LoW Council considers disolving ward system

Ruth Brett
Contributor

Lake of the Woods Township Council met at Morson on Sept.6th at 6pm to hold a public meeting. This meeting was to hear what the community had to say with regard to the following issues- 1) should Council consider dissolving the ward system in the township; 2) what kind of development, if any, should there be at the Morson government dock area; 3) should certified drawings be required for all owner design structures. The result, after some discussion, of the public’s opinion was that no one was in favour of the certified drawings; there were comments both for and against dissolving the ward system; and there were many constructive suggestions regarding the government dock area. Council will take all that feedback under advisement. 16 visitors left the meeting at 7:10pm.
The regular Council meeting began with Mayor Pizey, Councillors T.Sepers, J. Moen, B. Lundgren, and C. Fadden, Clerk-Treasurer P. Giles, Road Supt. E. Pearson and Fire Chief Chris Pollard.
Bills for the month of August in the amount of $141,711.69, except for the accounts of A. Miller & Sons, Bergland General Store and R.A. Gill were approved for payment. The rest of the bills for the month of August in the amount of $14,059.37 were also approved for payment with Councillors Fadden and Sepers declaring an interest.
Road Supt. E. Pearson reported that the new road off Carl’s Rd. is nearly completed; the turnaround needs to be made larger and a final layer of gravel needs to be added. Once it is adopted by the Township, the owner will be responsible for the maintenance for 1 year. Ottillee Rd. widening has been completed and the brushing will be done next year. Road Supt. received compliments on the work done on Carl’s Rd. and Fadden Rd. Council asked Road Supt. to run a few test holes on the old store property on the corner of Hwys. 621 and 600 to check for old fuel in the soil. The Township may consider cleaning up the property so it may be offered as tax sale property. Road Supt. Pearson and Clerk Giles will be attending the Workplace Health and Safety training in Fort Frances.
Fire Chief Chris Pollard was introduced to Council. His knowledge and his enthusiasm for reestablishing the fire department is encouraging. Reporting on the status of the fire department, he noted that many of the pagers need to be replaced and 3 of the 4 trucks need to be replaced also. He has knowledge of a tanker that would be suitable and was authorized by Council to follow up on the tanker and also look for a pumper truck. Council has also authorized him to enlist the services of C. Turgeon to assist with training which will take place twice a month. He will require that all of the firefighters have DZ licenses. Fire Chief Pollard noted that there has been a problem with the dispatching system and he will investigate the possibility of moving the antennas so that there is no more overlapping of signals. Big Island F.N. has executed the fire agreement (between LoW Twp. and Big Island) and has returned it for Council’s approval. The agreement will be implemented as soon as the Twp’s Fire Dept. is sufficient in numbers and training.
Council authorized the application under COMRIF for the Old Hwy. bridge replacement. This project is for the replacement of a wooden culvert on Old Hwy. and this project is the # 1 priority of Council.
Bylaw 161, being the Auditor Appointment By-law, was enacted.
Clerk Giles had received a written response from Alcohol and Gaming Commission (AGCO) stating that an organization must pay rent for weekly activities even though they lose money on one particular week. Bergland Friends of Recreation have applied for renewing their “twoonie pot” and Council has no objection.
Councillor Sepers reporting on behalf of the Recreation Committee, noted that they raised about $3000.00 at the Pow-wows. Council commended the volunteers for their efforts.
Clerk Giles is to make sure that a procedure is in place for cancellation of tax sales after the redemption period has occurred. A letter has been sent to various agencies protesting the loss of the Grey Goose bus service between Fort France and Winnipeg. Clerk Giles will send a letter to MNR requesting more consultation on items such as the Lake of the Woods Conservation Reserves. The Clerk suggested a review of of the Twp.’s policy of the 5% parkland tax on severances. The Clerk gave out a draft of cemetery by-law updates for the Cemetery Committee and the Council to review. Some ground work is being done on a possible location for the cell tower. Clerk Giles advised that Jill Wilhite has resigned from the Aulneau Peninsula Wildlife Enhancement Management Advisory Committee and that L. Nordin has expressed an interest to serve on the committee. Fort Frances is discontinuing their fire dispatch service and alternatives are being investigated.
Clerk Giles advised Council that the municipal office will be closed from Oct. 17 to 28 (he is on vacation) and reduced hours from Nov. 7 to 18 (he will be doing hurricane relief on the Gulf coast).
Council went in-camera at 10:42 to discuss personnel issues.
Council meetings will now be held in Bergland until further notice.