By Elaine Ashfield
A public hearing was held at the December 19 meeting of Town Council where a motion was made by Coun. Bruce Restau that council approve the application for a development permit of a discretionary use in accordance with Zoning Bylaw 9-2013 to allow for a home-based business for a dog grooming with the conditions that in the future if extended hours of operation are needed that application be made to council for their consideration, and that a business licence of $150 be purchased for 2017 and a business licence be purchased every year of operation. Coun. Lee Aldous seconded the motion and it was carried.
Coun. Restau also made the motion to send a letter of notification to Wendy Saltasuk and Sharon Armstrong to plan, order plants and plant the town flowerpots and hanging baskets and that the town would be responsible for the purchase of the plants, fertilizer, distributing pots, watering of the pots and any other duties associated with the flowerpots. Coun. Donna Beutler seconded the motion, which was carried.
This request was made by Saltasuk and Armstrong because Carole Armstrong and Barb Vennard had notified council of the need for someone else to take over this volunteer service. Being the 150th Celebration of Canada this year, the ladies felt that orders must be placed earlier to guarantee receiving what is required in plants for planting.
A motion was made by Coun. Brian Stevenson that the accounts listed totalling $43,974.30 be accepted for payment and the Bank Reconciliation and Financial Statement for November 2016 be accepted as presented and a copy be attached to and forming a part of these minutes. The motion was seconded by Coun. Restau and was carried.
Chad Kelly was appointed deputy mayor for six months.
Coun. Stevenson made the motion that the Feb. 7 meeting be cancelled as councillors will be at SUMA convention and that proper public notice be given. Coun. Kelly seconded the motion and it was carried.
The next meeting of council will be held Jan. 17 with the only meeting in February being held on Feb. 21. /due to no other alternate date being available due to councillors being away, at convention or on vacation.
Jan. 3 Meeting
Correspondence included a letter from Coun. Denise Istace who removed herself from the meeting during its reading and discussion. In her letter, Coun. Istace requested a leave of absence from council from Jan.17 to May 1, 2017 for personal reasons.
Coun. Chad Kelly made a motion to agree to her request, which was seconded by Coun. Bruce Restau and the vote was carried.
The public works report was given by town foreman Al Stevenson, who stated that snow removal has consumed most of the time of the town workers for the last two months.
“There have been nothing except good reports about snow removal from the public,” Mayor Doug Armstrong told the foreman.
“The piles of snow will be hauled away in the very near future,” the foreman added.
“A controlled burn of the clean wood pile was initiated before Christmas due to the large amounts of snowfall. The large furniture and shingle piles were removed and disposed of, and the blue bins were swapped out for larger red bins. We should be compliant now,” the foreman reported.
Upcoming work or projects includes the cleaning of the ditch west of the school using the excavator and dump trucks but the ground is still not frozen far enough down for heavy equipment, the foreman included in his report.
James Dominey, the water plant operator gave his report to council stating that consumption is down in by 20 per cent from 2015 to 2016 for each month. Non-revenue water such as leaks and losses such as theft or meter inaccuracy need to be reviewed. The cost to produce the water has not changed but the costs related to reduced usage cannot be determined until the comparison of output to what is being billed out can be compared. Some buildings are not metered but pay a flat rate as well as some of the town buildings do not have meters. This will be discussed more at the next meeting.
Coun. Brian Stevenson made the motion to pay accounts totalling $37,473.41 as well as the Bank Reconciliation and Financial Statements. This was seconded by Coun. Denise Istace and the vote was carried. Included in the accounts was the indemnity paid to councillors which included Brian Stevenson (November to December) - $718.05; Bruce Restau (November to December) - $520; Chad Kelly (November to December) - $400; Denise Istace (November to December) - $858.05; Donna Beutler (November to December) - $700; Doug Armstrong (November to December) $1,143.05; Lee Aldous (November to December) - $898.05; Todd Maki (October) - $98.05; Tony Saltasuk (October) - $199.47.
A date for a budget meeting was discussed. Chief Administrative Officer Sharon Rodgers asked councillors if they felt the staff should present their budget information to the committees prior to them being brought to council.
“I would like to meet with Al (foreman) and James (water plant manager) with the public works committee before the budget meeting,” Coun. Stevenson stated. “The next council meeting is Jan. 17 and then not until the second meeting in February, so I would like to meet this month.”
The personnel committee also felt it needed to meet since Coun. Istace would be away and positions on the committee would have to be re-arranged. They agreed to meet on Jan. 4.
A motion was then made for an in camera session.
The meeting reconvened where a date of Feb. 16 at 2 p.m. was set for a budget meeting.
The meeting adjourned with the next meeting to be held on Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. in the council chambers.
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