Manitoba Chapter THE THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE PUBLIC WORKS ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLIC WORKS ASSOCIATION, THE MANITOBA PUBLIC WORKS ASSOCIATION, AND THE ALBERTA MUNICIPAL SUPERVISORS ASSOCIATION ROADRUNNER FIND OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ONLINE WINTER 2023-2024 Canada Post Mail Publications Agreement Number: 40609661 Lighting Up the Night in North BattlefordUp Front 7 A Message from the Public Works Association of British Columbia 9 A Message from the Saskatchewan Public Works Association 11 A Message from the Manitoba Public Works Association 12 A Message from the Alberta Municipal Supervisors’ Association In Every Issue 13 Safety Report: Winter Is Here: Stay Safe When Working Outdoors 15 Safety Report: Taking Safety a Step Higher 16 HR Report: Municipalities Can’t Afford Not to Do Asset Management 20 Upcoming Events 22 Legal Brief: Acquiring Public Rights Over Private Property: What Are Local Governments’ Options? 24 Investment Report: TFSA v. RRSP: What’s Your Best Bet When it Comes to Your Income Tax Return? 26 Community Highlight: Snow Problem for the City of Saskatoon 28 Community Highlight: Drying the Roads of Rural Manitoba 30 Community Highlight: A News Roads Facility for Wood Buffalo 32 Community Highlight: Lighting Up the Night in North Battleford Tech Talk 34 A Concrete Change for the Better 36 Using the Right Safety Technology Protects Road Construction Workers’ Lives 38 Index to Advertisers Manitoba Chapter THE THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE PUBLIC WORKS ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, THE SASKATCHEWAN PUBLIC WORKS ASSOCIATION, THE MANITOBA PUBLIC WORKS ASSOCIATION, AND THE ALBERTA MUNICIPAL SUPERVISORS ASSOCIATION ROADRUNNER FIND OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ONLINE WINTER 2023-2024 Canada Post Mail Publications Agreement Number: 40609661 Lighting Up the Night in North Battleford Published For: The Public Works Association of British Columbia www.pwabc.ca Editorial Advisor: Pat A. Miller executivedirector@pwabc.ca The Saskatchewan Public Works Association http://saskatchewan.apwa.org Editorial Advisor: Andrew Stevenson Tel: 306-960-1624 The Manitoba Public Works Association http://manitoba.apwa.org Editorial Advisor: Steve Blayney Tel: 204-509-7385 Alberta Municipal Supervisors Association www.amsapw.ca Editorial Advisor: Christine Heggart Tel: 403-844-5678 Published By: Matrix Group Publishing Inc. 309 Youville Street Winnipeg, MB R2H 2S9 Toll Free: 866-999-1299 Toll Free Fax: 866-244-2544 www.matrixgroupinc.net Canada Post Mail Publications Agreement Number: 40609661 President & CEO: Jack Andress Operations Manager: Shoshana Weinberg sweinberg@matrixgroupinc.net Senior Publisher: Jessica Potter jpotter@matrixgroupinc.net Editor-in-Chief: Shannon Savory ssavory@matrixgroupinc.net Editorial Team: Jenna Collignon, Paul Adair, Kaitlin Vitt Finance/Administration: Lloyd Weinberg, Nathan Redekop accounting@matrixgroupinc.net Director of Circulation & Distribution: Lloyd Weinberg distribution@matrixgroupinc.net Sales Manager – Winnipeg: Neil Gottfred Sales Manager – Hamilton: Jeff Cash Sales Team Leader: Andrew Lee Matrix Group Inc. Account Executives: Colleen Bell, Rob Gibson, Jim Hamilton, Scott Hendren, Touhid Khan, Frank Kenyeres, Sandra Kirby, Charlie Langsford, Andrew Lee, Brian MacIntyre, Shaun Minett, Caitlin Nakamura, Vlada Radchenko, Wilma Gray-Rose, Luke Stevens Advertising Design: James Robinson Layout & Design: Cody Chomiak ©2023-2024 Matrix Group Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of the publisher. Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of Matrix Group Publishing Inc. On the cover: Standing high above the city, North Battleford’s new water tower lights will continue to shine as a bright beacon over the community for many years to come. Photo courtesy of City of North Battleford. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTSH ello once again from beautiful British Columbia and I hope you had a wonderful holiday season filled with cheer. I am excited to be writ- ing again as the British Columbia Chapter President for 2024. Our chapter has an amaz- ing group of board members and volunteers and I’d like to first acknowledge the outstand- ing work that they all do to keep this chapter moving, as well as the past volunteers, board members, and executive who set the founda- tion on which we continue to grow. Over the last year we have made signifi- cant strides on some of our strategic priorities and our social media and marketing team has been busy growing our network and expand- ing our message throughout the province. If you have not already taken advantage of the job postings or advertising spaces located on our website, be sure to check them out and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter for important updates. Our education team has also been working hard to deliver some fantastic training opportu- nities and the 2023 Winter Maintenance train- ing workshops were so popular, some sessions sold out. Keep an eye on our events calendar for upcoming sessions and mark your own calendars for the annual Women In Public Works Event, happening March 8th, 2024. In British Columbia, we recently wrapped up our 5th Joint Annual Conference and Tradeshow with the British Columbia Municipal Safety Association (BCMSA). I truly enjoyed engaging with everyone I had an oppor- tunity to meet. Thank you to all of our part- ners, sponsors, and delegates for making this a memorable conference, and we are already in the planning stages for our 2024 Joint Conference and Tradeshow scheduled for Penticton. Dates are still to be determined, so please keep an eye on our website for early bird registration. I am A Message from the Public Works Association of British Columbia looking forward to connecting with new people and seeing some familiar faces. I would also like to take this opportunity to send a sincere thank you to the BCMSA for their organization’s time and effort in putting together a fantastic experience for both of our associations once again. Excellent job to every- one involved. Looking ahead into 2024, the Public Works Association of British Columbia’s (PWABC) Executive will have some familiar faces with Taryn Scollard as President-Elect, Alexander Christensen as Treasurer, and Chris Anderson as Past-President. While Scott Lamont is no longer on our executive, he remains an enthusiastic voice for public works and a huge supporter of PWABC. He is also the current President of the Canadian Public Works Association (CPWA) and I thank him for his ongoing contributions to our chapter. We look forward to continuing to work with our talented group of existing Board members con- sisting of Pat Miller, David Best, Dylan Myers, Devon Aaroe, Jason Adair, and Ryan Adams. The PWABC is also excited to announce the addition of two new Board of Directors. Past president Matt Brown from the City of Surrey will be rejoining us as a Board Director and we are also welcoming Jatin Chhibba from Langley Concrete Group to the team. Thank you as well to our two out- going members – Mafe Pinzon and Kam So – for their dedication and volunteer efforts. As always, please don’t forget that PWABC wants to hear from you. If you have ideas, feedback or some volunteer capacity and want to help with one of our events in 2024, please reach out to us at executivedirector@pwabc.ca. Meryl Ditchburn Heinz President Public Works Association of British Columbia Board of Directors & Staff You can learn more about the Public Works Association of British Columbia on their website: www.pwabc.ca. PRESIDENT Meryl Ditchburn Heinz City of Nanaimo PRESIDENT- ELECT AND APWA DELEGATE Taryn Scollard City of Vancouver PAST PRESIDENT Chris Anderson City of West Kelowna SECRETARY & TREASURER Alex Christensen WSP DIRECTORS David Best City of Penticton Ryan Adams City of Surrey Pat Miller Retired Dylan Myers City of New Westminster Jason Adair City of Victoria Mafe Pinzón Langley Concrete Group Devon Aaroe City of Dawson Creek Kam So District of Port Hardy MEMBER AT LARGE AND ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Pat Miller executivedirector@ pwabc.ca 7 UP FRONTM other nature changed things up this year as we enjoyed a ‘normal’ fall season; something that we have not seen in a while. This gave everyone the opportunity to pause and brace for the inevitable colder temperatures and the arrival of snow. We knew that it was just a matter of time before public works professionals were once again called upon to clear the roads of ice and snow, fix water main breaks, and maintain the normal operations that keep our com- munities safe. On September 29, 2023, the Saskatchewan Public Works Association (SPWA) hosted another of our free Lunch & Learn Roundtables on contracts. Presented by the City of Regina, this has been an ongoing series with additional panel members joining in on the con- versation and helping answer questions. The series has covered contract language, clauses, types, and execution, and has answered many questions from those in attendance. SPWA also hosted a virtual Lunch & Learn on November 14, 2023, titled, ‘Why Frustrated Operators do the Best Asset Management.’ We were pleased to have Wally Wells from Asset Management Saskatchewan on hand to provide lots of valuable information to the attendees, all stemming from his years of experience working with all levels of government and providing asset management consulting to groups such as the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). On December 14, 2023, we held our last event of the year, which was another free Lunch & Learn on winter maintenance. Discussions focused on best practices, equipment, and materials, as well as the A Message from the Saskatchewan Public Works Association PRESIDENT Staci Dobrescu Moose Jaw PAST PRESIDENT/ APWA COUNCIL OF CHAPTERS REPRESENTATIVE Dale Petrun Saskatoon PRESIDENT-ELECT/ TREASURER Stewart Schafer North Battleford DIRECTORS Andrew Stevenson Saskatoon George Jakeman Regina Neeraj Saroj, P.Eng., MBA Regina Eric Quail Saskatoon DIRECTOR – SMALL TOWN (<3000) Tammy Landry Village of Pierceland DIRECTOR - INDIGENOUS Kurt Shukin Northern Village of Sandy Bay DIRECTOR – RM (RURAL MUNICIPALITIES) Barry Wiebe RM of Sherwood SUPPLIER REPRESENTATIVE Vacant APWA PRESIDENT Gary Losier, P.Eng Town of Quispamis, NB APWA CHAPTER COORDINATOR Rhonda Wilhite Kansas City, MO REGION IX DIRECTOR Kristina Nelson, P.E. Port Orchard, WA CHAPTER ADMINISTRATOR Lindsay Muller Rosthern Board of Directors many challenges faced by our ever-changing weather conditions. Looking ahead, We are hosting our 65th Annual Conference & PWville in Saskatoon, February 27-29, 2024. The theme for the conference is Connecting the World Through Public Works. The confer- ence will have a 0.6 CEU session, keynote speaker, roundtable discussions, and edu- cational sessions on varying topics, as well as our annual tradeshow, PWville. This is a tremendous opportunity to take in great food, beverages, and have a greater connec- tion with other public works professionals from around the province. Please register to attend. Watch your email for more informa- tion on these events. Remember that the discounted rate members receive at our com- bined yearly events pays for the annual cost of membership with SPWA. As you can see, SPWA is working hard to bring our members, and others in the public works profession, greater value in educational and networking opportunities. We will also continue to promote profes- sionalism in the public works field, advocate the essential role that public works plays in the quality of life, and promote it as a career choice for the workforce of the future. We also have to apologize that our web- site is not completely functional yet, as the upgrade has taken longer than planned. You can still visit our Chapter website at http://saskatchewan.apwa.org/ or contact our Chapter Administrator for more infor- mation and details about our upcoming SPWA events or how to become an SPWA member. Dale Petrun Past President Saskatchewan Public Works Association The Saskatchewan Chapter strives to promote professionalism in the public works field and provide a network through which members can share and receive useful information. 9 UP FRONTNext >