Town looking for input

April 1, 2014, 2:00 am
Kevin Weedmark

Moosomin town council wants to know what you think.

As part of its strategic planning process that began in the fall, the town of Moosomin is conducting a survey to find out what programs and services people expect from the town, and what the opinion is of current programs and services.
The survey can be accessed online or through the town office.

Individuals can participate in the survey from any computer by accessing the survey on the town’s website at www.moosomin.com.

The survey will take 10 to 15 minutes to complete.

People who do not have access to their own computer can participate in the survey using a computer at the Moosomin Library’s community access site and accessing the survey on the town’s website at www.moosomin.com.

Moosomin residents can also get a copy of the survey from the town office, complete the survey and return it to the town office either in person or by mail or fax.

The town wants all the responses in by April 21.

The survey asks a wide range of questions, from what people find appealing about Moosomin to what issues people feel the town must deal with, to rating different town services, to opinions on what the town’s priorities should be in budgeting.
The survey is part of a planning process, for which the town hired HMC Management in the fall.
HMC has met with town council, town administration, the Chamber of Commerce, the RM council and others as it works toward a final report to the town.

Mayor Larry Tomlinson said he hopes as many people as possible take advantage of the opportunity to have input into the town planning process by participating in the online survey.

“I’m hoping we get a lot of participation,” the mayor said. “We want to see what the public thinks. We want their input to help us in going forward with what we need to do for the town.”

Tomlinson said the survey is one of the last steps in the planning process.

“This is the last survey and then we will make some decisions,” he said. “We’re looking for some ideas and what the people think. Hopefully people take the time to take a look at it and fill it out—we hope to get a good indication what people think should be the priorities, and hopefully we can accommodate what people are saying and it works into some of the plans. I think we should have their input.”

The survey can be accessed from the town website as of today.

Town hears from SUMAssure rep
At Wednesday’s town council meeting, council heard a thorough hour-long presentation by Jason Minvielle of the insurance company AON Reed Stenhouse on the SUMAssure mutual insurance program set up by the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association.
SUMAssure has grown to include a large number of muncipalities, and Minvielle told council that his company has gained a lot of experience with municipal insurance because of the program.

The town of Moosomin has always dealt with local insurance companies and council didn’t make any decisions after the SUMAssure presentation.

“We didn’t go with them originally when they started the process, but they approach us every year, and wanted to know if they could come out and make a presentation,” Mayor Larry Tomlinson said.
“We’d like to keep it local if we can because it puts money into our community. We would like to insure locally if we can, but it comes down to dollars and cents.”

Town gets some thanks
At Wednesday’s town council meeting, councillors heard that the town received a letter of thanks from local resident Donna Stanhope.

“Thank-you for all your countless hours of work,” she wrote. “Whether it be working in the cold, fixing broken or frozen water lines or collapsed sewer lines, clearing piles and piles of snow, in the summer working in the hot heat, in the office fielding nasty phone calls from unhappy citizens, also for organizing sports and functions for our community—the list could go on forever.

“Not sure how many thank-yous that might come your way, so thank you so much to all of you for all you do.”