By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
Communications and community-engagement co-ordinator Kate Ingram has reported on business from the Dec. 3 Municipality of Port Hope regular council meeting.
One key item involved on-going updates related to the Port Hope Area Initiative project, with Mayor Bob Sanderson advising council that more regular reporting can be expected from the Municipal Project Staff Team Lead. As construction efforts on project sites intensify, consistent updates will allow council members to stay abreast of the project and be more engaged with the process as a whole.
Sanderson noted that these meetings may be held in closed (in-camera) sessions that are not open to the public in cases where the subject of the meeting falls within one of 14 exceptions set out in Section 239 of The Municipal Act. These exceptions range in theme and include personal matters about identifiable individuals, the security of the municipality, litigation matters, education or training, acquisition or disposition of land, labour relations and more.
Should the subject matter fall within one of these stipulated exceptions to open-meeting requirements, it will be dealt with at an in-camera session – though, in the interests of transparency, council will opt to discuss matters open in public meetings wherever possible.
As usual, the general nature of any closed-meeting items will be posted on the regular council agenda in advance of the meeting and, prior to the closed session, council will pass a resolution identifying the general nature of the subject matter. Any non-confidential discussions will be identified publicly in open session following the closed session, but specific details about the meeting will not be discussed.
In other business, council authorized the execution of an amending agreement between the municipality and Stephen Henderson of Henderson Construction for the continued temporary storage of Rose’s Cottage at 20 Victoria St. (municipal property known as King’s Field) until Dec. 19. However, it is anticipated that the building will be relocated by its owner on December. 10.
Council also considered the owner’s request for the deferral of fess for the upfront payment of the performance-guarantee deposit. The owner has already paid this deposit, and had requested a refund of the fees until a later date. Council did not support this request.
Council did adopt the Advisory Committee Appointment Policy, which is meant to streamline the appointment-and-selection process for volunteer members of municipal advisory committees.
The policy calls or appointments to take place transparently in an open council session, following an interview process to support the volunteer experience and council’s mandate for each advisory committee.
It also allows for committee-representative training to take place at the beginning of the appointment term.
Once recommendations regarding the structure of committees have been determined, appointment terms will be recommended for each member until Dec. 30, 2023 (the end of the first year for the new council) or until their successors are appointed.
This policy is the first of several recommendations to come forward as part of a broader Comprehensive Advisory Committee Review, which was initiated in September.
After consideration of a staff report at their Nov. 19 committee-of-the-whole meeting, council approved the revised conceptual plan for the proposed refurbishment and upgrades to the cenotaph in Memorial Park.
Draft designs of the proposed scope of work were presented to council at a September committee-of-the-whole meeting, where council directed staff to post the designs for community consultation. After the public feedback was considered by staff – and in consultation with the Parks, Recreation and Culture Advisory Committee and representatives from Port Hope Legion Branch 30 – adjustments were made to the design and cenotaph layout.
A Dec. 9 open house was held at Jack Burger Sports Complex to present the approved plans to the community.
Council approved Traffic and Parking Bylaw amendments to include several modifications.
The existing two-way stop at Alexander, Smith and Harris streets has been changed to a four-way stop.
Parking in the Town Hall parking lot has been restricted to Farmers’ Market vendors only from 8 a.m. to noon from the first Saturday in May to the last Saturday in October.
Parking is now restricted on the west side of Brown Street from the driveway at #72 northerly to the driveway at #76.
Council approved the 2020 council and committee-of-the-whole meeting schedule. Council and committee meetings will continue to take place on the first and third Tuesdays of each month, with the exceptions of July and August (when only one monthly meeting is scheduled, taking place on the first Tuesday).
Minutes from this meeting will be available pending approval at the Dec. 17 council meeting, at which point they will become the official record of the meeting.
The full agenda and staff reports are available on the Council Portal website. As well, recordings of this – as well as the budget-committee meeting and committee-of-the-whole meeting of the same date, are available at //porthope.ca/council-communications.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
