On Feb. 20, the town council meeting was held.
They affirmed that letters for the Business Retention and Expansion meeting were sent out and hope to see many attend on Mar. 22.
The Fire Department previously voiced concerns over people parking in front of a fire hydrant while attending hockey games at the rink. They decided to contact members of the Rink Board to see if they will remind people over the audio system during games that they are not allowed to park here and a ticket may be given to them.
Town council will be establishing a meeting with the Saskatoon Community Foundation representative to discuss their options.
Both an infrastructure conference and economic development conference were brought up. It was decided that they are both worthwhile and should be attended.
Town council is also going to be setting up a date to speak with Sun Country about concerns of residents including, but not limited to emergency response and what happens when both ambulances are in use yet another emergency develops.
A new furnace is needed in the town's shop. It is estimated to cost $5,500, but they are awaiting other quotes before accepting any.
Assessment notices were mailed out including the newly annexed lands as they will be turned over to the town this year. People will have 60 days to appeal these assessment notices before their tax notice will be sent.
The noxious weeds and gravel workshop held at Kenosee Lake was said to be a great success. There was a lot of information presented including claims that nearly 20 new species of weeds have been brought to Canada rather recently.
The town is awaiting paperwork to be approved in order to expand the lagoon. Currently the agreement to sell the land was signed by the owner and he has applied to Community Planning for his land to be approved for subdivision. The town is hoping this goes through quickly as they would like to begin the initial stages of excavation as the contractor is waiting to be told to go ahead with the project.
News from the last Fire Board meeting was brought to council. They have decided to start billing false alarms. There will be a grace of one false alarm within a 12 month period. All subsequent alarm calls that year will cost the owner. The policy is being fine tuned, but will be implemented soon.
Also, brought up in relation to fire rates, which will be included in the next Town Newsletter, is the suggestion that everyone check with their insurance providers if fire response is covered by their policy. According to a few different sources policies usually don't cover this and owners may be left with a costly bill following a fire.
The Day Care was spoken about briefly. They are still waiting on the construction plans to be presented in order to finalize the decision on the building; but, grants for the funding of 33 spots were applied for. It is thought that the facility will be large enough to accommodate more, though this will be seen when the plans are brought to council.
An engineer's report on the sewer main was discussed. Two options were looked at, but the council is concerned about having to tear up some pavement in order to complete the project. They are going to check with engineers if there is a way to do this project without this inconvenience.
A number of letters were received by the town. The first two were from the same business one concerning a water bill and the other the $5,000 charged for connection charges to the sewer main. The first was decided to stand, as the town was asked to turn the water on and once it is turned on billing begins whether or not there are occupants. The second letter the town agreed to refund because the building of the new house was done at the time when policies were changing concerning lots that had never been serviced before.
An oil company was looking for consent to cross the waterline. This was approved. There were concerns about where the new well would be placed and if this would be a problem; but, further dialogue showed it would not be a hindrance and permission was agreed upon.
There are lots that a private developer is looking to subdivide. The Ministry of Government Relations sent correspondence requesting another letter confirming the servicing agreement. The private developer is responsible for their own infrastructure including roads, water lines, and sewer lines to be connected to the town's system. The private developer then recoups the costs through selling lots.
White Bear First Nations is interested in meeting with council to look at possibly saving money by doing certain things together, such as sharing equipment and a labour pool. A meeting will be set up.
Mesh fencing the town had from a previous project had been given to the ball diamonds. They have used what they needed and now those at the tennis courts hope to be able to use the rest. The town agreed this would be acceptable as long as the ball diamonds were finished with it.
The zoning bylaw for the annexed lands will be first read at the next meeting. Changes to the bylaw were made this meeting to better represent town zoning. R1 is residential single and modular homes. It used to include duplexes, but this was removed as they do not fit the definition of residential single.
The Strategic Planning Meeting will be held at the beginning of March before their Budget Meeting, to be held at the end of March, in case anything develops that needs to be included in the Budget Meeting.
