April 21, 2018 · Categories: News · Tags:

– OPP Inspector Andrew Ferguson provided his Year End Report. Patrol hours were down by half last year due to less demand (508 service calls). Violent and drug crimes were cleared 100% and property crimes were solved 30%. Combined seatbelt/speeding/distracted driving/impaired was down 6%.

– Muskoka staff sampled 12 lakes in our Township in 2017 and will do another 11 lakes in 2018. Across Muskoka, water quality trends indicate that 32% of all samples for nutrients (phosphorous) were up over previous years and 19% were higher then their 10 year average. Runoff from wet weather last spring accounts for this trend. However, the long term trend for phosphorous concentrations in Muskoka lakes is a steadily declining over time.

-Planning staff facilitated a public meeting on the Six Mile Lake Official Plan Amendment to add clarification for the Committee of Adjustment to assess variances for larger cottages. We are about a 1 ½ years into a freeze on these types of variances with only 5 months left before the freeze must come off. Comments ranged from accepting no form of wording clarification to not enough detail clarification to “we need more time”. A staff report will come to Council for consideration in the next few months after further external planner consultation.

– Council supported District Resolutions to the Ministry of Transport to consider the environment impact of excessive road salt usage and to ramp up control of roadside invasive species (i.e. phragmites, etc.)

Paul M. Wiancko
Township of Georgian Bay