MRC meeting – $60,000 trash problem, last-minute PPJ repairs, septic mayhem

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Allyson Beauregard

LITCHFIELD – There was standing room only at the monthly Council of Mayors meeting as over 30 people attended to denounce a septic system installed on
a beachfront property in Clarendon (see page 6).
Other highlights included decisions on PPJ work, a discussion on illegal dumping, and the promotion of a few new tourist activities.

Allyson Beauregard

LITCHFIELD – There was standing room only at the monthly Council of Mayors meeting as over 30 people attended to denounce a septic system installed on
a beachfront property in Clarendon (see page 6).
Other highlights included decisions on PPJ work, a discussion on illegal dumping, and the promotion of a few new tourist activities.
PPJ
Elaine Bonnah asked if there are any answers regarding the legalities and liabilities of allowing ATVs on the PPJ. Warden Jane Toller said there hasn’t been any progress since the last meeting because the committee hasn’t met, and they haven’t assigned a deadline or urgency to the file.
The MRC still hasn’t received the budgeted $125,000 in funding from Route Verte, which Engineer Kim Lesage said is a province-wide delay, so the MRC awarded a contract for replacing a culvert in the Fort-Coulonge area using the remaining $25,000 set aside for PPJ maintenance this year. The PPJ will be leased to local snowmobile clubs again this winter for $100.
Other developments
Lesage and Mayor Maurice Beauregard (Campbell’s Bay) were
officially removed from the former National Park Committee since a new MRC committee is in the works. Toller said the new members will likely be decided at November’s meeting.
The MRC will ask the Ministry of the Environment to confirm if the Pontiac is legally able to accept waste from Ontario for a possible energy-from-waste facility.
The MRC will now handle fine payments in-house rather than contracting the job out to RPGL.
All MRC Pontiac municipalities, including the TNO, resolved to share resources in the event of any emergencies.
Paul Shea and Todd Hoffman received permission to use a portion of the MRC’s property behind the police station in Campbell’s Bay for a snowshoe race in February 2020. Council also supported a resident’s request to the government to create a
snowshoe trail in Mansfield on TPI (intra-municipal public land) land.
SADC Pontiac, Renfrew County and the MRC joined forces to launch “Tap and Cork Tourism Trail” featuring a website and interactive map of breweries, cider houses and vineyards in the two regions. Continuing their collaboration with Ontario, Council will work with Pembroke and Renfrew County to promote the
Ottawa River waterway by developing stronger advertising campaigns. 
Regent Dugas, MRC Director of Territory, showed pictures of illegal dumping in the Klukeville area outside of Otter Lake, an ongoing problem for years, he said. The MRC recently cleaned the site again, and has spent over $60,000 since 2010 when the dump site was closed and an agreement was made with Otter Lake to use their municipal dump instead, said Dugas.   
In light of a number of service interruptions in obstetrics at the Pontiac Community Hospital (PCH) this year, including one from October 18 to 21, Council requested that the Ministry of Health treat nursing staff shortages at the PCH and elsewhere in Québec as urgent and make retention and attracting easier by increasing competitiveness with Ontario (ie. wages,full-time positions, work conditions).  
The mayors bid farewell to Jeremi Vaillancourt who leaves his position in communications at the MRC for a government job. The vacant position is posted and the MRC hopes to fill it by the end of November.
The next Council of Mayors meeting is November 27.