Sessions Attended
January 6 Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority Inservice
January 9 Regular Meeting of Council #3
January 11 Essentials of Municipal Fire Protection Inservice
January 12 CAO Recruitment Committee
January 16 Community Hub Open House
January 16 Special Meeting of Council
January 18 Council Training Lennox & Addington County
January 19 Kingston Climate Change Symposium
January 22 Rural Ontario Municipal Association AGM & Conference
January 23 Rural Ontario Municipal Association AGM & Conference
January 24 Rural Ontario Municipal Association AGM & Conference
January 25 Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority AGM
January 26 Recreation Services Committee
January 26 Emma Street Improvement
Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority Inservice
I had a meeting with the manager of the CRCA to get an overview of the Authority as well as the responsibilities of being the township representative. We reviewed the 2023 draft Budget & Business Workplan for CRCA as well as the document on New Board Member References. There are several projects in the 10 year plan that will directly involve township properties. I have volunteered to be on the Personnel Committee with the Authority.
Regular Meeting of Council #3
Public meeting Loyalist Estates Mixed Use Development
Received Post-Election Accessibility Report which is posted on website
Interm tax levy was approved
Fairfield-Gutzeit House Refurbishment approved
Fence By-Law approved
Direction to Disposition of McPherson Park to Algonquin & Lakeshore CDSB approved
Pre-Budget approval for architectural services as outlined in SR2234
Amherst Island Men’s Society transfer of grant monies approved
To view the meeting for more detail go to
Essentials of Municipal Fire Protection Inservice
This inservice gave me a greater understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the township and council in terms of the area of fire protection. Topics covered included:
Community risk assessments
Core services
Roles & responsibilities
Risk management & due diligence
Competencies
Comprehensive fire safety effectiveness model
OFM sections, services & tools to support fire protection services
Community Hub Open House
I attended the Community Hub Open House which was well attended with the vast majority of residents supporting the projects and giving their input. Well over 450 residents completed the on-line survey this last time I checked . Up to date details of the project can be found at https://www.loyalist.ca/en/council-and-administration/community-hub-project.aspx
Council Training Lennox & Addington County
This training session was offered through the county government to all member municipalities and reviewed the following topics for the participants,
Codes of Conduct
Municipal Conflict of Interest Act
the role of the Integrity Commissioner
communications and media
Council governance
Kingston Climate Change Symposium
Two speakers high lighted this event, Paul Taylor the executive director of Food Share Toronto and Catherine McKenna the former Minister of the Environment and Climate Change. They shared many ideas including:
creating adaptive environments
retrofitting low income housing
free transit for seniors, students and the economically challenged
focusing on free public spaces
setting bold goals and sharing them
CAO Recruitment Committee
Over the past month working with Mayor Hegadorn and Deputy Mayor Townend we selected the next CAO for Loyalist Township and our choice was approved by the full council. The following is a brief biography of our choice as can be found on the township website.
Rebecca Murphy is a graduate of Queen’s University with a Bachelor of Laws and McMaster University with a Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science. Rebecca comes to Loyalist from Bradford West Gwillimbury, one of the fastest growing small municipalities in Ontario. As a member of their Senior Management Team and Town Solicitor, Rebecca brings with her extensive experience in planning and development, including land acquisition for Town infrastructure projects such as a new Highway 400 interchange, water tower, pumping stations and many kilometres of road and linear works. Rebecca was also integral in delivering important community projects, such as BWG Transit, a new Family Health Centre and recruitment of new physicians and implementation of several customer service technology solutions.
Rebecca is a seasoned municipal administrator who has experience in all facets of municipal service delivery and in developing teams committed to customer service excellence. Rebecca is also very familiar with Loyalist Township having previously worked at Bombardier Transportation and the Town of Greater Napanee.
Rural Ontario Municipal Association AGM & Conference
I attended the conference this past month as part of the Loyalist team. I attended a number of workshops over the conference including,
Making Meaningful Change
Welcoming New Comers to Rural Ontario
Blue Box Transition
Supporting Seniors in a Rural Environment
Innovative Rural Housing & Homeless Solutions
Investments and Infrastructure, Setting Long Term Goals
Our Loyalist team met with the the Minister of Economic Development Victor Fedeli to provide an update on the Unicode Investment Project and lobbied for continued provincial support in the process.
We also met with the Assistant Deputy Minister of Transportation in regard to the ongoing frustrations of residents with the lack of information and timelines for the Amherst Island Ferry and Dock Project as well as the Connecting Link Program. Up to date information can be found at
Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority
As Loyalist’s Representative I attended the Annual General Meeting and was elected vice-chair for the upcoming term with Councillor Gary Oosterhof of Kingston being elected chair. Committee appointments were ratified as well As the Health and Safety Policy Statement and the Workplace Violence & Harrassment Policy were re-affirmed. The outgoing chair gave his year end report and staff presented the 2023 Operating Budget & Capital Forecast, Municipal Levy’s and the Business Work Plan all of which were approved. For further information go to the CRCA website at https://crca.ca
Emma Street Improvement
I briefly attended this session and had to leave to attend another committee.
January was a very busy month. A big thank you to our staff who dealt with two rather significant weather events since my last post. The state of emergency snowstorm in late December and the storm later in January. Hopefully the ground hog will bring us good news next week.
Watch the township for budget deliberations as it is that time of the year!
Budget Sessions are
February 6, 2023
February 9, 2023
February 16, 2023
Check the website for further details.
Paul Proderick
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