Last Schreiber Council Meeting for May 2021

The last Schreiber council meeting of May 2021 opened with a presentation from Generation Mining about the Marathon Palladium Project. Some history of the project was introduced to the mayor and councillors, which began in 2014. Palladium and copper reserves are proving to be beneficial to the transportation industry and green technology in general. Marathon already is a hub for gold mining and other mineral exploration and would see the biggest boost from such a project. There would be no direct benefit specifically to Schreiber itself but any development in the area could have run off effects in surrounding towns. 

The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted and carried.
The dissolution of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and Lake Head University was discussed and council supported the request to not dissolve the partnership in order to maintain proper medical training and education. Currently Laurentian University is struggling financially and wants to back out of the programme.
A high school bursary policy bylaw would be updated, removing the existing bylaw.

The committee of the whole portion of the meeting allows for presentation of committee and various board reports. It usually starts with the Director of Operations report, with not much to report for this meeting aside from quotes for projects that weren’t discussed in depth.
A substance survey is being proposed which will primarily be focussed on asbestos in buildings. No clear indication was given as to what buildings would be included in this survey and it is assumed to exclude private homes.

Street lighting costs in an undisclosed location was put forward.

Project status updates included the Mural Project with submissions from nine artists, but locations have not been defined as of yet. 

The information centre/ museum exhibit is going forward with installation planned over a 2 week period. 
Downtown revitalization tenders were discussed with an average price coming in around $1.25 million for just phase 1 and is likely to cause upsets to other projects in the area. The Pavilion Project in the centre of town would be the first casualty and not likely to see finalization any time soon. Buildings costs and materials have escalated in the last few months and is another factor in putting a halt to most new building projects.

The Discovery centre opening has been delayed for another year and is already behind schedule mostly due to COVID concerns and cost overruns. A date of July 2022 has been suggested. Another factor in the delay is one of the structures, a storage car, has now had to undergo a refurbish due to damage. An additional $20,000 will need to be funded by the tax base in order to facilitate the repairs. 
The fitness centre at the recreation complex will also need an upgrade including $50,000 for equipment to the gym and may be funded by the province.
The Beautification Committee report was presented and new flower baskets will need to be purchased. The former outdoor arena is being considered for future recreation projects.

The Recreation department did an assessment of the failure of this years virtual winter carnival and cited a lack of interest in general with the public.
The Fire Department report gave an update of events in the area, which included a grass fire out at Pays Platt first nations. Two new additional members were added to the department.
Water and waste water report included ongoing summaries and recommendations.

Delegation requests for the virtual AMO conference this year, with waste water and infrastructure taking the lead, have not been confirmed. These conferences allow for interaction with ministers when they can be made available.