Newly elected city councillor Erin Stewart was sworn in by associate provincial court chief judge Murray Thompson on Dec. 14. Stewart beat out four other candidates to become the councillor who would take the place of Cory Young and finish 10 months with council before the general election this coming October.
After being sworn in, Stewart thanked the citizens of Thompson for their support and pledged to do her best on their behalf and work cooperatively with the current council.
Roxie Binns and Betty Landego presented to city council the 2009 Thompson Downtown Revitalization Committee (TDRC) year-end activity report. Binns explained activities that the TDRC has taken part in throughout the year, including placing boulders along the centre median of Mystery Lake Road between the intersection of Burntwood Road and Riverside Drive; hanging flower pots and banners throughout the city and planting trees in the fall. The group also made several recommendations to council, including the suggestion of a promotional blitz to businesses in town to affirm the city's anti-littering goal and creating a care and maintenance calendar for city employees to water flowers and shrubs.
Ian Thompson, fire chief with the city of Thompson, presented council with the month-end report for ambulance, fire and inspections. Council discussed the fact that under the November 2009 fire reports, the number of false alarms totaled 16, with nine of those being classed as "malicious."
Thompson reminded residents of the community to be extra vigilant about fire hazards during the holiday season and to take safety precautions such as always attending fires in fire places and woods stoves, keeping Christmas trees away from heat sources and ensuring that the correct certified appliances are always used for indoor and outdoor lighting.
Wayne Koversky, director of public works and operations with the city, says the new automated waste pickup strategy has been a huge success with refuse collection at the curb dropping by approximately 60 per cent, which has increased recycling. Koversky says this new system is saving around $300 on a daily basis on landfill fees for trucks that would be initiated on Jan. 1 if the old system was still in use.
Council also passed various resolutions, including one to encourage the federal government to continue enforcing the moratorium on closures or rural post offices; a resolution to approve the electric service agreement for a light next to the King Minter statue; and resolutions to authorize the acceptance of an agreement with the Building Canada Fund for $100,000 towards the city's asphalite program if the city contributes a further $50,000 towards the project in 2010 and to accept the agreement with the same Building Canada Fund that is looking to fund $168,000 of the $252,000 expansion project for the Thompson Recycling Centre with the city funding $84,000 of the project.
