Robert Fisher
Staff Reporter
BARRY’S BAY – Council for the Township of Madawaska Valley previously discussed a new road naming bylaw to allow residents on water-access only island properties to receive mail at the post office. A civic address is needed to reserve a post office box.
Council approved the final bylaw at its Oct. 15 meeting.
Council approved sending three members plus the chief administrative officer to the annual Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference in January. Couns. Shelley Maika and Mary Blank will attend. The third member was not named.
Coun. Joseph Cybulski asked that MV attendees discuss policing costs with others, including provincial representatives, at the conference. He felt the itemization of policing costs on property tax bills was a positive, “however, it wasn’t liked by some upper tiers of government. And I think we can play their game as well and reintroduce it as a provincially-imposed policing tax.”
Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Suzanne Klatt confirmed the township will be seeking a delegation with provincial representatives to discuss the policing situation and costs.
Cybulski said he heard from a resident who told him, ‘my parents are becoming tax poor.’
Coun. Ernie Peplinskie suggested staff seek a legal opinion on whether changing the notation of the policing cost to a “tax” is possible. “You can expect that someone along the way will try to throw a monkey wrench into it.”
Cybulski suggested the province may have a “hard time” because it was called a “tax” on the property tax bills.
Klatt stepped in to say, “I think the overarching message from this municipality and all surrounding us is that this become back a provincial mandate.”
Council also passed a bylaw to close Highway 62 for the annual Christmas parade. The parade happens Dec. 6 and the road will be closed from noon to 3 p.m.
Vandalism
Deputy Mayor Mary Blank, chairing the meeting in the absence of Mayor David Shulist, raised the issue of recent vandalism in Zurakowski Park. Vandals caused extensive damage to one of the replica planes flown by Janusz Zurakowski which is displayed at the park. Blank said benches were also tipped over and pumpkins smashed. Tom Vlasic, chair of the park committee, filed a police report. Blank asked anyone in the area who may have security or doorbell cameras to check their recordings for anything through the night Friday from about 9 p.m. onward.
“This is extreme and we need to stop this within our municipality,” Blank said firmly. “I ask the public to please come forward and if you see something happening, call the police.”
Blank said the people perpetrating the vandalism need to ‘grow up.’
Cybulski offered that, “I believe this is resentment of government,” suggesting that private properties don’t see vandalism occurring. “[L]ike, you don’t see Tim Hortons window smashed.”
Saying Madawaska Valley is not alone in experiencing vandalism, he said, “I think it’s pushback against governments. Don’t ask me why. It could be taxes, who knows.”
Waste site operations
Cybulski informed council that, each time he takes refuse to the landfill site; every four to six weeks, an old garbage truck is running at “three-quarter throttle” and the diesel engine is wasting significant amounts of fuel and costing the township money.
“They burn a huge amount of diesel fuel and it’s expensive.”
The councillor wondered why the engine runs constantly when a bag of garbage he placed in the truck, “was still visible,” when he was leaving the site roughly 30 minutes after arriving.
He said there is no problem starting and stopping diesel engines. “We could save a huge amount of money,” he claimed.
“It’s not a complaint. It’s a suggestion.”
Klatt said she would pass Cybulski’s comments to Superintendent of Operations Hilary Kutchkoskie.
Caboose
The Central Frontenac Railway Heritage Society was to have moved the caboose in Water Tower Park by October. The group sent an email to Recreation Manager Hannah Gutoskie in September seeking an extension of the deadline and saying they are in the process of working to get funding for the project. The lowest quote they have received is $30,000.
Council accepted Gutoskie’s recommendation to extend the deadline at the Oct. 3 meeting.
robert@thevalleygazette.ca
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