The February 19, 2021 special meeting agenda and supporting documents are posted under the Council (Meeting Agendas) tab. The Council member contact information is under Council Members.
You can listen in on the audio recording of the meeting here:
Public notice was given that pursuant to sections 123 and 124 of The Municipalities Act that the District of Lakeland No. 521 would be holding a Special Meeting of Council on Friday, February 19, 2021 commencing at 10:00 a.m.
At its January, 2021 meeting, Council introduced a bylaw to establish an Additional Service Area that included the areas of Emma Lake and Christopher Lake that the Sasktel MOU covered. The Additional Service Area legislative process was the mechanism that Council intended to cover the payment in the MOU by levying a portion of the cost on each of the 1971 lots in that area.
A copy of the Bylaw was included with a notice of the meeting mailed to all property owners in the ASA boundaries. On Thursday, February 18, 2021 a Public Meeting was held for the purpose of presenting the Bylaw to the ratepayers within the boundaries of the ASA and receiving comments regarding the project and bylaw. There were 140 people that attended the meeting hosted on the Zoom platform with 27 speakers heard and 12 written submissions received.
The Bylaw failed to receive the public support that Council would have considered sufficient to proceed with this project with its current cost and technology. There was a significant response that most people from the area that spoke at the meeting would not be interested in technology at those speeds and did not wish to pay for others to have it.
On February 19, 2021 a Special Meeting of Council was held and Council resolved to rescind the resolution authorizing the execution of the MOU for the Emma and Christopher Lake project.
Following the motion to rescind, an additional motion was passed to establish a Committee with Council and ratepayer participation to review all options to provide reliable internet in the District.
Comments or concerns should be submitted through the Council office (306.982.2010 or email office@www.lakeland521.ca). They are reviewed by staff on a regular basis, and monthly by Council.