The RM of Lumsden Council met for its regular meeting on October 15. The Chief Administrative Officer, Monica Merkosky and all Councillors except Jeremy Andrew were present. The Reeve, Kent Farago, called the meeting to order.
‘Planning and Development’
The Council went into an in-camera to discuss the Lagoon Haul Road Lease Agreement with Regina Beach. In-camera sessions are portions of the meeting, which are not open to the public. They are used to discuss sensitive matters of strategic planning, staffing discussions and legal issues. During these sessions, Council cannot make decisions. To make decisions, they must come out of an in-camera session into a public session to pass any resolutions or motions related to the matter.
The Council discussed the Waterline under Right-of-Way on Township Road #194. The Planning and Development Officer, Luke Grazier, suggested Council consider making the Water Association aware that there is an agreement in place. After considerable discussion, Council made the resolution; “That we agree to inform the Qu’Appelle Valley Water Users Association that; there are matters of non-compliance, pursuant to signed agreement August 8, 1995, in which the RM of Lumsden granted permission to install water pipelines on municipal road allowances. We wish to work with the association to achieve compliance in order to protect their infrastructure. Road construction is planned on Township Road #194, and the water pipeline may be affected if the association is unable to locate their line properly.” *note- this resolution will need final approval at the next meeting of Council on November 12.
‘Reports of Administration-Council Update’
The CAO gave Council her update. She noted that there had not been any significant change regarding COVID-19 precautions. The municipal office continues to track people who come into the office. Tracking people who go into the office is done for potential contract tracing purposes.
For each property where the RM registered liens for 2019, there was a tax service set up fee of $330 added to the amounts owed.
The Federal Government’s, Safe Restart funding of $115,000 was deposited into the RM account. Safe Restart funds are given to provinces and territories across Canada to restart their economies safely. When the Finance Committee meets, they will discuss which reserve account to place the funds.
Reeve - Kent Farago, Division #1 - Jeremy Andrew and Division #3 - Cody Garbutt were all elected by acclamation. There will be one election for Division #5; John Langford vs David Terlesky. Election day is Monday, November 9, from 9 am to 8 pm in the lower level of the Lumsden Centennial Hall. Elected Council members will be sworn in on November 12.
‘Communications’
The Lumsden Town Council asked RM Council if a member of Council could attend the Royal Canadian Legion’s Remembrance Day Ceremony to represent both the town and the RM as they did not have anyone to attend. Councillor Derek Neuls volunteered to participate on behalf of both Councils.
There were two closed sessions at the end of the meeting—one relating to employee matters and another about legal matters.
The resolution that came out of the legal in-camera session was, “That we agree to forward the reclamation plan ordered by the court, resulting from provincial court file #QBG1157 of 2019 to MPE Engineering Ltd for their review and recommendation.” *note- this resolution will need final approval at the next meeting. As this resolution came out of a closed session, the CAO was unable to comment on this matter.
Council meetings are open to the public and held on the lower level of the Centennial Hall. The next meeting is on November 12 at 1 pm.
Jennifer Argue, Civic Reporter, LMT - Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Note: These reports are abridged for content
