Council asked to help with polio fight

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This article was published 17/10/2023 (1060 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Polio vaccines have been around for decades, but the effort to eradicate the disease continues, a presenter told Brandon City Council on Monday.

Don Partrick of the Rotary Club of Brandon talked about the upcoming World Polio Day, an annual event commemorating the Rotarian movement’s efforts to vaccinate against the debilitating disease.

While the world is close to ending polio, Partrick said its continued existence continues to endanger people.

The virus can lead to severe symptoms such as paralysis and is still endemic in two countries. According to the World Health Organiztion, those countries are Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“It’s just a plane ride away,” Partrick said of the potential for the virus to spread.

By continuing to spread awareness and immunizing children, Partrick said there is the chance to make polio the second major infectious disease eliminated by humanity after smallpox.

He requested that council consider donating towards the global End Polio Now initiative and that Brandon residents consider making their own contributions.

Reporting on the last Brandon Police Board meeting, Coun. Shawn Berry (Ward 7) talked about a recent open house for the new satellite BPS station at the Town Centre housing the Brandon Community Cadets.

The cadet program was launched in July as a way of sending non-sworn officers to lower-acuity calls.

In next year’s budget, Berry said the police board will request that the money Brandon currently spends on downtown security instead be spent on hiring cadets. He said those funds could hire an estimated four to six cadets.

Berry also said the process to hire a new permanent police chief has been advancing. Previous chief Wayne Balcaen retired earlier this year and has since been elected as the new Progressive Conservative MLA for Brandon West.

While the construction of new permanent holding cells at BPS headquarters continues to be on budget thanks to funds received from the provincial government, Berry said the process has seen some delays. Construction is now expected to wrap up late this year or early next year.

Providing an update from the audit and finance committee, Coun. Glen Parker (Ward 9) said city administration has found $200,000 of the $500,000 in savings it was tasked with finding after a $1.46 million budget shortfall was identified earlier this year.

Coun. Tyson Tame (Ward 10) said groups like Samaritan House Ministries and the Community Wellness Collaborative have been invited to participate in the next meeting of the city’s poverty committee.

After 15-year-old Antoine Sutherland was killed in a traffic collision on Victoria Avenue earlier this month, Coun. Shaun Cameron requested that the city and the province work together to review safety in the area. City manager Ron Bowles said staff had reached out to the province to start the process.

Bowles advised residents that the municipal green cart composting program will end pickups for the season on Tuesday, Nov. 7.

He also said work continues on determining how the city and its operations will adjust after the gas explosion at the Civic Services Complex last month, with councillors to be provided an update on the situation later this week.

While the city’s consultants have provided a memorandum outlining suggested changes to the city’s development services charges, Bowles said work has not yet finished. He said two consultation sessions with council should be taking place next month.

The city had originally intended for the review of the charges, which are levied on developers as their contributions to the upkeep and replacement of municipal infrastructure, to be completed last year.

Council unanimously approved the purchase of four new paratransit buses for Brandon Access Transit at a cost of $1,006,749.60. Coun. Shaun Cameron (Ward 4) suggested that one of the city’s current fleet might be suitable for the use of Brandon Bear Clan, which posted on its Facebook page in late September that it was looking for help locating a used minibus.

A planned presentation from YWCA Brandon requesting some fee waivers relating to the demolition of the closed Meredith Place transitional housing facility was postponed.

Also deferred was a vote on a motion that would see the City of Brandon acknowledge the residential school system as an act of genocide.

Councillors Kris Desjarlais (Ward 2), Barry Cullen (Ward 3) and Jason Splett (Ward 8) were absent from the meeting.

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