Civic and business leaders are heading into the year 2000 with a sense of optimism that many good things will come to the City of Weyburn, despite a tough outlook for the farming community.

Both Mayor Don Schlosser and Chamber of Commerce president Les Winters described numerous positive signs for the city in the past year, many of which bode well for a healthy new year, in particular an increase in activities in the oilpatch.

"I think it'll be a good year. We're perched on the edge, as it were. There were some things we struggled with a bit, but I think we're going to see some fairly good things happen. In farming I think the government will do what's proper and there will be some cash trickling down from that," said Winters.

"It's not pie-in-the-sky stuff. The distillery is going to go, the pipeline is being completed and (PanCanadian's) CO2 project is poised to go. The oilpatch has had more drilling licences than it has for a long time."

Mayor Schlosser agreed with that assessment, noting there are some announcements of developments pending that should start the year off well for the city, including one he expects shortly after New Year's.

"I hope we can announce very shortly after Jan. 1 the sale of the bottling plant portion of the old distillery," he said, referring to the remaining part of the facility not included in a conditional sale agreement with BioAg Food Products of Calgary. The firm is still working on finalizing its part of that agreement to buy the former distillery and warehouse, and has until March to complete the sale.

"I'm quite excited about the coming year, with some of the things that have yet to get started, and some that are still in the construction stage and will be finalized this year. At the same time, we have to keep in mind that farming is still the No. 1 industry in Weyburn. With grain prices the way they are, that's going to hurt us a bit. One of the main reasons for that is a lot of farmers couldn't get much grain seeded, so they're not going to have much income," said the mayor.

In conversations Winters has had with political and community leaders about the economy going into 2000, he said generally their outlook has been one of "cautious optimism, but underneath that cautiousness there's a sense of jubilation."

Some of that optimism is based on the turnaround in oil prices in 1999, and also on the generally healthy state of the business community at the end of the year, he said.

"I think 1999 was an improvement over '98, in spite of a lot of negative comments and situations. I believe most of the chamber members here had a fairly prosperous year, marginally better but still an increase over last year," said Winters, adding he has good reports from both the retail and service sectors.

The farming sector has had a tough year, he acknowledged, but it's nothing the community hasn't seen before with its long history of involvement in agriculture. Overall, his feeling is one of optimism: "There's a lot of good things happening if we just take a look around."

Looking back on '99, Mayor Schlosser noted the city had over $11 million in building permits issued this year, with many large projects of new or expanded businesses including Alcatel Canada Wire's expansion, the new Real Canadian Wholesale Store, Weyburn Credit Union's expansion and Southeast Regional Library's new headquarters building.

"The one that will have the most impact will be Alcatel, as there will be some spinoff businesses that will be announced in the year 2000 as a result of the expansion. I think in general we've had a very good year," said the mayor. "The turnaround in the oil prices in the last six months of '99 has certainly helped We're definitely going to see more activity in the oilpatch. I think we're going to possibly try and attract more oil companies to locate in our community."

As it's an off-year for the Weyburn Oil Show, the City and the Weyburn Oil Show Board have jointly booked a booth at the Calgary Oil Show this summer, to promote both the city and the 2001 Oil and Gas Show to the oil industry.

"We're also looking at the possibility of an addition to the Weyburn Public Library. There's a good possibility that will become a reality in the year 2000, and it's part of our budget deliberations," said the mayor, adding council is proposing to have a zero-increase budget for the city portion of the tax bill.

One option being considered in budget discussions is to add one mill to the tax levy to raise about $200,000 to be put aside into reserves for such projects as the Colosseum or the library addition. The mayor couldn't say this will happen for sure, only that it's under consideration by council. The budget for 2000 won't be finalized until after the provincial and federal budgets have been presented.

The city won't let the pasta plant issue die either, said the mayor, as they will continue to pursue the possibility of both the durum mill and pasta plant to be located here.

"The studies have indicated Weyburn is the best place to locate. We're looking at not only the durum mill, but the whole operation coming here," said the mayor.

Another good sign for the city is a net increase in population of about 200 people to 10,511 as of the end of June, according to Sask. Health figures, while the province has recorded a decline in population recently, said the mayor.

Topping city council's list of capital project priorities will be development of commercial highway frontage property along Highway 39 west of McDonald's restaurant, said Mayor Schlosser; currently there is no service road or services to any property out that way, and this will be addressed so the property is available to bring in more commercial development.

A second priority will be to ask for expressions of interest to develop residential acreages on city-owned properties.