Council - April 25, 2022

Mayor Update

Deputy Mayor Gough opened the meeting in Mayor Clarke's absence. He reported that over the past week, some Council and Township staff members had lost either close friends or family members. On behalf of members of Council and staff, Deputy Mayor Gough extends his deepest condolences and sympathies to those individuals during their time of mourning.

CAO Update

CAO Gunby clarified her role as CAO and the importance of listening to community feedback, ideas, and accolades to help continue improving services to residents. As stated by the Municipal Act, A CAO is to "exercise general control and management of the affairs of the municipality for ensuring the efficient and effective operation of the municipality. "Overall, the CAO implements Council direction, manages staff, and ensures that residents' expectations of services are met with standards that are reliable, efficient, and economical. Jessica also stressed that she likes to form a positive, open and
adult relationship in all meetings to avoid difficult conversations not being handled professionally. Jessica hopes to continue to meet with various local groups, Committees and residents in Ramara and encourages residents to contact her assistant, Sarah Karabin, at skarabin@ramara.ca. 

Over the past month, Jessica has met with staff at the County of Simcoe for economic and climate change initiatives, Ramara's Economic Development Committee, staff at the Lake Simcoe
Conservation authority, and representatives from Ramara News and Community Development Corporation. This week, Jessica will be attending the Muskoka and Area Indigenous Leadership Table (MAIT) and speaking at the Chamber of Commerce Women in Business Summit.

Presentations & Deputations

Concession Road A Road Allowance - Request to Purchase

Kayda Mercurio provided a deputation to Council for the request to purchase the unopened road allowance between lots 15 and 16, Concession Road A. Within the next two months, staff will be updating the Township of Ramara's Sale of Lands policy to help give direction with the request.

Consent Agenda

Firefighter Certification 

Under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, every municipality must ensure that its firefighters are certified based on minimum certification standards outlined in the act. The new mandatory certification in Ontario will help create safer communities and validate the training that firefighters receive. Read O.Reg. 343/22:Firefighter Certification to learn more.

County of Simcoe Bursary Program

The County of Simcoe's annual Education Bursary Program provides up to 21 $3,000 bursaries to students in the County of Simcoe who are attending a post-secondary institution in Ontario. The online application is due by July 29, 2022, and one bursary is guaranteed for a resident of each participating member municipality. Learn more at simcoe.ca/studentbursary.

Building Permit Comparison 2021 vs 2022

The Building department has issued the same amount of total permits from 2021 to 2022 for March. Please note that the permit number in 2021 issues separate permits for plumbing; however, with the Building department's new program Cloudpermit, those permits are incorporated. Need a Building permit or want to learn more about Cloudpermit, please visit

www.ramara.ca/building.

Reform Gravel Mining Moratorium

Council approved to support the Reform Gravel Mining Group

Future Staff Reports

Council approved for the following staff reports to be forward to a future Committee of the Whole meeting.

1. Purchasing request for the land diving 8122 Laidlaw Avenue and the private road.
2. Request for signage in the Foley Catholic School Zone.
3. Request to change speed on Courtland Street to 40 km/hr zone.
4. Request regarding Community Clean-up Initiatives.
5. Request to purchase Township owned land on Bayview Drive.

Items Requiring Immediate Attention of Council

Deeming Bylaw for 7635 Doner Drive

A Deeming Bylaw is required to be passed to allow for the merging of lots created by plan of subdivision where the subdivision has been registered for more than 8 years. A bylaw is passed by Council to "deem" the property as no longer part of the registered plan of subdivision. Once the bylaw is passed, it is registered on title allowing for the merging of the lots. The owner's of 7635 Doner Drive are requesting this process to enable the merging of 7635 and 7625 Doner Drive to allow for an addition their dwelling.

County Council Update

County of Simcoe - Council Highlights

The County Council Highlights provides a summary of approved material within associated packages proceeding a scheduled Council meeting. View County Council or Committee of the Whole meetings on the County's YouTube Channel.

Bills and Bylaws

Procedural Bylaw Amendment

Council approved amending the Procedural Bylaw 2022.09 to replace Section 25 with a Council Information Package and Sections 33 and 34 being deleted. The Council Information Package will be published on the website and provided to Council seven (7) days before the published Agenda. It will contain copies of correspondence and records from the public, organizations, committees or municipal staff. However, any correspondence in contravention of Council and Staff Relations Policy, Council Code of Conduct or Respect in the Workplace Policy will not be published. Staff will return it to the sender for
the reasons outlined.

Delegation of Authority - Lame Duck Restrictions

Council may be in a "Lame Duck" during an election year, either leading up to or after an election. Lame Duck is determined when the new Council represents less than 75%of the membership of the Council prior. This may occur between Nomination Day to Election Day and then again from Election day to the last day of the current term of Council. When Council is in Lame Duck, as stipulated by the Municipal Act, Council shall not take the following actions:

• Appoint or remove from office any officer of the municipality;
• Hire or dismiss the employee of the municipality;
• Dispose any real or personal property of the municipality that has a value exceeding $50,000, and
• Make any expenditures or incurs any other liability exceeding $50,000.

Council passed the Bylaw to delegate authority to the Chief Administrative Officer during the 'Lame Duck Period' of Council during the 2022 Municipal Election.

Learn more about the municipal election at www.ramara.ca/election.

View the full Council Highlights document on our Council Highlights page, and remember to subscribe to receive all updates by email.

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