Brown Bag Lunches are Back

On, Tuesday April 24th, Mayor Steski held his first Brown Bag Lunch session in the Council Chambers.

There were four members of the public, the Cranbrook CEO, three City employees and two councilors also in attendance.

The Mayor began by giving us brief background information regarding the Baker Street fire and it's cleanup. Following this introduction then the members of the public were invited to ask questions. The questions asked were varied and each received a response from either Cranbrook CEO and/or City Council Members.

A concern was raised about the lack of public washroom facilities in the downtown area and how the homeless population appear to be making use of back alleys to relieve themselves. Apparently local businesses' washrooms are not generally available to anyone who is not a customer at the individual store. We were told that the washrooms at City Hall are available to the public during office hours. There are also public washrooms available (but not year round) in Spirit Square. The concern will be taken to a council meeting for discussion.

There was a question asked as to how to deal with the problem of stray cats. The response was that there are cat traps available to borrow from the City. In the event of a cat being trapped the homeowner setting the trap would then drop off the cat at the SPCA building.

There was concern expressed about a yard that was covered in dog feces and was not being kept clean. It was suggested that if the bylaw officer was to do a drive by, this yard's condition would become apparent. It was definitely sounding as though this could be seen as a health issue.

A question was asked about the City's 2011 Annual Spray Irrigation Report. The response was that the Report had been completed (or was close to it) and suggested the person asking the question check to see if the Ministry of Environment had a copy.

On the question of the condition of the water supplied to cattle on the Spray Irrigation Site, we were told that there is to be a meeting with Council members, the area ranchers, and the inspection veterinarian to look into this issue.

On a question being asked about the Growth Management Study, we were told that this question would be brought forward to the next Council Meeting and we would be given date as to when the City will publicly share its responses to this document.

Reported by David Humphrey