This evening Dauphin City Council met for their second meeting of the month at City Hall with some of the council in person and a few live on zoom due to COVID-19 restrictions in place for distancing.
The highlights from this meeting included the appointment of Devin Shtykalo as the 2022 Deputy Mayor who will be taking over at the position after it was previously held by councillor Rodney Juba. Mayor Christian Laughland thanked councilor Juba for all his input, hard work and assistance as the Deputy Mayor.
The council also discussed the following throughout this meeting:
- The City of Dauphin proclaimed that Wednesday January 26th will be Bell Let’s Talk Day. This Wednesday marks the 12th annual Bell Let’s Talk Day which brings to light the importance of mental health resources that are available. The city encourages residents of the city to join the conversation through #BellLetsTalk calls, texts, and social media posts to help drive Bells donations to mental health above the commitment of 155 million dollars.
- The City of Dauphin proclaims February 2022 as Heart Month in recognition of Heart & Stroke’s mission to prevent heart disease, save lives and promote recovery from heart and stroke diseases. The council commends the thousands of volunteers, staff, and researchers of Heart & Stroke for all their commitment and dedication and wishes them continued success in fundraising throughout the month of February in a different way than usual due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
- The council recognizes the Inter-Mountain Watershed District (IMWD) and the environmental benefits that trees provide and that the IMWD will offer young tree seedlings at minimal cost to landowners within the district’s boundaries. Applications can be found on the IMWD website or from their office in Ethelbert and Ste. Rose. You can find the website here.
- The council also discussed a letter of support for a grant application through the provincial Building Sustainable Communities fund for the Dauphin Neighbourhood Renewal Corps pilot project that would last 2 months which would include:
- Accessible rides (Van) for residents of Dauphin
- Transit type pickups (one pass through the community in the morning and one in the afternoon)
- Transportation (free or for a small fee) to low-income families and seniors for medical appointments and shopping.
During the councillor privileges, councillor Juba mentioned the progress that Habitat for Humanity’s Dauphin chapter has had over the month of January and all the hard work the committee has put in with the Meaning of Home initiative that helps students raise money for the local build. Councilor Juba also mentioned that they hope to be able to commence the build in March.
On top of this, all the councillors mentioned the importance of Bell Let’s Talk Day and mental health support as well as the hard work that the Dauphin Health Auxiliary Board put in to help the community over the 120+ years it was around before it disbanded.
Youth Council member Katherine Kowalchuk also had a chance to give an update on what she has been up to over the past month which includes volunteering at the Parkland Humane Society on Mondays, working on schoolwork as she nears the end of the first semester of Grade 12, teaching swimming lessons to kids aged 5-13 over the Christmas holidays and continuing to be a lifeguard at Dauphin Recreation Services.
The next scheduled city council meeting will be at Dauphin City Hall on Monday February 14 at 5 pm and can be viewed on the live stream on the City of Dauphin YouTube page here.
