During their regular meeting last Wednesday, Moosomin town council gave Town Foreman Danny Grainger the go-ahead to look into what it will cost the town to handle its own dust control instead of depending on outside companies and their timetables.
“Dust control didn’t work out as planned, because of rain. I think it is something that we can do if we got the equipment ourselves. Spray when we want to and regulate the spray, we can just do little spots. We need to get a spray bar and we have a guy who has lots of experience doing it,” said Grainger.
Along with having more control, it could also end up being cheaper.
“We are paying .34 cents a liter for 110,000 liters that is trucked down here and applied. We can get 10 cents a litre off of that if we just have it supplied and then we do it as necessary, ” Grainger explained.
Council was in favour of investing in equipment for dust control next year instead of hiring a company to do it.
The dust control system will likely be in place for next spring.
Boring new water main
The go ahead was given to bore a new water main from Ellice Street to Moose Mountain place. This will be a new method of installing a water main.
“When you bore you push out the old pipe and create a new pipe inside of it,” says Paul Listrom, Chief Administrative Officer.
The boring project will cover 150 meters and cost $16,533.50 plus tax and the cost of pipe. This new method will be much cheaper and more convenient than ripping up the streets to replace the pipes.
Broadway Boulevard will remain intact
A motion from councillor Garry Towler to remove a part of the Broadway Avenue boulevard was struck down when the motion didn’t receive a seconder. The cost of the project would be around $10,000.
Towler said he felt that semi trucks making deliveries have a hard time accessing the alley between Main and Carlton Streets. He felt the boulevard should be cut so that trucks can drive straight into the alley across Broadway Avenue instead of parking in the street now and impeding traffic or driving over sections of the boulevard.
Councillor Chris Davidson felt that it would make more sense to get rid of the boulevard entirely. The motion died when no one seconded it.
Virden Airport Commission to meet with Moosomin Council
Moosomin council will invite Virden Mayor Murray Wright, who also serves as chair of the Virden Airport Commission, to come speak at an upcoming council meeting. This is in regards to the expansion plan that Virden Airport is planning over the next few years.
Wright wrote a letter to Moosomin town council asking to meet with the town about the project, wondering if Moosomin would lend its support.
“The town of Virden Airport Commission has embarked on a new project to upgrade the regional airport to meet the new regulations as set down by Transport Canada. These regulations must be acted upon and set in motion prior to December 31, 2020 in order to be effective,” says Wright.
Library levy payment pushed back
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the second installment of the town’s library fees has been pushed from July 1st, 2020 to October 1st, 2020.
The decision was reached at a recent Southeast Regional Library district meeting.
Moosomin town council along with other municipalities have questioned Southeast Regional Library about a reduction in fees since the libraries were closed during the first months of the pandemic.
Southeast Regional Library Board Chair Dianne Sanders said that the library fees need to be paid to cover products and services provided by the library during the lock down.
“Staff was paid for one month amidst the confusion and uncertainty of an unprecedented global pandemic,” says Sanders.
The fees will also cover the cost of online activities such as the creation of YouTube videos and social media posts. The staff also attended virtual workshops during this time.
There will be no reduction in fees due to Covid-19.
Ferguson reaches out regarding flooding of his land
In a letter sent to the council, local farmer Donnie Ferguson asked the council to install gates at the existing culverts by Celebration Ford and other locations to help move water in case of a big rain. He said he was concerned about flooding on his farmland that is near the highway.
“If we get a big gush, I am going to get flooded along with the three surrounding acres. We got to do something,” says Ferguson.
The council decided to contact the Highways Department to assist Ferguson as they said the issue was likely due to the changes made to drainage when the highway was twinned.
