Highlights of the March 2, 2021 Council Meeting

Annually, Council has the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the firefighters who have achieved milestone years of service and retirements at the Fire Association Dinner. This year Council recognized four (4) retiring members of the Fire Department at their Council meeting on Tuesday night. The following members are retiring with exemplary service:

• David Burns – 32 years
• Glen Munro – 38 years
• Randy (Rooster) McDougall – 40 years
• Doug Sonnenburg – 46 years

Mayor Lowry acknowledged their contributions to keep our community and residents safe and congratulated each retiring firefighter on their years of service to the Fire Department. The presentation from last night’s meeting can be viewed on the municipal website with a Recognition of Service video posted on the municipal Facebook page.

Staff have been given approval to engage a consulting firm to provide a preliminary area assessment of the stormwater management for Finner Court and surrounding areas. The purpose of the work is to determine the root cause of poor surface water draining during the late winter and early spring and provide options to help alleviate the problem. Staff will report back to Council on the findings of the preliminary area assessment with short term solutions, a work plan, and cost estimate to complete a more detailed review.

The municipality will be participating in a joint tender with Lanark County and other local municipalities for the procurement of services for the 2021 Roadside Spraying Program. Roadside spraying is completed annually to reduce the risk and mitigate the spread of Wild Parsnip.

Each year the municipality is required to submit a Freedom of Information (FOI) report to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) which provides statistics related to requests for access to information. For 2020 the municipality completed a total of eleven (11) requests with no appeals.

There were three (3) requests for Letters of Support approved by Council last night. Bell Canada requested support of their funding application to the Universal Broadband Fund to provide broadband internet services in underserved areas across Canada. Our bylaw enforcement services are provided by a private company that also services other municipalities such as McNab/Braeside. The Township of McNab/Braeside has asked Council to indicate its interest in investigating the policies, procedures, and costs to obtain photo radar. Lastly, Bridging Generations Age-Friendly Pakenham requested support for a funding application for the Canada Healthy Communities Initiative Grant for the development of the Pakenham Trail.

The following staff reports were heard by Committee of the Whole and will be brought forward to Council at an upcoming Council meeting for final approval:

• Community Safety Update
• Parking Review – Various Locations
• Award of Contract – 2021 Micro-Surface Program
• Award of Contract – Mississippi Mills Business Park – Phase 3
• Appointment to Carleton Place's Parks and Recreation Committee 3
• Plans Examiner - Contract

A reminder that COVID protocols remain in place at all municipal facilities, including mandatory masks, hand sanitizing, social distancing, contact tracing etc. Please call ahead to prebook appointments at the Municipal Office.

Upcoming Meetings:

• Regular Meeting – March 16, 2021 at 6:00 p.m.
• Regular Meeting – April 6, 2021 at 6:00 p.m.