Michael’s Bay Road deputation
The August 18 meeting of Assiginack council began with a deputation from Michael’s Bay Road Manitowaning residents Louise Begin and Laura Markley whose homes are located on Michael’s Bay Road in the town. They presented council with a petition on the maintenance of their road.
“The sewer line went in a few years ago,” the petition states. “Since that time, the road has sunk significantly where the sewer line is. We request that the mentioned portion of Michael’s Bay Road be brought up to code.”
The petition, signed by 16 residents, goes on to note the “deteriorating patchwork, sunken sections and potholes” leading to Sunova Beach Road.
Ms. Begin noted that work has since begun on the road since the petition was signed, thanking council, noting that there is still a large dip in the road that needs to be fixed. Councillors Hugh Moggy and Leslie Fields both acknowledged the dip, stating that they had both, individually, taken a drive along the road since receiving the petition.
Mayor Paul Moffat explained that the road is a line item in next year’s budget.
“Besides road maintenance, what do we get for our taxes?” Ms. Begin asked.
CAO Alton Hobbs explained that besides road maintenance taxes pay for police, ambulance, fire protection, property assessments, social services, the landfill, library and education, among other things.
Public Works Superintendent Ron Cooper explained to Ms. Begin that on the Assiginack website there is a place to punch in your annual taxes which will then give you a complete breakdown of what those taxes go toward. “It’s a nice little feature,” he said.
New ice rental rates
Council passed a motion to approve the new ice rental rates for the Assiginack arena. The hourly ice rental rate for regular and private users is set to increase by 2.11 percent. The hourly rates for regular users will go from $65 to $66.37 while for private users the rate will increase from $85 to $86.79. The reason for the increase is to closer align with the increase in hydro costs.
Councillor Moggy said he received a concerned phone call from a parent saying the rates were too high as it was. The mayor said he too received a call about the increase in rates.
“I would hate to think kids couldn’t attend the arena because they couldn’t afford it,” Councillor Moggy said.
“The increase doesn’t match the hydro increase,” Mr. Hobbs explained. “We needed to move up, but we’re not into recovery mode—not by a long shot.”
Councillor Fields said she thought the increases should be across the board.
Roadside parks waste removal
Council received a notice from Windows Unlimited with an offer to continue the service of roadside parks and waste removal from 2016 to 2018 at the same price as this year.
After some discussion, and on a vote, council defeated the motion to award the service to Windows Unlimited and instead will move to a tendering process.
Council supports MPPs’ resolutions
Council passed a motion supporting Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece’s private member’s resolution regarding the fairness of provincial infrastructure funding.
They also passed a resolution supporting Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Michael’s Mantha’s letter to Minister of Transportation Stephen Del Duca regarding the notification that the Senior Driving Education program delivered in Gore Bay will be cancelled because the facility currently housing the program not does meet the provincial standards for accessibility. This would force West End drivers to drive to Mindemoya to take the test.
Ice time donation
After reviewing a letter from the Manitowaning Wolves regarding its upcoming weekend training camp which had requested the municipality to cover 10 of the 15 hours of ice time, council decided to donate the full 15 hours, noting how popular the camp is for Manitoulin hockey players and how well-liked.
Canada 150 grant
Council reviewed a memo from project and events coordinator Jackie White on upcoming funding opportunities for Canada’s 150th birthday. In it she gave council options on how to get the community involved in the decision-making process: a public meeting and an online survey.
She also spoke of a rack card mail-out to all taxpayers, alerting them to the online survey.
Councillor Moggy questioned the strictly online nature of the survey as there would be many people in the municipality who could not access the Internet.
Areas of consideration for funding are: the removal of the Norisle, finishing the far end of the arena, fixing the 25B Spragge St. office building for the library upgrades and bringing Burns Wharf Theatre building up to code.
Title loan application
Assiginack made an application for a title loan with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for the amount of $30,000 for a municipal ditch.
Lagoon in the limelight
Council approved a preliminary engineering study for the Manitowaning lagoon as proposed by OCWA to determine potential energy savings. The study would be 100 percent covered by grant money.
The council also approved a proposal from Exp. Services Inc. in the amount of $3,677.50 to perform caffeine testing in the water of the Manitowaning lagoon.
