Municipality of the District of Clare
COUNCIL-IN-COMMITTEE MEETING
Wednesday, June 7th, 2017 at 7:00 pm
PRESENT: Council: Warden Ronnie LeBlanc, Deputy Warden Nil Doucet, Councillors, Danny Hill, Hector Thibault, Carl Deveau, Brian Comeau, Eric Pothier and Yvon LeBlanc.
Staff: CAO, Stéphane Cyr; Administrative Assistant to the CAO, Alain Poirier,
Public: Secretary of the Clare Knights of Columbus, Richard Landry
ABSENT: Councillor Danny Hill
1) Call to order
Warden Ronnie LeBlanc called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm.
2) (a) Approval of the agenda
The Warden asked that the following items be added to the Agenda.
- 6.10 Belliveau Motors, under “New Business”
- 8.4 Cape St. Mary’s Lighthouse, under “Closed Session”
MOVED BY Councillor Hector Thibault and SECONDED BY Councillor Carl Deveau that the proposed agenda be approved with the above noted additions.
MOTION CARRIED
(b) Declaration of conflict of interest
Warden Ronnie LeBlanc asked for any declarations of conflict of interest.
None declared
3) Presentations
3.1 Knights of Columbus – Richard Landry
Mr. Richard Landry presented a request for financial assistance to Council in the amount of $4,000 or 1/3 of the total projected cost of replacing their aging stove. Although not yet confirmed, the balance of funding is expected to be shared equally between both the federal and provincial government. (See attached)
Council indicated that it would take this request under consideration and inform the group of its decision before the end of July.
4) Staff reports
4.1 Community Clean-up Program – Alain Poirier
The Administrative Assistant to the CAO presented a brief report highlighting the results achieved thus far with the Community Clean-up Program. (See attached) As per usual, the program will be suspended for the summer months and will resume in the Fall.
5) Business arising from previous meetings
5.1 Funding request – Projet PG
The CAO reminded Council of the need to respond to Mr. Chad Comeau following his May 3rd, 2017 presentation and subsequent funding request. Whereas the project was deemed eligible under the Municipality’s Grant to Organizations criteria, Council passed the following motion to recommend:
PROPOSED BY Deputy Warden Nil Doucet and SECONDED BY Councillor Eric Pothier that Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare recommend awarding a grant of $5,000 to Chad Comeau towards his project entitled Clare PG, conditional upon confirmation of balance of funding from the Federal Government. The funds will be distributed in the following manner:
- $2,500 in 2017
- $2,500 in 2018
MOTION CARRIED
5.2 Ecopark RFP
The CAO informed Council that the RFP for the Ecopark is now closed. No bids were received. Efforts will now be made to target individuals and/or businesses directly whom Council/staff believes may have interest in the site.
5.3 Demolition of house located at 8543 Highway 1, Meteghan Centre
The tender for the demolition of the house located at 8543 Highway 1, Meteghan Centre is now closed. The CAO recommended Council accept the lowest bid for unsorted materials. The materials in turn will be sorted at the Clare Transfer Station by municipal staff. Council passed the following motion to recommend:
PROPOSED BY Councillor Hector Thibault and SECONDED BY Councillor Carl Deveau that the Municipality of the District of Clare recommend awarding the tender for demolishing the house located at 8543 Highway 1, Meteghan Centre to Spec Resources Inc. in the amount of $5,448.00 plus HST.
MOTION CARRIED
6) New business
6.1 Planning Advisory Committee – Watershed Protection
The PAC is recommending a series of amendments to the Land Use By-law to include watershed protection. A copy of the proposed amendment was circulated to Council for their review and will be presented for first reading at the June 21st Council meeting. Furthermore, a public consultation will be held at the Clare Veteran`s Centre on June 28th, at 7:00 pm, to build awareness and gather feedback.
6.2 RCMP Policing Review
Following the conclusion of the RCMP Policing Review and subsequent presentation (2016), the notion of amalgamation arose as a potential source of gains in terms of service costs and delivery. Upon further review from the RCMP, they concluded that amalgamating the police services for all three municipal units in Digby Co. would yield no significant cost savings and would likely prove challenging in terms of maintaining service delivery standards (including service in both official languages). As such, the Municipality of Clare’s position is to maintain the current service delivery model.
6.3 Funding Request – Artdaily Cultural Organisation
The CAO presented Council with a funding request from Artdaily Cultural Organization (operating name Ekphrasis Studio) entitled “Kite Days & Festival at Belliveau Cove”. The application was reviewed and subsequently declined.
While the idea of a kite festival is certainly not without merit, it was the opinion of both Council and staff that the proposed 12 week duration of the festival was overly ambitious for a new event. Furthermore, many of the costs outlined in the proposal were operational in nature and as such fall outside of the scope of the Municipality’s Grants to Organizations program. As for the usage of the Farmers Market infrastructure and the possibility of vendor support, it was respectfully recommended that Ekphrasis Studio coordinate this through the Belliveau Cove Development Commission (Max Thibodeau – 769-8270) given that they, not the Municipality, manage the operations of these facilities.
6.4 Funding Request – La Société acadienne de Clare
The CAO read a letter from “la Société acadienne de Clare” pertaining to an application for financial assistance which was made on June 2, 2015 under the Municipality’ Grants to Organizations program. The letter states that for a variety of reason, the project involving the design and purchase of promotional banners was never implemented and the approved funds ($1,500) never drawn down. La Société is now able to move forward with the aforementioned project and by way of this letter, is re-submitting an application for Council’s consideration. Council passed the following motion.
PROPOSED BY Councillor Brian Comeau and SECONDED BY Councillor Yvon LeBlanc that Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare recommend awarding a grant to “La Société acadienne de Clare, La FRAP and la maison bouche ouverte” towards their banner project, in the amount of $500 to each organization, for a total of $1,500.
MOTION CARRIED
6.5 Funding Request – Unisson
The CAO read a letter from the musical group Unisson asking for a financial contribution from the Municipality in the amount of $2,000 to offset the travel expenses they will incur to participate in ‘‘la Semaine acadienne en Normandie’’. The application was deemed ineligible under the Grants to Organizations program and it was Council’s recommendation that the group seek funding from other sources such as the Nova Scotia Office of Acadian Affairs and Francophonie and la FANE.
6.6 Funding Request – Le conseil des Arts de la Baie
The CAO read a letter dated April 5, 2017 from “Le Conseil des Arts de la Baie”. In the letter, the organization states that they were approved for funding ($700) under the Municipality’s Grant’s to Organizations program in 2015 but that for a variety of internal administrative reasons, project claims were never submitted and as such, the funds in question were never disbursed. However, the project in question was completed in 2015. Now 2017, the organization is asking the Municipality for these funds to apply against the 2 year old project.
The program criteria for Grant to Organizations clearly states that projects must be completed and all funds disbursed in the same fiscal year that the application is made. The request from le Conseil des arts de la Baie is inconsistent with this requirement and as such, was declined by Council.
6.7 Funding Request – Yarmouth Hospital Ladies Auxiliary
The CAO presented a funding request ($2,000) from the Yarmouth Hospital Ladies Auxiliary for the Hullaballoo Fundraiser for Hospital Equipment. The Municipality is a staunch supporter of the Yarmouth Hospital; its most recent contribution being $37,964 towards the purchase of a CT Scanner. This being said, the Municipality’s preference is to continue directing its contributions for the Yarmouth Hospital to the Yarmouth Hospital Foundation rather than individual charities such as the Ladies Auxiliary. For this reason, the request in question was declined by Council.
6.8 Illegal Dumping – Maza Road
An illegal dumping site has been identified on the Maza Road. Wastecheck was called onsite to assess the situation and has determined that the volume of garbage exceeds their means and that clean-up would require heavy machinery. Photos of the site will be provided to Council shortly. In the interim, both Wastecheck and the municipal staff will continue to monitor the site.
6.9 Vehicle Purchase
The tender for the proposed vehicle purchase is now closed. Upon review of the submitted bids, the CAO is recommending Council accept the tender received from Belliveau Motors. The CAO further noted, as part of this purchase, the Municipality will be trading in its 2008 and 2009 Ford Rangers, thereby downsizing from 2 vehicles to 1 vehicle. Council passed the following motion to recommend.
PROPOSED BY Councillor Eric Pothier and SECONDED BY Councillor Carl Deveau that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare recommend accepting the tendered bid in the amount of $23,245.33 ($20,115.50 plus $3,129.83 HST) as submitted by Belliveau Motors on June 2nd, 2017 for the purchase of 2017 Ford Escape.
MOTION CARRIED
6.10 Belliveau Motors Golf Tournament
The 23rd annual Belliveau Motors Golf Tournament will be held on August 4, 2017. Since the funds raised are in support of the Clare Health Centre, the Municipality will once again register a 5-member team. Council passed the following motion to recommend.
PROPOSED BY Councillor Eric Pothier and SECONDED BY Deputy Warden Nil Doucet that Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare recommend registering a team for the 2017 Belliveau Motors Golf Tournament, at a cost of $500.
MOTION CARRIED
7) Questions and comments from the public
None.
8) Closed Session
PROPOSED BY Deputy Warden Nil Doucet and SECONDED BY Councillor Yvon LeBlanc that Council proceed to an In-Camera Session.
MOTION CARRIED
Topics discussed:
- 8.1 Animal Control
- 8.2 UNSM
- 8.3 Former Municipal Landfill in Meteghan Centre
- 8.4 Cape St. Mary`s Lighthouse
PROPOSED BY Deputy Warden Nil Doucet and SECONDED BY Councillor Yvon LeBlanc that Council proceed to the Regular Council Meeting.
MOTION CARRIED
9) Date and time of next Council-in-Committee Meeting
The next Council-in-Committee Meeting will be held on July 5th, 2017 at 7:00 PM.
10) Adjournment
PROPOSED BY Deputy Warden Nil Doucet to adjourn the meeting at 9:34 PM.