REPORT ON COUNCIL
January 13 and 27, 2020
Committee of the Whole Meetings: January 13, 2020: 9:00 a.m. – 3:40 p.m. and January 27, 2020: 9:00 a.m. – 12:35 p.m.
Regular Meeting of Council: January 27, 2020: 6:47 p.m. – 7:40 p.m.
Mayor George Cornell, Deputy Mayor Steffen Walma, Councillors Tony Mintoff and Gibb Wishart present at all meetings (Councillor Wishart arrived at 10:00 a.m. on January 27). Councillor Cindy Hastings absent both days.
Announcements:
- Seniors’ Clubs Open Houses: The Place – Thursday, February 20th, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. and Le Club de l’Âge d’Or – Wednesday, March 18th, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
- Senior Symposium – Wednesday, April 1st, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Tiny Township Community Centre
- Town Hall Meetings: Saturday, June 13th, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Tiny Township Community Centre and Thursday, September 17th, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m., Wyebridge Community Centre
- Festival du Loup de Lafontaine, July 16-18
- Community BBQ, July 18, Perkinsfield Park
- Mayor’s Charity Golf Tournament & Dinner, July 18
- Tiny Connect – Sign up now at tinyconnect.ca
Deputation by Bonnie Pauze: Pauze reminded Council and Staff about the many impacts that removal of soil and vegetation and aggregates in the Teedon Pit appear to have had in the area. She brought samples of her own silt-laden well water, samples she takes once a week. Neither the Ministry of Natural Resources nor the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks have sufficient resources to respond effectively to complaints.
She reminded them that Dr. Shotyk has tested groundwater in the area for many years and has found it to be extraordinarily pure – indeed the purest in the world – and that he and other scientists are planning to study the natural filtration ability of the forest soils of the Waverley recharge area. She listed various deficiencies in the way the owners of the pit have related to the public, among them: setting up a community liaison committee that met behind closed doors not in public; operating under rules that didn’t allow citizens to make presentations to the committee; ignoring citizens’ requests for turbidity monitors in wells, failing to run effective open houses; presenting data on a website that is not user-friendly and on and on. She concluded by saying that Tiny Township should pass a groundwater protection by-law to preserve this unique and valuable resource.
Pools and Hot Tubs on Shore: Recently the Committee of Adjustment approved a pool, hot tub and related amenities at 1832 Tiny Beaches Road South. Two individuals have appealed this decision to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal as being inappropriate shore uses. The same individuals have asked Council to consider a by-law prohibiting pools and hot tubs along the Tiny’s shorelines. FoTTSA: We will report the outcome of the LPAT hearing in due course.
Teedon Pit Extension: After the Township submitted comments regarding the Teedon Pit Extension Application by CRH Canada Group Inc. on March 25, 2019, CRH provided a series of responses and supporting studies/reports. These were peer reviewed by the Severn Sound Environmental Association and by R. J. Burnside and Associates (Collingwood). In December 2019, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry formally withdrew its objection to the application.
CRH sent the Township a letter dated January 3, 2020 (which also went to everyone who commented on the Teedon Pit Extension Application). The letter provided a formal update on the ARA Application process and set a response deadline of January 30, 2020 for comments on any outstanding matters. According to Confidential PD-004-20, CRH addressed many of the Township’s remaining concerns regarding hydrogeology, noise, site operation, and natural heritage. The Township still had a number of requests regarding the handling of traffic on Darby Road.
On January 27, Council passed a motion directing staff to include the following comments in its response letter to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and CRH Canada Group Inc.:
- That the Township is fundamentally opposed to the extraction and washing of aggregate in environmentally sensitive areas.
- That there is presently a groundwater study being undertaken by Dr. Cherry, et al and that the findings of this report be taken into consideration by the Province prior to the issuance of any further licenses.
Proposed Bell Mobility Telecommunications Tower: To be erected by CanACRE Ltd. at 2 Winterset Ave, this tower is to be disguised as a pine tree. A Letter of Concurrence is to be authorized for the siting of the proposed tower.
2020 Budget Presentation: This is available here, from the Committee of the Whole Agenda for January 27, 2020. In his presentation, the Township’s Treasurer, Doug Taylor, explained the budget process and presented pie charts showing the allocation of funds to various aspects of the operating and capital budgets. He also supplied some information about reserves and reserve funds.
Toward the end, he noted that the total net municipal levy in 2020 will be $12,362,936, an increase of 6.97% over the level in 2019. However, the total assessment value also rose to $4,158,552,909, an increase of 5.01%. As a result, the change in the total municipal tax rate from 2019 is 2.0%.
The formal County and School Board rates won’t be presented until March/April 2020.