Staff
Town council has denied a request from the Fort Frances Lakers’ fan club to waive sign bylaw 19/10 with regards to the 180-day a year limit.
Coun Rick Wiedenhoeft noted Monday night that the town supports the Lakers, but it can’t start making exceptions to a new bylaw that has been three years in the making.
“We supported the Lakers last year to the tune of $2,000 to help defray ice rental costs, and I think that we may support the Lakers in the future,” Coun. Wiedenhoeft said.
“But this request had to do with waiving the sign bylaw, which is in its infancy right now, and we don’t want to start shooting holes in our sign bylaw after taking two-three years to develop and research [it],” he noted.
“It’s the wrong way to go,” he stressed. “It will sink like a lead balloon if we start shooting holes in it right away.
“That’s the reason we said no to this.
“We certainly like the idea that the Lakers are a local, non-profit, community-supported team and we may support them in the future, but not through this way,” Coun. Wiedenhoeft reiterated.
Council first received the request from the Lakers at its Dec. 20 meeting.
Also at Monday evening’s meeting, council:
•appointed Debbie Ballard and Judy Kielczewski to the Fort Frances Museum and Cultural Board Advisory Committee for a two-year term (Dec. 1, 2010-Nov. 30, 2012) and Ted DeBenetti to the BIA Board of Management for a four-year term (Dec. 1, 2010-Nov. 30, 2014);
•approved a recommendation to award Clow Darling Ltd. the contract to make repairs to the Civic Centre’s heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system at a cost of $18,000;
•approved an adjustment to aviation fuel pump prices at the Fort Frances Airport (the new pump prices, effective Jan. 18, are set at $1.86 per litre for 100LL while Jet A-1 will be $1.58/litre, incl. HST);
•approved a three-year agreement with Lakeside Process Control Ltd. to maintain and update process control systems at the water treatment and sewage treatment plants at a net cost of $92,838 (plus taxes), and that the “Evergreen Support Option” be approved where seven work stations and servers will be replaced in June, 2011 at a cost of $10,742, which will be split evenly between the water treatment plant and sewage treatment plant;
•approved the Safe Communities–Rainy River District’s $.50 per capita financial request in the amount of $4,051.50;
•agreed to a recommendation of the Administration and Finance executive committee to approve the Provincial Offences Act accounts receivable write-off in the amount of $77,510.91 (in accordance with Provincial Offences Act Collection/Write-off Policy No. 1.13);
•approved the registration and associated costs to attend a councillor orientation training session to be held Jan. 28 in Emo;
•approved a purchase card expense for Fort Frances CAO Mark McCaig in the amount of $267.78 (this expense was incurred attending a fire services arbitration hearing in Thunder By on Dec. 10); and
•approved a per diem claim for Coun. Sharon Tibbs in the amount of $75 for attendance at the Rainy River District Municipal Association meeting held Dec. 15 in Alberton.
