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Council Report, 2 February 2011 By Holly Franklin Councillor Stokely is still keen on getting some Town Hall meetings going, and Mayor Lever has endorsed the idea. Councillor Fielding asked if someone other than a Councillor could facilitate the meetings, and it was agreed that this would be a good idea. Wayne will report back to Council at a later date. There was some discussion about a smoking policy for the Township. Neither Ken Roth nor Sue Fielding thinks that the patio in front of the Community Centre should be a smoking zone. Brenda will pursue the matter of finding an alternative place for people to smoke, while they attend functions at the Community Centre. Council acknowledged the letter from Sandra Solomon about Council keeping its promise to lower taxes and stipulated that this promise will be part of the up-coming budget process. The trucker rest area proposed by Suncor, at the corner of Pinebush and Townline Rd., was discussed briefly. It is still a contentious proposal, and Stan Denhoed will report back to Council after the February 23rd meeting. At the moment, a patchwork approach to the matter is being looked at, and what is needed is a consistent, unified approach. Delegations: Art Zimmerman, president of the Puslinch Lake Conservation Association gave a brief history of the Lake. The non-Native inhabitants of the Lake settled in the area in 1784; by 1861, there were 5 inns that catered to tourists. The mission of the PLCA is to restore the Lake using 3 different approaches: harvesting of weeds in the Lake; dredging of the Lake; and the use of weevils and chemicals. There are 210 residents who live on the Lake, and most are year-round. The PLCA is asking Council for a grant of $50,000 to aid in the restoration of the Lake. The money would be used for monitoring of wells, for lining the pit where the dredgeate sediment is put and to help with the other expenses associated with restoring the Lake. Dennis said that this request will be considered during the budget process. (It has occurred to this writer that because the sediment that is removed and taken away to dry in the sun for many months is akin to black gold for fields and gardens, wouldn’t it make a lot of sense (and money) for the sediment to be sold as garden fertilizer, thereby defraying some of the expense of restoring the Lake? At this point, the sediment is being given to whomever is able to haul it away.) Ann Caine, Director of Sunrise Therapeutic Riding and Learning Centre, asked for consideration in the next budget, as well. Sunrise’s on-going programmes for the physically and mentally disabled do not rely on government help to keep running. Their highly-trained staff are paid by donations from businesses, private individuals and other organizations. Sunrise also has a roster of about 100 volunteers. The Big Lake project. The Green Municipal Fund of the FCM has given Council until February 20th to decide what to do with their grant of $400,000. Dennis said the gravel companies are positive in their response to the idea of Big Lake – goodwill in the community and extra gravel for them. None of the Councillors wants to pay for Big Lake with taxpayers’ money. Sue says this is a rehabilitation project, and as such, should be paid for by the gravel companies. A letter will be sent to the FCM asking for more time to consider our decision. A monetary commitment is needed from the aggregate companies. Jim Howlett, Road Superintendant, tendered his resignation as of April 30th. Gerry Schmidt, Councillor, brought up, again, the idea of closing the 1st Concession entrance/exit to/from Highway 6 on a temporary basis. We don’t have any statistics about accidents or fatalities in that particular area. Dennis asked Gerry to do a proposal for next Council meeting about the temporary closing of that entrance/exit. Wayne Stokely asked if the decommissioning of old wells on the Aberfoyle Meadows subdivision has been done, on behalf of the Wellington Water Protection Committee. No one could answer the question definitively. Sue Fielding reported that the COP Committee meeting of January 26th was a good one. Sandra Solomon and Ron Van Ooteghem will alternate as secretary. The other officers will remain the same. Puslinch has the 3rd highest rate of domestic violence in the County. Mike Ashley, our OPP liason at the COP Committee, will bring someone from the OPP to speak on this matter to our February 23rd meeting. It was also reported that each Township will be required to have its own type of COP Committee. |