The City of Estevan has yet to receive final word on their claim to the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program but there is a chance they won’t be getting as much as they hoped for.

At the April 30 regular meeting of council it was noted that the City still had not received word from PDAP on their $7.2 million claim but were hopeful that a decision would be forthcoming in the next couple of weeks. The claim was to recoup funds spent last year during the flood and the resulting damages to areas such as Fourth Avenue which was partially underwater for days. There was also damage to the Estevan Municipal Airport where overland flooding caused a number of issues.

While speaking with the media after the meeting, Mayor Gary St. Onge said the City has received a letter that left some staff members with the impression Estevan’s claim would be somewhere in the $3 million range.

“They said they were prepared to give us $3 million but they wanted to re-examine the airport. I don’t know if there is that much tied into the airport,” said St. Onge. “It is frustrating in the fact that when they first came here and they examined everything the first time, their inspector said this looks good and everything sounded so positive.”

PDAP’s decision will have a major impact on the City’s budget for the upcoming year on a couple of levels.

First and foremost the more money they receive, the more work they will be able to take on this year. Conversely, the less money they get the less work the City will have funding for. In addition, the likelihood that taxes will have to be raised to carry out infrastructure work is higher.