Creighton town council pressed Creighton RCMP to find how they deal with abandoned vehicles at its Mar. 14 meeting.
The subject was brought up after a car was left for several days near an intersection on First Street West.
“It was in the middle of the road,” said Coun. Colleen Stallard.
Sgt. Sean McPhee told council that the detachment handles an abandoned vehicle differently, depending on whether they are broken down or abandoned.
“If it’s a car that’s broken down, we give them some grace to deal with it,” he said.
“If they’re an obstruction or a hazard, then they get moved.”
If the vehicle isn’t moved after a certain amount of time, RCMP will call to have the vehicle towed. The vehicle was no longer at the site as of Mar. 15.
McPhee presented the February policing report to council. The report showed a 30 per cent decrease in overall crime from last February.
Crimes reported included a fight near the liquor store, which McPhee described as “a good little donnybrook out there, caught on security camera.” Charges were laid in the incident.
McPhee also shared that the Creighton detachment is at full staffing level and that an officer had been seconded to Pelican Narrows to cover a staff shortage.
“I’ll hold our members as tight as we can so we’re not running short,” said McPhee.
“We’ve had a good month of February. It looks like March will be another good month, touch wood.”
Marijuana
Council received a letter advocating that small Saskatchewan communities get involved with marijuana sales after legalization this summer.
The letter, sent by the mayor and council of the Town of Carnduff, Sask., argues that restricting marijuana sales to larger communities leaves smaller towns at a disadvantage.
“Residents who are looking to purchase this type of product will now be forced to drive to other communities, in our situation, an hour away,” wrote Carnduff mayor Ross Apperley.
“This is a negative spiral effect to the local small business community.”
Saskatchewan’s provincial government has released a list of communities where marijuana retail operations could open, but the final list only includes areas with populations of more than 2,500 people.
Discussions have not been held on the subject of opening a retail marijuana operation in Creighton, but mayor Bruce Fidler has said council will listen to any credible offers and that communities not on the original list may be added later.
“There really hasn’t been any discussion around with council yet. I know that, even though communities weren’t put on the original list, there still is a possibility,” said the mayor, who joined the meeting via phone link from Regina.
Economic planning
The economic future of Flin Flon, Creighton and Denare Beach was discussed during the meeting.
Council approved the budget for the Regional Economic Development Committee. The total cost of the project is around $100,000, split between Flin Flon and Creighton – which pay $40,000 each – and Denare Beach, which will pay $20,000.
On a similar tack, council began planning with regional economic development coordinator Eve O’Leary to hold a strategic planning meeting with council members and other officials.
“It’s something we’ve got to get done, and fairly soon,” said Fidler.
Planning meetings will also be held with officials in Denare Beach and Flin Flon.
“It’s going to be a community engagement project with council. Each municipality will have a strategic plan for the region,” said O’Leary. “Flin Flon is going through the same process. Denare Beach will review as well. There will be a variety of stakeholders involved.”
It may be some time before a final, formalized plan for each community is reached, with O’Leary emphasizing that it takes time to make long-term economic plans.
“Strategic planning is a quite complex process. To involve a wide variety of each community, it’s going to take a while. It focuses over a long-term period. It’s not a tactical plan or anything like that, it’s three to five years or five to ten years,” she said.
