By Chad Ingram
The following are brief reports of items discussed during an Oct. 29 meeting of Minden Hills council.
The Township of Minden Hills’ new community services director, Craig Belfry, was scheduled to start work with the township on Monday, Nov. 2. Belfry was most recently facilities co-ordinator for the Township of Brock, and previously manager of recreation, parks and properties for the Township of Springwater, as well as recreation manager for the Township of Scugog. Belfry replaces former community services director Mark Coleman, who resigned from the township in January to take a similar position with the Municipality of Brockton.
MH forgoes additional COVID relief funding
The township will not apply for additional COVID-19 relief funding from the provincial government. During the first phase of provincial pandemic relief funding to municipalities during the summer, Minden Hills received just more than $400,000 to help cover COVID-19-related costs. A staff report showed that so far, the township has spent about $100,000 of that money and chief administrative officer Trisha McKibbin indicated the $400,000 the township had received should be sufficient in covering any further pandemic-related costs that may come up.
It seemed unlikely the township would receive any funding from Phase 2 of what is being called the province’s Safe Restart program, given a surplus in excess of $1 million it is expected to accrue for 2020.
“There was a very specific question about surpluses for
2020,” said finance director Lorrie Blanchard of the funding application.
“This is highly likely to be a fruitless enterprise,” said Mayor Brent Devolin. “I think probably the big flag is going to be the surplus,” Blanchard said.
Legion will mark Remembrance Day
Council approved a road closure of the section of Bobycaygeon Road near the Minden cenotaph on the morning of Nov. 11 for a Remembrance Day ceremony. However, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a scaled-down version of the usual annual ceremony will include only members of the Minden Legion’s executive.
