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This month’s meeting kicks off with several items from the Cypress Planning district, many dealing with subdividing land for future development. Because the municipality covers the area right up to the borders of the Town of Carberry, they handle requests both for development on farm sites as well as dividing up land for future subdivisions for the town. One thing they’re seeing more of is conditions from the Historic Resources Branch to ensure proper care is taken, particularly as development touches lots adjacent to Camp Hughes. Camp Hughes was a former military training site located about 10 kilometres outside of Carberry, and is the only extant World War I system of training trenches known in North America.

We also hear an update on the situation with the Westman ATV Association. The association has taken all advertising about the location of the trails down from their publicly accessible social media, and during their recent poker derby which had approximately 40 attendees, there were no public complaints. The main frustration, both from the public and from Council, is that the Crown Lands branch has still not come back with their response to the municipality’s concerns.

Another big topic was the sewage system in the village of Brookdale. A public meeting was held about the work that needs to be done, and the general response was that people were willing to pay the increased rates in return for improved service. There was some question of whether the upgrades constitute a TCA, or tangible capital asset, which would affect how much residents would be paying. That question was left for the accountants and auditors to grapple with for the time being.

The Carberry North Cypress Health Access Committee contacted the council about helping to fund the new bath and shower room at the hospital. Right now they are sharing facilities with the care home, which is hard on staff. The access problem came to the forefront during the pandemic, so while Council did not budget for this expense, there are Covid-related funds available for them to use for the project. It was also noted that the project should be part of the next Council’s budget.

Council reviewed the province’s amendments to the Aggregate Mining and Transportation Fees Agreement, which includes a substantial fee increase. Under this agreement, Council has to pay for hauling its own gravel or aggregate along provincial roads. The province sets the rates for this, however the agreement also provides the ability for Council to pass this cost on to users.

An agreement has been reached regarding use of the doctor’s apartment between Prairie Mountain Health and EMS services. Priority use of the apartment is intended for doctors on call, but there have been some recent cases of others using the apartment without prior notice and causing some usage conflicts.The apartment must now be booked through the Town of Carberry and the locks are being changed so that any extant keys in the hands of others will no longer work.

Other issues before Council included dust control, new road construction, the purchase of screened gravel for the coming year, staffing issues, website improvements, potential fuel discounts, and the upcoming tax sale.