Municipality of the District of Clare

COUNCIL-IN-COMMITTEE MEETING

Wednesday, February 1st, 2017 at 7:00 pm

PRESENT: Council: Warden Ronnie LeBlanc, Deputy Warden Nil Doucet, Councillors, Hector Thibault, Carl Deveau, Brian Comeau and Yvon LeBlanc.
                  Staff: CAO, Stéphane Cyr; Interim Recreation Manager, Réanne Titus; Interim Active Living Coordinator, Rachel Amirault
                  Public:
ABSENT: Councillor Eric Pothier, Councillor Danny Hill, Administrative Assistant to the CAO, Alain Poirier.


1) Call to order
Warden Ronnie LeBlanc called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm.

2) (a) Approval of the agenda

The Warden asked that the following items be added to the Agenda.
• 6.6 Pumper Truck – Meteghan Fire Department
• 8.3 Yarmouth Hospital Foundation

Councillor Yvon LeBlanc asked that the following item be added to the Agenda.
• 6.7 Clare Firefighters Association

MOVED BY Councillor Hector Thibault and SECONDED BY Councillor Brian Comeau that the proposed agenda be approved with the above noted additions.
MOTION CARRIED

(b) Declaration of conflict of interest
Warden Ronnie LeBlanc asked for any declarations of conflict of interest.
None declared

3) Presentations
None

4) Staff reports

4.1 Lifeguards at Mavillette Beach - Réanne Titus
The interim Recreation Manager, Réanne Titus, presented the projected lifeguard expenses for Mavilette Beach. Two lifeguards will be stationed at Mavilette Beach, on weekends only, from July 1st to August 27th. The amount budgeted by the Recreation Department for the 2017-18 season is $9,661.03 (including HST). This represents a 5.2% increase over the previous year, caused primarily by an increase in the mandated hourly wage. Council passed the following motion:

PROPOSED BY Deputy Warden Nil Doucet and SECONDED BY Councillor Yvon LeBlanc that Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare recommend approving the expenses budgeted by the Recreation Department in the amount of $9,661.03 (including HST) to provide Lifeguard Services at Mavilette Beach during Summer 2017, on weekends only, from July 1st to August 27th.
MOTION CARRIED

The Interim Recreation Manager also spoke regarding the Volunteer of the Year banquet which will be held on April 27th, 2017 and asked for two councillors to join the selection committee along with Nancy Comeau. Councillor Hector Thibault agreed to be on the committee. A follow-up email will be sent to Council in an effort to recruit a second Councillor. Once the nominations are received, the committee will deliberate and select the Volunteer of the Year. The chosen individual will then be invited to attend the Provincial Volunteer Award Ceremony in Halifax on April 18th, 2017.

5) Business arising from previous meetings

5.1 Code of Conduct - Municipal Council
The CAO explained the proposed amendments previously brought forth by Councillor Brian Comeau. The CAO also mentioned that the municipal solicitor thoroughly vetted the document. Council passed the following motion:

PROPOSED BY Councillor Yvon LeBlanc and SECONDED BY Councillor Brian Comeau that Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare recommend approving the amended Code of Conduct – Municipal Council Policy as presented.
MOTION CARRIED

5.2 Insurance Review
The CAO explained that he’s been in contact with the Municipality’s insurance provider. Per our current insurance policy, we are not covered for the replacement of the Belliveau Cove Wharf if damaged or destroyed. For a relatively low cost, this additional coverage could be added to our current policy. Council was in favor of the increase coverage.

5.3 EMO Training
The CAO has been in communication with the Province regarding EMO training for Municipal Council, as part of a larger provincial initiative to roll out this training to all Municipal Councils within Nova Scotia. The proposed date for the session was February 22nd, 2017. However, Council was not in favor of this date and proposed moving it to a Monday in March. The CAO will be in communication with the Province to establish a mutually acceptable date.

6) New business

6.1 Transfer Station Update
The CAO provided an update as to the current status of the Transfer Station following the fire which occurred on January 20th, 2017. The building is operational however the damage was substantial. Windows, walls, lights, doors, insulation, ventilation, metal beams and the loader have all been damaged. To date, power has been restored to the building, the ventilation system has been repaired. The pressure washing of the walls is set to begin on February 3rd, the doors will be serviced locally, the loader will to be sent to Halifax for servicing and the beams will be assessed by an engineer.

6.2 Road Naming Policy
The CAO presented a draft Road Naming Policy for Council’s consideration. It has been vetted by the Assistant Building Inspector who is the person responsible for civic numbering. The purpose of this policy is to formally document the road naming process while also establishing standards requiring the use of bilingual names.

The Warden questioned the required 51% petition rate. Following a discussion on the issue, Council recommended that staff revisit the policy and consider increasing the stated petition rate from 51% to 66.6%.
No motion.

6.3 Réseau des villes francophones et francophiles
The Warden explained that the Municipality of Clare is currently a member of the “Réseau des villes francophones et francophiles” and currently part of the Atlantic Acadian zone. Atlantic Zone members have chosen to focus their immediate efforts on Tourism (1 of the Reseau’s 5 pillars). As such, the Warden explained that he’s looking at the Acadian passport initiative as a pan-Atlantic pilot option to present to the group.

6.4 Letter to La FANE regarding Acadian ridings
The Warden spoke to Council regarding the Nova Scotia Supreme Court’s recent ruling pertaining to adequate minority representation in electoral ridings, the impact of which affects the Municipality of Clare and other ridings throughout the province. La FANE will now be in discussion with the Province of Nova Scotia as to how best to address this issue. As a financial contributor to la FANE’s efforts on this file, the Municipality of Clare will be sending a letter to la FANE asking them to outline what they’ll be proposing to the Province as a means of addressing this issue moving forward. Furthermore, via this letter, the Municipality will also be stating its preferred course of action and formally requesting a seat at the discussion table with the Province. The CAO has left a message with the FANE’s President, Ghislain Boudreau, in this regard but has yet to receive a reply.

6.5 FCM (Federation of Canadian Municipalities) Conference - June 1st to 4th, 2017
The CAO informed Council that the 2017 FCM Conference will be held in Ottawa from June 1st to 4th. Both the Warden and CAO will be attending. Other members of Council were asked if they wished to attend. Deputy Warden Nil Doucet and Councillor Yvon LeBlanc expressed an interest in attending.

For information purposes, the CAO went on to mention that the 2018 and 2019 FCM Conferences will be held in Halifax and Quebec City respectively.

6.6 Pumper Truck – Meteghan Fire Department
The CAO informed Council that he had met with members of the Meteghan Fire Department regarding their pumper truck. This truck is the largest in the Municipality and routinely supports neighboring fire departments however, at 27 years old, it is beginning to show its age. Of particular concern is the truck’s water tank which has cracked on several occasions. While these cracks have been repaired, the problem remains. Replacing the tank is a costly endeavour whose merits are questionable given the truck’s age. As such, the Fire Department is requesting the Municipality purchase a new truck. While no price quotes have been obtained, the cost of a new truck is estimated to be between $300,000 to $350,000, with a delivery time of roughly 12 months.

In an effort to make an informed decision, the Deputy Warden suggested that three quotes be presented to Council for both the purchase of a new truck and/or the replacement of the existing tank. It was further recommended that an outside expert be brought in to assess each department’s current equipment so as to determine reasonable life expectancy and needs moving forward. This assessment is to be done in conjunction with the CAO.

While on the subject of accountability and to facilitate the budgetary planning process, it was also decided that the Municipality will be requesting annual financial statements from each fire department.

6.7 Clare Firefighters Association
Councillor Yvon LeBlanc attended a meeting of the Clare Firefighters Association. The jaws of life belonging to the Richfield Fire Department were discussed at said meeting. The Association believes the jaws should be located with another fire department within the Municipality. The CAO will communicate with both Richfield and the Association in an effort to bring closure to this issue.

7) Question and comments from the public
None.

8) Closed Session
PROPOSED BY Deputy Warden Nil Doucet and SECONDED BY Councillor Yvon LeBlanc that Council proceed to an In-Camera Session.
MOTION CARRIED

Topics discussed:
• 8.1 Volunteer of the Year nomination
• 8.2 Personnel
• 8.3 Yarmouth Hospital Foundation

PROPOSED BY Councillor Yvon LeBlanc and SECONDED BY Councillor Carl Deveau that Council proceed to the Regular Council Meeting.
MOTION CARRIED

9) Date and time of next Council-in-Committee Meeting
The next Council-in-Committee Meeting will be held on March 1st 2017 at 7:00 PM.

10) Adjournment
PROPOSED BY Deputy Warden Nil Doucet to adjourn the meeting at 9:45 PM.

Submitted by

Alain Poirier,
Administrative Assistant of the CAO