Public Council Meeting Mar. 20, 2020

The public meeting of Council was held "in camera" meaning only Councillors and the Mayor were present; this was due to the COVID-19 directives issued by the Provincial Government. New regulations now permit Councillors to officially participate in any meetings via telephone or other electronic means.

Note: The next public meeting of Council on April 17, 2020 will be completely virtual.

The entire Council meeting on Mar. 20 was recorded and a copy of the audio is available by clicking here.

Another special measure provides residents with a complete draft copy (French only) of the official Council meeting minutes; all details are included and this information is normally not available online until approved at the following Council meeting. Click here for a copy.

The English agenda for the meeting is available on the Municipal website, click here for a copy.

Thanks to the Municipal administration team for issuing agendas in English.

A French version is also available, click here for a copy.

The declaration of the Mayor gave an outline of the COVID-19 impact for the Municipality and also thanked the Municipal employees for their efforts under this extraordinary situation. The Mayor also shared his thoughts on the rights of women on the occasion on International Women's Rights Day.

The Mayor also explained his absence announced at the previous Council meeting in February; the full content of his remarks are included in the minutes of the Mar. 20 meeting. As it turned out, the Mayor's absence was only for the short period of his planned vacation.

Under the Agenda item new business, a resolution was presented by Councillor David Zgodzinski which seeks clarification of the status of Chemin de Fer; the residents of Lac St. Francois Xavier have faced long-term problems as the Chemin de Fer is not recognized as an official road. Click here for a copy of the resolution which was passed unanimously by Council. If you would like to have further background about the Chemin de Fer situation, please refer to the articles written by Carl Chapdelaine, click here to access his site.

The following will provide an explanation of some of the other agenda items:

5.4

Parking will no longer be permitted on Municipal roads year round.

This was the formal adoption of all the regulations which will be enforced by the Sûreté du Québec.

5.10

This is the first step in the process required for the Municipality to waive interest charges on late payments of property taxes until May 31st.

7.2

The new 10 wheel truck recently purchased by the Municipality does not have a dump box that is strong enough for excavation work required during the summer. The Municipality will need to buy a new dump box which may cost $20,000 and the administration is now authorized to sell the box which is of a type good for snow removal.

9.2

Formal adoption of the regulation which improves the ability of the Municipality to give fines for work completed without permits or for not following the terms of the permit.

9.3

Regulation will now require new construction projects to have their own construction garbage container; this will help reduce the problems caused by construction materials filling up the regular residential sites. Permit costs have also been increased for many types of permits.

9.14

Much of the Sentier des Orphelins is actually built on land owned by Domaine du Lac St. Victor. The land has now all been surveyed and this resolution authorizes the Mayor and our General Manager to complete the steps required to exchange land so that the trail will all be on Municipal land. As part of the process, Public Consultations will be required for the proposed zoning changes; no consultations will be held until the COVID-19 directives have been lifted.