REPORT ON COUNCIL
Apr. 13, 2015
Committee of the Whole Meeting: 9:00 a.m. – 3:07 p.m.
Regular Meeting of Council: 4:00 p.m. – 4:33 p.m.
All members of Council present: Mayor George Cornell, Deputy Mayor Steffen Walma, Councillors Cindy Hastings, Richard Hinton and Gibb Wishart
BY-LAW DEPARTMENT BIKE PROGRAM:
After hearing a report by Chief Municipal Law Enforcement Officer Steven Harvey, Council decided to hire two part-time weekend By-law Officers to police violations on the Tiny Trail (ATVs on the Trail, loose dogs, graffiti), to keep an eye out for violations of the lawn-watering by-law, and to help with parking enforcement and beach patrols. The $12,300 cost of this bike patrol program (wages, training, equipment, and bike maintenance) is to be covered by the Policing Reserve account.
MONITORING OF PUBLIC BEACHES IN 2014 BY THE SIMCOE MUSKOKA DISTRICT HEALTH UNIT:
According to Karen Kivilahti, the Health Unit’s Safe Water Co-ordinator, only six of Tiny’s “public” beaches were monitored in 2014 — Woodland Beach Park Con. 2, Trew Avenue, Jackson’s Park to Con. 8, Balm Beach Park Con. 10 W, Con. 13 West, Peek-a-Boo Trail Con. 16E. The Health Unit advised that five of the six be posted at one time or another last summer. (The Health Unit has varied which beaches and how many of them it monitors in the years since the volunteer water sampling program began in 2001, rising to 15 in 2004, then gradually sinking back to the number it was checking in the years immediately prior to 2001 – six.) Councillor Wishart asked that Lafontaine Beach be added to the list, and was told that that would be done. (As soon as they are made available, the Health Unit’s sample results will be added to the spreadsheet showing the results of all sampling in Tiny in the summer of 2014 and posted on FoTTSA’s website under “Water Reports.)
SEWAGE SYSTEM RE-INSPECTION PROGRAM:
CC Tatham reported that this program is now in its 13th year. A re-inspection of the system on each lot is completed on a six-year cycle, except for the 427 properties within municipal wellhead protection areas: those are inspected every five years in accordance with provincial requirements. Of the 1341 inspections completed last summer, 142 revealed deficiencies (and more may be found once outstanding septic tank reports are submitted). Chief among the problems were root intrusions (45), vehicles parking on or driving over the septic tanks or leaching beds (24), and eavestroughs draining onto the sewage system (17). This coming summer, Thunder Beach and Silverbirch, Giant’s Tomb Island, and Balm Beach will be re-inspected, along with the wellhead protection areas due this year.
INFORMATION KIOSK ON MUNICIPAL PROPERTY ADJACENT TO ANDREW DRIVE, FARLAIN LAKE:
In response to a presentation by Peter Andrews, Vice President of the Farlain Lake Community Association, Council directed staff to work with the Association while an information kiosk regarding the dangers of the invasive aquatic species called Eurasian Watermilfoil is erected. Watermilfoil is spread by watercraft, and boats are launched into Farlain Lake from the Andrew Drive Parkette. Funding for construction, a sign, publications, displays and the like is to come from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. (For information about controlling this invasive weed, see Andrews’ article “Pulling Together to Fight Eurasian Watermilfoil” in the fall 2014 issue of The Tiny Cottager, available on FoTTSA’s website, tinycottager.org, under Issue Archives.)
