(Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)

By Mat Barrett

Veterinary Services

Veterinary Service Board in process of selling clinic in Melfort, dissolving board

Dec 15, 2020 | 5:00 PM

The Veterinary Services Board in the Melfort area is looking to tidy some things up and eventually dissolve the board.

The board was put in place in the 1970s after the Veterinary Services Act was put in place to help recruit vets to the rural areas of Saskatchewan. Since then, the board has owned the clinic on Broadway Avenue South that currently houses Mohawk Animal Clinic. The Veterinary Services Act has since been repealed and the board has been acting for a number of years without legislation.

“Now that the legislation is repealed, the board needs to cease existence,” Melfort City Councilor and Board Member Trent Mitchell said. “So, we need to divest ourselves of the assets associated with that.”

The board is in the process of selling the building, land, and the fixtures associated with the clinic, but it will be sold to the vets who are currently operating the clinic. Mitchell said they’ve essentially been renting the space since 1976 when they began operations.

Mitchell told northeastNOW he doesn’t believe this will change anything related to service in the area, but mainly a housekeeping thing as the board is running without legislation.

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With the need to divest the board of their assets, the next step becomes a price for the building and land that is currently the property of the Veterinary Services Board, and the seven municipalities that have interest in the board. The price that is currently being debated between each of the seven councils is $30,000, about half of what the value of the land is alone.

At Melfort’s council meeting on Monday, Dec. 14, council voted on that price, with all members of council voting to pass that motion, except for Mitchell.

“The property itself is worth I think that $60,000 without the building,” he said. “So, there was discussion with the Veterinary Services Board, the fact that they’ve been there for a number of years, and how do you set that price.”

Next steps would be waiting for all other municipalities involved to vote, and if all pass the motion, a representative would come up with an agreement for the vets running the clinic. Once the transaction goes through, the Veterinary Services Board would then move to dividing the assets, which is just funds left over, to the seven municipalities.

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca