The meeting of the Council of the Village of South River was held on Monday, January 26, 2009 in the South River Council Chambers. A quorum was present. In attendance were Mayor Coleman, Councillors Dickerson, Mahon and Scott. Councillor Parker was late with notice.

 

Staff present was Susan Arnold, Clerk-Administrator and Patty Thoma, Treasurer.

 

Public present were John Newstead, EMS Representative and Rob Learn, Almaguin News.

 

1.         Call to Order – The meeting was called to order by Mayor Coleman at 5:30          p.m.

 

2.         Declaration of Pecuniary Interest – NIL

 

3.         Deputation

 

 

17-2009           Mahon/Scott

                        BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Council of the Village of South River be closed under Subsection 239 (3.1) and that this Council proceed in Camera at 5:35 p.m. in order to address a matter pertaining to:

                        1- the meeting is held for the purpose of educating or training the members AND at the meeting, no member discusses or otherwise deals with any matter in a way that materially advances the business or decision-making of the council, local board or committee.

                        Adopted

 

18-2009                      Mahon/Dickerson

                        BE IT RESOLVED THAT this Council reconvene in Open Session at 6:10 p.m.

Adopted

 

            John Newstead informed and educated Council of matters which relate to a regional board.  Questions were asked but no decisions were made aside from agreeing to wait until correspondence from the board is received requesting a Mayors Meeting.

 

John Newstead left the meeting at 6:11 p.m.

 

4.         Minutes

 

19-2009           Scott/Dickerson

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Council of the Village of South River does hereby accept the minutes of Monday, January 12, 2009, as amended.

Adopted

 

Minutes amended for Roundtable to reflect Tony Clement, not Andy.

 

5.         Reports From Staff and Committees

 

20-2009           Mahon/Dickerson

                        BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Council of the Village of South River does hereby receive the following financial reports:

1.                  Accounts Payable from January 1, 2009 to January 22, 2009 in the Mount of $34,360.22

2.                  Income Statement from January 1, 2009 to January 22, 2009

Adopted

 

 

 

21-2009                      Dickerson/Mahon       

                        WHEREAS the Ministry of Environment, following recommendation from the O’Conner Report, has developed the Drinking Water Quality management Standard (DWQMS) as part of a new licensing program for municipal drinking water systems; and

 

                        WHEREAS the DWQMS, which is incorporated into the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), will require that municipalities adopt a system of quality management for the management and operation of water supply systems in Ontario and become licensed through an accreditation process; and

 

                        WHEREAS municipalities are required to develop an Operational Plan which will be submitted for approval before the drinking water system will become licensed; and

 

                        WHEREAS the operational plan portion of the Drinking Water Quality Management Standard contains twenty-one (21) elements; and

 

                        WHEREAS the Ontario Clean Water Agency is presently the operating authority for the Village of South River Water Treatment Plant and OCWA’s present environmental management system contains a number of the elements required to complete the operational plan;

 

                        NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT this Council of the Village of South River does hereby request OCWA provide an operational plan on behalf of the South River Water Treatment Plant at an estimated cost to complete the plan to be not more than $7500 unless additional costs are approved by Council.

Adopted

 

22-2009Mahon/Scott

                        WHEREAS the Provincial Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review (PMFSDR) final report was released on October 31, 2008; and

 

                        WHEREAS the PMFSDR Infrastructure Table concluded that the infrastructure investment gap per household for Northern Ontario municipalities is generally higher than other regions in Ontario; and

 

                        WHEREAS the PMFSDR Fiscal Health Table concluded that the fiscal health of Northern municipalities is poorer than other regions of Ontario; and

 

                        WHEREAS Northern Ontario municipalities are more reliant on funding from the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) than other regions of Ontario; and

 

                        WHEREAS many municipalities in Northern Ontario will see a reduction in their OMPF equal to their upload benefits per household for all other regions of the Province; and

 

                        WHEREAS the Province has committed to review the formula for distribution of the OMPF, or its successor unconditional funding program, before 2010; now

 

                        THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Village of South River that the Province of Ontario increase the Northern Communities Grant by $50.00 per-household, to ensure all Municipalities in the North will receive the necessary “Required Support”; and

 

                        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Premier of Ontario, the Minister of Finance, all FONOM members, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the Provincial Leader of Opposition.

Adopted

 

23-2009           Scott/Dickerson

BE IT RESOLVED THAT this Council of the Village of South River does hereby approve tendering to conduct a geo-thermal feasibility study to upgrade the present heating and ventilation system to a ground source heat pump with heat recovery ventilators.

Adopted

 

Councillor Parker arrived at 6:35 p.m.

 

Councillor Dickerson left the meeting at 6:45 p.m. to attend the Almaguin Community Arts Council meeting scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

 

24-2009Mahon/Parker

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Council of the Village of South River does hereby accept the following reports from regional committees:

1.                  Almaguin Highlands Economic Development Partnership Committee, January 15, 2009

2.                  Parry Sound District Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee, January 14, 2009

3.                  Parry Sound POA Partners Meeting, December 4, 2008

                        Adopted

 

Rob Learn was asked to comment on why the northern municipalities would no longer have a dedicated reporter covering the northern Almaguin region. Generally the reason is due to financial constraints.  There is still a reporter on contract in the north.

 

25-2009           Parker/Scott

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Council of the Village of South River does hereby receive the following correspondence to Council:

1.                  Municipality of Powassan - Northern Reporter Vacancy

2.                  Ontario Provincial Police – Updated Cost Recovery Formula

3.                  OGRA Conference Deadline

4.                  Minister of Industry, tony Clement – New Publication

5.                  Friendly Circle Senior Citizens, Thank-you

6.                  Carolynne Cote and Family (Bennison/Megill) Thank-you

Adopted

 

Additional correspondence given to Council at meeting:

1.                  Resignation from Machar Medical Centre representative John Haller

2.                  Set of corrected AHED minutes

3.                  Article from November 17/08 Globe and Mail: Local Solutions for a Global Crisis

 

 

 

26-2009           Mahon/Parker

                        BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Council of the Village of South River be closed under Subsection 239 (3.1) and that this Council proceed in Camera at 7:30 p.m. in order to address a matter pertaining to:

                        1- labour relations or employee negotiations,

                        2- litigation or potential litigation, including matters before administrative tribunals, affecting the municipality or local board and;

                        3- the meeting is held for the purpose of educating or training the members AND at the meeting, no member discusses or otherwise deals with any matter in a way that materially advances the business or decision-making of the council, local board or committee.

Adopted

 

27-2009Mahon/Parker

                        BE IT RESOLVED THAT this Council reconvene in Open Session at 7:44 p.m.

Adopted

 

The Clerk-Administrator was directed to send correspondence to the owner of the private vehicle involved in the December 25, 2008 accident.

 

Councillor Dickerson returned to the meeting at 7:45 p.m.

 

6.         Roundtable

 

Michael Turner and his assistant will be conducting the annual audit Monday and Tuesday of this week.

 

Lead testing will not have to be done in our Village until 2011 due to the negative results for lead which came after the two rounds of testing last year. In addition, the number of locations which need to be tested in 2011 have been reduced by half. MOE will confirm in writing that the Village has met the Ontario Regulations for lead testing.

 

Raina Froats and Susan Arnold passed the Basic Emergency Management course, which was held in our Council Chambers on the 13th and 14th, with  98% and  100% respectively.

 

Olympic Relay Torch meeting to take place in our Council Chambers on Wednesday, February 4, 2009 commencing at 8:30 a.m. and lasting for approximately 3 hours. Representatives from Sundridge and Powassan will also be attending.

 

The Request for Proposal advertisement for the Visitor Information Center will go into the paper the first week in February.

 

Councillor Dickerson reported that the Almaguin Community Arts Council would like to use a portion of the Train Station as an art gallery.  Details are to be worked out later.

 

Soil sample report arrived at LEA Architects today but Ruth Elder was out with the flu and has not had a chance to review.  She is expected to return to the office on Tuesday.

 

Councillor Scott addressed the current housing shortage crisis in the district.  There are not enough houses/apartments in all sectors of population, not just people on social assistance.

 

Mayor Coleman discussed the meeting which unveiled the highschool plan.  The outdoor activity centre could be a real asset in introducing outdoor activities to kids and their families.

 

7.         By-laws- Confirming

 

28-2009Parker/Scott

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Council of the Village of South River does hereby read a first, second and third time and finally pass by-law 3-2009, being a by-law to confirm the proceedings of Council at its meeting held on the 26th day of January, 2009 with the signatures of the Mayor and the Clerk-Administrator and the corporate seal affixed.

Adopted

 

8.         Adjournment

           

29-2009           Parker/Mahon

BE IT RESOLVED THAT this Council of the Village of South River does hereby adjourn to meet again as the South River Council on Monday, February 9, 2009 at 5:30 p.m. in the South River Council Chambers located at 63 Marie Street or at the call of the Mayor.  Time of Adjournment: 7:30 p.m.

Adopted

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_____________________________             ______________________________

Mayor, Jim Coleman                                       Clerk-Administrator, S. L. Arnold