Alright, back at it with the normal Council schedule! Councillor Heffernan posted a great recap of the March 27 meeting I wasn’t able to attend. The April 8 meeting was a closed session related to the selection of our new CAO, so I’m not able to report on anything that happened that evening.
You can find the full agenda for today’s Council meeting here.
First we have a Closed Session at 5pm to continue discussing the selection of our new CAO, the only municipal employee that reports directly to Council. Then…
Delegations, Presentations & Petitions
- Pat Fowler will make a presentation, with several letters of support, asking Middlesex Centre Council to support the Mayor’s Monarch Pledge.
- The Middlesex Federation of Agriculture will deliver their Annual Agriculture Update. No presentation provided.
- Jordyn Scott will ask Council to designate Oma’s Big Green Egg Fest 2019 a municipally significant event so that they can obtain a special occasion permit.
Consent Agenda
- MXC staff and the St. Clair Conservation Authority are looking to clarify roles and responsibilities around maintenance of the Coldstream Conservation Area, and renew the agreement early in order to do so as recommended by MXC’s insurance provider.
- We have the full costs of the recent Integrity Commissioner report now, which came to $11,951.34.
- The budget has some discrepancies versus where we ought to be on a purely mathematical basis, but overall things look healthy.
- Fire Chief Toth shows us he and his team are doing a tremendous job executing on the Master Fire Services Plan! I look forward to seeing the next one when it comes time.
- The Community Services Advisory Committee appointed its new Chair and Co-Chair, and Director of Community Services Scott Mairs laid out the staff wishlist for 2019, including identifying the location for a fenced in dog park in Komoka or Kilworth! đŸ¤©
- And, the report Council asked for about going ahead with the EA for a new Wastewater Treatment Facility in Arva.
Staff Reports
It’s all good news here!
- The federal government recently introduced the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Plan (ICIP), which the province is also taking part in. The Rural and Northern Ontario Stream is now open, and staff want to seek over $4,000,000 in funding to help pay for Hyde Park Road’s reconstruction between Thirteen Mile Road and Elginfield Road.
- If we are successful, this would cut down our own future expenses from almost $5M down to roughly $833,500! Let’s hope for the best!
- This is also a good time to make sure we have all our ducks in a row for the Ilderton Arena, regardless of what Council decides, so that when the appropriate funding stream comes up, our staff are ready to submit the necessary documents for provincial and federal funding.
- You may have heard the federal gas tax is being doubled on-time 2019. This means instead of $525,126.70, we should receive $1,050,253.40! Staff are recommending putting the additional funds into a reserve for the time being, and the money will be spent in 2020 instead once they identify the best projects to tackle.
Correspondence
The Sydenham River Canoe and Kayak Race is now in its 47th year! It looks like a lot of fun, and I hope to participate with one of my children next year.
That’s that! If you have any questions, please get a hold of me.