Southey Council Meeting - Dec. 8, 2020
Council for the Town of Southey met for their December meeting on Tuesday, December 8. Council held the meeting both in chambers and over Zoom. Both mayor Bishop and Councillor Hillier attending via Zoom.
Councillors attending in chambers sat around the council table, masked but not socially distanced.
Cat Bylaw
Cats were top of the Agenda for Council as the office has received numerous nuisance cat complaints. The Acting Administrator, Chris Lamontagne, noted the current bylaw regulating cats was enacted in 1990 and is outdated. It references an outdated Act - uses obsolete language such as the reference to a pounds keeper, which Southey does not have - and outdated processes where an unclaimed cat has only two options after 72 hours; public adoption or humane destruction. Lamontagne said that now with social media, they can exhaust many different resources to find the owner and adoption, adding that no one has picked up a trap during her time as Administrator.
Several councillors felt the cats are most likely locally owned and not strays.
Live traps are available at the office, with requirements for their use. Should a cat be turned in, there is no ‘pounds keeper,’ and the responsibility would fall to the Town to care for it. Lamontagne noted they have the means to care for a cat and keep the cat at the office.
Council did not linger long on the idea of requiring cats to be licensed as they did not feel it was necessary. The Council tabled the discussion on this item.
RM of Cupar Meeting
The Mayor and Lamontagne met with the Reeve of the RM of Cupar, Ray Orb and Chief Administrative Officer Nikki Czemeres to discuss the mutual fire aide agreements. The discussion focused mainly on the billing process as currently, the town bills the ratepayer directly. However, if there is a delay in receiving payment or no payment, the Town then has to contact the RM to add the bill to the ratepayer’s taxes.
The current process can take up to a year for the Town to receive payment. To reduce that time, they discussed the RM of Cupar would pay the Town the amounts owed and then move to collect from the ratepayer.
Also discussed was the RM’s desire for transparency from Southey as the RM regularly makes yearly donations to the Southey fire department. As the RM is responsible to their ratepayers, they would like to know how the Town is spending the contribution. The current agreement expires on December 31, 2020.
Southey Recreation Board Dissolved
Quinn Nikulak, President of the Southey Recreation Board, sent a letter to Council regretfully informing them that due to lack of volunteers and his time constraints, the Southey recreation board has dissolved. The recreation board was a subcommittee of Council who looked after all recreation for the Town. Along with planning community events, the board would apply for grants for the rink and the other community groups. The letter noted the remaining money would be dispersed among the community groups. However, the Council is looking for community interest from each group and community volunteers so the board can be re-instated. People interested in volunteering can contact the office.
Donation to the Southey Health Centre
The RM of Longlaketon has donated $11,450 to the new Southey Health Centre. Along with the RM, there have been numerous donations to the new Health Centre. In the spring, the Town plans to recognize all donors publicly and on the Centre’s wall.
Covid Update
Lamontagne noted that they feel safe with the safety measures they have in place currently in the office, noting they have little foot traffic. There was some discussion regarding contingency plans in the event the Administrator and assistant were not able to work from the office. Lamontagne said there is communication happening between municipalities as to what each other’s plans are, however at the time, the Town is playing it by ear. She added that they are watching the numbers within the community, noting; that it’s hearsay and not direct information from the Sask Health Authority as Southey’s COVID positive numbers are lumped in with the city of Regina. She noted if they start to feel unsafe, they will close the doors.
Council meetings are open for public observation. The next meeting of Council is Tuesday, January 12 at 7:00 pm. Due to the changing regulations and nature of COVID-19, if you are interested in observing a meeting, contact the office in advance.
Jennifer Argue, Civic Reporter, LMT - Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Note: These reports are abridged for content