ST. PAUL - The St. Paul Aquatic Centre is now open, following a closure due to measures in place around COVID-19.
The swimming pool was closed in late 2020 when the provincial government announced enhanced measures as cases increased across the province.
During the Feb. 22 Town of St. Paul council meeting, CAO Kim Heyman said the pool was able to open, and will be available to schools, swimming lessons, and the Barracudas swim club. The pool is available specifically to those under the age of 18, as per the measures that were in place.
The pool is limited to groups of 10 people.
Heyman said there was enough commitment from the schools in the area that were interested in doing lessons with students, and it made sense to open the facility for a few hours a day.
When speaking about the town's largest arena, which is still up and running since hockey practices have been allowed to resume, Heyman said she would bring the topic of when the arena should be shut down to the next meeting on March 8.
Roll-out bins
Council approved the low bid for just over $157,700 for the new garbage bins that will be delivered to each residence in town. The bid was awarded to Superior Truck Equipment Inc.
"There was a lot of interest," said Director of Public Works Steven Jeffery. The timeline for the bins is "pretty aggressive," he added.
The bins are expected to be in place by the end of April and will allow for the town's garbage truck operators to pick up the bins with a mechanical arm on the truck, rather than physically handling the bins.
Survey
The Town of St. Paul has released its resident survey, after approving the questions that are being asked at its Feb. 22 meeting.
Questions range from quality of life, safety, services provided, the work being done by council, and more. A number of questions also relate to recreation, and what residents would like to see in the future.
The survey is available at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2021ResidentSurvey and is open until March 16.
Vote ID Bylaw
The Town of St. Paul has approved its Voter ID bylaw, ahead of the 2021 municipal election this fall. The only feedback received following first reading of the bylaw was in regards to adding passports to the list of approved identification.
The amendment was made to the bylaw, and second and third readings were approved by council on Feb. 22.
57th Street
During her CAO report, Heyman said discussions around the 57th Street joint project with the County of St. Paul have been taking place to ensure residents and businesses can still access their properties while construction takes place.
The paving tender for the projects will be put in as a joint tender to minimize the number of contractors working in the area. Heyman also said it's the town's intention to only have half the road closed at a time, and she understands spring is a busy time of the year for some businesses in the area, which is located on the west end of St. Paul.
Mutual aid
A mutual fire aid agreement has been put together between the Town of St. Paul and the Bonnyville Regional Fire Authority (BRFA).
Council was presented with the agreement at the last council meeting. Fire Chief Trevor Kotowich said there was no agreement in place, since St. Paul has never requested help from Bonnyville. But, a structure fire in late 2020 resulted in BRFA responding with their aerial fire truck.
"Bonnyville was very generous," said Kotowich, when speaking about the incident. While he was unsure when the agreement may be needed again, it will now be in place. A motion to approve the agreement was carried.
