North Battleford city council gave first reading Monday to a bylaw that would rezone land for expansion and zoning on the Credit Union CUPlex site.
The bylaw would rezone the land from A1 Agriculture to C3 Commercial. The land affected is the area to the north and the east of Carlton Trail and Heritage Way. City Planner Tim LaFreniere brought a report forward regarding the zoning to Monday's meeting. Second and third reading are expected to happen at future meetings.
In other council highlights, LaFreniere also brought forward a draft condominium conversion policy to council.
The policy is framed around what Saskatoon has adopted, with changes made for the North Battleford market. Among the important items in the policy is that council would be required to consider the impact to the existing rental market if the vacancy rate is between three and 4.5 percent and more than 12 units are being considered for conversion.
A report was brought forward about a request from North Battleford Golf and Country Club to renew their land lease for an additional 10-year period, as provided for in their lease agreement. The new renewal term runs until July 31, 2021.
Council also adopted amendments to the employee policy for municipal employees who work at the Battlefords RCMP detachment, and awarded a tender for the purchase of a tandem truck to Frontline Truck and Trailer of Saskatoon for $100,634.50.
During the announcements and inquiries portion of council, Rhonda Seidel asked Director of Business Development Denis Lavertu about the possibility of streaming council meetings on their website.
Lavertu confirmed that plans are in the works to stream video from council meetings once the new city website is up and running. He said the new site should be up by the end of the year. Right now, work on the website is about 75 per cent complete, Lavertu said. He also said the stream from council would not be a live stream but something that could be posted on the web the next day.
Councillor Ron Crush asked about what is happening with the groundwater well study and with other issues involving the wells and water. Public Works Director Stewart Schafer said that the groundwater well study is coming soon, noting the two newest wells are working well but some of the older ones will have to be replaced. The expansion of Water Treatment Plant No.1 is also going well.
Director of finance Byron Tumbach introduced Kazi Khan to the council. Khan comes from a position in La Ronge and fills the newly-created financial accountant position at City Hall. He began work two weeks ago.
Finally, three proclamations were made by Mayor Ian Hamilton: Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October), Veterinary Technician Week (October 10-16) and Fire Prevention Week (Oct. 3-9). Hamilton donned a fireman's hat in council to read the latter proclamation.
