Canada Post has given Kitimat a way to get mail delivery going again on Farrow Street, but it’s still not a clear cut solution.
Door-to-door mail delivery by Canada Post to Farrow Street has been suspended since November 2012 because of a problem of a dog at large which was reportedly being aggressive to mail carriers.
Kitimat Council has since adopted new bylaws which give the town more power to deal with dangerous and at-large dogs, and Canada Post is reportedly pleased with those developments, according to a Kitimat administration report to council.
The last step, however, is for Council to assure there will be suitable land for a community mail box (CMB) if one is needed.
While one won’t be installed immediately, Canada Post wants one to be installed in the event the particular problem dog on Farrow Street become a problem again for mail carriers.
There are two options council considered. One would have Kitimat agree to installing a permanent CMB which, while coming to no cost to the District, would mean that Farrow Street would never get mail delivery again, even if the dog at some point is assured never to be a problem. (If the dog leaves the neighbourhood, for instance.)
Council instead opted for plan number 2, to provide space to install a temporary one, which would leave the door open for door-to-door mail delivery again on the street. However the District would take on the cost burden, which, for installation and removal is estimated to be around $10,000.
This plan won’t be officially adopted as a contract with Canada Post until residents on Farrow Street provide their comments and feedback on the proposal.
Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Warren Waycheshen said that he speaks with the Humane Society manager multiple times a week and plans are in place to prevent the dog on that street from ever being an issue.
“This is something that, through a bunch of unfortunate incidents, just got away from everybody, and that hasn’t happened again,” said Waycheshen.
He said the community at large has taken notice and residents are being very cautious about animals on their street now.
“It’s really out there in the public now. We’ve had some people call in saying ‘there’s a dog running down my street, I don’t want this to turn into Farrow, come and take a look.’ People are being more vigilant about it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mario Feldhoff did air some comment that he hopes a precedent isn’t being set for the community.
“This goes beyond Farrow Street, in my opinion,” he said. “Whatever solution we come to with Canada Post could potentially...become the model in other streets and I want to ensure we continue to have door-to-door delivery in those streets that currently have door-to-door.”
From here, residents have until September 24 to give their feedback to this proposal, and Kitimat Council will get to review the response at their September 30 meeting, before it’s set in stone that this is the path they’ll take.
Of course if there’s significant opposition Council may opt to follow a different path.