[3:54] Mhm.
[4:56] » Those of you here in
in chambers tonight, those of you who
[4:59] are at home watching us, welcome.
Seems like a long time since we had our
[5:04] last meeting.
[5:08] We're here tonight.
[5:11] Eddie?
>> [laughter]
[5:13] » Not much I will tell we spent too much
time together in social settings over
[5:17] the last month. I'm calling you by your
first name. Sorry about that.
[5:22] Councillor Kennedy, would you mind
reading the land acknowledgement,
[5:24] please?
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor.
[5:26] We acknowledge the land on which we
gather is in traditional Mi'kmaq
[5:29] territory, and we acknowledge with
respect that the diverse histories and
[5:33] cultures of the Beothuk, Mi'kmaq, Innu,
and Inuit of this province.
[5:40] » Thank you.
Okay, I'm looking for an approval of the
[5:43] agenda.
Come on. Councillor Wheeler and
[5:49] » Second. Councillor Luther.
[5:53] And I'm looking for
motion to carry it.
[5:57] All in favor?
Motion's carried. All right.
[6:03] Approval of the minutes. I need a mover
for those.
[6:07] Councillor Dean, Councillor Pritchard.
[6:11] Uh all in favor of the agenda?
[6:15] Motion carried.
Business arising from the minutes.
[6:19] Anybody got any
uh questions or comments about the our
[6:24] last set of meeting uh minutes on July
the 20th? Anybody got anything to bring
[6:28] forward?
[6:32] A lot has happened since July the 2nd.
[6:37] Okay. We're all good.
Okay. First one, Deputy Mayor.
[6:44] Thank you, Madam Mayor.
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor.
[6:47] Each year the city holds a community
event in the city that has been
[6:50] historically attained as Corner Brook
Day.
[6:53] There was never a specific date for the
event and it has changed throughout the
[6:56] years based on scheduling and other
events and a variety of other factors.
[7:01] Staff are recommending that going
forward the Corner Brook Day is the same
[7:05] day each year.
This maintains clarity and consistency
[7:09] to the public and also allows for more
efficiency planning for all summer
[7:14] events.
This day is not a civic holiday and is
[7:17] not recognized as a holiday under the
Shop Closing Act. The city's civic
[7:22] holiday remains as the third Monday in
February in which our winter carnival is
[7:27] celebrated.
Proposed resolution. It is resolved that
[7:31] the Council of the City of Corner Brook
officially mark August 1st of each year
[7:35] as Corner Brook Day. I so move.
>> Second her for that one?
[7:39] » I'll second that.
>> Councillor Luther.
[7:41] Discussion?
Questions? Comments?
[7:45] » Just a comment. I think it's great.
Sorry.
[7:48] » Cool. Yeah. You go.
>> Madam Mayor, I I just think it's great
[7:51] that we have we decide on a day and keep
it there because it's just too confusing
[7:55] to the public. And a lot of people
wonder about thinking that there's a
[7:58] holiday during Carnival, then they want
to know why Carnival Day is not a
[8:02] holiday. So, at least it will clear some
of that up.
[8:04] » Perfect.
Any comments? Councillor Pritchard?
[8:08] » Uh just to clarify, Madam Mayor, so if
August the 1st happens to be on a
[8:12] Saturday or Sunday, do we maintain the
August 1st date?
[8:15] » Yeah.
It's not a civic holiday.
[8:19] Right? No, lots of people will plan on
taking it, but so Councillor Dean?
[8:24] » Madam Mayor, I think it's a great idea
to have a set specific date for Corner
[8:29] Brook Day and August 1st right in the
middle of summer. Awesome time. Lots of
[8:32] time to get people excited and ready for
this celebration of this beautiful
[8:36] place.
>> Thank you.
[8:40] Anyone else anything to say?
Okay, call for question. All those in
[8:43] favor?
Opposed?
[8:47] Motion's carried.
Okay, Councillor Dean, you're up. With
[8:51] the adoption of the Corner Brook
Wildfire Resiliency Plan.
[8:55] » Thank you, Madam Mayor.
The purpose of this report is to seek
[8:58] Council's formal adoption of the Corner
Brook Community Wildfire Resiliency
[9:03] Plan.
The CBWRP
[9:06] is a comprehensive strategy that
identifies wildfire risks within the
[9:10] city and establishes practical
evidence-based actions to reduce those
[9:15] risks while protecting residents,
municipal infrastructure, businesses,
[9:20] natural resources, and critical
community services.
[9:24] The plan was developed through a
collaborative process involving
[9:27] municipal, provincial, indigenous,
industry, academic, and emergency
[9:31] management partners.
Across Canada, communities are
[9:36] experiencing larger and more destructive
wildfires
[9:40] due to a changing climate conditions,
prolonged dry periods, and increasing
[9:45] development within the wildland urban
interface.
[9:48] Although Corner Brook has historically
experienced relatively few significant
[9:53] wildfires, the city's location within
extensive forested landscapes requires a
[9:58] proactive approach to managing future
wildfire risk.
[10:03] The plan includes that Corner Brook's
overall wildfire risk is currently low
[10:07] to moderate, but identifies higher risk
areas where development borders
[10:13] continuous forest fuels.
It also recognizes that climate change,
[10:19] longer dry periods, and forest
[clears throat] health concerns, such as
[10:22] spruce budworm, are increasing future
wildfire potential.
[10:28] Corner Brook was selected as one of only
three pilot communities in Canada to
[10:32] participate in the development of the
Canadian Interagency Forest Fire
[10:37] Centre's national community wildfire
resiliency plan framework, recognizing
[10:44] the city's proactive FireSmart
initiatives and its regional importance.
[10:49] Key findings include overall wildfire
exposure is low to moderate with higher
[10:55] exposure concentrated along the forested
edges of the community.
[11:00] Approximately 80% 86% actually of
developed properties are classified as
[11:06] nil to low exposure for short-range
ember attack, while 14% fall within
[11:12] medium to extreme exposure.
Approximately 59% of developed
[11:18] properties are classified as nil to low
exposure for long-term ember attack,
[11:23] while 41% fall within medium to extreme
exposure.
[11:28] The greatest directional wildfire
wildfire exposure occurs from the
[11:32] southern and southwestern portions of
the community.
[11:36] Priority mitigation areas have been
identified through the integration of
[11:40] wildfire exposure modeling with a
critical asset consequence ranking,
[11:45] allowing resources to be focused where
they provide the greatest benefit.
[11:50] Of note, the plan does not predict where
wildfire will occur. Rather, it
[11:55] identifies where mitigation activities
are likely to have the greatest impact
[11:59] in protecting people, resources, and
assets.
[12:03] Be it resolved that the Council of the
City of Corner Brook adopts the Corner
[12:07] Brook Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan
as the city's strategic framework for
[12:13] wildfire risk reduction, and authorizes
city staff to advance its
[12:18] recommendations as funding opportunities
and operational priorities permit. I so
[12:24] move.
>> Seconded by me.
[12:27] » Councillor Kendell?
Any discussion or questions on this one?
[12:34] Councillor Wheeler?
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor.
[12:37] Uh I noticed it says we were one of
three pilot communities selected for
[12:41] this. I just wonder if we had um applied
for it somehow, or if we were just
[12:47] selected. And second part after that
question, uh financial impact. So, I
[12:52] understand there's no immediate
financial impact of having to put this
[12:55] plan in place, but the monies would be
spent on putting the strategic plan
[13:00] together in the future. Is that correct?
>> Madam Mayor, um to answer the first
[13:05] question, uh we were selected because of
our interest in FireSmart. And I'd have
[13:10] to attribute to our former Deputy Chief,
uh
[13:14] Derek Simmons, who uh
was a big proponent of this and and
[13:18] making this happen and engaging his
connections with the federal forestry uh
[13:24] departments and provincial um
made the connection for it come here.
[13:30] So,
we were lucky on that.
[13:32] And
And as far as the funding and financial
[13:37] commitment goes, uh
this is this plan is just a framework.
[13:44] It tells us makes recommendations to us
as a city or the city staff and how we
[13:50] uh approach the wildfire resiliency in
the future.
[13:55] Um when opportunities present
themselves, maybe uh
[13:59] funding from the province or if there's
a bylaw change that we look at in
[14:04] development regulations that may support
wildfire initiatives, we will be
[14:11] factoring that into those decision
processes.
[14:16] » Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[14:19] » Madam Mayor, I would just like to say
that
[14:22] BC is burning as we speak and Ontario
has had, you know, a terrible time with
[14:27] fire this year. So, I'm so grateful that
the city of Corner Brook and its staff
[14:31] are recognizing the real risk to
wildfires and that they're proactively
[14:37] doing something to prevent that
happening here.
[14:41] » We're prepared.
Can't be too prepared.
[14:43] » Yeah.
Definitely not.
[14:46] Anybody else?
Uh
[14:49] Councilor Dean, you were going to ask
where the southern and southwestern
[14:53] portions of the community were.
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor. I did actually
[14:57] talk to our wonderful director Todd
about that and the southern and
[15:01] southwestern portions, the greatest
directional wildfire exposure occurs
[15:06] there and it happens to be Elizabeth
Street, Wheelers Road, new hospital area
[15:11] and we know that's a very forested uh
not only very forested part of of the
[15:16] city, but it's on the uphill slope,
isn't it? Yes.
[15:20] » Thank you. Uh
Councilor uh Councilor Director Flynn,
[15:24] will this also give us uh will we be
working on like an evacuation plan? Will
[15:28] that be included in here?
>> Yes, uh Madam Mayor. This uh plan will
[15:34] inform our overall city plan, emergency
response plan. So, we will be uh
[15:40] factoring those things in there, those
recommendations in that document as
[15:43] well.
>> And the reason I asked that is because I
[15:46] have family who just had to be evacuated
and they it went
[15:51] like charm work because they had uh
really good evacuation plan at the time
[15:55] and uh that could be something that
could save a lot of lives and they did
[15:59] account uh all the fires in Summerland
to the plan that was made and was well
[16:05] well uh
prepared and uh
[16:08] brought it. So, they're the things that
I guess that we would be interested in
[16:12] seeing also, right?
Anything else?
[16:16] Thank you. Thanks for all your work on
this 2000 uh Director Flynn. We'll have
[16:20] you a counselor yet, I can tell it.
Okay, I'm going to call for a question.
[16:24] All those in favor?
[16:27] Opposed? Motion's carried.
Thank you.
[16:32] Okay, counselor candidate.
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor.
[16:35] » Good Grant.
>> The city grants committee received a
[16:38] grant application from Chamber Arts Inc.
requesting $20,000 in funding.
[16:44] The city grants committee received a
grant application from Chamber Arts Inc.
[16:48] requesting $20,000 in funding. In
accordance with the city grants policy,
[16:53] the application is being brought forward
to council
[16:55] » [clears throat]
>> for consideration with the
[16:57] recommendation from the grant committee
as request is above $10,000.
[17:02] The requested funding would support
Chamber Arts summer programming in
[17:05] Corner Brook including the employment of
more than 15 local and visiting artists
[17:10] and the presentation of three
productions celebrating Newfoundland and
[17:14] Labrador's history, music, and culture.
Funding would also support the
[17:18] organization's youth theater programs,
year-round art hubs, and recording and
[17:23] promotional of original music.
Overall, the initiative aims to
[17:27] strengthen the local arts community,
create employment opportunities, and
[17:30] contribute to Corner Brook's
culture
[17:33] » [clears throat]
>> and tourism economy.
[17:35] After review of the grants application,
the submitted budget for Cambourne Arts
[17:39] summer program and the city's current
operational budget for grants, the
[17:43] committee is recommending funding in the
amount of $5,000. The grant committee
[17:47] recognizes the value of Cambourne Arts
programming and recommends city support
[17:52] of the organization's activities.
Given the limited grant funding
[17:56] remaining in for 2026, the committee
recommends a contribution of $5,000 as
[18:01] this amount will provide meaningful
support to the organization while
[18:05] preserving funding capacity to assist
other local organizations and community
[18:09] groups that may seek support through the
remainder of the year.
[18:14] It is resolved that the Council of the
City of Corner Brook approve a grant for
[18:18] Cambourne Arts in the amount of $5,000.
I so move.
[18:23] » Thank you. I need a second for that.
Deputy.
[18:26] Uh before we do discussion, uh Council
Dean has claimed herself to be in a
[18:31] conflict cuz she sits on the board of
directors. Thank you, Council Dean.
[18:35] » Madam Mayor, I I believe I may be in
conflict on this as well simply because
[18:38] my two children do participate in this
program and I have been employed by
[18:43] Cambourne Arts in the past. So, I will
remove myself from this discussion as
[18:47] well.
>> Can I just second that?
[18:55] Do you want us to vote on it or do you
just want to claim yourself in a
[18:59] conflict?
[19:02] » I I'm happy for it to be voted on.
[19:07] » Okay, vote on? Okay, so may we put a
motion forward?
[19:10] If Council Perchard is actually in a
conflict
[19:16] » Can I ask a question?
>> Okay.
[19:18] » Um
do you currently do any work with them
[19:20] at all or is it just
>> No, but I have done contract work in the
[19:23] past.
[19:27] » Okay, make a motion. We'll we'll vote on
it.
[19:30] You want to make a motion, Councillor
Wheeler?
[19:33] » Uh I hate doing this.
>> [laughter]
[19:36] » Come on, you're good at it.
>> The motion be whether we uh
[19:41] we see uh Councillor Pritchard as in
conflict of interest
[19:45] » in
in the voting on the Chamber Arts.
[19:48] » Okay, second her on that.
Okay, Councillor Wheeler.
[19:54] Discussion?
No.
[19:57] Okay, do you want to vote? Any If you
think that uh
[20:00] Councillor Pritchard is in a conflict of
interest
[20:04] all in favor.
[20:12] Opposed?
>> to it. Yes.
[20:17] Oh, agree.
>> So you don't think he's in a conflict?
[20:20] » No.
>> Okay.
[20:21] I think so we have four three.
>> Four to one.
[20:24] » Four to two.
>> Okay, you're not in a conflict,
[20:27] Councillor Pritchard, so we have
decided.
[20:30] » Thank you.
>> Any discussions on this one?
[20:35] Yes, Councillor Wheeler.
>> Uh so
[20:39] they're they're asking for a grant for
for 2026, but that doesn't prevent them
[20:45] from applying again next year for 2027.
Is that correct?
[20:50] » They can apply yearly.
>> Thank you.
[20:51] » Yeah, you got it, man.
[20:54] » Anybody else want to comment?
[21:00] Okay, call for the question. All those
in favor of the $5,000 grant
[21:06] for Chamber Arts.
[21:09] Opposed?
>> I'll second.
[21:12] » Thank you very much. You can come back
now, Counselor Dean.
[21:16] It's like we put you in detention.
[21:20] Okay, Counselor Lutescher.
You're on for the 2025 annual
[21:26] expenditure report.
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor. As per
[21:29] requirements of the Canada Community
Building Fund Agreement, each year the
[21:33] city is required to prepare and approve
a report showing a full and detailed
[21:37] statement of revenue and expenditures of
the city related to the Canada Community
[21:41] Building Fund Agreement on an annual
basis. At the end of 2025, the city had
[21:47] $1,724,146
[21:51] of funds available for additional
projects. It is resolved that the
[21:55] Council of the City of Corner Brook
approve the annual expenditure report
[21:59] for Canada Community Building Fund
Agreement funding for 2025 as presented.
[22:04] » I so move.
>> Seconder?
[22:07] » I'll second that, Madam Mayor.
>> Questions? Comments?
[22:18] Call for the question. All those in
favor?
[22:20] » [clears throat]
>> Opposed.
[22:23] » Motion is carried.
>> Counselor Pritchard, you're on.
[22:28] » Thank you, Madam Mayor.
As part of staff's ongoing policy
[22:32] review, policies are being evaluated to
ensure they remain current, relevant,
[22:37] and aligned with existing operational
practices and regulatory requirements.
[22:41] The proposed changes are intended to
improve clarity, increase administrative
[22:45] efficiency, and eliminate duplication
with existing regulations.
[22:51] The following policies are being bring
being brought forward today with
[22:56] revisions.
Property marker policy 060204.
[23:02] Revisions are proposed that provide
clarity regarding the installation and
[23:06] use of property markers by residents
including what types of markers are
[23:10] permitted, outlining the responsibility
of the property owners and the city. The
[23:15] intent is to support winter maintenance
operations while ensuring residents are
[23:18] informed of their responsibilities and
risks.
[23:22] Busking policy 0207-11.
Revisions are proposed outline different
[23:28] procedures based off area requested in
the busking application. In the former
[23:33] policy, it was only addressed addressing
busking on sidewalks. However, there was
[23:37] no procedure for process processing
requests for other city-owned public
[23:41] spaces such as the parks, civic square,
etc. Applications for these requests
[23:46] need to be done in conjunction with
recreation and tourism staff.
[23:50] And the amusement center permit policy
02-07-01.
[23:55] This policy is being proposed to be
rescinded as the use for amusement
[23:59] centers is included in the city's
development regulations and would
[24:02] supersede city policy.
So, it is resolved that the council of
[24:07] the city of Corner Brook a new approved
the new revised property markers policy
[24:13] 060204
as proposed. I so move.
[24:18] » Seconded for that, then.
Councillor Kennedy?
[24:22] Any discussions, [clears throat]
comments on this one?
[24:33] Some of our policies are are certainly
old and need to be updated, so
[24:37] this is where we're headed with this.
Councillor Crocker?
[24:40] » I'm Adam I'm ask a question for the
floor here. Are we
[24:44] There's three that are up for debates or
are we going to do these one at a time
[24:49] here or
as a in individually?
[24:53] » Whatever you want to do.
>> Yeah, so the first one I guess the first
[24:55] one was just read for the uh property
marker policy. So that one is that one
[24:59] is there and we'll do the other two
after this one.
[25:02] » And we voted a master.
[25:09] Okay, we'll do it. Yeah.
>> Yeah.
[25:10] » Okay.
[25:14] » So
>> Who seconded the first one for you? The
[25:16] marker 880. Oh, sorry. Counselor
Kennedy. Oh my gosh.
[25:20] I can't hang around with you fellows
anymore. That's it.
[25:23] Okay. Anybody want to discuss the the
property marker policy?
[25:28] No?
Okay. I'll call for the question. All
[25:31] those in favor?
[25:34] Motion carried.
And the next one now, Counselor Burton.
[25:38] » It is resolved that the Council of the
City of Corner Brook approve the new
[25:41] revised busking policy 02-07-11
as proposed. I so move.
[25:47] » Seconded on that one.
Counselor Dean?
[25:51] Comments? Questions?
No, it's pretty clear, isn't it? Okay.
[25:56] Call for the question. All those in
favor?
[25:59] Okay. That one was
carried.
[26:03] » And number three, it's resolved that the
Council of the City of Corner Brook
[26:05] rescinds the amusement centers uh
permits policy 02-07-01.
[26:12] I so move.
>> Seconded for that one. Counselor Luther.
[26:16] Any questions on this one?
[26:20] What What does it mean for the amusement
centers? Is that the ones that come in
[26:26] the summer like Thomas Amusements and
things like that and set up or what is
[26:29] it?
[26:32] » Through you, Madam Mayor. This one here
[clears throat] would be for a permanent
[26:34] venues. So coming in and setting up an
amusement center or something like that.
[26:38] » Okay.
[26:41] Okay.
No more comments or questions? Okay.
[26:44] Call for the question. All those in
favor?
[26:48] Good.
And that one was good.
[26:50] Thank you very much.
Looks like we're cleaning up some of our
[26:53] policies. Okay.
And National Day of Mourning, Councillor
[26:58] Wheeler.
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor. Request for
[27:01] decision. The National Day for Truth and
Reconciliation is a statutory holiday
[27:06] for employees in the federal government
and federally regulated workplaces.
[27:11] The holiday [clears throat] was created
in June of 2021 with the intent to
[27:15] educate and remind Canadians about the
history of residential schools, honor
[27:20] victims, and celebrate survivors.
The province of Newfoundland and
[27:24] Labrador has not yet designated this day
a provincial statutory holiday. However,
[27:31] they have closed provincial buildings
and given provincial employees the
[27:34] holiday. The province states that the
consultations are ongoing with regards
[27:39] to making this day a provincially
recognized holiday.
[27:43] Be it resolved that the Council of the
City of Corner Brook approve the request
[27:48] for September 30th, 2026,
the National Day for Truth and
[27:52] Reconciliation to be a holiday for city
employees and grant City of Corner Brook
[27:57] staff the day of Wednesday, September
the 30th, 2026, to reflect and
[28:03] commemorate the tragic history of
residential schools in Canada. I so
[28:07] move.
>> Seconded.
[28:10] » Councillor Brake, two.
>> Comments, questions on this one?
[28:17] » I just
Sorry, Madam Mayor. Um,
[28:20] I just thought that this was a holiday
across the board, didn't realize that
[28:22] city employees didn't didn't get it.
So, I was uh
[28:27] » It's a holiday for many employees in the
city. Yeah.
[28:32] » Yeah.
>> Our understanding is until it's
[28:36] designated as a provincial holiday, we
have to continue to do this.
[28:39] » Every year, yearly.
Yeah.
[28:42] And that will probably happen sooner
rather than later. Yeah. So,
[28:46] » then we won't have to bring it forward
to be voted on.
[28:49] Okay.
Call for the question. All those in
[28:51] favor?
Okay.
[28:55] Motion carried.
Okay, we're going to have a little go
[28:58] around now. At the end, we've had a
uh busy, busy, busy, busy month
[29:03] since our last meeting.
Hence the reason I call some counselors
[29:08] tonight by their first names.
You've been hanging out, doing lots of
[29:12] things. However, I'm going to start
tonight with Jennifer.
[29:17] » Thank you, Madam Mayor.
Uh it's been a busy summer, for sure.
[29:21] We've had the opportunity to participate
in the variety of
[29:25] events, the Jigs and Wheels, and the
Summer Games, which was wonderful. Both
[29:31] events provided great opportunities for
everyone to get involved and enjoy
[29:36] themselves, for sure.
Um we connected with other people and
[29:40] celebrated lots of good stuff in our
city. I just want to mention that.
[29:44] But I also want to mention coming up is
uh August 29th is Corner Brook Day.
[29:50] So, in the afternoon from 1:00 to 4:00,
there'll be kids events, uh face
[29:53] painting, fan- fancy castle, and kids
entertainment. And still working on
[29:59] entertainment for that evening, but
right now we do have Midnight Cris and
[30:02] there will be others.
And fireworks will be at 10:00 that
[30:06] night. So, come and enjoy August 29th
for our Corner Brook Day.
[30:10] Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[30:12] Councillor Luther?
>> Uh thank you, Madam Mayor. Um
[30:16] you're right, it's been a wonderful
summer. It's been non-stop and doesn't
[30:19] look like there's much of an end to it
right now.
[30:22] Um I just wanted to mention that on
August 22nd, which is this coming
[30:26] Saturday, the uh port are having
community port days. Uh this is the
[30:30] third one that they've held.
Uh just want to mention to the public to
[30:35] to go down and see because a lot of
people drive by and all you see are
[30:38] those container
container things that are down there and
[30:41] you're wondering like what do the cruise
people see when they get off and you
[30:44] think oh my gosh this is horrible. But
actually if you go beyond that which
[30:48] you're allowed to do during this day you
get to see
[30:51] what they see when they get off the
ships and it's absolutely beautiful.
[30:53] They have little kiosks down there, they
have a stage set up and it's really
[30:56] really nice. And a little this this
might be a little conflict of interest
[31:00] but Xavier House is having a barbecue
down there that day so come on down and
[31:04] uh help uh
uh support Xavier House and come down
[31:08] and support the port. This uh you won't
you won't be disappointed.
[31:12] » Thank you.
>> It was an eye-opener for me when I went
[31:14] down the first year. I could not believe
what was actually behind those
[31:17] buildings. But anyway
and hot dogs always and music.
[31:22] Can't go wrong.
Councillor Wheeler?
[31:25] » Thank you Madam Mayor. We have had a
busy summer for sure. At the risk of
[31:29] sounding redundant um with some other
folks here this evening.
[31:34] Um
we've had opportunity to open Second
[31:37] Chance Cove down in Curling which I was
really really happy to be a part of. We
[31:42] had the light up the bay event down at
the um yacht club.
[31:46] Um we had visits from the Lieutenant
Governor, you know, jigs and reels. Um
[31:51] but I'll I'll just briefly mention my
perspective on the Canada Games uh sorry
[31:56] summer games that we had here in
Newfoundland. So really really pleased
[32:00] with what the city of Corner Brook was
able to pull together
[32:04] uh with regards to the summer games. Um
the opening ceremonies were absolutely
[32:09] fabulous and then I thought they were
topped then by the closing ceremonies.
[32:13] So hats off.
Um
[32:16] but uh not to speak about anybody
specifically but the volunteers that we
[32:21] had for that. Um
to be able to pull it off was no easy
[32:25] feat. Uh there were times I had doubt if
we were going to be able to do it but
[32:29] here we are on the other side of it and
I'm just so grateful um that we got
[32:34] through it and it seemed like a good
time was had by all. Really, really
[32:38] proud of city.
And then many thanks to the public works
[32:42] teams, especially, because we had to put
other work on hold,
[32:47] you know, to focus on the Summer Games.
So, there's some other things that we
[32:50] may be a little bit behind on doing as
result of this. But, certainly, I was
[32:55] quite proud the city looked clean, it
looked fabulous during the event. So, I
[32:59] just want to say I'm very grateful and
very proud of what we managed to
[33:03] accomplish with the Summer Games. And
last but not least,
[33:07] Mr. Len Morris,
huge appreciation from me that he
[33:12] stepped in partway through
the planning for the Summer Games, and
[33:16] he did an absolutely fabulous job. And I
just couldn't be any more impressed with
[33:20] him. So, thanks to everybody, and
especially Mr. Morris, for pulling it
[33:25] off.
Thank you.
[33:28] Councillor Prichard.
>> Actually, that's a great transition into
[33:32] what I was going to talk about. So,
thank you, Councillor Wheeler, for that.
[33:35] Uh Councillor Wheeler mentioned that,
you know, as times on this council,
[33:40] we had a lot of chats about about the
games and wondering, you know, it was a
[33:43] big undertaking and whether or not we
could pull it off. I was lucky enough to
[33:47] sit on the host committee, and I'll tell
you we had a lot of conversations there
[33:50] as well, where we we talked about the
same thing.
[33:53] Um
I know that we passed,
[33:57] I do want to, you know, acknowledge the
success that the games were.
[34:01] Um but they were a success because of
people who stepped up and and did the
[34:07] work that needed to happen. And with
your permission, Madam Mayor, I'd like
[34:11] to acknowledge some of those people
publicly today.
[34:13] » Absolutely.
>> Um
[34:15] certainly, it's already been mentioned
that
[34:18] our host committee was was chaired by
Mr. Len Morris, and Len came in late to
[34:23] the game.
And you know, he came in behind the
[34:26] eight ball in terms of things financial
and and and some of the organization. He
[34:30] did an absolutely wonderful job in terms
of bringing the games to the finish
[34:34] line. I'm very thankful for his work in
doing that. Want to thank as well, I
[34:38] guess she became our assistant chair
and director of finance, Michelle Payne.
[34:44] So, Michelle really stepped up and and
was a huge assistance to Len in in terms
[34:50] of getting the games up and running.
Um, I also want to thank the other
[34:54] directors we had on our host committee,
Trent Pennell, transportation. Dave
[34:58] Delaney, who was the athletes village
and accommodations. Charles Pender,
[35:02] protocols and medal ceremonies. Kelsey
Clothier, medical. Uh, Sarah Parsons,
[35:08] who was director for food services and
volunteers. Adam Baker, who provided
[35:12] legal advice. Christine House, director
of sports and venues. Jason Tarbet,
[35:18] director of security. Uh, Stephen
Mercer, director of registration,
[35:21] results and IT. And Cara Pike, who was
our secretary. And all of those jobs are
[35:28] uh, full-time jobs on their own. I'll
say that.
[35:33] Provide, you know, accommodations and
food for 1,600 athletes for a week. It's
[35:38] a lot of work and a lot of organization
that goes into it. I also want to want
[35:43] to repeat
the appreciation for the city and city
[35:48] staff. Our city manager, I know you've
had a lot of conversations with
[35:53] the chair of our committee and and and
others. And I know there was a lot of
[35:56] problem-solving behind the scenes at
times cuz we were short volunteers in
[36:00] certain places and I appreciate I don't
know the strings that were pulled behind
[36:03] the scenes, but I know I know there were
things that were happening to move
[36:07] mountains during that week and I really
do appreciate that. All of our
[36:10] directors, I know you were involved in
multiple conversations. As an example, I
[36:14] texted director O'Brien yesterday while
he was hiking Gros Morne and I was also
[36:18] in Gros Morne
to see if we could take care of some
[36:21] transportation issues for some Labrador
athletes that were left there as well.
[36:25] So, thanks for uh going above and
beyond. I think all of our staff did.
[36:29] Our public works staff, our civic center
staff, along with Max and Colin, a big
[36:34] shout out to them. Uh the Mary Brown
Memorial Centre staff, our recreation
[36:37] staff, uh Ryan and Richard for some of
the work that they did in
[36:41] communications. Uh folks, it was the
city's games and and city staff really
[36:45] stepped up, took ownership of it, um
especially in in in the the closing
[36:49] moments. So, I am very appreciative and
I know everybody around this table is
[36:52] appreciative, uh as are our athletes and
our our host committee.
[36:57] Um some volunteers, uh we had over 300
volunteers for the the entire games and
[37:03] uh can't thank them all and there's
always a risk of doing this, you're
[37:06] going to miss somebody. But some people
really really stepped up and uh we
[37:11] wanted to give them a a bit of a shout
out here. So, to Dwayne Huxter and
[37:15] Roslyn Leonard, who spent about a week
and a half just folding and counting and
[37:20] organizing shirts, uh Trina Sims for
organizing the torch runs, Janice
[37:25] Spencer, uh her work on the opening
closing ceremonies, uh Sonya Salzen,
[37:30] Corey White, Scott Pierce, Amanda Spears
Pierce, Josh Carey, Katherine Morris,
[37:35] Dana Murley, Candy Kennedy, Gavin
Dolman, Britney Marsden,
[37:40] uh and the Kinsmen Club were all
involved in in in work behind the scenes
[37:44] to pull this off. Big thank you to all
of them.
[37:47] Uh I want to give a a special uh thank
you as well to our games manager, Cassie
[37:51] Mercer. Cassie was hired on to to work
the games, but uh you know, I'll be the
[37:56] first to say she didn't work 40-hour
work week. She was pushing 60-70 hours
[38:01] for uh the weeks leading up and and was
certainly instrumental in in getting
[38:05] these [clears throat] games over uh
yeah, you know, making them the success
[38:09] that they were as well. Just want to
give her a shout out.
[38:11] Um
I guess I'd like to say a big
[38:14] congratulations as well to the the
athletes, coaches, managers, conveners,
[38:19] officials, volunteers, everybody who was
involved in making these games a
[38:23] success. It was really
you know
[38:26] it was a lot of stress leading up and
now that it's done I can sit back and
[38:29] say well I'm really proud of that week
and I'm proud of this city and I'm proud
[38:33] of how good it looked. I'm proud of
the athletes and and and and the
[38:39] responses and the smiles on their faces.
So you know
[38:43] really really good work everybody who
was involved. The last thing I'll say
[38:47] and it goes to our you know volunteers
but just the the idea of volunteering in
[38:52] general.
I'll I'll speak about some of the stress
[38:55] I think we all felt during that week. I
spent an hour at Corner Brook Regional
[39:00] High wiping down tables and mopping
floors and it was probably the best hour
[39:05] of my week last week because I could
people were coming in they were talking
[39:10] about how great the city was how great
they were being treated the smiles on
[39:14] their faces. I was talking to coaches I
was talking to athletes kids.
[39:18] A lot of them want to come back so I
think we really showed showed off the
[39:21] city but there's something really
satisfying about I think public service
[39:25] and getting you know your time for an
hour or two in support of good cause and
[39:30] I'd certainly encourage all of our you
know
[39:35] community members out there. There's a
lot of great things happening in the
[39:37] city that doesn't
doesn't happen without that volunteer
[39:43] support and there's no better way to I
think get involved become part of your
[39:47] community and feel good at the end of
the day. So you know big you know
[39:51] encouragement to everybody to get out
and volunteer and and take part in the
[39:55] amazing things that are happening in the
city of Corner Brook.
[39:58] That's all for me Madam Mayor thank you
very much.
[40:00] » Thank you.
I think you covered everything.
[40:03] Meeting's over. No I'm just kidding.
Councillor Kendell.
[40:07] » Thank you Madam Mayor. Well that's going
to be hard to follow.
[40:10] I guess
>> I bet you got all your ideas.
[40:12] » ideas gone.
I guess uh
[40:15] to follow up on what we all have been
saying here tonight, just wanted to
[40:18] thank like all the volunteers, the
workers, and individuals that came out
[40:22] not just for the games, but for this for
the events that we had over the last,
[40:26] you know, 3 to 4 weeks. So, thank you
for coming out. But, yeah, we still have
[40:31] 3 to 4 weeks left. So, there's lots of
events still happening. As we mentioned,
[40:36] the port. But, tomorrow is the Gord
Hamlon Day at Fox's General Store. So,
[40:41] you can drop by for an ice cream, and
our firefighters will be there firing up
[40:45] the grill, and all the supports going
for the local toy drive.
[40:51] Uh this Saturday, it's the Enduro
Mountain Bike Race. And that's, you
[40:55] know, we have bikers coming in. It's
over 100 bikers. And there's a lot of
[40:59] people in town already getting
practicing out for these events. So, you
[41:02] know, it's great to see see that in our
towns again.
[41:06] Uh
the uh
[41:08] August 31st, the Regiment Hockey Game.
So, that's going to be great hockey
[41:12] game. It's going to be some great hockey
players. It's a great way to start
[41:15] kickstart our hockey season.
And finally, you know, it's not finally,
[41:20] but another event, I guess, is Saturday,
September 5th, it's a Steep Ultra, which
[41:25] hosts its fifth annual trail running
event. Steep Ultra is a registered
[41:29] nonprofit organization and organize
organizer of Newfoundland's longest
[41:34] distance ultra-marathon.
The course traverses some of Western
[41:39] Newfoundland's most spectacular and
challenging terrain, beginning at the
[41:42] Man in the Mountain and passing through
Wild Cove, Corner Brook Village, Marble
[41:46] Mountain, and the back country trails
leading to Margaret Bowater Park.
[41:50] In addition to the 50-km one-way and the
100-km round-trip races, they introduced
[41:55] a new 50-km relay in 2026 to make the
event more accessible and encourage
[42:01] participants from road runners
with one leg of course now taking place
[42:05] along a paved roadway.
So, that's just to name a few others,
[42:10] and there's lots of other events
happening in the park, so
[42:13] please continue, you know, going out and
showing your support. So, thank you.
[42:17] » Thank you very much.
Uh so, Dean, last Have you got anything
[42:21] left after all that?
>> Is there anything left to say, Madam
[42:23] Mayor?
>> [laughter]
[42:26] » Well, I would just like to say how
grateful we are to the city of Corner
[42:29] Brook, to the various departments, the
Civic Center, Rotary Arts Center, the
[42:33] Port, Public Works, Parks and Rec,
Corner Brook Fire Department
[42:38] for their
unbelievable support for the Master
[42:41] Bowater Ma Me.
So, this was our fifth Ma Me here in
[42:45] Corner Brook. It's the first one held at
Margaret Bowater Park. It was
[42:48] resoundingly successful.
And may I say
[42:52] there is not anyone
who would not be impressed with the
[42:57] bathrooms at Margaret Bowater Park on
the weekend of Ma Me. They were
[43:01] meticulously clean, and I hold myself to
a high standard.
[43:05] So, congratulations to all the staff in
the city
[43:09] uh for your great work and continued
great work.
[43:13] And I just want to say further to
everyone's comments here this evening
[43:17] that everyone who welcomes a person to
Corner Brook
[43:22] uh everyone who gives directions to a
stranger, who lends a helping hand at an
[43:27] event, who bothers to pick up garbage on
the sidewalk is doing something that uh
[43:33] shines our community in in a brighter
light. So, you know who you are out
[43:37] there, city of Corner Brook and
surrounding areas. Thank you. Get out
[43:42] and enjoy what's left of summer, and I'd
like to say to parents
[43:45] two or three weeks left of summer and
school starts. So, I know you're getting
[43:49] ready, we're getting ready to uh let's
have a safe transition from summer to
[43:54] the school year. That's it for me. Thank
you, Madam Mayor.
[43:58] » Well, last but not least, I don't have
very much to say here. Uh
[44:04] Councillor Pritchard, you are right. You
always forget somebody when you're doing
[44:08] uh when you're doing naming people. I
want to throw a bouquet to Steve
[44:12] Prichard, Councillor Prichard.
He organized, along with a lot of
[44:17] helpers, our opening and our closing.
And I will tell you, it was second to
[44:21] none that what he did
to show the athletes a good time. So, I
[44:28] think we should give him a big ROUND OF
APPLAUSE.
[44:30] » [applause]
[44:33] » AND WE KNOW YOU DIDN'T DO IT ALONE, BUT
YOU WERE FRONT line and center and and
[44:37] the when you came into the room before
the meeting and you said
[44:41] the highlight of the games was when all
the athletes jumped on the stage at the
[44:45] at the closing and started dancing.
Like, it did our hearts good to know
[44:49] that not only did they have a good time,
they were still ready after doing all
[44:53] these games to actually have a great
party at 2:00 in the afternoon. So,
[44:57] thank you for that, Councillor Prichard.
We certainly appreciate it. We're very
[45:00] proud of you as a council to say you
went above and beyond. And uh Ian Locke
[45:06] and Trent, they all made it, but it's on
your guidance and your recommendation
[45:10] that they actually did this.
Yes, we had a great summer and with all
[45:16] the events that come here, uh
there's a financial impact on the city.
[45:21] But, I still say
we are the best host in Newfoundland and
[45:26] Labrador. And I probably go a little bit
further to say Corner Brook is a great
[45:29] host, even better than a lot of places
in Canada. And I have attended a good
[45:33] many
uh
[45:35] games from here to Vancouver. And let me
tell you, our games are are way above
[45:39] and beyond what a lot of people can
offer. So, for the financial gain for
[45:43] the city and all the people that came
just to be able to smile at the end of
[45:48] it. Can you imagine how many how much
milk the athletes drank and how much
[45:52] food they ate in those times? I mean,
it's amazing. Cuz I mean, one teenager
[45:57] in the house, you know what you got.
Much less 800. So, uh everybody who
[46:03] helped out, it didn't go unnoticed and
we certainly thank everyone for it.
[46:08] Thank you very much.
[46:11] Meeting is adjourned.
[46:33] » Thank you very much for all the Milton
residents that loved the chocolate milk.
[46:36] Oh my god.
Oh my, they brought a load of