REPORT FROM THE GALLERY FEB 27TH 2008

Those ratepayers who attended the Feb 27th special council meeting witnessed the following events.

Public Request for Spring Ratepayer meeting

A written request from the SMCA executive on behalf of it’s members, for the resumption of Spring ratepayers meetings was turned down.
Speaking against the calling of a public meeting was Doug Harle, councillor Div 5. He addressed the gallery to thank them for their interest; he addressed council favoring a ratepayer meeting following the next election.
Discussion round the table was rather unenthusiastic; none of the councillors spoke in favor of the ratepayers’ request. Councillors Chekay (Div 1) supported Harle’s suggestion the meeting be called for after the next election. (Div 2 and 6 were absent)
Reeve Gary Miller cautioned the council that they could not pass a resolution that was binding on a future council; he suggested that if the ratepayer letter was insufficient for them that the councillors poll their respective constituents.
Councillor Harle replied that he represents his ratepayers’ opinions at council and that he repeated his recommendation that any ratepayer meeting be deferred until after the next election.

At the end of the meeting Kevin Chekay, councillor Div 1 asked to briefly review the issue of:

Planning District boundary.

He expressed his dissatisfaction with the discussion between the City of Regina planning department and the RM.
He concluded by stating that the only option remaining is to dissolve the Regina-Sherwood planning district.

Our review of the planning district correspondence reveals that the four versions of the planning district boundary have been produced. A portion of the 25 Feb 2008 City of Regina internal document addressed to their council says the following:

As an example of the potential issues which could arise, the RM has begun discussions with a developer interested in pursuing a 126 lot residential subdivision on lands immediately south of the future bypass, south of SIAST. These lands would be outside the Planning District as proposed by the RM…it was clear in the discussion at the RM Council meeting where this proposal was presented that the developer was interested in being provided with City water and sewer services, road connections and access to other city amenities. …This example is significant because it is on lands which lie outside the planning district as proposed by the RM. Consequently, if the Planning District boundaries were reduced to the area proposed by the RM, there would not be the opportunity to use the Planning District as a forum for the City and RM to discuss this matter….

It is evident to those ratepayers who attended the RM council meeting (in the fall) in which the Marathon Properties subdivision plan was presented that this is the area under discussion in the excerpt above.
Councillor
Chekay’s expression of dissatisfaction with the negotiation of the boundary, and his opinion that the dissolution of the planning district is the only remaining option may reflect his proximity to the subject property.
Not all ratepayers support isolationist thinking as being the in the RM’s best interest, nor is it the current standard to which local governments aspire.
Why is the negotiation of a reduced planning district, which started so positively now reduced to councilor Chekay's proposal for complete withdrawal? The term "Balkanization" could be used. (see Wikipedia for an good explanation of the term).

Grader replacement: Councillor Harle brought a recommendation to council to purchase/lease one or two 2008 model graders, apparently larger than the RM currently uses. Not completely satisfied the decision was taken by council to bring in sales reps to the next council meeting to provide more information.

Grand Coulee annexation: Last fall 11 acres of land was annexed by Grand Coulee for residential development, a further 590 acres has been requested. The tax compensation issue appears to be contentious between the two jusrisdictions. Ratepayers should be mindful of how council proceeds.

Devonia Park: was not discussed at the meeting other than to report that a document has been mailed to the landowners and is posted on the RM website.

A Retrospective of Reports Nov 1 - Dec 12, 2007

Report from the Gallery – November 1, 2007

A special meeting of RM Council was held to discuss two items. The first was the frequency of RM Council meetings. Council adopted the resolution that regular monthly meetings would be held on the second Wednesday of the month, and special meetings would be held on the fourth Wednesday.

The second item was the contract between the RM of Sherwood #159 and Henry Fehr for the position of Public Works Manager. In the discussion, councilors Barry Jijian and Doug Harle offered assurances to the other members of council that Del Miller who has served as the RM Public Works Manager since 2006 was “OK” with the proposed contractual arrangement; that both employees would “not be doing the same job”; and that “there’s zero conflict between the RM and Del Miller.”

This observer from the gallery would note that Mr. Fehr is well recognized as a qualified and skilled heavy equipment operator. What isn’t clear is why the RM of Sherwood was engaging two Public Works Managers at the same time. In fact there appeared to be a duplication of services and a higher cost in employing two individuals in public works administration. Why is council contracting a heavy equipment operator during winter when most of such work is needed during the other three seasons of the year? In the opinion of this observer, this contractual arrangement lacks foresight and prudence and has a built-in flaw that will come back to bite the RM.

Report from the Gallery – November 14, 2007

A. RM Council received a delegation from Marathon Properties Corporation concerning a proposed sub-division, “Wascana Meadows” which is one mile west of the Wascana Golf and Country Club. Particulars in proposal:

Marathon’s delegation included president Wynn Strumm, an expert in sewage systems Bruce Sylvester, and planner Bernie Bliske. The presentation and Q & A session took approximately 90 minutes.
This 126 lot development would incorporate a self-contained state-of-the-art sewage disposal system. The proposed sewage system would be the first of its kind in Saskatchewan.
Proposed lot sizes are approximately 0.6 acres
Proposed timeline: as soon as possible (i.e. 2008 or 2009)
Stakeholders who indicated an interest in this proposal included Environment Saskatchewan, Department of Highways, City of Regina

Questions that come to mind about this proposal:

How does such a proposal fit with the RM of Sherwood’s emerging Planning and Development Policy/Bylaw which is slated for completion during Spring, 2008?
Does Saskatchewan Environment concur with Marathon’s notion on the overall positive environmental impact proposed in this presentation?
Given the close proximity to the City of Regina, how does the District Planning Commission view such a sub-division?

B. Transportation Committee Report – a six-page report was circulated by councilor Doug Harle. Some of the issue to be addressed:

Some blocked culverts needed servicing – contractor to be hired
Weeds near Cinema 6 Drive-In need to be cut – contractor to be hired
Battery powered grease gun and 4 tires – to be purchased

When it was appropriate to make a motion on the report, councilor Harle declined to it, citing that he did not want to make a motion on his own report. This observer finds this a rather unprecedented logic because usually a presenter has a “conviction” about the rightness of his report and would want to get the motion on the table of the legislative body. That is what leadership is and does.

A further observation: the chair of transportation would serve council and RM administration well by preparing his report for distribution to others prior to the council meeting. In this way, decision-makers would have an opportunity to “do their homework” and digest the information ahead of time.

C. Effective immediately, councilor Kevin Chekay became the sole chair of the Planning and Development Committee for the RM.

D. Verbal Status Reports:

Crosswalk near Kramer Tractor & Shaw Pipe will need to be planned for proper drainage and environmental specifications. For further study and reporting at a later date. The engineering firm UMA will be involved.
Interchange at Highway #1 & Lewvan is a couple of years away, but a couple of landowners have expressed unspecified concerns. The Dept. of Highways will be contacted directly regarding these concerns.
An associate planner to be contracted to assist the RM planner, John Wolfenberg. The associate is expected to work between 15 and 20 hours per week, freeing up Wolfenberg to focus on priority tasks.

E. Policy for Engaging a Lawyer for the RM – issues of cost and who owns the information when the RM is asked to pay for legal advice was discussed. Councilor Tim Probe will tweak a policy for the November 28 meeting.

Report from the Gallery – November 28, 2007

A. Councilor Harle presented a 13 page Transportation Chairperson’s report, with a number of issues:

SIP Booster Station heating system and monitoring system had failed (or was turned off) on a weekend, causing a near disaster.
RM of Sherwood Office – Del Miller was working on planning for a different office.
One ton truck needs to be purchased. Del Miller & Henry Fehr would research and bring information to council.
Grader #1 needs servicing, including the repair of a hydraulic pump ($1700) and four new tires ($2007 X 4 ≈ $8000). There was a discussion about whether it was more cost effective to repair or to purchase a new grader. Councilor Corey Wilton recommended that the RM seek an assessment on the worthiness of this grader.

B. Policy for engaging legal services – Councilor Tim Probe presented a proposed policy, and a discussion ensued. Considerations:

The RM administrator would have the right to engage a lawyer about RM business, for the benefit of the RM
A report to council would be made when a lawyer is engaged
Would RM councilors be privy to engaging or consulting a lawyer without a prior approval of council?

An amended motion eventually passed.

C. District Planning Commission (DPC) Map Proposal – sadly, observers in the gallery were not party to informed discussion by council on the proposed area of interest for the District Planning Commission, in part because we did not have a copy of the proposed map. A proposal was presented by councilor Kevin Chekay, but it was clear to observers that he was nervous about the public seeing its contents. It seems that the proposed perimeter around the city lacks consistent guidelines and understanding by other council members. It appears that there is something fishy going on here. When other members of council asked Chekay to circulate the proposed map for public input, his response was that the proposed boundary was a negotiating point with the City of Regina, and shouldn’t be circulated. In fact Chekay wanted to move in-camera with the entire discussion.

A procedural gridlock developed within council with reeve Gary Miller voicing the need for public discussion; others were in favour of going in-camera, and eventually council did for over an hour.

Observers are interested to know and understand the development of the DPC areas of interest and concern and how it will be positioned vis-à-vis the RM of Sherwood. A further note is that the City of Regina posts their documents on their website so the public can be informed; not so with the RM, so one has to ask in person for disclosure of public documents.

Report from the Gallery – December 12, 2007

A. The first part of this council meeting dealt with the usual business affairs on a monthly RM council meeting. One financial item was retroactive: councilor Doug Harle was to be indemnified for his work in 2004 because he had been denied payment under another administration and council. Good for council for finally clearing up this retroactive payment that was earned/deserved.

B. Reeve Gary Miller became the point man on the SIP water works.

C. Tenders for the RM gravelling contract were to be opened, and what was a bit surprising to observers and councilors alike was that there was only one tender submitted. Council appeared less than satisfied with this situation and discussed the issue with the company representative who was present. The matter was referred to the Transportation and Facilities Committee for a resolution.

D. Towards the end of the proposed council agenda, councilors went in-camera to discuss 2008 salaries and personnel. The gallery left the council chambers.