CFN – It was one of the longest council meetings that I have been to since starting to report on them. It started at 7 PM sharp and was adjourned at 10 PM. Actually I think it was about 20 seconds shy of 10 PM by the council room clock.
There were 5 presentations that occupied the first two hours of the meeting. The first presentation was by Jamie Gilcig who described the proposed new printed newspaper, South Stormont News. I was sitting beside him during the presentation so there are no pictures or video. The council passed a motion to support the concept of the South Stormont based printed newspaper with one negative vote.
The next presentation was from the St. Lawrence Institute of Environmental Sciences. Rik Saaltink, the Chair of Board of the Institute, opened the presentation and introduced Dr. Brian Hickey who delivered the bulk of the presentation. Dr. Hickey briefly outlined the activities and benefits of the institute for the council.
A report on the South Nation Conservation Septic Program was presented by Mr. Jacques Levert, a Septic Inspector. He reviewed all of the issues over septic systems during 2013 so far.
Mr. Philip Whelan of McIntosh Perry presented the Asset Management Plan to the council for approval. The longest presentation of the night outlined a plan that estimates the current value of roads, bridges, water treatment and waste water treatment and extrapolates the cost of maintaining them for the next 10 years.
The last presentation of the night was to show Council the new Township of South Stormont Website which is to be launched this Friday. Loriann Harbers, the Township’s Deputy Clerk, went through all the features of the new website and answered as many questions as time would allow.
Mayor McGillis and all of council thanked Loriann for all her hard work in putting together the exciting new and functional web site.
Once all the presentations were finished the council continued with the routine department reports and motions. One item in the Building Development report did manage to rouse some chuckling from the spectators in the room, the continuing story of nuisance cat control. After going through the by-laws and policies of the township there is still no reasonable affordable way to approach this problem. The township’s crack management team will now consult with the OSPCA and report back at the next meeting. This is the most cat-astrophic problem that I have witnessed at council to date and is one worthy of following in future meetings.
To further follow the adventures of the cat people, the schedule of council meetings will be posted on the new Township of South Stormont Website for all to see.
