Thursday, February 4, 2021 – Port Hope, ON
Below is a summary of key items discussed at the Municipality of Port Hope Council and Committee of the Whole Meetings held on Tuesday, February 2, 2021. The agendas and staff reports are available on the Council Portal. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this meeting was held electronically via video conference.
Appointment of Deputy Fire Chief
Council appointed Jeff Ogden as Deputy Fire Chief and the alternate Community Emergency Management Coordinator (CEMC), for the Municipality of Port Hope.
Deputy Chief Ogden has been a member of a municipal Fire service since 1995 and has held the positions of Captain, Fire Investigator, Fire Prevention, Training Officer, interim Fire Chief and Deputy Fire Chief. He has completed the Dalhousie Fire Service Leadership Certificate, Fire Investigator, Fire Prevention and Inspection and Community Emergency Management Certification, amongst many other Fire service training programs.
Support for the Pharmacare Act
In response to correspondence from the Member of Parliament of New Westminster – Burnaby, Council supported the Private Member’s Bill C-213, An Act to Enact the Canada Pharmacare Act.
Members of Parliament are seeking municipal support for Bill C-213, which seeks to establish a universal, publicly administered pharmacare program, modelled on the same principles as Canada’s universal health care program (Canada Health Act).
Committee of the Whole
Below are highlights from the Committee of the Whole meeting.
Committee By-law
The Committee By-law was presented to Council for consideration. The Committee By-law and Terms of Reference reflect the recommendations of the Review Sub-committee of Council, which was presented to Committee of the Whole on October 6, 2020.
The main objectives of the review were to address functionalities and improve governance of advisory committees. In addition, changes to terms of reference were implemented to ensure the purpose and mandate of each advisory body is in alignment with the Strategic Plan.
In the fall of 2020, staff posted the draft By-law as a community consultation on the My Port Hope website to gather feedback and comments from the public. Additionally, staff undertook various community engagement activities, including in-person and over the phone consultations and surveyed current and former committee members for additional feedback on the draft By-law. These consultation efforts allowed residents and stakeholders to contribute to the By-law drafting process.
Once the Committee By-law is adopted by Council, staff will prepare a resolution confirming the appointments of current members and will advertise for vacancies as required. This process will allow current members to decide if they would like to remain on their current committees, with new and refined terms of reference and/or if they would like to utilize their experience, skills, and knowledge on another committee to which they would like to apply.
The Committee By-law will be included on the Council agenda for the meeting on February 16, 2021.
Garbage and recycling review
Council discussed the opportunity for Northumberland County staff to conduct a feasibility study to review operations at the Hope Transfer station versus curbside collection of garbage and recycling in the rural area of the Municipality.
This opportunity arises as a result of the recent implementation of a dual stream collection process for recycling in the region. Physical changes to the transfer station are required in order to comply with the new collection process.
In advance of investing resources into making the changes, it is fiscally responsible to engage with the rural area residents to review the viability of operating the transfer station compared to curbside collection.
Council supports the recommendation to add this item to the Council agenda for the meeting on February 16, 2021. If the item is supported at that time, Northumberland County staff will carry out a consultation with rural area residents of the Municipality.
Waterfront and Riverwalk Master Plan – Budget allocation
Council considered the allocation of $100,000 from the Waterfront Reserve fund as a budget to allow the Waterfront and Riverwalk Working Group to begin developing a Master Plan.
A plan of this nature will require considerable financial support. This initial allocation will be used to:
• Hire a facilitator to assist the group in visioning exercises and development of Terms of Reference for the Plan.
• Complete an RFP process and retain the services of a qualified consultant to undertake the completion of a new Master Plan. This process will involve visioning exercises, design concepts, developing implementation strategies, public/private partnership opportunities and strategies to engage the public and receive feedback. There is also the potential to develop business cases for certain elements of a proposed Master Plan.
The Waterfront Reserve fund was established a number of years ago with the intent to begin the process of the waterfront development.
The allocation of funding for the Waterfront and Riverwalk Master plan will be included on the agenda for Council consideration at the meeting on February 16, 2021.
Minutes and video recordings
Meeting minutes will be available pending approval at the next Council meeting on Tuesday, February 16, 2021, at which point they will become the official record of the meeting.
A recording of the February 2, 2021 Council and Committee of the Whole meetings are available at porthope.ca/council.
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
