Thanks to everyone who can out to the District’s 40th anniversary BBQ. The municipal shop was of interest to many and a great location for the event. Thanks as well to the Staff who made the arrangements, provided BBQ services, and cleaned up. Many would like to see this as an annual gathering.
August update:
– Council approved the participation of Karen Bosker, John Stauffer and Tammy Knuttila at the Provincial Association of Resort Communities of SK (PARCS) conference in Saskatoon on October 20 and 21.
– Updates were received on several ongoing projects; such as the Boundary Road reconstruction, Bell’s Beach drainage project, tenders for Phase II Environmental Site Assessments on the Anglin, McPhee and Emma landfill sites.
– Some recent changes at the Emma landfill has lead to a change in hours of summer service. The landfill will be open from 9am – 5pm on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. The landfill be closed on Monday and Wednesday.
– Property owners / occupants will have until September 29 to have civic addresses posted and clearly visible. This action was undertaken from a human safety perspective to enable emergency vehicles including ambulances to locate residences as quickly as possible.
– The Municipality’s Harassment Policy was reviewed and updated in line with provincial legislation.
– Development Officer Elizabeth Martin will be retiring from the District on September 1. Thanks to Elizabeth for her time with the District. Her replacement, Perry Trusty will begin work on August 21. Perry has a background in economic development, and commercial and residential land projects. Welcome, Perry.
– In conjunction with other projects within the Village, the office parking lot will be paved.
– Noted that the 2017 Lakeland Citizens of the Year are Wayne Bartel and Wayne Hyde. An event to honour these two worthy people will be at the Legion Hall on Saturday, September 30.
– Approved the revised Environmental Advisory Committee terms of reference.
– Denied a request for a bylaw revision to ban fireworks (except on special occasions and by permit) and the sale of fireworks. The rationale for the decision was due to the inability to enforce such a ban, the fact that the District is primarily a resort community, and the disadvantage to local businesses if prohibited from the sale of fireworks.
– As is usual for this time of year when our population increases from about 1,000 people to somewhere in the range of 10,000 – 20,000 depending on the weather and number of people on vacation, our ratepayer concern list gets quite full. Many of the concerns deal with dead trees, garbage, dust proofing and roads, speeding vehicles (including ATVs), nature land critters such as skunks and bears, and the appearance of the water due to algae. Some but not all concerns received are the responsibility of the District, and our Staff and Council work hard especially during the summer months to address them. For those that are the responsibility of the provincial and federal governments, information about who to contact is passed on, if available. To address some of the concerns regarding the lake appearance, an article was prepared for VacationLand News, is on the District website, and appears at the end of this update.
Committee / Board appointments for the 2017/18 year
Deputy Reeve John Stauffer
EMO Co-ordinator Leslie Tuchek, Public Works Manager
EMO Executive Reeve, Deputy Reeve, Administrator
Development Appeals Board Rick Walker, Bill Wilson
District Board of Revision Leroy Evenson, Gordon Williams
Environmental Advisory Committee Chair: Karen Bosker; Keith Dahl, Karee Davison, Daryl Jessop, Marcia Klein, Wayne Hyde, Tom Laxdal, Terry Neefs
Occupational Health & Safety (Employer Representatives) Administrator, Public Works Manager,
Supervising Officer (Protective Services)
Property Maintenance Appeal Board Tom Burwell, Ray Johnson, Linda Lappa, Walter Plessl
Protective Services / RCMP Reeve, Deputy Reeve
Roads Doug Oftedal, Administrator, Public Works Manager
Utilities (landfill/lagoon) Tom Burwell, Walter Plessl, John Stauffer
Regional Entities
CPL Recreation Committee Cheryl Bauer Hyde, Brandy Smart
District Planning Commission Cheryl Bauer Hyde, Rob Thurmeier, Ray Keller
ECLA Liaison Cheryl Bauer Hyde
Great Blue Heron Park Advisory Group Cheryl Bauer Hyde
Lakeland Recreation Board Cheryl Bauer Hyde, Marcia Bergman, Recreation Director (CPL Recreation)
North Central Waste Management Corp. John Stauffer
Prince Albert Bridge Committee Cheryl Bauer Hyde
SAKAW ASKIY Public Advisory Group John Stauffer
Village Water/Sewer Committee Walter Plessl
Wapiti Regional Library (Christopher Lake Branch Board) Cheryl Bauer Hyde (District Liaison), Anne Barlow, Marcia Bergman, Sharon Bird, Margaret Boettcher, Gladys Christensen, Dennis Daughton (Village Liaison), Tim Good, Recreation Director (CPL Recreation)
Waskesiu Wilderness Region Board Doug Oftedal
Provincial Entities
Solid Waste Advisory Team Cheryl Bauer Hyde
Toddles Lake Water Control Gate Walter Plessl
Water Security Agency Liaison / North SK River Basin Council Wayne Hyde
Lake Water Appearance and Water Quality
The Water Security Agency has been consulted regarding a number of concerns received regarding the lake water, and they indicate that the conditions we are seeing are not isolated to our lakes but are prevalent throughout the province this season.
Quite often it is human nature to equate water colour and appearance with the overall quality of a body of water. When we use these water bodies for recreation such as swimming and boating, we like to see them clear and free of sediments, plants and algae throughout the open water season.
This is not always the situation found in shallow prairie lakes such as those within the District of Lakeland. The clearness or clarity of our lakes drops over the summer season as weed and algae growth increases from the accumulation of nutrients from natural and introduced sources. Our lakes are naturally rich in nutrients and productive which is a good thing as they support a healthy ecosystem, plants and fish.
Natural Nutrient Sources:
• Decomposition of plant and animal material in the lake.
• Natural occurring eroding and break down of soil and rocks in the lakes and on shorelines.
• Warm weather heating the waters allowing organisms to move more easily and algae to float to the surface.
• High water levels washing organic debris from riparian vegetation into the lakes.
Introduced Nutrient Sources:
• Shoreline sediments from wind action, boating activities in shallow waters, construction and runoff from storms.
• Faulty or overflowing septic systems and grey water discharge (these activities are not legal and should be reported).
• Lawn fertilizers, and new sand on beaches.
Lakes are classified by what is called their trophic state which is a way of categorizing a lake’s nutrient and clarity levels. The lakes within the District are classified as Eutrophic and such water bodies which tend to be shallow have large areas of aquatic vegetation and surrounding wetlands.
The water quality tests conducted to date this year indicate that Emma, Christopher, Anglin and McPhee Lakes comply with Saskatchewan Surface Water Quality Objectives for Recreation and Aesthetics and for the protection of Aquatic Life.
Concerns about algae and human health should be directed to the Prince Albert Parkland Regional Health Authority, Peter Ross 1-306-765-6610. Identification of Algae website:
http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2011/agr/A125-8-2-2011-eng.pdf
And as I mention in each update, while the contact information for myself and all councillors is on the website and/or available through the District office, we encourage you to contact the District office if you have a concern or require municipal