Council - April 24, 2023

Updates from Mayor and CAO

Mayor Update

Mayor Clarke opened up the meeting and announced that MP Adam Chambers, MPP Jill Dunlop and members of the Council participated in the Ramara Historical Society's Pancake breakfast at Udney Hall on April 15. Mayor Clarke thanked all the volunteers for their time and hard work in organizing a well- attended and delicious event.

Mayor Clark thanked the Brechin Lions for inviting himself and members of the Council to their annual Farmers' Dinner.

Councillor Bell thanked all the residents in Ward 5 who participated in the Smash the Trash Clean-up event last Saturday in the rain. Councillor Bell also thanked the township's infrastructure department, which cleaned up numerous bags of trash, tires, a buoy and other collected items.       

CAO Update

CAO Drinkwalter provided the following update:

• The Name our Harvester Contest received 72 entries with the following names being chosen.
• Scoop Dogg was selected for the small harvester;
• Harvey the Harvester was selected for the large harvester, and
•  Marge was selected for the barge.
•  Until April 30, the community can choose a playground design for Bluebird Park and Lagoon City Beach and Park. Residents can learn more about the different designs by visiting the website.
• On May 22, 2023, the Township Administration office will be closed for the Victoria Long weekend and will reopen on Tuesday, May 23, 2023.
• Spring street sweeping has ended. Thank you to all the residents for their patience.
• The Ramara Road 47 construction project began on Monday. Residents can stay updated on information and road closure notifications by subscribing to our website's News and Notices page and signing up for Alertable - our community notification system.

Presentations & Deputations

Orillia Downtown Tomorrow Plan 

James DiPaolo, Senior Associate at Urban Strategies Inc., and Jill Lewis, Senior Planner at the City of Orillia, provided an overview of the City of Orillia's longer-term vision of Orillia's Downtown, including the waterfront area. The update is occurring within three phases with a focus on the following strategic initiatives:

• Increase the residential population downtown.
• Reinforce downtown as a civic and institutional hub.
• Celebrate downtown's cultural heritage and activity.
• Improve the shopping and dining experience.
• Improve connectivity and streetscapes downtown.
• Creating new spaces for playing, gathering & relaxing, and
• Promote Orillia and enhance the visitor experience. 

The City of Orillia will host a "charrette" on May 9th and 10th to gather public input and a survey.

Learn more by visiting Orillia's website.

Lakehead University Update

Michael den Haan, Vice President of External Relations and Linda Rodenburg, Interim Principal, provided an overview of Lakehead University's mandates of providing access to education, economic drivers, talent, innovation & research and partnerships & collaboration. They presented local statistics and stories of students who attended Lakehead University and later secured employment at Lakehead University. Within the next ten years, Lakehead is projecting to grow its economic impact to $400M, recruit and enroll over 3,500 students and add ten new programs of study related to community and economic needs.   

View the full presentation

Listen to the full presentation

Lakehead Orillia website

Global Traffic Group - Automated Speed Enforcement (A.S.E.)

David Steer and Nick Wilson from Global Traffic Group presented the use of Automated Speed Enforcement (A.S.E.) in Community Safety Zones. They provided information on fixed and portable A.S.E. solutions, violation processing, data collection and statistics and costs. As well, they provided a timeline of how the Township of Ramara could implement this type of system and some of the recommended warning and operational programs that would need to take place.

View the full presentation

Listen to the full presentation

Items Requiring the Immediate Attention of Council

Orillia & Area Lake County Funding Follow-up

Council approved to allocate $5000 to Orillia & Area Lake County from reserves to offset expenditures that occurred prior to 2023 budget approval. 

Bills and Bylaws

Council passed the following Bylaws:

• Bylaw to amend the Procedural Bylaw
• Bylaw to Establish a Goose Management Control Service Area and Rate
• Bylaw to Establish an on-site Sewage Maintenance Inspection Program Service Area
• Bylaw to Provide for the Levy and Payment of Taxes and the Mosquito Control Service Rate, Goose Control Rate, On-Site Sewage Maintenance Inspection Service Rate and the Adoption of Tax Rates
• Bylaw to Delegate under the Planning Act

Other Information

Goose Management Program - 2023 Pilot Project

In 2023, the Township of Ramara implemented a pilot Goose Management Program in the Lagoon City settlement. The program's aim is to reduce the goose population and human-animal conflict while enhancing the community’s enjoyment of its parks, beaches and other public spaces.

The Township has contracted the services of a Municipal Wildlife Control expert who assessed Lagoon City and obtained a permit from Environment and Climate Change Canada and Canadian Wildlife Services to undertake federally-approved control measures. The Lagoon City pilot project will occur on Township of Ramara owned lands including parks and beaches, lands abutting road and footbridges and other lands and easements.

A goose management control service rate, $30 per charge, will be applied to each residential and commercial property within the goose control service area. The rate will be established by Council and will be included in the final tax bill.

Learn more about the Goose Management Program.  

Reminders

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For More Information

For more details on any of these items, see the full meeting Agenda or view the meeting on the Township of Ramara's YouTube Channel.

The Meeting highlights are prepared to give residents a timely update on decisions of Council. The Council Meeting Minutes are the official record of the meeting.