Council Reports March 2024
Regular Council Meeting Wednesday March 13th, 2024
The Mayor, Deputy Mayor and three Councillors were in attendance at the meeting. Councillor Helowka via video.
Staff Introductions
The following two new staff members were introduced: Meaghan Eisbrenner, Committee Administrative Coordinator and Kimberley Ellis, Human Resources Manager
Deputations to Council – Open
Jarod Dailey – Noise and Safety Impact of Unregulated Gun Ranges: Mr. Dailey noted that no municipal by-laws were broken by target practice on Raven Court. He was opposed to Council introducing a bylaw prohibiting the discharge of firearms on private property.
Gibb Wishart – TC Energy Project: Former Councillor Wishart voiced his opposition to the proposed TC Energy project and its impact on Georgian Bay. He would like Tiny to pass a resolution opposing this.
Deputations to Council – Scheduled
TC Energy Ontario Pumped Storage Project (virtual): Sara Beasley and Herb Shields, TC Energy presented on the proposed project which would create a miniature Niagara Falls by pumping water from Georgian Bay to an elevated reservoir during off peak hours. When electricity is required, the water is released from the reservoir and through gravity, powers turbines creating clean energy and returning the water to Georgian Bay.
It would be located in the Township of Meaford on Department of National Defense land and in partnership with the Saugeen Ojibway Nation. It will generate 1000 Megawatts of electricity which can power up to 1 million homes over an 11 hour period.
New Municipal Building
Councillor Brunelle questioned the space requirements for Fire and Water in the new building.
Public Works Report Water Department 2023- Annual Summary Report and Management Review
Rebecca Raymond, Water Supervisor and Christy Cooper, Water Compliance Coordinator presented the 2023 Water Department Annual Summary and Management Review for the 16 drinking water systems which is available on the Tiny.ca website.
Committee of the Whole Meeting Wednesday March 13th, 2024
The Mayor, Deputy Mayor and three Councillors were in attendance at the meeting. Councillor Helowka via video, Councillor Walma in the Chair.
2023 Sewage System Reinspection Program
Bill Goodale, Tatham Engineering, gave an overview of the program. A Township-wide sewage system reinspection program was introduced in 2002 to identify and resolve environmental and/or health hazards associated with malfunctioning sewage systems and to bring deficient sewage systems into compliance with the Ontario Building Code.
Inspections were carried out in the Wendake, Cawaja and Wahnekewening beach areas plus the rural areas of Concessions 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7. Of a total of 1,257 inspections, 120 lots were found to be deficient. Additional deficiencies will be identified when the outstanding septic tank reports are submitted by the property owners.
2024 Reinspection Plan
The established protocol is to complete the reinspection of every sewage system that is more than 10 years old in the Township on a 6-year cycle. The exception to this program is the 478 properties that are within the municipal Well Head Protection Areas (WHPA) and that are to be inspected every 5 years in accordance with provincial requirements.
Inspections in 2024 will be completed in the rural areas of Concessions 1 O.S., 2 O.S., 4 to 15 including Wyevale, Wyebridge, Perkinsfield and the south half of Lafontaine plus the properties in the WHPAs that were last inspected 5 years ago.
In addition, Tatham will follow-up with the property owners that have not submitted pump-out records or responded to deficiency notices from the previous years’ programs.
On-Site Sewage Inspection Services – Tatham Engineering Agreement Renewal
The on-site sewage inspection and re-inspection services are currently provided by Tatham Engineering under a contractual agreement which has been renewed every four years since 1998 and 2002 respectively as required by the municipality.
On March 31st, 2024, the contractual agreement between the Township and Tatham will expire. Tatham Engineering has expressed a desire to continue the partnership with the Township.
Treasurer’s Report on Council Remuneration
Total remuneration including benefits and covered expenses follows:
Mayor Evans $ 60,413.45; DM Miskimins $ 47,944.79;
Coun. Helowka $ 43,805.04; Coun. Brunelle $ 46,952.20; Coun. Walma $ 47,419.30
Citizen’s Committee on Council Remuneration
CAO Lamb presented the proposed terms of reference for the new Ad Hoc Citizen’s Committee on Council Remuneration which would be comprised of three voting members of the public, and two non-voting members represented by a member of Council and the CAO. The Committee would be directed to report back to a future Committee of the Whole meeting in Q2 2025 with their recommendations for the 2026 – 2030 term of Council and then formally dissolve.
He further recommended that a letter be sent to Premier Doug Ford, Hon. Jill Dunlop, MPP Simcoe North, Hon. Doug Downey, Attorney General, Hon. David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Skills, Training and Development, Hon. Paul Calandra, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing; the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and County of Simcoe Municipalities asking for legislation that provides job securities/protections to elected Municipal Officials in their full-time jobs to be able to carry out municipal business.
After discussion the recommendations were approved.
Library Services – Penetanguishene
A letter was received by the Township from the Penetanguishene Library Board which included a draft contract requiring Tiny to pay outstanding invoices for the last two quarters of 2023. They would then allow for a Tiny-recommended board representative along with providing library services. The annual cost for the contract would be $15,000 plus $200 per household.
Having reviewed the proposal, staff offered three options: 1) accept the contract 2) amend the contract or 3) reject the contract.
Mayor Evans called the situation “perplexing” and stated “that $15,000 to me is punitive and childish. It has no justification, no basis, it’s in excess of the current agreements we have in place. To me, it’s totally untenable.”
Coun. Kelly Helowka and Deputy Mayor Sean Miskimins agreed.
Councillor Brunelle asked if Council could hold a closed session discussion with their library board appointee. CAO Lamb advised that Tiny does not have a Tiny approved representative on the Penetanguishene Library Board.
Councillor Walma also requested Council try to reach out again, but CAO Lamb and deputy CAO Leblond indicated that after attempts by staff to reach out they have failed to achieve a response.
Council agreed to reject the contract and write off the previous $31,000 in total invoices.
Microsurfacing Program
The 2024 Budget includes various microsurfacing projects. These include:
Concession Rd 6 from County Rd 6 to Baseline Road (approx. 3.1 km)
Marshall Rd from Ellery’s Sideroad to Downer’s Road (approx. 1.6 km)
Tiny Beaches Rd South from Lawson Rd to Foliage Dr (approx. 1.6 km)
Duncor Enterprises Inc. was awarded this contract for $201,192.36 + hst.
Dust Suppressant Tender Results
As part of the Road department’s yearly operations, dust suppressant is placed on our unpaved roads. This is done to limit the spread of fine particles into the air which adversely affects visibility, is a nuisance to nearby residences, and reduces the stability of the road surface due to gravel loss, which can create an unsafe riding surface while increasing maintenance costs.
Da-Lee Dust Control Ltd was awarded this contract for $165,240.00 + hst.
Intus Smart Network Solutions Municipal Access Agreement
Intus Smart Network Solutions is requesting approval to place telecommunications infrastructure within road allowances and other municipal properties. Intus is a small telecommunications provider separate from the traditional big players (Bell and Rogers). They are currently installing infrastructure in Elmvale under the name Swoop Fiber (https://swoopfiber.com/). They plan to extend that network up County Road 6 using the Tiny Trail and into Wyevale later this year. This will provide fibre optic to residents of that community. Currently, there is cable internet offered by Rogers and point to point internet offered by Bell in Wyevale.
It was recommended that Staff draft a by-law to give Intus municipal access.
Balm Beach Pickleball Courts
The 2024 Budget includes funds for the converting one of the three tennis courts at Balm Beach Park into pickle ball courts. This will include the reconstruction of the base and hot mix asphalt, a new surface, fencing, and pickleball nets and will create two dedicated pickleball courts.
The project was awarded to Powcon Inc. with an extended scope including repaving and resurfacing the tennis courts as well as the pickleball courts for $129,924 + hst.
TC Energy Pumped Storage Project
A number of municipalities are opposing this project citing irreparable harm to the environment and a significant negative impact on local animal, plant, fish, and human populations.
After discussion it was decided that there was insufficient information available for a decision so to receive the correspondence as information and refer to the SSEA for review.
GBGH Letter of Support for New Hospital
Council approved that a letter signed by the Mayor be sent to the Ontario Minister of Health supporting the new build request submitted by Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH).