Following meetings with affected residents and property owners in the land the town of Carlyle had been eyeing for inclusion into the municipality, the town has decreased its planned annexation area to just around four quarter-sections, down from approximately six, still enough land to effectively double the size of the town.
Initial business passed quickly at the meeting, which was fully attended by councillors and the mayor.
The first areas of discussions that slowed the pace of the meeting were concerns regarding the newly completed sewer line.
The property owner through whose land the line passed was dismayed to find two or three raised manholes he contended he had not been informed of in advance.
Council conceded that they were unaware of the manholes, and considered various ways that they could be dropped or removed, or whether paying the producer for the lost land would be suitable.
In the end it was decided that the contractor would be contacted, and a solution found with their guidance.
Several discussions were also held regarding some pressing manpower issues, however the substance of these discussions are considered in-camera for the sake of employee privacy.
It was revealed during the Chief Administrative Officer's Report that Enbridge was to make a sizeable donation to the town.
The donation, more than $900, appeared to come with no limitations as to where in the budget it would be spent.
Enbridge is to be contacted before final disposition of the funds is decided.
During the committee reports, it was discussion of the annexation committee meetings with stakeholder where property owner reservations about being included in the town were broached.
It was realized that the tax increase would be significant for some of the properties that were within the annexation plan, and that the property owner concerns were enough to warrant a re-examination of the plan.
Despite a planned seven-year phase in of the municipal taxes, it was recognized that the school taxes had to be applied immediately, as control of that tax portion was not in the town's hands.
In the end it was decided to reduce the planned annexation to around four quarter-sections, removing the property owner who most heatedly objected to the annexation.
The tax phase-in will still be used for those properties annexed into the town, whether agricultural, residential, or commercial.
In bylaw, Bylaw 2012-13 was passed, repealing a previous bylaw regarding dangerous dogs.
The reason for the repeal was that it had become redundant, as provincial law covered the same area.
Finally, the quarterly police report had been received by council from the RCMP, however pressing matters kept the RCMP representative from attending the meeting to answer questions from council.
It was noted in the report that enforcement numbers were up right across the board, with significant increases in drug-related arrests, as well as drinking and driving offenses.
