I t was an extensive agenda at the March 28 potentially one of the most important decisions in regard to the future of the city was made.
What might surprise people is that it was not the 2010 year end financial numbers, the ongoing work to deal with potential flooding on the west side of Yorkton, or the City's Asset Management Project.
The decision in question was one where Yorkton Council unanimously agreed to the City entering into the memorandum of understanding to participate in the Communities of Tomorrow Leveraged Municipal Innovation Fund.
"We have been participating with other Cities and the Communities of Tomorrow in pursuing innovation in Municipal Infrastructure Innovation," explained City Manager David Putz at the meeting.
The idea of cities cooperating on developing innovative solutions in terms of infrastructure could be as important an undertaking as any the city will be involved with.
There are some undeniable truths facing municipalities moving forward, and at the top of the list is that there is a deficiency in terms to upkeep infrastructure.
As an example, locally we hear Council talking about sidewalk replacement in the city taking 75-years. That is a number which is realistically hard to fathom considering anyone purchasing a new home today with a new sidewalk in front will not see it technically replaced until 2086.
The situation for pavement, underground sewer and water lines are in similar situations.
And certainly locally we know the cost of upgrading and replacing major structures with the Gallagher Centre project near $25 million, and the new water treatment plant and associated work flirting with $50 million.
So moving forward, innovative solutions are going to be critical.
We have heard about concepts such as geothermal heating for a facility such as the Gallagher Centre which was briefly discussed at the time of that project and then passed over.
The new initiative might provide the information to make going down such a new path easier for Councils in the future, and might even help access new funding sources for such innovation.
With a new landfill project already being planned for Yorkton, incorporating waste-to-energy technologies such as gasification, Plasma arc gasification, pyrolysis and anaerobic digestion would still be cutting edge and certainly something a group looking into innovation should be a vanguard for.
The City of Yorkton is also among the communities which have applied to be one of two to pilot a SaskPower project to use localized windmills to generate electricity for hockey arenas. Once again it's the sort of innovation that will be paramount moving forward as it stands to reduce operating costs.
The three examples are innovations already being talked about. The Communities of Tomorrow group should be working on ideas that are just that, ideas with a collective eye to proving their worth. Anything which can reduce infrastructure replacement and maintenance costs will be a major benefit for all Saskatchewan cities, including Yorkton.
