Municipality of the District of Clare

REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING

Wednesday, July 18th, 2018 at 7:00 pm

PRESENT: Council: Warden Ronnie LeBlanc, Deputy Warden Nil Doucet; Councillors, Hector Thibault, Carl Deveau, Brian Comeau, Eric Pothier and Yvon LeBlanc
Staff: CAO Stéphane Cyr, Administrative Assistant to the CAO, Alain Poirier
ABSENT: Councillor Danny Hill

1) Call to Order
Warden Ronnie LeBlanc called the Council meeting to order at 7:00 pm.

2) (a) Approval of the Agenda
The Warden asked that the following changes be made to the Agenda:

• 8.3 Letter – Chief Mark Mander, Provincial Director, Law Enforcement Torch Run Nova Scotia, be added, under “Correspondence”.
• 12.5 Land Acquisition be added, under “Closed Session”.

MOVED BY Councillor Hector Thibault and SECONDED BY Councillor Yvon LeBlanc 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. No declarations
were made.

3) Presentations
None

4) Adoption of the Minutes from Previous Council Meetings
4.1 June 20th, 2018: Regular Council Meeting
MOVED BY Councillor Yvon LeBlanc and SECONDED BY Councillor Carl Deveau that the minutes of May 16th, 2018 be accepted as circulated.
MOTION CARRIED

4.2 July 4th, 2018: Council-in-Committee Meeting
MOVED BY Councillor Yvon LeBlanc and SECONDED BY Councillor Hector Thibault that the minutes of July 4th, 2018 be accepted as circulated.
MOTION CARRIED

5) Business Arising from Previous Meetings

5.1 Mitigation against Power Outages
Following Mr. André Valotaire`s presentation at the July 4th Council-in-Committee meeting regarding the current design of the power grid, the frequency of power outages in Clare and the subsequent length of restoration times, Council passed the following motion:

PROPOSED BY Councillor Hector Thibault and SECONDED BY Councillor Eric Pothier that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare write a letter to Nova Scotia Power to highlight the current issue with the electrical grid in Clare and ask them to address the situation as soon as possible by installing an alternate feed atop existing lines, from Corberrie to the Saulnierville sub-station, thus building in redundancy in the grid’s design.
MOTION CARRIED

6) Warden’s Activity Report – Warden Ronnie LeBlanc
The Warden provided a summary of the meetings and events the he attended since the last Council meeting.

June 21st - Attended a meeting at Université Sainte-Anne pertaining to the development of the CDÉNÉ’s community development plan.

June 24th - Attended a potluck organized by Y-Reach at the Rendez-vous de la Baie for the temporary foreign workers currently employed by Riverside Lobster International Inc.

June 25th - Attended the “Clare dans un Soir2” production and delivered remarks on behalf of Council.

June 26th - Attended the Board of Directors meeting for the Villa Acadienne.

June 27th - Attended the Clare-Digby CBDC AGM at the Digby Pines.

June 29th - Attended the graduation ceremony at the Yarmouth Regional Hospital for the residents of Dalhousie University’s Family Medecine Program.

July 1st - Attended the Canada Day celebrations.

July 3rd - Attended a joint session with Councils of the Municipalities of Clare and Argyle to discuss the possibility and implications of submitting a bid to host the “Congrès mondial acadien 2024”.

July 5th - Attended the grand opening of the Cape Saint Mary Lighthouse Park.

July 7th - Hosted a reception at the Municipal Office to welcome a delegation of 23 grade 10 students from Taicang, China.

July 9th - Attended a consultation at the Rodd Grand Hotel in Yarmouth on “Coastal Protection Legislation”, hosted by the Province of Nova Scotia.

July 18th - Attended a meeting of the CDÉNÉ led, community welcome committee.

July 18th - Attended the Prom Night Event at the Villa Acadienne and presented certificates of recognition to both Briand Melanson and Danielle LeBlanc on behalf of Council.

7) Official Statements from Members of Council
Councillor Carl Deveau provided a summary of the meetings and events that he attended since the last meeting.

June 21st - Attended the certificate ceremony for college courses at Université Sainte-Anne.

July 1st - Attended the Canada Day celebrations.

July 7th - Attended the reception held for the student delegation from Taicang, China.

July 17th - Attended the South West Nova Biosphere Reserve committee meeting.

Councillor Brian Comeau acknowledged Mrs. Mary Guptill and Mr. Delbe Comeau’s generous donation of land on Belliveau Lake to the Nova Scotia Nature Trust and asked that a thank you letter be sent to the couple of behalf of Council .

Councillor Yvon LeBlanc highlighted the excellent work that Mr. Briand Melanson and Mrs. Danielle LeBlanc are doing entertaining young children, as part of the group Little Buckaroos.

8) Correspondence
8.1 Letter – Honourable Derek Mombourquette, Minister of Municipal Affairs
The CAO read a letter from the Honourable Derek Mombourquette, Minister of Municipal Affairs. (See attached)

8.2 Letter – Karen Mattatall, Chair, Rural NS Health Crisis Working Group
The CAO read a letter from Karen Mattatall, Chair, Rural NS Health Crisis Working Group. (See attached)

8.3 Letter – Chief Mark Mander, Provincial Director, Law Enforcement Torch Run Nova Scotia
The CAO read a letter from Chief Mark Mander, Provincial Director, Law Enforcement Torch Run Nova Scotia. (See attached)

9) CAO Report – Chief Administrative Officer - Stéphane Cyr
The CAO presented his report for the month of July 2018. (See attached)

10) Committee Reports

10.1 Building Permits Report – Deputy Warden Nil Doucet
Deputy Warden Nil Doucet read the building permits report for the month of June, in the absence of Councillor Danny Hill.

June 2018
Year    Permits    Construction Value
2017   37             $ 4,387,460
2018   20             $ 650,535

11) New Business
11.1 Motion to accept the 2018-2023 Capital Investment Plan

PROPOSED BY Councillor Eric Pothier and SECONDED BY Councillor Carl Deveau that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare accept the revised 2018-2023 Capital Investment Plan as discussed on July 4th, 2018.
MOTION CARRIED

11.2 Motion to allocate funds for the CMA 2024 bid document.

PROPOSED BY Councillor Hector Thibault and SECONDED BY Councillor Yvon LeBlanc that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare allocate up to $15,000 for the preparation and submission of the bid document to host the “Congrès Mondial acadien 2024”.
MOTION CARRIED

11.3 Motion to provide a term loan guarantee to the St. Bernard Fire Department.

PROPOSED BY Councillor Brian Comeau and SECONDED BY Councillor Carl Deveau that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare provide the St. Bernard Fire Department with a loan guarantee not exceeding $60,000, in order to allow for the timely paving of the parking lot at the new St. Bernard Community Recreational Centre and Fire Hall.
MOTION CARRIED

11.4 Motion to rename Seaview Lane

PROPOSED BY Councillor Eric Pothier and SECONDED BY Councillor Yvon LeBlanc that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare rename Seaview Lane as follows:

• In English: Sunset Lane
• In French: Allée du coucher du soleil

MOTION CARRIED

12) In Camera 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:
12.1 Rural Internet
12.2 Joseph and Marie Dugas Municipal Park
12.3 Clare Veterans Centre
12.4 Cape Saint Mary Lighthouse Park
12.5 Land Acquisition

PROPOSED BY Deputy Warden Nil Doucet and SECONDED BY Councillor Hector Thibault that Council proceed to the Regular Council Meeting.
MOTION CARRIED

PROPOSED BY Councillor Yvon Leblanc and SECONDED BY Councillor Eric Pothier that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare, following the closure of the EOI entitled “Internet Service: Improving Coverage, Increasing Bandwidth” on June 29th, pursue formal discussions with Mainland Telecom Inc. for the provision of high-speed Internet services within the Municipality of Clare.
MOTION CARRIED

PROPOSED BY Councillor Hector Thibault and SECONDED BY Deputy Warden Nil Doucet that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare approve the purchase of the property located at Township Road, Lot 4, Ohio in Digby Co., Nova Scotia (PID #30369045, AAN #10575516) for the asking price of $7,000 as part of its ongoing efforts to ensure continued public access to beaches and lakes within the Municipality.
MOTION CARRIED

13) Date and time of the next Regular Council Meeting
The next Regular Council Meeting will be held on September 19th, 2018 at 7:00 pm.

14) Adjournment
MOVED BY Deputy Warden Nil Doucet to adjourn the meeting at 9:27pm.

Submitted by:

Alain Poirier, 
Administrative Assistant to the CAO