Council Column – January Thoughts

 

December was an interesting month for Council. Progress has been made on ongoing projects and new information has come forward for the budgeting process.

At the December 5th 2016 meeting, Council approved acquisition of land and committed to moving forward with a new Community Centre for the Township. The process has been long and thoughtful. Input has been sought from the community. The Community Centre will be similar to the North Kawartha Facility with an NHL sized arena and rooms for the public to use for various activities.

At the December 19th meeting, the 2016 Road Needs Study Update was presented by Michael Lang of DM Wills Associates. The Study outlines what reconstruction should be planned for over the next five years. The report presented to Council starts on page 3 of the December 19th Agenda on the Township website. With capital needs for reconstruction of $10.4 million over the next five years, our challenges are real. We have been working with other municipalities through the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to emphasize the need for the participation of senior levels of Government to fund their fair shares of infrastructure. The jobs created cannot be out sourced, unlike some other economic activities. The complete report can be found at:

http://www.cavanmonaghan.net/en/resources/4597—cavan-monaghan-rns—december-2016.pdf

For the next few weeks, Council will be focussed on budget preparation. The next meeting for discussion of changes to the first draft will be held January 19th at 9:00AM. A public meeting will be held February 6th at 7:00 PM. The first draft budget is available at:

http://cavanmonaghan.net/uploads/430/636161043651881121.pdf

In the meantime members of Council will be meeting with Staff to discuss questions that have come up with further study of the first draft.

For those who prefer to take waste to the Transfer Station instead of using door to door pickup, bag tags are now available at the Transfer Station.

With the weather we have been experiencing, staff is working diligently to maintain optimum conditions. Policies are in place to make sure road conditions are monitored and dealt with appropriately. However winter conditions can be challenging for staff as well as residents. Please drive with care and when conditions are not safe, please wait until they can be improved.

Best wishes to all for 2017.

By Deputy Mayor John Fallis

 

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