Council Notes 14 March.
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.
Question Period #1
- Work on the exterior of Fritz Farm will be completed in spring but meanwhile small group meetings have been taking place inside. There have been no cost over-runs
- Inappropriate to discuss the future of the Fritz Cottage while it is occupied. Public discussions will be held. The building is not zoned residential
- Constant water being pumped from a new build on Victoria – the ditch is full of water and algae is growing. Council are aware and officers are reviewing the situation but cannot take action until the snow has gone. The situation is not acceptable and changes will have to be made.
- The project to resurface Lakeshore East has had to be postponed but for safety reasons surface cracks etc will be patched, probably starting in mid-May
- Council will be offering assistance for summer camp attendance in Senneville as was done last year.
- Failed street lights were questioned – council has to hire special equipment so tries to attend to issues in groups for reasons of economy. Public Works will respond tomorrow to the person who posed the question,
Councillors Reports
Cllr. Lowenstein – invited town youth to attend meetings of the Junior Council
Cllr. Bissada – commented on recent meetings of the Seniors’ Rendezvous (details in News & Views), International Women’s Day and the continuation of the Lunch and Learn programme.
Cllr. Brown – Reported on the activities of the Rescue Squad including supervising activities at Allens’ Hill and handling the first medical emergency of the year
Police Report
- There has been monitoring of speeding as well as failing to stop and obey traffic signs
- Discussions have been held with the town regarding police support for community events this summer
- Community officers have been busy giving information about telephone and email fraud. Residents are encouraged to be vigilant and not to share personal information unless sure of who they are dealing with. (The Mayor commented that … there comes a lot of shame with that type of thing so all we can do is make sure that to continue to share that message with people that it is not something to be ashamed about and if it should happen that it is very important that they reach out because that’s the only way this will stop)
Mayor’s Report
- Ground has been broken and work started on the town hall renovation project
- Thanked community groups involved with the Winterfest event
- There has been a meeting with other West Island mayors to discuss topics of common interest
- Council have met with staff to discuss the Vision/Strategy Plan and details will be shared with residents later in the year
Correspondence
- A document has been submitted to Council by a group of residents concerning the issue of vacant houses and suggesting ways to manage this. The report will be considered and response given later in the year.
- Regarding the issue of ditches on Lakeview and traffic accidents. The town has written to affected residents. Permanent solutions are being sought as soon as possible. An information session will be organized in the spring when options will be presented.
- Concern was expressed about speeding on Watterson in a school zone. This has been referred to the Traffic Committee who will respond.
Administration
- New white collar employees were approved plus the public works supervisor. The town is seeking a Manager of Urban Planning and has engaged a recruitment agency to support the search in a very tight market.
- A draft by-law was tabled (see the town website for the text) to bring our animal control regulations more into line with provincial regulations. There will be a revised and improved method for registering dogs and standards imposed for control of potential dangerous dogs – this is a public safety initiative.
- A bylaw was adopted regarding town tariffs for 2023
- A bylaw was adopted regarding signing delegation for town officers
Public Works and Infrastructure
Ten items were presented regarding such administrative matters as the awarding of contracts for essential services. These included:
- The award of a “retainer” to a company specializing in Urban Forestry to advise on issues affecting our tree canopy
- Webcast contract for council meetings
- Geotechnical study and topographic surveys for Maxwell, David Kennedy and Gray
- Hydraulic feasibility study for Lakeshore – required to optimize drainage
- Hydraulic feasibility for John Weir Park for drainage repairs
- Contract for the removal of contaminated soil
- Contract for the control of quality of materials for expansion and restoration of Town Hall
- Contract for integration of art on municipality (required as part of Provincial grant)
- Professional services for centralized septic system.
Town Planning
- The creation of two new Cadastral lots was approved
- A request from the Industrial Estate to amend a zoning bylaw was refused until such time as the relevant by laws currently subject to revision have been considered and adopted anew.
Community Affairs
- Financial assistance will be given to help residents attend the summer camp run by Senneville. This repeats the arrangement in place last year. This will allow BDU residents to pay the same rate as Senneville residents.
- A grant under the Excellence programme for a sporting event attendance was approved.
- Grants to non-profit organisations in town were approved including $4150 to the Garden at Fritz programme that grows produce for food banks and two other grants.
- The town’s solidarity with the Ukrainian people was reconfirmed and we will continue to fly the Ukraine flag at the Fritz Farm.
Question Period #2
- Clarification was sought on the Lakeview ditch/accident issue. Confirmed that the public meeting to be held will be informational rather than consultative
- What is included in the contract for urban forestry? Fees are actually a retainer for the service – an example of this would be for the town hall project, there is a pine that is close to the foundation and the town wishes to preserve it.
- Dog bylaw draft – why is article 29 being repealed? Is there a reason to drop certain antibody level measurement (titer) that is legally acceptable? Will new dog owners have to re-register? Answers: Minimal requirements are being met and it is not in the provincial by-laws. Re dog registration, the existing database will be imported to the new system and nobody will have to pay twice.