KAMSACK — A tour of town properties, a desire for a chamber of commerce, a revamped town website and the need for a review of the Traffic Control Bylaw were among items to concern Kamsack town council at its regular meeting Feb. 10.
Four of the municipality’s largest buildings were visited during a tour Feb. 8. Council members discussed the departments along with various budget items with the managers of each building, Barry Hvidston, administrator, said following council’s meeting.
Council was impressed with the condition of the buildings Mayor Beth Dix said.
“We looked at what was working well at each building and what wasn’t.”
The biggest comment was how clean each building was, Hvidston said. The pride the managers took in each building was obvious.
Commended were: Karl Morck, who manages the water treatment plant; Ken Thompson, the fire chief, who looks after the James Rudd Memorial Fire Hall; Kelsey Rauckman, in charge of the public works building; Greg Podovinnikoff, manager of recreation and community development; and Mark Foster, a contractor, who tends the Broda Sportsplex.
Forming a chamber of commerce
The interest in organizing a chamber of commerce in the community was also discussed at the meeting, Hvidston said.
“We discussed whether there was interest in forming a chamber and how such a group might be formed,” Dix said.
Holding a public information meeting to determine the interest in a chamber was one option discussed.
Some people have approached councillors saying they want a chamber, while others say “been there, done that,” he said. Having received comments from both sides of the spectrum, council wants to gauge the interest, while not wanting it to be a council initiative.
The last time a chamber of commerce met in Kamsack was about 10 years ago, he said, adding that since then there have been many changes in the business community with several new businesses opening and many changes of ownership of established businesses.
Revamping town’s website
Council decided to hire Loop Strategic Marketing of Sherwood Park, Alta. to work on the town’s website.
Loop was selected from a list of 33 proposals submitted, Hvidston said. Council agreed to a three-year contract for a price of $4,525 a year plus a one-time fee of $5,550 to set up the content.
With the new website, the administration will be in control of making future changes to the site, Dix explained. The design is such that “really neat” add-ons are possible, including a municipal lot map showing all the town-owned properties that are for sale.
At the end of each three-year contract, the company refreshes the website in order to stay current, Hvidston said, adding that with several other proposals, once the work is done, it’s done.
Loop had the best package for the price, Dix said. “Our current website, 小蓝视频 so difficult to navigate, is almost not useable.”
It is expected to take about two months before the new website will be operational.
Rural fibre optics proposed
Council said it has no objection to RFNow, a fibre optics company from Virden, Man., which wishes to bring fibre optics internet to the Kamsack area.
It appears the company wants to work with rural internet subscribers and will need a small 12-foot by 20-foot building in the community when it locates here, Hvidston said.
Updating Traffic Control Bylaw
After having received numerous complaints regarding traffic concerns, including speeding near schools and downtown parking, council has decided to look at updating its Traffic Control Bylaw.
The bylaw has not been updated for several years, Hvidston said. In preparing for the update, contact will be made with the schools, nursing home, Eaglestone Lodge and the post office requesting information.
It is expected the work on the bylaw will be done in March and April.
Hired to work with public works, beginning Feb. 18, were Cameron Markel and Noah Finnie.
Council has begun the process of hiring staff for the swimming pool. Key members of the staff will begin work at the beginning of June, while several students will be employed during the summer. The facility normally closes for the season around Labour Day.
It was agreed to begin regular meetings on the second and fourth Mondays of each month by a half hour to 6 p.m. rather than 6:30 p.m. in a hope that meetings would end earlier. The meetings have been adjourned between 9 and 10 p.m.
