Fire truck tender
Clerk-administrator T. Silvio Berti opened the two received tenders for the sale of the surplus 1993 E-One pumper fire truck. The first was from the South Shore Volunteer Firefighters’ Association for $2,000. The second was from Rick McCann, a Tehkummah ratepayer, for $2,010 plus HST.
Some discussion ensued over whether the volunteer group’s bid, while several hundred dollars lower when factoring tax, should be granted because of the work it does in the township. However, it was mentioned by staff that their bid may have been submitted as part of an agreement made in the process of obtaining the new Tehkummah truck from the Township of Tiny. Whether they truly intended to purchase it was less certain, according to the discussion.
Council voted to award the tender to Mr. McCann, though Councillor Eric Russell was the lone vote to sell the truck to the volunteer group.
Animal control bylaw
Council gave the third and final reading to bylaw 2019-034, the animal control bylaw. Wording was updated to include a registration fee exemption for all service animals, not just seeing and hearing guide dogs. The new bylaw also stated the impoundment area for dogs, which is to be the Central Manitoulin public works building.
Ratepayers will have until March to purchase their 2020 licenses.
Snow plow borrowing bylaw
Council approved to pay for the snow plow through a loan approved by Ontario Infrastructure and Lands Corporation. This will allow the township to not have to use the line of credit approved as a backup at a previous council meeting.
Payments will be made biennially in December and June in the amount of $16,129.47, ending on December 16, 2029.
Councillor Michael McKenzie asked why the township was not using the amount of $56,150 earmarked for capital replacement in the roads department budget. Some $49,000 will be used to cover the HST, leaving only $7,000.
Fire chief’s report
Fire chief Jeff Wilson said he began to look into getting a portable power generator for the township but found that prices would be prohibitively expensive. It would be primarily used at the Tehkummah community hall, and a stationary generator would still be upwards of $30,000. Mr. Berti suggested instead changing the emergency station to the town office and fire hall because it will have a fully functional generator and all of the required amenities such as a kitchen and washrooms. This is designed to be a stopgap measure until a suitable, permanent generator can be purchased for the hall at a future year.
Mr. Wilson also requested that deputy fire chief John Greenway be named the community emergency management co-ordinator temporarily until Mr. Wilson can get his required courses completed, likely in the spring, and return back to that title.
While reviewing the financial report, Councillor McKenzie asked whether the township could bill the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry for beaver control in the municipal drains. “It’s their animals and yet we’re having to control them. Yet as a dog owner, we expect Rick to buy a tag and control his dog—otherwise, he’s going to get fined.”
Reeve David Jaggard responded, “So (the ministry) should control their beavers?” to which Mr. McKenzie replied in the affirmative. Mr. Berti said he would look into the request.
Health and safety report
Council discussed the report about installing handrails at the side exit ramp at the South Baymouth Little Schoolhouse Museum. This is considered a secondary ramp and the health and safety report found that the railing would not be installed at this time. It was also noted that the museum roof has been finished.
GFL recycling contract
The new recycling services contract has the same pricing as before, roughly $1,800 per month, but adds an environmental fee of 18 percent on cost. However, Mr. Berti said it would likely not be a massive impact because of the relatively low volumes out of Tehkummah.
Councillor McKenzie asked whether the township should consider compacting its recycling. Mr. Berti said he was unsure whether it would benefit the township, or whether GFL would accept it in a compacted state, but would check into the idea.
Budget 2020, January meeting
Council hosted a special meeting on Tuesday, December 17 at 7 pm to discuss the 2020 budget. The first meeting of January 2020 is being moved back one week to January 14.
Triangle Club lottery licence
The township approved the Triangle Club’s lotteries for its various events. Councillor Rick Gordon asked if there was any leeway about organizers not being able to play the lottery games, especially considering the low population. He cited events that had been cancelled at the last minute because there were not enough people to attend. Mr. Berti said those limitations came from provincial legislation.
Municipal Modernization Program
Council considered applying to the first intake of the municipal modernization program. This involves an assessment of township practices and its current asset and record management policies, and would provide some funding (at an amount later to be determined, but could be as high as 100 percent) for both of those documents to be strengthened, modernized and made into living documents that could be more useful for the township.
All municipalities must have these in place by 2021 in order to receive funding, so unless their application was outright denied, Mr. Berti said the township would come out ahead. The 2021 threshold requires asset management plans to show how they will deal with infrastructure replacement needs in the future. By 2024, another compliance level will come in which expands the asset management plan’s catchment to include all infrastructure, not just its core assets.
The plan is designed to track the status of municipal assets and be updated, something which does not happen within the township at the present time.
Public Sector Digest will be undertaking the asset management plan review, and The Managed Municipality will overview the records management component.
There will be a second intake and, should everything be finalized in time, the township could possibly apply for that intake to get funding to implement their updated plans.
Both of the above firms would provide quotations which would be used in the application.
Mr. Berti said this program would likely provide more benefit for the township than the AMP It Up 2.0 program Tehkummah took part in last year. Council agreed to apply to the program.
Correspondence
Councillor Gordon requested the township support the Town of Amherstburg’s declaration of a climate emergency.
Contract and settlement negotiations
Following a closed session, council approved a proposed settlement, though Councillor Russell was not in favour. Failing accepting of the settlement, the process will move to mediation.
Council also approved the tentative Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA) contract that former acting clerk-administrator Roy Hardy had been working on. There is a “nominal increase” according to Mr. Berti, though he declined to specify how much that would entail. The contract, if approved by OCWA, will end on December 31, 2024.
