At the final council meeting for at least four of the nine members present, outgoing Mayor Bill MacDonald thanked the township staff, his fellow councillors, and his wife Sharon for all of their support over the years.

He made specific mention of Chief Administrative Officer Heather Fox, who he said has been instrumental in the progress the township has made over the past nine years.

Fittingly, Deputy Mayor Frances Smith, who has served on councils with Bill MacDonald for most of the past 17 years, presented him with a commemorative plaque. Smith got in the line of the day when she noted that her political association with Bill MacDonald has “lasted longer than some of my marriages.”

Faye Putnam, Jack Nicolson, Bill Guigue, and Logan Murray, all thanked the staff and council in saying goodbye as well, although Murray ’s departure is by no means definite. Murray lost his council seat by a mere two votes to Jeff Matson and his request for a recount was accepted by council earlier in the meeting.

Heather Fox said after the meeting that she is hoping to conduct the recount soon. Both Matson and Logan Murray will be invited to attend, and they will each be permitted one scrutineer as well as legal council. Fox said she will be contacting Jeff Matson to see if Friday is a suitable day for the counting to take place.

Official Plan amendment approved – The official plan amendment process took up most of 2006, and at it was finally passed without comment in a unanimous vote.

Zealand Women’s Circle wonders where the table went – The township has replaced the old wooden tables at the Oso Hall with lighter plastic ones, but there is a problem. When the Zealand Women’s Circle asked the township office about the number of tables and their lengths, they were told there were 25 8 foot long  tables. They got to the Hall for the 33^rd edition of their annual craft fair to find only 20 6 foot long tables, leaving them scrambling to obtain tables from nearby churches.

Mayor MacDonald apologised to the Women’s Circle on behalf of the township, explaining that 25 8 foot tables had been ordered but were not available. Staff will endeavour to rectify the situation.

Construction catching up to ’05 – After lagging behind last year’s record high level of construction all year, permits for almost $1.3 million were taken out in October, bringing the year to date total to $6,601,000, as compared to $7,157,000 at this point last year. By the end of October in 2004, permits for $5,241,000 in construction had been sold.

Inaugural meeting next Monday – The new council will be sworn in on Monday, December 4^th at 7 pm, at the Oso hall in Sharbot Lake .