No drones allowed: Town of St. Paul council briefs

Complaints about drone use at Lagasse Park

Municipal enforcement received a number of complaints about drone use at Lagasse Park last month according to an information briefing to town council written by Director of Protective Services Trevor Kotowich.

In a follow-up e-mail after the meeting, Kotowich clarified the specific concern, “is that the drones fly not only over Lagasse Park but also residences. Another concern raised is the proximity to the heliport located at the Hospital.”

According to the brief, drones are classified as aircraft and as such cannot be flown closer than 5.6 kilometers from any airport listed as certified, or 1.9 kilometres from a heliport or aerodrome.

“Please note, the Town of St. Paul cannot provide permissions for drone usage, as drones are classified as aircraft and fall under federal jurisdiction. Complaints about drone use in the Town of St. Paul should be directed to the RCMP at 780-645-8888.”

Water main on 52 Ave to be replaced

52 Ave will be closed between 47 St and 48 St for the rest of this week so workers can replace the water main. The cost of the project is expected to be $145,000.

According to information provided to council by Director of Public Works Steven Jeffery, they had decided to wait to pave the surface of the road until after the water main could be replaced following discussion with council at an earlier meeting.

“Temporary water will be installed tomorrow. The only disruptions should be to traffic there and some businesses. If the weather is good, we hope to be done by the end of the week depending if they work Saturday,” said Jeffrey.

Coun. Ron Boisvert made a motion to approve funding the project from the Water Distribution Reserve account. The motion carried.

Town and County to share cost of garbage bin for Capella Centre

Council also voted to share the costs of garbage collection at the women’s shelter with the County of St. Paul.

“With the shelter expansion, we are now able to provide more services and supports to even more women and children. As a result of our efforts, however, our needs for adequate garbage management has expanded as well,” reads the letter from the St. Paul and District Crisis Association to the County of St. Paul, dated Aug. 20.

“The Town of St. Paul has informed us that the increased volume of garbage exceeds their limits for residential garbage pick up as specified in their Bylaws. At this time, we are asking the County to be included in your waste bin program, and respectfully ask for a donation of the rental fees to help alleviate some of the cost pressures we experience as a non-profit society. We estimate we would need a 6-yard bin picked up every 2 weeks.”

At their Sept. 8 council meeting, the County of St. Paul passed a motion to provide the requested bin “subject to the Town of St. Paul agreeing to share 50 per cent of the cost.”

Currently, the town charges the Capella Centre $27 every two months for waste pick up. The county charges a a $75 delivery fee, and a $99 monthly charge for collecting the waste, for a total cost of $1,263.

“It would end up costing us about $470 a year by the time we took off that $27 that we collect every two months,” said Town of St. Paul CAO Kim Heyman.

“I’ll make the motion that we approve funding for the other 50 per cent of it,” said Coun. Nathan Taylor.

The motion carried.