeline is starting to be created,” said Ramage. “It was a good meeting and it’s clear our concerns are being heard and acted on by the Minister.”
Another meeting with the Minister of Health is slated to take place in April.