Body: Committee of the Whole Type: Minutes Meeting: Committee of the Whole Date: January 14, 2014 Collection: Council Minutes Municipality: South Frontenac
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Minutes of Committee of the Whole January 14th, 2014 Time: 7:00 p.m. Location: Council Chambers Meeting # 2 Present: Mayor Gary Davison, Pat Barr, Allan McPhail, John McDougall, Cam Naish, Del Stowe, Bill Robinson, Ron Vandewal, Larry York Staff: Wayne Orr, Chief Administrative Officer, Louise Fragnito, Treasurer, Brian Gass, Chief Building Official, Mark Segsworth, Public Works Manager 1
Call to Order
2
Declaration of pecuniary interest and the general nature thereof
a)
None
3
Scheduled Closed Session - None
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***Recess - reconvene at 7:00 p.m. for Open Session
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Delegations
a)
Hall Rental Rates - various Storrington Centre user groups - Sharon Patterson
Sharon Patterson - Secretary Treasurer - spoke on behalf on behalf of the Storrington retirees. All groups were not informed of the changes. The process of posting and using the caretaker / booking agent to communicate the changes was questioned. She reviewed the history and activities of the group. The retirees have an agreement that has since been forwarded which speaks to their contributions and inventory in exchange for the free use of the space, they ask that it be honoured and that Council reconsider its position. John Kott spoke on behalf of the Sunbury Music Association which uses the hall every Friday night. The group has 50 + members. Concerns on the unprofessional manner that this was dealt with. Council was asked what the purpose of the fees would be and how they would be used. Kitchen use is unclear in the agreement. They do not charge for their events. Share the Wealth draws help to replace equipment. Darlene Clement spoke on behalf of the Monday Euchre group. This group has a 20+ year history with money raised being redirected to the community and into the hall. They were not approached by the Recreation Committee even though they are in the hall the same night. Rents will result in a loss of contributions back to the community. Council is asked to reconsider its position. Susan Greenwood on behalf of the TOPS group spoke to the fact that their group is only 12 members who pay $1 a week. They have used the hall for over 19 years. A community member spoke in favour of the Open Mic Sessions on Friday nights. These individuals now go out to seniors homes and sing for the residents. Ron Sleeth, former Reeve of Storrington and on the Amalgamation Committee spoke to point that it was expressly agreed that all halls are to be available for
Committee of the Whole January 14, 2014 the unfettered use of the not for profit groups and that funding for the Storrington Center was part of a Wintario grant with similar conditions. These groups represent the backbone of the community. Fran Willes also a member of the amalgamation committee endorsed the comments of Ron Sleeth. These issues were considered and urged Council to look into this. Bill Lake, former Mayor of South Frontenac commented that the hall was built for the betterment of the community. Grants were obtained to build and outfit the hall. He urged Council to live up to the agreement. No savings will be achieved if the hall is empty. He encouraged everyone to work together. Wilma Kenny on behalf of Cameron Kenny spoke of the New Horizons grants which supported the groups and furnished the halls Elwood Rollins a member of Storrington Recreation spoke to the fact that the committee was aware of the fees and process. He asked what each councillors position was. A letter from Don Amos Executive Director of North Frontenac Community Services was distributed to Council. b)
Hall Rental Rates - various Harris Park Hall user groups - Cheryl Bird
Ms. Bird Spoke on behalf of the Harris Park Community Hall and the Crafters and Helping Hands group. She spoke of the history of the hall and expressed appreciation for the opportunity to speak and for the work done on the hall including the new furnace. The hall is really the heart of this small community. Groups who use the building give generously back to support the community and those who need assistance. While money is raised it would be redirected to rent and away from the community. They request the status quo be reinstated. She provided signed petitions from the community. The Mayor spoke to all delegates to inform them that the decision of Council was based on the recommendation of the South Frontenac Recreation, which was based on the feedback from the four local recreation committees. Councillor Stowe acknowledged the lack of communication between the various levels of the recreation committees and the user groups. He apologized as a member of the committee and will recommend that council hold off, consider the information presented and send it back to the committee for review. Councillor McDougall sits on both committees and spoke to the goal of bringing consistency to the use of halls and standardized rentals. He is surprised, given his assumption that the local committee volunteers had represented the user groups. He would support sending the issue back to committee. Councillor Naish, sits on both committees and acknowledged a break down in communication. He did indicate that the subject had been discussed for over a year at the committee level. He supports user fees, however believes that circumstances need to be considered. Council is working for the people and is being accountable to all taxpayers Councillor York commented that the turn out shows the strength of the community. He encouraged communication and working together and thanked everyone for coming out.
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Committee of the Whole January 14, 2014 Councillor Robinson indicated that he will be talking for the groups and working on their behalf. Deputy Mayor Vandewal confirmed that all districts had an opportunity to comment. He encouraged everyone not to shoot the messengers (Volunteers and Staff). The process was in place to get the input, it should have worked but didn’t. He supported sending it back to SFRC for review. Councillor Barr is also on the committees and can see the point of going back to the committee. Councillor McPhail indicated his support for reviewing the direction, however as a minimum there needs to be a method to register users of the hall so that we know who and when they are being used. Mayor Davison summed up the discussions and directed staff to suspend the implementation of the policy and directed the issue back to South Frontenac Recreation Committee. Councillor Naish read a thank you letter from a family that experienced a fire Christmas Eve. 6
Reports Requiring Action
a)
2014 Budget Update
Council indicated support for keeping the budget impact at the 2.91% as this is what had been communicated. Changes will be finalized once the County and School Board rates are set. b)
Closing of Unopened Road Allowance
Provided that the property owner pays all costs including surveying and legal as well as providing the Township with the land required for a 66 FT road clearance, Council is prepared to consider selling at the brush rate. 7
Reports for Information
a)
Changes to the Building Code Brian Gass, CBO, reviewed his report and some of the key changes to the code. He clarified that if a building permit was issued before the new year then construction follows the old code.
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Rise & Report
a)
County Council
Over the next month or so the Council will be dealing with Strategic planning, budget and the service delivery review recommendations. While some recommendations can be implemented immediately others will need further development. b)
Arena Board
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Committee of the Whole January 14, 2014
Nothing to report c)
Police Services Board
Still awaiting OPP to schedule interviews. 9
Information Items
a)
AMO Conference Aug 17-20, Room Bookings
b)
EORN Press Release - new fibre broadband connections
c)
Premier’s Award - Agri-Food innovation
d)
Canada Post - Service levels at Godfrey Post Office
10
New Business
a)
Reminder of the Public meeting on Rutledge Rd improvements meeting Wed Jan 16
b)
South Frontenac Community Services will be holding a Kick Off Breakfast on Feb 7 at 7:30 am Invitations to follow.
11
Closed Session (if requested) None
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Adjournment There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 8:37 pm.
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