On the evening of August 17, the Mayor of Carlyle, the Chief Administrative Officer, and members of the town council, met in council chambers to discuss the latest business on hand. For a while the typical meeting format of approving agendas, minutes of past meetings, and various reports was followed, bringing up a variety of issues. These included updates on insurance claims, the town's relationship with the Saskatchewan Urban Municipality Association, and the relative slowness of communications with the provincial body, Community Planning, through which many issues relating to town growth have to be approved.
As the meeting continued, discussion was held regarding the complexities of the future possible annexation of land. While it is essential that more land be made available to the town, it is also vital that developmental goals of all parties involved, should be clearly set forth and agreed to, in advance of any such annexation. Such matters take careful discussion, and sometimes outside help from people with specialist knowledge in town planning. The council is looking forward to such a meeting between themselves, RMs, and a developmental advisor in the near future.
Half way through the meeting, Corporal Kelly Guider from the local RCMP detachment gave a police report to council. He went through various categories of law enforcement and made comparisons between the crime numbers of this year and last year. Some arrest statistics were clearly up, which could either indicate more crime, or more effective policing. In other areas, the numbers were down. Report comparisons included such areas as impaired driving, criminal code arrests, crimes against persons and property, and the enforcement of municipal bylaws.
Corporal Guider then informed council about the RID program. This stands for Report Impaired Drivers, and has already been introduced in other parts of the province. The initiative encourages members of the public to call 911 when they encounter dangerous or erratic driving. The venture is a collaborative effort of SGI, The RCMP, MADD, SADD and Saskatchewan Liquor and Games. SGI pays for the erection of signs to encourage driver reporting, and when people phone to report a possible impaired driver, police follow up includes a call to the registered owner of the vehicle, whether or not the vehicle is located. Council immediately voted on the adoption of the program in Carlyle, and approval was given to erect signs in and around the town.
Council then reviewed and discussed ongoing correspondence from various entities and individuals. Issues included drainage matters, a wrongly-dated conference call, and community energy solutions. Building permits were then discussed, and this led into a detailed discussion about the price of lots for sale within the town.
Effective January 1, 2012, the purchase price of lots sold after that date will rise by 20%. The reason for this increase is simple, every time a lot is sold, the town must consider replacing that lot with more land for future growth. While a sale might take place today, the replacement land might not be
purchased for several years, and by then the cost of acquiring that new land will have also increased. It is therefore vital to factor future replacement costs into current sales prices. Council members decided to hold the increase in price to January, to enable people now considering purchase to take advantage of current pricing, without having to re-assess their budgets. In short, buying a lot between now and January 1 is going to save people money.
Further discussions involved the continuance of the water advisory, the future opening of the water treatment plant, and the need to send out a letter regarding an untidy property.
