Council still mopping up after flood

Ken Johnston
Editor

Rainy River Town Council met Monday night and topping the agenda again was flooding.
Councillor Dennis Ewald raised the post-June flooding cleanup and what, if any, obligation the town had to clean up sandbags and dikes from private property.
Town Clerk Debbie Bowman reported that she had discussed the matter with the disaster relief office in Fort Frances. “We can not use public (ODRAP) monies to clean up private property.” However she did say that there is funding through the Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program that private land owners can access, but the deadline to apply is this Thursday.
Ewald asked if the said sandbags are contaminated and Bowman said that she spoke to health officials and they told her the sandbags are not contaminated and neither is the beach sand in the playground area at Hannam Park.
Bowman also reported that the local Chief Building Official, Frank Berg, is looking over the marina plans and the damage done by the flooding to aid the town in getting accurate repair costs to put into their ODRAP claim. The Town is not facing the same Thursday deadline as the public.
Training the smoking police
The town received an email from Jennifer McKibbon of the Northwestern Health Unit offering to pay for bylaw enforcement training on Sept. 17th in Kenora. while the note does not mention no-smoking bylaws, several councillors voiced their suspicion that the sessions will be about that.
Council decided to ask CBO Berg if he wants to go.
Councillor Ewald voiced his opposition noting that he feels it is a waste of taxpayers money to send Mr. Berg.
“Everyone needs training,” said councillor Brent Anderson,
The Mayor, Gordon Prost, said, “They can’t make him enforce a bylaw that we have not passed.”
Other Business
•Councillor Glen Armstrong reported that the Economic Development Committee has received an email from Jan Verhoef of Globeco informing him that their project is still on line. “He said it is a matter of getting the banks to free up more money. They say they have contracts... they just need operating money.”
•Councillor Larry Armstrong reported that the District Social Services Board is still working on convincing the government that more provincial money is needed to provide area land ambulance services.
•Mayor Prost said he will attend a Rainy River District Municipal Association meeting Thursday to, “get the ball rolling on district wide flood plans.” He added that he has been in contact with Kenora-Rainy River Member of Parliament Bob Nault’s office to see if there is federal money, in addition to provincial, that could be used to help with the construction of dikes and other flood protection efforts across the region.
•Councillor Lance Lindal reported that the fire department was recently inspected by the fire marshall’s office and were told that they need to do more promotion of fire prevention. He also noted that some of the department’s equipment, such as several air tanks, failed inspection and will have to be replaced.
•Council passed the 2002 town budget 5-0 Monday night. It includes an 8% tax hike for Rainy River residents.
•Council passed a motion to proclaim Credit Union day.
•The cleaning contract with B & B Cleaners for town buildings was renewed for another year.
•Clerk Bowman was appointed by council as the Community Emergency Management Coordinator.