Accessibility and Access Keys [0]
BY TONY PEARSON
In opposition to the position taken by Renfrew County Council, the mayor and councillors of Killaloe-Hagarty-Richards, led by councillor Stan Pecoskie, sided with Cheryl Gallant and the Ontario Landowners Association by opposing the heritage designation of the Ottawa River.
Pecoskie was passionate in his denunciation of the proposal; claiming to be protecting the memory of those who first cleared and farmed the land along the river, he contended that it would block the sale or severance of any land on the river.
Fellow councillor and fellow member of the Landowners Association, John Jeffrey, suggested that if the heritage designation was applied, then the next step would be to extend the designation to the entire watershed, thereby freezing most of the land in Renfrew County.
All members of council opposed the designation. After the vote, mayor Janice Visneskie stated that although she had voted for the designation at county level, she did not want to support anything that might impose restrictions on landowners.
On other county business, the mayor and acting fire chief, Gerry Dombroskie, took exception to the number of occasions on which KHR firefighters had been summoned out by county dispatch for possible extractions of victims of vehicle accidents, only to have the emergency call cancelled. Mayor Visneskie was worried about the cost to KHR taxpayers.
One cost borne by taxpayers will be less than first feared, although still substantial. Increases in OPP charges for policing will rise by 10.7 per cent, rather than the much higher increase originally announced – although additional charges over and above this level could result if usage rates go up or salary rates are revised.
Another large amount must be spent to repair one of the pumps on a fire engine.
Originally thought a minor matter, it now appears that between $5,000 and $10,000 will be required to rebuild the pump, essential if the engine is to draw water from rivers and streams (and thus integral to the truck’s certification).
Council agreed to cover this cost, plus a smaller repair to the fire truck based at Round Lake. On the other hand, the department’s new $6,000 thermal imaging camera was purchased by the Firefighters association itself, rather than the township.
Works superintendent, Clifford Yantha, also had a major monetary problem in his report. He stated that the storm in the previous week had caused at least $25,000 damage to local infrastructure.
Although all roads were re-opened, work was still required shoring up roadside shoulders.
He also reported that the storm had raised the level of Round Lake, and that his department had already started sand-bagging, which had used up a fair portion of the township’s sand-bag reserve; council gave him permission to secure more.
The library was approved for an increase of $2,500 this year, and $2,500 next year. Requests for proposals to fix the library roof have also gone out.
The library is still wondering if it will be granted permission to open in evening hours; security issues with the township offices remain to be clarified. As a long-term dream, the library board would eventually like to re-locate to its own premises.
Other small expenditures were also approved. The fire department will buy about $500 worth of gloves, and about $1,500 for face masks which can accommodate lenses for firefighters who normally wear glasses; in the case of the face-masks, the department will ask to collect the money back from firefighters if they leave the department after only a short period.
Council was also informed of requests by local business managers to make the central area more visitor-friendly. Depending on the response to a request for a provincial grant, there may be new recycling bins; the township will also check the viability of more garbage cans.
As for action to remove “eyesores” from the vicinity, the by-law committee, chaired by John Jeffrey, will examine the existing property standards by-law.
The request for more accessible public washrooms was not addressed.
As for the recommendation from the business group that there be an evening public meeting to inform the public more on the Township’s new volunteer policy, both mayor Visneskie and volunteer coordinator Maria Mayville felt it unnecessary, as public input had previously been solicited, and one-to-one briefings were deemed more effective.
© 2011 , Sun Media Corporation
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