Well, I watched tonight’s meeting on the live stream instead of in person……It was different…..some things good, some things not so good, but overall, I survived. For some reason, I missed about the first 7 or 8 minutes of the meeting. It kept cutting in and out and I kept refreshing, then it was okay (for the most part) for the rest of the meeting. Could have been an internet issue or a technical issue but who knows?
**Councillor Courtney was absent tonight**
One challenge was not having a paper copy of the agenda with me, nor being able to see the screen at the front of the council chambers.
When I finally was able to hear and see what was going on, council was discussing:
Driveway Alteration or Installation Policy
There was some discussion about a boulevard section going on when I joined into the meeting. One thing that was clear was that if the town is adding a sidewalk through a driveway, the sidewalk will be concrete and not interlocking brick. Councillor Prue went on at length with concerns about a driveway width of 9 meters being allowed. He wondered what type of environmental impact this may have. There was A LOT of back and forth about the driveway widths permitted. It seems that 9 meters is the largest possible driveway and it can not exceed 50% of the lot frontage. Councillor Prue said he measured his driveway and a few neighbours and they ranged from 4.5 meters to 6 meters and those are driveways on large homes on Boblo Island. The CAO pointed out that sometimes homes are built with 3 car garages and that 9 meters is the maximum allowed and that many people will fan the driveway out to access the garage and the driveway would be 9 meters at the maximum point of the driveway. Someone else from administration (I don’t know who because I could not see the person on my screen and I did not recognize the voice) said that least 30% of the lot has to be landscape and open space. They also said that the storm water management system was in play and that a 9 meter (30 foot) driveway should not have an impact. Councillor Prue questioned if other towns have this same criteria. It seems that they do.
Councillor McArthur wanted a sense of how many homes in Amherstburg actually had such large driveways. He mentioned that a home in Kingsbridge would stick out if it had such a large driveway. The voice from the back of the room (I don’t know what else to call him LOL) said that the current policy allows for a 9 meter driveway and has been in place since 1999. He said he hasn’t seen it often. (Whoever this mysterious man was LOL)
After much more back and forth, Councillor Simone made a motion to defer this item to allow the Environmental Committee to look at it and then council could decide whether to change the policy or keep the current policy.
2020 Road Maintenance (Tar and Chip) Program – Award of Tender
Once again, the town requested tenders for a road maintenance (tar and chip) program. It looks like they only received two, but it is recommended to go to Shepley Road Maintenance Limited in an amount of $201,189 plus applicable taxes, which was the lower of the two bids.
Councillor Simone asked a question about this on behalf of Councillor Courtney and then the motion passed and the tender was accepted.
Real Estate Services Agreement Extension
At times, the town has to sell property. It looks like the current agreement has expired and it is recommended to continue the agreement for another year with Royal LePage Binder Real Estate. This passed with no discussion.
Council Review – Unfinished Business List
The current council has requested at their last regular meeting, for a compiled list of all unfinished business items for a line by line review. (Some items date back to the previous council.)
From the report :
“A review of the Unfinished Business list will allow Council to consider each item line by line to determine its relevance to the 2018-2022 term of Council and to provide direction to Administration on priorities of the current term. Once Council’s priorities are determined, Administration will be able to better indicate what research/investigation, reporting and implementation demands it will have on current resources as well as impacts on service delivery and legislative priorities.”
All of the unfinished items are listed and council will have to decide which ones are priority.
I am not going to lie……this dragged on and on and on…..I played on my phone…..somebody called me…..I played on my phone some more…..the usual type of stuff you do when you’re at home sitting on a couch listening to something drag on….
The beginning of the discussions cut in and out and I missed quite a bit. I had to refresh my screen a couple of times….Ultimately, the intent (as I had understood it from the report) was for council to review each item tonight.
Basically, council made a motion to go into Committee of the Whole to discuss each item so that they could make one motion at the end of which items to get rid of.
They went through each item that was on the list of unfinished reports. I quickly discovered that if I tried to switch screens on my computer to follow each item, I got cut off from the meeting…..and I could not see the screen at the front of the chambers, so it gets pretty loose here……I did my best to keep up and follow along but well…..it was not easy……and then my phone rang……and then my cat jumped up on the couch…..and then I got cold and turned on the fire place…..and then I got hot and turned off the fireplace…..then council took a 10 minute recess……I think you can see where this is going.
Ultimately, council finished up and came back from the Committee as a whole to remove 12 items from the unfinished business list. I tried to write them all down and got eight of them but only partially. So, I would suggest to you that if the unfinished business list is of particular interest to you, you either watch the live stream tomorrow to see or wait for the minutes of this meeting to come out and then you can see which 12 were removed.
Information Reports
Councillor Prue asked about a payment to Pure Water Brand. It seems that the town buys bottled water for the water coolers. Well, they won’t be anymore. Councillor Prue made a motion that the town stop ordering it and drink the tap water and that carried.
There were a couple of other questions regarding information reports but I had difficulty catching them.
New Business
Deputy mayor Meloche made a motion to set up a bylaw to allow for off site council meetings now that the province has allowed this (due to the state of emergency) and also to look at the County ZOOM Program to facilitate these meetings.
Mayor DiCarlo explained that the ZOOM Program allows multiple people to participate in a meeting (electronically from home) and it also allows people to watch the meeting without participating. CAO Miceli explained that there would be no cost to the town since the County pays for the licence of this program for all of the county municipalities. Councillor McArthur felt that this was a smart and prudent step in case one or 4 or 7 members of council fall ill or have to self-isolate.
This motion carried.
Open mic meetings
Councillor Simone then inquired about looking into restructuring the open mic sessions. She suggested that instead of having the ones at town hall one hour prior to the meetings, that those meetings be held in the “Town proper” as well as continue the 4 sessions for Anderond, Malden, McGregor and River Canard. There was some discussion while the Deputy Clerk looked for the original motion.
Councillor Prue said he had concerns since the largest number of residents come to town hall and only 3 or 4 go to the satellite sites. Councillor Simone said that the idea was to keep the ones outside of town available but that the sessions in town wouldn’t be in town hall.
The original motion read something like….open mic sessions held once very other month one hour before council meetings and 4 other meetings quarterly (River Canard, McGregor, Malden and Anderdon) to be reviewed in one year.
Councillor Simone made the motion to reconsider that original motion.
Councillor Prue said that he looks forward to these meetings even if they’re too boisterous or if some people say some things they shouldn’t. Councillor Simone said she’d received emails and calls with people being uncomfortable with the meetings being held at town hall. Mayor DiCarlo pointed out that the one year report (due around July) would probably not happen on time due to social distancing and the emergency measures in place.
Councillor McArthur said he felt that having the open mic meetings at town hall confuses things. They’re held at town hall, with staff there yet it is not a meeting. There was an outburst that unnerved staff at an open mic meeting and that he can’t let that happen. He felt that council should take the opportunity for people to take it out on them, since they as politicians signed up for it, but not the staff. He felt that at town hall, it should be treated with respect, with formal delegations. He said that people were unnerved by what happened at the last open mic session. He also pointed out that it appears to be a meeting, with council and staff sitting there, yet it’s not a meeting.
Councillor Renaud said he also got phone calls and emails from people that were unhappy with what happened. He felt that the open mic sessions were a blending of the meeting, with the appearance of a meeting. He felt that just council going off site (like they do for the 4 quarterly sessions) would be a smart change.
Councillor Prue questioned where the meetings could be held in town. Councillor Simone and Councillor McArthur felt that staff had done a great job finding locations and that it should be left with them to find locations for the “town proper” meetings too.
Anyway, ultimately it passed 3 to 2. (to have the meetings in town proper rather than town hall and continue the 4 quarterly meetings). It wasn’t a recorded vote but I watched the hands (and now with live stream and video recorded meetings you can check too!)……
In favour : Councillors Simone, McArthur and Renaud. Opposed (hands did not go up) : Councillor Prue and Deputy Mayor Meloche.
State of Emergency
There was a lot of discussion regarding our current state of emergency and the pandemic of the COVID-19 virus.
Councillor McArhur thanked Mayor DiCarlo, CAO Miceli and all the town staff for the emergency plan and asked what they could tell Amherstburg residents.
Mayor DiCarlo said that the reason they did this was to maintain a uniform position with our neighbouring municipalities. Also, Amherstburg will be eligible for any government funding. He allowed the CAO to speak about the administrative end of the decision.
The CAO explained that the Emergency Response Committee (I’m not sure of the exact name of the committee, I didn’t catch it, I’m sorry for that….) meet daily and provide council with daily updates. The have evaluated our supplies and materials. The town is prepared to deal with the pandemic and are keeping council informed daily and is in constant communication with council. The Committee is dealing with this emergency situation effectively and efficiently and showing a united front on this issue.
Mayor DiCarlo explained that so much changes daily and even hourly. (Oh yes…..I think we know it……it’s been quite the roller coaster….) He said that the key is not to panic! He also asked that people not hoard items. (Agree wholeheartedly on both points.) He thanked administration, council and staff who have been working non-stop during this pandemic.
Deputy Mayor Meloche wondered if the town had enough financial flexibility. The CAO pointed out that he doesn’t see any financial issues at the moment. He said on a county-wide basis that penalties and interest would be relieved for the months of March and April. Deputy Mayor Meloche wondered if administration had the proper spending authority. The CAO said he and the Fire Chief have been ahead of this but that it is definitely a moving target but that the Mayor has authority to direct administration regarding the pandemic and the state of emergency.
Mayor DiCarlo said everything is within budget for now and many staff are working from home. However, who knows if the virus should spread how that may impact things. The Treasurer even said that the finance department has set up a cost expenditure track sheet regarding the pandemic.
Councillor Prue questioned the ferry service for Boblo Island as it is running only once per hour. Mayor DiCarlo said that all services are continuing, such as garbage, recycle etc but some are offered by a third party. The CAO said that the town has asked for contingency plans from each service and that residents will be notified if there are any changes. The residents of Boblo have been spoken to about the ferry services, in particular those with unique situations, for example, chemo treatments etc.
Councillor McArthur thanked the residents of Amherstburg for their cooperation and support during this difficult time. He gave a real nice shout out for a new group on Facebook called the Amherstburg Caremongers (COVID-19) that was created by Chris Uszinsky. He said it is a very positive group and that it is bringing people together. There are posts about which restaurants offer take out or delivery, which stores have toilet paper and other fun and uplifting things to promote information. (I agree 100%. I joined the group and I love it! I check it several times a day lately and it really is a great group of positivity.)
Also, Councillor McArthur said that at 7:30 each night there is a movement for residents to go on their porch and make some noise in support all of the essential service workers…..take some pots and pans, go outside, make some noise, wave at your neighbours! I’m going to do it tomorrow night! I’ll try to get the kids to come out too. Wish me luck.
And with that, Mayor DiCarlo finished the meeting with the message that we will get through this together…..
And with that, it was 8:48 and the meeting adjourned. The meeting ended on a very positive, uplifting note and I’m happy I took the time to watch it to to the end. (The Unfinished Business list was a bit long and daunting LOL but the end of the meeting made it worth it…..)
I will echo the sentiment……thank you so much to our Mayor, Council and administration for all that you are doing for us, the residents of Amherstburg during this unprecedented event for our community!
And I survived my first blog experience solely from a live stream meeting, without being there in person……there were certain pros to that……some cons too…..but for now, it will probably be the new normal, so I will just accept it and make it work. 🙂
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