DAVIDSON—Davidson’s new swimming pool committee expects to meet this Thursday to review options and costs of building a new swimming pool.

They will also look at the pros and cons of possible locations including the current spot, the Communiplex and a third site that’s being considered.

Trevor Ouelette, Davidson’s rec. director, said he will present this third location at Thursday’s meeting.

This mysterious site has possibilities to enhance the pool’s visibility and increase traffic, Ouelette said as a teaser.

A pool is an investment in the community. Ouelette said a new pool may not be vital to the community, “but it makes it more inviting.”

He said amenities such as a nice rink, golf course and playgrounds help persuade people to move to a community, particularly people with young families who want places for their kids to play.

Last Wednesday Ouelette was working on his presentation for this week’s meeting where he will present the committee with some options.

He said there are three main types of pools they may consider. The first is a steel-framed pool with a vinyl liner, the style used for residential pools. This pool is economical to build, Ouelette said, but it cannot have a beach entry.

The second type is a zero-entry membrane liner. Ouelette said these pools are constructed using a very thick membrane with concrete flooring and steel-framed walls. These have many design possibilities and permit a beach entry.

The third, and most expensive option, is a zero-entry, spider tie concrete pool. This is the typical concrete outdoor pool. Because it is all concrete construction, it allows for full design possibilities.

With these options in mind, Ouelette said, “The next step is for the community to decide how much money do you want to raise or how much money do you want to spend? Do we try to fill our wish list or do we tailor our wish list to what we can afford.”

He said a pool with “beach entry into a paddling pool which leads into the main pool would be a dream.”

Ouelette recently met with a contractor from Pleasureway Sales in Saskatoon to go over various options.

He said they talked about a pool that is junior Olympic size with two diving boards.

In the meantime, Ouelette said he’s been researching current and prospective provincial and federal government grants.

He said there are many little grants that they can apply for and he has all those contacts.

“If there are any big $100,000 grants out there, they are hiding because I can’t find them,” he said.

DAVIDSON—Ratepayers in the RMs of Arm River and Willner will have a place to take their recycling.

The councils of both RMs recently decided to rent a large bin from Loraas so they may provide recycling to their ratepayers on a trial basis.

The bin will be located behind the RM office on Lincoln Street in Davidson.

“We’re going to try it and if it doesn’t work, we’ll take it out,” Lorne Willner, Reeve of the R.M. of Arm River, said. “We’re happy to try it.”

The bin is there for the use of both rural municipalities’ ratepayers and residents.

The bin will be locked and will be accessible to ratepayers during office hours by signing for a key.

Willner said they will not accept any materials that may go to SARCAN including milk jugs and other beverage containers.

He’d rather see that people support SARCAN with these materials instead of the deposit money going to Loraas, which is charging rent on the bin.

The RMs have placed a notice in this week’s paper that explains the recycling bin policy as well as detailing acceptable and unacceptable material.

Willner said the spirit is to encourage people to recycle.

“We’re happy to still be using the landfill and will work with Davidson as much as we can,” he said.

DAVIDSON—Wanted to buy: one strip of flat land in the Davidson area to serve as the headquarters of the Saskatchewan Air Cadets’ flying and gliding program.

An ad similar to this is in the Leader Classifieds this week, placed by Gord McRae on behalf of the Saskatchewan Air Cadet League.

The Air Cadet League is looking at relocating their gliding and flying centres, currently located at Moose Jaw and North Battleford, to south central Saskatchewan at Davidson.

“Davidson is the choice of the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Air Cadets because it is central,” said McRae, who is a director of the Saskatchewan Air Cadet League. The Air Cadets have satellite locations at Prince Albert and Yorkton that will remain in their current location.

McRae said he and Wayne Morrison have been trying for about 15 years to get the air cadets motivated to centralize the gliding and flying program so they can “put the air back into air cadets”.

McRae said under the current situation, members of Saskatchewan’s 36 air cadet squadrons, hoping to soar, instead spend four to six hours riding buses to either Moose Jaw or to North Battleford. On some occasions, once they arrive they find the weather isn’t suitable for gliding. The dejected air cadets then have a long bus ride back home.

“What’s happening in Moose Jaw is NATO is doing more (flight) training on weekends (at 15 Wing Moose Jaw), so we get less flying time,” McRae said.

If the gliding program moves to Davidson cadets will spend less time on the road.

“Out of 36 squadrons at least 25 of them would be under three hours driving time to Davidson,” McRae said.

The relocation proposal needs support from the pilots who are based in Moose Jaw, Regina and Saskatoon. It also needs some land.

They hope a landowner will agree to sell a strip of land 200 feet wide and 5,000 feet long. They also need room at the end of the runway for a hangar.

The land needs to be flat, have road access, and ideally, would be within 5 miles of Highway 11. The airstrip would be seeded to grass.

McRae said the Air Cadet League would purchase the land and build a hangar to house four gliders, two airplanes and a winch truck.

“We’ve got to start some place,” McRae said. “It has to happen with the intention we can relocate it and it will be our strip, our land.”

He said having the gliding centre at Davidson would be good for the community and its businesses.

DAVIDSON—Members of Davidson Country Club Golf Co-operative are at a loss over what to do about their property taxes.

Since about 2006 the golf club, which operates as a non-profit co-operative, has received an abatement of its property taxes from the R.M. of Willner.

But all this has changed.

The golf club’s volunteer board advised its members of the situation at their annual general meeting March 27.

“Whatever we can do we’re trying,” club president Cliff Cross said. “We thought we’d bring it to everyone’s attention.”

The golf club received a letter in September informing them that at a special meeting on Sept. 22, R.M. council decided to abate the golf course’s municipal property taxes of $8,006 for the 2011 year.

At the same meeting, the letter states, council decided to repeal Bylaw No. 01/2010 that abated the golf course’s municipal taxes until 2014. The bylaw was repealed under “Section 3 of Exhibit A ‘any other conditions that council may in future specify.’ Council remains open to considering future arrangements for inclusion in the 2012 budget preparation,” administrator Bonny Goodsman states in the letter.

In January, the golf club was advised by a letter that the R.M. of Willner, although it was not abating the 2012 taxes, would give them a $4,000 recreation grant instead. The R.M. is also giving Davidson Recreation Board a grant of $6,000.

This $4,000 grant in lieu of the tax abatement, if the 2012 property tax bill is similar to last year’s, means the golf club will be required to pay about $4,000 in municipal property taxes and $4,900 in school taxes in 2012.

“If we have to pay these taxes every year, we’re going to be broke in no time,” Cross said.

For the full story, please read see this week’s edition of The Davidson Leader.