Town invoices government for roadwork
The Northeast Town council carried a motion last week, invoicing the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) for work that was done on Highway 6 in Little Current.
The motion reads, “Whereas the council of the Corporation of the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands had an agreement with the Ministry of Transportation through the Connecting Link Program to pay for capital maintenance and; whereas the Ministry of Transportation has chosen to cancel the Connecting Link Program without consultation or financial compensation for the municipality and; whereas that portion of Highway 6 that runs through Little Current needed resurfacing and has completed the resurfacing and paid the contractor that provided the service, therefore be it resolved that the council of the Corporation of the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands sends an invoice for those upgrades to the Ministry of Transportation in the amount of $99,794.85.”
Council applies for lagoon expansion funding
Council previously discussed applying to the Small, Rural and Northern Municipal Infrastructure Fund, Capacity Building, for $2 million for the expansion of the Northeast Town’s lagoon.
As per staff’s recommendation, council carried a motion submitting a formal expression of interest to the Capacity Building fund, in addition to stating that the municipality would have a municipal asset management plan in place by December 31, 2013, as per required by the funding stipulations.
Sheguiandah drinking water system inspection report accepted
The Northeast Town council reviewed with staff the Sheguiandah drinking water system annual inspection report and carried a motion to accept the report as presented.
Council supports LAMBAC Trillium funding request
Council reviewed and discussed a letter received from LAMBAC outlining a funding proposal to be made on the Northeast Town’s behalf to the Ontario Trillium Foundation for improvements and upgrades to the Northeast Town recreation centre in support of the Manitoulin Trade Fair (organized biennially by LAMBAC).
The letter outlines that the funds would be used to purchase materials to improve the parking lot, purchase additional tables, the addition of an electrical panel near or at the outdoor food court area and traffic cones.
The letter also notes the need for an ATM machine at the recreation centre, however town CAO Dave Williamson told council that staff have previously told LAMBAC that the town is not interested in having a permanent ATM machine at the centre due to a lack of security.
Council carried a motion to “support and partner with LAMBAC in the application to the Trillium Foundation for improvements and upgrades to our recreation centre to support the Manitoulin Trade Fair.”
Gerry Strong appointed as new town building inspector
The Northeast Town council went in camera last week, reporting the appointment of Gerry Strong (who is also the mayor of Central Manitoulin) as the new town chief building officer, replacing Tom Spry, who recently retired.
Council reviews traffic engineering report
The Northeast Town previously directed staff to hire a traffic engineer to review the intersection of Meredith and Worthington Streets after receiving several complaints about the intersection. The engineer was also directed to review the intersection of Worthington and Water Streets and the signage needed for the town speed limit change.
The report outlined some changes that could be made to the intersections, but concluded that more study was needed.
One suggestion was to change the shape of the Anchor Inn deck to “reduce its impact on the sight distance.”
Council decided that, due to the cost, no further study was needed at this time from the traffic engineer, suggesting that staff could carry out further studies in the future, and directed staff to discuss the deck location with the owner of the Anchor Inn to come up with a solution.
Fire Department report
Northeast Town Fire Chief Darren Bailey said he was pleased to tell council he didn’t have much to report. “A small fire incident report is always a good thing,” said Fire Chief Bailey.
“There were power lines down on Townline Road due to weather on November 17,” Chief Bailey said, “but other than that we have been getting ready for the winter months by removing all grass firefighting equipment and replacing it with chimney firefighting equipment on the trucks.”
Community services report
Reid Taylor presented the community services report to council last week, noting “the ice at the recreation centre is being very well used by user groups and customer rentals.”
“The amount of hours booked for November is up from last month with 217 hours booked,” said Mr. Taylor. “There are four ice user groups, four adult recreation hockey groups, in addition to drop in rentals and public skating.”
“This month Little Current Minor Hockey is continuing,” added Mr. Taylor, “and the Manitoulin Panther games as well. Skate Manitoulin is also using the ice and the Lions Club will be having its charter night on November 30.”
Mr. Taylor also told council that the outdoor and marine facilities have been closed and winterized and that the docks are secured and waiting for the freeze up in Spider Bay.
Councillor Marcel Gauthier noted how impressed he was with the cleanliness of the recreation centre, inside and out.
Building controls/bylaw enforcement report
Brock Sanftenberg reviewed the building controls, property standards and parking report.
He included a pie chart showing the building classifications that make up the permit fees, noting that to date, 81 building permits have been issued with a value of $15,670,356.
The chart broke up the 81 permits with 13 percent of permits issued for residential, 14 percent for additions and renovations, one percent for multiple residential, 19 percent for accessory buildings, 33 percent for industrial, three percent for institutional, 15 percent for decks and four percent for demolition.
He had no new property standard complaints to note and told council that “parking is being monitored and tickets issued as required.”
