Below is a summary of key items discussed at the Municipality of Port Hope Council and Committee of the Whole Meetings held on Tuesday, May 3, 2022. The agendas and staff reports are available on the Agendas and Minutes page of our website. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this meeting was held electronically via video conference.
Council Meeting:
The following are highlights from the Council Meeting.
Council compensation review
Council amended the resolution supported by Finance Committee for the Council compensation review and approved the following resolution:
That Council direct staff to:
- Rescind in its entirety the Council Member Remuneration Policy - 2018_2022 and incorporate the Council specific remuneration terms, procedures, compensation, and benefits currently stated in that Policy and as amended in the recommendations below, into the Compensation Administration Policy in the section for Council.
- Discontinue the current traditional Elected Officials health and dental benefit plan, effective November 30, 2022, and implement a Health Spending Account credit of $2,500 for each Council member, at no cost to the Council member, effective December 1, 2022 - pro-rated to the months of service in the year eligibility starts and ends.
- Incorporate these recommendations into the revised Compensation Administration Policy for Council’s review, with the revised remuneration terms for Council to be effective December 1, 2022; and:
- That the Councillor salary be set at $30,000; and
- That the Deputy Mayor salary be set at $36,000; and further
- That the Mayor salary be set at $68,800
Heritage Designations
Council supported the recommendation to provide a notice of intention to designate three properties located in Port Hope: 10 Armour Street, 18 Princess Street, and 46 Dorset Street. Heritage Port Hope Advisory Committee reviewed three designation reports at their February 2022 meeting and recommended all three for designation.
Election Compliance Audit Committee
Council approved, the By-law to establish a Joint Municipal Election Compliance Audit Committee. Staff have spearheaded the effort to bring the seven local municipalities together to establish this Committee and will be leading the recruitment process. By working together, the seven local municipalities will streamline the administrative processes involved with the recruitment and training of members.
Choate Street Extension cancellation
Council approved the By-law for cancellation of the Choate Street extension agreement with Cameco Corporation. Council also approved the Purchase of Sale Agreement and the Restricted Covenant Agreement with Cameco Corporation. This officially concludes the cancellation of the Choate Street extension and transfers approximately 1-acre of waterfront land to the Municipality.
Committee of the Whole:
The following are highlights from the Committee of the Whole Meeting.
Delegation – Ride for Rebound Day
Paul VandeGraaf, Chief of Police for Cobourg Police Service and Gavin Hinton, Senior Communications & Development Coordinator for Rebound Child and Youth Services provided a delegation regarding the Ride for Rebound Day on May 28, 2022.
Delegation – County Budget update
Jennifer Moore, CEO and Glen Dees, Director of Finance for Northumberland County provided a delegation regarding the County budget.
Delegation – Lions Centre Park
Claire Holloway Wadhwani from the PHorests 4 R PHuture Community Association provided a delegation regarding the environment remediation plan at the Lions Centre Park.
Public Notice Policy
Staff provided a report regarding the current Notice Policy (By-law 19/2014). The current policy is out of date and does not align with best practices, current policies related to communications, and a modernized approach to providing notice. Staff is recommending the adoption of a new policy that adheres to relevant public notice legislation outlined in the Municipal Act and the Planning Act and it supplements current key policies and documents, including the Accountability and Transparency Policy, Social Media Policy, and Communications Policy.
A resolution will be presented to Council at the next meeting.
Prescribed fees for service
Staff provided a report recommending amendments to the Prescribed Fees for Services By-law specifically regarding, Curb Cutting fees, Parking Metre fees, and Taxi fares. These amendments will be posted on the municipal website for community feedback and staff will report back with further information.
First Quarter (Q1) financial report
Staff provided a report for information that details a preliminary review of actual revenues and expenses compared to budget. In the first three months, the departments are relatively consistent with the year-to-date operating budget with some variances due to the timing of revenue receipts and related expenses. The total Municipal Operating Budget, including the Police and Library Boards, is tracking well at 77.23% of Operating Budget remaining.
Grant summary
The Finance Committee received a summary report, for information, regarding the 2021 grants received by the Municipality. In 2021, the Municipality received $1,986,941 in formula-based funding. In addition, the Municipality submitted 17 grant applications, of which, 14 applications were successful resulting in application-based grant funding of $455,267. Staff will continue to pursue grant opportunities to enable municipal projects to be completed at a lower cost to residents.
Phase 5 Penryn Mason Homes – Peer Reviews
Staff provided a report, for information, with updates on Phase 5 of the Penryn Mason Homes matter. The peer review for both the Environmental Impact Study and the Heritage Report related to phase 5 of their project has been completed. Both reviews have been assessed by staff, circulated to the proponents and are being brought forward for release to the public given the long-standing public interest in these matters and in consideration of the citizen withstanding at the OLT. These are reports are available on the Municipal Website.
The matter related to phase 5B of the Penryn Mason Homes development is scheduled to return to the Ontario Lands Tribunal for a Case Management Conference on June 22, 2022. A Hearing date has not been set to date.
Parks, Recreation and Culture Event Activity Report
Staff provided an update, for information, regarding events within the Municipality. The Reactivation of municipal and community events, programs and rentals are priority for Parks, Recreation and Culture in 2022. A list of the upcoming events is available in the staff report.
Rural roads resurfacing
Staff provided a report recommending a contract be awarded to Greenwood Paving Limited in the amount of $260,720.72 for a portion of the Rural Roads Resurfacing program. This is to be funded by the approved 2022 Capital budget. The work is within budget and to commence mid summer.
A By-law will be presented to Council at the May 17 meeting.
Lions Park industrial waste remediation
Staff provided a report recommending that a resolution be presented to Council to:
- Confirm direction to remediate the Lions Park industrial waste site as per the Agreement with Canada; and
- Direct staff to ensure that a remediation and restoration plan is developed which includes an appropriate replanting program based on the current 1:1 replacement practice with a design which aligns with the goals and recommendations of the Forest Master Plan, Leisure Service Master Plan and other strategic municipal priorities; and
- Direct staff to ensure that the replanting program consider the short/medium term impact to the neighbours and is designed to regenerate and enhance this public space;
- Direct Parks, Recreation and Culture (PRC) staff, in consultation with the PRC Advisory Committee and other stakeholders, to investigate parkland renewal and redevelopment opportunities for Lions Park and develop recommendations to revitalize this underutilized community asset for consideration in a future budget proposal.
The report highlighted that the Lions Park remediation differs from standalone Low-Level Radioactive Waste (LLRW) remediations due to the presence of a significant amount of highly toxic industrial waste in concentrations in excess of 100 times the provincial standards.
Three options were considered by staff, in addition to the full remediation plan per the Legal Agreement, and full remediation remains the preferred.
The report concluded that full remediation and replanting is the only option that supports key priorities including toxic industrial waste removal; safe handling and storage; permanent protection of human and animal health; elimination of future liability and costs, access to all public open spaces; and the long-term enhancement and protection of the greater woodlot.
Full remediation is supported by AECL and CNL as the best option as fencing the woodlot, or a portion of the wood lot transfers risks, liabilities and costs to future Port Hope generations.
The Works and Engineering Committee supported the staff recommendation, and a resolution will be presented to Council at the next meeting on May 17, 2022.
Minutes and video recordings
Meeting minutes will be available pending approval at the next Council meeting on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, at which point they will become the official record of the meeting.
Recordings of the May 3, 2022, Council and Committee of the Whole meetings will be available at porthope.ca/council.
SubscribeContact Us