Questions To and Answers From The City of Moose Jaw

As we are the voice of the people here in Moose Jaw and have been bombarded with questions from the community regarding the City of Moose Jaw and their dealings, we developed a list of questions to ask their communications department directly and have received these very brief responses. We thought you should know.

The questions posed are black; responses are red and are verbatim. In regards to the particular answer stating they have attached the said information regarding general qualifications for positions, we do not have the space in the paper to include it, so if you are interested, I presume you are welcome to contact the City of Moose Jaw communications department to request the same information.

Here are the questions/answers as follows:

Bids closed for the Union Hospital site prior to the ?? of September, can you confirm if there were any bids made or provide some kind of update for the citizens of Moose Jaw?

The City of Moose Jaw received no bids on the Union Hospital site and a report is being produced for City Council.

Can you provide me the general qualifications for the positions of the city manager, communications manager and the mayor, the associated salary and whether these employees of the City of Moose Jaw get continuing education opportunities as part of the benefits package?

I’ve attached the job posting from when the Communications Manager position was last advertised.

I’ve attached the City Manager’s job posting.

I have attached information from the Government of Saskatchewan re: qualifications for Mayor(Running for Council – What you need to Know, and the Local Government Election Act.).

All salary figures can be found in our Public Accounts, which is published every year: https://moosejaw.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018-City-of-Moose-JawPublic-Accounts.pdf ?ts=1571165575273 I’ve attached our Employee Training and Development Policy.

3. Please provide an update on where we stand with the Canadian Tire property that has been in the works for over 3 years.

Can you confirm if the land they are looking at was ever listed for sale? Has Canadian Tire or their agents ever put down a deposit on that land? Has the city of Moose Jaw agreed to waving taxes for a period of time if this deal proceeds, and if so, how much and for what length of time?

Also please advise if property taxes would be exempt for the new Canadian Tire Store, and if so, would that tax free status be gifted to Marks, Parts Source, SportsChek or any other Canadian Tire entity that would move to that property? There have been rumours that if this deal does go through, that there are restrictions on the balance of the land, can you confirm or deny this or provide a working document?

How long does the City of Moose Jaw expect to hold this piece of land for this suitor?

There is currently no signed agreement with Canadian Tire and negotiations are continuing. If an agreement is reached, it would need to be brought before City Council for approval, at which point contract details would be public.

Are there any supporting public documents in regards to this deal that can be obtained?

If there is something specific you think exists that you believe should be made public, you are welcome to make a Freedom of Information request through our City Clerk’s office.

Can you confirm that the date for the full deposit as promised by Carpere is to be made no later than October 31st.?

Yes, as per the Purchasing Agreement, Master Development Agreement and Servicing Agreement approved by Council July 8, 2019. Can you confirm that no tax concessions were made to the new purchasers of the property known as Grant Hall, as it appears that the name Caprere was on the new liquor application?

This was a private sale, subject to the City’s current tax policy, which was updated earlier this year – here is the link to the Council agenda, containing the report: https://moosejaw.ca/wp-content/ uploads/04.08.2019-Council-pkg-PUBLIC.pdf ?ts=1571166545157

6. Please confirm the amount we are paying RBC or RBC’s representative directly or indirectly to invest in the stock market with the city’s money.

City Council approved a contract with RBC Investment Securities to manage the investment of our reserves for $340,000.00. It Is anticipated that the increased revenue generated will pay for this cost.

Craig, I respect that fact that some of the answer may be confidential in nature and I am only asking for the information that is public record or could be obtained through a FOI request.

Thanks for your time and have a great week.

Robert Ritchie publisher - moosejawtoday.com, moosejawexpress.com

October 10/2019