Okay, good evening everyone. We'll call the public council meeting in the town of
Paradise for December 17th, 2024 to order. And as we always do, we'll start off with
our safety moment. And
tonight's safety moment, it's our last council meeting
before the holidays, and we want to remind everyone to celebrate safely during the season.
When you are out and about for the holidays, be sure to drive for the weather conditions.
Be prepared for changes in the weather, and don't drive distracted.
Put yourself on the way when behind the wheel of your car, and always don't drive
impaired or let anyone else drive impaired.
It's all due our part to create a holiday season of Epi Memories.
Next we'll have the adoption of the agenda, do I have a mover?
Moved by Councilor Martin, seconded by Councilor Quilty.
All in favor?
Aye, aye, aye.
Motion carried.
And before we move on, we got a little presentation here tonight.
And every year, for the last nine years,
we've been doing a Christmas card contest in our schools, our elementary schools, and
we basically designed a Christmas card and submitted it, and this year's winner is Reina
Reddick, and she also lit the, when we had her tree lighting, she was one throw the switch
as well, so she's in attendance tonight, and Reina, I'd like for you to come forward,
and we've got a little something for you.
And the Christmas
card, we've designed it.
We've been on the Christmas card and we send this out to all of our town friends in the area
and all of our counselors got them.
And there's, I think, 20, right?
There's 20 cards like that in here for you and a few little somethings in there as well.
So congratulations on your Christmas card.
I would never be able to draw something like that, you know, I started like, it's beautiful, it's beautiful.
Thank you.
There you go.
Lovely.
Excellent job.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Please.
Thank you.
See you.
Okay.
Next we'll have
the adoption
of the public council minutes for December 3rd, 2024.
Do I have a mover?
Moved by Councilor Meyer, seconded by Deputy Mayor Street.
All in favor?
Aye.
Motion carried.
Business arising for minutes.
Councilor Currie.
Your worship, sorry.
I thought we were going right into the budget speech.
Sorry about that.
Next.
Yeah, sorry.
Just give me one quick second.
I didn't make a note.
Your worship and noon unfinished business last week
At the council meeting, I had given an update on the station 10.
The continuing efforts going on down there to manage the after effects of the failure, which happened November 1st.
Of course, one of the items I did not reference at the moment, which I did ask were the costs associated.
They get an update December 10th, and the most recent,
the most recently recorded cost of that number was $221,228.22.
your sense and your worship understanding is going to be some development and update in
there's been there's been development in some of the cost in December 10th from
since December 10th and we'll get an update tomorrow in public works. Okay good
stuff thank you for the update Councillor Krueger. Okay any further new any further
business rising for the minute? Okay seeing none we'll go into our much
should wait at budget 2025.
And then we'll ask Councilor Bader's to come up
and get ready to read the budget speech.
And just give us a second,
we are going Facebook live with the budget speech
as we always do.
And a
couple is ready, Councilor Bader's ready to go.
Oh, good.
Okay.
Everybody just wants to remove the paper clip
from your speeches because then when Councilor Bader's
Good evening, Your Worship, our fellow councillors, staff and those joining us in person and online.
As Chair of the Administration and Corporate Services Committee, I am pleased to present budget 2025 for the town of Paradise.
Your Worship, budget preparations are both a time to reflect on the work and accomplishments of the past 12 months
and an opportunity to plan the priorities for the year ahead.
Reviewing all that was accomplished, evaluating the lessons learned, and witnessing the evolving
operations of our town gives us a foundation on which to plan.
Municipalities are not static.
They are vibrant, dynamic, and ever-changing.
families grow, community amenities develop, and businesses expand.
As a council, it is our role to ensure we prepare the fiscal plan that supports the operations
of our town and the program and services we provide to the people of paradise.
To do that, we sought input from residents and businesses through Budget Talks 2025,
The departmental staff evaluated their operations and outlined their priorities.
And we reviewed our five-year strategic plan, your paradise plan, 2027.
All of this information is vital to ensuring council has meaningful and productive budget deliberations.
Public engagement is a critical part of our budget process.
In your paradise plan 2027, one of our governance and engagement strategies
is to enhance engagement with the community to improve input into municipal decision-making
and increase awareness of council decisions. Our annual Budget Talks activities directly
support this strategy. Your worship, Budget Talks 2025 had the highest participation
rate since the implementation of this public engagement initiative. Residents participated
by completing the online survey, visiting the council pop-up, or responding to the questions on social media.
We hosted roundtable discussions with our local chambers of commerce to give feedback directly from our business community.
And as always, many residents took the time to directly reach out to members of council and share input on budget priorities.
Through Budget Topps 2025, our residents and businesses told us to focus on snow clearing,
road maintenance, traffic improvements, road access, a swimming pool, and road infrastructure.
We thank all those who participated in any manner to share ideas, give feedback, and offer direction for Budget 2025.
It is no easy task finding the right balance, and input from residents and businesses is
vital in shaping and guiding our budget decisions.
Your worship, equipped with all this information, Council has spent considerable time delivering
and debating Budget 2025.
We understand the task before us, and the responsibility residents have given us
to spend their tax dollars effectively, strategically, and responsibly for the betterment of their
town.
Tonight, I am pleased to present the $44.6 million dollar balanced budget for the town of Paradise.
Our financial plan for the year ahead outlines investments for the programs, services, and
initiatives our residents need and expect.
It focuses on making the fiscal decisions that are right for
paradise and building a community that residents and businesses are proud to call home.
In budget 2025, we are maintaining the residential and
commercial meal rates as well as the water and sewer rates.
Even with the recent equipment failure at this station tank,
our strong fiscal management enables us to keep mill rates at 7.4 and 11.5 for residential and commercial respect.
While there are no changes to the mill rate, residential property assessments have increased this year.
As such, residents will notice a small increase in our 2025 tax bill estimated to be $102 per household.
And while we understand that any increase impacts household pocketbooks,
the town is not immune to rising costs and increased financial pressures.
Maintaining the mill rates means we are able to sustain our operations and
services provided to residents. For those residents facing challenges paying their tax bills,
we will continue to offer assistance programs. Introduced for the 2024 tax year, the Residential
Property Tax Assistance Program offers a property tax reduction for those meeting the financial
criteria. We will also continue to offer the seniors discount for those residents 60 years of age
or over. Through these programs, we are making sure the right supports are in place to make our
town a community of choice for everyone. Your worship, a considerable portion of our annual
budget, over 20% is allocated to services provided through a regional approach with
our neighboring municipalities. Our drinking water, fire protection, waste management,
and wastewater treatment, all essential services needed for our town, account for $9 million
dollars in budget 2025. And these services are not immune to rising costs. For example, fire
protection and drinking water increased $670,000 over last year. Collaborating with our regional
partners and looking for efficient ways to provide essential services while reducing the
cost burden on residents is a strategic direction in your paradise plan 2027.
Availing out these services regionally enables us to provide them in a cost
effective manner. If we opted to develop these services independently, the cost
would be significantly higher and we would have less money to invest in
other areas. Your worship, the available development areas in our town, the vibrant
recreational and community amenities, and the successful and diverse business sector
makes paradise an attractive...
and welcoming place to call home. We are the third largest and one of the fastest growing municipalities in the province, and we know with that also comes a duty to ensure that we are planning properly.
The infrastructure must be maintained. Services must be enhanced to meet growing populations and programs must be responsive to resident needs.
While meeting the demands of today, we must look ahead to tomorrow and work to find the
right balance between the two.
Budget 2025 supports this balance with investments in infrastructure, programs and initiatives
in all areas of our town within a fiscally responsible manner.
Our strong fiscal management has enabled the town of Paradise to be one of the few
municipalities and the province to have a reserve fund. It's about making the
right financial decisions today so that we are saving for tomorrow. Municipal
assets such as roads, sidewalks and buildings, along with essential
underground infrastructure like water and sewer, come with significant
financial commitments. Proper maintenance and management enables us to
maximize the lifespan of these major investments. While we are a relatively
young town, we know the time will come when repairs, upgrades and replacements
are needed. We have a responsibility to start planning for that today, and
our reserve fund is doing just that. Budget 2025 includes a $500,000
which will bring the reserve fund to 3.75 million dollars.
Your worship, Budget 2025 also allocates funding to support our town's infrastructure for today.
We are investing in our water and sewer, our roads and our recreational amenities.
This year, we completed the engineering work for five streets on the water and sewer priority list
In spring 2025, water and sewer installation is scheduled for
Drovers Road, Bayview Heights, Windmill Road, Carberry Place, and Neary Road.
When these priorities were set many years ago, there were 48 roads with 598 houses on the list,
and now we are nearing completion. When our latest projects are completed,
There will be just four streets with 30 houses remaining on the list.
It is a significant milestone and directly supports the infrastructure pillar in your paradise Plan 2027 and improves service funds.
Furthermore, this work has been completed through cost-shared funding with the parental government.
Our money has stretched further by using all available funding opportunities and council remains committed to this approach.
The new pump station on St. Thomas Lion will be completed and commissioned soon.
The replacement of lift station TAN began in January 2023.
We need this new facility.
And that became painfully evident once again in November, when lift station TAN experienced another major equipment failure.
We had to declare a state of emergency in order to secure needed resources to maintain the essential service.
It was a tremendous disruption to our residents who had to endure the noise of the pumpers trucks in the area
and we thank them for their patience and understanding while crews work to address the issue.
We also thank all staff who are working to keep this service operational.
The situation is currently stable, the state of emergency has ended and our crews are
working on completing the necessary repairs.
The new facility, designed for a 50-year lifespan, will meet current and future
needs of our town.
It also has system redundancies that will allow it to continue to operate in the event
of equipment issues.
It will be a dependable and reliable operation, providing an essential service to a significant
number of households in paradise.
Over the years, with a focus on sound financial management, the town of paradise has been
careful with our borrowing needs, only doing so to support significant infrastructure investments.
With our strong financial position, should the town need to borrow, we are in a good position
to do so.
Your worship, some of the Elizabeth Park, our most densely populated neighborhood
and higher elevation areas, have experienced water pressure issues. We understand the
frustration of residents in the area and town engineers have been exploring
options to address this challenge in 2025 we are creating a private booster
rebate program it is designed to support residents to get equipment to
address their water pressure issues to support our asset management efforts
budget 2025 is investing in a leak detection program for the town. We have a
duty to properly manage our infrastructure and ensure that we maximize
its lifespan. Through effective leak detection we can ensure that our water
system is operating efficiently. In doing so we are also taking steps to
maintain major infrastructure for current and future residents. We are
making the investment today to support continued fiscal management and sustainability.
This fall, the town participated in the take action on radon initiative. Radon is a radioactive
gas that comes from the ground and is found in homes. The level of radon in residential
homes can vary in severity and only a radon test will indicate whether the levels are
a health concern. Through Take Action on Radon, we were able to provide 100 test kits free
of charge to our residents. The response was strong and demand was much higher than the
supply available this year. We plan to participate in the program again in 2025 and have allocated
additional funds so that we can increase the number of test kits available to our
residents.
Our infrastructure spending also includes road maintenance and upgrades. With
over 370 lane kilometers of roads in paradise, we must make regular annual investments to
ensure the upkeep of our transportation network. In budget 2025, we are allocating funding
to our street rehabilitation program, which includes a new concrete repair and maintenance
program for sidewalks and curbs. We will invest in our street capital program that completes road
repairs based on the annual road priority and condition assessments. Next year, the construction
work for phase one of the Kim Out Road rehabilitation program is scheduled to begin.
Under this project, 550 meters of road surfacing, storm sewer, curb, gutters, sidewalks and active trail are planned for the section of the road starting at the McNamara Drive intersection and heading east on Kennell Road.
These road improvements will address a major transportation route in our town, along with enhancing a growing business and industrial area.
We
can't talk about our road infrastructure without including our snow clearing operations.
With winter just around the corner, staff have been busy preparing equipment, reviewing routes, and updating priorities.
Our crews work hard to clear the roads in an efficient and timely manner, and they are ready to go when the snow hits the ground.
This council has made snow clearing a priority. We asked staff to review our
operations, determine municipal benchmarks, update our policies, and we
made investments for additional equipment and staff. In 2025 we will lease
six loaders with snow clearing attachments. The town is pursuing
leasing options as it enables us to acquire it all within this budget.
We are also committing to purchase a tandem and additional sidewalk clearing
equipment. Our goal is to have a tandem and loader for each of the seven
snow clearing routes, sidewalk equipment for each of the school areas, and the
required complement of staff. With the investments throughout this turn of
Council and the allocation in budget 2025, we will reach that goal.
Over the past couple of years, Council has approved additional snow clearing staff.
It has been a competitive labor market for these positions, which presented recruitment
challenges.
We are happy to announce that most of the positions amount staff, and that means we
will have additional operators this winter.
With increased snowfall unpredictability, having more equipment and additional staff
will reduce delays, enhance safety, and increase the level of service for snow clearing.
It is important that the town attracts and maintains the right employees to support our operations.
To do so we need competitive compensation packages, comprehensive benefits in appropriate work environments.
Our compensation and benefits are hitting the mark.
However, with 170 full-time, part-time, and seasonal employees, we are facing constraints in work areas for office space, break areas, and equipment storage.
One of the infrastructure strategies in your Paradise Plan 2027 focuses on investing in
municipal infrastructure to ensure effective service levels are met throughout the community.
A new facility will provide indoor storage to protect equipment, offer expanded space
for inventory, and provide crews with the required work areas.
That is why this year we explored options for a new deal, and in 2025 we will continue to work to find the right solution for paradise when that gives us a modern facility with the space and features needed to support our town and our crews.
Retaining and attracting employees means we must have up to date current work practices.
The traditional nine to five work day at the location of the employer is changing and that
is why one of the strategic actions in your Paradise Plan 2027 is about exploring a flexible
work policy for our employees.
employees in all sectors, including municipalities, recognize the need to adapt and evolve to
meet the expectations of those entering the workforce. In Paradise, we want to do the
same, but we want to make sure we do it in a manner that's right for our organization.
In 2025, we will review best practices and municipal operations across the country
to develop a flexible work model that can be implemented with our employees.
This policy will complement our other ongoing progressive human resource programs,
including mental health, first aid training, respectful workplace practices,
and employee health and wellness initiatives.
And I'm pleased to note that our employees have been recognized for their work in these areas.
In June, we received three awards from the International Association of Business Communicators
for the We Believe video and the Stretch and Flex program.
It is wonderful to see the stellar work of our employees being recognized
and celebrated among industry experts.
It shows the high caliber of work done each and every day here at the town of Paradise.
Our employees at the town operate within a culture of continuous improvement.
They are committed to providing residents with timely, proactive and responsive service in all areas.
And they are regularly looking for ways to streamline operations and increase efficiencies.
Each year, staff undertake specific, continuous improvement projects
based on lean training and principles with the goal of improving service
standards to residents and businesses. In 2025, those projects will focus on
areas where residents contact a town such as compliance letters, public work
service requests, tax inquiries, traffic calming requests, and room rental
availability. Reviewing existing service standards and developing new ones
helps us to determine if we have the proper resources, procedures, and equipment to complete the task.
Staff know their roles best and therefore best equipment to find improvements and efficiencies.
We look forward to seeing the outcomes of the 2025 projects.
Your worship, over the past decade, we have made a number of significant
recreation investments in our town. As a growing municipality with the youngest
average age population, we want to ensure we have the right recreational
amenities to meet the needs of all residents. Things like the Paradise
double ice complex, Paradise Park, the multi-sport turf at Diane Whalen Memorial Soccer Complex,
our extensive trail network, and various park and playground updates are features that make our
town the wonderful place we call home. They support our minor sporting organizations,
offer our residents a variety of ways to enjoy an active lifestyle and help foster a true sense
of community. In Budget 2025, we will continue investments to support our recreation amenities.
We will develop the Trenton Drive open space based on a plan developed from public engagement
with residents.
We thank those who took the time to participate in the process and share
their ideas. This work goes hand in hand with the development of the Trenton Drive
accessible trail going to Octagon Pond Elementary School. We will also be
completing a trail on Silverworks Pressin to connect Paradise Elementary
School and another to Lincoln Morgan Avenue to Howard Avenue. In Paradise we
are fortunate to have beautiful trails nestled throughout town including
including around Adams Pond, Neales Pond, and Octagon Pond.
The new trails will be welcome additions and are furthering the connectivity throughout paradise.
It is one of the many features that make our town unique and attractive for those looking for a community to call home.
Our recreational work next year will also include the engineering for a new baseball field.
This year, several potential locations for a new field were reviewed and initial assessments were completed.
In 2025, staff will work with Paradise Minor Baseball to finalize the site selection and begin the engineering phase.
Council are very much committed to this project and our goal is to start construction in 2026.
6. Enrollment and participation in baseball in paradise increases year after year. We want
to make sure we make the right investments that meet the needs of this sport and indeed
all our minor sport organizations.
Your worship, with all these facilities and amenities, there
is one facility our residents continue to rank as a top priority, a swimming pool.
making a decision to invest in a pool must be based on comprehensive in-depth information.
Council has an obligation to ensure we are fully informed about the required financial commitment
to both build and operate such a facility.
In your Paradise Plan 2027, we identify several advocacy priorities,
One of which is a feasibility study for a pool.
Through Budget 2025, we will complete that study.
The feasibility study is the important first step,
and we commit to keep residents informed about the progress.
While we gather and review all pertinent information about bringing a pool to our town,
In budget 2025, we are budgeting for public swings at neighbouring pools so that our residents can access dedicated times.
We will also continue to partner with the Chest Penny family YMCA to offer swimming lessons for paradise residents.
Your worship.
next summer our town will be ready to rock as we host Box La Crosse and Beach
volleyball as part of the 2025 Canada Summer Games. Paradise Park and Paradise
Double Ice Complex will be electric with excitement as these two high-energy
sports come to our town. The legacy from the games will mean competition level
beach volleyball courts will remain in paradise park will also have the
artificial indoor turf and equipment for box lacrosse that is being provided to
the town at no cost suffice it to say that the overall return on investment
the games will bring to paradise is significant we take great pride in the
responsibility for us and we are excited to know we will be part of
building these sports here in Newfoundland and Labrador.
We can't wait to be part of the fun and excitement
and welcome athletes, coaches, officials, and spectators
from across Canada to paradise.
The Canada Games also bring economic benefits.
And we plan to work with our local businesses
to showcase everything that is here.
Previous Canada Games report generating considerable
investment for local businesses.
And we want to do our part so that paradise businesses have those opportunities.
Your worship, our economic development work now involves a new regional agency at Vantage St. John's.
Working with Conception Bay South and St. John's, we are building on our strengths and furthering regional cooperation.
We are competing globally for industrial investment and business attraction.
And as the saying goes, we are better together.
As a regional force, we can better compete on national and international fronts.
We are still in the foundational stages of the agency, but we know great things are ahead.
Under the leadership of CEO Michelle Simmons and Board Chair Jocelyn Perry, staff are
hired, board members are being selected, strategic planning is underway, and the
path is being set to harness the collective strengths of our three municipalities to attract
opportunities for the region. While Advante St. John's works collaboratively for regional growth
and business investment, as of how we know it is critically important to support our local
businesses. One way we are doing that is by supporting our local chambers of commerce.
In Budget 2025, we are continuing the annual allocation for the Conception Bay Area and
the Mount Pearl Paradise Chambers of Commerce to support their initiatives and programs.
In addition, we continue to cover the first-year membership fees for any paradise business
wanting to join by their chamber.
These organizations offer our local businesses networking opportunities, professional development,
and peer support that helps foster a positive and growing business community.
Strong municipalities need strong, diverse, and growing business sectors.
And paradise is no exception.
As our municipality grows, so too does our business community.
Over the past several years, we have seen a variety of new businesses call Paradise Home,
and they are a great complement to the many long-standing businesses here.
As we work to attract new businesses, we will work equally hard to retain those already
established in Paradise.
Public transit supports our businesses and our residents.
as a council we made the investment to bring Metro bus to paradise and the
commitment to build public transit in our town year over year ridership is
growing demand is increasing and awareness of public transit is
starting since 2021 route 30 in paradise has gone from an annual
ridership of 7,300 to 22,000 in 2023, and we are on track to reach 27,000 by the end
of this year. With this increased usage in budget 2025, we are investing to further enhance
Metro Bus Route 30 in paradigms. Starting in September 2025, the route will move from
morning and evening commuter route to an all-day service.
A more robust public transit supports
employee attraction for our local businesses, supports residents going to work for post-secondary
school, and enhances the overall connectivity of our town.
Your worship, over the past several
years we've been implementing a green goal program for our town. It maps out our recommitment
to progressive waste management and environmental sustainability
by encouraging residents and businesses to do their part to help the environment.
For public education campaigns, school presentations, and community and business outreach,
we are working together to reduce our environmental footprint.
In 2025, we are adding initiatives to our Bring Go program
by implementing yard waste collection and a food cyclers program for residents.
At the town, we want to lead the change to foster a movement so we can create a better, brighter, and greener future for paradise.
It is important for a town of our size to offer diverse communications methods
so that our residents can stay up to date on town news and operations in the manner that works best for them.
Last year, we launched a resident notification system that allows residents to receive updates and information
through text message, email, or phone call.
And this week, we are launching the second phase of our enhanced resident communications,
a new Town of Paradise app.
With the free app, users can access the town's garbage and recycling collection calendar,
opt-in to receive collection reminders and review information on town events and news.
Additional features, including a service request platform whereby residents can report a problem
and follow its progress through to resolution are in development for the town and will be implemented in 2025.
Your worship, your paradise plan 2027 outlined our advocacy priorities for the next five years.
These are areas that are important to residents and council, like a new high school and better road access.
Yet they are not solely within the town's purview.
The provincial government is responsible for education and transportation access.
A new high school is paramount.
Council, along with our residents, through the Paradise Needs High School group,
worked hard to convey the need to our provincial government representatives
earlier this year that work paid off.
It was indeed exciting when the provincial government announced a new high school for
paradise.
The site selection is underway and we are all eagerly awaiting the announcement.
As the project moves to the design phase, our advocacy will continue to ensure it
is built sooner rather than later and that we get a high school that is right for paradise
in a timely manner.
In discussing a new high school, I want to highlight that we have enhanced the scholarships offered to Paradise students at Holy Spirit High School and Mount Pro Senior High.
This year, we increased the amount and renamed the awards to honor the memory of two counselors, Vince Burton and Elizabeth Laurie.
We are proud to name the scholarships after our distinguished colleagues.
We hope that award recipients will be inspired by the work and lives of counselors Burton and Lori
and want to be involved in their hometown as community leaders just as they were.
In addition to the scholarship program, the town of Paradise is proud to be able to offer a donation program.
It provides financial support to community organizations, groups and individuals that contribute to growth and general well-being of various sectors in our community.
This year we revised our program to ensure that grants and scholarships, sorry, and sponsorships are distributed on an equitable basis, centered on clear categories and evaluated on needs-based applications.
Traditionally, the program was focused on recreation and sporting groups.
It is now expanded to include arts, culture and environmental areas.
This updated and expanded program supports our social and cultural health pillar in Your Paradise Plan 2027,
whereby we want to advance inclusive social and cultural health in paradise,
building community inclusion and
Your
worship. Advocacy for additional highway access points has also been raised with our
provincial representatives by this council at every opportunity. Council, like our residents,
is frustrated with the traffic headaches and congestion. Last month, we received some very
encouraging news when the provincial government announced that Ken Mount Crossing would be
the location of the new hospital. The site borders Paradise, Mount Pearl and St. John's
and government indicated that it will work with all three municipalities to address
transportation needs and construct highway access. We are certainly pleased to learn
a new hospital will be built on our doorstep and we look forward to construction of
plan interchange as it will also provide paradise with another much needed transportation access
to the highway. This doesn't mean our transportation advocacy work is over. In fact,
the opposite is true. Council will maintain regular discussions with government to ensure
the transportation solutions are completed. The new hospital will also address another
a pressing concern for our town, a water tower.
In addition to road infrastructure,
the site selected requires infrastructure development
for water supply.
With its location on the town boundary,
any investment for water infrastructure for the hospital
will also benefit the paradise.
Over the past several years, we
had completed a study on the town's water system.
and staff were exploring options to best address the water needs.
Knowing a solution is forthcoming and one which will not be the sole financial or operational responsibility of a paradise is tremendous news.
We look forward to working with the Berenscher government on these projects and seeing them come to fruition for our town.
Council is also committed to advocacy work with the Royal Newfound Constabulary.
The RNC, together with our municipal enforcement, plays a strong role in the safety and well-being of our town.
Each has a distinct yet complementary role in paradise.
We appreciate the collaborative relationship we have with the RNC
and we want to see their presence increase in paradise.
Our numbers are clear.
A town our size needs an increase in RNC resources allocated here.
Furthermore, Council strongly believes the time has come for an RNC detachment for paradise.
Our advocacy work in 2025 will include this area as well.
and during our regular meetings with the RNC chief and senior officers we will
push for the extended presence including the dedicated location in paradise
that our town needs.
Your worship, the year ahead has many changes on the
horizon. A new Towns and Local Service District Act comes into force in
January. This act replaces the Municipalities Act and outlines the
need governance and procedural requirements for municipalities in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Towns and Local Service District Act is modern, up-to-date legislation that reflects
the current and evolving nature of municipalities.
For our town, the new act brings changes to our committee and meeting operations.
Beginning in January, council meetings, other than privilege meetings, are required
to be public.
As such, we will implement a Committee of the Whole structure to replace the various
Council committees.
The Public Committee of the Whole and the Council meetings will be held on alternating Tuesdays
and these meetings will be open to the public and webcast.
This new structure strengthens our ongoing commitment to openness and accountability.
Next year is also a municipal election year in New Flandre Labrador.
Paradise, like all provincial municipalities, will hold an election in the fall of 2025.
It's hard to believe we are coming to our final year from this term of council.
When we began to world around us was adapting to the new normal from the COVID-19 pandemic.
With excitement and enthusiasm, we embarked on a four-year journey to serve the residents of Paradise.
And together we have accomplished much, building on the foundations laid by previous councils
and continuing to set the path for future ones.
Continuing the investment in talent infrastructure, we undertook phase one of the evergreen village
upgrades which will improve water and sewer infrastructure to the area.
We continue the town's water and sewer priorities and we are replacing lift station
tan with a modern up-to-date facility. Working to enhance neighborhoods, we deployed neighborhood
quieting and traffic calming measures throughout paradise. Started the Elizabeth Park refresh
project and initiated the first community garden for our town. For recreational amenities,
we continued to develop, enhance and support the trail network throughout the town.
completed the Paradise Park Master Plan, installed a new playground at Peterbury Duff Memorial Park and opened the multi-store turf at the Diane Whalen Memorial Soccer Complex.
We listened to the concerns of residents and made investments for snow clearing operations, increased the allocation for street rehabilitation and created a residential property tax assistance program.
We signed an MOU with the SPCA St. John's, launched a Green Gold initiative, developed a new five-year strategic plan,
advocated for a new high school for paradise, and formed a regional economic development agency.
The work of our council has been diverse, strategic, and deliberate, and we believe it has been for the betterment of paradise.
I encourage all those interested in serving paradise to consider running for a council seat.
Your worship budget 2025 ensures that we remain on a steady and responsible fiscal path providing
for the essential services infrastructure and programs that our residents and businesses
expect and deserve. It reflects our unwavering commitment to supporting the
well-being of our community, investing in its future, and ensuring that paradise
continues to be a place we are all proud to call home. On behalf of Council, I
extend thanks to the residents, businesses, and staff who participated in this
process. Together we are creating a thriving, well-balanced community, one
at Flourishes today and well into tomorrow. After all, this is your paradise. For those
of you watching on Facebook Live, the video will now conclude. The public council meeting
is available via webcast on our website at paradise.ca-council-meetings. Thank you.
budget?
budget with operating revenue and extended insurance totaling $44,605,231.
I submit.
Moved by Councilor Bader, seconded by Deputy Mayor Street, discussion?
Councilor Bader's.
I'm just getting everything out and going here.
Your worship, maybe if you want just to call somebody else?
Okay, no, thank you, I'm not.
No worries.
Deputy Mayor Street, go ahead.
Thank you, Mr. Worship, thank you, Councilor Vaters.
So, good budget speech.
You're welcome.
I'd like to begin by thanking the residents,
businesses, community groups, and sports organizations
who participated in the budget,
the budget's public engagement opportunities.
We know how important public engagement is
and how it helps shape our town
and the decisions of council.
Providing and promoting public engagement
gives all those participating
and equal abilities to make a difference
and I've witnessed that many times.
I'd like to thank both the provincial and federal governments for funding opportunities
this year.
It's important to our towns infrastructure and services and it's greatly appreciated.
Your worship, the costs to do business remain high again this year and while we would love
to have supported all the needs and wants presented during our budget talks, decisions
were made to find a balance so that there would be no increase in the mill rate
to the mill rate or water and sewer rates.
In saying that, I believe there's a lot of great things
to look forward to in the 2025 budget.
Just some things to mention,
the completion of the new lift station,
like Councilor Vader said,
it will be dependable and reliable operation,
something everyone is looking forward to.
I'm really happy to see that,
to say that we all come together
to support this private booster rebate program
for residents who've been experiencing
low water pressure.
We've all received call and videos and having this option in place for residents I think will be a real big benefit
There's improved snow clearing this year and having resort struggles over the last few years. It's been tough on the department
I know it's so it's wonderful to be able to have a larger staff compliment now and additional equipment to support the policy that we have in place
Looking forward to having the long way to Trenton Drive open space developed
along with the accessible trails to access archipelago elementary,
paradise elementary schools, supporting connectivity within these neighborhoods is
wonderful and committing a force to engineering this new baseball field a
sport that has seen an extraordinary increase in enrollment. Your worship I'm
also looking forward to the province identifying the location of the high
school and saying that successful lobbying by council to to the province
to provide a date to build a school will be important in the year coming year in my opinion
this is one of the greatest needs in our town I feel like we're missing out on all wonderful
things have all the wonderful things having a high school would bring to our community
also your worship this budget will continue to support the water and sewer priority list
council again has shown ongoing support year after year to support completing this list
The 2025 budget offers our community many improvements in growth.
It was a great privilege to be a part of this.
And I feel residents and businesses will be happy with this budget.
And lastly, Your Worship, I'd just like to thank everyone from the town who was
involved in working on the budget.
Thank you.
Okay, thank you to be your Chief.
Councilor Vaters.
Thank you, Your Worship.
I just spoke for 45 minutes, I think, or so.
So I don't want to be labored as too much, but
There's a few items I'd like to just focus in on.
Your words have been, in a recent poll, people across our country know that housing,
affordability, and infrastructure, renewal, and public safety were amongst the greatest concerns they have.
However, there is a major issue blocking the vital infrastructure and services required.
And that issue is how municipalities are funded.
The fact is that there needs to be a fair and more equitable share of existing tax dollars
that is collected by other levels of government.
Municipalities across our country are responsible for more than 60 percent of the infrastructure,
and we are the level of government closest to our residents.
However, we are trying to deliver programs and services and build and maintain infrastructure
infrastructure that is based on a 90th-century revenue framework that was never designed for
the realities of the 21st century.
On average across the country, the cost of municipal infrastructure required to support
new housing is in the range of $107,000 per home.
Suffice to say that we need other levels of government to make significant, increased
and sustainable investments into infrastructure, and with investments from other levels
of government into infrastructure, we'll be able to have more flexibility to use our
limit funds to offer new and improved services to the people of paradise.
That said, Your Worship, this budget, like others, is a real balancing act.
We are required, of course, by-
We continue to deliver on this requirement, despite not having access to broad tools that will enhance municipal fiscal stability and not having access to sustainable funding.
However, as Deputy Mayor Street has alluded to, I too am also happy to see that we'll have no increases to the mill rate or water and sewer fees that will maintain the senior discount and the needs-based discount.
We will continue to invest into completing the remaining streets under water and sewer priority lists, invest in the snow clearing operations,
complete the engineering phase for a new baseball field, develop the Trenton Drive open space, and broaden the donation policy to include arts,
cultural, and environmental groups, and making it easier for more groups to apply. Thank you, Your Worship.
Okay, thank you, Councilor Bader's.
Any further comments?
Councilor Kru and then Councilor Quilty, Councilor Kru.
Thank you, Your Worship.
I took a little different approach
in my discussion note here, but thanks for your indulgence.
Your Worship, I would also like to extend
this sincere thank you to all the corporate services,
Administration Corporate Services staff, as well as the CAO.
Hope I'm working hard on this very, very long budget
tonight, this document day and night
over the last week or so, and of course,
even over the weekend and up until maybe just we just presented the Council of Aiders just presented.
So thanks to the Corporate Services Committee Chair, Councilor Vaters of course for presenting
budget 2025. To the residents of course, thank you to my fellow council members around the table
here who all had their hand in crafting this $44.6 million budget. Your Worship, I would like
to recognize the fact that this is the last of four budgets to be crafted by this
term of council and I will say that as a first term councillor although the
learning curve for me the municipal budgetary process has been reduced and
gotten a little smaller the gravity of the and implications of each year's
budgeting process has increased dramatically for me personally this
forty four point six million dollar operating budget this proof that our
town is still a very fast-growing and we are certainly at an enviable
a little enviable position amongst municipalities
in the province area of Washington.
So for me personally, that growth has a gravity
associated with it.
And that way comes in the form of the increased
infrastructure programs and amenities
that are required to support that fantastic growth.
We just heard in the budget speech, your worship,
that we are required to support that growth.
And to name a few items,
continuing investment in the street capital program, wrote camera, wrote
extension improvements, the continuation and imminent completion of the town's
water and sewer priority list, significant snow clearing enhancements, a
new ball field, active trail and park enhancements throughout the town, a pool
feasibility study, and of course there's a number of more in there.
So the worship we have a combination of both very densely populated and
geographically diverse developed areas throughout the town.
We also have many young families that have moved and continue to move into the town.
They are proud to call Paradise their home and are looking to council to continue to
build on the needs of a growing family in the form of many of the recreational amenities
and programs referenced here on the budget tonight.
On the other side of that spectrum, Your Worship, we have some long-time residents
in our town that still do not have basic water and sewer service and of course
That progress was also referenced here in the ceiling to fully temper that weight your worship. I feel as a counselor
We have many seniors and many on fixed incomes in our town that are navigating post pandemic
inflationary pressured world that are relying on council to be pragmatic prudent and
Fiscally responsible with their tax dollars and although we have some great programs in the 2025 budget to directly help those residents
I have found it difficult, the last couple of budget cycles, to ensure we are being reflective and responsive to all the residents' needs.
Lastly, Your Worship, I would be remiss here if I didn't highlight the extreme pressure I feel personally with our growing regional costs,
as Councillor Ravators alluded to, and our ever-increasing infrastructure needs in the town as we grow into the future.
And if I'm being truly honest, Your Worship, here tonight, I also need to acknowledge the
financial albatross around our necks in the town with respect to the existing and soon-to-be
commissioned lift station template.
Your Worship, although once commissioned, this piece of needed infrastructure will provide
consistently reliable service and capacity growth for the future, and for many years
to come, is my personal observation and feeling that this project has and will continue
to financially constrain us as we go on to the next number of years.
Your worship, seeing this as the last budget for this term of council, I wanted to give
my personal perspective here tonight on budget process and although there's still eight months
left to this term of council, this is the last budget to be presented by this iteration
of council.
I would like to thank all those who participated in budget 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022 and a special
thank you to all the residents in the town for entrusting this term of council and
to champion your collective best interests around the table.
And with all that said, Your Worship,
I know that's a mouthful.
I support budget 2025 as presented tonight.
Okay, thank you, Councilor Cruz.
Councilor Quilty.
Thank you, Your Worship.
And after sitting through 30 budgets,
I normally don't prepare any kind of a speech,
certainly hats off to councilor Mayters
in such a detailed accounting of the budget for 2025.
Like with any budget,
especially with a balanced budget of 44.6 million bucks.
Certainly a great budget,
no increases in residential or commercial.
Certainly in the works of getting this budget
done for 2025, it didn't come easy
to get a balanced budget for 2025.
I would be telling a lie if it was easy
thanks to all the staff that were involved,
the committee, the conservators,
everybody that had a part in the budget for 2025.
I concentrated basically on focus points that were noted in the budget which included, of course, top of mind for everybody's snow clearing, the road maintenance in paradise, traffic improvements, road access which was highly pointed out in the speech.
And of course, an initiative there to look into the cost for a swimming pool and of course a regular road infrastructure along with the RNC building for our own paradise.
having said that I think residents will be happy to know that there is no
increase for 2025 and certainly again I've seen through so many different
budgets this one here but a forty four point six million dollar is nothing in
comparison to what a budget would have been 32 years ago so trust me it's a
lot of money there there's a lot of infrastructure there's a lot of
expenditures and at the end of the day I think as council we sat here I
don't know how many different nights and during the committee meetings as
well to bring a balanced budget for 2025. And I know what I want to say. Thank you.
Thank you, Councillor Quilty. You're quite welcome. A lot of growth over 30 years. Absolutely.
Any further comments? Councillor Murray. Thank you, Your Worship. Thank you, Councillor
Reuters. Great speech, by the way. You done great with reading everything out there. It was good.
I guess I would like to thank all the staff and for everybody that was involved with the
as well. A lot of our work went in from staffing levels here to make this budget a great budget,
I should say, for 2025. I think it's rather good. Holding the line on meal rates, no increases.
There's lots of good things in there. The feasibility study for a pool, you know, we
have to be financially make sure that we can afford a pool before we even think about
building one, so the feasibility study is going to put us up where we need to be at.
The site selection for the new baseball field is another good option, the Trenton Drive
open space.
As coming off the chair for the last three years of public works, I'm glad that we're
going to be investing in new snow clearing equipment, as well as the four complement
of staff for 2025.
This is going to go a long ways for what people need in the town of Paradise.
I'm also looking forward to the commissioning of lift station 10.
I think it's a great piece of new infrastructure that we really need in the town.
I think we were smart in the last couple of years of building and
investing in something that we need for 50 years to come.
We definitely need it.
We've had a lot of hiccups with the old station.
And I'm really looking forward, trying to struggle with a bit of a call.
I'm looking forward to getting commission in the first quarter of 2025.
And with that being said, I'm going to leave it at that for tonight.
Okay, thank you, Councilor Martin.
Any further comments?
Councilor Martin.
Thank you, Your Worship.
I never prepared nothing for tonight, but I'm just going to leave it.
Thank you, Councilor Vaters.
It was a great budget speech there.
Again, it's my first budget, my first term on council, and I'm very pleased
to be part of it.
And I think we got some great opportunities ahead, and I'm looking forward to it.
And thank you to all the staff and management directors, and for allowing me to be part of it.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you, Councilman.
Yeah, and I'll concur with all of you guys.
It's a great budget, and a big thank you to staff and everybody who put it together.
And, you know, moving into the future, we've got a bright future ahead,
and Paradise continue to grow and prosper and people are still wanting to call
Paradise home and looking to move there as well so it's a great future
budget as well. So thank you Councillor Bader's for presenting it and all in
favor. Hi. Motion carried and we have another one Councillor Bader's. Thank
If you worship be it resolved that the town of Paradise adopt the 2025 schedule of tax rates and the 2025 fee schedule as submitted.
I so move they move by Councilor Bader second by Councilor Quilty discussion.
Thing known all in favor by motion carry.
Thank you, Councilor Bader's we'll go to the next infrastructure and engineering committee.
Deputy Mayor Street.
Thank you.
There's one memo on the agenda this evening
and it's regarding the Kimmel Road.
I
have to put a change notice one.
Kimmel Road phase one upgrade project
is in its planning and design phase
to get raised for tender and construction in 2025.
The upgrade includes the removal
of the existing road surface
and the installation of new storm sewer, curb,
gutter, sidewalk, multi-use trail
and new road surface.
The existing ditches are being eliminated
and water and sewer lines, sorry water and sanitary sewer lines are existing
in that part of this project. There are allowances in the prime consultant
agreement for work area investigations to aid the design process, but it does
not include assessing the condition of the existing sanitary sewer gravity
and force mains. SAAT have recommended that the condition of the existing
sewer mains should be investigated so that necessary repairs or maintenance
can be included with the construction project to minimize the risk of
excavating the newly upgraded road shortly after the completion. To support
this recommendation, this contemplated change notice was requested for council
consideration. The sewer infrastructure was installed in 2008 and is now 16
years old. There are no records of any previous condition assessments being
performed on sewer mains in this area. There are also no indications that
condition of the mains are worse than expected for their age. A price of $33,359.62 plus HST was
provided. This consists of $9,097.81 plus HST for camera inspection of 600 meters
gravity sewer main, $16,321.81 plus HST for camera inspection of 600 meter of
force main, $6,125 plus HST for force main inspection mechanical support,
and $1,815 plus HST for additional related engineering fees. The
The inspection area is from approximately 1250 Cameron Road to the intersection with
McNamara Drive at approximately 200 meters on the McNamara Drive.
This is a cost share fund for this project.
It's $3,584,473 and a portion of the project funding for this contract is $358,448.
The 2024 municipal budget allocation for the project is $236,086, and the original contract
value was $164,657.50.
The cost of this contemplative change notice is $33,359.62, and the new contract value
is then $198,000, $17.12.
The new contract value is still less than the funding allocation and the
fiscal budget allocation.
This aligns with the infrastructure pillar strategy for effective service and
cleanable investment to manage growth.
It will contribute to total reinvestment percentage, strategic meter metric, sorry,
and it contributes to the update of after-condition assessments in the town's asset management plan.
And the committee recommended accepting the prime consultant agreement,
contemplating a change notice one and awarding a change order.
Be it resolved that the town of Paradise accept the prime consultant agreement,
contemplating change number one for the addition of sanitary sewer condition assessments
investments in the camera road, phase in upgrade work area and award change order to Irvine
Engineering in the amount of $38,000.
Thank you, Your Worship. We had a good discussion at committee with this, and I certainly would
agree to investigate the condition of the infrastructure. I think it's important to have this proactive
approach.
Good. Thank you very much. Prudent. Absolutely. Councilor Kru.
Thank you, Your Worship. Good word, Prudence.
That is the right word for sure.
We did have a good discussion at committee,
and of course this wasn't part of the original scope.
It would be very prudent and more or less irresponsible
for us not to investigate the existing infrastructure.
We're going to spend three and a half billion dollars
to resurface the road and put in new infrastructure.
So I fully support this one.
Okay. Thank you, Councillor Crue.
Any further comments?
Seeing none, all in favor?
Hi.
I'm going to show an anonymous.
And your committee report.
Thank you, Worship.
Good to be here.
The Infrastructure and Engineering Committee met on December 10.
The committee reviewed a prime consultant agreement contemplative change order for the
addition of gravity and force main cemetery sewer condition assessment in the work area
of the Kemat Road Phase 1 upgrade project that is currently being designed.
And the committee made a recommendation to accept this contemplative change notice
and award change order.
The committee was provided a department report and given an opportunity to ask any questions.
And the next committee is undetermined right now, sometime in the year I guess.
And the motion is be it resolved that council adopt the December 17th, 2024 report from infrastructure and engineering committee.
I salute.
Move by Deputy Mayor Street.
Seconded by Councillor Carrou.
Discussion?
Deputy Mayor, you have anything to say about the committee report?
you just brought in?
Okay, good. Anything further? Seeing none, all in favor?
Aye. Motion carried. Thank you, Deputy Mayor Street.
Okay, next administration and Corporate
Services Committee, Councilor Bader. Thank you, Your Worship. Your Worship, the Assessment
Appointment act requires a municipality to appoint a commissioner annually to act on its
behalf at assessment appeal hearings.
Once appointed, the commissioner holds office until they resign or is dismissed.
Mr. Mitch Moran has been the town's commissioner since 2020 and confirmed that he would
like to continue this role for the upcoming tax year.
According to the act, the commissioner appointed shall be compensated under the terms negotiated between the commissioner and the town.
The proposed rates for the 2025 tax year are $125 per hour and 50 cents per kilometer for travel.
The total bill by Mr. Moran in 2024 was just under $1,100.
Appointing a commissioner to act on the town's behalf at Appeal Hearings supports council's goal of good governance and following the best practices in municipal governance.
The committee recommended extending Mr. Moran's appointment as commissioner for the town of Paradise for the period January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025.
And your worship, the motion reads be it resolved that the town of Paradise appoint Mr. Mitch Moran as the commissioner for the town of Paradise for the period of January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025 at the agreed about rights.
It's isolated.
Moved by Councillor Bader, seconded by Councillor Kerouw.
Discussion, seeing none.
All in favor?
Aye.
Motion carried.
And the committee report.
Thank you, Your Worship.
The Administration Corporate Services Committee met
on December 11th, 2024,
the following items were on the agenda.
Appointment of the commissioner for the 2025 tax year,
which we just approved.
The October and November 2024 check registers
an update on the launch of the new town app and your worship on this you know
the new town app is is branded of course as the town of paradise and is will be
well it will be available for download from Apple and Google app stores the
initial features available are the garbage and recycling calendar which
allow residents to set reminders event listings and the news section new
features including service requests will be available in 2025 the next
This committee meeting is scheduled for January 4th, 2025,
and your worship to motion reads be resolved.
That, the town of Paradise, adopt the December 17, 2024 report
from the Administration Equipment Services Committee,
I so move.
Okay, move by Councillor Bader,
seconded by Councillor Quilty.
Discussion, any items of discussion
from the committee report?
Seeing none, all in favor?
Aye.
Motion carried.
Thank you, Councillor Bader's.
Next we move to Recreation and Community Services
this committee, Councilor Martin.
Thank you, Warshow.
The local food banks are in high demand,
especially during the holiday season.
Offering free sessions for food donations
will give the food bank a boost
and help restart for the new year.
In the past two years,
free sessions have been offered during the holiday season.
These sessions are booked during available,
these types slots that will have no impact
on regular programming.
These free sessions have been well attended
and give participants the opportunity
you enjoy a skating session while giving back to the community with their non-perishable food
donation. Committee are recommending additional community skating sessions for the holiday
seasons for participants to get out and be active at the Paradise Double Eyes complex.
Committee recommends offering the three holiday skating sessions on Monday, December 30th,
2024 with no cost for entry and users provide a non-perishable food donation
for the local food banks as an admission to these sessions in place of the $3 per person
skating fee.
And like I said, there are no budget implications for these sessions that are added as additional
ski lessons for the community.
It resolved that the town of Paradise offer three holiday skates on Monday, December 30,
2024, with no cost for injury, and users provided a non-Paris food donation for
for the local food bank for admission, awesome move.
Move by Councilor Martin, seconded by Councilor Maher.
Discussion?
Seeing none.
All in favor?
Aye.
Motion carried.
And your committee report.
Recreation and Community Services met on Monday,
December 9th, 2024, and the following audience
were discussed.
A correspondence with Scott Water Community Association
with reference to a donation was discussed.
The item was deferred pending more information
from staff. Fees for the 2024 holidays gates was discussed and the recommendation from the
community is to waive the fees for the additional skates. The Vending Services RFP DOP-2431 was
discussed and an item was deferred pending more information from staff. The department
information report provided on the following correspondence from Elizabeth Park Elementary
School in reference to citizenship making a change in our community. Information in the
the 2025 candy games torch relay was provided.
And the 2024 December activity calendar
was provided for the remainder of the year.
They had resolved that council adopted December 17, 2024 report
from the recreation and community services committee.
I'll so move.
Move by councilor Martin, seconded by councilor Quilty.
You know, items of discussion from the committee report.
Seeing none.
All in favor?
Aye.
Motion to be carried.
Thank you, councilor Martin.
Next, we'll move to Planning and Protective Services Committee, Councilor Qualty.
Thank you, Your Worship.
First item on the agenda for planning is the application for an approval in principle to
operate a volleyball club from the existing biddling located at 21 St. Ann's Crescent.
The property is in the industrial general use zone where the proposed use is considered
a discretionary use, and notice of discretionary use was advertised with a deadline of
December 19, 2024, for responses. To date, no objections have been received. Planning
and Protective Services Committee recommends approval of the application subject to no
objections being received in response to the notice of discretionary use and the nine
conditions that were attached. If objections are received, the application will be returned
to Councils for further consideration. And the motion will read your Worship be resolved
that council approved the application for a volleyball club at 21 St. Ann's Crescent subject to
no objections being received in response to the notice of discretionary use and non-conditions.
If objections are received, then the application will be returned to council for further consideration.
Moved by Councillor Quilty, seconded by Councillor Martin. Discussion?
Motion?
Seeing none, all in favor?
Aye.
Motion carried.
And you have the couple more.
I got your committee.
Yes.
There's no orders tonight.
Your worship and no memos.
But I will carry on with the committee report for Planning and Protective Services.
The Planning and Protective Services Committee met on December the 5th.
Matters dealt with at the meeting included the following.
an application for a volleyball training facility at 21 St. Anne's Crescent, discussion on the draft
2025 town fees scheduled for fees related to the work of the Planning and Protective Services
Department. The committee accepted the departmental report prepared by staff or committee matters
dealt with in the report are as follows. Correspondence from the Minister of Municipal and
financial affairs related to a conveyance of a parcel of land for two habitat for humanity.
A listing of building permits issued between November the 16th and December the 4th.
A listing of outstanding orders issued by the town.
A staff report prepared for committee in response to questions and concerns raised by residents of the Yellowwood Drive area.
And you worship the next meeting for planning and protective services.
Committee is scheduled for December the 19th.
And the motion will read be resolved that Council adopt the December the 17th,
2024 report from the Planning and Protective Services Committee.
OK, move by Councilor Quilty, seconded by Councilor Martin.
You know, I didn't have a discussion.
See, Councilor Dimir Street.
Thank you, Worship.
The report that we were given at committee for
There was a report given to us at Planning and we're regarding the questions and concerns raised by residents in the Yellowwood area.
I just want to say it was a really well-developed report done by the Planning Department.
I just want to thank them for that and the committee is ready to look forward to sharing that information with those residents.
I just want to say thanks to Planning for a really good report.
Okay, thank you to Bumer Street.
Any further comments?
So you know, no unfair committee report.
Aye.
Motion carried.
And next is Public Works Committee.
Councillor Crue, you said the committee report, right?
Your worship, yep.
Just no memos tonight, Your Worship.
Just a committee report.
Public Works Committee did not meet in this cycle,
the Council cycle, Your Worship.
However, as we head in the winter, the department wishes
to highlight two important reminders for our residents.
One is Plow Tracker.
So Plow Tracker is currently being redesigned by our provider
and will be available on the Town of Paradise website in the new year.
It can be used to provide an approximate location of snow clearing equipment throughout the
town.
The page is refreshed approximately every 10 minutes.
The information can be found on the Town's website at www.paradise.ca forward slash
plow truck.
Second item of your worship, the Winter Parking Band.
Just a reminder that the Winter Parking Band is now in effect.
No vehicle is permitted to park on any street within the town of Paradise from December 1st to March 31st inclusive between the hours of 1 a.m. and 8 a.m.
or anytime during a snowfall and for 24 hours thereafter.
Full details can also be found on the town's website www.yourship.paradise.ca.
And your worship this week's green gold moment is reusable bags.
Single use plastic bags get disposed of and end up in landfills or oceans.
These can entangle marine life, lead to a slow, painful death.
Moreover, single-use plastic bags take 1,000 years to degrade.
Wherever you go, shopping, make sure you carry a reusable bag.
Reusable bags cut down on litter, protect marine life and wildlife,
and decrease pollution and your plastic carbon footprint.
Your worship be resolved that the council will adopt the December 17, 2024 report
from the Public Works Committee. I so move.
Moved by Councilor Crew, seconded by Councilor Bader's.
Very good to look forward to, and keep in mind
as we go forward, and if there's any comments,
any further comments on those, go ahead Councilor Crew.
Yeah, just to follow up for it,
we do have a public works meeting scheduled
for tomorrow, so we'll meet that tomorrow.
Okay, good, no further comments, all in favor?
Aye.
Motion carried.
Next, new one on finished business.
I'll go start on this side.
Night Councilor Marley.
Thank you, Your Worship.
As I approach eight months of representing
the residents of Paradise, I'm delighted to say
I'm enjoying my time on council
more than I ever thought possible.
I extend my gratitude to everyone here this evening
for welcoming me to council
and guiding me throughout my journey.
A special thank you to the residents
who have placed their trust in me.
I'd like to wish you all a joyous holiday season
and a happy, prosperous New Year.
May 2025 be a wonderful year for our community. Thank you.
Good one. I knew I started over here for a reason.
Good job, Councillor.
Thank you very much.
Councillor Kru.
Thank you, Your Worship. I only just want to sound a similar message here, of course.
I'd like to wish all the staff, directors, all the town staff, of course, our colleagues
around the table, yourself, Your Worship, Merry Christmas.
Happy New Year. Hope the best of the season to everybody.
I hope the kitties have a beautiful Christmas morning and that's about all I have to say.
Good job.
Thank you.
Councilor Gruz.
Councilor Grunty.
Thank you.
I'm not going to reiterate the comments that Councilor Meramey, but I certainly, I would
like to extend best wishes to all the staff, directors, all our council members, yourself.
Thank you, Worship, and Valerie as well, hoping that everybody will have a very prosperous
and healthy new year. And thank you for everything that was done over the year here in the town
of Parity, and the health and the guidance of the directors and all the staff on board
and to our CAO. Thank you very much.
Okay, thank you, Councillor Clouty.
You're welcome.
Councillor Martin.
Thank you, Worship. I'm going to read a little something I wrote off. Back in October
November, the Board of Visitors Employment which I sit on had a privilege to vote on a
new award that will be a yearly award that will recognize one of the job coaches staff.
Job coaches are employees of visions who work with clients at their clients place of employment
to provide job support to clients ensuring the duties and responsibilities of the jobs
are completed. I'm happy to say that the award will be the Vincent J.P. Burton
job coach recognition award. Vince was an advocate for workers and their rights and this yearly award
will be fitting to honor his name. I think you would have been there at the supper or I was
invited but I couldn't make it but Vince's wife Pat was there to present the award and as far as
I know she's going to be there to present the award yearly in honor of her husband. The
recipient of the award actually someone it just so happens someone that Pat actually knew
personally. So it was kind of fitting. I thought I should read that out tonight because I think
it's very important that we recognize people that were so important to the residents of Paradise.
Okay. Thank you, Councilor Martin. Well, I guess I'll wish everybody
happy Christmas and a merry new year. Merry Christmas and a happy new year as well.
It works both ways. It works both ways. It's been a it's been a challenging year. We've had a
lot of struggle throughout the year, but it all worked out good. We had a great budget
tonight. And I'll leave it at the saying that I usually say every year, don't drink and drive.
Okay. Thank you, Councillor Martin. Councillor Bader's.
Thank you, Your Worship. Two weeks ago I was in Ottawa for our last, our latest, I should say,
FCM meeting. So I had the opportunity and this was, this was the meeting where we actually
go on the hill and advocate for municipalities across the country. And of course the big,
The big advocacy piece right now is the municipal growth framework whereby we're trying to find
alternate ways so that municipalities can have access to different types of funding opportunities
and different types of revenue streams.
As I alluded to in my note after the budget speech, we're essentially working on a 19th
century financial platform for current realities and it's just not working.
Your worship, I did have the opportunity to meet, you know, MPs from the province, three
in particular from here, one from Nova Scotia, a couple from Ontario, including the Government
House Leader, as well as two senators from Newfoundland.
So it was great to be able to, you know, voice our concerns, you know, spread our
message of what it is we're trying to achieve, but also highlight what's happening right
here in the town of Paradise with parliamentarians across the country.
Secondly, Your Worship, I also want to thank every person who was involved in the preparation
of the budget.
I wanted to note this earlier, but it escaped me, my apologies, including Director Smith
with and all of her staff, as well as all of the directorates that we have here in the town.
This is not just a budget, or budgets in general are not put together by one director, necessarily.
It's a combination of everybody involved.
So from the leadership of the CAO down to everybody in the organization,
including my colleagues around the table, thanks for all your support and
thanks for everything you contributed to making the budget as it is.
And with that, Your Worship, I'll wish everyone around the table, including all town staff and residents a very happy and prosperous, you know, a new year and a joyous, merry Christmas, joyous fit, buonane.
Okay, thank you, Councilor Ayrs.
Good evening, Mr. Street.
Thank you, Your Worship.
I just noticed I forgot something to mention in the Wreck Report.
So I'll mention it here if that's okay.
Okay.
In the REC report we received info that the 2025 Canada Games torch fair nominations is open until February 28th, 2025.
The info is on the website, 2025canadagames.ca.
We've got a lot of great athletes in our town and I'm sure they ought to be honored to participate in this.
Thanks for that.
You worked about Brock Greetings at the staff Christmas dinner.
last week or I can't remember when it was, to be honest, but this was a really great
time.
It was a great night, great meal as always, and I just want to thank the staff for the
invite and wish them all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.
I also attended the employee recognition lunch.
That was really a beautiful event.
Congratulations to those who received the lien certificates and service awards.
I would also like to thank those who have retired.
Thank you for all you've done for our beautiful town
and congratulations on your retirement.
This past Saturday, myself and yourself
and Councilor Marr and Councilor Crue,
we attended the,
no, you weren't there, so.
I was working.
You were working.
You were there.
Congratulations.
I'm sorry.
I wanted to be there.
Oh good.
Yes, you did.
Yes, sir.
So we attended the 50 plus Christmas social the adventure 50 plus Christmas social it was another wonderful evening of course and I want to thank the executive for all they do throughout the year bringing their members together.
And lastly I just like to wish everybody around the table and all of our residents a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy new year.
Okay, thank you, Deputy Mayor.
Okay, so I just want to bring everybody up on the new schedule and the new meeting schedule for the new year.
And as we alluded to earlier, we are moving into the new legislation where we move into Committee of the Whole.
So committee meetings will continue this week, but beginning January 7th,
we will have the public council meeting, and then on January 14th, the first Committee of the Whole public meeting.
so that's in the new year and as everybody else I would like to thank
everybody all staff for another great year working together with Council and
wish everybody a joyous happy new year and a joyous Christmas and be safe and
take care and Merry Christmas to everybody out there as well and I'll
for meeting at the motion to adjourn.
Moved by Councilor Bader, second by Councilor Gruffley.
Have a great evening, everyone.
Take care.