Committee of the Whole - January 15, 2024

Please note that all Committee of the Whole decisions are subject to Council approval. The next Council meeting is scheduled for January 29, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. If you have any questions regarding agenda items or decisions made at Committee or Council meetings, please email jgalvao@ramara.ca.

Council Vacancy

At the December 11, 2023, Committee of the Whole and Council meeting, the Ward 4 seat was officially declared vacant. In order to fill the seat vacancy, Council has a choice of three options for filling the vacancy.

1. Direct Appointment – Council can appoint a qualified person who has consented to fill the office.
2. Appointment by application – The Council may invite applications from qualified individuals and, through identified procedures, appoint an individual.
3. By-Election – Council can hold a by-election.

If a By-Election is chosen, the cost of conducting an election is as follows:

• Providing electronic options costs $2.75 per eligible elector.
• An In-Person Paper Ballot with hand count (by staff) would cost $640.
• An In-Person Paper Ballot with a tabulator would cost $6,674.

As staff are prepared to provide multiple means of voting, paper and electronic, staff are recommending the hand count option over the tabulator. Overall, the costs are estimated at $8,500 to cover all election and advertising costs.

The Committee approved filling the Ward 4 vacancy by means of a by-election and said that the voting method includes electronic and in-person paper ballots with a manual hand count. Also, the Committee approved the transfer of $8,500 to cover the by-election costs.

Request to Purchase Unopened Road Allowances submitted by Bot Holdings Ltd.

At the December 11, 2023, Committee of the Whole meeting, staff provided a report outlining a request to purchase the following municipally owned unopened road allowances (URA):

• Concession Road B-C, Lots 16 & 17
• Concession Road B, Between Lots 15&16
• Concession Road B, Between Lots 10&11

The Council approved deferring the report so that staff could present more information regarding selling versus leasing the land.  

Staff provided a report outlining additional information about the request, including maps, lease information and recreation trail network. The requester, Bot Holding Limited, owns and operates aggregate properties abutting these URA and is requesting to purchase these properties to help mitigate potential trespassing and spills or contamination. The Committee approved deferring the decision for six months and that staff investigate the possibility of a land swap for alternate locations for a potential road through those areas in the future.

2023-2026 Strategic Plan

CAO Drinkwalter presented the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan. After extensive consultation with the community, including residents, businesses, organizations, staff and members of the Council, the Strategic Plan was created. The Strategic Plan sets out the Township's vision over the next four years, including goals and priorities.

View Strategic Plan  

The Committee approved the 2023 to 2026 Strategic Plan and asked staff to present a 2023 work plan and 2024 priorities at the February 12 Committee of the Whole meeting.

Councillor Appointments to Committees and Boards

Each year, the Mayor may re-examine Councillor appointments to Committees and Boards to ensure that attendance conflicts are addressed or Councillor interests are met. 

As a result of this and the vacancy in Ward 4, the Committee appointed Councillor Fisher to the Quarry Committee and Economic Development Committee and Deputy Mayor to the Awards Committee. The Committee also approved for the remainder of appointments to remain status quo until a new Ward 4 Councillor has been elected.

Sewer Use Bylaw Amendment

The Sewer Use Bylaw prohibits the direct or indirect connection of stormwater pipes, drainage water pipes, sump pump discharge laterals, foundation drains, rain leaders and downspouts to the sanitary sewer works. The Township prohibits these connections due to the water volume that sump pumps move, which is more than the municipal sewer system is designed to handle.

An Inflow and Infiltration (I&I) reduction program was initiated in 2022 to identify and eliminate sources of inflow and infiltration in the Bayshore Village sanitary sewer collection system. As part of the program, residential property inspections of sump pumps or roof leaders were completed to help identify and eliminate sources. At the April 3, 2023, Committee of the Whole meeting, staff presented the results of the inspections and advised that 11 property owners declined access to allow for an inspection. As a result of this information, the Council asked staff to investigate a means of encouraging compliance.

Staff decided implementing an Administration Monetary Penalty (AMP) under the Sewer Use Bylaw for non-compliance was the best option. An AMP is a financial penalty imposed by the Township rather than a court that can be levied against an individual who fails to comply with a legislative requirement. The monetary penalty is as follows:

1. First Offence - $500
2. Second Offence - $1,000
3. Third Offence - $1,500
4. Fourth and subsequent Offence(s) - $2,000

Committee approved to amend the Sewer Use Bylaw (Bylaw 2019.38) to include the Administration Monetary Penalty.

Bayshore Village Effluent Haulage Update

Each year, the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) approves the Township to spray irrigate from the Bayshore Village sewage system onto the spray fields between May 18 and September 28. Even though OCWA performed all operations per MECP standards, the unseasonably wet season in 2023 impacted the effluent required to be irrigated.

The contractor, GFL, has hauled 25,000 cubic metres of effluent from the Bayshore Village Sewage treatment system; however, contractors must haul additional effluent due to increased precipitation received in November and December. OCWA recommends that we continue to haul to the original request of 55,000 cubic metres. This process will help the Township sustain winter storage amounts of effluent until irrigation can restart in the spring of 2024.

Staff recommends to continue hauling effluent from the ponds until we either get approval from MECP or reach the 55,000 cubic metres. 

Staff are recommending to finance the additional haulage, in discussion with OCWA, with the capital budget for the Val Harbour High Lift Pump (VH HLP) Replacement. The budgeted amount for the Val Harbour HLP project was $418,900.00. The additional expense to haul up to the 55,000 cubic metres is $290,693.12.

The Committee approved that the funds for continued hauling come from General Reserves as a loan to the sewer users and that the Val Harbour project proceed in 2024 as planned. 

View Notice

2024 Annual Aerial Larviciding Program

At the December 11, 2023, Committee of the Whole meeting, The Council requested staff to provide a report on the possible expansion of the 2024 Annual Mosquito Aerial Larviciding program.

For over 40 years, the spring Mosquito Aerial Larviciding program has been conducted under a permit from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) to target specific wetland areas within the Township of Ramara. If the Township of Ramara expands the program for the entire Township, it will increase the estimated wetland and swampy areas where mosquitoes tend to breed and expand properties that pay for this service.

As part of the 2024 Mosquito Control budget, staff included the program's continuation as completed in 2023 and funds to investigate the program's expansion, which includes mapping and granular application material comparison. The plan Infrastructure has to move the program forward with expansion is as follows:

• In 2024, determine spray areas throughout the Township and review the current granular larvicide applied to different materials.
• In 2025, depending on the estimated costs and the practicality of the proposed program, either

• • Expand the program 100% to the entire Township in 2025.
  • Expand the program in a phased approach over a 3 to 5 year program.
• With either approach a or b, for the application, it's recommended that the tendered contract length be a term of five (5) years.
• Review the program each year as the phases increase in size.

The Committee approved for staff to continue working on expanding the Aerial Larvicide Program.  

Reminders

Subscribe

Subscribe to get email updates on our News and Notices, Media Releases, Council Highlights, Monthly Ramara Bulletin, Community Events and more.

Subscribe now 

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.