OUTLOOK - The town council of Outlook met for a regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday night, November 27. Present was all of Council; Sharon Bruce, Kyle McLeod, Kevin Grotheim, Andy Long, Donna Smith, and Guy Derdall, as well as Mayor Ryan Husband, Chief Administrative Officer Kevin Trew, and Assistant CAO Rachel Sillers.
This was the first official meeting of the updated town council following November's municipal election, welcoming new faces to the table and bidding farewell to previous ones.
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.
In starting the meeting, Mayor Husband gave special mention to previous councillors Bob Stephenson, Justin Turton, and former mayor Maureen Weiterman and thanked them for their contributions to the table.
Reports of Administration, Staff and/or Committees Requiring Decision
First up for discussion was Christmas gift cards to town employees. Right now, there are 25 permanent positions belonging to staff who've worked for the town longer than one year, two permanent staff who've worked less than one year, and there are 28 staff who are recognized as casual or seasonal at this time. This equates to $6,600 in total gift cards to be purchased and given out to employees for the holiday season.
The recommended resolution was for Council to approve the purchase of $6,600 in gift cards to both AG Foods and Riverbend Co-op to give to town employees for Christmas, which was carried.
In discussing non arm's length payments, Councillor McLeod recused himself before Council passed a payment to KTM Exteriors for $1,332 for work done to the river intake pumphouse.
Mayor and Councillor's Forum
Councillor Derdall spoke on the town's snow management policy, touching on historical buildings such as the museum and saying how he'd like to see such buildings included more in the policy. Even something as a simple walking trail being established would be beneficial to having access to a building's furnace and water systems in order to check them in the event of inclement weather.
He also brought up the troublesome snowfall that can happen between Railway Avenue and up to Saskatchewan Avenue, and the speed in which the snow is cleared is causing issues for some in the community. This sparked some discussion around the room on timeliness of snow removal, and Trew also touched on snow removal as it pertains to buildings such as the museum, sharing that the Town doesn't carry out that service and rather a private contractor is paid to perform that service. Derdall acknowledged that fact, but wondered if timeliness could be a factor at times. That said, the discussion around the room helped alleviate some questions that Derdall had surrounding the snow removal policy.
Derdall also brought up the business advertising signs at the Rec Plex and the costs related to them, sharing that there is substantial space for more advertising, and also wondered if the costs of advertising could be different depending on sign placement in the rink.
The topic was said to be a prime directive for the Community Advisory Development Committee, and the discussion came to a close.
Unfinished Business
Council had a brief and preliminary discussion on the 2025 Operations Budget and the 2025-2034 Capital Plan, going over some early numbers and data. It should be noted that more concrete information will be available in the near future, as Council is set to have a meeting pertaining to those subjects on December 11.
New Business
Council discussed the sale of cabins down in Camp Outlook, and Trew explained that the Town began disassembling the area in 2021 and using some of the cabins for their own use. It was said that there was some trespassing and minor damage done to the cabins this past summer. Resident Kyle Lepage has requested to take ownership of two cabins and two large mess halls, and Council approved the request on the condition that Lepage is responsible for moving the buildings and leaving the land as suitable.
Community Development Report
Prepared by Megan Anthony
Executive Summary
We have successfully installed the skating ice and curling ice for another full season at the Jim Kook RecPlex. As winter begins, we're kept busy with hockey games, tournaments, curling bonspiels and so much more. As well, we are planning and organizing a variety of community programs to keep everyone active and having fun. Planning for 2025 has been and is well underway with ambitious goals such as increased summer programming as well as some larger projects on our to do lists!
Projects and Tasks
• Program/Event Development
- Hosted a wreath making workshop – it was so popular we are hosting a second one!
- Drop in Bowling dates and times have been established for consistency. Private bookings are still accepted.
- We have offered drop in laser tag during special events at the RecPlex which has seen many participants!
- Bowling leagues: not enough registrations – brainstorming how we can change the bowling leagues up a bit as we feel it may just be becoming repetitive.
- Preparing for the annual Winter Wonderland in the park
- Full swing hockey, skating and curling now.
- Communities in Bloom results are in! We received four blooms. You can review our evaluation on the website and social media posts will be out this week.
• Social Media & Marketing
- New monitors installed at RecPlex for more advertising opportunities and to enhance communication with public
- Preparing skating schedules to be shared with public – monthly skating is once again fully sponsored by local businesses – what a great business community we have!
- Establishing a YouTube/TikTok/Instagram presence
- Website upgrades
• Community & Economic Development
- Working with developers as well as community members to provide funding through the Housing Accelerator Fund
- Re-establishing Community Safety and Well-Being committee
- Grant applications for facility upgrades and program initiatives are being researched and applied for
- Budget and Capital Project planning
Chief Administrative Officer Report
Prepared by Kevin Trew
Human Resources:
• We are happy to report that Dylan is on a back to work program at the landfill, while we did not backfill his position, we have a number of staff that have filled in for him including members of the Public Works and Administration Team
• We held a November team lunch at Between the Buns/Family Pizza on November 4, thanks to all that attended
• We welcome several seasonal staff to the Recplex led by the Kitchen Manager, Ivy Read. We have a few staff returning from last year and staff that were working for us in the summer.
Policy and Procedural Items:
• Civic Election was held on November 13 at the Outlook Civic Centre with advance polls being held on October 29 and November 9. We had a poll for the SunWest School Division Trustee in conjunction. We are very proud that we were able to have very few lineups and that counting was complete in about 45 minutes. This was aided by having more than one poll for Councillor and by a crack team of election workers. Thank you to: Shanda Rolleston, Crystal Fisher, Wendy Ball, Kate King, Jessica Follick, Nancy Gorman, Brayden King, Emily Trew and Heather Colliers as well as Rachel Sillers.
• With new Council elected, we expect a slight shift in priorities and strategic goals which will affect all of our planning documents and policies and procedures. The changes will take time, but I have prepared our team for the productive changes coming. We will be starting with the completion of the 2025 operations budget and the 2025-2034 Capital Plan expected to be completed at the December 18 meeting of Council.
• We will be involving the public with a revisit to the strategic plan in January and February and we are excited to bring this forth and look forward to certain renewal and fresh perspectives
• Review of bylaws and policies is ongoing and we will be working to update as we move along, amending, deleting and making new policies as issues are brought forth
• Council, volunteers and key staff will be attending the George Cuff Governance training on December 4 and 5 right here in Outlook, if any member of the Public wishes to attend, they should reach out to me for details
Successes this Month:
• Snow removal, I have been privileged to travel across a few cities, towns and villages this past few weeks, and bar none, Team Outlook has outperformed all of them. Of course we have a few mishaps and we can always do more/better/faster, but the level of service we provide is exceptional
Learning Opportunities/Capacity Development:
• With any election or change in leadership, we can and should expect issues and expectations to come up that may not have been our finest moments or may not be everyone’s favourite part(s) of Team Outlook, it is my hope that we approach criticism with a productive lens and find a solution. While I am reminding my team about this, every 4 years I also need to remind myself, everyone wants the best for this community!
Current Unfinished Projects:
• Raw Water Intake/ Water Treatment Plant Upgrade Project –The pilot project along the river bank is wrapping up this fall with Associated Engineering preparing the results and going to pre-design of a replacement raw water intake based on the success of the infiltration well with a shield well in providing similar quality water to what the current WTP is designed for.
• Subdivisions Projects
o 2024 Highway Commercial and Residential Subdivision – Casa Boldt has presented a conceptual development plan for review and it is with Administration at this point, we will present to Council early in the new year
o College Â鶹ÊÓƵ Residential – Casa Boldt has submitted a review of our draft servicing agreement, we will be following up with Council and developers shortly
• Outlook-Rudy Fire and Rescue capital projects – The Fire Hall project was approved, in principle, by both Councils in October and we have tendered the first three parts of the project (provision of clay for grading, leveling/grading of clay, and provision of utility service lines. The tender period has expired on Friday and we will award the tenders shortly.
