Creighton town council is back in person once again.
Town council held their first full public in-person meeting in months June 10. During COVID-19, the council had held meetings via conference calls with participants calling in remotely.
Councillors were spaced out throughout the room - instead of sitting in the normal spots at the council table at the town office board room, officials maintained a social distance during the entire meeting.
Mayor Bruce Fidler said he was glad to see a return to in-person, face-to-face meetings.
“I think it’s very beneficial,” he said.
“We weren’t going to pack too many people into the last meeting, but it’s a lot easier to get stuff done when you’re face to face. It’s very beneficial.”
Creighton town council typically meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month.
Demolition derby
One request came in to Creighton town council that didn’t end up going through - a request for permission from a resident to hold a demolition derby on a property within town limits.
The idea was rejected as proposed by councillors, citing concerns with zoning.
“He was inquiring about it,” said Fidler.
The proposed site for the derby would be on Third Avenue near Highway 106 - as close as 500 metres to a residential neighbourhood. According to council, the property mentioned as a possible demolition derby site was zoned as M-1 light industrial - while that designation may allow for some industrial use that could normally affect nearby residents through noise, odour or dust, it would not permit a derby to be held at the site.
The mayor said running such an event within the community itself was also a hang-up for council.
“Running something like that within town limits, you know… you can’t have something like that going,” said Fidler
Demolition derbies have been held in the greater Flin Flon area before, most notably at Pine Root Raceway near Bakers Narrows, but no such official events have taken place within a community’s zoned land.
Seniors’ housing
Town council has been told that a pair of seniors’ housing units that burned earlier this year will be rebuilt - and that plans to possibly build a long-term care facility in Creighton are still on hold in Regina.
In a letter received by council by the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation (SHC), sent in response to a letter sent to the SHC by council last month, SHC confirmed that the group plans to rebuild the burned duplex on Elander Avenue.
“SHC is planning to rebuild the units lost in the fire,” reads the letter.
“Before SHC builds or rebuilds units in a community, it assesses long-term housing need by reviewing the number of approved applicants waiting for a unit, community demographics and the inventory of SHC-owned units. Based on our assessment, we agree there is long-term housing need for seniors that supports rebuilding.”
The initial letter sent by council to SHC also included a call for a long-term care facility to be built in Creighton. In the SHC response, the group redirected the request to the provincial health ministry.
When asked directly if plans for a long-term care home - one of council’s longest-running priorities - had moved forward, Fidler was blunt.
“No. We’ll just keep bringing it up, keep pushing for it and the need we have for it, but… maybe one day. If we don’t keep doing it, they’ll forget about it,” he said.
Bylaw changes
Council gave second and third reading to a pair of bylaws, each amending the Town’s official community plan and existing zoning bylaws.
Bylaws 5-2020 and 6-2020 were introduced to amend zoning for some properties, changing zoning from R-1 low density residential to R-2 medium density residential. The changes are meant to reflect residences that already sit on the properties, but were considered low density buildings when an amended community plan was approved last year.
