NIPAWIN—Nipawin council has approved an application that will let the Pineland Co-op sell firearms from its Home Centre.
The decision was made at the March 26 council meeting, with an extra caveat.
“Council is strongly encouraging they implement a cellular security system,” said Barry Elliott, the town’s administrator.
The co-op will also have to meet new storage rules, which will require it to remove the firearms from the displays and store them in a locked, safe location after hours or have roll down metal doors over the display. The purpose is to slow down thieves as emergency crews make their way to the site. The co-op will meet those requirements.
Rental bylaw
Nipawin will look at replacing the bylaw that governs the rents of rooms inside a house to others.
“We’ve had some challenges with the current bylaw,” Elliott said. “Truly, it’s not enforceable and we’re not able to use it, so we’re rescinding that, but we’ve got other bylaws and legislation in place that allows us to administer rental units, make sure they’re up to code, etc.”
The bylaw hasn’t been rescinded yet. The town wants to revisit the issue and determine if there’s more that can be done to regulate those units.
PBR rental
Those involved in organizing the annual Professional Bull Riders event at the Centennial Arena want to negotiate a long-term, multi-year agreement.
“They’ve certainly got us in their annual circuit. They’re an excellent user of the facility and council wants to encourage them to stay,” Elliott said.
The idea is to keep costs predictable year after year.
“That would give them some certainty and us some certainty as well,” Elliott said.
The town administrator said the particulars would have to be negotiated.
Hourly rate
The Evergreen Centre auditorium now has an hourly rate: $40/hour.
“We didn’t have an hourly rate there,” Elliott said. “Typically, if people wanted to rent, they’d have to do it on a daily or half-daily rate. There are smaller functions that only require a brief time, like a birthday party.”
Tisdale’s RECplex costs $45/hour, while Melfort’s Kerry Vickar Centre costs $52/hour.
Elliott said there’s still talk of having a minimum charge to pay for set-up and take-down.
Fee-for-service
Council also approved a series of fee-for-service contracts with local organizations.
The new contracts are designed to determine if the town is receiving benefits for the money it spends.
The Nipawin & District Regional Park $20,000 for capital items only, the Nipawin and District Living Forestry Museum $12,000, Nipawin Oasis Community Centre $5,000 for capital items only, Wapiti Valley Regional Park $1,000, Nipawin Heritage Society will receive $900. The North East SPCA will receive $5,000 once its shelter is built.
There are a few organizations that have yet to sign a contract, the Nipawin Chamber of Commerce being one of them. The town and the chamber are still negotiating the details.
