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Council backs off on business licence bylaw

Mar 11, 2014 | 6:46 AM

paNOW Staff

Members of Prince Albert’s city council pulled back on the proposed business licence bylaw, voicing concerns over its clarity and calling for greater public input on its content.

The bylaw, among other things, would adjust transient trader fees, lower fees for businesses that start up after July 1, increase penalties for those that violate the bylaw and clarifying regulations for business inspections.

Coun. Don Cody expressed his concern about plans to give the bylaw three readings at Monday evening’s council meeting.

“To give three readings to a bylaw that the public may not have seen I think is probably not quite the way we should do it,” he said.

Cody’s concerns were followed by Coun. Lee Atkinson’s call for a threshold to be included to exempt businesses generating a thousand dollars in sales, from having to seek a business licence.

The bylaw will, however, exempt any vendor operating as a charity from having to apply for business licence.

“If it’s for the church or going back to the church group, they wouldn’t need a licence in that situation,” economic development co-ordinator Brent Zlukosky said.

Zlukosky’s attempt to clarify the charity exemption led to councillors expressing their concerns about the proposed bylaw’s clarity.

Coun. Ted Zurakowski asked Zlukosky if the city would be using the same definition of ‘charity’ that the province uses, to which Zlukosky hesitantly replied, “I’m not sure.”

He told Zurakowski that he would double-check that.

“So, I guess between now and third reading, I’m hopeful we can have a chance to review that,” Zurakowski replied.

As some members of council started to line up against giving the proposed bylaw all three readings, Mayor Greg Dionne wanted to see the readings through, reading the recommendations as is. He later amended his motion to have council only give first reading.

After the meeting, the mayor voiced his support for applying business licence fees to vendors who come to Prince Albert to sell their wares and leave.

“I agree with the business community. ‘Why are we not collecting a licence fee? I pay property tax, I pay a business licence fee, and I operate 365 days a year. So why should these people be allowed to come in from outside our community, set up at no cost, rake off the profits and leave our community.’”

Blue Community request back in the spotlight

The Prince Albert chapter of The Council of Canadians is renewing its call to turn Prince Albert into a Blue Community.

Last March, the group approached council with a request to consider having Prince Albert become a Blue Community. (http://www.panow.com/node/312828) Nothing became of that request.

As a Blue Community, the city would recognize water is a human right, promote publicly-owned and operated water and wastewater services, and it would agree to ban the sale of bottled water at public events.

The Council’s Rick Sawa told members of council the amount of water on the planet will not change, but the city can change by becoming a Blue Community.

“We hope that by becoming the first Blue Community in Saskatchewan, it will join the six municipalities recognized as Blue Communities in in Ontario, Thorold, St. Catherines, Welland, Niagara Falls, Ajax and Tiny Township, and five in British Columbia, Comox, Cumberland, Nanaimo, North Vancouver, Victoria and Burnaby, and one in Quebec, Amqui.”

Sawa noted that after the presentation in 2013, the information was received and filed “without discussion.”

At Monday’s council meeting, Sawa’s presentation did generate discussion.

Cody said when council gets information like this, it should do something with it.

“We should at least investigate it, and at least do that much,” he said. “We may not become a Blue Community, but I would certainly hope we would, because I think it is important to society that we make water as a right.”

He then added a request to city manager Jim Toye to ensure the subject returns to council.

Coun. Charlene Miller too had a request for Toye. She asked administration to look into the cost of a fountain that would refill the residents’ own bottles of water.
Council voted to receive the information and file it.

Council notes

-Council approved a trio of 2014 major event funding requests. Among them are: $50,000 to support the 2014 Winter Games, hosted by the Prince Albert Grand Council; nearly $5,000 to support the 2014 Telus Cup Regional Hockey Championships, hosted by the Prince Albert Mintos; and $2,808 to support the Canadian Native Fastball Championships, hosted by James Smith Cree Nation.

-The City will hire Susan Whitney from Susan Whitney Art Appraisals Inc. to appraise the Cyrus Cuneo painting in the council chambers. It will also hire Brenda Smith of the MacKenzie Art Gallery to prepare a preliminary estimate of the painting’s repair costs.

-Administration will prepare a report looking at why provincial funding for the Community Grant Program has fallen significantly, when the Saskatchewan Lotteries’ profits are up. The city will then approach the local MLAs to discuss the issue.

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames