Council to vote on bylaw change Monday

An iconic Saskatoon building could get final approval for protected heritage status on Monday.

City council will consider designating the 54-year-old former Mendel Art Gallery building a municipal heritage property to protect the exterior and the interior lobby from alterations.

The structure was built in 1964 on the west bank of the South Saskatchewan River after a nationwide design competition for the public gallery. It was built for $600,000, including $175,000 from meat-packing mogul Fred Mendel.

The Mendel Art Gallery closed in June 2015 in preparation for its replacement, the new Remai Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan, which opened in October.

The Mendel building is undergoing renovations and is expected to reopen in April 2019 as the Children’s Discovery Museum. The building includes a civic conservatory, which is also closed pending a decision on whether to revamp it for $2.3 million or expand it for $3.5 million.

Council will decide on heritage designation at its 6 p.m. public hearing meeting, when members of the public are welcome to come and speak about the proposal.

TRADE SCHOOL

Also at Monday’s 6 p.m. public meeting, council will consider an application to open a trade school in the Hudson Bay Industrial area in the city’s north end.

The request comes from the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies. The trade school would operate two workshops at 3210 Millar Ave. with a maximum of 14 students at a time.

The trade school would be the first to operate in the area and is not expected to have “any significant impact” on the surrounding properties, which are mainly warehouses, wholesale outlets or manufacturing, a City of Saskatoon report says.

City administration recommends approving the school.

PAYING FOR POWER

Starting in March, all Saskatoon residents will likely have to pay 3.5 per cent more for electricity.

City council will consider a 3.5 per cent rate increase at its 1 p.m. meeting on Monday.

The rate increase for Saskatoon Light & Power customers would match that approved for SaskPower customers.

Saskatoon Light & Power, which generally serves properties within Circle Drive, is operated by the City of Saskatoon. SaskPower serves most city properties outside Circle Drive.

Historically, the city’s power utility has matched the increases by SaskPower, a provincial Crown corporation.

SaskPower had originally requested a five per cent rate increase. The increase, if approved by council, would add about $4 a month to the average residential bill.

FINAL VOTES

City council is expected to render final decisions on several other proposals on Monday.

Council is expected to vote on maintaining the Traffic Bridge name for the rebuilt river span that is set to debut in October. The Traffic Bridge name was officially applied to the 1907 structure in 2007 before it closed for good in 2010.

Council voted 9-1 to keep the Traffic Bridge name for the new bridge at Monday’s governance and priorities meeting.

Also at Monday’s committee meeting, council voted 7-3 to dissolve the advisory committee on animal control and unanimously to dissolve the traffic safety committee. Both committees are composed of residents who offer advice to council and council committees.

Both committees were created in 1976. Council will cast final votes on their fate on Monday.