Highlights of the Baie-D’Urfé Council Meeting of May 14, 2024
These notes are an overview. The meeting and agenda, in its entirety, can be found on the Town website.
Notes on the Council Meeting held May 14th, 2024 – The meeting was called to order at 19h33.
The agenda was adopted as presented.
Questions from the public (for issues not on the agenda)
- Inteaz Alli, 45 Apple Hill – Would the Town consider reviewing its pesticides bylaw in order to ensure compliance with federal and provincial laws enacted subsequently? – Mayor Ekvedt replied that the Environment Committee will review and report to Council with any suggestions; this bylaw is currently quite restrictive and that is the Town’s prerogative.
- Adrian Popa Rasu, 31 Magnolia – thank you to the Town for encouraging the activities such as the Mothers’ Day breakfast, the art show in support of NOVA, etc.
- Maggie Caron, 39 St. Andrew’s – 1. Grass cutting started early in May. Could we not reduce the frequency of grass cutting over the season by approximately 20 percent which would conserve resources, save costs and promote biodiversity? DG Bouchard explained that modifying the mowing schedule is subject to weather conditions as leaving too long an interval can result in extra work if the grass has grown too long but the Town is trying to not mow when the conditions are dry. Could Public Works drop off some mulch at the dog park to reduce the muddy conditions? Mayor Ekvedt suggested that these types of questions would be more quickly addressed if e-mailed directly to Public Works. DG Bouchard replied that, as in the past, this work would be done before the end of the week.
- Diane Weiss, 54 Lakeview – 1. When will the work on Lakeview and Sunny Acres be resumed? The roadside grass is being constantly damaged by truck traffic; who is responsible for repairs? DG Bouchard replied that awarding of the contract for the north ends of Lakeview and Sunny Acres and the pump station on Surrey will be voted on tonight and the meeting with the contractor will be held shortly. The schedule will be posted on the Development Projects page of the Town’s website. The damaged grass on the north section will not be repaired due to this work; the professionals will be consulted to see if the grass borders can be replaced with something more durable.
- Fred Fiset, 69 Somerset – congratulations to the Town for the owl carving in front of the library.
- Gaelle Everhard, 709 Dowker – Is there a plan to give BDU residents access to the REM station, e.g. a “navette” from the current train station parking lot? Mayor Ekvedt replied that BDU, Ste. Anne and Senneville are awaiting answers from the STM and will follow up. However, it is highly unlikely that a “navette” from the BDU train station will be provided.
- Alan Mew, 7 Brittany – The Council seems to be preoccupied with issuing building permits without consideration of the consequences of the truck traffic, etc. disturbing residents. What does Council plan to do about ugly profiteers invading our Town and preventing us from peaceful enjoyment for entire summers? Mayor Ekvedt replied, while that she does not agree that Council is preoccupied with building permits, it is a right of property owners to apply for such permits. The Town expects all citizens to respect the bylaws; that being said, please report specific instances to the Urban Planning department and the Town inspector will follow up.
SPVM Report – Commandant Sauvé
The first encounter of “Beyond the Badge” was held May 2nd at the Batshaw Family Centre in Beaconsfield to allow the public to become more comfortable with the emergency services. Traffic operations were held in the first two weeks of May to encourage cyclists to be more respectful of the traffic laws; sixteen tickets were issued on BDU territory. Radar operations were also held in front of the library and on Morgan in the industrial sector on several occasions and a number of tickets were issued. The SPVM officers also visited Dorset and Joseph-Henrico schools to discuss social media safety, cyberbullying and the justice system as it pertains to adolescents. There were two break-ins, one car theft and one truck theft during the period. As always, the PDQ1 station may be reached by calling 514-280-0101 or by e-mail at pdq1@spvm.qc.ca. The SPVM website may be consulted for statistics, etc. ( https://spvm.qc.ca/en/Fiches/Categories).
Mayor’s Report
A very big thank you to the Citizens’ Association for the continuation of the Mothers’ Day Breakfast at Fritz. A big thank you to Gillian Bennett, who was rewarded for her long-standing volunteerism by the presentation of medal on April 20th by the Lieutenant-Governor of Québec, for all that she does in and for our Town.
Councillors’ Reports
Cllr Brown presented a report on Rescue Squad activities (315 hours in April). The Squad participated in two flood calls on Winters Drive, a missing-person search in Montreal, hosted the Rotary breakfast which raised $3,000 for schools in Guatemala, provided first-aid support at the Volunteer Appreciation evening.
Cllr Gruber presented a report for the VCOPs activity – 123 hours of patrol time in April and were requested to perform traffic control at Dorset School. The Coast Guard Auxiliary unit launched their vessel one month earlier than previous years due to the unseasonably mild conditions; Red Cross re-certification for Marine First Aid has been completed and the new members have completed the small vessel certification program.
Cllr Lowensteyn Junior Council meeting this week and Games Night on May 31st. May 5th was the very successful wildflower and birding walk at the Morgan Arboretum. The next two environment activities will be at the start of June – the evening of June 6th, Karin Gebert will present an edible-weed cooking activity and, on June 8th, Jim Fyles is hosting a neighbourhood walk to recognize the species of trees in our Town. Please remember that outdoor fires are strictly prohibited in the Greater Montreal area for environmental, health and safety reasons.
Cllr Bissada Thank you to the Citizens’ Association for organizing and setting up the Mothers’ Day breakfast. On May 9th, students from Alexander von Humbolt school attended the Seniors’ Rendezvous and joined the seniors in eating homemade tacos – thank you to the students and the school. The next Rendezvous will be June 6th. A well-attended booksigning event was held at the Library on May 11th with Dr. Christopher Labos and his book “Does Coffee Cause Cancer”. The Library is also pleased to welcome Richard Gregson to the position of Vice-President of the board. Please sign up with the Library to receive Richard’s new electronic bulletin on new acquisitions (among other things). The Library also received a federal grant for New Horizons for Seniors and is planning several activities.
Administration
A lengthy statement was read by Councillor Bissada in support of the English-language universities in Quebec to acknowledge their contribution to our economy and society and that the new Québec law regarding financing of such institutions is unconstitutional and illegal.
Finance
The financial report and external auditor reports for the year 2023 were tabled. Details are available on the Town’s website.
Public Works and Town Infrastructure
A contract in the amount of approximately $51,000, taxes included, was awarded to Pavages La Cité DM Inc. for paving work at the yacht club.
A contract in the amount of maximum $50,000, taxes included, was awarded to Pavages La Cité DM Inc. for asphalt patching on Morgan and Lakeshore east of Morgan at an hourly rate.
A contract in the amount of approximately $5,900,000, taxes included, was awarded by tender to Pavages D’Amour for phase 1 of the drainage work and pumping station required for Surrey, including Lakeview and Sunny Acres north of Victoria.
Town Planning
Three recommendations of the Town Planning Advisory Committee were accepted – 2a Sunny Acres, 20793 Lakeshore, and 18970 TransCanada.
Citizen Services and Community Affairs
Repercussion Theatre will hold their Shakespeare-in-the-Park event at Fritz Park on July 12th, 2024. The sale of tickets for food and souvenirs was permitted.
A total of $400 was awarded to two young residents of the Town for their participation in hockey at the Quebec games.
Approval of the distribution of the second half of the annual grant to the Citizens’ Association was given.
Question Period (for items on the agenda)
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 20h50.