REPORT ON COUNCIL
November 30, 2009
Committee of the Whole Meeting: 9:01 a.m. to 12:35 p.m.
and 1:14 p.m. to 3:50 p.m.
Regular Evening Meeting: 7:05 p.m. – 7:55 p.m.
All members of Council present
Confidential / Closed Session: 2:45 p.m. – 3:47 p.m.
Physician Recruitment
Officials from the Southern Georgian Bay Physician Recruitment Program presented an update of their activities and made a request for 2010 funding. Their recommended donation for area municipalities is $2 per resident — $20,954 for Tiny. This will be considered during budget deliberations.
(You may wish to respond to the Recruitment Program’s on-line poll on this matter. See HYPERLINK “http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/459486” http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/459486 The poll is available until December 31.)
Closed Circuit Television, Balm Beach
After a summer of lawless behaviour at Balm Beach, in September of 2008, Council had closed circuit television installed in Balm Beach to record activity in public spaces there. In addition, tree branches were trimmed to improve visibility and additional lighting was installed. The closed circuit television was to assist the police in the event of criminal activity. In the first year of operation, the number of calls to the police fell by almost 50% and the film records were useful in investigations into arson and theft.
Signage
Council approved the erection of 911 signs at all beach access points so that callers in an emergency can know the municipal address of that location. These will be erected over the next two years.
Leaf Burning
In response to a letter and a number of complaints, Council discussed the banning of leaf burning in considerable detail. Some members wanted an immediate bylaw to ban burning, with some a grace period for warnings rather than fines. Other members requested a consultation period before passing a bylaw.
Staff was directed to prepare a report advising of alternatives in addition to the pickups, composting, and mulching options already available. All members agreed that burning is not satisfactory in view of the environmental concerns and all agreed that this must be resolved by March 31, 2010 prior to the spring burning season.
Building Permit Activity
While year over year activity through October is down from $28.8 million in 2008 to $20 million in 2009, the monthly activity in October increased from $1.79 million in 2008 to $3.4 million in 2009.
NOTE: Site 41: On December 8, Cal Patterson, Mayor of Wasaga Beach, took over as Warden of Simcoe County from Tony Guergis. Guergis (one of the die-hard supporters of a landfill at Site 41), had campaigned for yet another one-year term, but at the last minute decided not to stand.
The County still refuses to release the Dump Site 41 calibrated computer model (MODFLOW), as required by the Information and Privacy Commissioner. Just before Guergis’s term ended, County Council voted in camera to proceed with a judicial review of the Commissioner’s order (instead of complying with the order).
Change of municipal election date: Municipal elections will take place on October 25, 2010.
High Speed Update: Bell Aliant has announced that the first phase of the Rural Connections wireless infrastructure is now in place. There will be no more construction until spring, but the remaining areas should be served by April, 2010. The map supplied by Bell shows that no infrastructure has been placed in Tiny Township so far.
Olympic Torch Relay: Between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday December 29, the Olympic Torch is to proceed north of Subway Road along Highway 93 to just south of the Wyebridge Community Centre. There is to be no parking on Highway 93. One option is to arrive before 11:30 a.m., park in the municipal lot at the Wyebridge Commuity Centre at 8340 Highway 93, and walk to the Wyebridge downtown core.
