TOWN OF WABANA

The last regular meeting was held on Tuesday, Oct. 24, with the following in attendance:

Mayor Gosine
Deputy Mayor Pendergast
Councillor Craig
Councillor Kent
Councillor Laurie
Councillor McCarthy
Councillor Somerton
Town Manager, Mr. Kent
Town Clerk, Mrs. Butler

Corp. Merrill – RCMP

Gary Ryan – MMSB
Gordon Murphy – MMSB
Glenda Melvin - MMSB

John and Andrea Galway

Employees William Lawrence and Gerry Sweeney – in the gallery.

The meeting was called to order by Mayor Gosine at 4:35pm.
The minutes of the last regular meeting were adopted as corrected on a motion by Craig and seconded by Councillor McCarthy. Motion carried.

The correction was that we contact the federation Lawyer re the CRTC/EAS/Aliant issue, and not arrange a meeting with Aliant as was stated in the minutes.

JOHN AND ANDREA GALWAY

Mr. and Mrs. Galway explained the situation whereas they were not hooked to the town’s sewer line years ago, and felt that council should have provided this service to them. Mr. Kent explained that the engineers had recorded that they only had a crawl space and not a full basement, thus the required elevation was not there. The Galways contend that they did have a full basement at the time, and should have been connected to the sewer system. After a discussion it was agreed that we check with our consultating engineers with a view to connecting their property to the sewer line perhaps by way of a lift pump. So a motion was made by Councillor McCarthy and seconded by Councillor Craig that council would provide a lift pump if it is needed for the installation of this sewer system. Motion carried.

MMSB
Ms. Melvin explained the situation regarding used tires and how they should be disposed of. She said they will be collected by her department from tire changers and transported to St. John’s for recycling purposes. She said the garages on the island will be contacted before the end of Oct. to make them aware of this program and to ask for their cooperation in collecting the tires.

Councillor Craig asked about paper recycling, and if anyone could drop off newspapers at the Scotia Recyling plant in Portugal Cove. Mr. Ryan said this depot was for businesses that have made a contact with Scotia Recyling to have their papers and cardboard dropped off there.

RCMP

Corp. Merrill talked on the following issues:
 Ballfrields to be secured to prevent ATV’s from going there.
 ATVs have been seized in an effort to cut down on fines and to teach the operators that they will not get away with driving their bikes on the main roads, etc.
 He reported that the detachment is up to its full quota of five active members.
 He reported that RCMP vehicles will have priority on the ferries, next to ambulances.
 He informed council that Ms. Donna Kubik just completed her term at the detachment as the secretary, and that Mrs. Edith Curnew will be taking over this position now.
 He expressed congratulations to the town on their help in having the old town hall refurbished for the Touch of Class group. Also he asked that a portion of No. 2 Road be renamed Olympic Drive in honour of the Bell Island Special Olympics. This to be discussed later.
 Corp. Merrill said that extra patrols will be out in force on Halloween Night.
 He informed council that Ron Andrews, who was stationed here a few years ago, has been promoted to Staff Sergeant for the region.
 Foodbank – he explained the situation regarding the foodbank and that a new committee has been formed to control it, and it will be reorganized and open again as soon as possible. He said right now the perception of the foodbank and the handling of the food distribution is not good, and this has to change.
 Another issue discussed was false alarms for fires, etc. This is being investigated.
 Drugs – Corp. Merrill said that drug use is a problem on the island, but not as big as people seem to think, he said it is being monitored and that drug dealers are known to the police and will be dealt with in due course.
 Alcohol and tobacco – these are problems on the island, as well, as the illegal sale of prescription drugs. All these issues are being monitored and/or investigated.

TOWM MANAGER’S REPORT accepted.

FINANCIAL REPORT – accepted

Councillor McCarthy asked why the payment to Ridgeway Variety was so high.
It was explained that it covers several months, and most of the purchases cover items that have been purchased at Staples for council by Ridgeway, and charged back to council.

ARENA REPORT

Councillor McCarthy felt that the Arena Manager should be present at all council meetings, and that his report should be included with the agenda when it is delivered to councilors on Friday, and that the capital works invoices should be available for council to see, and the revenue/expenses for the canteen and bar should be included in the monthly reports.

APPLICATIONS

(1) Leo Reardon to build a new house on the Green. This was approved in principle on a motion by Councillor Craig and seconded by Councillor Kent. Motion carried.

(2) Terry Parsons to set up a music business to teach guitar, and voice lessons to children and adults. This was approved on a motion by Deputy Mayor Pendergast and seconded by Councillor Kent. Motion carried.

CORRESPONDENCE

(1) Letter from the Acting Minister of Municipal and Provincial Affairs re fire fees.
Councillor Kent felt that the insurance companies should be billed for this fee. Agreed that we would check into this and see if the insurance companies would pay those fees. Also that we check with the NLFM with a view to finding out how other towns handle fire fees for unincorporated areas.

(2) Letter from the Municipal Assessment Agency re new board members.

(3) Letter from Peggy Roche seeking support for a position on the Killick Coast board. Agreed that council would support her when the ballots are sent out.

(4) Letter from CCBD re minutes of their AGM.

(5) Minutes of the NEAJC meetings held on Sept. 20th. and Oct. 18th. Councillor Craig said that the issue concerning waste management is a big one, and that a meeting will be held in Harbour Grace for all town representatives in the North East Avalon area to discuss the proposed management structure which gives St. John’s 50% plus one vote. He said that eventually all garbage will have to be recycled and sent to Robin Hood Bay. Councillor McCarthy felt that council should prepare a paper now so that we will be ready for this. He felt a lot of our garbage could be dumped into holes left by Dosco. Councillor Craig said this would not be acceptable as it would be polluting the ground. He said recycling is the answer.

(6) Letter from NLFM re a statutory review of Conflict of Interest requirement for municipal councilors, and asking for input from council.

(7) Letter from form CCBD re minutes of AGM.

(8) Letter from Tract Consulting re two community kiosk panels that were developed by the Capital Coast Development Alliance, as part of a standard orientation system for the Admirals’ Coast and Killick Coast. They were created to help visitors find interesting things to see and do in our community.

(9) Letter from Brian Clarke (Bridawn Holdings Inc) re lease agreement for space at the Wabana Complex, and that they agree to pay for the period of set up (Nov. and Dec.) but would like for the actual lease to start on Mar. 1, 2007, with Jan. and Feb. being forgiven. After a discussion it was felt that the lease agreement would start in Jan. 2007, so that they will still be given two months grace. This to be suggested to Mr. Clarke.

CONCERNS

(1) Mr. Kent asked for permission to sell our old Chev truck. This was authorized.

(2) Mr. Kent informed council that Bell Island had been affected by the problems at Aliant last Saturday night (hospital, fire dept., cell phone usage, etc.), and not only restricted to St. John’s, as was reported in the media.

(3) Councillor Kent suggested we transport our salt and sand this year by way of our employees and equipment rather than going to public tender. This was accepted and authorized.

(4) Councillor Kent said that the BMT report re ferries in Newfoundland would be made available to councilors soon.

(5) Councillor Kent felt that if council has to clean up fire sites, then the insurance companies should be invoiced for this work. He said there are several sites that need cleaning up now.

(6) Councillor Kent said that we should soon start thinking about our Tax Schedule and the increases in our property assessments. This to be handled by the Finance Committee.

(7) Councillor Somerton asked about dilapidated houses and road signs. He was informed that some dilapidated buildings have been removed; some are in various stages of being removed, and in some cases we are waiting for family members to get back to us. In regard to signs, this matter is being addressed too, with signs being ordered.

(8) Councillor Craig suggested we send a card to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Skanes on their 60th. wedding anniversary.

(9) Councillor Craig asked that we notify the schools once again this year that the curfew for Halloween night is 8pm.

(10) Councillor Craig suggested we set landfill fees, and include them in our next Tax Schedule.

(11) Councillor McCarthy gave notice of motion that he would be making a motion at the next meeting to have two council meetings per month, one at 4:30pm and another on another day at 7:30pm.

(13) Councillor McCarthy said that he is surprised that our assessments have increased without the assessors actually visiting the homes on the island. He was informed that the assessors have carried out numerous visits to home owners and they are on going at the present time. Also that when the Finance Committee meets the values and mill rates will have to be discussed and calculated in relation to having a balanced budget.

(14) Councillor McCarthy said that there has not been any ditching carried out in the town this year and that this is a major concern and should be given immediate priority.

(15) Councillor Laurie said that having meetings at 4:30 is very difficult for her to attend as she is working during the day, she said she prefers the 7:30pm time for meetings.

(16) Councillor Laurie inquired if council has made any steps towards purchasing an excavator. It was felt perhaps we could obtain one with funds from the Green Program (Federal Gas Tax).

(17) Deputy Mayor Pendergast asked about the gate for the arena to prevent damage to the new door. Mr. Kent said that this gate is being constructed.

(18) Deputy Mayor Pendergast said that council equipment should only be used by employees after working areas for their own use, if it is available to any other citizen who wishes to use the equipment. He said at the recent NLFM convention this topic was discussed and it was noted that there is no provision in the Municipalities Act for employees to have this service available to them.

(19) Mayor Gosine suggested we arrange a meeting with Dr. Darrell King, and members of the Eastern School Board, to discuss issues of concern at St.Michael’s High School, and as a follow up to the meeting we had with them several months ago.

(20) Mayor Gosine said that people having issues and problems with the ferry operations should call our MHA, Honorable Dianne Whalen.

(21) Mayor Gosine suggested we send a letter to Father Dohey for his service to the community, and to wish him well in his new parish.

(22) Mayor Gosine suggested we send a letter of thanks to those who were responsible for providing bunker gear (from Ontario) to our fire dept. free of charge.

(23) Mayor Gosine welcomed the Town Manager back after being off work on sick leave for a few days.

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 6:35pm on a motion by Councillor Craig and seconded by Deputy Mayor McCarthy.

CONFIRMED

__________________
Mayor

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Town Clerk

Next meeting Nov. 14, 2006 at 7:30pm