Submitted by Will Arscott 4^th October 2016, 2016

 

October 3rd MEETING RECAP - REGULAR MEETING AT THE BESSBOROUGH - The Mayoralty elections with current Mayor and Candidate for re-election His Worship Don Atchison

 

The meeting was presided by President Jack

Greeter - Adriana Van Duvendyk

Cashier - Steve Wilson

Set-up - Al Morton

Visitors and Guests - Dave Sundby

 

O Canada - sung lustily led by Wayne McGillivray (and nobody took a knee!).

 

Grace - Bill Johnson reminded us that we have much to be thankful for especially in this time we call Thanksgiving. He reminded us that we a lucky to have a political system in which competing views can be put forward and things will be decided based on the will of the electors.

 

Visitors and Guests - Dave Sundby

 

- Visiting Rotarian from the Saskatoon North Club Earl Newton.

- Mayor and Honorary Rotarian Don Atchison who will speak later.

- Kaveri Braid assistant to Don Atchison and guest of the Club.

 

 

October 20^th there is a joint meeting with the North Club: Subject the strategic report on the RAP program.

 

November 14^th will be the annual Foundation Dinner. Now is the time to make your Paul Harris Contribution in order to receive recognition at the dinner. It would be good to recognize as many members as possible.

 

There is a Rotary Foundation seminar being held in Saskatoon that includes three Districts. Some very involved people will be coming to do the seminar. It will be held Saturday October 15^th at the Park Town Hotel. It is an all day event at a cost of $55.00.

 

The Meewasin Rotary Fall Dinner is upon us and will be held on October 6^th at the Western Development Museum. Tickets are $60 each with a $30 receipt. Our club will be represented and Dave Sundby has tickets if others want to go. Please contact Dave.

 

Gary Rusu reminds us that grocery cards are available. Sales have been slow in recent weeks. He has cards for Co-op and Sobey’s with tickets for Safeway on order. This is an easy fundraiser - please buy some cards.

 

There will be no meeting next week (October 10^th) due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

 

Sergeant at Arms: Steve Wilson

 

Sergeant Steve noted that the Mayor was present and many of our members had shown up without wearing a tie. He fined the members at several tables who were not wearing ties.

 

Steve noted all Don really needs to do to win re-election is bring an Ikea and Olive Garden to Saskatoon.

 

Steve went on with a quiz about the Ryder Cup which was played this weekend. The members of the club that are golf enthusiasts did far better on the quiz than the non-golfers.

 

The sergeant reminded the members that we are not only being asked to elect a new mayor but a new council and school board. He challenged the members as to whether they know which ward they live in. Most seemed to think they did.

 

 

H Vic D for having the Hello Song sung on key.

 

H Dave S for attending first game at the new stadium in Regina. He seemed very pleased with how it has turned out. He had a great time with Mark G and two other Rotarians travelling to and from the game. H Mark G. Seconded Dave’s comments. Jim W put in a sad dollar for the cheating Regina Rams who quite unfairly kept blitzing our quarterback.

 

S Wayne McG, who also attended the game, for Jim W not leading the ‘WHO’ chant. Wayne felt intimidated sitting surrounded by Rams fans. Jim also put in a sad dollar for the Saskatoon Media bus that passed by another bus broken down on the highway. Vic responded that the bus appeared to be unoccupied.

 

H Mike G for Steve W giving up his seat so he would have a place to eat (there was just enough room to seat everybody at the meeting).

 

H Peter Z for the McClure Place Golden Heart dinner at which Adriana was honoured. From the official program:

 

‘ Adriana Van Duvendyk has been Recreational Supervisor at Circle Drive Special Care home for over 10 years. What becomes immediately clear to all is her genuine love for all those that have ben entrusted to her. Adriana works tirelessly to ensure that the residents are respected and well cared for. Passion along with a spirit of reckless enthusiasm best describes this remarkable care warrior. Adriana’s time with the residents is more than a job opportunity - for she has taken on a personal ministry. Families of the residents have noticed Adriana’s deep understanding of the need for activities to enhance [the] physical and mental health of the residents. The residents of the facility fondly refer to her as “Adriana Special.”

 

H Graham P for the Leaf’s exhibition game in Saskatoon on Tuesday.

 

H Maureen Torr for her successful trip to Uganda and the love of the people she serves there.

 

H Dave S for the recognition our club received at the Saskatoon Service Club meeting for our involvement in the Kiwanis apple project. Mike G was recognized by all as an outstanding clown. Jim W put in a happy dollar for the $340 we raised for our club through our participation.

 

 

 

We all know Don both as mayor and as a Rotarian and honorary member of our club. Don has served 22 years on Council and 13 of them as mayor. Jack said he is always impressed that Mayor Atchison keeps a copy of the Rotary Four Way Test on his desk.

 

 

 

Don began his talk by reminding us that today he would speak to us as a candidate for re-election and not as mayor. He said he has always been proud to be associated with Rotary and believes the first test ‘Is it the Truth?’ has served him well particularly when difficult decisions had to be made when there was conflict. This has gotten Don through 22 years of civic service without a scandal.

 

The city growth plan was approved in April. Don hopes this will provide a vision for the city going forward. Of course things will change along the way. For one thing the plan extends through the life of more than one Council and future Councils may have somewhat different visions. Work will continue through consensus and out of the public eye. Being out of the public eye allows more possibilities to be explored.

 

The city is growing rapidly with 90,000 new people in the last decade with 50,000 new citizens. We have been the number one economy in Canada. When one looks to the future one should start with a vision. Don’s future vision would include: Getting the CP railway out of the city and creating a long walking corridor connecting the city from Wanuskewin to Chief Whitecap. It would include a multiplex event centre in the downtown. But much is happening how. In Don’s tenure as mayor 16 new bridge lanes have been created. There are also 15 new schools built or currently under construction.

 

Policing has always been an important issue for Don. Nobody is proud of our status as the crime capital of Canada. Some of the reported crime is the result of active policing particularly the monitoring of individuals on probation or undertakings. This results in charges that would not have occurred had the police been less active. A big part in reducing crime in Saskatoon comes in the form of community initiatives. Don thanked our club most profusely for our creation and ongoing participation in RAP. Though crime is the first thing associated with policing it is important to note that 70% of all calls to police now are for non-traditional reasons. The police are on the front line dealing with people with addictions or mental health issues.

 

Repairs on roads are finally getting caught up. It is expected that all roads will have been repaired by the end of 2018. The repairs remaining are the result of infrastructures repairs undertaken in the past year. Once this program is completed vigilance must be continued so that things do not fall behind again.

 

In the end Don pointed out that he believes the election on October 26^th represents a choice between keeping Saskatoon working as it has been or risking inexperience going forward. He wanted to leave as much time as possible for questions.

 

 

Adriana Van D asked how we have done so well with bridges when other cities (such as Prince Albert) have not been able to get their projects done. Don said we have been successful because we work through partnerships. Our partners are the provincial and federal governments. In a true partnership all must contribute. Saskatoon has had great success with this attitude.

 

Wayne McG asked whether all the road repairs completed to date have been paid for. Don confirmed that they had. The rises in the mill rate has allowed this to happen.

 

Scott B asked about the funding that the provincial government has cut from the Lighthouse. Don indicated that 24 residents of the Lighthouse have been put out on the street. Some already are ending up in the police cells where the police have no desire to have them. Nobody is happy with the situation particularly as winter approaches. Don believes a solution will come. We will not allow people to stay outside in the winter.

 

Mike LeC thanked Don for his interest and support of RAP. Don said that RAP is both a worthwhile project and makes financial sense without other considerations.

 

Claire H. Asked why the cost of the new art gallery seems to be so out of control. Don said the problem was that the public was just not getting the full story. The public is being told the cost of the gallery will end up being 108 to 110 million. This includes a parkade that is funded separately from the art gallery project and was to be built anyway. The actual gallery cost is to run about 89 million. This is where our partnership method comes to bear. Of the total cost the Federal government is providing 13 million and the province is providing 17 million. Various private individuals and foundations are making up a significant part of the remainder - particularly the Remai family whose name the gallery will bear. In all, the city’s portion will not exceed 30 million and Don fully expects that it will be a little less. He doesn’t want to use a lower number because if it were exceeded there would be a political cost. In judging we should bear in mind that our partners and the private contributors would not have provided the same level of support of a Mendel upgrade. An upgraded Mendel would still not be able to host the kinds of shows we now expect to attract. It has turned out that there would be significant additional costs related to the Mendel and the replacement of boilers and roofing. Don believes the new art gallery is an important part of becoming the city we want to be and attracting more head office and scientific activity to our city. There are other needs such as additional ice surfaces that need to be addressed but the senior governments were willing to fund the art gallery and would not have provided the same support to other projects.

 

Don particularly emphasized that he knew public perception of the art gallery was going going to be difficult. He believes that once it is up and running people will understand it better. It is to be a project for all of us and not for an elite. Jim W expressed his support of the art gallery and believes the press is misleading the public.

 

Don was asked a final question about the viability of moving more head offices to Saskatoon. He believes this needs to be part of the long-term plan but it would require the help and co-operation of other levels of government. There is no doubt that having the Potash Corporation based here has contributed to the city. There are many abatements available to help attract head offices. In particular we should be talking to companies in the physics and engineering (to build on the CLS Syncotron) and the Ag-bio industry. In time the Syncotron can also be expanded to do more kinds of work.

 

At this point President Jack announced it was 1:15 and we would have to adjourn.

 

 

 

Next Meeting:

 

NO MEETING NEXT MONDAY (October 10th)

 

October 17^th No Meeting at Bessborough

 

12:00pm at the Travelodge Hotel, Subject: The RAP Strategic Document