The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) is calling for the provincial government to provide R.M.s funding to clean up abandoned or derelict buildings and yard sites.
In a news release, SARM says these sites pose “significant financial burdens and jeopardize public safety through heightened fire hazards, potential structural failures, increased criminal activity, and health risks from pests and mold. As well, environmental regulations around the disposal of these buildings have become increasingly costly. These properties also negatively impact property values and detract from the visual appeal and charm of Saskatchewan’s communities.”
Executive Director of SARM Laurel Feltin emphasized derelict buildings and sites are an issue “when they’re actually abandoned and R.M.s are forced to assume basically the responsibility of them.”
“So it’s not all yard sites and not all buildings, I mean if they’re privately owned on private land, this is not about that, it’s about those that are abandoned,” she added.
In addition, Feltin says there are challenges R.M.s face when the abandoned sites become their responsibility, such as limited funds, knowing what they can and can’t do from a regulatory standpoint, and taking material to a site that can handle contaminated materials.
“There’s a lot of costs involved that people don’t realize I think,” stated Feltin.
It’s an issue, she says, has come up in recent years with resolutions proposed at SARM Annual Convention.
SARM points out “many areas in North America receive grants to demolish derelict buildings and properties.”
They use the District of Kitimat in British Columbia as an example where a grant program was developed to “demolish vacant and derelict buildings and properties.” Feltin says they’re asking the province to develop a similar grant program for Rural Municipalities.
“R.M.s aren’t asking to not have any money in the game here, we definitely want to contribute,” she says, “I think SARM is looking for a cost-share kind of a grant program where in B.C., for example, they provide 30 per cent of the cost up to a maximum of $50-thousand for this type of work, so we’re looking at programs like that and just wondering if the province would have appetite to share the cost with R.M.s.”
SARM says grant funding would not only help in cleaning up these sites, it would also “mitigate environmental risks, improve public health, and foster long-term economic opportunities in rural Saskatchewan.”