The following items were among those discussed at the regular meeting of Meadow Lake city council held Monday (April 28). All members of council were present.
During Monday’s meeting, councillor Marty Bishop expressed his concern about safety when it comes to a residential building in Meadow Lake and the decision by the occupants to pile garbage outside the building. “At the intersection of 2nd Street and 3rd Avenue West – on (the property located on) one side of the corner – there is a makeshift fence that’s been put up which is made up of pallets. I drove by there tonight, and I have no idea what they have in there… On the other side (of the intersection), it looks as though a renovation is going on. I’m not sure, but there is a pile of garbage between the street and the fence. There are several bags of refuse among other things, but the thing that concerns me is there’s a fridge out there, and I don’t think it’s legal to have a refrigerator sitting out in public like that without having the door taken off.” Bishop went on to say the fridge has been sitting outside this residence for quite some time.
“I’ve been in contact with Joe (community safety officer Joe Hallahan) about this, and apparently the wheels move really slow when trying to address something like this,” Bishop continued. “You have to serve them notice and then do certain other things. What bothers me about this whole thing is we have people who put stuff like this out on the curb or on their property, and it takes us a long time to do anything about it. But, if you leave your garbage can on the street for more than 24 hours, you get a ticket.” Bishop believes something similar should be done about large items, as well as garbage from renovation projects and such. Councillor Conrad Read said he is also concerned about the fridge. “Years ago, some little kids died inside a fridge,” he said. “If anything, it should be placed face down, but, if it is currently on city property, I would clean it up right now… There is a serious risk out there… This needs to be acted upon immediately. Worry about the consequences later.” Bishop also said the fridge poses an environmental hazard because it contains freon.
Busy March for firefighters
March proved to be another steady month for Meadow Lake Fire and Rescue. During his monthly operational overview, interim city manager Neil Marsh reported the local fire department responded to one bale fire in March, along with three motor vehicle collisions, five structure fires, three EMS assists, three fire alarms ringing and one needle pick-up. As of March 31, the department had responded to 50 calls so far this year compared to 38 at the same time in 2024. Meanwhile, March fire inspections included three residential day cares, two body shops, one automotive dealership and the Meadow Lake Aquatic Centre.
Bylaw dept. takes action
According to interim city manager Neil Marsh’s monthly operational overview, during the first week of March, 24 traffic bylaw casefiles were investigated resulting in 14 notice of violation tickets being issued. Of these, 13 were for unregistered vehicles parked on the street and one was for parking in a ‘no parking’ zone. Under the Traffic Safety Act, 11 traffic stops resulted in two verbal/written warnings, two vehicles being impounded and seven tickets being issued. Of these, one was for a learner driver unaccompanied by a qualified driver, two were for driving while disqualified, two for speeding, one for speeding in a school zone and one for failing to wear a seat belt. March also say 18 breath demands made, while there were also 107 animal control casefiles investigated that month. Of these, 22 were for dogs at large, 82 were for unlicensed dogs, two involved barking concerns and there was one skunk trap request.