Masked up and socially distant, Estevan's newest city council met officially for the first time since the election today with everything from tax abatement requests to committee reports on the agenda and a new push for funding from the Estevan regional nursing home as well. 

"I think the meeting went very well," said Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig. "We were able to do the business, have a few laughs, which is so important. I think everyone is starting to meld together already and I think it's going to be a great four years."

Some of the business included getting counselors onto individual committees, including the Woodlawn Regional Park and Estevan Art Gallery Committees. Under the new system, councilors won't be working on the same committee for their entire term.

"What we do is we go back and forth with the council members and say, would you like this or if you're not sure we'll put you on this," Ludwig explained. "What we want to try to do is every year, in the past sometimes people would stay two or three years, but what we want to try to do this time is one year, and then move on to something different so at the end of four years you'll have been on every committee."

The city had the first reading of one bylaw and the second and third reading of another, with the newest bylaw having to do with utility rates. It was, however, separate from the bylaw that actually determines rates, so people won't see any change in their utility bill over it. 

"Some of them (bylaws) just have to be updated to keep up with the changing times," Ludwig said. "So our managers are always looking at bylaws and making sure they're up to snuff, they can't be challenged. So this is just another case of housekeeping."

Also on the agenda were presentations from St. Joseph's Hospital asking for help funding 15 new beds at the Estevan Regional Nursing Home, which council agreed to support. They also read a request for tax abatement from the Orpheum Theatre, which council decided to gather more information on before making a formal decision. They agreed to have City Manager Jeff Ward reach out to the theatre to discuss their options.