OUTLOOK - The town council of Outlook met for a regularly scheduled meeting. Present was all of council: Sharon Bruce, Kyle McLeod, Donna Smith, Andy Long, Kevin Grotheim, and Guy Derdall, as well as Mayor Ryan Husband, Chief Administrative Officer Kevin Trew, and Assistant CAO Rachel Sillers.
The meeting was broadcast live on the Town of Outlook's official Facebook page.
This particular meeting was the only one scheduled for this month, with the next council meeting currently set for Sept. 10.
A number of topics and items were discussed, including the following highlights.
Reports of Administration, Staff and/or Committees Requiring Decision
Discussing a survey report of Dutch elm disease in trees around the community, CAO Trew went over the town's process related to it and touched on some facts.
The town has been doing an annual survey related to the disease for a number of years, with the services of Living Tree Environmental being used for at least the last eight years. In addition, a general tree survey is done with that group on an annual basis on top of the data related to DED.
Living Tree was in town this summer taking surveys of trees, including in the regional park. Trew noted that any such markings on any trees seen around town do not necessarily mean that they will be cut down, rather that there is only something to report about that specific tree.
After some further discussion on the process of identifying trees with DED and how that's carried out and followed through on, council moved to receive the report.
Discussion then moved to the topic of an audit of the town landfill by the Ministry of Environment, which CAO Trew noted took place in early July and according to him, was the first one done of the local landfill. Such a process involves those from the Ministry looking at the landfill's daily practices, the permit to operate, and ensuring compliance measures. They also look at the adherence to such practices, including those that are over and above expectations.
Trew said that there were 13 findings that fit in the Type 1 category that didn't pose any significant risk and could be easily corrected before the next audit inspection. The town landfill was found to not have any further findings in the categories of Types 2 and 3, which was described as "phenomenal" by Trew.
Mayor Husband said it was great that landfill staff were able to get it to a point where there were only such minor things found that can be corrected easily, calling such audits a learning opportunity for all staff to learn and adapt for the future.
Council moved to accept the audit report.
Mayor and Councillor’s Forum
Mayor Husband gave the rest of Council the chance to express anything in this forum part of the meeting, to which Councillor Derdall said it was great to see the shape that the parking lot is starting to take at the Jim Kook Rec Plex, of which there is further work that will be done.
Touching on the recent Riverbank Rodeo, Mayor Husband said he'd heard a lot of positive feedback about the new location just behind the Rec Plex, and thanked the committee for the work they carried out to ensure a successful weekend of events for the community.
As well, Husband shared that he had a positive meeting with local MP Fraser Tolmie, where they discussed housing and whether or not the SkyTrail bridge could possibly become a federal initiative, as well as irrigation and the potential for Outlook in the near future.
