Schreiber council meeting for December

Mayor Dave Hamilton kicked off this months council meeting by welcoming the new owners of Costas Grocery in Schreiber and Terrace Bay and thanked the original owners for the service they have provided to the community for decades. He then went on to address rumours circulated on social media about the reasons why the municipal offices and other buildings were being closed. As a matter of public safety it was decided to close all municipal buildings to the public until after the first week of January 2021.

Colleen Leduc  from Contact North made a virtual appearance via a conference call to inform council of the services offered at her organization. Since the Superior North Adult Learning Association (SNALA) will be closing its doors at the end of the year there is definitely a gap in the market in regards to online learning. Online learning has taken on a significant role as we weave our way through the COVID pandemic and is yet one more reason for improving internet infrastructure. 

The assessment quote for electrical upgrades to the sewage treatment plant was approved. This cost does not include the actual upgrades and Councillor Stefuryk voiced an objection to the high cost of such a study. However the assessment is necessary to comply with standards and to allocate funds for such a project. Payments for the month were also approved and also includes salaries and operating costs.

A bylaw was passed to control parking and non moving vehicles. The municipality’s insurance policy was renewed and the quote accepted concluding in a discussion about the cost of insurance for small municipalities and the constant increases in cost.

The committee of the whole addressed reports from various departments with upgrades to snow removal equipment taking a top priority.

The senior centre report mentioned the New Horizons for Seniors grant that would enable them to distribute hampers to seniors once again in time for the Christmas holiday and also purchase iPads which will be made available through the library. Under communications, the municipality received a request for a donation towards advertising for the local legion.

The winners of the prizes for the Christmas lights were agreed on and awarded. Once again there was some more information presented regarding application for funding of the new community parks and playground downtown. Councillor Mro brought up the importance of more transparency and urgent updating of issues involving public safety in light of the recent building closures. Mayor Hamilton explained the closures would fall in line with the normal holiday closures and were strictly a reaction based on the safety of staff and citizens.

Finally the outdoor rink was discussed as an alternative to indoor recreation activity. An outdoor open air skating area would pose less risk and be far less costly than the monitoring of the indoor arena. Initially a discussion about the outdoor rink was rejected because of the impression that an unsupervised outdoor area would be too difficult to monitor but now there seems to be a reversal of policy due to public demand. It seems constant change is the only constant.