The Weyburn exhibition grounds will see improvements worth $98,000 done, with the work to be paid for by the profits of the Weyburn Oil Show, city council was told at their meeting on Oct. 9.

The Oil Show Board will provide the city with $40,000 from the proceeds of this year's Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show, and the balance of $58,000 will be borrowed from the city and repaid after the next one or two oil shows.

The improvement to be made to the exhibition grounds will allow more lots to be opened, which became an issue at this year's show as it sold out early with many exhibitors left on a waiting list.

The improvements include putting in high-strength pavement adjacent to the McFadden Building to enable the unloading of heavy oilfield equipment for the outdoor exhibits of the Oil Show. The estimate for the pavement is $22,500.

Also, the Oil Show board proposes closure of the north-south road into the grounds from Coteau Avenue, and a concrete swale down the middle of the existing roadway with drainage changes and paved approaches to the oil show's internal roadways; this work has an estimated cost of $65,000. Lastly, the board wants to create a new graveled parking lot on the west side of Fifth Street N.W. to accommodate visitor parking for the Oil Show; this would cost an estimated $10,000.

"The least we can do is support the Oil Show, as they bring a lot of money to the city," said Coun. Bill Rudachyk.

"It's not only good for the Oil Show, but this will be good for the other users of the fair grounds," added Coun. Nancy Styles.

The number of building permits continue to climb at City Hall, as the totals already eclipse last year's year-end totals.

As of the end of September, the City of Weyburn issued 141 building permits worth $23.956 million; of this total, there are 41 single family dwelling units and 49 multiple family dwelling units created, for a total of 90 dwelling units, worth $16.476 million.

This compares to last year when the city had issued 91 permits worth $6.595 million as of the end of September, with 20 dwelling units worth $3.775 million. At the end of 2006, there were 107 building permits issued worth $10.485 million, a total already surpassed this year.

The city has sold a total of 56 lots as of the end of September, which compares to 25 at this time a year ago, or 37 lots sold in all of 2006.

One result of having so many permits to deal with is the city has wanted to hire another building inspector as the building department is behind in doing inspections, and following up on construction projects.

"Not being up to date with projects is obviously a bad thing, with increased liability risks, customer service issues and potential loss of property tax revenue through lack of timely additions to the property tax roll," said Doug Mulhall in a report to council.

The has arranged with Professional Building Inspection to have an inspector appointed to do inspections in the city; council passed a resolution to appoint Bill Hudema as the inspector.

Nickle Lake Regional Park is being prepared for the winter after a successful summer camping season, council was told.

Camping at Nickle Lake was up by 18 per cent this past year, and work has begun to close up the park.

The patching of the access road to Nickle Lake has been completed, and all water lines have been blown out for the winter, said Coun. Dick Michel.

He also noted the floating boat docks will need to be replaced after this season, and this will be done at a cost of $10,000 before next year.

In other council business:

· City council was informed that city manager Bob Smith received the Premier's Award of Excellence in Public Service, for his work in assisting the BizPal program up and running. He was presented the award by Premier Lorne Calvert in a ceremony in Regina on Oct. 3.

· The city's Facilities Committee approved the installation of new seats in the Weyburn Colosseum in sections A, B, G and H; first, plans and drawings will need to be done up by an engineer to be included in the tender documents. The seats will be installed after the current hockey season is completed. In addition, the renovations to the Colosseum will include straightening out the southern wall and adding a second storey, with the option of installing corporate boxes on the south addition.