Carlyle Town Council was busy as usual during their July 3rd meeting. Though taxes took a back seat during the scheduled meeting, they were addressed prior as councillors arrived early to discuss the matter to better prepare for their July 10th meeting with business owners.
Regional Emergency Management Plan discussed
A presentation was made by Jasmin Carlton regarding a Regional Emergency Management Plan. Carlton explained that she is currently approaching the entire southeast to develop an emergency committee that would, essentially, provide assistance to local emergency committees while being able to organize on a larger scale if a community is struck by disaster. The council agreed to consider the possibility of joining, but did not commit to it. Currently Carlton says she has three yes's, while eight others are considering the implications and the remaining 19 have yet to be approached.
Policing Report
RCMP Staff Sergeant Tom Vanderzwan made his inaugural visit to the council chambers for the policing report. Vanderzwan explained they are currently short two officers, one of which is being held for a member who is currently seeking a home in the area while the other is an open position.
Vanderzwan also took in the concerns of council which included signs having been knocked down over the Boogie Fest weekend and one having been knocked down the week after. Speeding was another concern of council's both throughout the town and along Highway 13.
A final concern included unsafe ATVing regarding young people without helmets.
Having been within Carlyle for just under a month Vanderzwan was happy to state that he was impressed by those working with him.
"I'm impressed by the clearance rate," Vanderzwan told council. "It speaks to the work these guys are doing and their ability to investigate any offence."
Finishing a back alley
A question of a back alley being finished on the south side of town was raised. Upon looking at the schematics of the town it was discovered the current alley under discussion isn't actually a planned feature of the town. Following the installation of drainage management people simply continued to use the path, which then turned into a back alley. The final two lots are the only ones that cannot be reached and the town has decided to finish the alley for those individuals as time allows.
Included in discussions of this area was the discovery of an incomplete drainage manhole. Some on council had been under the impression it had already been taken care of, but upon discovering it had not been finished council agreed action needed to be taken.
Discussion of the Fire Protection Act
The town was informed that they could be held liable for public buildings not meeting fire standards if made aware of the infractions and do not enforce corrections. This includes buildings which the town does not own, such as businesses. This they had been unaware of until the Fire Department brought the clause in the Fire Protection Act forward as there had been a concern at a business in town. The council decided to contact the Ministry of Government Relations to further understand the full implications of the clause in the Fire Protection Act.
Creation of two more handicap parking spots
Two more handicap parking spots will be made available along Main Street. These will both be located in front of the medical clinic for accessibility.
Carlyle Community Foundation
Town Council has decided to invest the money left by Donald McQueen totalling $60,000, which was established as the Community Foundation with the Saskatoon Community Foundation. Through investing the funds with the Saskatoon Community Foundation, Carlyle is able to obtain a much better interest rate. The Carlyle Community Foundation will be open to similar donations, all qualifying for a tax receipt. The funds will then be made available through scholarships or applications for assistance with projects. These details are still being formed, but will be established as a way to assist the community in different ways.
Truck route enforcement
It was decided that heavy trucks in need of using non-truck routes must call the town to ask permission before driving along the road. Town wants to enforce the truck routes, but understand if construction is happening in an area this may not necessarily be possible. They will be watchful of those who are abusing non-truck routes as a quick way to make their way through the town.
House to be moved in
Mel and Lorna Hill will be given permission to move a building to town, which will be placed on their lot with the intention of renting out the new house. Approval will be given, but the situation requires further inspection as water and sewer hookup fees may be needed. Council believes a trailer used to sit in the same area as the intended house, which had the proper hook ups, making the matter something to be looked into further regarding costs to the Hill's.
Correspondence regarding tax tools
The Town of Carlyle received information from the Ministry of Government Relations concerning their intention to review tax tools. The Ministry intends to assess their tax tools and plan to limit local taxes in the future. This the council believes is a difficult matter as they simply use the tax tools provided by the Ministry and expressed concern over the nearly impossible task of comparing communities. Mayor Don Shirley explained it is difficult as looking at their own assessments each year shows a completely different community, let alone trying to compare it to other communities under an umbrella.
Overall, the council would simply like more leadership from the Ministry regarding the use of tax tools, especially after the uproar of the community following their tax notices recently which were based on the Ministry's tax tools.
Further paving
Construction will continue as the intersection of Highway 13 and Main Street is done. Turning lanes are also to be created by the paving crew who has been working in the area.
Paving a service road
The town has been approached by businesses along the service road from 4th Street East to Main Street regarding paving. Some businesses along this stretch of road would like it to be paved, while others are indifferent. The issue council is currently weighing regards their decision to be in charge of fixing streets, not paving them for if they begin paving roads developers could possibly sell lots requiring the town to pave it. These funds wouldn't be recovered for years and it creates discord. Council decided to discuss the matter further at a later date before entering discussions with the businesses in August.
Saskatchewan Lotteries Community Grant Program
The Saskatchewan Lotteries Community Grant Program which was made available for application earlier this year through the town was addressed. Funds are described as being provided through the Town of Carlyle in order to help maintain, improve, and expand on programs and opportunities regarding sport, culture, and recreation.
The town usually expects to decide how much is to be allocated to each application. This year, however, few non-profit organizations applied and will be given the full amount each asked for.
More money is still available seeing as there were few applications and if inquiries are made the left over funds will be allocated to non-profit groups who apply.
The only issue from the application process regarded the library, who wishes to use the money for renovations, however, the funds are to be used for programming and the town intends to open a dialogue with the library to see if a more suitable use of the money as intended by Saskatchewan Lotteries can be reached.
