Little old ladies can roast wieners without fear

Neepawa Town Council report

By Kate Jackman-Atkinson
The Neepawa Banner

    At the May 6 Neepawa Council Committee of the Whole, Neepawa council discussed the usual range of requests, bylaws, and policy.
    They discussed a subdivision application put forward by Hillcrest to subdivide some land between the current houses and Hwy 5 South.  Mayor Bob Durston expressed surprise that this has not already happened saying, “I thought they had already subdivided”.  The proposed lots are all single family, of slightly varying sizes, to accommodate the curvature of the road.
    Once approved, the developers can move forward with water and sewer to the lots.  Town CAO Allison Bardsley said that the development would be subject to a development agreement.
    Council has chosen a local contractor to provide water and sewer to Westcreek.  The town received five bids and Rob Smith & Son Backhoe and Trucking was recommended by Neepawa’s Operations & Maintenance Director Gerry Irving.
    Irving said that in a pre-award meeting with Rob Smith & Son, it was determined that they “have the equipment and the manpower”.  They will be using a licensed pipe fitter from Minnedosa, which they are required to have.
    Along with offering a lower quote, Irving said that working on the project, Rob Smith & Son would be “building experience which will be beneficial to the town”.  Their bid was as much as $45,000 lower than some of the other bids. Irving said that this was due to two major items.  The first was that since the company is local, they have no need to provide accommodations to their staff.  The second was that Rob Smith & Son charged less for dewatering, which is the removal of ground or surface water from a construction site to allow construction to be done under dry conditions. Irving said that this would come from a knowledge of the area.  Approval of the contact went forward at Tuesday night’s council meeting.
    Council revisited their open air burning bylaw, which was originally discussed in February of this year.  The bylaw originally put forward would have required that every fire pit in the town be inspected by the fire chief.  Those burning without an approved pit would have been subject to a $1000 fine.
    The revised bylaw discussed at this meeting would no longer require inspections.  Councillor Wayne Hollier, who opposed the original bylaw,  preferred the new one saying “it took out a lot of concerns”, he continued that it “took out chasing after little old ladies roasting wieners”.  Inspections of pits will be complaint driven. 
    Fines won’t be given out per se, Bardsley said that residents whose fire pits result in a fire will be “responsible for any costs associated with the fire”.  This would include costs such as the fire department’s call out fee or repairing fire damage to neighbouring properties.  This bylaw was put forward at Tuesday’s council meeting.
    In conjunction with the open burning bylaw, council discussed a bylaw for fire department inspection fees.  This would cover all fees within the town and RM of Langford, as well as inspections done outside of those municipalities.  Council decided that the actual price of the fees should be set by separate resolution, allowing for them to be changed more easily. 
    A resident on Fourth Ave requested permission from council to put a driveway in front of their house.  Irving said, citing other residents who have not approached council before building driveways, “I’m pleased that they have approached us and asked”.  While initially opposed to the request based on aesthetics, Irving said “I’ve totally switched and changed my mind”.
    Hollier asked “other than the cut and curb [which is town owned] if someone wants a driveway, do they need permission”.  The answer came back that a driveway on private land doesn’t require permission from the town.  This is something that will likely form part of the town’s policy manual, which they are in the process of developing.
    Confusion over a reserve fund has required a change in the town’s grant to the Yellowhead Centre for upgrades to the change rooms.  Initially, the money was to come from the Pool and Arena Reserve, however, research showed that the fund had been changed a few years ago to the Pool Upgrade Reserve.  The $5000 for the Yellowhead will now come out of General Reserve.
    The town received word from the Highway Traffic Board about reduced speed zones around the town.  The town’s request for reduced speed east of town was denied.  However, their request for reduced speed on Hwy 5 south of town was approved.  The town had asked for a reduction to 80km/h between Lake Irwin Road and Hwy 16.  The reduction was approved from Hwy 16 to Deer Ridge Road.  Signs are expected to be posted soon.