A new rural ratepayers’ committee has met with the Rural Municipality of Moose Jaw to discuss the proposed landfill location and learn more about the situation.
More than 20 people attended the RM council’s meeting on Jan. 9 to express their concerns about where the City of Moose Jaw wants to build the new solid waste management venue.
“It (the meeting) was good. We … didn’t come in with pitchforks and torches,” chuckled Gordon Knox, committee co-chair.
This meeting also allowed some rural councillors to hear the group’s concerns for the first because a few were on holidays when an informal group met with council in December, he said.
The group learned during the January meeting that the RM has not yet received a discretionary use application from city hall to build the new landfill on 159 hectares (390 acres) north of Moose Jaw near Highway 2.
The co-chairs noted this isn’t a surprise since the city only bought the land last year. This also means the rural municipality can’t approve or deny anything until that request comes. Meanwhile, they learned that city hall contacted the RM office last year to inquire about how certain rural approval processes work.
During a previous discussion with the Express, the committee co-chairs suggested that city hall paid roughly $6 million for the farmland based on discussions they had with people close to the situation.
While they confirmed they had no concrete figures to back up that assertion, they pointed out that the land agent working for the city offered landowners $10,000 per acre. Therefore, $10,000 per acre for 390 acres is $3.9 million, while the land agent’s fees could be added to that.
It should be noted that city administration budgeted $5.94 million in this year’s solid waste utility budget for projects, including funding the property purchase. However, administration has declined to confirm the price it paid for the land.
“Any land sold within the RM is public,” said Knox, which means residents will eventually find out the cost if the sale proceeds.
He didn’t expect any major movement on this file until city hall submitted its application. Moreover, he thought this issue could be a topic during the fall municipal election.
The situation is still unclear since neither the RM nor the committee knows everything about what is happening, said Burk Reiman, committee co-chair.
“You can do a lot of stuff in the darkness,” he chuckled.
RM Reeve Ron Brumwell said the meeting went well even though council was unable to answer all the ratepayers’ questions. Yet, the group was understanding, while both parties agreed to keep each other informed about whatever they learn.
Council had few answers because city hall had not yet submitted a development permit application. Moreover, it was not involved in the land sale.
Brumwell explained that the application must address several criteria, such as public input, highway-related transportation issues, environmental — water runoff — concerns and who’s responsible for maintaining the road into the landfill.
Once council has this information — including input from provincial regulatory bodies — the RM will hold a consultation meeting so it can inform its ratepayers about the situation. It will then decide one way or the other.
The RM office learned about the location in late November after receiving a call from the city about the site, he said. Office administrators then spread the word about the situation, prompting some ratepayers to attend the December council meeting.
The concerns that area residents have expressed include the location, general safety, traffic, contamination, pollution and property devaluation.
The city is choosing to build this venue on good quality farmland, and since the RM is an agricultural-based organization, it’s “never in favour of taking land out of agricultural production” even though it sometimes happens, Brumwell said.
“Whether this is a valid reason or not is yet to be decided,” he added.
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