Municipality of the District of Clare

COUNCIL-IN-COMMITTEE MEETING

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2018 at 7:00 pm

PRESENT: Council: Warden Ronnie LeBlanc, Deputy Warden Nil Doucet, Councillors, Danny Hill, Hector Thibault, Carl Deveau, Brian Comeau, Eric Pothier and Yvon LeBlanc.
Staff: CAO, Stéphane Cyr; Administrative Assistant to the CAO, Alain Poirier, Director of Finance, Ginette Cheff
Presenter: Yarmouth International Airport, Interim Manager, Alain Muise; Board Member, Clark Sigfridson and Western Counties Regional Library, Regional Library Director, Erin Comeau
Public:
ABSENT:


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 changes be made to the Agenda.

• 6.2 Société Nationale de l’Acadie be removed from “New Business” and added as 8.3 in “Closed Session”
• 6.2 High C’s Choral Festival be added under “New Business”
• 8.4 Cultural Hub be added in “Closed Session”

MOVED BY Councillor Brian Comeau and SECONDED BY Councillor Danny Hill that the proposed agenda be approved with the above noted changes.
MOTION CARRIED

(b) Declaration of conflict of interest
None

3) Presentations
3.1 Yarmouth International Airport – Interim Manager, Alain Muise and Board Member, Clark SigfridsonThe Interim Manager of the Yarmouth International Airport, Mr. Alain Muise, and Board member, Mr. Clark Sigfridson, presented an overview of the airport’s current operations and volume of activity (see attached). At present, the airport sees roughly 1,400 flights per year, most of which are either military flights or charter/corporate flights. Of these 1,400 flights, approximately 22% are related to safety and security (i.e. Coast Guard, Medivac, Life Flight, etc.). As part of his presentation, Mr. Muise also touched on the needed renovations to ensure current levels of service and respectfully requested a one-time contribution of $12,881 from the Municipality of Clare to help offset these costs. Council thanked Mr. Muise and Mr. Sigfridson for their presentation, indicating that they would take this request under consideration.


3.2 Western Counties Regional Library – Regional Library Director, Erin Comeau
The Regional Library Director, Mrs. Erin Comeau, presented and overview of the Western Counties Regional Library’s (WCRL) funding formula. The Nova Scotia Public Library System is divided into nine regions across the province (including the WCRL) and receives $14.4M in operational funding from the Government of Nova Scotia. As for the WCRL, it has 10 branches and an annual operational budget of approximately $1.6M. Of this $1.6M, 61% is provided by the Province, 26% from local government (i.e. municipalities/towns) and the remainder is generated via community fundraising efforts.

Council thanked Mrs. Comeau for her presentation.

4) Staff reports

4.1 2018-2019 Capital Budget – Ginette Cheff, Director of Finance
The Director of Finance presented a draft of the proposed 2018-2019 Capital Budget to Council. Council was appreciative of the format. Whereas this remains a working document, revisions were recommended and a revised document will be presented to Council for approval.

As part of this review exercise, an increase of $10,000 was requested to Council’s contribution towards the Lost to the Sea monument. Council passed the following motion to recommend.

PROPOSED BY Councillor Yvon LeBlanc and SECONDED BY Councillor Hector Thibault that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare recommend increasing its contribution for the Lost to the Sea monument from $15,000 to $25,000 and that these funds be taken from the Capital Reserve.
MOTION CARRIED

5) Business arising from previous meetings
5.1 Proclamation Policy
The Municipality of Clare is often asked to make proclamations in support of various causes. Council’s practice is to not make proclamations. The CAO is recommending this practice be formalized by way of a Proclamation Policy. Council passed the following motion to recommend:

PROPOSED BY Councillor Eric Pothier and SECONDED BY Councillor Danny Hill that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare recommend adopting the new Proclamation Policy as presented.
MOTION CARRIED

5.2 Plastic Film Ban – Draft Resolution
Following Waste Check’s presentation to Council on the Province’s proposed plastic film ban, the following resolution was drafted for Council’s review.

Resolution in support of the government of Nova Scotia’s efforts to implement a province-wide ban on single-use plastic bags and to introduce extended producer responsibility in Nova Scotia.

WHEREAS the province is agreeable to a plastic bag ban as a means of cutting down on the use of single-use plastic bags by Nova Scotians; and

WHEREAS regulation of the retail sector is a provincial responsibility; and

WHEREAS markets for plastic film (including single-use plastic bags) are limited and very costly where they do exist; and

WHEREAS as a provincial ban is an important step in Nova Scotia’s efforts to promote the use of reusable products rather than disposable ones; and

WHEREAS Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a complimentary initiative to the proposed ban which focuses on the end-of-use treatment of consumer products and has the primary aim to increase the amount and degree of product recovery and to minimize the environmental impact of waste materials; and

WHEREAS the introduction of EPR could provide meaningful incentives to prevent waste at the source, promote product design for the environment and support the achievement of public recycling and materials management goals.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Municipality of the District of Clare supports the Government of Nova Scotia in its efforts to implement a province-wide ban on single-use plastic bags and to introduce EPR in Nova Scotia.

THIS IS TO CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true copy of a resolution duly passed at a meeting of the Council of the Municipality of the District of Clare.

GIVEN under the hands of the Warden and the Chief Administrative Officer of the Municipality of the District of Clare the 16th day of May 2018.

Council agreed with the resolution as presented and passed the following motion to recommend:

PROPOSED BY Councillor Danny Hill and SECONDED BY Councillor Carl Deveau that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare recommend passing the Resolution in Support of the Government of Nova Scotia`s efforts to implement a province-wide ban on single use plastic bags, as presented.
MOTION CARRIED

6) New business
6.1 Sewer System Extension – d’Entremont Road
Councillor Pothier inquired as to the feasibility of connecting a portion of d’Entremont Road to the Meteghan sewer system. According to the Public Works Supervisor, Jody Comeau, the portion in question would not require a lift station. The preliminary costs estimate for this project is approximately $500,000. Further information in terms of both costing and resident interest is required before possibly adding the project to the Municipality’s 5-year capital plan. If there is sufficient interest from residents and if funds can be sourced from other levels of government and the project constructed at breakeven, Council may consider an expedited timetable.

6.2 High C’s Choral Festival
The High C’s Choral Festival has requested funding from the Municipality for this year’s festival. Last year, the Festival received $500 for their 10th anniversary. As for this year’s event, Council is proposing a contribution of $300 and passed the following motion to recommend:

PROPOSED BY Deputy Warden Nil Doucet and SECONDED BY Councillor Hector Thibault that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare recommend awarding a grant in the amount of $300 to the High C’s Choral Festival.
MOTION CARRIED

6.3 Invitation Letter – City of Taicang
Mr. David Wong of the China Business Bureau is proposing to bring 27 students from the City of Taicang (China) to the Municipality of Clare in July 2018, as par of a cultural exchange. For this exchange to occur, protocol requires the Municipality send a letter of invitation to the Mayor of the City of Taicang. Council passed the following motion to recommend:

PROPOSED BY Councillor Eric Pothier and SECONDED BY Councillor Hector Thibault that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare recommend writing a letter to the Mayor of the City of Taicang to authorize the visit of students from Taicang to Clare in July 2018.
MOTION CARRIED

6.4 Proposed Write-off of Accounts Receivable
Following a review of certain outstanding accounts deemed uncollectable, staff is recommending Council write-off a total of $5,258.92 in accounts receivable. Council agreed with the recommendation and passed the following motion to recommend:

PROPOSED BY Councillor Danny Hill and SECONDED BY Councillor Carl Deveau that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare recommend writing-off a total of $5,258.92 in accounts receivable, dating from 2011 to 2017, believed to be uncollectable. This amount can be broken down as follows:

• $4,428.92 in Tipping Fees
• $230.00 in Ad Revenue (Doers & Dreamers)
• $600.00 in Sponsorship Revenue (Interpretive Centre 2011)

MOTION CARRIED


6.5 Mapping – Electoral Boundaries
Following the NSUARB Review, the Municipality was asked to advise the Board as to whether it would be using written descriptions or digital maps as the official description of the District, for upcoming municipal elections. Although the Municipality has traditionally used written descriptions, the trend among municipal units seems to have shifted towards the use digital maps. After considering both options, Council passed the following motion to recommend:

PROPOSED BY Councillor Eric Pothier and SECONDED BY Councillor Danny Hill that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare recommend using digital maps in all upcoming municipal elections as the official description of the District.
MOTION CARRIED

6.6 Road Naming – Maddison Mill Road
The Municipality has received a request to name a road. Staff has gone through the established process to ensure compliance with the Municipality’s Road Naming Policy and is recommending the request. Council passed the following motion to recommend:

PROPOSED BY Councillor Danny Hill and SECONDED BY Councillor Hector Thibault that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare recommend that the road shared by the properties PID (Property Identification Number) 30019541, 30019392, 30201875, 30020390, 30017036, 30371751, 30018519, 30020598, 3001l7545, 30022537, 30015291, 30019566, 30020598, 30019285, 30020309, 30201826, 30019657 and 30019582 be named as follows:

In English: Maddison Mill Road
In French: Chemin du Moulin Maddison

MOTION CARRIED

7) Questions 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 closed session.
MOTION CARRIED

Topics discussed:
- 8.1 Dangerous & Unsightly
- 8.2 Comeauville Wharf
- 8.3 Société Nationale de l’Acadie
- 8.4 Cultural Hub

PROPOSED BY Deputy Warden Nil Doucet and SECONDED BY Councillor Yvon LeBlanc that Council proceed to the Regular Council Meeting.
MOTION CARRIED

PROPOSED BY Councillor Hector Thibault and SECONDED BY Councillor Danny Hill that the Council for the Municipality of the District of Clare recommend awarding the tender for the repairs at 795 Highway 1 Comeauville (Cultural Hub) to Mellor & Saulnier Contracting Ltd.
MOTION CARRIED

9) Date and time of next Council-in-Committee Meeting
The next Council-in-Committee Meeting will be held on June 6th, 2018 at 7:00 PM.

10) Adjournment
PROPOSED BY Deputy Warden Nil Doucet to adjourn the meeting at 10:37PM.

Submitted by

Alain Poirier,
Administrative Assistant of the CAO