Abbotsford council approves new signage at public safety building

By Neal Hogden

The Abbotsford City Council approved the proposal by the Central Fire and EMS District to replace the signage on the fire department building at its March 20 meeting. The council was split on the vote with alderman Kevin Flink opposing the approval after hearing concerns from community members about the signage.

He told the council that he was hearing from residents of the city that they would prefer the sign to still read Abbotsford somewhere within the name. Central Fire and EMS District Chief Joe Mueller attended the council’s last meeting on March 4 and said the district would like signs put up at each station that read “Central Fire and EMS District Station 1,” “Central Fire and EMS District Station 2” and “Central Fire and EMS District Station 3” at the Colby, Abbotsford and Dorchester fire buildings, respectively.

Flink noted that the residents who voiced opinions on the matter would like to see Abbotsford included in the naming of the building because the building was largely built as a school and eventually purchased by the city of Abbotsford using taxpayer money and donations.

See SIGNAGE/ Page 5 Signage

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Flink also told the council that there will be shadows where the letters that currently read Abbotsford Public Safety Building currently reside. He said he would want to see a background behind the letters to account for the potential shadows.

The other council members discussed the matter briefly, however, a motion was made and seconded to approve the proposal offered up by the Central Fire and EMS District in the amount of $4,820 for the sign without the “Abbotsford” name in it. “I’m not worried about it,” Alderman Mason Rachu said before he made the motion to approve it. The council members voting for the original proposal said the other municipalities had agreed to the wording which designates each station as station one, two or three and therefore, Abbotsford should not be different. They also pointed out that the resident who brought up the concern to Flink was probably not someone who donated to the city to purchase the building in the first place, to which Flink confirmed.

Before the item was voted on, Mayor Jim Weix said the city has a specific Abbotsford Public Safety Building fund in which the money would come out of.

The council voted to approve the contract with Stratford Sign Company as presented with Flink being the only alderman opposed to the proposal.

Other business

■ ■ Public Works Director Craig Stuttgen said the public works department will be working with the Colby Public Works Department to build a kennel for the new K-9 officer in Colby. Stuttgen said the Abbotsford city employees will be pouring the concrete for the kennel as long as the council approves the work. The council approved the motion to allow Abby city workers to perform the job in Colby unanimously.

■ ■ During a portion of the meeting where the council was going through cigarette, tobacco and vaping licenses for Abbotsford retailers, Alderman Jeremiah Zeiset wanted to get more information on the licenses the council was giving out. He asked if this was the first year that a specific retailer had been selling the various tobacco products. City Administrator Josh Soyk said this is the first year retailers are required to apply for a vaping license thanks to newly passed legislation at the state level. Zeiset asked about the dangers of vaping saying he had heard Colby/Abby school resource officer Patrick Leichtnam say it has been linked to marijuana use. Soyk said these specific licenses would apply to e-cigarettes and not to any sort of marijuana product. Zeiset expressed his opinion saying he didn’t think Abbotsford needed a specific vape shop, although the application on the agenda was not specific to a vape shop, but Soyk said there would be an application at a future council meeting for a vape shop.

He asked the council when the council would consider not approving an alcohol, vape or cigarette license. He asked if there was any scenario in which the city could deny such licenses. He noted that other cities are considered “dry” cities but they deny every such license application to achieve that status. “Where do you draw the line, though?” Alderwoman Sarah Diedrich asked. “That’s what we’d have to decide,” Zeiset said.

Soyk said he believed you couldn’t keep a business from doing business unless a criminal background check was failed.

He said he would have to consult the city attorney for more information on the matter.

Diedrich ended the conversation stating they would have to cross that bridge when they came to it. She then made a motion to approve the license for the retail store.

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