The regular meeting of the Blackville Village Council met in the Council Chambers at 19:00hrs July 8, 2021 with Mayor Fortune presiding.

BRING MEETING TO ORDER:
The Mayor brought the meeting to order and welcomed everyone to the meeting.

GUESTS: Keith Gill from the RCMP was in attendance to discuss any issues council may have.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA
It was moved by Councillor Underhill & seconded by Councillor A. Brennan to approve agenda as circulated. MOTION CARRIED.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES
It was moved by Councillor Underhill, seconded by Councillor D. Brennan to adopt the minutes, as circulated, of the Regular Council meeting June 10, 2021. MOTION CARRIED

BUSINESS ARISING FROM MINUTES
NIL

ATTENDANCE
All council in attendance.

CORRESPONDENCE

BILLS & ACCOUNTS
Moved by Councillor Underhill second by Councillor Ross that the bills in the amount of $26,106.81 be paid. MOTION CARRIED.

COMMITTEE REPORTS: ALL REPORTS ARE ATTACHED

SENIORS: Councillor Ross reached out to a few of the seniors in the village and asked if they had any concerns. Nothing at this time. A seniors supper may be planned for the fall if COVID restrictions allow.

BY-LAWS: Councillor Ross has reviewed our unsightly premises bylaw as well as Doaktown’s and Chipman’s. Ours is up to date and in accordance with the municipalities act.

FIRE DEPARTMENT: Councillor Ross gave fire report for June 2021. Total manpower available (23), Call responded to within village during month (0), call outside village (1), training session held (4); New equipment: TMR Black Box installed; Equipment Not in Service: one exhaust fan broken, truck #2.

RCMP: Councillor Underhill reported that she reached out to the RCMP and asked for a member to be present to address any concerns.

EMO: Councillor Ross reported that we still have no word on who our new regional co-ordinator will be.

DOG CONTROL: Councillor D. Brennan reported that we received two complaints this month about two different dogs. One issue has been addressed; the other dog owner will receive a letter.

STREET LIGHTING: Councillor Ross reported that all lights are working and those that are not have been reported.

LEISURE SERVICES: Councillor A. Brennan suggested Leslie add a section on the website for people to add special birthdays and anniversaries.

RECREATION: Councillor D. Brennan reported that summer sports started on July 5. Two new students began on June 28. Keith Astle did repairs to wiring on lights. Softball NB is coming to host a free softball camp on July 29.

AMBULANCE NB: Councillor D. Brennan reported that he spoke with the regional supervisor, Pat Flynn. Our RRU is in the village 24 hrs a day and will remain that way until September 2021. It will remain staffed 12 hours a day until at least June 2022. ANB has a pilot program with extra mural. They program is aimed at reducing the amount of non-emergency calls that are received. All ANB building are now going to be equipped with advanced care paramedic bags. This will allow paramedics trained in advanced care to provide a higher lever of treatment. Miramichi now has 5 ambulances which should allow our ambulance to stay in Blackville more.

TOURISM: Councillor Underhill reported that two students have begun work in the tourism building. The building is open 7 days a week from 10 am – 6:30 pm. Mini split has been installed.

JULY 1: Councillor Underhill reported that due to COVID restrictions there we no events planned for this year other than fireworks and house decorating. Those were cancelled due to discoveries at the former sites of residential schools; out of respect to our indigenous neighbours.

BEAUTIFICATION: Councillor A. Brennan reported that the Canada flags are up throughout the village and look great.

PARK: Mayor Fortune reported that work continues throughout the park and looks great. The splashpad is now fixed and working well. A new employee will begin work on Monday under the Working NB program.
Councillor D. Brennan reported that all flowers have been planted in the park. A new AED has been installed. The portable AED from the tourism building is now at the baseball field for the summer and will go to the rink during the winter.

UNSIGHTLY PREMISES: Councillor Underhill reported that a letter was sent out on June 15 to a property owner. As of now, no work has been done to the property.

FINANCE: Mayor Fortune reported that we are currently on budget and all finances are in order.

BUILDINGS: Councillor A. Brennan reported that the air conditioning in the GED room / seniors area is not working. A call has been made to have the system checked. A mini split has been installed in the tourism building. Mini split in the fire hall is leaking and a leak in the roof needs to be addressed asap.

SEWER: Councillor A. Brennan reported that Dana tests the lagoon twice a week and no issues.

STREET & PUBLIC WORKS: Mayor Fortune reported that work has been completed on the Bartholomew Road. There are areas in the village that will require ditching in the coming weeks. There has been some dumping of stumps by the United Church Hall. Ronnie Underhill will be contacted to clean up the debris.

Regional Service Commission: Mayor Fortune reported that Deputy Mayor D. Brennan attended a meeting on his behalf.

Publicity & Promotion: Mayor Fortune reported that he and Councillor D. Brennan met with two representatives who are promoting villages and municipalities of NB. They walked the village and showed them all the sites, businesses and park.

Jake Stewart and the Minister of RDC have requested a meeting for June 12 to learn about the positive improvements made in the village.

NEW BUSINESS:

9.1 Cameras in the Park

Moved by Councillor A. Brennan, seconded by Councillor Underhill to purchase three new cameras for the park from Atlantic Alarm and Sound at a cost of $6,713.10 (plus HST). MOTION CARRIED.

9.2 Playground Equipment

Moved by Councillor Underhill, seconded by Councillor Ross to purchase a new piece of playground equipment from Kangoroo Playgrounds at a purchase price of $18,727.75 (HST included). This project will be a 50/50 split between the village and RDC. MOTION CARRIED.

9.3 Park Signage

The clerk asked council for suggestions on signage for around the park. Council will come up with some options and then signage will be ordered.

9.4 Climate Change Adaption Plan

Moved by Councillor A. Brennan, seconded by Councillor Ross to hire Englobe Corp. to prepare an adaptation plan to climate change for the village of Blackville at a cost of $32,000. (HST included) MOTION CARRIED.

9.5 Dog Complaints

A letter will be sent to a dog owner within the village asking them to ensure their dog is kept on their property as we are receiving complaints about the animal running at large.

Moved by Councillor Ross to adjourn the meeting at 20:20 hours.