OUTLOOK - The town council of Outlook met for a regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, January 22. Present were Councillors Donna Smith, Kyle McLeod, Sharon Bruce, Andy Long, and Guy Derdall, as well as Mayor Ryan Husband, Chief Administrative Officer Kevin Trew, and Assistant CAO Rachel Sillers. Absent was Councillor Kevin Grotheim.
The meeting was broadcast live on the Town of Outlook's official Facebook page.
A number of topics and items were discussed, including the following highlights.
Communications Requiring Action or Decision
In relation to the closed SkyTrail walking bridge, CAO Trew brought up a letter the Town had received from Associated Engineering, which he noted was "unsolicited". As well, Associated is said to be very aware of recent discussions that have been had about the bridge in both Town and legal affairs, as well as public conversations.
In the letter, AE recognized the position that its original 2013 report on the SkyTrail put the Town in, and they're aware that the public wishes to see the bridge reopen one day.
"Our primary obligation as professional engineers is to safeguard the public," the letter wrote. "Therefore, we have a professional duty to remind you of the risks associated with permitting the public to use the bridge in its current state and to ensure that you understand the potential consequences of this regarding professional recommendations."
Going over the history dating back over a decade, AE noted that in October of 2013, the Town had contacted Associated Engineering to perform a visual inspection of the bridge, and the inspection noted that several key components of the bridge had been "substantially damaged" as a result of ongoing ground movement at the bridge approaches, particularly on the town end (east end).
Associated's findings found that, according to them, the SkyTrail was not stable in its condition and that it couldn't safely support the loads being carried on it.
With the Town not having carried out any significant repairs to the bridge or any reviews in order to verify its current safety, AE "must assume" the structure is not stable in its present condition as a result of ongoing ground movement at the bridge approaches and age-related deterioration.
Associated Engineering then said in its letter that they advise the Town to keep the bridge closed until such time that sufficient repairs to the structure can be completed to safely reopen it to the public. If the Town wished to reach out to other firms to obtain an opinion, AE provided names and contact numbers, should they wish to reach out.
Trew said that he reached out and thanked Associated for their input on the matter, and noted that the previous council had not factored the SkyTrail into their future plans at that time, sharing the costs related to monitoring the structure. That said, he hoped that this current council take all that's publicly known about the bridge into account when planning for the future.
Switching topics, another letter was sent in to the Town, this one from Rivergrove Homes regarding the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF).
Rivergrove is currently constructing eight units, said to be 22% of the Town's housing target. Recognizing the great working relationship they have with the Town, Rivergrove says they were not "demanding funding" from the Town, but simply notifying the Council of development concerns, and they would like more clarity as it related to the distribution of funds in order to properly plan for future development.
CAO Trew went over some of the history behind the HAF funding, and that he would keep in conversation with Rivergrove on the matter.
Reports of Administration, Staff and/or Committees Requiring Decision
Council then moved to discussing the Town's strategic plan, with Trew explaining that a Committee of the Whole meeting was held prior to this council meeting in order to discuss the plan.
Describing the plan as a "7-part process", Trew shared that the Town conducted a recent online public survey that asked people their thoughts and opinions on the Town's priorities and goals. The survey had a total of 69 respondents and the results were shared with Council. As well, a brainstorming session saw councillors identify between three and six key values that they hope will guide the Town moving into the future, as well as identifying four to eight strategic goals for the community of Outlook.
After some data gathering and further meetings with his team, Trew says that the matter should be brought up again at the February 26 meeting of town council. Trew also noted that the Town hopes to engage the public on a more annual basis with such surveys.
CAO Report
By Kevin Trew
Chief Administrative Officer
Human Resources:
• We have had a few mishaps amongst our team in the past month, with 2 workplace related injuries and more than 2 unrelated to work injuries affecting members of our team, supervisors are reviewing processes that may have prevented workplace injuries, accommodations of the unrelated injuries are handled through staff taking sick and vacation time if they have it.
• In addition, we extend our sympathy to Nancy Gorman and Rachel Sillers on the loss of mother and grandmother recently.
• To celebrate the Christmas season, the various departments each usually have a team Christmas get together, however this year, our whole team is getting together as a group for a small function at a local business, we hope to continue to have an appreciation function with Council and committee members/volunteers in late January/early February and the summer as has been tradition.
Policy and Procedural Items:
• Thank you to our newly elected Council for continuing to uphold the best practice of discussing and approving an operations budget prior to the start of the calendar year, administration recognizes that there are many learning curves and Council’s dedication is certainly appreciated.
• The next big project will be a revisit of the Strategic Plan, to tailor it to the wishes of this administration. We plan to involve the public in mid January and early February and we are excited to bring this forth and look forward to certain renewal and fresh perspectives.
• The snow management policy will be addressed early in the new year as we have been looking at small changes suggested by Council members that will meet the expected level of service and continue to be reasonably affordable.
Successes this Month:
• The George Cuff training held at the Civic Centre was a great success with over 60 participants from Water Wolf Planning District and beyond, this included 15 Outlook staff, Council and volunteers.
• We have made great strides in Tax Enforcement over the past 4 years, this is a testament to the aggressive policies set forth by Council and the processes identified by The Act as well as administration making full use of the tools in The Act. The taxpayers in Outlook are well served to by these processes and policies and the number of properties in tax enforcement and $ figure is quite possibly the best in the province. Thank you to the taxpayers for keeping your accounts paid.
Learning Opportunities/Capacity Development:
• This has been a month where the administration’s focus has been on budget, prepping numbers, answering questions, pivoting when needed. We have become accustomed to doing this over the past 4 years, we have missed doing the strat plan report card along with a revamped salary grid, in addition, we had planned to do a management compensation policy, these are in the plans to be ready for the first meeting in January.
Current Unfinished Projects:
• Raw Water Intake/ Water Treatment Plant Upgrade Project –We have wrapped up the water treatment upgrade part and the raw water intake reports, design for a new one and the upgrade of the existing intake should be complete shortly, taking this project to a finish (awaiting further grant funding if it becomes available).
Subdivisions Projects:
o 2024 Highway Commercial and Residential Subdivision – We have some interest in highway commercial property, and we are working toward storm water retention pond as well as highway and road improvements for approval of the Mann Street/Sportsgrounds subdivision application.
o College Â鶹´«Ã½AV Residential – Casa Boldt has submitted a review of our draft servicing agreement, we will be following up with Council in the new year.
• Outlook-Rudy Fire and Rescue capital projects – The Fire Hall project first three tenders have been reviewed and fall within administration spending threshold, we will report these to the Joint Protective Services committee shortly and notify the successful bidders.
