The following items were among those discussed at the regular meeting of Meadow Lake city council held Monday, Dec. 2. All members of council were present.
During Monday’s meeting, approval was given to the 2025 council meeting schedule with one slight change made to the date originally presented. The recommended motion was to approve the regular council meeting dates for 2025 calling attention to the fact there will only be one meeting held in the months of July, August and December, and for the budget meeting provisionally be scheduled for Oct. 18, 2025.
“Can we change the date now or after?” asked councillor Ron Dishko in reference to the day-long budget meeting in October. The budget meeting is held each year and is an opportunity for the various department heads to present their proposed budgets to council. From there, council discusses and decides what budget items are most affordable and of the greatest importance, and these items are what ultimately makes it into the final budget for approval at a later date. “Is Oct. 18 a conflict for you?” mayor Merlin Seymour asked Dishko. The councillor said it indeed is a conflict. “Yeah, it’s my anniversary and my wife may choke me,” Dishko said. Councillor Mauri Young suggested moving the meeting to Oct. 11, but that would cause the meeting to fall on Thanksgiving weekend. “Yeah, don’t pick Thanksgiving – gosh no, not next year,” Seymour said. Council ultimately decided to hold the budget meeting Oct. 4. “The earlier the better because it will allow us more time to get through stuff,” stated councillor Conrad Read.
Water woes discussed
During Monday’s meeting, councillor Connie Marsh-Yuhasz asked if there could be some clarity for residents on what steps to take if they discover a water leak. “I had a young man stop me on the street asking about his water bill because his landlord is unhappy with how high it is,” Marsh-Yuhasz said. The councillor went on to inform this individual about the possibility of having a leak which, in turn, could result in a higher than normal water bill. “I told him there is a procedure, and how, on the actual water bills, it explains how to check for a leak, but it doesn’t explain what to do after that,” she said. “Perhaps there is a way we can let people know what it is they should do.” Acting city manager Neil Marsh said he would pass Marsh-Yuhasz’s enquiry along to the to proper department.
City increases overdraft limit
During Monday’s meeting a bylaw was adopted allowing the city to borrow funds and incur temporary debt. “The City of Meadow Lake needs to increase its overdraft limit from $3,000,000 to $4,500,000 to ensure sufficient cash flow between payments and claims for the construction of the Co-op Centre,” explained Asma Qadri, the city’s director of corporate services, in her official recommendation to council. “The increase to the overdraft will result in increased interest expenses and this amount shall be paid as incurred and shall be part of the operating budget expenses and funded through the normal revenue streams.” The bylaw was introduced by councillor Marty Bishop, seconded by councillor Mauri Young and received all three readings during Monday’s meeting. “The primary reason behind this is so we don’t get caught up with payments for the multi-use facility before we get the reimbursements back,” mayor Merlin Seymour said. RBC will be provided with the adopted borrowing bylaw in order to implement the increase.