Nipawin's Town Office is set to re-open to the public on May 4. (File Photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Mat Barrett

Re-Open Nipawin

Town of Nipawin presents plan to re-open Town Office

Apr 28, 2020 | 10:18 AM

The Town of Nipawin held their Regular Council Meeting on Monday, and there was talk of re-opening, whether it be the economy, or the town itself.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shut down numerous businesses, and the local economies as well as the Town of Nipawin was not immune.

Following the provincial announcement last week of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan, the Town of Nipawin has set out a plan to get their town office opening and running again as the office has been shut down to help reduce the spread of the virus. Chief Administrative Officer Barry Elliott presented the plan to council via video call and talked about numerous things that would have to be done as they re-opened the towns operations.

Most of the protocols and restrictions follow the province’s recommendations, mainly relating to physical distancing. Face to face meetings are to be restricted unless needed and physical distancing can be achieved. Meanwhile, sanitation stations are to be set up at the entrances of the Town Office as well as sneeze guards which are the plastic barriers seen at most fast food restaurants and grocery stores now, and there are also signs installed around town.

“The effort to ensure the safety of all is going to be paramount for us,” Elliott told northeastNOW. “And of course with sneeze guards and that sort of thing in place, it’s going to be a different work environment but we are confident that we can provide the level of service the public expects.”

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Staff who have not been at the office for this time are set to return on Monday, May 4 and are expected to follow all COVID-19 protocols set out by the province and the town. Elliott also said they’ve had conversations with staff about continuing to work.

Meanwhile, Council approved to send a proposed Terms of Reference for a Community Economic and Tourism Advisory Committee for the Nipawin area to the Economic Development Committee for more conversation.

The committee would be comprised of six to 10 individuals from the Town of Nipawin, Nipawin Chamber of Commerce, and business sectors in the area. Some of the sectors include Hospitality, Agriculture, Financial Institution, and more. There would be no fee to be a part of the committee.

“It’s a way for the chamber and the town to work together,” Mayor Rennie Harper said. “It’s a request by the chamber to have more input to the town, it’s also a request from the town to have more information about the businesses in town.”

The focus of the committee, according to the proposed Terms of Reference that were circulated, is “Think, Shop, Buy Local”. Harper said she hopes this will help the economy get going again as they can re-open after COVID-19.

“That’s the whole goal, is to try to figure out how to focus on think, shop, buy locally, those kinds of things,” she said. “How to focus on re-opening and doing that together, how to put some cohesion back between the chamber and the town and those kinds of things.”

The purpose of the committee, as circulated in the proposed Terms of Reference said that it would initially be a transition committee to focus on economic recovery in the area following the pandemic. It would then continue to help promote the local economy.

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6