Notes on the Council Meeting held February 14th, 2023
Meeting was held in person at Whiteside Taylor and was also offered by videoconference. These notes are an overview. The meeting and agenda, in its entirety, can be found on the Town website.
Questions from the public
- Nancy Mersereau, 13 Apple Hill – are fireworks legal inside of city limits? DG Bouchard responded that fireworks must have a permit issued by the fire department. Please report any to the police. Cmdt Couture recommended that 9-1-1 be called in such circumstances.
- Joe Kranitz, 46 David-Kennedy – every town surrounding BDU has free tennis courts for use of the citizens, particularly the youth; would the Town be interested in building free tennis courts, particularly east of Morgan. Cllr Bissada replied that tennis courts were not currently in the plans as there is some public time available on the existing tennis courts on Sunday. Currently, they are focusing their efforts on improving the parks to cater to the growing children in town.
- Aria Campbell-Kelly, 720 Surrey – who is maintaining the forested areas of Town? There is illegal dumping happening and, on Surrey, there is a fallen tree that is obstructing part of the road. What can be done to further our care for green spaces with action? Cllr Lowensteyn replied that Public Works monitors these areas regularly and did not, today, find a tree obstructing the road. These forested areas are being left to their natural state; they do not have Town-made paths through them. Nevertheless, if dumping is occurring, it should be reported. Ms Campbell-Kelly clarified that the fallen tree is impinging upon the shoulder of the road and trash is being left regularly – could the summer garbage can be left year round. The mayor asked that the question be put to the administration and an answer would be forthcoming.
- Yves Lamoureux, 307 Victoria – why is there a difference between the rates on the tax accounts for the amounts borrowed for the A40-service-road/Lakeshore-ouest project and the Lakeview/Sunny Acres project? DG Bouchard replied that the projects were two different borrowing bylaws, the first is capital and interest for a full year and the second is interest only for six months.
SPVM Report – Commandant Couture
For the months of January and February to date, 2023, there were speed operations on Lakeshore in front of Whiteside Taylor. Most of the tickets issued were to town residents or parents of children in the school. The bike patrol was at Allans Hill on January 23rd along with the Rescue Squad for outdoor activities. The police responded to a call at the Bertold dog park on January 28th for a report of aggressive dogs; follow-up has been done with all parties involved. January 29th, the bike patrol was at Fritz for the Town-sponsored fat-bike event; as well, they were at Joseph-Henrico on January 31st for a fat-bike event. The community officers were at Alexander Von Humboldt school on January 24th to present safety tips. There were no major events or incidents in Baie-D’Urfé during this period. Please be aware of the “grandparents” scam which is circulating. If in doubt, ask for the contact information, hang up and call them back or, better yet, contact the police.
There was a reminder that citizens can contact the station at 514 280 0101 or pdq1@spvm.qc.ca.
Mayor’s Report
The mayors and directors-general of the demerged municipalities (15) met for a brain-storming session on how to deal with the city of Montreal Agglomeration. The next World Café event for citizen feedback on the bylaw reform will be on March 18 at Alexander Von Humboldt. The Environment Committee has submitted recommendations to the council for review; these will also be reviewed by the administration prior to be given to the public. The Parks and Recreation Committee are working on the planning for the refurbishment of John Weir Park. The mayor also attended the AGM of the Rescue Squad and reminded everyone of the Café D’Urfé held every Wednesday from 10h00 until 15h00 in the curling club building. She also thanked Oana Silaghi for organising the Valentine’s craft event at the library on February 11th. To keep up with the events in town, please read the News & Views, follow the Town on Facebook and/or sign up for the Town’s Mail Chimp.
Councillors’ Reports
Cllr Bissada mentioned the Lunch & Learn program was back in March and Demystifying Diabetes with be presented. The Seniors’ Rendezvous took place on February 16th at the Red Barn and was well attended. International Women’s Day is March 8th and the Citizens’ Association will hold their associated event on March 10th.
Cllr Lowensteyn reported that the Junior Council would be holding their monthly meeting at the Library on February 21st at 19h00 and that their next Games Night would be on February 24th at 19h00 in the Library. The Junior Council has an Instagram page and invites you to follow them.
Cllr Brown presented a report on Rescue Squad activities (315 hours in January). They held their 16th annual general meeting. Cllr Brown also presented a review of the 2022 activities. They also participated in a missing person search in St-Michel des Saints on January 20th. They are present every weekend at Allans Hill to provide first aid if required. Please don’t hesitate to drop by and say hi to the members at any event.
Director-General’s Report
The month of January is usually spent in planning and preparation of upcoming events, e.g. the World Café. They have spent much time on the preparation of the Town Hall project; updates are available on the Development Projects page of the Town’s website. Two cameras will be installed on site that will be taking still photos to be posted on the website and included in a video presentation at the end of the project.
Administration
The report on contract management for 2022 was tabled. The Town published 20 calls for tender, signed renewals of two contracts, signed 15 contracts by mutual agreement. All in accordance with Bylaw 1068. A contract was awarded to MuniPaaS Inc. for Salesforce software for an on-line system to receive requests/complaints to Public Works from the residents.
Finance
The cash disbursements in period 13 of 2022 and January 2023 totalled $1,547,621.71. There were numerous major disbursements including payments on the snow-clearing contract, for the purchase of road salt, etc.
Parks, Recreation and Environment
A contract was awarded for the professional services regarding the Bertold Park improvements; an agreement in the amount of $75,000 was made between the Town and GRAME for participation in the “Ensemble on verdit” program; in accordance with recent changes in provincial law concerning septic system, current employees of the Environment and Urban Planning staff were appointed as inspectors.
Public Works and Town Infrastructure
Contracts were awarded to modify the plans for the repair of the access road between Clark-Graham and the EXO station, to analyse the viability of converting the Town’s vehicle fleet to electricity, to improve the septic-tank emptying and inspection program and for the supervision of the mechanical and electrical work in the Town Hall project.
Citizen Services and Community Affairs
There were two recipients of grants for the Support for Excellence program, Zihan Peng was awarded $200 for his excellence in national badminton and Evandra Zlobec was awarded $200 for her participation in international artistic gymnastics in Gatineau and Saskatchewan.
The Town will once again subsidise residents’ memberships in the Morgan Arboretum.
A donation of $150 was made to the Loyalist Humane Society in memory of Anna Tait, mother of Linda Tait and resident of the Town from 1953 to 1983.
Linda Tait