RM McKillop No. 220 - Shop Building
The RM of McKillop met for its regular meeting on October 27, 2020. All Councillors, Reeve - Bob Schmidt and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) – Brandi Morissette, were present. The meeting was the last for outgoing Councillors Rudy Thompson and Ken Swanston.
The meeting was held at the RM office in Bulyea and also by Zoom.
Zoom is a video conferencing app that has grown popular as many people are working from home due to COVID-19.
The RM had planned live-streaming their meetings; however, as the platform didn’t work for them, the CAO said they would use Zoom when practical. She noted that internet connectivity issues or availability issues – such as the internet not being available at the Bulyea Hall, would not permit its use. Members of the public may attend via Zoom by accessing the Zoom invitation on the RM web site the day of the meeting.
Councillor Garry Dixon declared a conflict of interest for the Sundale water and sewer rate discussion.
Delegation – Andrew Kuderewko
Andrew Kuderewko presented as a delegation before Council. He claimed that while on Council he was not fairly compensated for his time and requested back pay from January 2018 – October 2018.
Kuderewko was a former Division 4 Councillor who served from 2015 - October 2018. The RM of McKillop went to court in 2017 to have Kuderewko removed from Council, alleging he had failed to declare a conflict of interest as he had a pecuniary interest in land in the RM and had voted on motions concerning that land. In 2019 Justice Zuk agreed, concluding that Kuderewko failed to declare his interest and failed to recuse himself when the matters came before Council. As a result, under the Municipalities Act, he became disqualified from Council, which required that he resign.
Councillor Thompson made a motion to pay Kuderewko $1929.23. Councillor Dixon then made a subsequent motion to have Administration investigate the amounts owing. Council defeated the motion. The original motion to pay Mr. Kuderewko was carried.
2020 Lagoon Levy – RM 250
The RM of Last Mountain Valley No. 250 (LMV) sent a letter to McKillop informing them they were in disagreement about their lagoon levy portion of the $120,000 billed by the RM as the agreement was for $100,000. Councillor Thompson explained this discrepancy went back to Resort Villages that are creating sewage but were not paying fees as the original calculation didn’t factor them in.
Thompson contacted LMV Reeve, Allan Magel. Thomspon told Council that Magel wants any change to the agreement to be done correctly. Thompson recommended a solution to Council that they; hold a stakeholder meeting with an agenda, create an official motion stating the adoption of the $120,000 budget for the lagoon and have it passed through a vote. Thompson further explained that while the assessment and formula were correct, the agreement didn’t define the area of service. He said, as a result, they found that LMV had only paid for the assessment of Sunset Acres Resort and Canyon Beach, adding that the formula needs to be clarified.
Currently, Lagoon levies collected go into a Lagoon capital fund and then payments are transferred out of the account to pay the loan. Councillor Dixon reminded Council about the agreement with the government that all participants would have a reserve of $1M. Thompson reiterated that the RM accepts this money they collect is to pay back the loan and is not for a separate fund for the $1M. Dixon was concerned that they wouldn’t have the $1M that they are required to have at the end of the ten years. Dixon recommended they review the agreement with the government. Council said the agreement was not well written. The CAO warned of the potential consequences if they are not in compliance with their contribution agreements with the provincial and federal government. The CAO said she would look at the agreement before holding a stakeholders meeting.
Open Forum
The RM of McKillop Council Meeting has an open forum during each meeting. Members of the public can speak to Council and ask clarifying questions. Leandra Cameron asked which period Kuderewko was asking for payment, Council responded with Jan 2018 - Oct 2018. She added that she agreed with Councillor Dixon that there needs to be more investigation before paying Kuderewko. Cameron said that Kuderewko was absent for meetings and only there for partial meetings and was concerned that paying him would set a precedent for future councillors. Thompson said that the previous Council thoroughly reviewed this in a closed session.
Parkland Regional Library
The Director of the Parkland Regional Library, Jian Wang, sent an email to the RM and other stakeholders that supplied information on the City of Yorkton’s history, wanting to leave Parkland Regional Library. Wang indicated that stakeholders’ impact would be a 25% increase in Library levies to most municipalities. Council passed a resolution that Administration to send a letter to Parkland Regional Library outlining their concerns regarding the impact.
RM Shop
The RM held a special meeting on October 16. The Agenda and draft minutes indicate the meeting was a closed session for strategic planning. After the hour-long meeting returned to an open session, there was a motion made by Councillor Dixon, which was – That the RM of 220 engages a structural engineer to do a code review on the Ag building to be used as the RM shop located at SW 27-23-22 W2M. The CAO noted that the Engineer had completed a code review, and they are waiting for the report. The RM shop continues to remain in its current building on Fosterdale Road and isn’t required to move out until later in November.
The RM of McKillop posts their full monthly financial statement online. Here
Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program
Council made a motion to rescind the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) application for $525k and made a motion to submit a new application for $395k. This money will be used for an addition to the Municipal office to facilitate social distancing. The ICIP is a Federal program that provides funding for infrastructure projects.
Sundale Water and Sewer Rates
There was a closed session at the end of the meeting to discuss employee complaints and the Sundale water and sewer rates. Upon returning to open session, there was a resolution that the Administration will update the water and sewer rates bylaw and bring back to Council for approval and that the Sundale Community Association be advised of the bylaw change so that they will have an opportunity to comment.
Next Meeting
Council meetings are open to the public. The first meeting of the new Council is on November 10 at 9 am. The public can view the meeting at the municipal office or via the Zoom link on their website.
* motions/resolutions need to be approved in the minutes at the following meeting of Council.
Jennifer Argue, Civic Reporter, LMT - Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Note: These reports are abridged for content