Officials mull report on development project in RM of Sherwood

Government officials are examining a special report that was commissioned to look into how a development project was handled by the Rural Municipality of Sherwood.

The report has not been made public.

It examines a land development, south of Regina, that the RM has been working on. Wascana Village is the proposed name of the residential development and it could eventually be home to 14,000 people.

The reeve of the RM, Kevin Eberle, owns land in the area and because of that did not participate in any decision-making by the local government when it came to the development.

The provincial government ordered the special report. On Monday, a spokesperson said that officials have the report and are going through it.

The deputy reeve of the RM, Tim Probe, said Monday that he would not comment on the report's finding but said he believes everything was handled properly.

"Everybody knew that it was the reeve's land," Probe said. "He recused himself from all the meetings and even today as I sit here my opinion has not changed. I still consider we did things appropriately."

Probe added the RM plans to follow the recommendations in the report.

While the report has not been released, a statement from the RM Monday indicated that the reeve, council members and local administrators "have reviewed and analyzed" the report and take issue with some of the findings but support the recommendations anyway.

The statement also noted the RM sought legal advice on the question of an elected official owning land.

"These are difficult legal issues and even the most brilliant legal minds have arrived at different opinions," the statement said.

Probe also said that everyone would benefit from some clarity on the issue.