Pontiac council report - spring thaw problems
Mo Laidlaw
There was a large turnout of about fifty people at the council meeting on March 14, 2006. Eleven members of the public asked questions at the start of the meeting, with most questioners coming from the Breckenridge sector, complaining about the state of roads and flooding ditches. Mayor Eddie McCann explained to Robert Lussier that four or five roads will be paved this year, after the base has been prepared and ditches fixed, including Maple lane, Cedarvale road and Steele line, with a budget of $3 million. In answer to Raymond Renaud, it will not be possible to widen Cedarvale at the same time, to make it conform to current standards.
Residents pay for paving
Dwayne Mosley complained about flooding ditches and speeders on Lelièvre and the poor state of Maple Lane, also mentioned by Lois Mulvihill. Louise Lafortune asked if a “speed bump” on Davis could be removed. Mr McCann will talk to the road inspector - this should be covered by normal maintenance after rain. In the case of ditches, only blocked culverts will be fixed right now. Ms Lafortune also asked about the procedure for subdivisions to request paving, where the owners pay 50% of the cost. Frederic Hamon said that Lavigne residents are surprised that they have to pay towards paving. Director-general Sylvain Bertrand explained that for subdivisions a majority of owners have to agree, and the costs are established before a 50:50 agreement is reached with the municipality. The figure of $3000 per house was mentioned, spread over five years.
Water supply
Serge St-Pierre asked if studies are carried out before building permits are issued, to determine the capacity of the water table. He knows of three people whose wells have gone dry in the Renaud/Cedarvale area since new houses were built on Lavigne. Mr Bertrand explained that municipalities don’t yet do this kind of study although some are starting to think about the effect of development on the availability of water. Concerning the state of roads Mr St-Pierre pointed out that Cedarvale has far more traffic than twenty years ago, with most of the former cottages now being year-round homes. This applies to most of the municipality’s roads.
Alain Desormeaux complained about heavy truck traffic on Montagne, as well as flooding ditches, and he’s worried about all the new building along the road. Mr McCann is meeting with Gatineau and Chelsea to ask the ministry of Transport to take back responsibility for Montagne.
Burst water mains
In Quyon there were two major breaks in the water mains on Friday evening, March 10. Mr McCann explained that the pipes are 50 years old, and the thaw and refreeze caused the problems. He praised municipal workers for fixing the breaks by Monday evening. Carol Trudeau asked for the system to be flushed clean after breaks are repaired to remove dirt, and for more information to be available when these events occur. Mr McCann said that an emergency phone with a message will be set up shortly for future problems.
Money matters
Bills for $34,275 and fixed expenses of $266,887 to March 1st, were approved.
As a result of the Quebec municipal board’s decision to exempt the Tim Horton’s Foundation from taxes, the municipality must refund $146,946 as soon as possible, to avoid interest charges.
The lowest tender for the municipality to buy a new backhoe was accepted, from Conley JCB, for a total of $83,588.
Amounts of $5000 to buy new tires for the Luskville grader, and $3000 to redo the roof of the municipal office at 25 Church, Quyon were authorized.
The offer by Services Wolf to create a municipal website for $3075 and host and update it for $1200 per year was accepted.
A request from Groupe Action Jeunesse to be reimbursed $644 for a new safety net for archery barely passed. Some councillors were upset that the net was bought without council’s authorization. GAJ is starting an archery project for youth in Luskville and Quyon, and will use the equipment bought by the municipality in 2000. However the safety net had disappeared. Since GAJ had booked a training session for trainers they replaced one net and were able to borrow a second net. Archery classes start on March 21 for five weeks and then again in September.
New fees for building permits
A new fee scale for building permits and certificates of authorization was adopted. For example it will now cost $1500 for a permit to build a 2000-square-foot house, and $150 for authorization to cut trees commercially. The complete fee schedule is on page 13 - 14 of the minutes of meeting 2006-03-14 at www.munpontiac.com.
Erik Scobie was named as vice president of the CCU (planning committee). Irene McKenny was named as a new member of the recreation committee.
Mr McCann was nominated to sit on the board of TransporAction Pontiac. He asked for volunteer drivers to call the town hall at 819-455-2401. Drivers are paid per km driven.
Fire department
Offers for a cube van for the fire department will be requested. It must be 2000 or newer with less than 150,000 km.
Three new volunteer firefighters will be hired: Kevin Mansey, Pierre-Louis Chartrand and Mike Dubeau.
Bicycle trail
Council adopted three resolutions: to identify the municipality as the promoter of the bicycle path, with help from the MRC and CLD and others for financing and technical support; to change the membership of the working committee; and to clarify the route: from Wyman east along old highway 8 (MacKechnie and Clarendon) through Quyon and back to the 148 near Russell, with a spur to the river along Ferry road.