OUTLOOK - The town council of Outlook met for a regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday night, Feb. 14. Present were councillors Bob Stephenson, Sharon Bruce, Kyle McLeod, Justin Turton, and Kevin Grotheim, as well as Mayor Maureen Weiterman, Chief Administrative Officer Kevin Trew, and Assistant CAO Rachel Sillers. Absent was Councillor Ryan Husband.
The meeting was broadcast on the Town of Outlook's official Facebook page.
Another short meeting of council, the following items were discussed.
Communications Requiring Action or Decision
Councillor Turton, an employee of Riverbend Co-op, recused himself from discussion regarding a request that came forward from Riverbend.
The Town received correspondence from Riverbend regarding a request for a permanent road closure related to an alley way. CAO Trew pointed out that the Town authorizes road closures within the municipal boundaries of the town, while permanent road closures are up to the municipal council, but they're generally done to support development, whether it's commercial, industrial or residential. Trew also noted that Section 13 of The Municipalities Act includes information related to such a request.
Riverbend's request is for the alley to be closed that is located behind the gas bar/convenience store and in the middle of two properties owned by the Broderick Garden Centre. The approval of the Ministry of Highways is required, as well as the knowledge that the roadway isn't needed by the public, the proposed sale will not eliminate access to any lands, and that it complies with any written zoning bylaws. The public will be notified for 21 days prior to a hearing regarding closure of the roadway.
It was said that the land has little value to the Town of Outlook.
Councillor Grotheim brought up a concern regarding access for the Broderick Garden Centre and questioned what exactly Riverbend may have planned for that area, to which CAO Trew was unable to provide an answer.
The recommended resolution brought forward was that Council set a hearing for March 13 as part of their regular meeting to hear from the public regarding closure of the lane situated immediately north of the Co-op Gas Bar. A motion to hold the hearing was carried.
Reports of Administration, Staff and/or Committees Requiring Decision
Council carried two non arm's length payments to Riverbend Industries; the first being for a service call on January 25 in the amount of $105.45, the second being for the pump controls at the river for the test wells in the amount of $4,661.90, and the third is for wire at the second pump for the river test wells in the amount of $6,876.45. A motion to pay the three invoices was carried.
New Business
On the topic of fluoride treatment of Outlook's water supply, Trew went over the process of adding fluoride treatment to Outlook's water supply, noting that the permit to operate is up for renewal immediately, and should Council choose, the requirement to treat water with fluoride could be removed. Many municipalities don't fluoridate treated water, as there is some naturally-occuring fluoride in the raw water and it isn't eliminated by the Town's current processes.
There is a cost for the Town in using fluoride as the treatment has to be purchased, and Trew noted that the injection pump system does fail "from time to time". Purchase price of the fluoride chemical is approximately $5,000 per year, and it was noted that the recent failure of the pump required 100,000 gallons of water to be released in order to ensure that the fluoride levels were deemed acceptable.
The recommendation was that Council ask the Water Security Agency (WSA) to alter the permit to operate a water work, removing the requirement to add fluoride to the treated water supply.
There was some talk around the room on the topic, with some opinions in favour of keeping fluoride in Outlook's water and others noting that it could be eliminated due to studies that show that it really has no beneficial qualities for grown adults.
There was no motion made on the matter, meaning that Outlook will continue to fluoridate.
