Municipality Asks RCMP to Prioritise Visibility

This month at the North Cypress-Langford Council meeting, Council met with the new development officer for the Cypress Planning District, a role that has been vacant for several weeks, heard from the Blue Hills RCMP representative, and put in place a few new policies around regular Council actions.

Rrain Prior – Local Journalism Inititiative

Joel Penner has recently joined the Cypress Planning District, which covers the Municipality of North Cypress-Langford as well as South Cypress, in the role of development officer and building inspector. This role has been sitting vacant for several weeks, which has caused a few delays for the municipality, so Council is happy to finally have someone in the position again. Penner comes from a contracting background and will be training under Neepawa’s senior development officer Jeff Braun to get his certifications. 

Sergeant Clint Wikander of the Blue Hills RCMP detachment attended the meeting to give Council an update on their priorities for the coming year, which include employee engagement and wellness; modernisation, service delivery, and stewardship; reconciliation and community engagement; and community safety and violent crime. When asked what their own priorities would be, Council was unanimous in their suggestion that RCMP visibility throughout the municipality was top of the list for them. Police visibility is not just as a crime deterrent but helps make a connection with the community they’re serving. Wikander agreed that being present in the community and at community events has had a positive effect not just on their policing role but also on RCMP recruitment. 

CAO Teresa Parker brought forward three new policies for Council’s consideration, which would cover several items that Council currently has to discuss and approve each year. These policies would make these recurring discussions into preapproved and budgeted items that would not ordinarily require additional time to consider and approve. The three policies included employee professional development, professional memberships, and municipal membership dues and grants.

Finally, Council had another discussion around the new Carberry daycare, following up from the previous meeting. Deputy Reeve Olmstead was able to acquire some rough estimates about how much it would cost to service the lot for the new building. Council was prepared to provide a letter of support for the project in principle so that it could continue to move forward, but not attach any firm dollar figure to it until they had some official estimates.

Also discussed were the use of unmanned aerial vehicles by the fire department, purchase of aggregate for the campground, donation to the Handivan, the upcoming Assiniboine Delta Aquifer Advisory Board public meetings, and approval of the 2024 reserve transfers.