The town council of Outlook met for a regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday night, February 27. Present was all of council; Donna Smith, Kevin Grotheim, Kyle McLeod, Maureen Applin, Floyd Childerhose, and David Simonson, as well as Mayor Ross Derdall, Administrator Tina Douglas, Assistant Administrator Rachel Sillers, and Acting Superintendent of Municipal Operations Luke Lockhart.
Absent was Recreation Director Jordy Jones.
A number of topics and items were discussed, including the following highlights.
Acting Superintendent Report/Public Works
Crews around town are continuing to do regular sanding and snow removal.
There is sewer repair work that needs to be done at two addresses on Semple Street, including on the Town’s section of the line at one location and joint issues at the other. Luke will explore options on handling the work moving forward.
The Waste Disposal Ground Emergency Response Plan has been updated.
There was said to be “nothing definitive” that needs to be immediately looked at and/or fixed according to the recent AWI Water Treatment Plant Filter Inspection Report. Lockhart noted that having such an inspection done on Outlook’s water treatment facilities is worth the money because things should be checked on a fairly regular basis to ensure that the Town isn’t being complacent.
Administrator Douglas touched on custom work being done out of town, believing that it shouldn’t be done to begin with due to the liability issues that may arise. Councillor Childerhose noted that the topic put him in a bit of a quandary as he has had out of town work done on behalf of his business – in this instance, grave digging – at cemeteries outside of Outlook. He questioned why Town trucks were leaving the area to go and pick up garbage for other areas, and it was explained that there are contracts with other communities to do so, and that the trucks can be insured. Childerhose said he understood and that he would explore other options for his custom work needs.
Lagoon Access & Future
The lagoon was perhaps the hot topic of the evening, with Douglas noting the Town “may need to rethink things” as it relates to who has access, the costs, and in general, the overall running of it. The root issue at hand is those coming in from other municipalities in order to collect and dump at the lagoon. Councillor Grotheim asked about implementing a possible punch-card system as it relates to access and dumping, but it was downplayed due to such an idea being on the proverbial honor system. The Town may want to have control over the dumping schedule and, as well, having one company do collections and dumping for the Town was also discussed.
Lockhart said he would speak with the owner of one company to explore options moving forward, and the Town would look into the associated costs and billing options.
There are 21 properties in town that have septic tanks, and one of the key issues facing the lagoon is capacity issues. As such, council made a motion that the lagoon is only for the ratepayers of the Town of Outlook, which was carried.
Recreation Report
Jones utilized a new floor scrubber as part of a demo and he, along with several others, were impressed at how well it worked, as well as its ability to cut down on time. The scrubber comes in at a cost of approximately $12,500. It was said that a new one was needed as soon as possible. A motion was made and carried to purchase one.
Jones purchased carbon monoxide detectors for the Civic Centre.
The public was highly encouraged to sign up and take part in the Go Out and Play Challenge, which awards a community with the highest tally of minutes spent in physical activities with $10,000.
A motion was made and carried for Jones to draft letters to groups and organizations that are using storage in the Rec Plex to clear their materials out.
New Meeting Schedule
Council meetings will take on a different schedule from now on, with the second meeting of each month being stand-alone Executive Committee meetings, meaning in-camera business only. A motion was made and carried, and Mayor Derdall noted that the new schedule is being done on a trial basis for now.
General
A motion was made and carried to donate use of the Civic Centre for the Sun West School Division’s annual PARTY program (Prevent Alcohol and Risk-related Trauma in Youth).
The Town’s Handi-Van will be taken to the Esso to be safety’d and repaired as needed, and a motion was made and carried to have a master switch installed. Councillor Applin brought up the idea of possibly selling ticket books and having a dedicated driver for the van to help it pay for itself, as it is very underused.
Quotes are being explored for work to be done to the phone system in the town offices, which are having issues with not being able to hear callers at times, and vice versa.
