Council Minutes June 6/12

June 6, 2012

INCORPORATED VILLAGE OF HILTON BEACH
Council Meeting
June 6th, 2012

The meeting was called to order at 8:00 p.m. Present were Councillors Barich, Crack, Fiegehen and Hope. Mayor Stevens had advised he would be late and Councillor Crack took the Chair

12-62 Moved by V. Fiegehen Seconded by C. Barich
Resolved to approve the minutes of the May 6th, 2012 meeting as presented.
Carried

12-63 Moved by R. Hope Seconded by C. Barich
Resolved to authorize payment of Voucher #12-5 in the amount of $41,603.22.
Carried

The Project Summary was reviewed. The repair of the playground equipment at the Cenotaph Park was added. Mayor Stevens arrived during the discussion of this item.

The Clerk’s Report was reviewed. Work continues on many fronts including but not limited to invoicing for the marina launch, preparation for the audit, budget drafts and finalization, coordinating training for summer staff, etc.

Information on the accreditation process under the new Municipal Drinking Water Licensing Water Act was noted. The Ontario Clean Water Agency as the operating authority for the Village system is responsible for choosing the accreditation body that is required by June 22nd, 2012.

Information on the monthly checklist for the defibrillator was received. This will be followed.

A letter was received from the Sno Glyders Snowmachine Club of Bruce Mines regarding the closing of the Clark Bridge in and by the Township of Plummer Additional. This will have a significant impact on snowmobiling in East Algoma. As well background information was provided by the Township. Council discussed the issue and decided that it really wasn’t appropriate for the Village to intercede in the decisions of another municipality.

A letter was received regarding the flagpole at the circle pot requesting that it be replaced with a steel pole. The whole flower pot is on the Ministry of Transportation right-of-way. This matter had been discussed over the years and it was thought that any disturbance of the area by replacing the support for the pole might crack the stonework. If this happened the MTO might not provide the necessary permit to do the work and require the whole thing to be removed. The ratepayer will be so informed.

Information was received from Municipal Waste and Recycling Consultants of Blind River regarding possible additional recycling opportunities. The first is for plastics including the remainder of the #2 (tubs and lids), #3 (polyvinylchloride (some water bottles, salad dressing bottles, etc), #4 (polypropylene (rigid contains – baby bottles and some cups and bowls) and #6 (polystyrene – clam shell type containers, meat and baking trays, egg cartons, etc). As well gable top containers (milk and juice containers) and tetra pack drink boxes. This material can be placed in the current comingle bins. The total cost of all the bins would rise from $750/month to $1,000/month. There currently is an additional pick-up at the costs of $100/month. The second opportunity is for what is referred to as film plastics such as grocery bags, shrink and bubble wrap, dry cleaning and newspaper bags. This would require an extra bin at the cost of $250 every time it is dumped. It will only be dumped as needed so may last for two or more months. The cost sharing of this will be like the current bins, which is approximately one-third for the Village and two-thirds for the Township based on the household count. In discussions Council thought that the response to these opportunities would be as strong as the first bins by residents of both municipalities. The addition of these items to the program would further reduce the ongoing operating costs of the landfill. A new trench was dug late last year for use this year after the road is built around it. It is expected that the life of this trench will be much longer with all of the recycling going off site. Thus the cost of the recycling will be reduced by both the lower landfill operating costs as well as the rebate that is received for the recycled material. As well of course there are the benefits for the environment. This will only transpire if enough area municipalities take advantage of the opportunities to make it financially feasible for the company. The company estimated that it would take two years to get a truckload of the compressed film plastic. Thus there are not just the costs of pick-up and processing but also storage.

12-64 Moved by R. Hope Seconded by V. Fiegehen
Resolved to participate in the recycling program for a variety of plastics, tetra containers etc and film plastics as presented by Municipal Waste & Recycling Consultants of Blind River.
Carried

The most recent draft of the budget was considered. The tax rates remain the same as 2011 however because there was an increase in assessment more money will be raised. Some is due to work done on the homes and some due to this being the last of the four years of phasing in the property assessment increases. There are also some properties where the assessments have decreased. Some of the changes in the budgeted amounts include: a 30% increase in the policing levy; a 9% increase in the Museum levy; and. considerable increases for all the power bills. The recycling program is a large addition this year but as noted above there is expected to be a return on this investment in future years. The work previously approved on Canoe Point Road in partnership with Hilton Township is included. The streetlight project is anticipated to be completed in 2012. The costs for social services went up slightly at the same time that the operating grant that is to contribute to these costs went down 9%. Another new cost is the addition of a part time person in the office starting in September. This person will assist with the office work three days per week. It was necessary to increase the charges for the water and sewer systems. Our “new” systems are almost twenty years old and the repair and maintenance costs are increasing. As well, the regulatory requirements have changed significantly since the Walkerton incident and these have added greatly to the operating costs. The water rate has risen by $2/month per unit (a residence is one unit) and $3/month per unit for sewer. The increase is necessary for the systems to operate on a user pay basis as required by the Province. OCWA and Village staff have worked diligently to prioritize the major items so that the costs are reasonably uniform over the five year operations plan. New users coming onto the system will help to offset increases in the future.

12-65 Moved by C. Barich Seconded by L. Crack
Resolved to approve By-law #1048 being a by-law to provide for the adoption of the current estimates and tax rates for 2012 and to provide for penalty and interest in default of payment thereof.
Carried

The "Senior of the Year" Awards will be presented at the annual luncheon on June 12th at the Legion. Harold Daynard is the recipient of the Village award for his years of service to the community which continues to this day even though he has now moved to Sault Ste. Marie.

Council had to go into closed meeting to discuss an item protected under the Act.

12-66 Moved by R. Hope Seconded by C. Barich
Resolved to go into closed meeting to consider the following subject matter in accordance with the Municipal Act S.239(2): personal matters about an identifiable individual, including municipal or local board employees;
Carried

12-67 Moved by V. Fiegehen Seconded by L. Crack
Resolved to return to open meeting.
Carried

12-68 Moved by R. Hope Seconded by L. Crack
Resolved to adopt By-law #1049 being a by-law to confirm the proceedings of the Council meeting held June 6th, 2012 and confirm the taking of any action authorized therein and thereby.
Carried

12-69 Moved by C. Barich Seconded by L. Crack
Resolved to adjourn to meet again July 11th, 2012 or at the call of the Mayor
Carried











APPRECIATION CORNER

• To Harold Daynard for his many years of service to the Village and Island community. He has served in so many capacities: as a charter member of the St. Joseph Island Lions Club; as firefighter and Chief of the Hilton Union Fire Dep’t; as one of the initiators of the expansion of the Hilton Hall and as a member of the Hilton Hall Expansion Committee; as an active member of the Forbes Community Park Committee that was formed to plan and implement the development of the Park; as a Community Night volunteer for decades; to name some of his contributions.

• To the St. Joseph Island Lions Club who donated $1,000 towards the replacement of the flooring along the hallway and in the front section of the Hitlon Hall. This is a donation to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the founding of the Club. A plaque will be placed on the “Friends of the Hall” board to commemorate this important milestone in the Club’s history.


RECYCLING

The response to the recycling program at the landfill has been very encouraging. As the bins get filled at times before the scheduled pick-up and because there is a surcharge for an extra pickup it is important to compact the material as much as possible before putting it into the bins. This includes breaking down the cardboard boxes, taking the caps off of bottles and jars, compressing the metal cans if possible or stacking them inside of one another and if the next phase goes ahead to flatten the milk and juice containers. By doing this money will be saved and the site will be much neater. The cardboard cannot be put into the bin once it is emptied if it has been rained on.


FIRE SAFETY


Although the burn ban has been lifted everyone is encouraged to be exceedingly careful with any fire. There should be no burning without a permit and the restrictions on the permit must be adhered to. Please watch for the “Restricted Fire Zone” posters in case it is once again put into force.