MRC Meeting
Alleyn-et-Cawood bylaw shot down; waste management committee cancelled
Bonnie James
Local Journalism Initiative
MRC PONTIAC – The MRC Pontiac’s Council of Mayors’ (CoM) monthly meeting was held October 16 at the MRC headquarters in Litchfield. It was another full house with nearly 40 members of the public in attendance to support Alleyn-et-Cawood’s (AC) proposed bylaw
regarding the calculation of municipal shares.
MRC Warden Jane Toller opened the meeting by acknowledging the crowd and mentioned that CoM meetings can be moved to a larger venue when a sizable crowd is anticipated by way of a vote at a meeting prior.
Alleyn-et-Cawood’s bylaw
Several additions to the agenda were requested. Notably, AC Mayor Carl Mayer requested the tabling of AC’s bylaw. The request provoked many comments from the mayors, who unanimously expressed empathy towards AC’s plight, but said that they did not support voting on AC’s bylaw as presented. It was stated that the finance committee is currently studying a bylaw, which is also being reviewed by the MRC’s legal counsel and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. Council said that they wanted to wait for more information before voting on it. The motion was denied, 17 to 1.
Eurasian milfoil concerns
During the announcements, Otter Lake Interim Mayor Jennifer Quaile told council that the municipality recently received a report from a biologist whom they had hired to check six lakes for the presence of Eurasian milfoil. The invasive species was found in McCuaig Lake, Little Hughes Lake, and Otter Lake; while Clark Lake, Leslie Lake, and Hughes Lake were clear. Quaile said a committee has been formed with councillors and representatives from each lake to develop strategies and a plan of action. She said they hope to bring recommendations to the public for consultation in the spring.
Question period
Warden Toller opened the public question period by citing several regulations regarding the management of public meetings from the municipal code:
• Question period is limited to 30 minutes per CoM sitting.
• A second question period with a maximum time limit of 10 minutes can be added to the end of the sitting at the discretion of the warden or chair.
• Members of the public may ask one question and one sub question, totalling five minutes, after which time the chair may stop the intervention.
• A member of council to whom a question is addressed may answer immediately, or at a subsequent meeting, or in writing.
• Only questions of public interest are allowed, as opposed to those of private interest not concerning the municipality.
Seven members of the public proceeded to ask questions and express concerns on the topic of the comparative factor, property evaluations, and municipal shares.
Notice of motion was given for the adoption of a revised bylaw regarding the management of sittings of the CoM, but no information was provided on what the revisions would entail.
Waste Management Committee cancelled
In another addition to the agenda, Quaile raised the issue of the cancellation of the Waste Management Committee, which was announced at the plenary meeting on October 9. “I feel very strongly this is a mistake,” said Quaile, “The committee should be given a clear mandate and legitimacy like other MRC committees… We have unfinished work. We have knowledgeable people who are committed to taking action and bringing simple, cost-efficient solutions to the table to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.” Warden Toller responded that the committee was designed as a way for previous MRC environmental coordinators to meet with councillors assigned to waste from all 18 municipalities, but that new coordinator Nina Digioacchino prefers to work directly with the municipal director generals and mayors. Toller said the Waste Management Committee had fulfilled its purpose and was no longer needed. Toller also pointed out that there is still an
environment committee comprised of five mayors.
Mayors Odette Godin and Doris Ranger spoke up in support of the committee. Godin said she received valuable ideas from the committee, which she was able to implement in Waltham, reducing the amount of waste they send to landfill. It was suggested that
perhaps some iteration of the committee could continue making presentations to the mayors at plenary and Toller said that the issue could be discussed further at plenary.
The next CoM meeting will be held November 27.
