Creighton town council reviewed a letter from SaskTel sales manager Michael Vancoughnett at their last meeting, held Wednesday, March 23.
The letter was a response to questions about ongoing Internet service congestion in the Creighton area network.
Vancoughnett stated that SaskTel is in the process of “rebuilding the backhaul network in
order to increase bandwidth available to customers in the northeast region.”
He said a fibre optics line was being built from La Ronge to Points North, and SaskTel was reinforcing the radio backhaul network that services other communities, including Creighton and area, in carrying community traffic to the fibre optics line.
Vancoughnett said the radio backhaul upgrades, which will be completed this year, will resolve network congestion and may result in increased internet speeds for households in certain communities.
RCMP Update
Creighton RCMP sergeant Mark Svaren presented the RCMP community policing report for the month of February. The report indicated below average call volume for the detachment area and the town.
Svaren noted that the Creighton detachment was up to strength in manpower, and that although two members of the detachment would be transferring within the next month, including Svaren himself, their replacements were expected to arrive soon.
The report also noted that Creighton detachment members would be conducting regular condition checks for accused or convicted persons who have been placed on conditions.
“By monitoring persons on such conditions, we aim to increase compliance with release/sentencing conditions,” the report reads, “and thus reducing the number of repeat offenders.”
Bylaw
No residents attended the public meeting to amend the zoning bylaw to add a section for temporary uses. The amendment was developed in response to a request from Cumberland Rentals to create a temporary work camp on King Crescent to accommodate incoming workers for the Flin Flon General Hospital ER project.
Mayor Bruce Fidler confirmed that, with no public objections, council plans to pass the
amendment at the next council meeting, to be held Wednesday, April 6.
Clean-up
The Creighton Kodiaks football team and Creighton Community School both submitted requests to participate in community clean-up initiatives this spring.
Trailer
The Creighton Fire Department submitted a letter to council committing $3,000 toward the purchase of an enclosed trailer for the snowbulance. Council purchased the snowbulance, an enclosed steel-and-polyethylene rescue unit, in February at a cost of $4,781, plus taxes.
According to a report from the Protective Services Committee, a trailer for the snowbulance would cost approximately $12,000.
Town administrator Paula Muench said
council would make a decision on purchasing the trailer after the budget had been finalized,
likely towards the end of April.
Donations
Council decided to donate $100 to the Flin Flon/Creighton and Area SPCA Furball Social, and $500 to the Creighton Community School grad class, after they complete a cleanup of the highway between Flin Flon and Creighton.
SEDA
Fidler expressed his interest in attending a Saskatchewan Economic Development Association (SEDA) conference in May, noting that the last conference had been a source of useful information and resources for the town.
Council passed a motion to send Fidler to the conference.
