Allyson Beauregard
MRC PONTIAC – The 18 MRC Pontiac mayors met at the MRC building, May 16, for the regular Council of Mayors meeting. The agenda included a presentation regarding senior hockey, a request for special status for agriculture (see page 7),
consulting a third party on PPJ damages, and the approval of a new job position, among others.
Allyson Beauregard
MRC PONTIAC – The 18 MRC Pontiac mayors met at the MRC building, May 16, for the regular Council of Mayors meeting. The agenda included a presentation regarding senior hockey, a request for special status for agriculture (see page 7),
consulting a third party on PPJ damages, and the approval of a new job position, among others.
Danik Boisvert, a Fort-Coulonge resident and one of the founders of the Fort-Coulonge and Shawville senior hockey teams, spoke about the Outaouais Senior A Hockey League. Nicolas St. Laurent takes care of the Shawville team. The Senior A Hockey League is for hockey players over 20 years old and the goal is to have 6 to 8 teams competing in the upcoming hockey season; there are currently four teams committed, including the two Pontiac teams. Boisvert organizes the annual 3vs3 hockey tournament at the arena in Fort-Coulonge; to date, it has raised over $70,000 for the arena.
Over $12,000 in donations were approved for large events: $5,000 to the Shawville Fair, $2,500 for Mansfield’s Canada Day celebrations, and $5,000 for both the fall and winter Bristol Dryland races.
New job position
A new position was created at the MRC for an “Attraction and Retention of Talents Agent” in light of the slaughterhouse and Livewell developments which may bring new people to the area.
During the employee’s two year contract, his or her duties will include helping new businesses with their “sales pitch” to attract workers to the area, providing a central location where newcomers can obtain information on what is
available in the Pontiac including housing, schools, health services, activities, etc. A salary has not been decided and the new employee could be hired as early as July.
PPJ washout
Council resolved to consult a third party concerning a washout along the PPJ near Moorehead Road in Litchfield; Emilie Chazelas, MRC Economic Development Officer commented [the person could be] “either an engineer or a lawyer”.
In November last year, Council approved spending about $85,000 to repair the large culvert on the trail near Moorehead Road as well as eight others, following an engineer’s report on trail maintenance needs and using the remainder of 2017’s $250,000 budget. However, the newly-repaired culvert recently washed out, and according to Warden Jane Toller, it appears the problem was caused by water running around the culvert rather than through it during the spring thaw.
Toller stressed that fixing the problem is a priority and it’s essential to get a third party’s opinion on what caused the washout and how to fix it before any
liability is looked into. Meanwhile, barricades have been placed around the washout, closing that section of the trail.
Listening tour and town hall meeting
Toller noted she will soon be starting a series of Town Hall meetings as part of
her “listening tour”; five meetings will be held across the MRC Pontiac to provide citizens with updates on the Pontiac pool project, how the MRC is performing on their 11 identified priorities, and to take suggestions and answer questions. The first will be held in L’Isle-aux-Allumettes on June 5.
Toller said the pool will be non-profit and funded by the federal and provincial governments as well as corporate partnerships, not municipal shares. “No
facility will provide more health and wellness,” she said, stressing it will
recapture some of the recreation dollars Pontiac residents spend elsewhere.
Toller will also be holding a Town Hall meeting concerning agriculture on June 4 in Campbell’s Bay. Similar to the meeting she held on forestry earlier this year, this consultation will collect suggestions and feedback related to the agriculture industry in the MRC Pontiac and answer questions.
