TOWN OF WABANA

The last regular meeting was held on Feb. 27, 2007, with the following in attendance:

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

The following Council employees were in the gallery:

Reg King
Lorne Kent
Gerry Sweeney
Bill Lawrence

RCMP – Const. Remillard

The meeting was called to order at 4:40pm by Mayor Gosine. The minutes of the following meetings were adopted as corrected on a motion by Deputy Mayor Pendergast and seconded by Councillor Craig. Motion carried.

 regular meeting held Jan. 31, 2007 - Page 2, section 4 should have read that Councllor McCarthy suggested that a feasibility study be undertaken into the possibility of the establishment of a provincial park for Bell Island.
 Special meeting held Feb. 8, 2007 - no corrections necessary.
 Special meeting held Feb. 13, 2007 – no corrections necessary.

ARENA REPORT

Mayor Gosine asked that Councillor McCarthy retract or reword some of the things he said at the last meeting about Mr. Gillingham. Councillor McCarthy said that he would like some answers from Mr. Gillingham about various things on his reports: i.e. canteen and bar sales, travel allowance, how often inventory is taken in the canteen and bar, miscelleanous expenses. Mr. Gillingham answered all questions which were asked of him. Mayor Gosine assured Mr. Gillingham that most members of council feel that he is doing a great job at the arena, he is well liked, very obliging, and always will go out of his way to help people who are using the arena. He commended him for all that he is doing.

Mr. Gillingham said that he has no problem attending council meetings when he is requested to do so. He said he has prepared a proposal to present to government for major renovations,etc. for the arena, and asked for council’s approval to submit it. This was covered in a motion by Councillor Craig and seconded by Deputy Mayor Pendergast. Motion carried.

RCMP

Const. Remillard had nothing new to report, only that new RCMP officers will be arriving soon.
Mayor Gosine said that the use of quads is still a big issue in our town.

Other topics touched on were:
 the possible need for a street light near the old swimming pool building. Councillor Kent and Const. Pike to check into this.
 cars parked on streets during snow clearing operations – the town has by-laws concerning this and will be enforced if necessary.

ARISING OUT OF THE MINUTES

1. Use of equipment by employees – no reply from the dept. on this issue yet.
2. NLFM webpage – Councillor Craig said he met with officials from the NLFM re this and a new webpage will be created soon.
3. Tendering Act – Councillor Craig presented an exerpt from the Tendering Act which states that tenders are not required in the case of goods or services not more than $10,000, and public works not more than $20,000.
4. Accident Hollie O’Neill/Reg King – She has presented quotations to council for the necessary work. It was mentioned that a notice was posted in the council depot that employees should be very careful and diligent while operating all equipment at the dumpsite and all other areas.
5. Enhancement Program – Mr. Kent said that the workers are presently making some new road signs.
6. Street Lights – New light has been erected for Kavanagh’s Lane. Councillor Kent reported that a light is required for McCarthy Street, and he said that West Mines Road needs an extra light or two.
7. Markers for fire hydrants – Councillor Kent said the hydrants need to be clear of snow at all times, and marked so they can be found easily in bad weather.
8. Animals – Councillor Craig said that animal owners should keep their animals under their control and care during all times, especially during the winter, as many animals are left out in the cold, and this is not acceptable. He said he will have this mentioned in the next newsletter.
9. Proposal for upgrades to our water system ($1,700,000). Approved on a motion by Councillor McCarthy and seconded by Councillor Kent. Motion carried. This proposal will now be sent to the Dept. of Municipal Affairs for their consideration. It was noted that our engineers had already met with the dept. to introduce this proposal in advance.
10. CAO/Town Manager/Economic Development Officer – Mr. Kent informed council that Mr. Bert Meadus and an interviewing expert would interview the three people they thought should be interviewed at this point, they are: Curtis Mercer, Paul Murphy, and Hugh McDonald. Councillor McCarthy felt that all council members should be present at the interviews. Mr. Kent said he would set up the interviews.

It was mentioned at this point that the times and dates for our meetings should be listed so that the general public will know when they will be taking place. Also it was mentioned that the meeting today was at 4:30, but should have been at 7:30 as our regular meetings are supposed to be at that time. The Mayor said he couldn’t make it today at 7:30, but that when 4:30 was suggested to him, he said fine. However, it was mentioned too that Councillor Laurie was not pleased that the time was changed as she is unable to get to meetings at 4:30. It was decided that a list of meetings for the remainder of the year be determined and posted in the newsletter.

FINANCIAL REPORT - accepted as presented.

TOWN MANAGER’S REPORT – accepted as presented.

ARENA MANAGER’S REPORT – already dealt with and approved.

CORRESPONDENCE

1. Letter from Dr. D. King, Eastern School District – ordered placed on file.
2. Letter from Kathi Stacey – Destination St. John’s – it was felt that perhaps she could be invited here to do a presentation on how the various tourism groups can be combined for better tourism promotion (Baccalieu Trail, Admiral’s Coast, and Killick Coast)
3. Letter from Peter Kent – CBDC – seeking financial assistance towards their annual general conference. Agreed that we would forward $100.00 towards this conference. Motion by Councillor Craig and seconded by Councillor McCarthy. Motion carried.
4. NL Tourism Magazine – Decided that we would check with the Heritage Society to perhaps cost share a ¼ page ad.
5. FCM – re new funding opportunity for municipal solid waste projects – agreed that a plan must be developed and funding requested.
6. NLFM – seeking financial assistance towards their building mortgage. Councillor Craig suggested this be discussed at the next convention so that all towns will be given an opportunity to voice their feelings towards assisting to pay for the federation building.
7. Principal St. Michael’s School – student of the month program. Councillor Craig made a motion that we would support this program ($200.00), and that the Mayor would present the cheque to the principal to show that we support them in their endeavours to improve education for all students. This was seconded by Deputy Mayor Pendergast. Motion carried.
8. Physical Education Teacher St.Michael’s School – requesting support from council for their healthy living plan. It was agreed that we forward a letter of support for this very important and necessary plan.
9. Killick Coast Tourism Assoc. – it was mentioned that the next meeting would be on Mar. 8th. and perhaps Councillor Kent could attend this meeting.
10. Application from Isabelle Brazil to build a new house on Quigley’s Line to replace the one recently destroyed by fire. This was approved in principle on a motion by Councillor Craig and seconded by Councillor McCarthy. Motion carried.

NEW BUSINESS

Code of Ethics – Councillor Craig presented a prepared code of ethics for council’s consideration. Councillor McCarthy said he had no problem with it, but he said it did not include how to reprimand the mayor if needed. Also it was felt that our employees should have a look at this before any further action is taken. Councillor Craig said that having a code of ethics may solve some of our problems, and perhaps councilors and employees, will act more like responsible adults.

CONCERNS

1. Mr. Kent – Lighthouse project – he asked for council’s approval now for the final phase of this proposal so that Tract Consulting can obtain the necessary funds from ACOA. This was accepted and covered in a motion by Councillor Craig and seconded by Councillor Pendergast. Motion carried.

2. Mr. Kent – Council Equipment – he said we are gradually getting our equipment repaired with parts arriving tomorrow for the grader, he said the front end loader is back on the road, but it is not in the best of shape, he said the brakes had to replaced on the backhoe, and the rear windshield has to be replaced, also he said the use of the dozer is really helping a lot with snow clearing operations.

3. Councillor Kent suggested we lease a piece of heavy equipment for a month or so to get caught up on our snow clearing operations. The Town Manager to check into this.
Mr. Kent said that on Saturday he engaged the services of Hurley’s Construction to help with snow clearing, and he did an excellent job of cleaning up the Green and the Valley. Councillor Kent felt that it was too expensive to have local contractors hired to do work, and also it was taking work away from our employees. Mayor Gosine said the workers were okay with this matter, and that we had to get the Green and Valley opened up.

4. Councillor Kent felt that our plow trucks should not be out in stormy conditions, this is much too dangerous.

5. Councillor Kent asked if there was an update on employee, Gary Sweeney. The Town Manager said he has not heard anything from him recently.

6. Councillor Craig said he received a phone call from Mrs. Venita Bartlett re high banks of snow near her driveway on Conway Street, and that she is requesting that the operators not block her driveway instead they might consider pushing the snow into empty lots close by.

7. Mayor Gosine commended the workers on doing a super job with the snow clearing operations, as well as the mechanic in keeping the equipment repaired and on the road. He said credit is definitely due to all of our employees for their hard work.

8. Councillor Craig said he will extend a note of thanks (via the newsletter) to our residents for their patience during the snow storms, and having to wiait in some cases to have their roads opened.

9. Councillor Craig reported that the Health Care Committee is requesting the use of our building for a retreat, and that he is now giving advance notice on their behalf.

10. Councillor McCarthy also commended our workers on their snow clearing efforts and agreed with Councillor Kent that we should look into the possibility of leasing a piece of heavy equipment for snow clearing for a month or so.

11. Councillor Kent asked about some recent fires during snow storms. One was at Churchill’s, East End, a vacant house, and the other was at Jesse White’s, East End Road, (the fireman were on the scene in minutes for this fire).

12. Mayor Gosine said that the Motorcross group are seeking permission to have a race here on a certain area of the island, they need permission in order for them to proceed with mapping out their course. Councillor McCarthy suggested we get something on paper from this group before granting approval.

13. Mayor Gosine said that a meeting must be held soon to discuss a pension for the Town Manager, who will be retiring soon. It was felt that perhaps this could be done next Tuesday, before or after the interviews for his replacement.

14. Lorne Kent, employee, who was present at the meeting brought to council’s attention that our loader is on the way out, and in bad condition, he said that the grader is also very old and in bad shape. He said council is in dire need of new equipment. Deputy Mayor Pendergast said we need a detailed plan of what we need, and perhaps we can approach the government for a cost shared deal for new equipment. Councillor McCarthy asked if the provincial government still have surplus equipment on hand and how they dispose of it. He suggested we check on some used equipment before we invest in new and very costly equipment. Mayor Gosine thanked Lorne for his report on the condition of our equipment and assured him we are fully aware of his concerns and the situation we are in, and that we will be looking into this matter.

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 6:45pm on a motion by Deputy Mayor Pendergast and seconded by Councillor McCarthy. Motion carried.

CONFIRMED

_______________________ Mayor ___________________ Town Clerk