REPORT ON COUNCIL
October 13, 2009
Committee of the Whole Meeting: 9:00 am – 1:17 pm and 1:54 pm – 2:24 pm.
Regular Evening Meeting: 7:00 pm – 8:19 pm.
All members of Council present.
CONFIDENTIAL / CLOSED SESSION: 9:27 am to 9:51 am. John Borzo of Burgar Rowe was present.
NOISE BY-LAW: Council reviewed an oral submission complaining about the noise of the outdoor music at the Surf Restaurant during the summer. The discussion was inconclusive. It appears that enforcement of the Noise By-law is very subjective.
COPELAND HILL CEMETERY: Mr. Gordon Robbins presented a comprehensive report regarding this historic cemetery and the condition of the land. It is badly overgrown but is still an active cemetery with burials as recent as 2002. Grants are available to help restore the property and staff will look into the situation. Mr. Robbins had devoted substantial time to researching the history and the persons buried there and he has a wealth of interesting information. Council will discuss the report on October 26.
SITE 41 UPDATE: Deputy Mayor Lawrence advised that he and other members of Simcoe County Council have concerns about the decision to “winterize” the property rather than restoring it to the original condition. He will address this concern at the County. The Community Monitoring Committee will continue to meet monthly at least until the Certificate of Approval is revoked.
SIGNAGE: A proposal was received from MC3 Global Retail requesting funding of $16,400 to complete the engineering drawings, prepare the tender material and provide oversight of the tender proposal. Council members were concerned that they had not received all of the deliverables from the previous contract and requested a comprehensive list of those. Action on the new proposal was deferred until the next meeting.
It is highly unlikely that signs will be erected this year. This is disappointing, as this project has dragged on much too long.
BUILDING PERMIT ACTIVITY: The figures continue to reflect the economic slowdown with the value of construction in the month of September being $1.9 million as compared to $4.6 million in September, 2008. Year to date figures are at $16.5 million in 2009 versus $27 million in 2008.
SOUTHERN GEORGIAN BAY COASTAL INITIATIVE: This organization proposes to “maintain and restore a healthy sustainable coastal ecosystem in Southern Georgian Bay through awareness and education, by protecting natural areas, rehabilitating degraded habitats, and guiding land use decisions with regional and local community input.” The details are in the COW agenda – Tab H2.
Council members expressed concerns about the composition of the steering committee: only Wasaga Beach and the Town of Blue Mountain represent the coast line from Tobermory to Port Severn. They also noted that neither the Severn Sound Environmental Association nor Georgian Bay Township had been invited to participate.
There is full support for active management of our coastlines but confusion about how many groups are involved. Mayor Breckenridge advised that she would address this at the next meeting of the Great Lakes Cities Initiative.
PROPOSED GRAVEL PIT: At a Public Meeting preceding the evening session of Council, the Sarjeant Company presented their request to open a new gravel pit in Concessions 1 and 2.
Steven Ogden cautioned Council about environmental impacts, as he believes that the surrounding area has had a significant increase in water table levels due to an existing pit in operation there. He stated that his well has overflowed for the first time ever. A second speaker, James Simpson, corroborated this and advised that ditches and road surfaces in the Carpenter Road area have been impacted. A representative from the company advised, inconclusively, that this is due to wet weather.
SEWAGE DUMP SITE, CONCESSION 15 EAST: Ms. Fran Sullivan, who owns land across the road from this site spoke of a number of negative impacts that she has encountered as septage is spread on this site. During the question period, questions were raised about the Township’s future plans and concern was expressed about current practices. Several Councillors spoke to this. There will be a consultant’s report at the next COW meeting on October 26th outlining options that can be considered for disposal of the township’s septage.
BUDGET MEETING CHANGE OF DATE: The budget meeting scheduled for January 18, 2010 has been rescheduled to January 15, 2010.
