WHITEWATER REGION – Briefs and notes from the March council and committee meetings.
Tourist Booth to get new name
The tourist booth building at Veterans Memorial Park in Cobden will be named in honour of Arthur B. Cobb, a long-time former council member.
The costs for the ceremony and plaque is estimated to be in the amount of $1,000.
Chief Administrative Officer Robert Tremblay said it’s expected the unveiling will occur when the tourist booth opens for the season, which is usually the May long weekend.
Mayor Hal Johnson said, “This is really great to do this. He was a great man. This is a great thing to honour him.”
Councillor Dave Mackay said it would be preferable if people could be honoured for doing good things in the township prior to them dying.
Council members donate to charities
Whitewater Region council members each receive a miscellaneous expense account to spend at their discretion.
This amount is over and above the annual honourariums they each receive.
The mayor was allotted $700, while other council members each had $500. They cannot spend it on themselves.
Mayor Hal Johnson donated $200 each to the cenotaph, novice hockey and the Muskrat Lake Watershed and $100 donation to hospice.
Reeve Terry Millar donated $200 each to the Cobden Food Bank and the cenotaph with $100 to hospice.
Councillors Charlene Jackson, Chris Olmstead, Dave Mackay, Daryl McLaughlin and Cathy Regier each donated $100 to hospice.
Coun. Jackson then donated a further $200 each to the cenotaph and Muskrat Lake Watershed Council.
Coun. Olmstead donated $200 to the cenotaph and $100 each to the Cobden Food Bank and novice hockey.
Coun. Mackay donated $200 to the cenotaph.
Coun. McLaughlin split his up quite a bit with the cenotaph receiving $200; $65 to the Library; $60 to the Patsy Moore Memorial Golf Tournament; $50 as a library hole sponsor and $25 to the AGR hall of fame.
Coun. Regier donated $200 each to the cenotaph and Cobden Food Bank
Year-End Surplus
Council approved $248,047 be transferred from the year-end tax supported surplus to the Working Capital Reserve.
The money was split: $7,500 for capital projects with the Whitewater Historical Society; $7,500 for the Foresters Falls Athletic Association; $35,000 for the Westmeath and District Recreation Association; $104,820 to the Freightliner tandem truck; and $31,200 to WSCS Consulting Inc. to undertake a financial services review.
Other projects include $56,666 for a medium duty single axle 4×4 truck and $45,932.07 for the sewer and water systems.
Street Reconstruction projects
The reconstruction projects of Truelove, John and Crawford streets in Cobden will be funded through debt financing.
It has applied, and been turned down, three times for funding through the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund, noted Janet Collins, manager of Physical Services Committee.
She noted this project is important for various reasons: address aging sewer infrastructure and potential infiltration; replace undersized water infrastructure; support future development in the Wren subdivision; address risk and potential liability issues with deteriorating roads and sidewalks; eliminate watermain breaks in the area and improve on-street parking and pedestrian safety and accessibility.
Notes
- Council approved the Public Library Board members: Gwen Bennett, Conrad Boyce, Donna Campbell, Anne Guest, Connie Tabbert, Isabel Tanguay and Councillor Charlene Jackson.
- A student will be hired for 18 weeks for data collection on existing assets at an estimated cost of $10,269. The project timeline is March 2018 to February 2019.
- The screened winter sand tender was awarded to G. P. Splinter Forest Products and Construction at a cost of $25,800. There were six tenders received with the highest bidder at $79,461.60 down to the lowest, which was G. P. Splinter. This is the first time in 18 years Buchanan Sand and Gravel in Beachburg was not awarded the tender. However, that bid was $500 more, and under municipal law, council has to go with the lowest tender.
- The township will enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the County of Renfrew as it relates to Ontario Municipal Community Cycling Program for improvements on the Algonquin Trail. The municipality received a $25,000 grant from the Ontario Municipal Commuter Cycling Program and is giving that to the county for work on the trail within the township. Following a question by Councillor Daryl McLaughlin, it was noted the county will be responsible for trail maintenance.
