Council Reports: January 26, 2009

REPORT ON COUNCIL
January 26, 2009

Committee of the Whole Meeting: 9.00 a.m. – 12:47 and 1:08 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Regular Evening Meeting: 7:07 p.m. – 7:40 p.m.
Four members of Council present, Councillor George Cornell away on vacation.

CONFIDENTIAL / CLOSED SESSION: 10:06 a.m. – 12:35 p.m. This session included a discussion with David Clark of David A. Clark Consulting Inc., who has been facilitating the relationship between the Township and the Parks and Recreation groups.

COMMENDABLE FIRE DEPARTMENT COOPERATION: Randy Smith, Fire Chief, described the various ways that five fire departments – those in Tiny, Penetanguishine, Midland, Tay and the Township of Georgian Bay — have been and will be making cooperative use of resources.
Beyond this local group, the Chief tells us that he is Vice President of the Simcoe County Fire Chiefs’ Administration Group (which includes all Simcoe County Chiefs). This larger group is following the same cooperative path, though more slowly. Chief Smith believes that there’ll be more regionalization of fire departments in the years to come as municipalities strive to control rising costs.

TOWNSHIP WEBSITE REDESIGN: Last year, the County of Simcoe acquired new software, which allows municipalities to create and manage their own websites. Brenda Biggs, the Township’s GIS/Computer Coordinator, reported that staff has been reviewing various home page layouts used by other Ontario municipalities and has produced a draft layout design. The draft design is much livelier than the old one and includes: Quick Links, Upcoming Events, a Fire Rating logo, Tiny’s Contact Information, and a Community Calendar. A Website Content Committee is now preparing to develop and manage all areas of the website’s content. In due course, the public is to be asked for input.

REPORT ON BUILDING IN TINY FOR 2008: The total value of construction in Tiny Township in 2008 was $31,368,000, down from $35,059,000 in 2007. However, as the figure for 2007 included $7.5 million for Le Villageois, the retirement complex in Lafontaine, construction activity actually held up very well in 2008.