Concerns over roads, government funding, the biofuels industry and the future of K-12 education in rural areas will be discussed at the upcoming 102nd annual convention for the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM).

Delegates from RM councils in the area will be making their way to Saskatoon from March 12-15 to discuss resolutions, hear the premier and question him and his cabinet ministers in the bearpit session, which will be some of the highlights of the three-day gathering.

After registration on Monday, March 12, Tuesday will include such features as an address by Lieut.-Gov. Gordon Barnhart, and presentation of the Lieutenant-Governor's Award for Outstanding Service to Rural Saskatchewan. Other speakers that day include SARM president David Marit, Government Relations minister Harry van Mulligen and Sask Party leader Brad Wall.

On Wednesday, Premier Lorne Calvert will address the convention, followed by the bearpit session with cabinet ministers, and in the afternoon, the Southeast Cornerstone School Division board will be on hand for a panel discussion on the future of K-12 education.

Reeve Carmen Sterling from the RM of Weyburn said as the board is from the Weyburn and southeast area, it will be interesting to hear how they view the state of schools in coming years, and if rural residents need to prepare for more school closures.

There will be an election for the president and vice-president of SARM on Thursday, along with debate of resolutions and an address by a federal minister yet to be named.

Some of the resolutions of interest to the Weyburn RM include one about repair or replacement of bridges, which notes that with costs ranging from $250,000 to $450,000 per bridge, the cost can be substantial to an RM. The resolution asks for a program that can help RMs deal with this cost in their respective areas.

"I know there are some programs that give you some funding, but the bridges have to be a certain size to qualify for grants. We don't have a significant number of bridges, but it can be a substantial cost if we couldn't get a grant for it," said Reeve Sterling.

One of three resolutions put forward by the Regina District Association of RMs, of which Weyburn is a member, deals with the costs of regional libraries and the requirement that municipalities contribute to them.

Similar to a resolution brought by Weyburn to the SUMA convention, this resolution notes that the costs escalate as the province cuts back their funding to regional library systems, and the resolution asks SARM to lobby that participation be voluntary instead of mandatory.

"It's not that we have a problem with the library, but it seems that the request in the levy can be excessive. There are a lot of programs where the government is withdrawing grants. If they continue to pull money out, where are they going to raise the money to operate, and does that result in a reduction of services?" commented the reeve.

The Regina association of RMs is also asking that scentless chamomile be classified as a noxious weed. It is generally known as a noxious weed, said Reeve Sterling, but she was shocked to find out it's not even listed as such under the Noxious Weeds Act. The act provides for special control measures for such weeds as leafy spurge, field bindweed, Russian knapweed and hoary cress, and the RMs want chamomile in there as it's difficult to control and is a non-native invasive plant species.

Reeve Sterling also noted she fully supports a resolution asking for fuel tax exemption for RMs, saying, "I'm a big advocate of 'why tax a taxing authority?' It makes no sense to do that, the same with the PST. I'd be in agreement with just rebating the tax back for the same reason as the sales tax should be."

Previous resolutions at SARM have asked for the ability to use marked or purple diesel when doing maintenance of RM roads; this resolution asks that the province either remove or rebate all sales taxes on fuel purchased by a municipality for municipal purposes.

Reeve Sterling also indicated support for a resolution asking that the province's "Building Communities" program be more flexible, as it only provides funding for projects of $1 million or more. She noted many smaller municipalities could use help with smaller projects that would benefit youths and families, so the program should be amended to include smaller projects.

On the biofuels industry, a resolution notes that the Biofuels Opportunities for Producers Initiative requires 70 per cent producer ownership in order to be eligible for funding. As lending institutions prefer to have producer loans guaranteed by the government, the resolution asks that SARM lobby the government to provide loan guarantees for producer investors for regional biofuel projects, such as the ethanol plant a group of investors in the southeast area are currently working on.

Reeve Sterling commented this initiative "is something similar to small business improvement loans. With a guarantee from the government for these investments would enable farmers to be able to invest and perhaps earn something more for their product."