OUTLOOK - The town council of Outlook held a regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday night, February 28. Present was all of Council; Bob Stephenson, Kyle McLeod, Sharon Bruce, Ryan Husband, Kevin Grotheim, and Justin Turton, as well as Mayor Maureen Weiterman, Chief Administrative Officer Kevin Trew, and Assistant Administrator Rachel Sillers.
The meeting was broadcast live on the Town of Outlook's Facebook page.
A number of topics and items were discussed, including the following highlights.
Public Hearings
As part of the next council meeting on March 13, a public hearing has been scheduled related to lane closure stemming from the topic discussed at the last council meeting, which was regarding the closure of the lane situated just behind the Co-op Gas Bar. As well, a discretionary use application was discussed regarding a home project in an R1 zoning district on Reid Crescent by Reid Britnell.
Presentations and Recognitions
With February 29 marking Pink Shirt Day, which spotlights anti-bullying measures in communities, Mayor Weiterman recognized the significance of the occasion and said it was good to see the presence of pink among those in the Outlook community.
Bylaws
Council next discussed the progress of a number of bylaws.
Touching first on Bylaw 07(2023) Official Community Plan, with both the first reading and public hearing complete, CAO Trew noted that the Town received "very little" commentary on the plan, but that it was all favorable. The bylaw's second reading, though, will be held after the second hearing related to the town's zoning bylaw on Tuesday night, April 9 at 7:00 pm in the court room of the town offices building.
Discussing then moved to Bylaw 01(2024) Council Procedures, which was set for its first reading. After much discussion on a number of finer points related to the bylaw, the first reading was passed by Council.
Reports of Administration, Staff and/or Committees Requiring Decision
Council next discussed two permits that were brought forward to be ratified; one to operate a waterworks, and the other to operate a sewage works. Both permits were said to expire as of March 31 of this year. CAO Trew saw that there were no changes in relation to the waterworks permit, so he notified Council that he had signed it and highlighted some notes, including requirements handed down by the Water Security Agency.
Council passed a motion to ratify the permit related to waterworks, and then the same was done to ratify the permit related to sewage works.
Mayor and Councillor's Forum
A number of town representatives, including Trew, Mayor Weiterman, Councillor Turton, Megan Anthony, and Rachel Sillers attended the WaterWolf Regional Planning Forum that was held in Elbow on February 27. At the forum, Trew shared his belief that WaterWolf needs to do something in order to advance as an organization. Councillor Grotheim echoed those sentiments, sharing that all he's seen is too much talking as far as WaterWolf is concerned and very little action. Trew said that there's still value in it if something is done, noting that the most recent work that WaterWolf has done was in regards to a District Official Community Plan (DOCP) and zoning bylaws.
Some discussion was had regarding WaterWolf's direction in the 15+ years that it's been in existence, and Councillor Grotheim questioned the progress of the group as well as Outlook's connection to it, wondering if Outlook was perhaps "too large" in a group that consists of mainly smaller communities. Further questioning over whether it's smart for Outlook's ratepayers for the town to be connected to the group, Trew countered with reasons for both how and why it's in Outlook's best interest to remain in the organization.
As far as the 'why' - "What is good for the region is good for Outlook," Trew said, further noting that developing regional economics in the area is huge for everyone, namely the 26 communities that are comprised of WaterWolf's membership.
As far as the 'how - "The only way we're going to get WaterWolf to do what we want them to do is to actually lead them, influence them, and get them to do what we want them to do."
Trew also shared that WaterWolf needs to do something different because what they're currently doing is not working, a point that was made at the forum the night before in Elbow.
Discussion among the room centered on the value of WaterWolf and the feelings of some of the other communities, wondering if they shared some of the same feelings that Outlook has on the group.
Unfinished Business
In discussing housing plans over the next three years, Trew shared that the Town would be getting $907,000 from the Housing Accelerator Fund, a federal program that works with municipalities to remove local barriers to residential development and fast-track the creation of homes across Canada.
Plans on how the Town intends to utilize the funds and how it will affect the Town's operations budget will be explored at the next council meeting.
New Business
The Town's grader has stopped working and is in a shop in Saskatoon for repairs to be done, with the costs to repair carrying a price tag of $30,000, according to Trew. The grader is roughly 30 years old, with the Town of Outlook having it for 24 of those years. From a risk perspective, Trew asked Council whether such a price would be money well spent, noting the many years that the grader has been used.
Mayor Weiterman shared a number of things that were found to be hindering the grader with its current issues.
Trew shared that a used grader carries an approximate price tag of $300,000, while a brand new one lifts that price up to over $500,000 with a number of lease options, should the Town move forward on a purchase.
For the time being, the Town will explore its options before making a concrete decision.
Recreation Report
Prepared by Megan Anthony
Jim Kook RecPlex
- Upgraded light fixtures in some dressing rooms as well as the women’s washroom in main lobby and all of the lights in the gymnastics space.
- We hosted a curling bonspiel for the curling club – it looked like a lot of fun and a great success.
- The bowling league interest is increasing and we are seeing new teams entering the leagues which is great – the bowlers are so fun and it is nice to see people mingling with others again.
- CO-OP Community Rink is open to the public.
- Lots of hockey games happening as we enter playoffs and provincials.
- Archery has started up again at the start of January.
- Yoga has rented the multi-use space in January again.
Management
- The Van Raay and Community Swimming Pool experienced a pipe burst in our heated mechanical room recently. I cannot comment on the extent of the damages or time it might take to repair until we are completed the investigation and assessment of the pool.
- We had our next meeting with the Community Safety and Well-Being committee on January 23rd – it went really well and I am excited to see where this committee will go.
- We are now hiring for the pool and kinsmen park program this summer.
- I have been networking with economic development planners and I am learning lots. I started working on a business investment package that will be available for all business owners to add to their portfolio as well as any new businesses will have all of the information to do business in Outlook at their finger tips.
Public Works Report
Prepared by Luke Lockhart
Transportation:
- Snow removal, and sanding streets has been ongoing as needed; with the freezing rain we had followed by a heavy wet snowfall we have had to do a lot more sanding than normal, but have kept up very well. With the grading done, we are now going back to clean up spots where vehicles were parked, and clean up corners.
- Our grader is out of service, and has been hauled up to Brandt due to a cracked frame. We are expecting it to take at least a week to repair and have brought back; we have reached out to a local contractor to rent a machine if we should be required to move snow for the interim.
- All back alleys will be cleared this week, barring another snowfall.
Utilities:
- 2 of our treated water reservoirs have been cleaned by Mann Environmental, the 3rd will be done early spring once the weather is favorable as it is the outside one.
- WTP upgrades are continuing along on schedule; the equalization tank has passed leak testing, there has been some work done on internal piping including new supply lines ran in the basement to feed the water plant controls. Preparation work has started for the rerouting of filter effluent and backwash water, but will not be put into service until all parts are onsite.
- Our backup generator, and fire pump had their yearly inspections performed by Cummins; we have 1 deficiency with oversized lugs within the switchover cabinet for the generator which has been passed on to our electrician to remedy.
- We had a line break on First Avenue last week which resulted in a PDWA being issued for the affected properties. The line has been repaired and samples have been submitted, just waiting on results to clear the PDWA.
Environmental Health:
- The transition period from public works to Loraas picking up garbage is nearly done; there were some hiccups along the way, but any issues were dealt with as they arose. We would like to express our thanks to the community for their patience as this was happening.
- Landfill operations have been going very well, there were some slower times during the cold snap, but has returned to normal now.
- I would like to send congratulations to our Landfill Manager Dylan, and his wife Nevada on the birth of their son. Yay!!!
General Public Works
- We have started redoing garland on some of our older Christmas decorations during any down times; they look fantastic.
- I have a meeting with Urban Systems, and their GIS team tomorrow morning to go over our options and expectations of what GIS mapping can do for us; what equipment we need, programs, and any support that they can provide to us.
