OUTLOOK - The town council of Outlook met for a regular meeting on Wednesday, August 17. Present was all of Council: Bob Stephenson, Justin Turton, Ryan Husband, Sharon Bruce, Kyle McLeod, and Kevin Grotheim, as well as Mayor Maureen Weiterman and Chief Administrative Officer Kevin Trew.
The meeting was broadcast on the Town of Outlook's Facebook page.
A number of topics and items were discussed, including the following highlights.
CAO Report
Prepared by Kevin Trew
Human Resources:
We received official notification of Connor Segovia’s resignation from Public Works as he and his spouse move to the city and he seeks to continue his education; we wish Connor well in his future.
This summer, staffing in public works has been an issue with staff entitled to vacation and illness and injury being a factor with shortages. We were already down one staff member due to injury and we were unable to get a full complement of summer hires in public works.
With our shortages identified, we will be advertising for two permanent, full time positions in public works including a public works labourer and a landfill operator to join our team as soon as possible.
In recreation, we have just completed advertising for two permanent, full time positions (Facilities Caretaker and Recreation Labourer) as well as one permanent, part time position (Recreation Assistant/Programmer); Megan is performing interviews and reference checks at this time.
Also, in recreation, we will be advertising very soon for seasonal, part time kitchen staff and a seasonal part time student facility labourer to join our team later this fall.
I am pleased to inform everyone that Rachel will be returning to work on a .8 FTE basis as the Assistant CAO starting September 26.
We just had confirmation that our long term employee and stalwart garbage man, Darren, continues waiting for surgery and a time for healing; he is now on Long Term Disability and his return to work date is not certain at this time.
Policy and Procedural Items:
We have begun working on the 2023 operations budget albeit more planning at this point, but we will endeavour to have it and a capital plan complete before calendar year end.
In addition, we would like to have a fall open house in late October/early November, similar to the one held this spring at the Civic Center.
Successes this Month:
With many projects on the go and a variety of commitments, I would like to point out two huge successes this summer:
First, the pool – while summer 2021 was a time when we were still experiencing the pandemic and management really were just getting their feet wet (pun intended) this summer I am very proud of our team at the pool as well as the support of the rest of our team and the public; the pool definitely shone this summer.
Second, the public works paving and infrastructure replacement projects – while these are not complete yet, AND there are some significant projects yet to come this year, our team as well as the contractors have dedicated a lot of time and energy to making this a success!
Learning Opportunities/Capacity Development:
Landfill – while this is soon to be a positive as we have finally received the software and are almost ready to introduce new rates as well as a phasing in period, we are also restructuring our team as well as patiently awaiting the tender and quick award of contractor to complete the decommissioning of the old landfill cell;
Beautification and Property Owner participation – this summer we have issued notices to various property owners regarding the state of their properties, both residential and commercial. We have followed up with some that have been non-compliant with the bylaws and these are works in progress, we will be doing another blitz before the end of September, the Town itself has some work to do with maintaining its own properties, specifically the Railyard Subdivision, but we are working at improving the level of service at even our own properties, we are confident that Communities in Bloom is back on track.
Current Unfinished Projects:
Highway Water, Sewer and Storm Water Replacement – Associated Engineering is putting the final touches on the tender to complete the water replacement on Saskatchewan Avenue (Phase 1) and begin the sewer replacement project on Saskatchewan Avenue and McKenzie Street South (Phase 2), this will occur over two years.
Storm Water Outfalls rehabilitation will be started in October 2022 and completed in spring 2023 – Accurate HD is the chosen contractor and they expect to complete all earth works and piping in the fall with the final vegetation work to be completed in the spring of 2023. We will have a one year warranty on the vegetation so spring work is preferred to fall.
Landfill Decommissioning of Old Cell – Machibroda tested dirt from 3 sources, the dirt from Sandy Shores is not sufficient, the other two local sources proved sufficient for our needs. The tender for contractor is expected to go out in the next couple of weeks. We have identified a local source for prospective contractors to communicate with and make arrangements with regarding pricing and delivery, this is best practice to access the provincial and federal grants.
Raw Water Intake/ Water Treatment Plant Upgrade Project – This project continues along, we have been in communication with the golf course and have established parameters to set up test sites there and on the west side of the river but the preference would be near the golf course.
Subdivisions Projects
Railway Commercial/Industrial – Saskpower, Sasktel and Access Communications are expected to begin installation of their new lines next week. There has been little to no interest in purchasing a lot this summer. We are preparing advertising to be put up in late September.
Highway Commercial – We went through the traffic impact assessment with the Ministry of Highways and have looked at pricing for changes required. Associated Engineering has been contacted for a quote regarding project management. We still await that quote. There is no news.
Residential – Nothing new to report at this time. We are looking at Development of the College South Subdivision as well as residences along Mann Street.
New Zoning Bylaw – Urban Systems has been contracted to help us with a new Zoning Bylaw, we are in the midst of the timeline now and expect some news shortly from Urban Systems.
Future Projects:
Application has been made to both higher levels of government for one project under the recreation stream of ICIP:
On behalf of the RMs of Fertile Valley and Rudy and ourselves, a regional project – Sports Ground Upgrade– we were denied on both iterations of this funding – we are looking at paring the project down and funding it locally.
We are still looking for another opportunity to apply for funding under the Transportation stream for the Skytrail Bridge Repair and Trail Enhancement.
Communications Requiring Action or Decision
There was communication received from Derek Derdall of Nutrien Ag Solutions expressing concerns over parking on the north side of Railway Avenue in front of the business's lot. Sometimes, there are semis parked by the greenspace along the road, and this can cause customers to not see oncoming traffic when pulling out of the lot. As that stretch of Railway has a lot of traffic, this could increase the risk of a collision. Nutrien was asking if it was possible that the north side of Railway Avenue East could be made into a 'no parking' area. CAO Trew said that he would like to have conversations with all the business owners along Railway if this is the direction Council would like to take.
It was noted that the traffic along Railway has significantly picked up, notably after the recent upgrades to the road surface. Councillor Grotheim wondered if there could be length restrictions for vehicles that intend to park along the road, and Councillor McLeod shared concerns over large trucks parking overnight on Railway. Councillor Stephenson asked where the truck drivers could park if their intentions were to get out and visit businesses along Saskatchewan Avenue and Franklin Street.
Administrator Trew will do some research on how the Town could move forward on the matter.
Mayor and Councillor's Forum
Relaying some concerns brought up to him by ratepayers, Councillor Grotheim highlighted some traffic concerns at McKenzie Street North and 1st Avenue related to speeding vehicles. He also brought concerns forward about weeds in the Veterans Memorial Park, as well as in the shrubs around the town office. As well, in behind the hospital, the weeds are said to be high around the cottages and the helicopter pad. Finally, there were concerns brought up over homes in town not having more-visible house numbers. It was said that there were limitations to what the Town can do in that situation, but Mayor Weiterman said that Outlook is trying to raise "community champions" in which citizens speak up and address issues to one another in order for them to be fixed and improved.
Unfinished Business
Trew was seeking guidance on how to proceed with the Outlook West Water Agreement. The last agreement with Outlook West was in 2005, so the agreement has been honored for 17 years. The Town was exploring a new agreement, and it was said that one of the main reasons why it may be time to further discuss and explore this topic was because Outlook is going in a new direction with its water supply, which is costly, and there are partners with such a direction. After some discussion, Mayor Weiterman said this would be a good item for a Committee of the Whole meeting, and the item was moved as such.
Council entered into in-camera discussions on land and personnel to end the meeting.
