Council reclaims reins in MH

Councillors
repealed a delegation of power bylaw that had been passed on March 19
after the township declared a state of emergency amid the COVID-19
crisis. That bylaw had put the decision-making powers normally vested in
council in the hands of the township’s emergency management group,
which consists of some members of council, the township’s chief
administrative officer and a cross-section of department heads, as
meetings of council were suspended. The repealing of that bylaw
effectively puts council back in the proverbial driver’s seat.
“It’s
the first step of returning back to normal in Minden Hills,” said Mayor
Brent Devolin, adding that after a period approaching a couple of
months in duration, regular committee-of-the-whole and council meetings
would be resuming, although in an online manner. “This is a good day for
us.”
Councillors and staff are participating in meetings remotely
using online teleconferencing platform Zoom, with the meetings broadcast
via YouTube.

Dealing with problem pigeons
A staff report on
dealing with a flock of pigeons living in Minden’s downtown will come
back to council after councillors received a letter from a downtown
business owner saying the birds, and their droppings, are beginning to
affect his business. “I cannot be the only business affected by this,”
the letter reads. “I don’t want to move out and leave another empty
building on the main street.”

Partnering on Waste Wizard
The
Township of Minden Hills will partner with the Township of Algonquin
Highlands and the Municipality of Highlands East on the use of the Waste
Wizard app, which provides residents with waste management information
such as what items can and cannot be recycled, which items go in which
bins at landfills, alternative suggestions for waste disposal and
diversion, etc. The app is customizable, allowing each municipality to
update it with its own information.
Algonquin Highlands and Highlands East began use of the app last year.
As
a staff report explained, the app is delivered at a flat rate
regardless of how many of the county’s four municipalities participate.
The annual cost is $2,875 plus HST, which means the cost for each of the
three participating municipalities is $958 plus HST. The money was
included in Minden Hills’ 2020 public works budget.

Miller gets paving contract
The
township awarded a contract worth more than $400,000 to Miller Paving
Ltd. using the sole-source provisions in its purchasing policy after the
company was the only one to bid on the job.
That contract is for
the application of cold-constructed asphalt pavement (CCAP) and road
resurfacing in various locations throughout the township. Miller’s bid
was for just more than $374,000 plus HST, bringing the total for the job
to just less than $425,000.