A $35,000 cheque from the Weyburn Oil Show board given to city council on Monday night will help an upgrade of the exhibition grounds to proceed.

Three members of the Oil Show board were on hand to present the cheque, which is part of the largest-ever profit made by the biennial show.

Spokesman Ron Jeffery told council the show made just over $45,000 in profit, and with this cheque the Oil Show has now returned over $115,000 back to the city. Most of that money has gone to improvements to the grounds or facilities on the exhibition grounds, which benefits all users of the grounds.

The remainder of the profit will be used to cover the startup administrative costs for the next oil show, scheduled for June 5-7, 2001, said Jeffery.

Prior to giving the city this money, the board had suggested to council upgrades be made to the road and area around the McFadden Building, located behind the Curling Rink.

Mayor Don Schlosser advised council and the Oil Show board members that he and Don Hansen had met with the Agriculture Society about the proposed improvements, and the society indicated they are in favour of this work going ahead.

The city's facilities committee will meet with a contractor on Thursday to discuss possible solutions to the problems with the Colosseum's concrete floor.

The meeting comes on the heels of an announcement on Monday that Weyburn has been awarded the Canadian Mixed Curling Championships for 2001, which will be held in the Colosseum.

The building department has had discussions with this company before, said Coun. Ray Hamm, with a view to determining what improvements can be made to improve the existing floor. This company has dealt with other communities with similar problems, caused mainly by frost heaves in the ground below the floor.

Coun. Hamm added that the sound system in the Colosseum has been serviced, with a technician in the building during a Red Wings game to hear how it sounded. The company will set up new speakers in the lobby.

The facilities committee also discussed four expressions of interest in the public library expansion project, and chose the submission from McGinn and Associates, the architects of the new Southeast Regional Library headquarters building which opened on Nov. 6.

The committee subsequently met with McGinn and were pleased with the concept design put forward for the library addition, which would connect the public library building to the regional library building. The committee recommended engaging the firm as architects for the project, which was approved by council.

City council denied a request from homeowners on McGillivray Drive to help pay for damages caused by aphids in an elm tree on their property this past summer and fall.

Council had received a letter from Rick and Irene Dutchak with a request to cover some of the expenses arising from the damages caused by the excretions of aphids in the tree. The damages included black stains all over an adjacent fence and new vinyl siding on their house. After an earlier request to council, the problem tree was removed, along with another similar problem tree on Qu'Appelle Street. The Dutchaks requested $275 to help repair the damages, not including the cost of siding and fence replacement.

"We've had problems like this in the past and we've never paid compensation before. We would be setting a precedent if we do pay this," said Coun. Marlene Nedelcov.

Coun. Debra Button agreed, adding the comment the city did its part in removing the tree at the Dutchaks' request.

The city's new Leisure Services Commission met for the first time on Nov. 16, and considered a number of items which had been passed to it by council.

Among those items was a request from resident Kevin Melle, on behalf of residents on Warren Avenue, for the city's assistance with an outdoor rink on a road out-turn on the city's east side.

The commission denied the request, citing costs and maintenance needed by the city for such a rink along with liability worries if someone was hurt at the rink. A suggestion was made that the residents seek the help of a service organization to set up a rink this winter in the neighbourhood.

The commission also considered a request from the Red Wings to receive the proceeds from having a beer company logo put onto the Colosseum ice. Commission members were told that Sask. Wheat Pool paid $1,800 to have their logo put into the ice, and that it would take most of a day to put in a new logo.

There would be costs associated with shaving the ice down, intalling the logo and rebuilding the ice back up, along with the cost of lost rentals during the period the ice was being worked on.

The commission recommended that if the logo is installed on or after Jan. 1, 2000, which is after Serco's contract expires, the Red Wings must cover the cost to have the work done. The recommendation will be sent to the Red Wings for their response.

Council was told the lowest bid for a new police car for the Weyburn Police Service came from Barber Mot]ors, for a 2000 Chevrolet Impala, which will be in place in the new year.

Council members who are on the police commission were asked why they will be keeping the fourth police car when the new one arrives instead of turning it over to one of the city's departments.

Coun. Bill Rudachyk said the police asked if the car could be kept as they often don't have a vehicle available when they need to attend to business, such as attending court or travelling out of the city on official business.

The extra car could also be used by other city employees who travel outside of Weyburn for conferences or seminars, added Mayor Schlosser, as they often use their own vehicles. With the DARE program to start soon in city schools, taught by two city police officers, the care could also be used by those officers without tying up a patrol car. He added the car was appraised at a value of $8,000.

Council was told two business tax arrears were declared as uncollectable and will be written off as bad debts. One was for EZ Riding Saddlery for around $1,300, and the other was for Mr. Ribs for $1,980.

City controller Stan Runne explained that in the case of Mr. Ribs, the former owner of the restaurant has now returned to Yorkton; in the case of EZ Saddlery, the account will be turned over to the city solicitor to see if there can be any recovery from the store's assets.

In dealing with end-of-December dates, council voted to move the Dec. 27 council meeting to Dec. 20, and to keep administration and finance offices open at City Hall on Dec. 27 with a reduced staff. Other departments, like public works, will be closed on Dec. 27, and the police and fire departments will operate as usual on all dates. The offices will also be kept open on Dec. 31, but closed on Dec. 24.