F. Kozak and Sons released from its snow job
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, September 27, 2017
By Eoin Devereux
The Neepawa Press
Neepawa Town Council - Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017
The search is underway for a new company to take over Neepawa’s snow removal contract. On Tuesday, Sept. 19, Town Council voted to release F. Kozak and Sons Ltd from its existing deal, which had been scheduled to run until Dec. 2018. Kozak and Sons had made a formal request to withdraw from the agreement, though the specific reason for the request was not made public by the company or the town.
Mayor Adrian de Groot said council decided to move quickly on this, in order to get the process of finding another company to take over started, as soon as possible.
“Certainly, just going by the recommendation of our administration, it’s the best thing to do; to relieve [F. Kozak and Sons Ltd.] of this obligation of the contract. Now, we have some lead time, rather than getting into the winter, so it’s best to do it now,” de Groot said. “As indicated by our manager of Operations, conversations have already begun [with other companies interested in the contract]. More or less, informal, but still looking at what kind of arrangement could be made. We also invested in some equipment of our own, which will be able to be used as well. This will allow for a little bit of flexibility.”
A decision on the snow clearing contract moving ahead is expected to be made soon.
Misc.
A format change is being examined for Neepawa’s council meetings. Mayor de Groot brought forward the suggestion of changing the agenda format, to allow for more open dialogue in the committee of the whole and provide a better grasp on some of the debate process to the public. An internal memo on the potential format change is being reviewed by council members and administration. No decision on whether or not to make a format change would be made until organizational meetings are held in November.
The Town has approved second and third reading of a by-law authorizing an agreement with the RM of Rosedale for the supply of water to the municipality. The water will be supplied through a new rural water supply line built through Neepawa to the RM of Rosedale, which has the capacity to move between 100 and 150 cubic metres of water per day. Per the Public Utilities Board (PUB) order, effective July 1, the Town had received approval to amend the wholesale rate for the sale of water to the RM to reflect a special rate. The special rate is as follows:
July 1, 2017 - $1.79 per cubic meter
July 1, 2018 - $1.82 per cubic meter
July 1, 2019 - $1.84 per cubic meter
The special rate shall be subject to change throughout the term of this agreement, pending PUB approval.
PC committee to be set up
The operation of the Riverside Cemetery, specifically its Perpetual Care (PC) program, is once again front and centre. During the most recent council meeting, Mayor de Groot cited an article in the Wednesday, Sept. 13 edition of the Neepawa Press [Discussions needed about perpetual care] as an example of the potential perceptions surrounding PC from the general public. He suggested that it is time to create a citizen’s committee, of approximately four citizens, one member of council and a member of the Town administration. De Groot noted that this would not be a committee that could make decisions on PC, but merely a fact finding group, providing questions, finding answers and enhancing the communication strategy going forward.
