Addington Highlands Council – Committee to look at tipping fees with a view towards extending life of waste sites

Jeff Green | Jun 22, 2017

As Addington Highlands continues to grapple with dwindling space left in its waste sites and the desire to keep costs reasonable for township residents, Chief Administrative Officer Christine Reed prepared a report outlining the various options for tipping fees that townships of similar size have chosen.

Based on the many issues to be dealt with, including determining fees for loads of various sizes and compositions, Councillor Tony Fritsch said it would be best if a group of councillors, township residents, the public works manager and waste site attendants got together to hash out all the options.

Reeve Henry Hogg said perhaps the Public Works committee, with the addition of two site attendants, could be called together to look at the issues and submit a report.

Councillors Fritsch and Cox sit on that committee, as do three members of the public. Council voted to defer the matter to an expanded public works committee.

Financial statements
Adam Young from Seckler, Ross and Perry, LLP, presented a scintillating account of the township’s finances, saying that based on the information presented to him the township’s finances appear to be in good order. The township carried a working surplus of $65,000 going forward from 2015 on a $5 million plus budget, with departmental actual expenditures tallying well with their budget estimates.

Gravel and Tandem tenders
KCK Gravel, located near Denbigh, was the successful bidder to supply gravel to the township at a price of $67,500 for 1,000 tonnes. The other bidder, Gemmills Sand and Gravel, came in at $75,000.The tandem axle truck will cost $227,350. There was only one bidder, but the price was under budget.

Requests granted
A request for the waiver of the events license fee for the Flinton Jamboree was granted. Also a request by Jen Whalen of Pathways for Children and Youth for space to meet clients on Tuesday afternoons during the summer, was granted. Whalen will also work out of the Land O'Lakes Community Services Office. She uses North Addington Education Centre during the school year.

Better deal for councillors attending conferences
Based on a notice of motion from Councillor Bill Cox, some of the expense payments to councillors have increased. Mileage payments have been set at $0.54 per kilometre for the first 5,000 kilometres each year, and $0.48 after that, for “travel from their residence within the municipality, for all municipal functions.

For conventions, seminars and meetings outside of the township, accommodations will be covered “as per receipts”, meals will be reimbursed at a rate of $15 for breakfast, $25 for lunch, and $35 for dinner. A per diem of $125 per day, “plus bus/rail or mileage plus registration” will also be paid.