The Outlook town council met for a scheduled meeting on Wednesday night, January 25. Present were all councillors - Donna Smith, Maureen Weiterman, Kyle McLeod, Maureen Applin, Floyd Childerhose, and David Simonson - as well as Mayor Ross Derdall, administrator Trent Michelman, assistant administrator Laurie Lemon, and town superintendent Luke Lockhart.
A number of topics were discussed, including the following highlights:
- The Recreation Report said that carbon monoxide detectors should be acquired for a room at the rink, based on the recommendation of inspectors.
- There were reportedly issues with the exhaust fan system in the rink kitchen that had workers concerned, as it was a fumes issue that made it difficult to operate in the kitchen space. The problem was said to be looked after in the days following the council meeting.
- The recreation department is looking at getting a Gator tractor in order to drag the ball diamonds, and there was one being sold for less than $3,000 in the days following the meeting that one councillor was looking at possibly purchasing.
- Superintendent Lockhart was seeking council's approval to purchase a new street sweeper, valued at approximately $240,000. It was said that the numbers may have to be looked at more, depending on what the town's upcoming budget will be, and that a decision on this would be made at the next meeting.
- The meeting featured a number of delegates who came to speak with council. First up was the new RCMP Sergeant, Mark Langager, who went over a number of crime statistics with council and kept them up to date on how the detachment is keeping a presence in the community.
- The next delegate to speak was Outlook resident Scarlett Elliott, who has had concerns for some time regarding vehicles speeding down neighborhood streets, particularly Douglass Street. Elliott told council that after moving to Outlook in July of 2011, she had noticed the speeding almost right away. She said that the majority of the offenders are students from Outlook High School, and that both the principal and the RCMP have been contacted about the matter. However, after the speeding stops for some time, it isn't long before it begins back up again. The peak times in which the speeding is most common are before school, during the noon hour, and immediately after school. In one instance, Elliott said that a teen had hit a tree on a rainy day while speeding in her neighborhood. As well, there seems to be a level of taunting going on as teens will stop at Elliott's home and then speed back up again. She hopes that council will do something in order for those speeding to finally get the message and stop.
- Also present were members of the Outlook Music Festival Committee, who spoke to council about wanting to move the 9-foot grand piano to the Bethlehem Lutheran Church from its current location at the United Church. Following comments from Sandy Stephenson, council tabled the issue to another meeting, pending some more forthcoming information.
- Finally, Tony Peter spoke on behalf of the New Pool Committee, who said they had made the third and final payment for the design of the future facility. Blueprints for what the new pool will look like are should be received soon, and the work is set to begin on June 1. With $1,115,000 in pledges and money raised so far, it was said that approximately $600,000 is still needed to pay for the facility, based on estimates and what they expect to spend. Donors have the option of sponsoring amenities of the facility, and a large number of businesses are looking to donate in-kind services such as labor and materials. Peter also said that the committee hopes to see the intended pool site remain where it is on the property southwest of the rink.
- A motion was passed for the implementation of an e-bill system, which was said can save money and time.
- A motion was passed and carried for waste collection from the Village of Broderick.
- A hot topic was whether stray cats would or wouldn't be accepted anymore, as the costs associated with the town's involvement are said to be getting out of control. Administrator Michelman said he would speak with Dr. Millham on the costs and a decision may have to be made at a future meeting.
- A motion was passed to waive the rental fees for the Civic Centre for a benefit event on February 11.
