The Town of Pense is always planning for the future and working to ensure our infrastructure continues to meet the needs of our residents. As part of the planning process, the town had an Infrastructure Management Plan (IMP) completed in 2020. The IMP identifies all major infrastructure (water, sewer, roads, drainage, etc.), assesses current conditions and deficiencies, determines the desired level of service and associated future upgrade requirements, and provides a short and long term capital plan to correct existing deficiencies and meet future demands. The IMP aids council in prioritizing and planning infrastructure projects.

In 2023, as part of our amendments to the Official Community Plan, the Town conducted a Future Growth & Development survey that enabled residents to share their thoughts about the community. We received 69 responses to that survey, which represents just over 30% of households. Feel free to view the Future Growth & Development Survey Data Summary.

Through the survey, we noticed some trends and a need for additional information to be shared with our residents. Please see below for details:

Roads

Many residents in town expressed their desire to see our roads paved. Before committing to paving, we need to ensure that our drainage infrastructure is improved, and our aging water and sewer lines are replaced. It would be irresponsible for any municipality to invest millions of dollars into pavement prior to completing storm drainage flows and other underground infrastructure upgrades. Work is progressing on both drainage and water and sewer infrastructure improvements.

Drainage

We recognize that drainage in town needs improvement. Annually, staff are tasked with focusing on specific problem areas. Sometimes this work takes just a couple of days and other times it requires working with engineers to ensure proposed improvements fall in line with the Water Security Agency (WSA) standards and won’t cause issue further downstream. Like many communities on the prairies, we have minimal elevation changes from our northwest boundary to our southeast boundary. The flat land, and the WSA requirements for the 1 in 100-year storm scenario, create unique challenges for managing runoff. 

The Town is an active member of the Pense Cottonwood Watershed Association where we partner with the RM of Pense and the Ministry of Highways to improve drainage flows. The faster water can move through the surrounding drainage flows, the faster we can move it out of town.

Drainage continues to be a priority for Council, and we will continue to explore both short- and long-term options and funding opportunities to create a drainage system that will support our community now and into the future.

Safety

RCMP

Pense falls under the jurisdiction of the White Butte RCMP Detachment. If you witness any suspicious activity or are the victim of a crime, even if you are unable to identify the perpetrators, it is important to call the White Butte Detachment to report the incident. The RCMP review these reports frequently and schedule their patrols based on evolving trends. For non-emergencies call 306-781-5050.

A member of Council also represents the Town at the monthly RCMP stakeholder meetings. These meetings allow the members to speak directly to the RCMP regarding their communities’ concerns, as well as hear updates directly from the officers responsible for our region. If you have any questions or concerns for the RCMP, let us know and we can take them to these meetings.

Please note that if you have concerns regarding moving vehicles (ATVs, speeding, etc.), you will need to contact the RCMP.

Provincial Protection and Response Team (PRT)

In addition to being under RCMP jurisdiction, Pense also benefits from the efforts of the PRT. The PRTs goal is to reduce rural crime by improving police response to emergency calls, enhancing uniform visibility and presence, increasing the enforcement of drug trafficking, and enhancing the safety of roads by reducing the number of serious collisions and fatalities. The PRT is made up of the Saskatchewan Highway Patrol, Conservation Officers, RCMP, and a number of municipal police services including Regina and Moose Jaw.

Bylaws

There are a number of bylaws in place regarding junked vehicles, yard appearance, animal control, etc. Bylaws can be found on our Bylaws & Policies page. Bylaws are enforced both on a complaint basis and by Bylaw Enforcement Officers\Commissionaires when touring town. 

If you have a specific concern with a property in Town, it is recommended that residents attempt to resolve issues amicably between neighbours before contacting the office to register a complaint. If a resolution cannot be reached and you wish to register a formal complaint, the written complaint must be submitted to the Town Office either in person or by email to townofpense@sasktel.net. 

It is important to note that not all matters are regulated by bylaws, some may be regulated by Provincial or Federal acts and enforced by other authorities. An example is any moving traffic violation (including automobiles, ATVs, snowmobiles, etc.), those are enforced by the RCMP.

Growth & Development

Council is open to and encourages responsible growth that is in-line with our Official Community Plan (OCP) and Zoning Bylaw (ZB). Our OCP, originally adopted in 2013 and most recently amended in 2023, is designed to assist decision makers and the community in securing the future and current goals of our Town while ensuring that development takes place in an orderly manner, balancing the environmental, social, physical, and economic needs of the community. As part of the OCP, the Town has a created a Future Land Use map that shows potential future residential, commercial\business, and industrial spaces.

Our new Zoning Bylaw (adopted in 2023) regulates development and controls the use of land within the Town in accordance with the OCP.  

In 2023, work started on a new proposed subdivision development on the east side of town. The goal is to attract a developer who will construct new homes, roads, utility connections, and provide adequate greenspace for the new development. We hope to see this project gain traction with potential developers in 2024.

In our ongoing efforts to encourage growth and development the Town also has a property tax incentive for new residential and commercial developments. The residential development incentive provides a 50% municipal property tax exemption for 3 years for any new residential development. You can view the entire residential incentive policy on our Bylaws & Policies page. The commercial development incentive provides municipal property tax exemption of 50% for the first year, 25% for the second year, and 10% for the third year.

Environment

The responses to the Future Growth & Development Survey showed that many residents would like to see the dugout north of Town and the slough area east of the ball diamond protected. Unfortunately, the Town has no jurisdiction over the dugout north of town. That dugout is located on private land in the RM of Pense. The slough is on Town owned land and is part of the proposed new subdivision development to encourage residential growth. If, and when, the proposed subdivision is developed, there is no guarantee of what will happen to the slough. It could form part of needed greenspace, be used for other infrastructure, or be left as is. This seasonal slough is also impacted by drainage and will need to be assessed as future drainage and development projects come to fruition. 

Recreation\Green spaces

Over the years, our Councils have supported a number of recreation\green spaces including the outdoor rink, the memorial rink, the splash park, and the toddler park. The Town is always exploring ways to update our existing recreational amenities and options to incorporate new recreational and cultural opportunities for our residents. We work hard to source grant funding for these types of projects to ensure little to no impact to property taxes.

Walking Path

From the survey feedback it was obvious that many people would like to see the existing walking path expanded around town. While we agree this is an appealing idea, the Town is restricted on location due to lack of available land\space. An expanded walking path is something that will become part of our community’s long-term planning and form part of our discussions with future developments.

Spray Park

A few survey comments wished to see the spray park updated. This project is already in its infancy. In 2023 we received two quotes for the replacement and upgrade of the existing spray park features and infrastructure. At an estimated cost of $150,000, this project is a prime example of where grant funding opportunities can help small Town’s like ours improve our seasonal recreation amenities.

Ball Diamond

Not unlike the spray park, several survey responses expressed an interest to add another, larger, ball diamond to the community. Council is supportive of recreational facilities that encourage healthy, active living in all age groups. Lack of available land is a major setback for many recreational projects, the ball diamond is no exception. The slough area east of the existing diamond, and currently part of the proposed development discussed above, would require infill to reduce the standing water issues and would need an engineering study done to ensure filling the low area would have no negative impact to any adjacent lands. An additional ball diamond has been, and continues to be, part of our Council’s planning discussions.

Trees\Beautification

Many residents expressed their desire to add trees as beautification and to act as a wind\snow break. Specifically, there was interest in wanting trees, at a minimum, planted on the west side of Town. While Council appreciates having more greenery, we are limited due to a number of factors on where we can plant trees, including:

• Limited Space: We are unable to plant trees along roadsides due to narrow easements, proximity to underground (SaskPower & SaskEnergy) utilities, and provincial ministry setbacks. For example, Ontario Street is owned by the Ministry of Highways, and we are unable to authorize tree planting in that area.
• Private Land: The Town of Pense is surrounded by fields, which may look like an ideal place to plant trees. These fields are privately owned and are part of active farming operations located in the RM of Pense. The Town has no jurisdiction to plant trees on private property both inside and outside of our boundaries.

Beautification through the addition of trees, plants, and green spaces is part of the Town’s long- and short- term planning. Provincial legislation supports these endeavours by ensuring a percentage of all new land developments are kept as Municipal Reserve, generally used as parks and green spaces. Additionally, the Town’s OCP takes the provision of greenspaces into consideration when considering new subdivision developments. The OCP also includes Environmental and Sustainable policies to ensure that any existing vegetation is retained where possible and incorporated into site planning. Additionally, these policies encourage the use of native trees and plants to minimize maintenance and water use.

Utilities

Water & Sewer

A few residents expressed concerns over the City of Regina water rates to the Town of Pense being high. The Town’s current water and sewer rates can be found in our Water and Sewer Rates bylaw on our Bylaws & Policies page.

As of early 2024, the City of Regina charges the Town $10.89/day for the water use, $2.40/m3 for actual water consumed, and a water surcharge that is equal to 50% of our monthly water use and consumption charges. As per legislation and the Saskatchewan Municipal Board, the water and sewer budget is required to be self-sustaining. All water and sewer rates and fees are used to cover the expenses needed to maintain our water and sewer systems. These expenses include the cost of water, materials and labour needed to maintain our systems, repairs, etc.

We are always looking for ways to reduce costs to our residents while maintaining our water supply quality and capacity.

Regarding increasing the life expectancy and capacity of our infrastructure. In 2023, we completed much needed upgrades to our water plant. The upgrades extended the life and capacity of the water plant and reduced the impacts to residents during power outages. Thank to the ICIP grant program funding, our lift station will be getting some much-needed upgrades to increase capacity and life expectancy in 2024.

Internet

Some residents want to see faster internet available within our community. Most recently, SaskTel announced that fibre optics construction would be happening in our region in 2023-24. Once available, SaskTel will reach out to existing customers once their address is ready for conversion to the new fibre optic network. Please contact SaskTel directly or visit their website for more information about their fibre optic network.

Daycare

Council recognizes the importance of getting affordable daycare services in our community.

In 2022, a local Daycare Committee was formed consisting of area residents. The goal of the committee is to access the Provincial Child Care Subsidy funding to construct and operate a regulated child care centre in the town. The amount of licensed spaces and associated capital funding is close to being finalized with the Provincial Government.

Once finalized, the board will work to complete the following milestones:

• Location selection
• Building design
• Development & building permit approval
• Fundraising
• Construction
• Staffing
• Application for children

Future updates will be provided through the committee and the Town will share any information that is made available.

Post Office

Some survey respondents wished the Post Office hours could be extended to make collecting parcels easier. Canada Post is a federally mandated organization, and the Town has no jurisdiction over their hours of operation or place of business. You are free to contact Canada Post Customer Service directly with any question or concerns.

If you have any questions or concerns about anything above, please feel free to contact the office or a member of Council.