December 21, 2011
Council plays Scrooge
& Santa
by Denise Walker
It was the last council meeting of 2011 and Laurentian Hills council
decided to play both Scrooge and Santa.
As an early Christmas present to residents, council passed the interim
tax bylaw.
It is really a housekeeping measure that allows council to collect 50%
of last year’s taxes. Payment will be due in two instalments on March 1
and June 1, 2012.
Council continued the housekeeping by passing the interim borrowing
bylaw.
The bylaw allows the municipality to borrow up to $3.4 million from the
Bank of Nova Scotia.
CAO Wayne Kirby reassured councillors that this was “just for
insurance. We haven’t had to borrow money for several years.”
The money is only accessed if needed to cover the town’s operating
costs until the tax revenues fill the coffers.
In recent years, the town has been able to borrow from its own reserves.
Then council got to the Santa part of the meeting.
Council agreed to donate $500 towards the costs of the Renfrew County
Seniors Games. The town of Arnprior will host the 2012 event in June.
Closer to home, the Chalk River Lions Club will get $500 towards the
cost of the winter carnival. The carnival will be held February 3, 4,
and 5 and will feature a parade, magic show, face painting, and other
events both inside and outside the Lions Club hall.
The festive mood continued when librarian Maureen Bakewell asked Mayor
Dick Rabishaw to draw the winning tickets for the Library’s Christmas
raffle.
The two winners were Michelle Rose and Martina Gagne.
Munro subdivision plan
Councillors were able to end the year on a high note, looking to the
future.
Council agreed to amend the town's Official Plan to allow the Munro
Street subdivision to proceed.
Kirby explained to council that the decision only comes into effect
when Renfrew County approves the amendment.
The town has set out a long list of conditions for the subdivision
covering roads, water and sewer, streetlights, fire hydrants and postal
boxes.
The town also wants its own staff to approve the street entrances, the
stormwater management plan, and the drainage plan.
The developers must also pay the town five per cent of the value of the
undeveloped land as cash in lieu of parkland.
Councillors look back on 2011
After the meeting, councillors looked back at their first year together.
First time councillor, John Hoyle said with a grin, “if an election
were held today, I would definitely run again.”
Hoyle said that the experience of Mayor Rabishaw and Deputy Mayor Anne
Giardini had been “a big help.”
His fellow first-time councillor, Brenda Blimkie said she thought the
first year had gone well. She added “we work well together as a
council.”
Giardini agreed, saying, “There is good chemistry among the councillors
and that’s so important.”
She pointed out that the town had been fortunate to have had successive
councils who have been able to work well together.
Bruce Boucher, while a first-time councillor, is no stranger to the
council chamber.
Before he retired, he was the town’s public works superintendent for
many years.
“The biggest difference for me,” he said, tongue in cheek, “is that I
used to come here trying to get council to spend money - now I’m trying
to save money.”
As for Mayor Dick Rabishaw, he said the first year “has been great. I
have learned a lot, I believe I have grown in wisdom and, best of all,
I am having fun.”
Rabishaw has embraced his role at county council.
“I get to meet 16 other mayors and reeves. You find out other towns
have similar problems and they might have solutions you didn’t know
about. I definitely get to learn from them.”
This year, Rabishaw will sit on the county's finance and administration
committee as well as the social services committee.
In addition, he will be part of the negotiating committee dealing with
Aboriginal land claims.
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