AH_Council_December_6

Feature Article December 9, 2004

Feature article December 9, 2004

LAND O' LAKES NewsWeb Home

Replacement tanker for Denbigh: and notes from Addington Highlands

by Jeff Green

Addington Highlands has been looking for a replacement for the 1971 tanker that is located at the Denbigh Fire station, and it looks like Fire Chief Casey Cuddy has found one, at a cost of $10,000.

Cuddy reported that the current tanker, which is a converted milk truck, is in poor condition.

I dont figure that its a safe truck Cuddy told Council.

The truck that has been located is a 1980 model, and it was built as a fire truck. It should give us 5 years, Cuddy added. The newer truck was in use in Sarnia, and Casey Cuddy was told by the Sarnia fire department that the truck needs a couple of new seals. Cuddy intends to determine what the cost of repairs will be before going ahead with the purchase.

Council budgeted $20,000 in 2004 to replace the Denbigh tanker. The matter is expected to return to the next council meeting for final approval.

Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw:

Now that Addington Highlands has put their Official Plan in place, bringing in a comprehensive zoning bylaw is necessary to give the Official Plan some legal clout. Council has asked for and received a proposal from William Pol and Phillip Levine of CCL/IBI group consultants out of London, Ontario, to prepare a Comprehensive Zoning bylaw at a cost of $30,000. This cost didnt sit too well with Councillor Bill Cox. Why didnt a number of townships go in on this? he wondered, adding, This CCL group, theyre doing pretty well. I looked at the guys who work for them, and theyre all former Ontario government officials.

Cox asked if there was much of a hurry bringing in a comprehensive zoning bylaw.

Without a bylaw, we can make suggestions about frontage requirements etc. to people when they are planing to build, but we cant force them to do anything, Reeve Hook responded

Related to the comprehensive zoning bylaw is digital mapping of all land parcel information. Council is in the midst of considering two options for digital mapping services.

We dont need to make the decision about the comprehensive zoning bylaw proposal today, Reeve Hook concluded. We can defer this for two weeks.

In the meantime CCL/IBI will be approached about spreading the billing for the contract over a longer period of time so the entire cost will not have to be borne by the township in 2005.

Water drainage at Northbrook Lions Hall

A letter was received by Council from Peggy Rahm, the President of Northbrook Lions Club on Firehall road, concerning flooding of the parking lot at the Lions Hall, which makes it difficult to park, and, when accompanied by ice, is particularly dangerous for our patrons. The letter recommends that a properly dug ditch along the north side of Firehall road would assist in draining this water

Fire Chief Casey Cuddy told Council, It would be nice if it would work that way, but that would require that the water drain uphill. He said that Firehall is in the low point of land, and it floods badly each year. There is the possibility of digging dry wells by the Fire hall to find a place for water to drain, alleviating the problem for both the Lions and the Firefighters, but Bill Cox said, I dont think you would have to dig too deep until you hit water. Roads Superintendent Royce Rosenblath said he has a contact with the Ministry of Transportation, who could meet with the township about drainage.

He will set up a meeting and then the township will meet with the Lions

Traffic light at Hwys 7 & 41?

A letter was received from MPP Leona Dombrowsky concerning a meeting she has had with Dave Steed, from the Ministry of Transportation, to review the results of a traffic study at the intersection of Hwys 7 & 41 at Kaladar.

According to Dombrowkys letter, Mr. Steed has expressed willingness to meet with the County of Lennox and Addington and/or the township of Stone Mills and Addington Highlands.

Dave Steed is no stranger to Addington Highlands. He was involved in a proposal for a stop light Northbrook, which progressed to the final design stage, culminating in a public meeting in August of 2002 that was attended by Leona Dombrowsky. Changes in road access to businesses at or near the proposed stoplight led to a contentious meeting, and although the entire Council was present and reiterated their support for the project, the Ministry of Transportation seems to have put the Northbrook stoplight on the back burner.

A meeting with Mr. Steed will be sought to look at the Hwy.7 & 41 intersection.

Building permits up in 2004. Building permits for 2004 show a total of $4,315,171 worth of construction has been undertaken, a 27% increase over 2003. The two largest categories of construction are New Starts, at $2,518,380 and Additions, Renovations, Decks, at $997,871, while the category of Commercial Construction came in at $351,740. The total amount of construction initiated in 2003 was about $3,400,000

Office Closing Schedule:

The Addington Highlands Township office will be closed on December 24 and 27 2004, and on January 3, 2005. The building inspector will not be available on December 28 and 30, 2004.