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Council Minutes - Jul 9/08
July 9, 2008
INCORPORATED VILLAGE OF HILTON BEACH
Council Meeting
July 9th, 2008
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. Present were Mayor Hore and Councillors Crack, Hope and Stevens. Absent with notice was Councillor Sullivan.
08-65 Moved by W. Stevens Seconded by L. Crack
Resolved to approve the minutes of the June 9th, 2008 meeting as presented.
Carried
08-66 Moved by R. Hope Seconded by W. Stevens
Resolved to approve the minutes of the June 16th, 2008 Joint Village-Township meeting as presented.
Carried
08-67 Moved by W. Stevens Seconded by L. Crack
Resolved to authorize payment of Voucher #08-06 in the amount of $80,551.32.
Carried
The Problem Detail Sheet Summary was reviewed. One item was closed and one opened. The guardrail on South St. needs to be repaired.
The Clerk’s Report was reviewed. Work continues in all areas.
The Landfill Report was noted. It was a busy month at the landfill as well.
The summary of building permits for the first half of the year was received from Tulloch Engineering. There is one new home, one commercial renovation, one garage and one small residential addition. Council noted that the fees do not cover the costs of inspection.
Th Landfill Committee report was reviewed. A new agreement is being developed for the sharing of costs with Hilton Township. Hilton Township Council is reviewing the draft agreement as well. Once finalized it will be retroactive to the beginning of the year.
The Marina Report showed that less fuel has been sold this year. There are thirteen more seasonal boats which will stabilize the revenue if transient traffic was down as it is expected to be. To date while there have been fewer transient boats there has only been 3 fewer night stays so people are staying longer.
A summary of events to be held at the Museum was received as well as a few of the positive comments received by the Museum.
Jeff St. Pierre of OCWA gave notice that he has been re-assigned for several months but will be returning to this area in the fall. Council and staff have enjoyed working with him and have found that he works diligently to provide excellent service.
Information was received from the Ministry of Transportation on the eligible expenses for the $15,765 roads and bridges grant.
The City of Sault Ste. Marie confirmed that the fee for using the hazardous waste depot will remain at $7/household.
A suggestion was received from a ratepayer that the flagpole be changed. Council did acknowledge that it needs to be painted until a new one is purchased in the future.
Correspondence was received from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs regarding the submission of the audited statements and Financial Information Return. They will be completed as soon as possible.
The new area agreement with the OPP for the provision of 9-1-1 answering service was received. The Township of Laird who coordinates the agreement asked for a resolution confirming each municipality’s support.
08-68 Moved by R. Hope Seconded by W. Stevens
Resolved to participate in the agreement with the Ontario Provincial Police for the provision of 9-1-1 CERB Services to the Bruce Mines & Area 9-1-1 Group.
Carried
The agreement with OCWA for the five years beginning January 1st, 2009 has been finalized. Council had agreed to this in late 2007.
08-69 Moved by W. Stevens Seconded by L. Crack
Resolved to give first, second and third readings to By-law #944 being a by-law to enter into an agreement with the Ontario Clean Water Agency for the operation and maintenance of the drinking water and waste water systems.
Carried
A query was received regarding the possibility of allowing partial residential use in the lower level of a commercial building in the Village Centre area. Council was not opposed to considering this request. The owner will have to apply for a Zoning By-law amendment if he wished to proceed.
The draft building plans for the expansion of The Waterfront Centre were reviewed. There were a few areas where clarification is needed and a few changes suggested.
The Ombudsman’s Annual Report suggested that hospital patients should have recourse to his services. He suggested that there be an investigation into hospitals, having received 276 complaints in 2007 – 2008 about hospitals and long-term care facilities.
08-70 Moved by L. Crack Seconded by R. Hope
Resolved to support the Ombudsman’ request that hospital patients have the same recourse to his services.
Carried
Minutes of the East Algoma Mayors Chiefs and Reeves Council were accompanied by a request that municipalities support by resolution their presentation at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario annual general meeting requesting that the municipal operating grant become fairer. This is a problem that Council has been trying to address for several years. While some municipalities have been receiving an amount higher than the Ministry of Finance has calculated to be their correct operating grant others have continued to receive less. The Province has been phasing in the deficit while continuing to pay the full amount to those receiving too much. The phase-in is on the basis of households so the smaller municipalities are severely penalized. These concerns have been submitted to the Province. Council was supportive of this new initiative. The Village has been receiving less than half of its calculated allocation.
08-71 Moved by R. Hope Seconded by W. Stevens
Resolved to support the position of the East Algoma Mayors Chiefs and Reeves Council that those municipalities that have been under funded under the Ontario Municipal Partnership Program receive the full funding calculated by the Ministry of Finance to be the correct amount due prior to the phase-in reductions.
Specifically the Council of the Village of Hilton Beach disagrees that the funding is phased-in to under funded municipalities over a five year period; that the phase-in is based on the number of households rather than some other method such as a percentage of the amount withheld so that the smaller municipalities are not penalized because of their size; and, that those municipalities that had been over funded continue to receive a level of funding greater than the amount calculated by the Ministry of Finance to be their correct allocation.
Further, the Council of the Village of Hilton Beach requests that since it has received less than 50% of the funding calculated to be its fair allocation each year, that the Ministry of Finance accelerate the payments to the Village of Hilton Beach and other municipalities that are so severely affected. This under funding has had significant negative impact on the ability of these municipalities to maintain their infrastructure and provide essential services to their ratepayers, a situation that can only be corrected with appropriate funding from the Province such as has been calculated to be due, but not paid, by the Ministry of Finance.
Carried
08-72 Moved by L. Crack Seconded by R. Hope
Resolved to give first, second and third readings to By-law #945 being a by-law to confirm the proceedings of the Council meeting held July 9th, 2008 and confirm the taking of any action authorized therein and thereby.
Carried
08-73 Moved by R. Hope Seconded by W. Stevens
Resolved to adjourn to meet again on July 30th, 2008 or at the call of the Mayor.
Carried
APPRECIATION CORNER
To the crew who put up the market tent. Jack Hore, Chris Coutu, Isaac Burkhart, Samuel Burkhart, Tanya Alexander, Karen Silver, Tim Holt, Brandon Hunter, David Cain and Roby Parr.
To Judy Connell for applying the spray that keeps the deer away to the Village planters.
To Robert Hope for the suggestion that the Village pumps be utilized by the Fire Department. The pumps will be maintained and ready for use by either the Fire Department or the Village for their intended use as back-up for the sewage system.
To Jocelyn Township for taking the imitative with the Mountain View Quest in partnership with The Kennsington Conservancy. This is an innovative activity for Island visitors and residents.
COMMUNITY NIGHT
Community Night is on August 2nd this year. As usual lots of volunteers are needed to make the event a successful one. The long range forecast is good so hopefully it will be a fun evening and provide funds for the recreation programming for the year.
If you are able to help in any capacity, please contact the Village Office. Help is needed for different tasks from Thursday through Sunday. For example, preparations for the supper take place in the days preceding an on the Saturday. The booths are taken out the Thursday night and put onto the street, on Friday evening they are set up and on Saturday the final set-up and provisioning is done. During the evening lots of help is needed operating the booths. On Sunday all the booths are put away and the street cleaned up. Of course there is the usual call for pies for the pie booth, so if you can bake a pie or pies it would be greatly appreciated. In summary, there are jobs sitting down, standing up, active and less active. Please volunteer, your community needs you.
