January 26, 2015 - The one with the Parks addition and strat plan update

Council Highlights – Committee of the Whole/Special Meeting of Council - Jan 26

Good evening Riverview....and not Riverview! Have you dug out from under the snow yet? Time to rest and read up on what your Council has been up to! Here is a summary of the Committee of the Whole meeting from January 26, 2015. We were thrilled to be joined by the 4th Riverview Scouts for part of the meeting! Hoped they learned a lot... because Council meetings can be suuuuper exciting...right?

1.Presentations - United Way & Canstruction Challenge

2.Department Reports

3.Grant Report

4.Notice of intent to proceed with local improvements

5.SCM – Water and Sewerage Systems by-law, 3rd reading

6.SCM – Extension of Garbage contract

1.Council heard two presentations. The first was from Trevor MacDougall and Marshall Button from the United Way who there to thank the town for its support in the recent campaign. The United Way supports many groups in the GMA including some right here in Riverview. Recently they have supported the Atlantic Wellness Community Center. The second presentation was from Ben MacMichael with the West End Food Bank on their Canstruction Challenge where “sculptures” are made using non-perishable food items that are all donated.

2.Department Reports

Our CAO, Colin Smith, presented an update on the town’s Strategic Plan as part of his report. The report updated Council on each department’s progress under each of the Strategic Directions which are: Sustainability, Community Development and Engagement, Community & Lifestyle, Economic Growth & Development and finally, Infrastructure. We will be reviewing the Strategic Plan this year but this report was a great update on what has been done and what some of the future plans are (way too much to put in here, but I’d be happy to chat about it). Our CAO’s report will be available to the public in February. We will also be receiving a 5 year plan to review this quarter as well.

We also discussed a possible proposal regarding the new Public Works building. The proposal is to add the maintenance and utility workers for Parks and Recreation to the new building which would add about $1.2Million to the total cost. This item is coming back to the Regular Council meeting for a vote. It’s a hefty cost for an already expensive project. There’s no question that Parks and Recreation needs the move. Council heard that workers currently have no functioning space, often working outdoors and using the back of the arena & storing gear outdoors, which certainly isn’t ideal. It definitely comes at a price though. What do you think about this addition? Do you support it or not? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

We heard updates from each of the other departments as well. There seemed to be some great focus on Economic Development as there have been some great things happening and some interesting plans on the horizon such as a Community Engagement Strategy and a Business Retention & Expansion Program!

3.Council approved grants for the Riverview Band Parents Association ($100 per student – 33 students) and the NB Building Officials Association ($250). Council received the report from the grants committee as well.

4.Notice of intent to proceed with local improvements: This motion states that the C.O.W recommends to the Regular Council Meeting that we move forward with phase 2 of local improvements to Trites road and a small portion of Cherry Court. Basically, it’s time to get this bad boy finished!

5.After the Committee of the Whole we moved into a Special Council Meeting. The first item discussed was the third reading of By-Law 400-25, a by-law respecting the Water and Sewerage Systems in the Town of Riverview. This by-law was cleaned up from its previous version and reflects regulations on the water system in the town.

6.The second item discussed was the continuation of the current garbage collection contract until June 30th, 2020.

As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns, don’t hesitate to ask!