OUTLOOK - The town council of Outlook met for a regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday night, October 9. Present was all of Council; Ryan Husband, Bob Stephenson, Sharon Bruce, Kyle McLeod, Justin Turton, and Kevin Grotheim, as well as CAO Kevin Trew and Assistant CAO Rachel Sillers. Absent was Mayor Maureen Weiterman, who was at home feeling under the weather.
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.
Bylaws
Presented at this meeting for their 3rd and final readings were three bylaws; Bylaw No. 05 (2024) Public Disclosure Statements, Bylaw No. 06 (2024) Animal Keeping, and Bylaw No. 07 (2024) Repeal of Certain Bylaws.
After some explanation from CAO Trew on each bylaw, including whether updates to the language were needed and/or applied, Council proceeded to pass the third reading of each bylaw separately.
Communications Requiring Action or Decision
In discussing the new fire hall, CAO Trew shared that cost estimates for building and furnishing the future facility have come in between $1 million and $1.2 million, which includes both contingency to account for the unknown and engineering. To date, cash and committed funds toward the new hall equal $812,000, and more in-kind services are expected to be committed to the project.
The Outlook-Rudy Joint Protective Services Committee has already recommended that the town and RM councils proceed with this project at the estimated costs and on the approved timeline, and the recommended resolution was that Council approves proceeding to build the new Outlook-Rudy fire hall at 211 McKenzie Street North, at an estimated cost of $1.19 million, with a targeted beginning construction date of spring 2025.
"It's exciting," said Councillor Bruce. "It's good to see it come together what seems very quickly."
Councillor Grotheim shared a concern, asking whether this might be something that needed to be paused briefly, citing the upcoming municipal election. Bruce replied that the project had already amassed the lion's share of the required funding.
In addition, it was said that it will ultimately be up to the new town council to make the decisions that will come out of the tender process, and that all that's being done currently is to move to that stage of the project.
Councillor Turton put forth a motion that this council approves proceeding to build the Outlook-Rudy fire hall at 211 McKenzie Street North for the estimated cost of $1.19 million with the following projected timeline of proceeding to tender in the fall of 2024 and beginning construction in the spring of 2025. The motion was carried by Council.
Next was an update from the previous meeting, in which members of the Outlook Riverbank Rodeo Committee had appeared and spoke with Council about a new lease agreement and their plans for the event moving to the south grounds of the Jim Kook Rec Plex.
At this meeting, CAO Trew presented a resolution that Council agrees to sign a 15-year lease agreement with the rodeo committee, which contains a review stage every five years. With that, the motion was carried to agree to the lease terms.
Delegations
This meeting also welcomed Con Hammer, Susan Robertson, Sandra Anderson, and Calvin Clark as delegations, representing the SkyTrail Trailblazers Committee.
Hammer asked if Council had made and passed a motion that said that no work in relation to the bridge would be done this fall, citing previous discussions on the SkyTrail at the last couple of council meetings. Trew said that there was no such resolution.
Hammer also commented and was curious about monies being held in trust, but Trew stated that any such funds are held in a reserve account, not a trust, and he shared that Council can access the account at any time.
Hammer wanted to know if the capital reserves account could be accessed by Council, to which Trew said that yes, it could be accessed by Council.
This led to some discussion on the ethical use of such funds, to which Robertson posed a question to Council to help make the situation clear for her.
"So, people from the community donated in good faith and gave the money in trust for the SkyTrail," she began. "And you're saying that the town council has put it in a reserve fund and that they can use those funds at any time in any way for any project they deem suitable? It does not have to go specifically to SkyTrail?"
"That's the way I understand it," said Councillor Grotheim. "It would be an ethical thing. If there was ever a financial bind of some sort, we would have the ability to do that if we needed to."
Hammer responded by posing the question of why should people dedicate money to the SkyTrail if there's a risk that their funds don't end up going specifically to the bridge in the end. Trew replied and made it clear that if there are funds that are given as a donation towards a project and include a tax-deductible receipt, the Town is required by law to put those monies toward that specific project, this one meaning the SkyTrail.
Con said the group on this evening was looking for a vote "one way or the other", either going ahead with construction using contractors who were said to be waiting to get the go-ahead, or waiting for next year and seeing where the project stands at that time.
Clark weighed in, posing things that could happen down the road if any action isn't taken on the bridge in the very near future. Councillor Husband said that he didn't believe anyone in the room was ready to make a firm decision on the bridge at this meeting, particularly as the municipal election is just weeks away, but he did say that the likely goal of the next town council will be to see where the proverbial goal posts are regarding the bridge, asking themselves, 'When can we say 'Yes' to opening it back up?'
After some talk from Hammer on what contractors would be willing to do, Councillor Bruce asked him if he has information on paper regarding the estimated costs and the scope of work, to which he responded that he did and he can provide it.
Hammer also went over some of the proposed work to be done, which would mostly be cosmetic.
Councillor Husband commended the work being done by the committee and asked for those statements providing estimated costs and scope of work, and also asked for what the committee believes would be the operating costs to maintain the bridge should it reopen. At that point, he said, Council will continue to look at the risk level and finding where the Town would be comfortable in seeing the SkyTrail reopened to the public once again.
After some final discussion, the committee members exited the meeting.
Council stayed on the topic afterward, sharing their reactions and comments. One of the biggest areas of discussion was the town's legal liability if the bridge was reopened, as well as their current liability with the entrance being locked up.
Another topic was the current physical state of the bridge, including things that may not have been seen before, including buckling.
Ultimately, after some lengthy discussion around the room concerning the logistics of the bridge and what should be carried out to make it usable again, it was said that the conversation has to come back to Council asking itself how the Town can legally open the bridge back up and carry a level of risk that one is comfortable with.
Councillor Husband said that the wealth of information gathered from these discussions on the SkyTrail should help the next town council as far as ultimately making a decision on the future of the bridge.
Reports
Assistant CAO Report
Prepared by Rachel Sillers
The first drafts of the 2024 Operating Budget and 2025-2034 Capital Plan are completed and ready for review and discussion. The first draft includes a small surplus in operating based on estimates for 2025 revenue and expenses. While we will be seeking approval of the 2025 Operations Budget and 10-year Capital Plan from the newly elected Council in November/December 2024, we are presenting a first look to current Council for review and input. As we have just closed the third quarter of 2024 we do not have full projections for the remainder of the year available yet, nor do I have the Q3 financial report ready or review. This will be available at the second meeting in October.
We are still awaiting final invoices from the Highway Water & Sewer rehabilitation project, it is still on track to come in under budget overall.
We initiated our pre-authorized debit software in the month of September. There were a few bugs, but we are working on getting those fixed for October and future months.
The Admin team have also been navigating some technical issues related to our Munisoft hardware and software and our SaskTel server. While this hasn’t affected the public, it has slowed productivity in the office and created additional work. It has also caused some delays, we’re keeping in close contact with Munisoft and will continue to do so until the issues are resolved.
I have accepted the position of Administrator for the West Central Municipal Government Committee. While I will be doing this on my own time, separate from my duties with the Town of Outlook, I wanted to share this change as we are a member of this organization.
Community Development Report
Prepared by Megan Anthony
Executive Summary
The Community Development and Recreation team spent the month of September wrapping up our summer activities and preparing for the fall and winter activities. We are proud of the diverse range of programs and events that we offered and feel that we successfully fostered participation and enjoyment within the community. The feedback we received from our community has been overwhelmingly positive which only emphasizes the importance of these activities and how they impact our community’s well-being.
We are now shifting our focus to fall and winter programming. Planning is underway with a menu of activities that includes recreational leagues, holiday-themed events, and family-friendly workshops to support the well-being of our community during the colder months. Overall, our commitment to providing recreational opportunities remains at a high-level priority and we look forward to another successful season.
Projects and Tasks
• Program/Event Development
- Hosted a Dream catcher workshop with a full class of 15 participants!
- Laser Tag has been a huge hit with the community
- Collaborating with local partners to implement additional senior programs
- Planning for fall/winter programs
• Facility Improvements
- Lighting above skating surface upgraded – the rest of the lights will be completed in 2025.
- Deep cleaned facility which provided us with more storage spaces (rooms that once were not used because of an abundance of clutter now usable)
- Electrical work throughout the facility – cameras, new monitors for advertising, kitchen upgrades
- Kitchen Exhaust fan repaired
- Compressor & Motor 2 on the skating ice plant were replaced
- Dugouts on diamond 1 were removed and will be rebuilt in spring of 2025
- Phase 1 of Irrigation project complete
- Fire suppression system inspected and deficiencies repaired
• 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
- 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
CAO Report
Prepared by Kevin Trew
Human Resources:
• Megan and her crew are finishing up recruiting for the 2024-2025 rink season, users and visitors will see a few changes in staffing as well as kitchen offerings as we keep an eye on making the kitchen a true profit centre to contribute funds to offset user fees and taxpayer funding of the facility.
• We have been attempting to have a regular lunch get together for all staff, sometimes we get together at a location and sometimes we support local charities selling lunch and eat separately, we are planning a lunch for late October or early November and we will invite all Council members to attend as well, stay tuned.
• In September, Council passed an updated Employee Recognition Policy after we asked staff preferences on how long service is recognized, it was a fantastic exercise and Council settled on something that works for most.
Policy and Procedural Items:
• Nominations for Council have been slow, with 1 candidate for Mayor and 3 candidates for Council being declared at the writing of this report (Monday). Should a 2nd call for nominations be necessary due to shortage of declared candidates, I will declare those nominated as elected and do a 2nd call; we have been in contact with Sunwest School Division to hold our election polls together as there is more than one nomination for that board position.
• As this Council approaches the end of its term, the nature of governance that this Council has embraced lends itself very well to business continuity, having said that we are balancing bringing forth decisions for Council on a timely basis and we understand that not one member of Council wishes to be accused of putting certain items forward in a rush.
• At the October 9 Council meeting, we are proud to table the first draft of the operations and Capital plan for 2025. The plan is to introduce it to this Council, take feedback and then present a draft operations and Capital Plan to the new Council once elected. The hope is that each member of the current Council and the new Council will provide input as is appropriate.
• As Council is aware, one of the jobs of the CAO IS that of gatekeeper, in particular, the Council Procedures Bylaw states that I put the agenda together for Council meetings. When asked to be placed on an agenda from a delegation, I review if the issue or concern has already been dealt with in the previous 6 months and ensure that the delegation is made aware of the process to attend Council meeting. Unfortunately, in the case of the Skytrail Trailblazer Committee, the denial of attendance at the September 25 was done verbally as the request was after the deadline to submit requests for delegation, and the Letter to the Editor from Mr. Hammer in last week’s issue of The Outlook only partially quotes the conversation. I had sent an email to the committee requesting information on two occasions and received the information after the September 25 Council meeting. I suggested that the committee could meet with the new Council at the first meeting of the new Council and was prepared to add them to the agenda as a delegation at that time. Council ruled that the Skytrail Bridge would not reopen in 2024. The committee has asked to be a delegation at the October 9 meeting of Council, I reviewed this with the Mayor and she has asked that we allow them to attend with the understanding that Council will be looking for new information and not that which has already been submitted for the public record.
Successes this Month:
• The Water Treatment Plant upgrade is nearing completion with commissioning of the new processes happening this week, congratulations to Strike for completing this on time and within budget, thank you to the public who have been inconvenienced by detours, the end of this is very near.
• I was privileged to attend the Saskatchewan Professional Planners Institute at Dakota Dunes on October 1, I joined the EDO from Moosomin and the City Manager from Humboldt presenting on the Housing Accelerator Program which is still in its infancy here in Outlook.
Learning Opportunities/Capacity Development:
• We are excited to be hosting George Cuff in Outlook in early December. He will bring information about governance to the Water Wolf Region. We will be taking registrations shortly.
Current Unfinished Projects:
• Raw Water Intake/ Water Treatment Plant Upgrade Project – Strike is wrapping up the WTP upgrade and 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 is finishing the subdivision application for Mann Street, we have had interest in purchasing an existing lot in the Highway Commercial Zoning District. We signed a lease with CP Rail to acquire the land for the storm retention pond construction.
o College Â鶹ÊÓƵ Residential – off site service levy work calculation and negotiation with developers is ongoing.
• Outlook-Rudy Fire and Rescue capital projects – The Fire Hall Campaign Cabinet were a part of three fundraisers and opportunity for exposure and receive feedback this past month, support in the community is there. Both municipal councils are expected to proceed to tender the new fire hall in October.
