The following items were among those discussed at the regular meeting of Meadow Lake city council held Monday (July 28). All members of council were present.
During Monday’s meeting, mayor Merlin Seymour was praised for his forward thinking during the July 1 Canada Day pancake breakfast in Lions Park. “It was a pancake and sausage breakfast,” remarked councillor Mauri Young during the council committee reports portion of the meeting. “I want to thank mayor Seymour for bringing up the idea of sausages and going ahead and getting the sausages from No Frills. There was a lot of smiles (at Lions Park) once the people saw there were sausages.”
Mayor and council served the breakfast during this year’s Canada Day celebration. “When I got there that day, we had a bit of a discussion amongst ourselves about there being no way we were only going to serve pancakes,” Seymour said. “I made the decision to pick up some sausages. And, to take a little bit of pressure off the administrative team, I would like us (mayor and council) to look after the July 1 pancake and sausage breakfast going forward. Let’s have the administration team and parks and recreation look after the other aspects of the day and the different things that can happen that day. The breakfast was fun.” Director of finance Asma Qadri confirmed with Seymour he is willing to have himself and council look after organizing the breakfast each year going forward. “Yep,” Seymour said. “Are we OK as a group to say we will look after that each year? Even if there are only five of us who can make it on that day?” Council agreed.
Budget meeting rescheduled
The city’s annual budget meeting, originally scheduled for Oct. 4 of this year, has been rescheduled to Nov. 1. “During the regular council meeting held Dec. 2, 2024, the 2025 council meeting schedule was adopted for the 2025 year,” explained director of finance Asma Qadri in her official recommendation to council. “We respectfully request the budget meeting scheduled for Oct. 4, 2025 be postponed to allow administration additional time to gather the necessary budget information, particularly regarding the Co-op Centre. The construction of the Co-op Centre experienced a two-month delay, which has consequently impacted the timeline for its operational budget.”
The original motion called for the meeting to be postponed until Nov. 8. That date, however, did not work for several members of council. “On a personal note, if the meeting is moved to Nov. 8, I won’t be able to make it,” councillor Marty Bishop said. “I have a function that’s going to keep me all day.” Councillor Tom Harrison also said he would be unavailable that day, as did councillor Mauri Young. “I have birthday plans that day,” she said. Council ultimately decided to reschedule the meeting to Nov. 1. The motion to reschedule the meeting was made by Bishop and seconded by Young. Response on any clarifications requested during the budget meeting can be provided to council at its regular meeting Nov. 17. with adoption of the 2026 budget to be held at the regular council meeting Dec. 8.
Civic centre’s fate unknown
As part of now former interim city manager Neil Marsh’s monthly operational overview for June 2025 – which was presented and approved during Monday’s meeting – it was noted the Meadow Lake Civic Centre will remain in service in its current form until the end of 2025, but its future has yet to be determined. “An asbestos report has been completed, and that information will be useful in determining the building’s future use,” Marsh noted in his report. “We are happy to report the sprayed coating on the ceiling does not contain asbestos.” The future of the civic centre has come into question following last month’s opening of the Co-op Centre, the new arena and recreation facility that also houses Legacy Hall, a state-of-the art events centre. The first public event to be held at Legacy Hall was the Transition Place Education Centre (TPEC) graduation ceremony, which took place in late June.