Council reports on everything they did in 2025, what they are working on in 2026 at town hall meeting
Moosomin Town Council
February 2, 2026, 1:10 pm
Nicole Taylor, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Moosomin Town Council held a town hall meeting on Thursday, giving residents a chance to hear about what the town had been doing and ask questions.
Reports were given on different departments and committees, with the general public getting a chance to ask questions after each report.
The meeting started with a tribute to former mayor Larry Tomlinson, who passed away last Monday, and with a moment of silence in his memory.
“Larry had a passion for the community that was second to none,” says Mayor Murray Gray. “He worked tirelessly to make it the best it could be.
“Rest assured, if there’s a project that happened in the last 20 years in our area, there’s a pretty good chance Larry had a hand in having it come to fruition. His legacy will live on for years to come, as the residents of this area will benefit from his passion and his hard work.
“He was a great mayor and an even better human being, and I am thankful to have had the opportunity to work alongside him and then learn from him in order to take this role on as mayor. He truly left this community in a better place than he found it, and that is the epitome of a great leader. Rest easy, Larry, and know an entire community is missing you.”
Financial report
Councillor Andie Hodgson gave the financial report for 2025. She said that despite there being a 12 per cent decrease in municipal tax revenue in 2025 due to 2025 being a reassessment year, and rising costs and inflation averaging 2.1 per cent, the town held the mill rate at 13.5 mills.
“Despite these pressures, Council and municipal staff work closely together to maintain a fiscally responsible approach,” said Hodgson. “Year end results came in just $500 over our approved budget plan. This minimal variance demonstrates our commitment to continued fiscal responsibility through ongoing public works and infrastructure projects, some expense and cost savings that we manage throughout the year.
“We focused on reducing expenses through a variety of methods, including balancing equipment and fleet purchases with both new and used items to lower costs and diversify our aging fleet. Majority of cost savings were achieved by purchasing equipment previously rented, eliminating ongoing rental fees and reducing operating costs overall, providing better value for taxpayers.
“This year we had significant investments that were made in our aging infrastructure. We’re quite proud of our water treatment plant, completed at a total cost of $13.7 million funded 73 per cent through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure fund with ICIP with $5.492 million in federal funding, $4.576 million in provincial funding, and $3.66 million from the town via a $3.5 million loan with a 15 year amortization and an annual payment of $371,278.
“The change to our water and sewer rates resulted in a $389,793 differential year over year. This aligns billing with our operational costs and covers our annual loan payments, which we are now ony ear two of the loan. The last rate adjustment we had to our and water sewer rates was November of 2019.”
Hodgson also spoke about the airport runway project with the town committing to five year five annual payments in 2023 of $135,999.
“This investment enables critical medical air ambulance landings and improves health services,” she said.
She says the town has also come in under budget on a number of public works projects over the year, and has moved from a landfill to a transfer station and bi-weekly garbage pickup to alleviate costs.
“Despite a year marked by significant challenges, declining revenues and increased operating pressures and major infrastructure needs, the town continued to demonstrate strong financial stewardship and commitment to community growth through prudent decision making, transparent communication and collaborative partnerships. We have upheld our responsibility to both current and future residents. We recognize that every dollar spent is an investment in our community, our community’s future, and every decision is made with care for both immediate needs and long term sustainability.
“Our financial position remains stable, with $1.2 million in our general cash account on hand as of December 31, 2025.”
Public Works report
Councillor Garry Towler gave a report on water and sewer. He thanked the town staff for their work on the new water treatment plant and said that for the most part the pant is running well. He added that about 95 per cent of water meters in Moosomin have also been changed to smart meters in 2025.
He said the town has saved lots of money by relining its sewer lines rather than replacing them, using a company called Acme.
“They’ve relined just about 3,000 meters of our sewer lines at a cost of $1.5 million to the town. But if we had to rip their streets up and put in new pipes it would be far, far more than that.
“When they’re relining, they’re realigning with fibreglass and it’s getting wrapped inside. And in some areas, there’s a 30, year guarantee, and in other areas, there’s a 40 year guarantee.”
He also said the public works department wants to create a five-man construction crew to handle certain projects.
He said tentative projects for 2026 include the Moose Street storm sewer, water line replacement on Henry Street from Chestnut to Windover, dealing with lagoon seepage, road building prep, work on a north industrial loop, and a Gordon Street loop from the water treatment plant to Cook Road.
Recreation report
Victor Santos gave the recreation report. He said the rec department projected a $453,000 deficit in 2025, but was able to cut that deficit nearly in half to $245,000.
He said the recreation generated about $25 million for the town’s local economy in 2025.
Santos said the town saw significant improvements and record usage at the pool this year, and also pressure on the town’s ice time at the rink with record minor hockey numbers, the addition of the Junior B Steelhawks, and the skating club using 169.25 hours of ice time in 2025. He said the ice is in high demand from 7 am to 11 pm on multiple days, and a citizens committee has been formed to explore expanding ice capacity in Moosomin.
Upcoming events include the grand opening of Golf World on July 1 and the U19 provincial girls baseball finals in July.
He also pointed out that new pickleball courts had been completed at Bradley Park, and scoreboards had been added at four ball diamonds, and talked about robust usage at the Moosomin Visual Arts Centre, which delivered programming to 300 unique participants, drawing individuals from around the region to Moosomin.
Library report
Moosomin Librarian Maegan Nielsen gave a report on the Moosomin Library, talking about some of the things the library offers, its programming, and some of their goals moving forward into 2026.
She said in 2025 patrons saved $226,000 by borrowing 9,816 items, and that 96 new library cards were issued. She said the library hosted 249 free programs with 20,428 people attending, primarily children.
Nielsen said one of the library’s strategic goals this year is community outreach and bringing library services to people outside the library’s, promoting the library’s importance in the community and to local and provincial governments. She said they wanted to offer some programming in other locations, such as the school, and not just the library.
She also noted that renovations at the library have made it a more welcoming space.
Tourism and Communities in Bloom
Victor Santos gave a report on tourism in Moosomin and the Communities in Bloom program, pointing out Moosomin’s achievement of receiving five blooms in the national competition in 2025. Moosomin will once again be competing at the nation level in 2026.
Santos said town and community initiatives such as the annual community cleanup, outdoor basketball courts, additions at Bradley Park and ongoing improvement to rec facilities in town continue to contribute to Moosomin being a nice place to visit.
He said accessiblity remains a top priority for the town, with $75,000 allocated in 2025 for the improvement of sidewalks, and the installation of benches throughout the town.
He also pointed out that there will be a tourism rest stop and information centre created on the north side of town near Highway 1 at the middle entrance to town to encourage travellers on the highway to come into town.
The town has also made efforts to promote its heritage buildings, and will also be continuing to replace trees that have been affected by Dutch Elm Disease.
“As we look to 2026, our focus will be on sustaining and enhancing our green spaces, preserving our heritage, and continued collaboration between council, our committees, local organizations and businesses, and most notably our residents. Moosomin is not only well position to maintain its achievements, but to set an even higher benchmark for the community pride and sustainability in the years to come.”
Waste Management & Recycling
Councillor Devon Nosterud gave an update on waste management and recycling.
“In 2025 our landfill reached full capacity, and in accordance with Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment requirements, it had to be closed,” he said. “The site is now being converted into a transfer station, and instead of disposing of waste locally, trash will be collected in bins and transported to the Whitewood landfill.
“Building, the transfer station will be a significant cost for the town, but it is a necessary and unavoidable project. Without it, Moosomin will have no local option for waste disposal hub. We are working closely with engineering firms and the Ministry of Environment to properly decommission the old landfill and construct a fully compliant transfer station.
“However, with the closure of the landfill, the cost of transferring waste off site has increased substantially, and to avoid passing these additional costs on to residents. Council made the decision to move curbside garbage pickup from weekly to bi weekly.”
Nosterud also talked about the SK Recycles program that will cover the cost of recycling for all municipalities in the future.
“As a result, residents can expect recycling charges to be removed from the utility bills starting in June of 2026,” he said.
“In closing, while there have been necessary changes to how we manage waste and movement, council has worked to ensure services remain reliable, compliant and affordable. Through careful planning and collaboration, we are positioning the town to for a more sustainable and cost effective future.”
Economic Development Report
Mayor Murray Gray gave the economic development report, talking about how the town has joined forces with the town of Rocanville and RM of Rocanville to form Gateway Economic Development.
“Working together to grow our region is beneficial so both businesses and levels of government see the collaboration and know we are working together,” he said. “That makes us more attractive to businesses. It makes us more attractive to try to get grants. So basically, a business looking to come to the area takes a look at the fact that we all work together, and that makes them want to come here, because they’re not going to have issues with fighting between RMs and towns.
“We’ve already seen that with some of the grants we’ve been able to tap into. The provincial government certainly recognizes our ability to work together in our region, and that shows through and through as we continue to work together. It’s very important.
“We’ve also been working on our housing accelerator program. Originally we looked at 43 doors for our community, and when we announced that grant, probably the biggest value to us was the free media coverage that we got throughout the country because Moosomin got on the map because of the $30,000 incentive.
“People still talk about that. When you go out of town, they know that Moosomin has an initiative that’s unique and certainly helping to add doors. To date, 30 doors have been added and paid out. We paid out for 30 doors added since that initiative was announced, and seven more permits are approved and in varying states of completion. So that accounts for 37 of the 43 doors, which leaves six more doors that will qualify for the incentive.”
Gray also talked about how the town hired a company to help them complete a 10-year economic development plan.
“Rather than just sit and talk about it from a committee standpoint, we felt like we needed a professional in order to give us a little bit of direction, and so in the engagement with the community, I think they did an awesome job of the plan, and the committee definitely has a roadmap going forward for (EDO) Jeff (Cole) to work on.”
Gray also shed light on developments on Moosomin’s goal to have a CT scanner in town.
“It has taking a long, long time in order to get the plan back on where it would go in the hospital and what the cost would be in order to do that. There basically wasn’t a simple spot where we could just put it without a large renovation.
“The Sask Health Authority, MLA Kevin Weedmark tells me, within weeks, not months, they’ll have that cost analysis done.
“I think there’s been several examples over the last few years where that CT scanner in combination with our airport, in combination with fixed wing ambulance and STARS can save lives, and there’s no cost that we can put on that. That’s very important to the residents of Moosomin.”
Youth Councillor report
Now in his second year as the town’s youth councillor, Rudy Martens gave a written report on his time on council.
“Being a youth town councilor isn’t just a title to me. It’s an opportunity to make sure the voices of young people in Moosomin are heard, respected and considered,” he wrote. “Whether it’s recreation, education, community spaces or future planning, youth have a stake in where this town is headed.
“Over the past year, I’ve learned a lot about how local government works and how much effort goes into keeping Moosomin a great place to live. Council has shown me the inner workings and behind the scenes work that goes into our recreation facilities, public infrastructure and economic development. I’ve also seen how important communication is between Council and the community as our residents’ feedback is heavily considered when making decisions in meetings.
“Thank you to the Council, to the community and to everyone who supports youth involvement in our town. I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve, and I’m excited to continue working towards a positive future for Moosomin.”
