BATTLEFORD - A new chemical retail supply business hopes to start up in Battleford in the near future.
At its recent meeting, the Town of Battleford discussed the project proposed for the Industrial Park in Battleford.
"I'm excited; any time you have investment in your community by a commercial and an industrial entity it's a good thing," Mayor Ames Leslie said following the meeting. "I believe our planner outlined the risks and concerns both from planning, and the steps the individual has agreed to go through to make sure that they are a safe contributing business of our community.
"Council wasn't approving the project to be done, but it was giving the approval for our planner to move for the next steps, to make sure that this is something that can be viable in our community. But it's good to see, because my hope is that the town of Battleford has an open-for-business mentality and approach to attracting businesses to our community. I wish the best of luck that we can find compliance with this new business venture."
The town isn't releasing the name of the business at this time, until the formal applications are done.
The mayor said that he hopes the business will soon be a viable contributor to the town of Battleford.
"If for some reason, we can't meet through the Ministry of Highways or the Ministry of the Environment, we'll hopefully work with the individual to find a suitable resolution to this," he added.
The town also discussed safety issues to make sure the business is in compliance with regulations.
"The administrative environment has very stringent controls and regulations on this type of business, and entity in the control of chemicals," the mayor said. "There are a lot of clean-up procedures. There is a lot of protectionism that needs to be met to get this permit and this licence to be able to have a retail of these chemicals."
"They are on a larger scale, so there is some risk there. But the large majority of the chemicals that are going to be for sale in this facility you can buy at your local hardware store," Leslie added. "They are in smaller containers than what you would buy from this retailer because it is based off of the farm gate, and farmers buy in bulk, in volume."
He noted that every entity has its risks but "we are hoping that our partners within the government of Saskatchewan and Canada would make sure that those risks are mitigated by the controls and policies they have to control this."
During the meeting, council agreed to classify the new commercial build under the general industrial usage classification, with a discretionary usage application required.
The building will be a 6,000 sq. feet warehouse with agricultural chemicals for sale. No fertilizer will be sold.
For its part, council gave approval to the town's planners to move to the next step, to look at the discretionary use application stage for the site.
Council also approved retail sales of chemicals to take place at the site.
The mayor noted it is still discretionary for the business to obtain the permits required and make sure they are in place.
There will still need to be some discussion about what establishments are located near the proposed site for the business to make sure they are aware of the proposal.
The site is currently vacant land, so if the project goes ahead it would involve constructing a new building at the site.
The next stage for the business would be to apply for a building permit.
If the project goes ahead, construction might start this fall.
