-Council was not inclined to debate support for a proposal by the private sector to install a small underwater turbine at the outlet to one of the falls never Lock 45 in Port Severn.
-The Mayor’s Golf Tournament raised approx. $32K this year to be split between Radio for Cardiology and the Simcoe Muskoka Regional Cancer Centre.
-Planning staff are preparing a number of easy to understand brochures relating to the Committee of Adjustment variance and building application processes and other procedures and zoning.
-The Township is supporting a resolution originally prepared by Grey County to request the Prov. to reassess the delivery charges from Hydro One. Rural communities pay a much higher rate then urban communities.
-A resolution will be sent to the Muskoka Catholic District Board and the Trillium Lakelands District Public School Board requesting consideration to combine the two schools in Honey Harbour instead of closing both which is currently under consideration.
-A new By-law Enforcement Officer has been hired – Corinna Guest to replace a vacancy.
-A presentation was made on the long term strategy for Libraries in the Township. This may see the Port Severn part time library moving into the historical Bressette House next to the PetroCanada Station.
-User fees for all aspects of our operations (recreation, building application, planning, fire, etc.) were reviewed and approved. Fees are charged to cover work undertaken or services provided by staff to individuals to avoid charging the general taxpayer (i.e. user pays). By legislation, the Township cannot profit from fees. We can only recover our costs.
-The 5 public members of the Committee of Adjustment received a $50 increase to compensate for their private time to conduct site visits. Total compensation is now $150/month for meetings attended.
-Council was informed that 2016 TGB expenditures should come in on budget.
-Our Fire Chief will work with CPR to ensure that the rail crossing on Stewart Road, MacTier is not being blocked for more then 5 minutes at a time with the new longer trains. The TGB Northern Policing Committee with also work with CPR to facilitate a public presentation in the spring on emergency planning and other safety concerns.