Sessions Attended
November 5 Orientation Tour of Township Facilities
November 7 New Council Orientation Session
November 15 Inaugural Meeting of Loyalist Township Council
November 24 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Inservice
November 28 Regular Council Meeting #1
Orientation Tour of Township Facilities
On November 5th Councillors had a chance to visit various sites throughout the township over a four hour span. Visiting sites in Odessa, Wilton, Millhaven, Bath and Amherstview gave us a better understanding of the various operational sites in our Township. Although the day did not include Amherst Island I had a chance to visit the island with Councillor Willis the following week. Councillor Willis gave me an extensive tour of the Township facilities on the island and brought be up to speed on issues of importance at this time.
New Council Orientation
Our new council orientation session gave all councillors a chance to meet with Steven Silver C.A.O. and the four department directors. Directors gave an outline of their departments, (Corporate Services, Community & Customer Services, Emergency Services and Econoimic Growth & Community Development Services) and councillors had a chance to ask questions of the staff. The Clerk and Treasurer made presentations that outlined information on their roles and we had opportunities to ask questions.
Inaugural Council Meeting
I was honoured to be sworn in by Justice Griffin and look forward to working with my fellow councillors to serve the residents of the township. The full meeting can be accessed at https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Vvje20zKSaw
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
As Loyalist continues to grow our demographics become more diverse. Choosing equity is the first step to becoming a more inclusive community. Staff and council participated in sessions discussing how Loyalist Township can move forward creating a more inclusive community for all our citizens.
Regular Council Meeting #1
Proposed Sewer and Water Rates were received by Council and were approved. Fixed rates will decline slightly while an emphasis on water conservation will be reflected by consumption rates being adjusted according to three levels of use. I asked staff about ways to increase the use of our Water Conservation Incentive Program as less than 25 households used the program last year. Loyalist Township offers a $50 credit on water/wastewater bills to assist residents with purchasing a low-flow toilet or high-efficiency faucet to conserve water. For more information on this program go to the following link https://www.loyalist.ca/en/living-in-loyalist/water-conservation-incentive-program.aspx
The Dog Park Ad-hoc Advisory Committee presented it’s reported to Council. The Dog Park Ad-hoc Advisory Committee identified that the public consultation resulted in no definitive preferred location for a dog park and therefore one specific dog park was not recommended to Council. At this time Council considered not to move ahead with a dog park. Should it be persued in the future, further public consultation will be completed.
A member of the public shared their concerns about the Provincial Government passing Bill 23 and how it would effect our local environment. Deputy Mayor Townend moved a motion which was unanimously supported by Council. A few highlights of his motion include how Bill 23 will affect our township.
shift the costs of growth onto existing property taxpayers; impacting the municipality’s ability to finance planned capital works, particularly those that are growth related
will undermine council’s ability to reduce the already disproportionate burden on our residential tax base
the passage of this legislation will increase delays in housing construction because of the need for proponents and the municipality to obtain private, external, peer review services.
the passage of this legislation would remove the cost effective, timely, and objective peer review services that a public entity like Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority currently provides; and with whom Loyalist Township enjoys a very productive partnership.
passage of this legislation would erode longstanding environmental protections which recognize the mutual interdependence between healthy human communities and local ecologies, watersheds; protections around which there has been venerable political consensus.
The legislation will make it substantially more difficult to protect and preserve the province's architectural, cultural heritage, notably disadvantaging sites of historical significance to Black, Indigenous, Franco-Ontarian, multicultural peoples
For a more detailed account of the meeting it will be posted on the Township YouTube site at
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