Pontiac council report - firefighters still waiting for training
Mo Laidlaw
The roads were so bad on December 11, 2007 that for a while it seemed unlikely that enough members of council would be present for quorum, but by 8:20 only councillors Middlemiss and Gougeon were absent. Isabelle Coté, the deputy director-general, replaced Sylvain Bertrand whose mother died recently.
Firefighter training
Kevin Mansey, Francis Madore and David Scully all had questions about firefighter training, specifically when it would start. Mayor Eddie McCann spoke for a long time and the answer was that he would not give an exact date because the agreement is still not signed with La Pêche, whose fire chief is going to do the training. Mr Mansey is concerned that half of the firefighters have not even taken the initial training: “What happens if one of these guys gets injured? Is the municipality liable?” Mr McCann replied, “We trust the fire department will not put people in harm’s way.”
Council agreed to buy a pumper tanker fire truck from Équipements incendie Levasseur for $231,709 plus tax. This needs the approval of the ministry of municipal affairs.
Budget
Madeleine Carpentier requested more information on the municipal finances than given in the mayor’s financial report circulated to all taxpayers, as well as a list of all government grants received in 2007.
Waste management
Mo Laidlaw asked when organic waste would be collected to make compost, as proposed in the MRC des Collines Waste Management Plan, in February 2004. According to the plan this should have started in 2007. She said, “The Casino in Gatineau is reported to be about to start sending compostable material from its restaurants to the plant in L’Ange-Gardien, as this saves money compared to sending it as garbage to Lachute.” Mr McCann replied that compost collection will not happen in 2008 because the plant in L’Ange-Gardien is not yet open.
Protection of farmland
Daniel Pellerin’s request for council’s support for his application to the CPTAQ to operate an animal crematorium on farmland at 3200 route 148 was turned down. The CPTAQ may still consider the proposal.
Cadastral reform
During the cadastral reform, part of Eardley-Masham road was incorrectly identified as NCC property. A request is being sent to Ressources naturelles et Faune Québec to have this corrected and the road identified as municipal property.
Amendments to zoning bylaws
Councillor McKenny gave notice that he will be introducing a further amendment to the zoning bylaw that regulates the setback on provincial roads. Provincial roads are highways 148 and 366, the Eardley-Masham road, and Lac-des-Loups road, where in general buildings must be set back 35 metres. The bylaw was amended earlier in 2007 to allow a minimum setback of 20 metres for shallow lots or where there are natural obstacles, as well as for infill, where the average setback is used unless it is less than 20 metres.
Councillor Amyotte gave notice that he will be introducing an amendment to change the bylaw on lot sizes in ward 7 at the next meeting. A motion to increase minimum lot sizes in ward 7 (new lots) to 8000m2 (about 2 acres) was defeated in November. Dr Amyotte hopes to be able to obtain a study on the water table, and assess how many wells the area can support.
Other matters
Bills for $345,365 and fixed expenses of $589,120 for November were approved.
Council accepted the resignation of Philippe Craste, the director of technical services.