Things were almost normal at office of the RM of Prince Albert, RM of Buckland, the Prince Albert and District Planning Commission and Prince Albert Rural Water Commission on River Street West on Thursday, March 19. The RM of Prince Albert still held their regular monthly meeting on Thursday, March 19.
The meeting offered some normalcy in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We can’t predict the future (or) where will be on a day-to-day basis,” RM of Prince Albert Reeve Eric Schmalz said.
The rural municipalities of Buckland and Prince Albert announced on Wednesday that the Municipal Centennial Building will be closed to the general public until further notice.
“We are still operating here, the staff will still be in the building or if they are working from home, if they are not feeling well they will be sequestered at their homes and their phones will be forwarded so someone will answer the calls and be able to process bills electronically,” he explained.
Thursday’s meeting had some social distancing with absences of two councillors but with four councillors and the Reeve there was enough to establish quorum.
“The whole gist of the building closing is to keep our staff safe,” RM of Buckland reeve Don Fyrk said. “The office is still being manned, but they can call us to for any questions and if there’s any business that has to be done instead of coming here in person.”
“We can still do things remotely over the phone or via e-transfer if you need to make payments or anything like that,” Schmalz added. “We’re going to leave the building closed indefinitely until the health authority indicates that the risk has been mitigated to the public and we will reopen to the public as soon as that time comes.”
The RM offices are still accepting the following means of payments during this time:
- Cheque via Canada Post or the mail slot in the back door of the building
- Online banking if available through a person’s financial institution
- E-transfers to the RM of Buckland that can be sent to rm491@sasktel.net
- E-transfers to the RM of Prince Albert that can be sent to rm461@sasktel.net
Staff will remain in the offices during the regular business hours and can still be contacted via phone or email.
The RM of Buckland can be reached at 306-763-2585 or at rm491@sasktel.net.
The RM of Prince Albert can be reached at 306-763-2469, by cell at 306-941-1709 or at rm461@sasktel.net.
The Prince Albert Rural Water Utility and the Prince Albert District Planning Commission are also in the same building and are closed to the public.
— with files from Lucas Punkari
