Patsy Moore was remembered with a minute of silence at the Whitewater Region council of committee meeting on Wednesday, March 1.
She had been an employee for more than 25 years.
“We have lost one of our long-time employees and the flags were put to half mast in her honour,” said Mayor Hal Johnson as he opened the meeting.
Ms. Moore had a long and courageous battle with cancer. However, on Wednesday, March 1, Ms. Moore lost the battle at 50 years old.
Mayor Johnson said it’s hard when people die who have done a good job throughout their life.
“She was definitely a very kind person,” he said. “She looked after a lot of senior citizens through the years.
“Tonight, I will forgo the prayer and we will have a minute of silence for Patsy,” he said.
Budget deliberations begin
There are two public meetings and five special meetings to deal with this year’s budget for Whitewater Region.
Chief Administrative Officer Robert Tremblay said while all meetings are open to the public, the two public meetings will allow for public feedback, whether it’s to ask questions, give suggestions, make comments, etc.
All meetings are on a Wednesday evening and begin at 6 p.m., he said.
CAO Tremblay said there was hope to get the entire budget completed in March, but with organizational changes within the township, that’s not going to happen.
The operating and tax supported capital budgets should be completed in March and the user pay budgets, water and sewer, will be scheduled for completion in April, he added.
The budget meeting schedule: March 8: discuss capital projects
March 22: general operating and finalize capital projects;
March 29: public meeting for tax supported budget
April 5: presentation of draft 2016 financial statements; the supported budget bylaw
April 19: water and sewer budget discussions
April 26: special water/sewer budget meeting
May 3: water/sewer public meeting and rate bylaw
Records management system to be purchased
Council agreed to spend $4,500 to purchase the Ontario Municipal Records Management System and associated services.
CAO Tremblay said this will allow municipal records to be organized in a way that will be easier for staff to retrieve any information. There are also legislative requirements regarding how long records are kept, and this system will also help with that, he added.
Administrative assistant Karen Bromley has a background in record-keeping from her previous employment, so she will be the go-to person for this project, CAO Tremblay said.
Councillor Daryl McLaughlin thought records were going to be scanned and kept.
CAO Tremblay said the historical documents that need to be kept will be scanned and put in the Westmeath vault to protect them.
“We will only scan those we really need and if they are not worth scanning, we will not do that,” he said.
Municipal office closed March 23
The municipal office will be closed on Thursday, March 23 for staff training, including health and safety.
This training had been discussed at a previous meeting and at that time some council members weren’t in favour of closing the office for the full day. However, it was agreed this would be a one-time session of closing the office for a full day during operating hours.
CAO Tremblay said the morning session would be on health and safety and the rest of the day would be for various training, and discussing department objectives and goals to ensure staff is meeting council’s objectives.
He noted for the morning session only, arena staff, librarians and other staff members who would benefit from this training would be invited.
He noted Steve Hodson will be “leading the charge” for the health and safety training.
CAO Tremblay said this training is happening at a good time, since there have been incidences of injuries at two separate fire scenes.
“We have to make sure safety is our top priority,” he stated.
Cenotaph gets nod of approval
The proposal of the placement of the 427 Squadron Cenotaph and monument at Cobden Park has been agreed to by council, however, an agreement will be drawn up stipulating who is in charge of what.
CAO Tremblay said Honourary Colonel Del Lippert, who spoke to council about the proposal at a previous council meeting, will be advised they can proceed with the cenotaph, with the understanding the agreement must be signed. This agreement will advise who will do the construction, maintenance of the cenotaph now and in the future, as well as insuring the structure.
The structure is “pretty substantial and very interesting,” he said. “It will be in Cobden Park, so if anything were to happen to the monument, there is coverage for repairs.
“The agreement confirms we’d like to see this happen,” he said, adding, “They wanted assurances council is behind this and this resolution allows that to happen.”
Make up of council
Councillor Daryl McLaughlin wants a make up of council brought forward. He said this has been talked about before, and wants to make sure any changes will occur before the deadline for the next municipal election, which is in 2018.
CAO Tremblay said he will bring a report to council regarding changes to the election or municipal acts. This report will be brought to the March 15 council meeting or an April council meeting, he said.
A voting bylaw needs to be passed before the end of May, CAO Tremblay noted.
Reasons for rejection to be investigated
Council wants to know why it was turned down, for the second time, for infrastructure funding to work on Truelove Street in Cobden.
While CAO Tremblay said it was most likely just because of how many municipalities put in projects and there’s only so much money, Councillor Chris Olmstead said that’s not good enough and wants to know why.
He noted in the refusal letter, it does state staff can answer why, and he wants that answered.
“Why is this project not getting approved,” he questioned. “This project is vital to economic development. I can’t understand why it keeps getting denied.”
CAO Tremblay said, “It’s a very competitive process. Some projects make it and some don’t.”
He noted that both applications were prepared by the treasurer, two managers and help from the engineering firm McIntosh Perry Consulting Engineers.
Councillor Charlene Jackson noted, “A number of municipalities in Renfrew County were not successful. I thought for sure that given the points, that perhaps Whitewater Region might have been more successful than others.”
She agreed with Coun. Olmstead regarding the breakdown of why this project was not successful. She questions if the funds are being allocated equally throughout the province or if there’s a gap above Highway 7.
Coun. Olmstead noted he just returned from the Ontario Good Roads Association convention and discussion among the people attending included despite the provincial government saying it is investing double the infrastructure funding from previous year, it appears that rural funding is getting cut.
“Where are the additional funds being spent,” he questioned.
He has a hard time understanding why the Truelove project, “which is vital to our community,” doesn’t get approved.
CAO Tremblay said the reasons why will be followed up and a report brought back to council.
