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City has not had to lay off permanent staff; pool shutdown has been moved up

The City of Estevan has not had to lay off any permanent staff members due to the closure of non-essential facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pool shutdown
File photo.

The City of Estevan has not had to lay off any permanent staff members due to the closure of non-essential facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Estevan city council voted March 16 to close non-essential facilities, including the Estevan Leisure Centre, which houses Affinity Place, the Power Dodge Ice Centre, the RM of Estevan Aquatic Centre, the Estevan Public Library, the Estevan Arts Council office and craft room, the Nicholson Centre and the 60-and-over Club meeting area, among other amenities.

City Hall is also closed to the public, although services over the phone are still available and payments can be made through a drop box, via your bank or online.

In an email, the city said all permanent staff members are on duty and conducting tasks that they have pushed forward in their timelines or need to be done.

The annual pool shutdown at the RM of Estevan Aquatic Centre has been moved up to the spring. It usually happens for a few weeks in September, but it was fast-tracked to the spring, and the hope is to be finished soon, to minimize the disruption when the leisure centre does reopen.

Rebecca Westling, the destination marketing and communications consultant for the City of Estevan, said painting will take some time and they will be using their staff for this project. They are also completing interior painting of specific areas around the pool, change rooms, etc. Additionally, the city is replacing the main fire pump for the leisure centre and the ammonia chiller for the Power Dodge Ice Centre (PDIC). These are two very important safety upgrades required due to the age of the assets. 

The process of removing the ice in the PDIC and Affinity Place occurred last week. The ice plants were shut down the afternoon of March 23. It takes approximately 40 hours for the concrete surface to warm enough to release the ice to a point where skid steer buckets can be used to pop the ice from the concrete. Using two skid steers, a tandem truck and a front end loader, the ice was totally removed from PDIC on March 25 and from Affinity Place the following day.

Other city staff members are performing annual maintenance such as painting, cleaning rental equipment and general repairs, all with a lot of scrubbing and sanitizing as they go.

“Some department staff are diversifying their services into online methods. Fitness classes are offered online to help with mental and physical health for those in our community.”

These classes have had an excellent response from users and the city will continue to provide these types of services while looking at different ways to help fill needs.

Citizens wishing to join should follow the links on the Estevan Leisure Services Facebook page or on the city’s website or call the information desk to get directions.

Other office staff are streamlining data on computer software for better customer service opportunities when the facilities and programs reopen.

“As the weather permits, some staff members will move outdoors to parks and open spaces to perform regular maintenance and operations of those spaces,” Westling said.

As for those who have facility passes that can’t be used during the closure, a credit for any lost time will be extended to pass holders for the length of the closure.

This week's edition of the Mercury will have more on this story.