Town adopts 10-year economic development plan

Moosomin Town Council

January 26, 2026, 10:32 am
Nicole Taylor, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

At their meeting on Wednesday, Moosomin Town Council passed a motion to adopt a 10-year Economic Development Plan prepared for Gateway Economic Development, which is made up of representatives from Moosomin and Rocanville.

The plan was put together as a 10-year roadmap for economic development in the region, giving both the town and Gateway Economic Development a plan and clear goals to reach over the next decade.

Derek Murray and Associates helped put the plan together with community input, including a number of economic round tables with community members and community leaders, interviews, focus groups, and a regional analysis, and research.

The plan identifies the town’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and presents four strategic areas of focus. Those aspirations include supporting and growing the local economy, aiming for a vibrant and liveable community, attracting and retaining talent, and collaborating in order to get things done.

New EDO hired
Also at their meeting on Wednesday, the town passed a motion to acknowledge the Gateway Economic Development Committee hiring of Jeff Cole as the town’s new economic development officer. Cole starts his job today, Monday, January 26.

Council chooses community led option under new SK Recycles program
Council passed a motion on Wednesday to go with the community-led option under the new SK Recycles program

Under the program, SK Recycles will be covering the cost of all recycling in the province and gave municipalities two options to choose between by February 1, 2026—a program-led option or a community-led option.

SK Recycles is Saskatchewan’s new province-wide recycling program for household packaging and paper. The program is funded by businesses that include manufacturers, brand owners and retailers that supply packaging and paper to Saskatchewan residents. SK Recycles works with producers, local governments, First Nations and Métis communities, private companies, other organizations and residents to create a standard province-wide recycling network.

Under the program-led option, SK Recycles would choose who does recycling collection for the town. Under the community-led option, it would be up to the town who does their recycling.

Moosomin will be signing on with Red Coat Waste Authority, with Loraas Disposal continuing to provide recycling collection for the town through Red Coat.

Loraas will begin picking up recycling under the plan as of June 1, 2026, at which point the town will be receiving recycling services for free, so residents will no longer be paying $30 a quarter on their utility bills for the service.

Transfer station working well
In his public works report to council, Town Foreman Mike Stein said things are going well at the town’s new transfer station.

The town had to set up a transfer station after being told by Sask Environment that Moosomin’s landfill is at capacity. The transfer station is temporary, and a permanent transfer station will be constructed at the landfill once the weather warms.

Stein says the transfer station has seen five full bins since December 1. He said there have been some problems with people leaving heavy stuff like furniture on the grand, and dumping used oil and filters into the bins, which is not allowed, but otherwise things are going well.

Moosomin submits resolution on landfill decommissioning for SUMA convention
Moosomin has submitted a resolution to the SUMA Annual Convention April 12-15, and received confirmation from SUMA that their resolution was received and will be part of the resolutions voted on at the convention.

The resolution deals with lobbying the federal and provincial governments to help cover the costs of landfill decommissioning. The resolution reads as follows:

Whereas the Government of Saskatchewan has directed municipalities that operate landfills to decommission such facilities; and
Whereas the most recent Investing in Canada (ICIP) Landfill decommission intake closed on Sept. 15, 2022, and no additional funding is available at this time; and

Whereas municipalities that operate active landfill services and were not successful in accessing funding under the ICIP program and many of these municipal or regional landfill services are burdened with the financial costs incurred and extraordinary expenditures to carry out the required decommissioning and reclamation of their respective landfills to ensure compliance with provincial regulations.

Therefore, be it resolved, that SUMA advocate that the Government of Saskatchewan and its Ministry of Environment work together with the Federal Government to provide funding for all municipal or regional landfill operations that The Ministry of Environment has identified for landfill decommission, including but not limited to costs associated with engineering, consulting, reclamation, and monitoring equipment to meet regulatory requirements.

Tax cancellations
The town cancels the taxes on a number of properties each year. At the meeting on Wednesday, council passed a motion to cancel 2027 municipal and school taxes for the following properties:
Moosomin and District Arts Council, the South East Healthability Society, the McNaughton Hardware Restoration Committee, the Society for the Preservation of the Moosomin Armoury, Moosomin Regional Museum, Pipestone Kin-Ability Centre, and Moosomin Visual Arts Centre.

Need for trees at South Cemetery
Council received a letter from Robert Mullett pointing out that a portion of the roadway at the South Cemetery lacks trees, and that the trees in that area are sparse, deteriorating or dying.
Council has removed a number of dying trees in Moosomin over the last year and has trees on order to replace many of those trees, including some of the trees at the South Cemetery.

Town authorizes payment to Visual Arts Centre
The town authorized a payment of $50,000 to the Moosomin Visual Arts Centre. The payment is the third and final payment in the town’s commitment to pay $150,000—or $50,000 a year—to cover the cost for the arts centre to lease St. Alban’s Anglican Church. The arts centre approached the town when they were getting started, asking if the town would consider funding the centre. At that time the town passed a motion to cover the arts centre’s three-year lease of the church, where the arts centre has been set up.

The town and arts centre will likely be sitting down some time later in the year to discuss plans moving forward.

Less deer in town when they are not being fed
Councillor Heather Truman said she has heard reports from town residents that in areas of town where people have stopped feeding the deer, they are seeing less deer in town. She said it was important to remind residents not to feed deer in town.

There have been complaints about deer in town the last few years doing damage to yards, and nearly being hit on the roads.

Council has been pushing to educate people to stop feeding deer so that they don’t come into town.