REPORT ON COUNCIL
February 28, 2005
Committee of the Whole Meeting: 9:05 a.m. – 11:37 a.m.
Regular Evening Meeting: roughly 7:01 p.m. – 7:28 p.m.
Four Members of Council present. Mayor Robert Klug absent.
CONFIDENTIAL / CLOSED SESSIONS: None
NEW FIRE CHIEF: Council appointed Randy Edward Smith as Fire Chief for the Township of Tiny effective March 14, 2005. According the Township’s news release about him, Mr. Smith served first as a volunteer and then as a full time member of the fire department in Fort McMurray, Alberta for 10 years. With his family he then moved to Yellowknife, and subsequently to Iqualuit. In 1994 he became Fire Chief/Emergency Program Coordinator in Terrace, BC. While there he spent patches of time as coordinator for the Red Cross working in Puerto Rico with 1998 hurricane evacuees, at ground zero in New York in 2001, and in Kamloops, BC, during the 2003 wildfire season. Mr. Smith grew up in Ontario, so the move to Tiny is a return home.
EXOTIC ANIMAL BY-LAW: This is the third time this Council has considered whether an Exotic Animal By-law is needed. In the summer of 2003, citizens expressed concern to the previous Council about the possibility of dangerous exotic animals being pastured and housed at a property “which had numerous animals on it including lemurs and a kangaroo.” As there was no empowering By-law, a draft Exotic Animal By-law was prepared and presented to the current Council on February 23, 2004. They asked for a review of provincial and federal legislation regulating the keeping of exotic animals and for legal advice as to whether a by-law regulating the keeping of exotic animals could be retroactive.
When a child in Southwold Township was attacked by a Siberian tiger, citizens again asked Council to consider passing an exotic animal by-law. But when the matter came before them on August 30, 2004, Council continued to be uncertain about passing such a By-law, given that no problem had presented itself in Tiny. By this time it had been learned that a By-law could probably (but not certainly) be retrospective if there was a problem. Council decided to revisit the issue in six months.
As six months had passed, the matter was back on the agenda. The discussion once again revealed that this is a complex problem, one best dealt with by a senior level of government. In the end, Council supported staff’s recommendation that the matter of regulation of exotic animals go to a public meeting at the end of May, in the hope that there might be some useful input.
SEPTIC INSPECTION SERVICES: The contract with C.C. Tatham & Associates Ltd. (the firm that inspects newly constructed septics and manages the Township-wide re-inspection program) comes to an end on March 31. The report on septic services prepared by the Clerk, Ruth Coursey, presented Council with three options: a) advertise the position, b) investigate the cost of having staff do the work internally, c) extend Tatham’s contract for a period of one, two, or three years. Council decided to extend Tatham’s contract for a year. The interval is to be used to explore the cost of handling septic inspections in house, to advertise the position, and assess how applicants (including CC Tatham) compare with each other and with in-house management of inspections.
ON-GOING PROJECTS AND DIRECTIVES LIST: Almost from the moment it took office, Council has wanted to have a better grasp of the status of work that staff has been asked to do. The long Agenda for this meeting contains such a list, and it is to be updated once a month. Our brief review suggests that it will take a while to get a complete list of items that Council believes are being worked on, but this is a good beginning.
COMMUNITY BEACH PROPOSAL BY WOODLAND BEACH: In September, the Woodland Beach Property Owners Association, forwarded to Council a Draft Agreement in the hope of initiating a dialogue relating to beach issues in the Woodland Beach area. The approach received no formal response. The Association’s legal counsel sent a second letter on February 22, 2005, in which he reminded Council that he had written earlier, and went on to say: “Specifically there are a large number of waterfront owners who are concerned about steps being taken by the Municipality that could adversely impact on the enjoyment of their properties. These waterfront owners are ready to individually and collectively take proactive measures to ensure that their interests are protected. The Association has been successful in persuading many of these owners that a negotiated solution is preferable to taking matters into their own hands.”
Council agreed to have the Woodland Association present its ideas at a future meeting of Council under “Reports of Consultants or Third Parties,” the category in the agenda that allows for discussion.
USE OF FIRE HALLS BY COMMUNITY GROUPS: The Township’s Day Camp asked for permission to use the fire station in Wyevale during bad weather (i.e. hot, humid or rainy days).
This request raised two major issues — the lack of potable water at the station and the potential for problems arising from the presence of 60 children in a fire hall. The first proved to be a non-issue as the station is scheduled to have potable water by the summer; even if that is not achieved, the provision of bottled water is permissible in a public building until the end of 2006. The second (the possibility of a child moving a piece of essential equipment, of children being present when a fire occurs, of liability and insurance risks) is more problematic. The Day Camp was told to book alternate facilities in the short term, until the new fire chief has had a chance to consider the issue.
The discussion about use of fire halls for garage sales was delayed until the arrival of the new fire chief.
REPORT ON COUNCIL
March 7, 2005
Special Committee of the Whole Meeting: 9:47 a.m. – 3:18 p.m.
All Members of Council present.
2005 BUDGET: The County of Simcoe has raised its share of municipal taxes by 4.9%; the Education share has not yet been set, though it will probably increase by about 1.5%.
At this session Council continued its consideration of the Township’s budget.
