Municipality of the District of Clare
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
Wednesday, January 21 , 2015
PRESENT: Warden Ronnie LeBlanc, Deputy Warden Brian Comeau, Councillor Russell Comeau, Councillor Lester Doucet, Councillor Nil Doucet, Councillor Danny Hill, and Councillor Hector Thibault; Chief Administrative Officer Connie and Saulnier Deputy Clerk Jeannette Doucet.
ABSENT: Councillor Robert Thibault.
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1) CALL TO ORDER
Warden Ronnie LeBlanc called the Council Meeting to order at 7:00 pm.
2) (a) APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
It was requested by Warden Ronnie LeBlanc that 11.5 under New Business "Release of information following a Tender" be moved under "Closed Session".
MOVED BY Councillor Hector Thibault and SECONDED BY Councillor Russell Comeau that the proposed Agenda be approved with the above noted change.
MOTION CARRIED
(b) CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATION
Warden Ronnie LeBlanc asked for any declarations of conflict of interest from
the floor. None declared.
3) PRESENTATIONS
There were no presentations.
4) ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS COUNCIL MEETINGS
4.1 December 17, 2014 Regular Council Meeting
MOVED BY Councillor Nil Doucet and SECONDED BY Deputy Warden Brian Comeau that Minutes of December 17, 2014 be accepted as circulated.
MOTION CARRIED
4.2 January 7, 2015 Council-In-Committee Meeting
MOVED BY Councillor Danny Hill and SECONDED BY Councillor Lester Doucet that Minutes of January 7, 2015 be accepted as circulated.
MOTION CARRIED
5) BUSINESS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS
5.1 Request for letter of support for Université Sainte Anne – CAO Connie Saulnier
A request was received from MaryAnn Gauvin, Manager of the Sports Centre at Université Sainte-Anne, if the Municipality would provided a letter of support. They are applying for a Recreation Facility Grant to install a Heat Recovery Ventilator at the swimming pool. Council discussed and proceeded with the following motion.
MOVED BY Councillor Russell Comeau and SECONDED BY Councillor Hector Thibault that the Municipality of Clare write a letter of support regarding Université Sainte-Anne financial application for an air exchanger at the swimming pool.
MOTION CARRIED
5.2 Financial request from Clare Golf and Country Club for toppled trees
Council had received a financial request from the Clare Golf and Country Club to help with the cost of replacing toppled trees on the golf course that occurred during Hurricane Arthur in July 2014. The cost is estimated at $11,000.00. Council discussed and agreed to a grant of $11,000.00 and that the grant be paid out of the upcoming 2015/2016 municipal budget.
MOVED BY Councillor Nil Doucet and SECONDED BY Councillor Danny Hill that Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare award a grant to the Clare Golf and Country Club in the amount of $11,000.00 (Eleven Thousand Dollars) for the replacement of trees that were damaged during hurricane Arthur on July 1st, 2014, and that the grant be paid out of the upcoming 2015/2016 municipal budget.
MOTION CARRIED
6) WARDEN’S REPORT
Warden Ronnie LeBlanc listed the meetings and events he attended since the last Council meeting:
- Dinner with medical students from Clare and doctors of Clare, and
- meeting regarding strategies for recruiting doctors to our area.
7) OFFICIAL STATEMENTS FROM THE MEMBERS OF COUNCIL
There were none.
8) CORRESPONDENCE
There was none.
9) C.A.O. Report - Chief Administrative Officer Connie Saulnier
The Chief Administrative Officer Connie Saulnier presented her report (see attached).
10) COMMITTEE REPORTS
10.1 Building Permits Report (2-Year Comparison) – Councillor Danny Hill
None to provide.
10.2 Clare Economic Development Committee (CEDC) – Warden LeBlanc
None to provide.
10.3 Communication Committee – Warden Ronnie LeBlanc
None to provide.
10.4 Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) – Councillor Danny Hill
None to provide.
10.5 Recreation Committee – Councillor Nil Doucet
None to provide.
10.6 Clare Municipal Tourism Committee – Councillor Robert Thibault
None to provide.
10.7 Villa acadienne Board of Directors – Deputy Warden Brian Comeau
None to provide.
10.8 Waste Check – Councillor Robert Thibault
None to provide.
10.9 RCMP Advisory Board – Councillor Hector Thibault
Councillor Hector Thibault, member of the RCMP Advisory Board, informed Council that members of the Board met on January 19. He indicated that the Nova Scotia Association of Police Governance would like to have the participation of the rural Police Advisory Boards. The membership fee is $200. The main purpose of the Association is to create awareness and more communication with rural communities. The Advisory Board asked that the request be brought to Council for their approval. Council discussed and proceeded to the following motion.
MOVED BY Deputy Warden Brian Comeau and SECONDED BY Councillor Hector Thibault that Council approve the amount of $200 for the Clare RCMP Advisory Board to become members of the Nova Scotia Association of Police Governance.
MOTION CARRIED
Council was also informed that the Municipality's request to review the complement of RCMP has been received by the Province. The Province indicated that a review will be conducted and the results will be reported to Council. Council discussed this topic and the question was asked that if the number of officers was reduced, could it be increased in the future.
Council was also informed that Sgt. Jeff Holmes was back at the Meteghan RCMP Detachment and the quarterly report will be presented to the Advisory Board instead of Council.
11) NEW BUSINESS
11.1 Electric Car Charging Stations – MOTION
Council discussed the cost of the installation of two electric car charging stations within the Municipality of Clare.
MOVED BY Councillor Lester Doucet and SECONDED BY Councillor Danny Hill that Municipality of the District of Clare contribute to the installation of two (2) electric car charging stations within the Municipality at a cost not to exceed the amount of $1,600.00 (One Thousand Six Hundred Dollars) total.
MOTION CARRIED
11.2 Digby/Clare Energy Enterprise – MOTION
Council discussed the Digby-Clare Energy Enterprise and the proposed the cost sharing formula and the percentage basis to be included in the Inter-Municipal Agreement, for the Municipalities/Town of Digby and Clare.
MOVED BY Councillor Danny Hill and SECONDED BY Councillor Hector Thibault that the Municipality of the District of Clare include the following percentage basis as the cost sharing formula to be included in the Inter-Municipal Agreement that forms the Digby-Clare Energy Enterprise: Municipality of Clare 40%, Municipality of Digby 40%, Town of Digby 20%.
MOTION CARRIED
11.3 Tax Write-off (AAN 05935423) – MOTION
Council had been informed that there was a duplicate property account (Account # 05935423), which should be deleted and a tax amount of $3.21 (for the year 2013) to be written off.
MOVED BY Councillor Danny Hill and SECONDED BY Councillor Nil Doucet that Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare write off the tax amount of $3.21 for the year 2013, of Account # 05935423, for the reason that it is a duplicate account.
MOTION CARRIED
11.4 Request RE: hook up of seasonal camp sites in Meteghan
Council was informed that the Municipality of Clare received a request from a property owner looking to develop a seasonal campground in the Meteghan area. The property owner is inquiring about the possibility of connecting a few campsites to the Meteghan Sewer System before moving forward with his campsites development plans. Council asked if the existing sewer system was capable of accepting these wastes. Council was informed that the engineer had indicated that the current system had some additional capacity. Council discussed and agreed that with the approval of PDI Engineering, the property owner would be permitted connect to the Meteghan Sewer System.
11.5 Release of information following a Tender
Item was moved to the Closed Session. See 12.1.
11.6 Set date for Municipal Council to meet with MLA Gordon Wilson
Council was informed that MLA Gordon Wilson would like to meet with Councillors. The dates suggested were February 2 or February 16 2015.
Upper Clements Park
Councillor Nil Doucet indicated to Council that representatives of Upper Clements Park would like to give a presentation to Council.
12) CLOSED SESSION
MOVED BY Councillor Nil Doucet and SECONDED BY Councillor Lester Doucet that Council proceed to an In Camera Session.
MOTION CARRIED
Topic discussed: 12.1 Release of information following a Tender
MOVED BY Councillor Russell Comeau and SECONDED BY Councillor Nil Doucet that Council proceed to the Regular Council Meeting.
MOTION CARRIED
13) DATE AND TIME OF NEXT COUNCIL MEETING
The next Council meeting was scheduled for Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at 7 pm.
14) ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 pm following a motion by Councillor Nil Doucet.
Submitted by
Jeannette Doucet, Deputy Clerk
JD/cd