It appears the City of Estevan will seek a different way to run its food and beverage services, including the concession at Affinity Place.
Council decided at its Sept. 26 meeting to hire a manager for the food and beverage services, rather than tender out a contractor to do the work.
The city received two bids from local contractors who were looking for the job. One was from Clem and Diane Wenham of Wenham Enterprises, and the other was from Riley Beatty of Beatz Eatz.
The Wenhams have operating the concession at the Civic Auditorium since 2005, and have run food and beverage services at Affinity Place since 2011. Beatz Eats has run the concession at the Power Dodge Curling Centre the last two years, and has experience with SaskPower.
In his report to council, leisure services manager Nathan Jesse noted Beatz Eatz would provide fresh, healthy, homemade menu at a reasonable price, and healthy alternatives from basic rink food.
Wenham Enterprises would serve a well-planned out menu that works for large functions and other events. They would also maintain the same menu that is currently offered at Affinity Place.
Both companies had the necessary qualifications.
Jesse noted the overall comprehensiveness of the Beatz Eatz bid was satisfactory, but there was no mention of large event catering, or speed of service during hockey games. The Wenham Enterprises bid was also satisfactory and included a plan for catering large events and Bruin games.
When comparing the bids, Jesse believed they were fairly similar. The competitive aspect of the bids was not as expected, so Jesse recommended council look at alternative methods of operating the food and beverage area.
Councillor Dennis Moore suggested a trial period for the food and beverage manager job.
Mayor Roy Ludwig believes switching to a manager will yield cost savings. He expects the new manager will be in place within a month, and there won’t be a disruption of services.
The mayor also noted the new system will allow groups holding banquets at Affinity Place to choose their meal provider, rather than using Wenham Enterprises.
“That seemed to be a bone of contention with some of the groups,” said Ludwig. “They seemed to want the availability of choosing their own food contractor to come into Affinity, and now we’ll be able to do that.”
Also during the meeting, council discussed the annual grant for the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum (EAGM) and other cultural agencies.
Councillor Brian Johnson, who sits on the EAGM’s board, asked whether there were plans to reduce the EAGM’s grant by $25,000, which has been discussed in previous years.
The EAGM received $154,000 this year from the city, which is about 61 per cent of their total budget of $252,000.
Ludwig suggested the EAGM, the Souris Valley Museum and the Estevan Arts Council should meet jointly with council to see if there are any synergies that would result in savings. At this time, though, council is not looking to make cuts to the EAGM for the upcoming year.
