The Saskatchewan Municipal Awards celebrate the excellent and innovative practices of Saskatchewan’s municipal governments. Four innovative projects from eight municipalities are being recognized at the 16th Annual Saskatchewan Municipal Awards. This year's winners have shown excellence in community engagement, collaboration, and innovation.
The winners of the 16th Annual Saskatchewan Municipal Awards are:
First Place:
Solar Power for New Infrastructure (Town of Lumsden)
Winning practice: Initiated a solar power project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at four new municipal facilities and contribute to the long-term sustainability of the community.
Second Place:
Biggar Revitalization Project (Town of Biggar)
Winning practice: Developed a four-phase plan, with community input and partnerships, to revitalize Biggar’s Main Street.
Third Place:
Women in Government Program (RM of Edenwold No. 158)
Winning practice: Adopted a program to attract and encourage women to run for municipal council.
Regional Cooperation:
P4G Planning District (RM of Corman Park No. 344, Town of Osler, and Cities of Martensville, Saskatoon, and Warman)
Winning practice: Established a partnership to ensure a coordinated approach to regional planning and servicing, preparing the region for growth and economic prosperity.
The winning projects were selected by the Saskatchewan Municipal Awards Committee who reviewed twelve nominations, submitted on behalf of nineteen municipalities.
Each year, the awards committee is made up of partners from the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM), the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA), New North, the Rural Municipal Administrators’ Association of Saskatchewan (RMAA), the Urban Municipal Administrators Association of Saskatchewan (UMAAS), and the Ministry of Government Relations (GR).
The 2022 selection committee members are:
Keith Comstock, Executive in Residence at the Johnson Shoyama School of Public Policy
Malcolm Eaton, former Mayor of Humboldt and former Vice-President of Cities for SUMA
Wendy Gowda, Municipal Advisor, former Administrator for the RM of LeRoy No. 339 and Past President of RMAA
Don Taylor, Reeve of the RM of Saltcoats No. 213 and former board member for SARM
Jim Toye, former City Manager for the City of Prince Albert and
Loretta Young, former administrator for the RM of Longlaketon No. 219 and the Village of Earl Grey
Selection committee members noted that the winning projects were some of the first of their kind in the province and reflected the needs of their respective municipalities.
The winners of the 16th Annual Saskatchewan Municipal Awards will be highlighted in ceremonies at the upcoming SARM and SUMA Conventions:
SARM Annual Convention and Tradeshow Prairieland Park, 503 Ruth St W, Saskatoon Tuesday March 14 at 2:00 p.m.
SUMA Annual Convention and Tradeshow TCU Place, 35 22 St E, Saskatoon Tuesday April 18 at 2:35 p.m.
Winner videos will be available on April 20, 2023 at www.youtube.com/@SaskMunicipalAwards
For more information, visit www.municipalawards.ca or contact:
Sarah Mazenc, Communications Advisor, SUMA
(306) 525-4396
To arrange an interview with a winning municipality contact:
First Place: Solar Power for New Infrastructure, Town of Lumsden
Nominee: Monica Merkosky, Chief Administrative Officer, Town of Lumsden (306) 731-2404 or (306) 435-6609 m.merkosky@lumsden.ca
Nominator: Jason Praski, Principal, Exa Energy Consulting (306) 291-9116 jspraski@baudoux.ca
Second Place: Biggar Revitalization Project, Town of Biggar
Marty Baroni, Chief Administrative Officer and Project Lead, Town of Biggar (306) 948-3317 cao@townofbiggar.com
Third Place: Women in Government Program, RM of Edenwold No. 158
Nominee: Ross Zimmermann, Project Manager, RM of Edenwold (306) 347-2975 rossz@edenwold-sk.ca
Nominator: Paige Boha, Manager of Planning and Development, RM of Edenwold (306) 347-2967 paige.boha@edenwold-sk.ca
Regional Cooperation Award: P4G Planning District, RM of Corman Park No. 344, Town of Osler, and Cities of Martensville, Saskatoon, and Warman
Rebecca Row, Executive Director, P4G
(306) 242-9303 rrow@partnershipforgrowth.ca