Municipality of the District of Clare
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
Wednesday, October 26th, 2016 at 7:00 pm
PRESENT: Council: Ronnie LeBlanc, Brian Comeau, Nil Doucet, Hector Thibault, Danny Hill, Yvon LeBlanc, Eric Pothier, Carl Deveau
Personnel: Chief Administrative Officer, Stéphane Cyr; Assistant to the Chief Administrative Officer, Alain Poirier
Public:
ABSENT: None.
____________________________________________________________________________
1) Call to order
Warden Ronnie LeBlanc called the Council meeting to order at 7:00 pm.
2) (a) Approval of the agenda
MOVED BY Councillor Hector Thibault and SECONDED BY Councillor Yvon LeBlanc that the proposed agenda be adopted as presented.
(b) Declaration of conflict of interest
Warden Ronnie LeBlanc asked for any declarations of conflict of interest.
None declared
3) Presentations
None.
4) Adoption of the minutes from previous Council Meetings
4.1 September 21st, 2016: Regular Council Meeting
MOVED BY Councillor Danny Hill and SECONDED BY Councillor Hector Thibault that the Minutes of September 21st, 2016 be accepted as circulated.
MOTION CARRIED
4.2 October 5th, 2016: Council -in-Committee Meeting
MOVED BY Councillor Carl Deveau and SECONDED BY Councillor Danny Hill that the Minutes of October 5th, 2016 be accepted as circulated.
MOTION CARRIED
5) Business arising from previous Council Meetings
5.1 UNSM Annual Conference
The CAO informed Council that the UNSM Annual Conference will be held at the end of November in Halifax and asked that those Councillors interested in attending the conference please advise him as soon as possible, to allow municipal staff to make the necessary arrangements.
6) Warden’s Activity Report – Warden
September 26 Université Sainte-Anne Board of Directors meeting
September 27 WREN’s AGM in Yarmouth
October 4 Rural Broadband group meeting at the Municipality of Annapolis
October 18 Public meeting in Weymouth to discuss the current doctor shortage. - Organized by the Weymouth Doctor Recruitment Committee.
October 20 Université Sainte-Anne Board of Directors meeting
October 21-23 Fane’s AGM in Dartmouth
October 24 Festival acadien de Clare’s AGM
October 25 Villa acadienne meeting
7) Official statements from the Members of Council
Councillor Danny Hill congratulated Mrs. Georgina Wright who will be celebrating her 80th Birthday on October 29, 2016. A certificate will be sent on behalf of Council.
Councillor Carl Deveau thanked all the residents who supported him during his campaign.
Councillor Eric Pothier thanked all the residents who supported him during his campaign.
Councillor Yvon LeBlanc thanked all the residents who supported him during his campaign.
Warden Ronnie LeBlanc asked that a letter be sent to the former President of the Festival acadien de Clare, Mr. Sebastien Dol, thanking him for his service. He also asked that a letter be sent to the incoming President, Mr. Réjean LeBlanc, congratulating him on his appointment and wishing him much success in his new role.
8) Correspondence
8.1 Letter from The Meadows
The CAO read a letter received from The Meadows. (
See attached)
8.2 Letter from Melissa Comeau
The CAO read a letter received from Mrs. Melissa Comeau. (See attached)
The Warden mentioned to Council that this type of request is usually sent to the Council-in-Committee meeting in order for Council to properly review the request. Council agreed and deferred the request to a later date so as to allow staff to properly review.
8.3 Letter from the Information & Privacy Commissioner of Nova Scotia
The CAO read a letter from the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Nova Scotia. (See Attached)
8.4 Letter from the «Association des étudiants internationaux de l'Université Sainte-Anne»
The CAO read a letter from the Association des étudiants internationaux de l’Université Sainte-Anne requesting a funding contribution towards its upcoming multicultural week. (See attached)
Given the time sensitivities surrounding this event, Council was required to review the request and should they agree to support this event financially, immediately pass a motion.
The Deputy Warden mentioned that Université Sainte-Anne currently has its largest number of international students on record. These students contribute directly to the region`s economy and as such, he is proposing that the Municipality give one thousand dollars to the Association, in support of this event. Council passed the following motion:
PROPOSED BY the Deputy Warden Nil Doucet and SECONDED BY Councillor Hector Thibault that Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare grant the Association des étudiants internationaux de l’Université Sainte-Anne the amount of one thousand ($1,000) for their multicultural week.
MOTION CARRIED
9) Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Report – CAO Stéphane Cyr
The CAO read his report. (See attached)
10) Committee Reports
10.1 Building Permits Report – Councillor Danny Hill
Councillor Danny Hill presented the building permits report for the month of September 2016, as submitted by the Building Services Department.
September
Year Permits Construction Value
2015 26 1,116,216
2016 19 1,136,363
10.2 Planning Advisory Committee – Councillor Danny Hill
At the last P.A.C. meeting, members completed a final review the work done on the watershed protection file, including proposed amendments to the land-use by-law, and are now ready to present to Council. Given certain sensitivities surrounding this file, it was suggested by the Municipal Planner, Mr. Greg Zwicker, that the Committee hold a meeting in November to brief Council prior to proceeding with a public hearing.
10.3 Police Advisory Committee
No report
10.4 Villa acadienne: Deputy Warden Brian Comeau
No report
10.5 Waste Check: CAO, Stéphane Cyr
No report
11) New Business
11.1 Motion to amend By-Law No. 12 - A By-Law Respecting Dogs, Second & Final Reading
The CAO mentioned to Council that this amendment had been posted on the municipal website, the municipal Facebook page, in the Clare Shopper and in le Courier. Only one written suggestion had been received and upon further review, was deemed to already be addressed in the by-law. Members in attendance were invited to address Council and voice their comments and/or concerns regarding the proposed by-law. Hearing from no one, Council passed the following motion:
MOVED BY Councillor Brian Comeau and SECONDED BY Councillor Danny Hill that the Municipality of the District of Clare read By-Law No. 12 Amendment No-12-01-2016, a By-Law Respecting Dogs and that the By-Law be read for the second and final time thereby enacting the By-Law Amendment.
MOTION CARRIED
11.2 Motion to amend By-Law No. 9 - A By-Law Respecting Noise, Second and Final Reading
Several concerns have been communicated to individual Councillors regarding the proposed amendments to this by-law. In light of these concerns, and given that new members have recently been appointed to the By-law committee, it was recommended by Council that this by-law be resent to said committee for further study.
11.3 Motion to Appoint a Municipal Representative to the CSAP's Evaluation Committee as part of the School Review Process
The CAO mentioned that Council had been asked by the Superintendent of the CSAP to appoint a Councillor to this committee. Council agreed. Since then, the Superintendent revised his request and in order to comply with provincial legislation, the individual appointed to this committee cannot be an elected official, cannot have a spouse employed by the school board and cannot have any children enrolled in CSAP schools. In light of these eligibility issues, it was recommended that the Director of Community Development, Pam Doucet, be named to the committee. Council passed the following motion:
MOVED BY Deputy Warden Nil Doucet and SECONDED BY Councillor Hector Thibault that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare appoint Pam Doucet as its Representative on the CSAP’s evaluation committee, in an ex-efficio capacity, as part of the school review process.
MOTION CARRIED
11.4 Motion to Increase the Amount of Money Budgeted to Replace the Roof at the CIFA Building
The CAO reminded Council of the amount ($35,000) originally budgeted for the new roof at the CIFA building. This renovation is relatively urgent due to the current state of the roof. Council opted for a metal roof. The lowest bid to replace the current roof with a new metal roof was in the amount of $44,000. Council agreed with the need to increase the amount previously budgeted for the roof and in order to build in a contingency for unforeseen expenses, set the new the budget amount at $50,000.
MOVED BY Councillor Hector Thibault and SECONDED BY Councillor Carl Deveau that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare increase the amount of money budgeted to replace the roof at the CIFA building from $35,000 up to a maximum of $50 000.
MOTION CARRIED
12) Closed session
No item
13) Date and time of the next Regular Council Meeting
The next Regular Council Meeting will be held on November 16th, 2016 at 7:00 pm.
14) Adjournment
PROPOSED BY Councillor Nil Doucet to adjourn the meeting at 8:49 PM