Suggesting that the most popular hangout spot in Moose Jaw for youth is under threat because of legalization of cannabis, Joe's Place owner Joe Dueck spoke in front of City Council last night asking the youth centre to be deemed a cannabis buffer zone – not allowing any marijuana shops to open in its vicinity.

Councillor Chris Warren, who was sitting in for the away Mayor Fraser Tolmie, said that maybe it was too early to start making additional changes to the city's 'no cannabis' zones.

"Prohibition...you know they didn't get it right their first kick of the can. There's already a lot of institutional separation we have in the current bylaw. I'd be worried about where we would draw that line, I know there's Youth Groups in a lot of the churches."

 Dueck was unhappy because the Zoning Amendment Bylaw that establishes zoning guidelines for cannabis retail outlets was in front of Council for final approval, which did not include Joe's Place as one of the buffer zones. 

One of the most talked about topics was snow removal, with Councillor Brian Swanson suggesting snow plow and clearing times are far too long, and that last year was a perfect example of that. Swanson proposed changing the way snow is dealt with in the city.

"It just never seems to get right. The most recent snowfall we had is a perfect example of that. Rather than do an analysis of what everyone else is doing, how much it's going to cost to do this, how much it's going to cost to do that, I suggest we divide the city into areas and we contract those areas to people who are in the business, and get an immediate response."

"We still lack the number of trained operators...in particular I feel where we fall down is with respect to response time. This inevitably leads to concerns on the part of the citizens of Moose Jaw that snow removal and snow plowing is not being done in a satisfactory manner."

That motion was denied as well, however, with Councillor Crystal Froese suggesting it overcomplicates things. Councillor Warren suggested they revisit the idea at a later time.

Other topics at last nights meeting include the idea of creating an airport authority that would govern, manage, and operate the Moose Jaw Municipal Airport. The motion was given first and second readings and will go before Council for third and final reading August 13.

The Hillcrest Golf Course also had its title as a municipal project extended to December 2022 in order to receive donations for future 3-4 year expansion project.

There was A recommendation from the Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee to approve Wakamow Valley’s request to replace the roof of the Jitney Dance Hall with a cedar shake look-a-like. Jitney Dance Hall is a Municipal Heritage Property. 

And there was a motion for the Parks and Recreation Department to be authorized to proceed with the purchase and installation of two new columbaria at Rosedale Cemetery, and reconstruction of the patio area at Rosedale Cemetery, at a cost of $65,700