Municipality of the District of Clare
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
PRESENTS: Council: Warden Ronnie LeBlanc; Deputy Warden Brian Comeau; Councillors Russell Comeau, Lester Doucet, Nil Doucet, Danny Hill, Hector Thibault and Robert Thibault. Staff: Chief Administrative Officer Connie Saulnier, and Assistant to the CAO
Colette Deveau.
Public: few residents
ABSENT: Councillor Nil Doucet
_______________________________________________________________________________________
1) CALL TO ORDER
Warden Ronnie LeBlanc called the Council Meeting to order at 7 :00 pm.
2) (a) APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
The Agenda was reviewed.
MOVED BY Councillor Lester Doucet and SECONDED BY Councillor Hector Thibault that proposed Agenda be approved as presented
(b) Declaration of Conflict of Interest
Warden Ronnie LeBlanc asked for any declarations of conflict of interest from the floor.
None declared
3) PRESENTATIONS
There were no presentations.
4) ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS COUNCIL MEETINGS
4.1 April 15, 2015 Regular Council Meeting
April 15, 2015 Regular Council Meeting minutes were reviewed.
It was noted that there were no errors or omissions.
MOVED BY Councillor Lester Doucet and SECONDED BY Councillor Danny Hill, that Minutes of April 15, 2015 be accepted as circulated.
MOTION CARRIED.
4.2 May 6, 2015 Council-In-Committee Meeting
The May 6, 2015 Council-In-Committee Meeting minutes were reviewed.
It was noted that there were no errors or omissions.
MOVED BY Councillor Danny Hill and SECONDED BY Councillor
Russel Comeau that Minutes of May 6, 2015 be accepted as circulated.
MOTION CARRIED
5) BUSINESS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS
5.1 There was no business arising to discuss
6) WARDEN’S ACTIVITY REPORT- Warden Ronnie LeBlanc
Warden Ronnie LeBlanc listed the meetings and events he attented since the last Council meeting :
Le Préfet Ronnie LeBlanc liste les différents évènements auxquels il a assisté depuis la dernière réunion du conseil.
April 21 : Press Conference at Université Sainte-Anne for the Acadian festival.
May 11: Meeting in Digby with the Mayor Ben Cleveland, Warden Linda Gregory and MLA Gordon Wilson to discuss many differents projects.
May 19: Opening of the Lisa T. Café, the grand opening will be held in September.
7) OFFICIAL STATEMENTS FROM THE MEMBERS OF COUNCIL
Councillor Hector Thibault stated that he had sent his congratulations to Mr & Mrs. Gerald Belliveau for their 50th wedding anniversary. The Municipality of Clare will send them a certificate.
8) CORRESPONDENCE
8.1 REQUEST FROM THE DIGBY PORT DAYS COMMITTEE
Chief Administrative Officer Connie Saulnier read a financial request coming from the organization in charge of the Committee ¨Digby Port Days¨ for the amount of $ 1,500 for a reception during that event.
MOVED BY Councillor Robert Thibault and SECONDED BY Councillor
Hector Thibault to sponsor the Digby Port Days in the amount of $ 1, 500,00.
MOTION CARRIED
8.2 LETTER FROM THE MINISTER ABOUT THE SAINT-BENONI BRIDGE
Chief Administrative Officer read a letter from the Minister advising that the province will be repairing the Saint-Benoni Bridge. The repairs should start this summer. The Minister also stated in his letter that he wants to congratulate the committee in charge of the project for the excellent work that they did, which helped the Minister to make his decision. Warden Ronnie LeBlanc also stated the importance of the work that his Deputy Warden, Brian Comean and the Councillors Robert Thibault and Russel Comeau carried out on that project such as meeting with the Minister in Halifax.
9) PRESENTATION OF 2015-2016 MUNICIPAL BUDGET AND MOTIONS TO ADOPT
Chief Administrative Officer Connie Saulnier presented the 2015-2016 municipal Bugdet to the Council. (see attachment)
Paper copies of the Budget will be available at the municipal office.
9.1 Municipal Tax Rate
MOVED BY Councillor Russel Comeau and SECONDED BY Councillor Hector Thibault that the Municipal Tax Rates for the Municipality of the District of Clare be as follows:
$ 1.04 per $100.00 of Assessment as the Residential Tax Rate (the same rate as last year) and
$ 2.07 per $100.00 of Assessment as the Commercial Tax Rate (the same rate as last year).
MOTION CARRIED
9.2 Sewer Service Charges
MOVED BY Councillor Robert Thibault and SECONDED BY Councillor
Danny Hill that the Municipal Sewer Service Charges for 2015-2016 be as follows :
Meteghan, Meteghan Centre, Meteghan River $ 150 per Unit
Pointe-de-l'Église $ 150 per Unit
Anse-des-Belliveau $ 200 per Unit
The same rate as last year.
MOTION CARRIED
9.3 Street Lights Rate at Sidewalks
MOVED BY Councillor Lester Doucet and SECONDED BY Councillor Russel Comeau that the Sidewalk Street Light Rates for 2015-2016 be as follows :
Highway 1 and Patrice Road – Church Point $ 68.34
Highway 1 – Little Brook and Comeauville $ 40.88
Highway 1 - Saulnierville $ 60.46
Highway 1 – Meteghan River $ 63.84
Placide Comeau Road –Meteghan River $ 75.57
Highway 1 and Peter Dugas Road- Meteghan $ 40.31
The same rates as last year.
MOTION CARRIED
9.4 Due Date and Interest Rate Commencement Date
MOVED BY Councillor Hector Thibault and SECONDED BY Councillor
Danny Hill that the due date for payment of Municipal Taxes be July 31st, 2015 and the interest at a rate of 1½ % per month, as it was last year, begin on August 1st, 2015.
MOTION CARRIED
9.5 2015-2016 Municipal Budget
MOVED BY Councillor Russel Comeau and SECONDED BY Councillor Lester Doucet that the 2015-2016 Municipal Budget for the Municipality of the District of Clare be approved as presented on Wednesday, May 20, 2015.
MOTION CARRIED
10) Chief Administrative Officer's (CAO) Report
No report
11) Committee Reports
11.1 Building Permits Reports – Councillor Danny Hill
Councillor Danny Hill present the building permits reports registered the month before from the department of building inspection.
Year Permit Construction Value
2014 21 1 736 480$
2015 15 1 002 109$
11.2 Clare Economic Development Committee – Warden Ronnie LeBlanc
Note: Following the organisational review conducted by the Municipality of Clare, the Clare Economic Development Committee, the Recreation Committee and the Tourism Committee have been regrouped under one committee, named, the Community Development Committee. There were no reports from the new Community Development Committee
11.3 Communication Committee – Warden Ronnie LeBlanc
No report
11.4 Planning Advisory Committee – Councillor Danny Hill
No report
11.5 Recreation Committee – Councillor Nil Doucet
See 11.2
11.6 Tourism Committee – Councillor Robert Thibault
See 11.2
11.7 Villa acadienne – Deputy Warden Brian Comeau
No report
11.8 Waste Check – Councillor Robert Thibault
No report
12) New Business
12.1 Canada 2017 Legacy Project
PROPOSE BY Councillor Hector Thibault SECONDED BY Councillor Lester Doucet that the Municipality of Clare grant the amount of $ 5, 000 to the Canada 2017 Legacy Project without committing to additional funds for the project at this point. With the information available at the moment, the municipality shall not enter into an intermunicipal agreement regarding this project.
MOTION CARRIED
13) Date and Time of Next Regular Council Meeting:
The next regular Council meeting will be held on June 17 at 7PM
14) Adjournment
PROPOSE BY Hector Thibault the adjournment of the meeting.
Submited by
Alain Poirier,
Administrative Assistant to the CAO