OUTLOOK - The town council of Outlook met for a scheduled meeting on Tuesday night, March 8. Present were councillors Justin Turton, Kyle McLeod, Sharon Bruce, and Ryan Husband, as well as Mayor Maureen Weiterman, Chief Administrative Officer Kevin Trew, and office clerk Crystal Fisher. Absent were councillors Bob Stephenson and Kevin Grotheim.
The meeting was broadcast on the Town of Outlook's Facebook page at approximately 7:23 following some technical hiccups.
A number of topics and items were discussed, including the following highlights.
Bylaws
Bylaw 06(2022) Borrowing Bylaw had its second and third readings and was carried.
The first reading was held and carried for Bylaw 07(2022) Bylaw to Repeal Bylaw 23(2020) Amendment to Community Plan.
The first reading was held and carried for Bylaw 08(2022) Bylaw to Repeal Bylaw 24(2020) Amendment to Zoning Bylaw.
The first reading was held and carried for Bylaw 09(2022) Assessment Appeal Fee. It was said that while the recommended rates do not recover costs of the municipality handle appeals, the rates are higher than those rates passed in 2020.
Touching on this bylaw matter further, it was said that the Town of Outlook has signed with a different contractor to provide Assessment Appeal Board Services, so the Town's administration feels this was a good time to adjust the rates.
All fees paid by the appellant are refundable if the appeal is successful, an agreement is entered in to in accordance with Section 228 of The Act or the appeal is withdrawn in accordance with Section 227 of The Act.
Administration says that it is important to keep the fees low so that property owners are not deterred from filing an appeal due to costs; errors can and do happen and it is important that property owners are able to follow process without onerous charges.
Administration is confident that the appeals fees recommended strike a balance between providing a deterrent so that needless appeals are not made and affordable amount that will not deter serious appeals to be made.
Public Works Report
Prepared by Luke Lockhart
Superintendent of Municipal Operations
Transportation:
We have been out most days with the sand truck to keep ahead of the ice; we have also started to widen out many of our streets by hauling away, or pushing back windrows wherever we can.
We have brought a 1 ton load of road patch in to warm up to patch the big potholes that have emerged; primarily on Saskatchewan Ave. and will be patching later this week.
Environmental Health:
We have received pricing for the landfill scale software, and operating system, and have presented it to administration for review, and approval.
General Public Works:
Work has begun at the old depot building to better utilize the space, to provide our facilities maintenance team with a workshop area, and to provide a much better animal pound area. The majority of work will be done in house; however certain tasks will be required to be contracted. We are in the process of aquiring options, and pricing to incorporate the North end of the big bay as a dedicated wash bay as well.
Recreation Report
Prepared by Megan Anthony
Recreation Director
Small Community Events:
The CO-OP Community Rink Grand Opening took place February 20th. Due to the weather the outside portion was mainly canceled but the CO-OP improvised and had the hotdogs and skating inside the arena.
Self Care BINGO - we had five participants complete the entire self care BINGO card. The winner of the family swim pass was Jen Gamble and the winner of the Bowling Party was Karen Williams.
St. Patricks Day Scavenger Hunt - we are running a St. Patty’s scavenger hunt. Community members are encouraged to find all 10 four-leaf clovers and snap a photo of them. Once they find all 10 they can send the photos to [email protected] to be entered in to win a prize. The prize is a 1 hour pool party for up to 30 people.
The last day of Adult Rec Volleyball was March 2nd, 2022 at OHS. We have not seen a lot of participation and made the decision to cancel it for the rest of March. Pickleball is still taking place every Friday at Outlook Elementary School from 7:00 pm-9:00 pm until March 25th. We have seen a good turn out for pickleball. Thank you to everyone who has participated, the more people participate the more activities we can organize.
We will be starting up our bowling league March 9th. We are going to be switching the day of the week we play to accommodate some other people that have reached out to let us know they are interested but Wednesday’s are just not a good day.
Communications Requiring Action or Decision
On a matter that is more for informational purposes for the time 小蓝视频, it was said that the Town is expecting to receive a quote from SaskPower on costs related to the railyard subdivision. After that quote comes in, a special meeting of Council is expected in order to discuss.
Unfinished Business
A motion was made and carried to move forward on a cottage lease agreement with the Saskatchewan Health Authority. Council authorized the CAO to sign the agreement with Saskatchewan Health Authority for rental of the EMS suite, and there are three agreements that see the rent increase sporadically over time; January to March - $600 per month; April to June - $800 per month; and July to March - $1,000 per month.
New Business
There was a request for a street light by resident Calvin Clark on Cameron Drive. It was said that the request seemed reasonable. It was said that the Town pays SaskPower $58,000 on an annual basis for the operations of all street lights in Outlook, and Clark's request will involve him paying for the cost of the street light and its installation, while the Town will pay for the monthly cost of operations. Power usage is not metered and the estimated costs for operations can range from $11 to $25 per month, depending on what type of light is installed. LED and new lights are at the cheapest end of the monthly cost. The effect on the Town's budget will not be substantial, it was said, and there's a feeling that a street light is definitely required in the Cameron Drive area. A motion was made and carried to obtain the street light.
The next Council meeting will be back on its regular night of Wednesdays on March 23. Meetings from that point are expected to resume on that day.
