Sf_council_09-27

Jeff Green | Jul 09, 2009

Bag tags and township wide landfill access to residents

Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth presented a report on waste management that had been discussed earlier at a meeting of the Committee of the Whole.

The key issue was the method by which residents should receive bag tags: Option A would require residents to purchase tags as needed from an expanded network of retailers, and Option B would have the township distribute 50 tags a year to each household.

Segsworth had recommended Option A at the Committee of the Whole meeting (June 28). At the time, he noted that the cost of garbage collection is common to all districts but Bedford, and as such could paid through general taxes for those three areas.

Garbage disposal could then be largely funded through the sale of bag tags. This form of user pay would have several advantages: residents would be able to control how much they spent on that portion of their waste disposal. They would be encouraged to produce less waste and recycle more, and there would be no more perceived waste of unused bag tags. As well, if the township no longer had to issue bag tags, they would save in administration costs.

Arguing against this option, Councilors Bill Robinson and John Fillion expressed the concern that this user-pay system would lead to an increase in illegal dumping as people tried to avoid fees. They were also concerned that it might create a hardship for residents, especially seniors, to have to get transportation to a retail outlet to purchase bag tags.

Option B, which council chose, is to have the township provide all households with 50 bag tags for 2010. Any additional tags will have to be purchased, with details regarding the cost of such tags to be discussed by the Sustainability Committee.

The existing system will remain in place for the rest of 2009: residents received bag tags for Sept-Dec with their recent tax bills, and any additional tags for 2009 will still cost $3.00 each.

Bag tags are available at the two township offices, and retail outlets in all major villages except Sydenham.

Councilor Del Stowe thanked the Sustainability Committee for its hard work and patience.

At Councilor Ron Vandewal's request, council then considered a resolution to allow residents to take their garbage to any township landfill as long as a proper bag tag was applied, or the required tipping fee paid, and adequate proof of residence (i.e. tax bill) was provided to the landfill attendant.

Councilor Robinson asked for an amendment, which would also require photo ID. Council defeated the amendment, but approved the original resolution, with only Councilors Robinson and Hicks voting against it.

Other items at the July 7 meeting

Trailer bylaw: Mayor Davison reminded council that the trailer by-law would soon be coming up for review. This will be a contentious issue that council will need to be prepared to discuss.

Festivals and fireworks: Council granted a special events permit for a guitar festival at 3060 Sydenham Road over the July 31-Aug 3 weekend.

Mayor Davison noted that a number of people had commended the Township, the Harrowsmith S&A Club, and the Loughborough Recreation Committee on the excellence of the Canada Day celebrations, and the quality of the fireworks displays in both Sydenham and Harrowsmith. He also said an extra person had been hired to regularly clean up the goose droppings at the Point.

Yurts on Devil Lake: Council approved a zone change that will permit an eleven-acre property on Devil Lake adjoining Frontenac Park to accommodate the installation of five yurts and a privy for holiday rental purposes. The yurts will have a 50-metre setback from the water.

Sydenham water: Council agreed to accept the recommendation from the Sydenham Water Advisory Committee that XCG Consultants be requested to prepare the following reports: 1) A report regarding the preferred option to deal with the trihalomethane issue; 2) More accurate costing of the preferred option proposal; 3) Timelines for the completion of the various stages of the project. (CAO Burns noted that the grant stipulates the project upgrade must be completed by March 2010.)

Councilor Vandewal said that XCG plans to continue water testing throughout the summer, and is prepared to attend to any concerns that may come up during the ongoing testing.

Special Council meeting re Water Plant, Library, and Property Acquisition:

A special meeting of council was convened on June 28.

The meeting included a motion to hire consultant Bill Hargreaves at the rate of $195./hr. to do a peer review of XCG's recommendations on upgrading the Sydenham Water plant.

After a series of amendments, two more motions were passed: there was unanimous agreement "to expend funds for the development of a library in Sydenham."

The third motion passed was: "to purchase part of lot 6, concession 6, Storrington District, with the amendment that said purchase be conditional on two points: that a permit can be obtained for a boat ramp, and that adequate and suitable parking can be developed." Councilor Hahn voted against the property acquisition.