By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
The Municipality of Port Hope has reported on its March 16 regular and committee-of-the-whole meetings of council, held electronically via videoconference due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Service Line Warranties of Canada Agreement
Staff provided an update on the municipality’s agreement with Service Line Warranties of Canada. It is set to expire in August, and staff advised that the agreement will not be extended.
The company offers insurance protection to property owners for maintenance of the buried water and sewer lines that run from the public (main) connection to the exterior of their homes. In 2018, the municipality executed an agreement with SLWC by By-law 62/2018, which stipulated that the municipality endorsed SLWC and allowed the company to use its name and logo on its letterhead, advertising, billing and marketing materials.
The agreement has caused confusion among residents since its inception and, based on feedback from residents, the municipality has decided not to extend the agreement. Once the agreement expires, SLWC may continue to offer insurance protection to residents but may no longer include the municipality’s logo or name on any of its materials.
No impact to current customers is expected.
Leisure Services Master Plan
Council adopted the 2021 Leisure Services Master Plan in principle. The plan provides a resource and guidelines to the municipality to further enhance parks, recreation and cultural opportunities and initiatives to consider of the course of a 10-year period.
The Plan will require ongoing review and further research related to the recommendations included, as well as a bi-annual review by the Parks, Recreation and Culture Advisory Committee and staff with corresponding status reports and recommendations to council.
Tree Planting and Protection Policy
Council adopted the amended Tree Planting and Protection Policy, which is intended to guide decisions of municipal staff in the planting, protection, maintenance, and removal of trees located on municipal property in both urban and rural areas, as well as support activities related to the implementation of the recommendations specified in the Municipal Forest Master Plan.
The policy does not apply to municipal trees that form part of the Port Hope Area Initiative project.
The recently approved Environmental Advisory Committee (comprised in part of the former Tree Advisory Committee) also reviewed the policy and provided a Tree Replacement Formula to be incorporated into the existing Tree Planting and Protection Policy. The formula calculates the number of replacement trees for those that are removed or destroyed on municipal properties.
Delegation: Stash & Co Recreational Cannabis Store
Representatives from Stash & Co Recreational Cannabis Store provided a delegation to council’s committee of the whole to share details of the new store that is scheduled to open on Toronto Road this spring.
2020 Tax Adjustments
The committee of the whole received a staff report identifying the 2020 tax adjustments. The report outlines the omit/supplementary billings, cancellations, reductions and/or write-offs, all of which are in accordance with the Municipal Act.
This year, the net property tax adjustments are unfavourable in the amount of $99,670 as compared to the 2020 budget. The reasons for this are outlined in the staff report.
The municipality anticipates and budgets for these situations during the annual budget process and reports annually the amounts actually incurred.
Agendas and staff reports for this meeting are available on the Council Portal, with recordings of the proceedings at //porthope.ca/council.
Meeting minutes will be available pending approval at the next council meeting on April 6, at which point they will become the official record of the meeting.
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