County of St. Paul backs loan for Mallaig Ag Society; denies ski club

County backs loan for Mallaig Ag Society

After some clarifications to confirm the total amount of the loan would not be exceeding the $50,000 originally approved by council, County of St. Paul council voted to approve a new loan to the Mallaig Ag Society at their Oct. 13 meeting.

Previously in July, the County of St. Paul council voted to loan the Mallaig Ag Society $50,000 to purchase a used zamboni.

According to Amanda Amyotte, the president of the Mallaig Ag Society, they were able to purchase a used zamboni for $27,000 at auction.

She asked if the society could use the $23,000 balance of the county’s loan to pay for cost overruns in their ongoing arena renovation, including a new fire suppression system, ventilation fan in the Zamboni room, coiling door and operator for the Zamboni room, chemical masks for entering the plant room, tools to repair and swap out parts on the Zamboni as needed, and puck board for the pit room.

County of St. Paul CAO Sheila Kitz said the way the original loan bylaw was worded, council would need to approve the repurposing of the funds.

“As everyone knows, due to the pandemic they are unable to do the fundraising they normally do and so they are short in a number of areas,” said Kitz, noting the total shortfall is estimated at $20,800.

The loan was approved with unanimous support.

Lakeland Cross Country Ski Club denied

County council denied a request from the Lakeland Cross Country Ski Club for help with their new trails located in the M.D. of Bonnyville.

According to information provided to council by administration, last year the club signed an agreement with the County of St. Paul to use the Westcove Park facility and the County had offered for the club to continue using the space going forward. The club chose to relocate their trails to the Wengzynowski Ranch near Flat Lake.

“Prior to that they had operated on private property in the county and we have done quite a lot of work for them over the years,” said Kitz.

Div. 5 Coun. Dale Hedrick made a motion to deny the request since the club is no longer located in the County of St. Paul.

There was no other discussion, and the request was denied.

Bylaw updates

County council voted to approve changes to a number of bylaws at their Oct. 13 council meeting.

Bylaws related to Off-highway vehicles, noise control, and dog control were all discussed and saw additions of language regarding the County of St. Paul’s bylaw enforcement officer. Specific penalties for violations were removed and replaced with references to the ‘penalties bylaw.’

The dog control bylaw also saw the addition of a definition for a dog at large.

“A dog that is not under control of a person by means of a leash or harness and is actually upon property other than the property in which the owner of the dog has the right of occupation, or upon any highway, thoroughfare, street, road, trail, avenue, parkway, lane, alley, square, bridge, causeway, trestle, sidewalk (including the boulevard portion of the sidewalk), park, or other public space..”

All three bylaws passed first, second, and third reading at the Oct. 13 meeting.

Taxes collected

As of the Sept. 30 deadline for taxes, 96 per cent of tax rolls had been collected by the County of St. Paul.