City council met on Jan. 9 for the first meeting of 2017.
Part of the agenda was the passing of the traffic bylaw involving recreational vehicles and their distance from the sidewalk.
The passing of the bylaw means the minimum set back for a recreational vehicle has been changed from 2 metres to 1.2 metres from the inside edge of the sidewalk while parked in a driveway.
Since this issue was discussed in full before council departed for the election in 2016, as well as discussed within the community, there was little discussion on the issue.
Mayor Rob Muench asked the councillors what they had heard during election time about the issue, most councillors heard from many community members that 1.2 metres would be acceptable.
From what they heard from residents, 1.2 metres seemed to be an acceptable compromise from the previous 2 metre designation.
“We ended up going in between somewhere and I think we hit the right number.”
Humboldt has said that they are a safe community and this is just another way they are trying to make the city safe, says Muench.
“Our thinking when we made that initial decision wasn’t about picking on people, it was about safety,” says Muench, “if somebody is walking down the sidewalk, their line of sight is being blocked.”
Pedestrians have to be paying attention as well, says Muench.
Former Mayor Malcolm Eaton was a guest at the meeting to be presented with a token of appreciation from the City of Humboldt for all his previous work. Eaton also discussed his future trip to Columbia with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
Another important discussion was Public Works Director, Peter Bergquist, requesting city support for grant applications for two water improvement projects.
The projects recommended by staff are replacing lift station #3 located at 101st St. and Saskatchewan Ave. at the cost of $3.2 million and the oxidation ditch construction to assist with odor issues at the lagoon at the cost of over $7 million.
Applications for the Provincial-Territorial Infrastructure Component and the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund are due on Jan. 23 and Bergquist says that the city must commit to their portion of the funding before applications can be sent in.
Grants could cover two-thirds of the cost for the Infrastructure Component grant and up to 75 per cent on the Wastewater Fund.
Council has voted to support these projects and the funding applications submitted by Bergquist.
See the full story on the funding application in next weeks Humboldt Journal.
