The following items were among those discussed at the regular meeting of Meadow Lake city council held Monday (May 26). All members of council were present with the exception of councillor Conrad Read.

Tom Harrison is officially a member of city council once again after taking the oath of office during Monday’s meeting. “I, Tom Harrison, having been elected to the office of councillor in the City of Meadow Lake do solemnly promise to truthfully, faithfully and impartially to the best of my knowledge and ability perform the duties of this office,” Harrison stated while reading the oath. “I am qualified to hold the office to which I have been elected, and have not received or will not receive any payment or reward, or promised payment of reward for the exercise of my current practice… I’ve read, understand and agree to abide by the code of ethics and rules of conduct and procedures applicable to the position.” The new councillor then signed the oath. Harrison, who served on council from 2016 to 2024 was the first-runner up in last fall’s municipal election. Following the resignation of councillor Mike Ferguson earlier this year, however, Harrison won a by-election to reclaim his seat. In the by-election, Harrison earned 91 votes to fellow candidate Dwayne Mysko’s 75 and Anne Duriez’s 30. During Monday’s meeting, Harrison was also assigned to serve on the Co-op Centre (multiplex) advisory committee as an alternate, on the parks and recreation board and as an alternate on the Meadow Lake and District Chamber of Commerce.

Pool to remove vending machines

Visitors to the Meadow Lake Aquatic Centre will soon no longer have access to the on-site vending machines. That’s because there will no longer be any vending machine on-site. During his monthly operational overview, interim city manager Neil Marsh reported the vending machines will soon be removed from the lobby of the local swimming pool. “In place, we will be implementing a more customer friendly, visually appealing retail area the cashiers will assist with,” Marsh noted. “This will include a clear glass front stand-alone cooler – to stock a variety of beverages such as water, pop, juice boxes, iced tea, as well as granola bars, protein bars etc. We will also purchase a small deep freeze for ice cream goodies and such, especially for summer months and spray park season.” This area will have an ‘L’ shaped counter around it, as well as shelving units on drywall behind for additional retail items such as goggles, sunscreen, candy, pool-labeled clothing and so on. “We are looking at add a few tables and chairs as well,” Marsh said. “The options are endless and the front area will be a bit more profitable.” Councillor Connie Marsh-Yuhasz is quite excited about the upcoming changes. “I was glad to see the changes happening at the aquatic centre by getting rid of the candy machines and offering ice cream to go along with the spray park,” Marsh-Yuhasz said. “This is a fantastic idea and much better use of that space.”

Busy April for firefighters

Members of Meadow Lake Fire and Rescue were kept on their toes throughout the month of April. According to interim city manager Neil Marsh’s monthly operational overview, the local fire department responded to one carbon monoxide call last month, as well as five fire alarms ringing, four brush/grass fires, two EMS assist/first responder calls, five structure fires and five vehicle fires. As of April 30, the number of calls the department has responded to this year is 71. At the same time last year, the number of calls was only 57. “Three fire inspections were completed this month,” Marsh noted. “April training consisted of Ken Ness speaking on wildland fire investigation, and radio training with the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency. The fire chief (Joe Grela) attended the startup of the generator at the new Co-op Centre with the parks and recreation department.” April also saw annual maintenance completed on the breathing air compressor and SCBA, while repairs were completed on engines one and two.