The fire disaster in Fort McMurray weighed heavily on the minds of those attending Monday's council meeting in North Battleford.
The fire destroyed about 10 per cent of buildings in the city and forced the evacuation of all 88,000 residents of Fort McMurray last week.
Mayor Ian Hamilton opened with a moment of silence to "reflect and give some time to think of our counterparts in Fort Mac, and the tragic events that have occurred over the last week." He called Fort McMurray a "resilient community" and added he was "dumbfounded that there were no more casualties."
Later, during the inquiries portion of the meeting, Councillor Ryan Bater asked if there was a disaster here, what the procedure would be and how they would let the citizens know.
It was another opportunity for Fire Chief Albert Headrick to promote their Rapid Alert notification service with Everbridge. Headrick said people can be notified within four or five minutes of a potential threat. There is also information on their website at www.cityofnb.ca.
Everyone with a landline in the white pages will automatically be notified, but you need to register if you want to be alerted by text messaging and emails, or by cell phone.
Later, Headrick also updated council on the fire ban, after Hamilton noted he had been contacted by at least one provincial agency urging the city to adopt a complete fire ban in the city.
Headrick said a fire ban has been in place the last two weeks, but the ban is only for open-air burning fires. The controlled fire pits are still allowed.
However, he noted they were monitoring for humidity, heat and temperature and said if it increased substantially "then we'll probably be putting a complete fire ban that includes fire pits."
However, the indication was the ban is not likely to happen right away due to the cooler temperatures and humidity. Headrick continued to urge residents to be very careful when using fire pits.
In other highlights:
Councillor Greg Lightfoot thanked Public Works for grading the back alleys, saying the grader seems to work very well there.
Councillor Cathy Richardson asked about a concern raised by a resident about the encroachment of a shrub onto the sidewalk in the Riverview area. City Manager Jim Puffalt urged residents to maintain their bushes and shrubs as best as possible and urged people to call their central reception at City Hall if they see issues.
Director of Operations Stewart Schafer reminded council May 19 is the Public Works barbecue in the operations centre. Smokies and hamburgers are to be served at the event.
Councillor Ray Fox noted Treaty 6 celebrations happened in the city of North Battleford last week. There will also be celebrations May 17-18 at the Agrivilla, he said. Puffalt noted that in recognition of Treaty Day a flag-raising was held at City Hall May 4.
Councillor Ryan Bater noted that on 15th Avenue near John Paul II Collegiate the asphalt was "gone," he said. He wanted operations to be aware of the issue and Schafer responded they were.
Schafer also reminded residents water flushing is happening in the city starting at Water Treatment Plant No. 1 that night and continuing around the city.
Pony pastures came up at the meeting. The recommendation was for the pony pastures lease rate to be increased from $40 per acre to $50 per acre on any new leases effective May 1, 2016. That resolution for a new pony pastures policy was carried.
In proclamations Mayor Ian Hamilton proclaimed May 9-15 as Naturopathic Medicine Week, May 16-20 as Sexual Assault Awareness Week and May 15-21 as National Public Works Week.
