Pontiac council report - Divided council -deficit in 2006?
Mo Laidlaw
About 13 residents attended the December 12, 2006 council meeting.
Drainage, roads
Michel Séguin and Louis Garneau had questions about maintenance and special projects for tolerance roads. In future three tenders will have to be obtained before major work is carried out, such as installing culverts. Mayor Eddie McCann suggested that nearby associations combine to get joint maintenance contracts for grading etc., to reduce costs.
James Reid said that two years ago the municipality replaced a blocked culvert which had turned part of his back yard into a swamp. Since then he started adding fill to the low-lying area. He complained that the building inspector came to take photos and called the ministry of the environment, who have told him to stop work because it is too close to a watercourse. Mr McCann said that he is sympathetic, but doesn’t know the answer.
In the red or in the black?
Bills for $71,558 and fixed expenses of $252,751 for November were approved. When it came to approving expenses of $19,696 for December, Councillor Jim Coyle proposed most of these expenses should be deferred because “it looks like a deficit for 2006.” The exception is $8000 to buy a 1980 Ford tanker truck for the fire department, payable in 2007. Councillors Gougeon, Dagenais and Middlemiss voted against, but Coyle’s amendment passed by 4:3.
Groupe Action Jeunesse asked for $250 to register for the Outaouais skating challenge. Councillor Coyle pointed out that the correct procedure is for the request to go through the Recreation committee, and said again that no money is available this year. The resolution passed 4:3 with councillors Coyle, Amyotte and McKenny voting against.
The Lions club in Quyon were given a budget of $1000 for repairs to their building, including the kitchen, office used by the MRC police, and meeting hall. This was passed by 4:3.
The Quyon family center requested financial support for Christmas baskets which was turned down.
At the end of the meeting Madeleine Carpentier asked what had happened to the surplus mentioned last month in reply to her question about the municipality’s finances.
Fire Department
In a discussion on accepting an offer to install a turnoff valve on the pumper truck for $7520, Councillor Coyle said, “This is the same thing, we should wait till next year.” Councillor Dagenais said, “But the fire department has money in its budget.” Director-General Sylvain Bertrand agreed, “Yes, there is money in the budget line. We have funds in the bank to pay for it.” This resolution passed 4:3; councillors Coyle, Amyotte and McKenny voted against.
A resolution to create a reserve fund of $23,500 for training for new firefighters from the 2006 budget was defeated 4:4, as mayor McCann added his vote against, to those of councillors Coyle, Amyotte and McKenny. At the end of the meeting Rick Knox pointed out that there is a time limit for certification, and with few training sessions in English, it might be hard to get the required training within the time limit, for English-speaking firefighters.
There were eight calls to the fire department in November, including one for a fire permit, and four false alarms.
Housing developments
Requests for building permits were down from over $3 million in October to just under $1 million in November. The developers of 1521 route 148, the Bellevue project, are going ahead with road construction for which apparently they do not need a permit unless “excavation” is carried out. They belatedly applied for a building permit for converting the old vegetable-stand into a sales office after work had started.
Council supported two requests for dividing lots: Mario D’Angelo to subdivide land at 1032 Smith-Léonard into two lots, one of 0.5 ha being identified for residential use, and Roger Therrien, 93 de la Rivière, to create three lots from two.
Two requests to the CPTAQ for change of use of farmland were supported by council: Keith Fraser to build a house in the Beechgrove area, and Jean-Léon Marcoux, 340 Kerr, to create a 4.25 acre lot to build a single family home.
Conform or pay up
Three more files have been transferred to the lawyer for action. These are cases where notices of infraction have been issued, but people continue to disregard bylaws. Following-up these cases is taking too much of the inspector’s time.
Mail non-delivery
Canada Post has stopped delivering mail house-to-house in places where it is considered dangerous to stop safely, or to rejoin fast traffic, such as along narrow sections of highway 148, or de la Montagne. Where new community boxes have been installed, or old ones moved, the road inspector authorized Canada Post in consultation with the local councillor. In some places, such as McKay, there is no place for people picking up mail in a vehicle to turn around. Perhaps we are being encouraged to get some exercise!