Digby Municipal Council Minutes

Municipality of the District of DigbyMunicipal Council MinutesOctober 25, 2010Smith’s Cove, Nova Scotia1Call to OrderThe Council meeting was called to order with Deputy Warden MacAlpine in the chair at 6:00 p.m. AttendanceCouncillors present: Jimmy MacAlpine, Deputy Warden Randall Amero, Councillor Maritza Adams, CouncillorStaff present: Linda Fraser, Chief Administrative Officer Gordon Wilson, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Cora Lee Bremner, Executive SecretaryRegrets: Linda Gregory, CouncillorPrayerDeputy Warden MacAlpine welcomed everyone to the meetingand asked everyone to pause to seek guidance for the meeting. Deputy Warden MacAlpine thanked everyone for coming andread the Municipality’s mission statement.IntroductionsDeputy Warden MacAlpine asked Council and staff tointroduce themselves and introduced the recently electedCouncillor for District 4, David Tudor.AgendaMOVED and seconded that the agenda be approved ascirculated.MOTION CARRIEDPresentationsPeter Newton, Warden – Municipality of Annapolis – Lifeplex Wellness CentreMOVED and seconded that Warden Newton from theMunicipality of the County of Annapolis come beforeCouncil to make a presentation.MOTION CARRIEDWarden Newton briefly updated Council regarding the capitalcampaign for the redevelopment of the Lifeplex facility in Cornwallis Park. They would like to see it open again and wanta sustainable model. The YMCA is taking a serious look at it.There has been a study done concerning membership which proved good. The plan is to open up the downstairs and bring a wider range of exercise equipment. A representative from theYMCA came before Council and gave an overview of the plansfor the facility provided it was taken over by the YMCA. Athird party did a review and feels that it is not sustainablewithout capital upgrades. The YMCA representative gave adetailed presentation including an outline of the capitalcampaign feasibility study, a summary of the market researchstudy, and outlined the government funding for the project.Warden Newton is requesting $100,000 funding from theMunicipality of Digby which would be used for the capitalcampaign. There will be no operating funds requested. Mr. Mark Phillips from the Annapolis Basin Conference Centre
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Municipality of the District of DigbyMunicipal Council MinutesOctober 25, 2010Smith’s Cove, Nova Scotia2came before Council to outline the economic benefits of thisproject. Mr. Phillips advised Council that the ABCC hascontributed 2.9 million previously towards this project and hasnow committed $100,000 towards the capital funding. A question and answer period followed the presentation. DeputyWarden MacAlpine thanked them for their presentation andnoted that it will be reviewed at the next COTW meeting.Dr. Bob Maher, Senior Research Scientist, AGRG – CommunityMappingMOVED and seconded that Dr. Bob Maher, SeniorResearch Scientist from the Applied Geomatics ResearchGroup come before Council to make a presentation to Council about community mapping.MOTION CARRIEDMr. Maher came before Council 15 months ago to present thecommunity mapping project he was working on. He currentlyhas three projects on the go, but would like to talk to Council on the Rural Secretariat project. The Rural Secretariat will givehim $200,000 towards the project, but he has to come up withthe rest on his own. He is interested in developing applicationsfor the citizens in this region. He is requesting $5,000 per year for the next two years for the Municipality. In-kindcontributions are also being sought. Anyone who signs on willbecome a partner in the project and is able to have a say in whatwill be included in the mapping project for this area. A question and answer period followed the presentation. Councilmentioned that they would like to see the heritage propertiescatalogued into this map. Mr. Maher indicated that it would bea definite possibility providing the data has been collected tofeed into the project. Deputy Warden MacAlpine thanked himfor the presentation and noted that a decision would be made atthe next COTW meeting.Larry Brooks – DigbyGround Search and RescueMOVED and seconded that Mr. Larry Brooks come beforeCouncil to make a presentation on behalf of Digby GroundSearch and Rescue.MOTION CARRIEDMr. Larry Brooks, Vice President for the Digby Ground Searchand Rescue came before Council to make a presentation. TheDigby Ground Search and Rescue is a non-profit volunteer rescue operation which is on call day and night. They currentlyhave a vehicle that houses GPS units, radio systems, etc. Thisvehicle is in terrible condition. They are looking to replace thattruck. Mr. Brooks went over the budget with Council and outlined that they only received $6,189.50 this year. Thevehicle has cost $9,351 over the past three years. They feel it isnot worth putting any more money into. They are currentlylooking at the purchase of a new truck which will have to belengthened. If they were able to purchase the new truck, it ishoped to be able to use it for the next 15 plus years. A question and answer period followed the presentation. This organization covers all of Digby County and does Clare and other areas aswell if they are called to assist. Deputy Warden MacAlpinethanked him for the presentation and advised that this will bediscussed at the next COTW meeting.
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Municipality of the District of DigbyMunicipal Council MinutesOctober 25, 2010Smith’s Cove, Nova Scotia3MinutesSeptember 27, 2010MOVED and seconded that the minutes from the Council ofSeptember 27, 2010 be approved as circulated.MOTION CARRIEDBusiness Arising from Minutes/OldBusinessNILDeputy Warden MacAlpine No Old Business.Councillor Gregory Absent.Councillor Amero No Old Business.Councillor Adams No Old Business.New Business#1 Petition – Unpaved portion of Culloden Road It was agreed that this petition for the unpaved portion of Culloden Road be referred to the MLA.AdministrationRequest for decision/directionCAO Report Municipal BuildingSmith’s Cove &Weymouth Sewer ExtensionsCanada PostCrosswalks - Conway The CAO report for October 25, 2010 was included in themeeting package. It is estimated that the municipal building will be completedmiddle to late December. There is still a local crewworking there. The Smith’s Cove and Weymouth sewer extensions shouldbe ready to go to tender sometime in November. There has been a response from Canada Post regarding concerns that had been raised. This was sent as a lateaddition to the package. The CAO will be making contact with Basil Pitts andrepresentatives from Tri-County Regional School Board toset up a meeting regarding crosswalks in Conway.PayablesMOVED and seconded that the payables in the amount of$707,621.92 for the month of September 2010 be approvedas presented.MOTION CARRIEDFinancial Report The financial report for September 30, 2010 was included inthe meeting package.
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Municipality of the District of DigbyMunicipal Council MinutesOctober 25, 2010Smith’s Cove, Nova Scotia4MOVED and seconded that the financial report beapproved as presented.MOTION CARRIEDCorrespondenceWeymouth Cenotaph Unveiling Ceremony There will be an unveiling ceremony for the WeymouthCenotaph on November 5, 2010 at 11 am. Council CommitteesCommittee of theWholeDigby Library –Upgrades & Painting($4,500)MOVED and seconded that Council approve the DigbyLibrary upgrades in the amount of $4,500.MOTION CARRIEDBylaw & PolicyReviewNILAdvisory Committees#1 REMOManagement PlanningCommittee The REMO Management Planning Committee met threeweeks ago. The Coordinator gave an overview of what took place at the Wharf Rat Rally with the hurricane.  The committee has discussed having an alternate person inplace for this position in case he wasn’t available.#2 Heritage AdvisoryCommittee There was no Heritage Advisory Committee meeting sincethe last report. It was noted that the mapping system thatwas presented tonight would be great to tie things togetherfor the heritage properties.#3 Planning AdvisoryCommittee There has been no Planning Advisory Committee meetingsince the last report.#4 Police AdvisoryCommittee There is a Police Advisory Committee meeting scheduledfor November 16, 2010. There is still one citizen position that needs to be filled forthe committee.#5 Tri CountyHousing Authority There is no report available for the Tri-County Housing Authority. The three western housing authorities will beone as of December/10. This includes Tri-County,Annapolis Valley and South Shore housing authorities.Regional / Joint Committees
#1 Airport WorkingGroup There hasn’t been an Airport Working Group meeting sincethe last Council meeting but there will be one in the nearfuture.
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Municipality of the District of DigbyMunicipal Council MinutesOctober 25, 2010Smith’s Cove, Nova Scotia5
#2 Annapolis Digby EconomicDevelopment Agency There is an ADEDA meeting scheduled for October 28,2010. It has been rescheduled so most voting memberscould be there. The working group met this afternoon andis working on a solution to maintain the RegionalDevelopment Agency.
#3 Digby AnnapolisDevelopment Corp The DADC has not met since the last report.
#4 Digby AreaLearning Association DALA met on September 29, 2010. Councillor Adams wasaway for that meeting and will be away for the next one aswell. She will distribute the minutes as soon as they getapproved.
#5 Digby AreaTourism Association  The Digby Area Tourism Association minutes for Aprilwere included in the meeting package.
#6 Digby AreaRecreation Committee The DARC minutes and staff reports for June andSeptember, 2010 were included in the meeting package.The ice is in the rink. It was mentioned that there are anumber of parents concerned with the way minor hockey isnow being run. It has been estimated that it will costparents anywhere from $10,000 to 15,000 per year to travelnow. Hockey has seen a major drop in their numbers. Itwas agreed that this should be taken back to DARC to beproactive and work with minor hockey to come up with asolution.
#7 Digby Harbour Port Association The Digby Harbour Port Association minutes for July 22, 2010 were circulated.
#8 Digby LibraryCommittee The Digby Library Committee meeting notes fromSeptember 27, 2010 were included in the meeting package.Deputy Warden MacAlpine is sitting on the hiringcommittee for a new executive director.
#9 Fundyweb Broadband Fundyweb Broadband has not met since the last report.Deputy Warden MacAlpine talked to the CAO fromAnnapolis County today to see what is taking place. Theyare waiting for a legal opinion to divest Municipal Unitsfrom the board. They are hoping within the next monththey will know something.#10 IndustrialCommission The Industrial Commission has not met since the last report.They are hoping to have a meeting within the next couple ofweeks.
#11 Kings TransitAuthority The Kings Transit Authority has a meeting scheduled for November 4, 2010.
#12 Senior SafetyCommittee The Senior Safety Committee met on October 19, 2010.The Coordinator has been involved with doing a driverscourse for seniors. She also did a workshop with the RoyalBank employees in Digby and Weymouth on financialabuse for seniors.
#13 Tideview Terrace  Tideview Terrace met at the end of September. Councillor
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Municipality of the District of DigbyMunicipal Council MinutesOctober 25, 2010Smith’s Cove, Nova Scotia6Adams was away. Things are going well with the newTideview.#14 Waste Check The Waste Check minutes for September 2010 and staffreports for October 2010 were included in the meetingpackage. At the last meeting there was a discussion regarding theBylaw Enforcement Officer’s role. He is doing a good jobwith illegal dump sites. He is going to start enforcing and there will be fines levied.  There is a request for proposals being put together for therecycling contract.  Cameras are out there in the community now. The bylawEnforcement Officer will bring a video to the board to seethe quality of the videos.
#15 Western CountiesRegional Library There has been no Western Counties Regional Library meeting since the last Council meeting.Council ActivityReports/OtherCommitteesDeputy WardenMacAlpine Deputy Warden MacAlpine had nothing further to report.Councillor Gregory Absent.Councillor Amero Councillor Amero had nothing further to report.Councillor Adams Councillor Adams had nothing further to report.Comments from thegallery The meeting was opened up to the gallery for questions.Mr. David Tudor commented that he has also been hearingcomplaints in regards to minor hockey. Deputy Warden MacAlpine thanked everyone for attendingthe meeting.BreakMOVED and seconded that there be a five minute breakbefore proceeding in camera.MOTION CARRIEDIn CameraMOVED and seconded that the meeting move in camera.MOTION CARRIEDRegular session resumed.
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Municipality of the District of DigbyMunicipal Council MinutesOctober 25, 2010Smith’s Cove, Nova Scotia7AdjournmentMOVED and seconded that the meeting adjourn at 8:30PM. MOTION CARRIED____________________________________________________________WARDENCLERK