TOWN OF WABANA

Regular Meeting
Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2005 - 7pm
Present:
Mayor Gosine
Deputy Mayor Pendergast
Councillor Craig
Councillor Kent
Councillor Laurie (who arrived late)
Councillor McCarthy
Councillor Somerton
Town Manager, Mr. Kent
Town Clerk, Mrs. Butler

Union Rep. Dave Pierce
Gary Sweeney, council employee
Reg King, council employee
Bill Lawrence, council employee
Rick Whelan, council employee

RCMP- Corp. Merrill

The meeting was called to order at 7pm by Mayor Gosine. The minutes of the last regular meeting were adopted as circulated on a motion by Deputy Mayor Pendergast and seconded by Councillor Craig. Motion carried.

UNION

Union proposals were presented from the Union office, and the various points were explained by Mr. Pierce. It was agreed that when the Finance Committee/Union Negotiations Committee meet, Mr. Pierce will be notified. Mayor Gosine said this meeting should be held within the next ten days or so.

Mr. Pierce congratulated the council on their election to office, and said he would wait to here from us regarding a meeting to discuss the union contract.

ARISING OUT OF THE MINUTES

(1) Paving - Mayor Gosine said that if our provincial roads aren't paved this year, it could hurt our lobbying for new pavement for 2006.
(2) Street Light St. Pat's Lane - Councillor Kent said he checked the area and reported that there are two lights on this road now. It was suggested that we relocate one of the lights by one pole to see if this will be a better position for greater illumination in the area.
(3) Committees - Councillor Craig suggested the IAS Committee be combined with council, so that Economic Development can be addressed fully by this combined group.
While on the topic of Economic Development, Mr. Paul Connors, entered the meeting to inform council on the various projects ongoing by the IAS. Mayor Gosine said that the IAS is pretty much defunct on the island now, which reinforces the need for a strong economic development committee.
Mayor Gosine suggested the following people serve on this committee: Councillor Kent, Councillor McCarthy, the Town Manager, Mr. Kent, Paul Connors, Dave Brazil, and himself. Councillor Craig said that he has been involved with the IAS for a number of years, and feels a stronger attachment to council would certainly make for better economic development.

RCMP

Corp. Merrill reported on various issues: Jim Kelloway - he has spoken to him about his abandoned buses, and that council can make an order to have them removed.
Dog Act - Corp. Merrill said that we should put a notice in the community newsletter that the dog act is in effect and that dogs should be licensed in Jan. 2006 for that year.

Corp. Merrill said that a new officer just arrived here, Derek Rainer, which now makes a full complement of officers at the local detachment.

RCMP/Community Newsletter - it was decided on a motion by Councillor Kent and seconded by Councillor McCarthy that Councillor Craig would be the liaison person for providing information for the newsletter, and information for our webpage. Councillor Craig accepted this responsibility. Motion carried.

Next the minutes of the special meeting held Nov. 9, 2005, concerning our Five-Year Capital Works Program were adopted as circulated on a motion by Councillor McCarthy and seconded by Councillor Kent. Motion carried.
A proposed Infrastructure Assessment and Master Plan was presented from Newfoundland and Labrador Consulting Engineers for $55,000 to assess our existing roads, and water and sewer systems. A motion was made by Councillor McCarthy and seconded by Councillor Kent that we immediately lobby government for funding to have this proposal undertaken. Motion carried. It was suggested that we make some mention of our intentions concerning this master plan in the next edition of the newsletter.

FINANCIAL REPORT FOR NOV. - accepted as presented.

ARENA REPORT FOR NOV. - accepted as presented.

TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT FOR NOV. - accepted as presented.
(1) RCMP to try to keep George Hutchings away from the dump.
(2) Good job carried out with landscaping at the beach by Reg Durdle.
(3) No more complaints re Rick McLean's dog.
(4) Councillor McCarthy asked if the West Track and Dominion Pier Road were included in our road component. The Town Manager said they are, but this formula is no longer used when determining Municipal Operating Grants.
(5) Councillor Craig advised that Mr. Riv Ford contacted him regarding the west track road and walking area, and that it needs upgrading. It was felt that this road be upgraded when some of our priorities have been completed.
(6) Mr. Kent said he contacted the Dept. of Transportation and Works re having the Pier Road and Long Harry Road repaired.
(7) Mr. Kent advised that three bids had been received to have a proposal prepared to develop the Lighthouse and area. He said Track Consultants were the lowest at $40,000.00. Councillor Craig said that funding would come from ACOA and the Provincial Government if a well-documented proposal is presented to them.
(8) Mr. Kent advised that Mr. Gerry Dwyer had approached him regarding his building on Town Square, which was damaged in a fire. He said Mr. Dwyer intended to apply to government to have this building designated as a heritage house, and was requesting some help from council. It was felt that this was not the sort of thing that council should get involved in, and thus there was little we could do to help.
(9) Mr. Kent presented a list of council employees and council equipment which was requested by Councillor McCarthy at the last meeting.
(10) Mr. Kent recommended that we purchase a used dump truck from Hurley's Construction, that we could attach a blade and spreader to for our winter operations. After a discussion it was agreed that we go to public tender for such a vehicle, and have the tender call placed in Saturday's Telegram. Councillor Craig suggested the decision on any tenders received should be left up to the Town Manager.
(11) Agreed that snow clearing and night shift be discussed at the next meeting.

REPORT OF NEAJC MEETING by Councillor Craig
Councillor Craig briefly outlined the various issues discussed at that meeting.
He said one of the topics discussed was recycling, and that this town should start looking into recycling and composting, and perhaps we can have some official come here from MMSB to educate us on how to develop such a program.

APPLICATION
From Wayne and Julie Koehler to build a house on Dwyer's Lane. This was approved in principle on a motion by Deputy Mayor Pendergast and seconded by Councillor Craig. Motion carried.

CORRESPONDENCE
(1) Letter re Heritage Hunting and Fishing Protection Act from Mr. Inky Mark, MP - agreed that we support this bill and forward the resolution from council to Mr. Mark. This was covered in a motion by Councillor Kent and seconded by Councillor McCarthy. Motion carried.

(2) Letter from the Town of Torbay re Regional Games applications - agreed that we add our name to this application to assist the Town of Torbay in having their proposal approved. This was covered in a motion by Councillor Craig and seconded by Councillor Laurie. Motion carried.

(3) Copy of letter to Mr. Norm Doyle, MP, from Honourable Tom Rideout, Minister of Transportation and Works advising that he is unable to provide an exact timeframe as to when the last phase of upgrading on Bell Island will be completed, since it will depend on budget availability. It was suggested that the new Minister of Transportation and Works, Mr. Trevor Taylor, be made aware of this situation.

(4) Letter from Mr. Keith Hawco re garbage behind Kelloway's on Bennett St. An order was made by Deputy Mayor Pendergast and seconded by Councillor Craig to have this mess cleaned up within x number of days as stated under the Municipalities Act. Motion carried.

(5) Email from Ms. Lorraine Fowler re a fund to help those traveling outside the province for medical reasons. It was felt that perhaps the Kiwanis Club or some other group be involved in the setting up of this fund. It was further agreed that this would be a very good fund but not one which council should initiate.

(6) Letter from Dept. of Municipal and Provincial Affairs re crab workers support program. Mr. Kent informed council that three people have been employed for the past several weeks under this program. Two workers for four weeks, and one for three weeks.

(7) Letter from North Atlantic re minimum $200.00 delivery of oil. Agreed that we reply to this letter expressing council's displeasure at this decision and asking them to reconsider it.

(8) Letter from Bell Island Junior Blues seeking support by sponsoring the team. Agreed that we would donate $100.00 for this sponsorship. This was covered in a motion by Councillor Craig and seconded by Councillor Somerton. Motion carried.

(9) Invitation to attend the Dr. Walter Templeman Health Center's Christmas Dinner and Dance on Dec. 10th. Those interested in attending should contact Mr. Derek Ryan.

(10) Letter from St. Michael's School re scholarship fund. Agreed that we would provide a scholarship of $250.00. This was covered in a motion by Deputy Mayor Pendergast and seconded by Councillor Craig. Motion carried.

(11) Letter from NLFM re Federal Gas Tax suggesting that a percentage of the Gas Tax be allocated to Regional Waste Management Systems. It was felt that we needed more information on this before we can commit to this as we may need all of our allotment for our own waste management site. Councillor McCarthy suggested we seek an excemption from having any of our funds allocated to a site that may not be accessible to us.

(12) Letter from the Capital Coast re annual meeting. It was mentioned that our economic development officer, Mr. Paul Connors, will be attending this meeting.

(13) Letter from Rychrist Inn seeking a reduction in taxes. It was agreed by all that we could not reduce taxes, as this would start a precedent which would be difficult to deal with. Also it isn't council's policy to reduce taxes, there is a procedure for having appeals heard when property assessments are sent out, other than that there is little council can do. Agreed that we advise the owners of Rychrist Inn re this.

(14) Email from Sabrina Jenkins, contestant in the Miss Canada Galaxy Pageant, seeking financial support, agreed that we could not donate to this cause.

CONCERNS

(1) Mr. Kent informed council that we need to have our allotment of salt and sand mixture delivered to the island and asked how this should be done this year, by our own crew or should we go to public tender. Mayor Gosine excused himself from the meeting while this was being discussed as he was in a conflict of interest. It was decided that we would go to public tender for the transporting of this material. This was covered in a motion by Councillor McCarthy and seconded by Councillor Craig. Motion carried.

(2) Mr. Kent asked if we should close the dump on Saturdays yet. It was decided to wait another while until the weather turns bad.

(3) Mr. Kent asked about night shift and when this should be started. It was agreed that we wait until the weather warrants it and that we hire Mr. John Whalen again this year for night shift duties. This was covered in a motion by Deputy Mayor Pendergast and seconded by Councillor Kent. Motion carried.

(4) The Town Clerk said she would prepare some working papers for the Finance Committee so that the budget, tax schedule and union agreement could be discussed.

(5) Councillor Kent asked if any ditching would be done on Butler's Path, to prevent a similar flooding problem from happening there, which occurred last year. This to be checked into.

(6) Councillor Kent asked for an update on the work being done at Mr. Gary Sweeney's new residence by council employees. Mr. Kent explained about the rock/flooding problems there and that he had to engage Hunt's excavator to have the work carried out. He said that pipe was installed to drain Barrett's Pond as well.

(7) Councillor Kent asked for an update on Classic Moldings and if they would be starting anytime soon. It was mentioned that they are still waiting on equipment to arrive. Councillor Kent felt that those people misled the IAS and council by soliciting funds to start a business on Bell Island, where if fact it appears as if they are operating out of Paradise. It was felt we check into this to see exactly what is going on.

(8) Councillor Craig said he has contacted Reg Durdle regarding the town's webpage, also that he has agreed to be the liaison between council and Mr. Durdle regarding contributions of any kind to the webpage information.

(9) Mayor Gosine asked if any upgrading would be done on Greenwood Ave. this year. He said the weather is still pretty good, therefore there should be no problem in laying and spreading asphalt. Mr. Kent said he will try to get this done if possible.

(10) Mayor Gosine said we should send a letter of congratulations on Mr. John Efford's retirement from politics.

(11) Mayor Gosine said he would be meeting with Ministers Taylor and Whelan next week to discuss road work and other issues relating to Transportation and Works.

(12) Mayor Gosine explained the recent interruptions in ferry operations and how frustrating this has been for the traveling public. He said he would be talking to the Minister on Monday regarding this.

(13) Mayor Gosine said he would be attending the prebudget consultations in St. John's.

(14) Mr. Kent advised that he only received one bid for excavator services for our dumpsite. This bid was from Hammond's Construction for $80.00 per hour, with council having the responsibility of transporting the excavator to the dumpsite. No decision made at this time re this matter.

(15) Mayor Gosine announced the formation of the following committees:

1. FINANCE - Deputy Mayor Pendergast, Councillors Craig and McCarthy.
2. KILLICK COAST - Councillor Kent.
3. NEAJC - Councillors Craig and Kent.
4. FERRY USERS - Mayor Gosine and Councillor Laurie
5. TOURISM - Mayor Gosine and Deputy Mayor Pendergast.
6. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - Councillors Craig, Kent,. and McCarthy.
7. RECREATION - Mayor Gosine, Councillors Kent and Somerton.
8. FIRE - Deputy Mayor Pendergast and Councillor Somerton.
9. LIGHTS - Councillor Kent.
10. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT/CHAMBER OF COMMERCE - Mayor Gosine and Councillor Laurie.
11. PUBLIC WORKS - Full council
12. MUNICIPAL PLAN/CAPITAL WORKS - Full council.
13. TIDY TOWNS - Full Council.
14. OUTSIDE WORKERS - Deputy Mayor Pendergast
15. INSIDE WORKERS - Mayor Gosine

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 10:30pm on a motion by Councillor McCarthy and seconded by Deputy Mayor Pendergast. Motion carried.

CONFIRMED

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Mayor

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Town Clerk