The Council of the Township of the Council of Whitewater Region heard a presentation on whether to employ Indigo to apply phone-based sign fees for the Muskrat Lake Boat Launch and others in the Whitewater Region.
Karen Coulas of the Muskrat Watershed Council.
Michael Thompson, business development coordinator from Indigo reported to them that electronic and digital payments now comprise 54% of of their payments for services using them for payment processing.
“There’s no machines to be there and be vandalized, there’s just a sign to be scanned with a phone.”
She said the indigo app used a QR code to collect payment, allowing users to scan the code using their phone to process payment without installing an app..
She said the projected amount for 24 hours of use would be 9.08 dollars, and that the app has a 30.00 fee that would have to be payed “over the winter”.
She said the signs cost 60 dollars per sign.
“I have lots of questions.” Mayor Moore said.
“I think that there’s a lot of concerns that we have.” Councillor Jackson said. “I think that one of those is that there’s not a lot of parking over there. There is a fee that the person running the tournament is supposed to submit for the Fishing Derby, and I think it’s ten dollars for two. If we had a bigger parking lot like the city of Pembroke, I could see how that would be beneficial. But when I go up there, I think not even 50% of the people have vehicles parking there.”
“There’s probably only enough room for, I hesitate to say, twenty.”
While it’s a good idea, I don’t see it happening here.” she said. “We’d have to have it in Westmeath, We’ have it in Lapasse. I don’t think it’s feasible.”
“What bothers me isn’t the form or function, but when I add up the expenses, the 342 that they posted only includes one month of a hosting fee, it adds up to almost 800 going to Indigo. The convenience of it is great, because the person going down to acres may do it. It has some weaknesses, I’m not prepared to implement it yet.”
“one of the questions that I get for people coming here is ‘why is there no fee’.” Coulas said.
Nicholson said that those questions from Ottawa residents, where they have staff to operate and collect the fees.
“I don’t want to make work, and then collect them.”
Councillor Daryl McLaughlin asked if any of the service clubs contribute to the Muskrat Watershed Council, but he expressed that there should be some manner of collection.
“We have to make sure that it’s feasible.” he said.
“Technology is great, but there are a lot of people who go down at the launch who do not own a cellphone.” Reeve Cathy Regier said. “I think that at that point in time it’s a service I think we would like to offer for tree.”
“Anything to do with fees we have to take a step back and decide if it’s something we want to do. Councillor Olmstead.
He said it was a ‘great first strep’ to getting the Township to think it about.
“I think it wasn’t that long ago that everyone was getting away. “ Mayor Moore said. “I know there are docks out there where there’s no service. In Westmeath there’s no service, Beachburg there’s no service. Until there’s the support of new cellphone towers, it isn’t feasible.”
