City Of Yorkton dealing with noise bylaw complaint

The City of Yorkton is dealing with several complaints from residents – which centre on semis sitting and idling too close to a residential area.

At Yorkton’s council meeting on Jan. 6, a resident expressed their frustration with trucks being parked for a “long period of time” at Truck Pro - located near Broadway St. E and Range Rd 40 – stating they are concerned about the noise and air quality surrounding the area.

"We are being woken up every morning they are idling there," Kim Waddell said to council, on behalf of the three families upset on the matter.

"They are loud whenever they are running anytime during the day, and we get noxious diesel exhaust fumes in our house and our yard to the point where it is affecting our health and we are extremely concerned about this."

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In her presentation, Waddell voiced that the city’s Zoning Bylaw (No. 14/2003) and Noise Bylaw (No. 21/1999) were not being complied to.

The owner of the local business explained to council that in temperatures lower than -15, trucks are required to warm up for a period of time before running and cannot always be done inside the facility.

"At -30 a unit cannot be shut down for very long and be startable. Sometimes we cannot get trucks inside as quick as we like, and they have too idle outside in cold temps till we get room inside," expressed Dean Fyck, general manager of Truck Pro.

"Sometimes customers come in at night and drivers have to sleep with units running to keep warm while sleeping. Auxiliary heaters do not provide enough heat [under] -20."

Fyck added this is the first time a complaint has been made since his business’s opening nine years ago.

He also noted that the commercial property was built prior to the residential area being in the area. Because of this, Fyck asked council if an exemption to both bylaws could be made.

At the recommendation of administration, council passed a motion to exempt the noise bylaw until March 4 with the following conditions: only one semi tractor could be parked at the power station located north side of the property at any given time, the diesel motors at the power station are permitted to run for a maximum of 15 minutes and are not permitted to run between the hours of 6 p.m. to 7:30 a.m.

"I believe the recommendation was prepared to give some time, and make it, so there was enough time for administration to go through on the bylaw side of things, as well as the zoning side of things," shared Yorkton’s Mayor Aaron Kienle.

"In the interim we’ve put something together that would mitigate the difficulties for both the complainants as well as the business."

Yorkton Tourism 2024 Report

Council accepted Yorkton Tourism’s 2024 annual report which highlighted the non-profit’s achievements and statistics for the year.

According to the statement, June to August was the organization’s busiest time of the year receiving up to 400 visits each month from people across Canada and internationally – including countries like the United States, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Spain and Switzerland.

"Everyone and anyone whose bringing people to Yorkton we sure appreciate it," Kienle said.

"The work that Yorkton Tourism does is essential to our city. We’re very thankful for that and it’s another great report."

Wastewater Treatment Plant

A presentation from the city’s environmental services took place, providing an update on Yorkton’s Wastewater Treatment Plant renewal project.

The project focuses on planning, designing and revitalizing the existing plant that was originally constructed in the 1950s and last expanded 34 years ago, according to the city.

"This initiative was driven due to an escalation of equipment failures stemming from numerous components of the treatment process exceeding their intended operational lifespans, with several systems now classified in a failure state," explained Connor Hunt.

Hunt said the department, and business representatives, are on par with getting the project to 30 per cent completion by 2025.

He added that the city will be hosting a public open-house event at the site for anyone who is interested in knowing more about the project and seeing its progress so far.

The event will be held on Jan. 15 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 455 Broadway St W.