Well, tonight’s meeting wrapped up in about 2 hours and was, what I felt, a very good display of team work and democracy at work. Overall, I felt that the tone in the room was positive and respectful at all times. Very refreshing.
***Mayor DiCarlo was absent tonight***
Council had met at 5:00, in-camera to discuss :
SPECIAL IN-CAMERA COUNCIL MEETING
That Council move into an In-Camera Meeting of Council at 5:00 p.m. pursuant
to Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001, as amended, for the following
reasons:
Item A – Section 239(2)(c) – A proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of
land by the municipality or local board.
Item B – Section 239(2)(c) – A proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of
land by the municipality or local board.
When the public portion of the meeting resumed, there was an in-camera report out regarding Item A I believe. There was a motion, something along the lines of an official plan regarding the land east of St. Bernard’s school be declared surplus for a long term care facility.
Councillor Simone made the motion and Councillor Renaud seconded it. Everyone voted in favour so it carried. I believe the property mentioned is the former school playground. Considering St. Bernard’s will be becoming a community hub, seems pretty forward thinking to put long term care/senior’s housing on the large property available.
DELEGATIONS
Request for the Town of Amherstburg to Ban Single Use Plastic Bags and Straws – Addisyn Walker and Darragh Aston, Anderdon Public Elementary School Students
Ms Walker and Ms Aston took turns addressing council. They are both students at Anderdon Public School. They were requesting a ban of the use of single use plastic bags and straws in the Town of Amherstburg.
Ms Aston pointed out that by banning plastic bags and straws that it would make things more efficient for businesses and they would save money. Many establishments are already straw-free. Also, not using straws would help sea animals and the environment as cancer-causing chemicals are used in these plastic products. Ms Walker pointed out that many animals are are injured and listed many health issues caused by these plastics. They cited other communities who have already taken initiatives to reduce or eliminate the use of single use plastic bags and straws. They asked town council to take the lead for Amherstburg with this initiative.
Their delegation was met with a large round of applause. (Side note……these young women were well prepared and very well spoken. They should be extremely proud of their efforts, research and courage to speak in front of council. Kudos to them! When I see these acts of courage and pro-activeness, it helps me rest easy that the future is bright with such great young people taking on leadership roles at such a young age. Congratulations!)
Each member of council spoke in agreement with the delegation and thanked them for delegating. Councillor McArthur pointed out that there are openings on the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Committee and encouraged the girls to apply. Councillor Courtney wanted to see the possibility of banning these items investigated by administration. Mr Galvin, Director, Planning, Development and Legislative Services spoke about the issue of enforcement. He felt there should be some lead time to allow businesses time to prepare for the change and that the town should do some consultation with the local businesses. He also pointed out that the current provincial government is looking into banning the use of plastic bags and straws. Mr Galvin also pointed out that the town would need resources to enforce the bylaw if council chose to make one. He acknowledged that there would be push back and that often mystery shoppers are necessary for proper enforcement.
Councillor Prue wanted council to send a letter to the provincial government that Amherstburg is in support of any provincial laws that come forward to ban the use of plastic bags and straws.
Councillor McArthur questioned the use of straws and plastic stir sticks at the Libro and then requested to ban straws and stir sticks at the Libro Centre (except for cases of accessibility – some people require bendy plastic straws to drink). Councillor Renaud concurred with this thought. He said he spends a lot of time at the arena and sees how many straws are used. He spoke of the importance of supporting the next generation and that we need to break the culture (of plastic).
Finally, a pretty all-encompassing motion to direct administration to come back with a report of feasibility for a total ban of plastic bags and straws, to send correspondence to the province in support of a ban of plastic bags and straws and to ban straws and stir sticks at the Libro was made…..it carried! (Good job council! – I think this was a step in the right direction.)
Request for Wildlife Awareness Signage on Various Municipal Roadways – Greg Nemeth
Mr Nemeth delegated to council regarding the Big Creek area and the importance of protecting the area and the species that exist within that area. He said that there are turtle awareness signs in certain areas and seemed to want more signs for other areas. He mentioned wanting signs on Texas Road, Fox Road, Alma St, Meloche Road, Creek Road and Highway 20. He said there are a few but more are needed.
Councillor Prue pointed out that this seemed to be an unfinished business item. Turns out that it is an unfinished item from February 25th regarding signs in Big Creek. Mr Nemeth wanted 30 signs and wanted to go around and put them up. Antoinetta Giofu, Director, Engineering and Public Works said that her staff was in the process of preparing a report of feasibility of installing the signs. They’re currently preparing the report and it should be ready in the next month or so.
Finally, after more discussion, since the report is forth coming, council decided to hold any recommendations until the report from administration comes back.
It was now 7:00, so to give those of you an idea of time……2 delegations and we were an hour in…..
PRESENTATIONS
About MPAC and Ontario’s Assessment System – Tracy Pringle,
Account Manager, Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC)
For my readers that are homeowners, I’m sure you’re familiar with MPAC and how it affects your homes assessed value and the property taxes that you pay. Ms Pringle’s presentation about the MPAC assessment system is filled with numbers and data. Ms Pringle explained their role in the assessment system and that each municipality pays a legislated levy. She went through a break down of how home sales are analysed and how a home is given it’s “assessed value”. It looks like we’ll be getting our next assessments around June 2020. The assessments are phased in over 4 years. She said that 5 factors affect 85% of the rate that a house is assessed for……lot size, location, the size of the living area and I missed the other 2……darn….I was curious about that.
Anyway, rules of order were waived to allow Mr Parks to speak. He spoke about the different rates that are paid for farmer’s properties and residential properties. I won’t pretend to know much, if anything about this, but it did seem inequitable.
2019 Road Repairs Program – Award of Tender
This carried with little discussion and even a little under budget.
Manufacturer’s Limited Liquor Sales Licence – Dancing Swallows
Vineyard
This carried with little discussion too.
Development of Affordable Housing Grant (AHG) Agreement and 182 Pickering Grant
This carried with no discussion at all.
Reduced Use of Bottled Water in Town of Amherstburg Facilities
About a month ago, council had asked administration to prepare a report about reducing the use of bottled water in our facilities. I think the arena was referred to at the time. This report is being presented to council as an information report, therefore if council wants any of the ideas implemented, they’d have to give further direction to administration. It says in the report that recycling is available at all town facilities. Here are a few suggestions from the report :
“Expanded opportunities could include:
- Promote the use of municipal water and personal reusable water bottles for Council and other public meetings within Town facilities
- Identify opportunities to replace non-recyclable, single use plastics with alternate recyclable and 100% biodegradable products
- Include a requirement in agreements for event organizers utilizing Town property or facilities to provide recycling opportunities for plastics for their patrons
- Where Town facilities are being renovated or newly constructed, identify opportunities to install a water bottle fill station and recycling fixtures”
Councillor Prue made a motion to direct administration to implement the expanded opportunities. This was supported by the rest of council.
2019 Summer Aquatics Programming
As many of my readers are probably aware, the land where the Lion’s Pool currently sits has been sold to the school board to built a new high school. Construction was supposed to be underway by now, but was recently delayed to September 2019. In the meantime, dismantling of the current Lion’s Pool had begun. Council decided against spending around $80,000 to re-open the pool for this summer and instead asked administration to come up with a plan for the public to have access to a pool. Council approved an expenditure of $20,000 to do this. Since then, there has been some concern about the public’s ability to access a swimming pool. There is a report coming before council tonight that offers, what I feel, is a very well-rounded solution to this problem. It seems this is a short term solution, as council would probably have to decide in next year’s budget if they want to replace the pool and how we could afford it.
For those of you who may not have had to the chance to read my pre-meeting blog, here’s the link :
This blog has “the scoop” for the plan for use of the LaSalle Pool on Front Road as well as the indoor pool at Movati. Please read if you need all of the info.
Administration was commended by council for the excellent plan to allow Amherstburg residents access to two pools during the summer months. (It really was a very well done plan…..very impressive…..and it looks like they’ll be able to implement the plan for less than the $20,000 budgeted, which will allow some wiggle room too. Bonus!)
So, if you’re thinking, well, everything has gone really smoothly…….maybe almost a little bit boring…..well…..
New Business
Councillor McArthur made a motion to reconsider the tag line from the February 25th meeting. He felt that in retrospect the tag line wasn’t doing it for him. (He had proposed : Every Day History). I think everyone knows I’m a fan of Councillor McArthur’s, but well, I was not a fan of the tag line that he proposed and that they ultimately chose. The other members of council admitted they weren’t fans either and that the logo/tag line meeting had been exhausting (Um, yeah, I was there……I concur…..it was mind numbing…..) and that perhaps the best decision hadn’t been made. Council voted unanimously to reconsider the tag line (and only the tag line, not the logo, just to avoid any confusion.)
Finally, Councillor Prue made a motion to ask administration through the tourism department to do further consultation and report back within 2 meetings with alternative suggestions. This carried unanimously.
Personally, I hope that administration comes back with a limited choice (maybe 3) tag lines for council’s consideration and they can just pick one. I’m still a fan of Born to Make History, the original tag line proposed by Cinnamon Toast. It makes me think of the song Born to be Wild…….and now that you’ve got that song in your head, I’ll sign off for the night! LOL
Overall, it was a very positive, forward-moving meeting. I hope our council keeps this momentum going. Maybe we will see some great things happen during the next 3 years or so! I sure hope so! (Are you singing that song now? Born to be Wiiiiiilllllddddddddddddd!)
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