This month’s meeting of North Dundas Council took place on July 18. Unusually, two Council members – Councillors John Lennox and Matthew Uhrig – were both on vacation and therefore absent for the meeting, which ran with just 3 members instead of the usual 5.
The meeting began with a relatively lengthy update presentation from Storm Internet, which is locally based but provides services throughout Eastern Ontario and Ottawa. The presentation was well received.
The three attending Council members approved a motion to enter into an Animal Shelter Agreement with the Township of Russell. This came after much talk in previous meetings about the need for a new solution, since several municipalities in the area have been sharing one dog catcher and one dog pound for years. North Dundas will now use the Animal Shelter in Russell for stray dogs picked up locally.
Next, Council passed a motion to request that the United Counties of SD&G include 25 conditions in the Plan of Subdivision for the proposed development located southwest of Moffat Street and south of Thomas Drive in Morewood. Council also quickly approved two applications under the Township of North Dundas Community Improvement Plan (CIP), which provides grant money to help significantly offset the costs of local business façade upgrades.
Council was next asked to go through some administrative approvals required for the Township to receive its share of the federal Canada Community-Building Fund, previously known as the “Gas Tax”. This funding reroutes a portion of the tax funds collected at gasoline pumps back to municipalities to help pay for transportation infrastructure, such as road improvements. Deputy Mayor Theresa Bergeron made a comment about the name change of the Fund, saying “I guess they don’t want people to know that electric vehicles are not paying this tax – all cars use roads, and all cars should be paying the tax”.
Council next agreed to allow reserve funds to pay for a condenser replacement at the Sam Ault Arena in Winchester at a cost of $89,000, before hearing a lengthy presentation on a newly written document – the “Design Standards and Guidelines for Subdivisions and Site Plan Control” for the Township of North Dundas. This document intends to set consistent standards for developments within the Township. Including appendices, the Guide is nearly 300 pages long.
As part of the Township’s Strategic Plan, staff hope to implement a new and improved Communications Strategy to improve communication both internally, and between the Township and North Dundas residents.
Other routine business was discussed, including an update on the pausing of the wetland mapping process which was already discussed in the last issue of the Times, and a Fire Services update which outlined the success of new training for firefighters, a planned upgrade to the inter-firefighter communication system, and some other needed equipment upgrades. Council also heard from the local Minor Hockey Association, which made a request for the Township to refund insurance fees paid at a recent Arena fundraiser. The request amounted to a donation request of approximately $450, and Council approved it with enthusiasm.
Including a brief closed session meeting period, the June 18 Council meeting lasted for just under two hours.
