By Darren Lum
The following are briefs from the Minden Hills council meeting held virtually on Thursday, July 28.
Council approved a zoning bylaw amendment to enable the affordable housing project on Highway 35 to proceed with its site plan approval application
“Some of us are very excited to see our part to push this forward. The process always seems a lot longer than we like,” Mayor Brent Devolin said. “Other than, yahoo, is there any other questions or comments from members of council with respect to this?”
There were no questions and the vote was unanimous with yes and yahoos.
Tender awarded for Moore Lake drainage improvements
W.G. Jackett and Sons Construction were awarded the tender for drainage improvements to Shetland Road and Moore Lake Estates.
They provided the lowest bid at $146,233.77 and highest evaluated tender and will keep Minden Hills well within budget of its $170,500.
“I’m always a little nervous when I see such a disparity and obviously these are weird times, but Jackett and Sons has a history of good work, both at the county and City of Kawartha Lakes. It’s nice to see how much lower than it is to the others,” Mayor Brent Devolin said.
The construction bid was much lower than the next lowest bid at $201,026.88.
A $14,000 contingency allowance to the construction portion is part of the plan to allow for any change orders.
Councillor Pam Sayne said, “I’ve got to send out a great big thank you. Not only on my behalf, but on behalf of the residents there and also on behalf of the person who preceded me on council, who was working on this. This has been a long time coming. I don’t know when I’m going to announce the party. I guess I’m going to wait until it’s completed, but there will be party when this is finally taken care of. It’s greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the work on it and it’s great. Let’s move ahead.”
Arena and community centre opening
Now that the province is in Stage 3 for COVID-19, the S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena and the Minden Hills Community Centre is scheduled to open with COVID-19 protocols on Aug. 16. There will be access to the walking track and the pickleball court..
“Not a lot has changed from previously. It will still be booked times in and contact tracing and those kind of things, but we’re fully confident we can get the facility going now and get it open to the public in the next two weeks, so staff are moving along. We’re ready. We’re excited and we’re looking forward to this,” township director of community services, Craig Belfry said.
Ice making for the rink will begin Aug. 13 and is expected to be completed and ready by Aug. 27 when the Haliburton Huskies will start to hold their tryout camp.
Rzone policy ensures safety
For the first time the Minden arena has the Rzone policy to foster a safe environment and address any incidents of bullying, violence, intimidation, vandalism, threats and discrimination.
Rzone, which stands for respect and responsibility, is a “proactive education and awareness strategy to promote respectful and responsible behaviour at all facilities, events and on municipal properties.”
“The purpose of the policy is to take a proactive approach when looking to enforce a set of expectations around violence, vandalism and inappropriate behaviour for participants and the general public. As staff move to open the new S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena and Community Centre, this type of policy is paramount to safe and positive interactions between staff and the general public,” said the report, as presented by township director of community services, Craig Belfry.
This program will apply to all community organizations, and community members using municipal resources such as the $13-million S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena and Community Centre.
