ROCANVILLE — The Town of Rocanville is updating its Dog and Cat Bylaw which dates to Nov. 6, 2019. The item was brought to last week’s regular meeting of town council on October 16.
“A lawyer has given us a draft that we’re reading through and just deciding what makes sense for the town and what doesn’t,” said Town Administrator, Tanya Strandlund. “It is a little bit more in-depth and very specific.”
The updates will mostly deal with safety.
“When it comes to dangerous animals, animals at large, it just gives the town a little bit more ability to control the safety of the town,” explained Administrator Tanya Strandlund. “It’s very clear cut what is considered ‘dangerous,’ what’s considered ‘provocation,’ what’s considered at large,’ all that kind of stuff.”
The update also includes the newly-opened off-leash dog park.
“It covers our off-leash dog park in there as well so that in the event anything does, unfortunately, happen out there, it is very cut and dry as to what is allowed, what’s not, and what is enforceable,” Strandlund said.
Giving an example, she pointed to the fact that nobody is allowed to own an animal to fight.
“That’s a pretty big one, fighting animals,” Strandlund said.
Still in the draft stage, the new Dog and Cat Bylaw could see introduction before the new year.
“We’re still going through the draft, but it is going to be updated, and in the next couple of months, it will be in effect,” Strandlund said.
First CCBF payment received
The Town of Rocanville received their first instalment of the federal government Canada Community-Building Fund payment of $27,114.50 for the 2024-25 year.
“We’ve signed an agreement with them, so now we just have to put that towards a specific project, which is undecided at this moment,” Strandlund said.
Town working on public complaints policy
The town is putting the final edits on a public complaints policy, establishing a definite procedure for handling complaints.
“There are a few little glitches I have to fix on the policy itself, but generally speaking, complaints have to be done in writing and filed by hand,” Strandlund explained. “Verbal or anonymous complaints will not be accepted.
“We cannot enforce or correct when they’re anonymous, or just kind of said off the top of your head. To be done in writing is the biggest one, and we want a better documentation of them so that if we do find there’s continuous complaints about the same thing, obviously the corrections and the resolutions aren’t working, so we need to find a new way to deal with it.”
After those final tweaks are made, forms will be available to the public.
2024 projects update
Looking back over 2024, the town of Rocanville was pretty busy. Essentially, that’s what was revealed with a 2024 projects update brought before council.
“There were 29 projects that council had decided on at the beginning of the year, and 17 are done with five in progress,” Strandlund said. “Some of them are pretty big, like our water treatment plant distribution header, all our fire hydrants were inspected, we created the community garden, the Rec Centre got all new accessible man doors, the ball diamonds got water, we did some manhole inspections, we installed some air conditioning at the library in the Play School.”
Added to that were all the usual roadwork tasks such as paving and crack sealing, but also new ventures like installing safety poles around fire hydrants and creating the off-leash dog park. Plus there was the continued work on Rocanville’s new pool project.
“It’s pretty cool when you’re able to put that cross line through a whole bunch of projects,” Strandlund added.
Portable sign approved
Council approved a portable sign request from Access Communications. Under Rocanville’s zoning bylaw regarding signs, anything standing for more than 14 days must have a resolution from council.
“It’s going to be near their Access Communications tower, and it’s just advertising that Rocanville is now able to get fast internet, upgraded TV service, reliable home phone and smart home security through Access Communications,” Strandlund explained.
Kitchen staff wages to increase
This aligns with the minimum wage increase effective October. 1, staff at the skating rink kitchen in Rocanville will also see an increase. Front kitchen workers will now earn $16 per hour, while cooks will receive $17 per hour.
“If people are interested in working in the kitchen, then let us know,” Strandlund said.
