Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion

Kindersley’s elected officials are interested in moving away from maintaining any defibrillators not located in town-owned facilities.

Council members discussed the Kindersley Public Access Defibrillator (PAD) Project at a regular meeting on Oct. 23. They were provided with three options regarding the project. The town is now responsible for 12 defibrillators in the community, according to an administrative report to council.

The report states that the town has an inspection program in place for the 12 defibrillator units, but there’s no plan in place for the ongoing maintenance and replacement of the units. Several of the units are in private facilities.

Kyle Zurevinsky, the town’s interim recreation manager, presented a report at the meeting. He told council the PAD project was spearheaded by a group of local volunteers and the group raised money to purchase automated external defibrillator (AED) units to be distributed throughout the community. The group operated from 2006 to 2010.

The administrative report notes that the group raised enough money to purchase 10 AED units. The group also provided free training to the businesses and community groups where the units would be located.

Zurevinsky said several of the defibrillators are at the end of their useful lives and either need to be maintained or replaced. According to the report, the maintenance includes new adult- and child-sized pads, along with new batteries.

[emember_protected for=”2″ custom_msg=’For more on this story, please see the Oct. 25 print edition of The Clarion.’]

The report states the town reached out to other similar-sized municipalities about how they manage their public defibrillator programs. Other municipalities only maintain AED units in their facilities, not in private facilities, the report adds.

Mayor Rod Perkins mentioned that the cost to maintain all 12 units over the next five years is estimated at $14,648. The estimated cost for 2018 alone, including purchase of eight new AED units, is nearly $12,000.

Council inquired about the shelf life of the units.

Zurevinsky said the units come with an eight-year warranty and it’s recommended they be replaced after 10 years. He pointed out that the manufacturers only make new pads compatible with the units for so long.

The report outlined three options for council:

  • administer the full program to maintain and replace all 12 units;
  • a shared model where the town contributes funds to purchase replacement pads for units that haven’t expired and to help replace units in locations that have expired, and then a business or group would be responsible for the monthly inspections;
  •  move towards a community-administered program where the town notifies the businesses and groups to indicate the town is no longer responsible for units at those locations, so the private businesses and groups would be responsible to maintain the units and inspections.

Councillor Gary Becker asked if it’s necessary to have such a large number of AED units in a community the size of Kindersley with a hospital in town.

Bernie Morton, the town’s chief administrative officer, said people who have needed an AED would suggest “every second counts.”

Morton stressed that any public or private location with an AED unit is responsible to ensure the unit is inspected monthly and in proper working order, so there needs to be a program regardless of the option council chooses.

He noted that the administration supports having a program and the town would have to maintain and replace the AED units in its own facilities, but the questionis who would be responsible for the program and the other units in the community.

Councillor Elyse Moss said she would support the community-administered option and she believes businesses and groups would be more than willing to maintain the units. She pointed out that there are also concerns with liability if the town continues to be responsible for units outside of publicly-owned facilities.

Other council members agreed with Moss and told the administration the community-administered program is the preferred option.

Morton said the administration would draft a policy for the program to be presented with a future resolution.

Other meeting highlights:

• Council passed a resolution to add pedestrian signals to the four new sets of traffic lights in the downtown core.
The idea was presented to council earlier in the year after residents complained about the new traffic signals. People were saying it was too difficult to see the signals from certain angles and they didn’t know when it was safe to cross.

Council was presented with two options to add pedestrian signals to all four poles at each of the intersections, but a resolution was tabled to get further quotes for the work and to explore other options.

Perkins said the town put the project back out to the private sector and new tenders were accepted. He noted that town officials have completed the review of the tenders and council was prepared to pass a resolution to accept a tender. The accepted tender is for $39,322, plus taxes, he said.

A resolution was passed to accept the tender and Perkins said the cost would be covered by the town’s Capital Trust Fund. The project was awarded to RGM Contracting Inc., the firm that installed the new traffic lights earlier this year.

Councillor Dean Galbraith said the town selected the least expensive option, so the pedestrian signals will be as basic as they come. Councillor Randy Ervine said the signals will be “more than adequate” despite going with the most basic option.

• Council passed a resolution to extend its agreement to make an annual contribution of $25,000 to the Kindersley and District Health and Wellness Foundation.

Perkins told council the town has provided an operating grant of $25,000 to the foundation for the past 10 years, and the foundation is asking the town for an extension.

“The health foundation does invaluable work,” he said. The foundation helps to recruit and retain physicians for the community and a recent project to revitalize rooms in the health centre has been completed.

Perkins said the agreement was extended for five years in 2011, so the foundation was requesting another five-year extension.

Council members suggested the contribution is important to the foundation and its contributions to health care in the community is worth the money. The agreement was extended for five years.

• Council passed a resolution to enter into an agreement with the Kindersley Curling Club. The club manages various aspects of the curling rink, a town-owned facility.

Perkins said council has discussed the agreement several times in closed meetings, so councillors would be aware of the agreement being approved.

• Council appointed the town’s representatives to the board of directors of the Western Regional Landfill Inc. The appointees are Deputy Mayor Ken Francis, Councillor Shaun Henry, Kim Vogel, the town’s director of transportation and environment, and Curtis Sackville, a former councillor and current president of the landfill’s board.

• A resolution was passed to change the date of the next regular council meeting to Nov. 14 after it was realized that Nov. 13 is a holiday. Remembrance Day is on a Saturday this year, so the following Monday becomes a statutory holiday.

[/emember_protected]

© Kindersley Clarion