Highlands East taxpayers, and council, got a look at the township’s draft budget at a Feb. 6 special council meeting.

CAO and treasurer, Brittany McCaw, said they are looking for a $569,154 increase in 2024. That equates to a first round 6.83 per cent municipal tax rate increase. It would mean an extra $35.91 per $100,000 of assessment on the municipal tax. That is in addition to County and school board rates.

“This was not an easy budget to prepare. Our departments needed to take a hard look at what’s a want, what’s a need, and the priorities for the municipality,” McCaw told council.

She acknowledged the first draft is higher than normal, citing inflation. “The cost of doing business is just seeming to increase.” She noted rises in calcium and surface treatments, building products and insurance fees, “so these are just drivers of our operating and capital expenses.”

McCaw noted capital projects and transfers to reserves are necessary to avoid large expenditures in future.

On the revenue side, Highlands East is seeing a decrease of $24,600 in OMPF funding, down to $1,950,500. McCaw noted they are getting more than $120,000 in former gas tax funding.

The township is applying for $90,000 in grants for EV charging stations. If they are successful, they will top the grant money up. They’ll go to reserves, including $250,000 for a municipal office design and engineering, and $30,000 to complete the corporate strategic plan.

McCaw said insurance is going up 12 per cent, and benefits three per cent. They’ll spend $5,000 on municipal surveillance projects. Another bigger ticket capital project is $55,000 for an asset management plan.

The fire department would see fire hall upgrades, a fire master plan, and hydrant maintenance. The service will get some new bunker gear. The cost of policing is going down. The township will pay $1,137,660 in 2024, a decrease of nearly $95,000 from last year. Highlands East will pay seven per cent more in conservation authority costs.

Councillors will need to discuss upping some user fees, such as for building permits.

McCaw has factored in some costs if the township goes ahead with a short-term rental bylaw. They are looking at more than $32,000 in expenses, in addition to $25,000 for compliance software.

As for roads and bridges, they’ll take $300,000 of OCIF funding to put towards the McColls bridge project.

Under public works, McCaw said the focus will be on Gooderham Dam ($55,000), Hadlington Bridge ($20,000) and Donroy culverts ($25,000).

Capital projects for 2024 include: $90,000 for repairs to the works garage, $10,000 to conduct a needs assessment for the salt tent, $50,000 for a float trailer, $22,000 for a new CSA-approved steamer, $50,000 for a Hybrid SUV, $1,167,575 for the McColls bridge replacement, $162,225 for Clement Lake Road, $355,000 for Irondale Road, $50,000 for Upper Paudash, $15,000 for a generator for the roads garage, $30,000 for a poly water tank, and $10,000 for a roads’ needs study.

Staff are recommending a four per cent user fee increase for water, and another four per cent increase for wastewater.

They’ll spend north of $285,000 on Herlihey Park and more than $15,000 on two new dog parks in Gooderham and Cardiff. Money is going to Essonville Church ($30,000) and $50,000 for a trails master plan.

Budget talks are continuing.

Haliburton Highlands Health Services Foundation has announced a new lead for its $4.3 million CT scanner and mammography unit fundraising campaign.

Executive director Melanie Klodt Wong said she is excited to welcome Tayce Wakefield, an experienced campaign volunteer and long-time resident of the Highlands, to the team. A cottager for more than 30 years and full-time resident since 2010, Wakefield said she’s looking forward to the challenge of leading local fundraising efforts.

“I have grown to love this community, but, like many people, I know there are a couple of things that need to improve to allow Haliburton to continue to grow and prosper – health care being one of the most important,” Wakefield said.

A past president and board member of the Kennisis Lake Cottage Owners Association, and founder of the Haliburton Pet Owners Assistance Fund, Wakefield is no stranger to local volunteerism. She has a considerable background in fundraising – in 1999 she served as co-chair of McMaster University’s ‘Changing Tomorrow Today’ campaign, which raised $100 million for infrastructure upgrades, program expansion and the creation of new student scholarships and bursaries.

Wakefield said her first task will be to build a “campaign cabinet” of people she can trust to help with community outreach.

She said for a project of this size in a relatively small community, it’s going to take considerable community buy-in to succeed.

“This is a huge campaign, aiming to raise $4.3 million. We’re going to need everyone’s support to make this happen. Local businesses have long been supporters, as well as groups of local people, but not everyone has been engaged thus far. My remit is to reach out more broadly, to get more people involved,” Wakefield said.

“To me, this is also about broadening the fundraiser base and building the foundation for the future. It’s about positioning the County to take steps forward, to continue to grow and improve healthcare services,” she added.

The Ministry of Health approved HHHS to purchase and operate a CT scanner and mammography unit in July 2023. County EMS chief Tim Waite said the news “was better than Christmas” for his department, noting the local paramedic service transports more than 350 patients a year to other hospitals outside the County for specialized diagnostic care. That represents over 2,000 hours that County ambulances spend outside the community.

Klodt Wong said, given the aging population in the Highlands along with the abundance of high-risk work and recreational activities in the area, having diagnostic services available close by will help provide quick diagnosis of critical illnesses and injuries.

She said information from diagnostic scans is sent to a specialized Picture Archiving Communications System, which stores them and allows specialists from across the province to securely evaluate them and provide diagnosis to staff in the Highlands.

Wong wouldn’t disclose how much had been raised thus far. The County of Haliburton signed off on a $1 million donation in December, while proceeds from the ‘Magic of Giving’ campaign over the holidays brought in more than $238,000.

After HHHS president and CEO Veronica Nelson told The Highlander late last year she hopes to have the machines installed and operational sometime this summer, Klodt Wong said she’d like to wrap up this campaign as quickly as possible. Wakefield said this is going to be her main priority moving forward.

“For everybody whose heart is in the Highlands, this campaign is for you. This equipment will be good for you and your family, and you will be glad to have it here,” she said. “We’re asking for your support to improve health care across the region for everyone.”

To donate, contact HHHS Foundation at 705-457-1580.

Approximately half of Dysart’s roads have insufficient or no speed limit signage according to a consultant tasked with reviewing the municipal network.

Joshua de Boer, a project manager with Paradigm Transportation, presented a report to council Jan. 23 analyzing the township’s entire roads system. He noted Dysart has 315 kilometres of roads it maintains and operates, with two thirds having a hard top surface and one third gravel.

De Boer said 48.9 per cent of the network has a posted limit of 50 km/h, with 2.1 per cent set at 40 km/h. The rest, about 49 per cent, are currently unposted, which, per the Highway Traffic Act, means the accepted limit is 80 km/h. Public works director, Rob Camelon, said this poses problems for the township.

“I’m not a big believer in signage quite honestly, but the crux of this report is if we don’t pass bylaws and don’t sign [appropriately], our roads are, by default, 80 km/h, and that will have impacts on our minimum maintenance standards,” Camelon said. “At the very least, we should be revisiting our bylaws and ensuring we have the proper signage up [along roads of concern].”

It was recommended that all roads currently operating with an unposted limit should be capped at 50 km/h. Roads in an urban area, like Haliburton village, should be 50 km/h, with most rural routes carrying an 80 km/h limit. De Boer said there are four roads in Dysart operating with a 40 km/h limit – Bitter Lake Road, Grass Lake Road, Green Lake Road, and Universal Road. He’s recommending they be maintained.

Of the 101 signs the township currently has installed on its roads, 41 per cent are considered to be in poor condition.

De Boer outlined the need for upwards of 100 new road signs, saying 85 per cent of municipal roads require extra signage.

He noted standards for sign placement is outlined in the Ontario Traffic Manual, with different recommendations for roads in builtup areas and rural thoroughfares. Generally, de Boer said most urban roads require signs every 300 to 900 metres. For roads with a limit of 70 km/h or higher, signs should be spaced at least a kilometre apart.

Camelon added that simply placing a sign at the start and end of a road does not change the speed limit. He said speed signs should be installed at all major intersections.

The consultant said he spent much of October 2022 analyzing local roads, looking at traffic patterns and driver habits. The cost of the report – $39,300 plus taxes – was covered by money from the municipal modernization fund, Camelon noted.

Mayor Murray Fearrey said installing the number of signs outlined in the report would be a costly exercise for the township.

“It’s going to cost $100,000 to put all those signs in, and we’d only be knocking them down [with plows] during the winter. I’m not sure people pay attention when there’s no enforcement anyway,” Fearrey said.

De Boer said council has two options for enforcement – police or machine. He recommended a mix of both. He noted automated speed signs (ASE) offer many advantages over traditional manual speed enforcement, including higher rate of vehicle detection and improved accuracy tracking a vehicle’s speed.

“ASE is a supplement, not a replacement, for other enforcement methods… it’s use is limited to select portions of a road, like community safety zones and school zones,” de Boer said.

Paradigm Transportations is currently doing a similar study in Algonquin Highlands, de Boer noted.

Camelon said he would present a followup report to council, likely at its Feb. 27 meeting, where he will provide his recommendations. Fearrey said council would appreciate further guidance.

“This is as clear as mud right now… we need more on where we should go with this. We couldn’t possibly put all those signs up, it’s going to be virtually impossible,” Fearrey said. “But, if we have an obligation, we’ll have to honour it and [figure out a way] to do it.”

Algonquin Highlands council has directed township staff to continue summer maintenance along Crown-owned Bear Lake Road.

At a Jan. 18 meeting, council heard from Adam Thorn, public works manager, that a trial held last summer hadn’t caused his department any issues and was deemed a success. He said he’d be in favour of adopting the road into the municipality’s seasonal road maintenance policy.

“We started in June and ran through to October. Overall, it was a successful season. I didn’t see overly large amounts of damage to the road… the major complaints we did hear were over surface treated sections [where] potholes were starting to form and some other areas that have been torn up by vehicles turning in and out near surface treated areas,” Thorn said.

Under the agreement, staff patrolled the road once per month, provided grading on it twice and did some dust control work. Other minor maintenance operations such as culvert cleaning, ditching, brushing and gravel application were not required, Thorn said.

The township’s previous council agreed to the trial in October 2022 after a lengthy back and forth with representatives from the Bear Lake Winter Maintenance Association (BLWMA). The group had long lobbied the township to allow winter maintenance on the thoroughfare so those with homes and cottages in the area could access their property after the first snowfall.

Council had repeatedly denied that request, believing the road to be municipally owned. The association didn’t give in, however, and retained a lawyer to assess what options its members had. The lawyer reported the township never had formal ownership of Bear Lake Road, despite maintaining it for more than 50 years.

While the township had documents suggesting the former Sherbourne township assumed ownership in 1971, that paperwork was deemed to be incorrect, with the land belonging to the Crown.

Council debated walking away from the road but opted to carry out maintenance last year, with a view to establishing a more permanent arrangement providing there were no issues.

Thorn noted the road will now be eligible for regular seasonal maintenance during the spring, summer and fall, which includes: patrolling once a month, or as needed due to a weather event; grading once a month, or as needed; preparing the site for grading and gravel in early spring and then carrying out the work in the summer; doing culvert clean-outs or replacements, as needed; doing ditching work, brushing, sign maintenance and tree removal; and cold patching surface treated sections.

The municipality’s asset management plan states Bear Lake Road will be due single surface treatment in 2026, with costs estimated at $49,534. It’s up for reconstruction between 2032 and 2034, at a cost of just over $184,000.

Thorn noted since the road is on Crown land, the township would need to apply for a permit to complete the work through the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Should any culverts along the road need to be replaced, he said staff may have to apply for an environmental assessment before doing any work.

Due to liability concerns, Thorn recommended council not consider winter maintenance.

He did warn there was some risk associated with spring, summer and fall maintenance.

“If we go and grade a road, we have to understand we take on everything… if someone comes in and does work behind us or say, someone decides to take the gravel we put down, leaving a big divot, if a car then drives down and has an accident, that’s on us,” Thorn said.

Mayor Liz Danielsen said she’d like to see the BLWMA, or any other entity carrying out work on the road, to enter into an agreement with the municipality that they would accept responsibility if damages occur, but CAO Angie Bird said, since the municipality doesn’t own the road, it has no authority to make any such request.

Coun. Sabrina Richards said she has “big concerns” with liability, noting the township has made decisions recently, such as with its license of occupation policy, to mitigate potential risks. She felt this was “a very big gift” for residents of Bear Lake Road.

Deputy mayor Jennifer Dailloux, who has consulted extensively with the BLWMA, felt this was a good move by council. “This has been a challenging journey for everyone… but this is a good day,” she said.

A warm weather snap is running roughshod over the Highlands’ tourism sector, with some businesses scaling back operations and cancelling events.

Tegan Legge, general manager of tourism and operations at Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve, confirmed Feb. 5 that the 33rd annual Poker Run snowmobile fundraiser, slated for this coming weekend, has been cancelled.

With temperatures rising as high as eight degrees Celcius Feb. 8 and 9, Legge said she couldn’t guarantee the Forest’s trail network would be in good enough condition to host the 400 to 600 riders that usually participate.

The event is a fundraiser for the Dysart et al Fire Department, bringing in $20,000 last year. Legge said past donations have gone towards purchasing equipment such as jaws of life, a ‘snowbulance’ and rescue boat.

“It’s a massive disappointment, but given the weather, we didn’t have any other choice. We could have looked at pushing the event back and doing something in March, but it’s very unlikely, given the way things are looking, that we’d be able to host it then,” Legge said.

She noted some of the Forest’s other activities – trail hiking, ice climbing and the wolf centre, are going strong.

“It’s been a nail-biter of a season so far… we could be doing better, but we’re in a good position compared to a lot of other places in Ontario. The trails aren’t pristine, they’re a little bumpy, but people are just happy to get out there,” she said.

Meghan Orr, owner of Buttermilk Falls Resort, said the winter ice fishing season has been a disaster so far. The rural retreat, which overlooks Boshkung Lake, boasts eight winterized cottages, which Orr said are usually full now.

She noted the resort had 29 weekend bookings in February 2022, 28 in February 2023, but just 12 this year.

Not all bad for some operators

“A lot of people come here for ice fishing… we don’t have any of our huts out there yet,” Orr said.

She noted this wasn’t a new issue – in the three years she and husband, Stephen, have owned the resort, the winter season has been getting shorter and shorter.

“The previous owners aimed to have huts out for the third weekend in January. We had one season where we got them out in the last week of January, then the past two years it’s been February,” Orr said. “Now, we’re not sure we’re going to get them out at all this season.”

Neil Vanderstoop, president of the Haliburton County Snowmobile Association (HCSA), has warned people to exercise extreme caution when debating whether to take their machine onto a lake. The Highlander has received reports of snowmobiles going through the ice on Redstone and Gull lakes in recent weeks.

“If the lake isn’t staked, then it’s not safe,” Vanderstoop said, noting HCSA hasn’t staked any lakes in the County yet this season, and likely won’t.

He noted less than half of HCSA’s snowmobile trails are open, but the group was working around the clock to maintain anything passable, including the Hydro Line Trail that travels south to Whitby and several loops around Haliburton village. He noted access to the B112 South into Minden is very limited.

Angelica Ingram, the County’s tourism manager, said that while the mild winter season is disappointing for some, there’s still lots for locals and visitors to do.

Sir Sam’s Ski/Ride has 14 runs and is open as usual, while Winterdance Dogsled Tours is still taking bookings. Ingram noted Hike Haliburton Winter Edition, which took place Feb. 3 and 4, was a great success, with people participating in 12 hikes across the County. There’s plenty of free events for people to enjoy too, she said.

“People can visit Abbey Gardens, where they have so many things happening – there are trails and an outdoor rink. There’s the Haliburton Sculpture Forest, which is just beautiful at this time of year, and we have art galleries open in Haliburton and Minden that are both debuting new exhibits this weekend,” Ingram said.

“It’s been a slower start to winter. We’re trying to stay positive though – it’s not completely green out there. We just have to hope more snow comes, while at the same time emphasizing there’s lots to do even if you can’t ice fish or do a ton of snowmobiling.”

County warden Liz Danielsen said the upper-tier government may have to come up with a different long-term plan for winter tourism.

“The traditional activities are rapidly going out the door. I was talking to someone recently who said they bought a new [snowmobile] a couple of years ago and they’ve only used it once,” Danielsen said. “It’s an unfortunate situation. It’s going to change how we deal with tourism, how we offer tourism packages going forward.”