Haliburton BIA reduces rates

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February 21, 2021

JQ - Businesses re-open - 2-web — Haliburton businesses are waiting to see more support from government. Photo by Joseph Quigley.

The Haliburton BIA is reducing its levy eleven per cent due to the impact of the pandemic.

The BIA announced the measure at its annual general meeting Feb. 11. President Luke Schell said it is due to the pandemic cancelling the organization’s usual events, leaving them with an $18,000 surplus in 2020. In total, the BIA will collect $45,000 in 2021, down 11 per cent from $49,980 the previous year.

Schell said the reduction could carry on beyond 2021 as well.

“It’s been a strange year,” Schell said. “We will reduce it over the next couple of years – partly because we just don’t know what’s going to happen.”

The BIA is still budgeting for its usual slate of events in 2021 – including Frost Fest, Colour Fest, the Santa Parade and Ladies Shopping Night. But treasurer Nelly Ashworth said the levy could decrease again if those events cannot go ahead.

“Slowly, once we hopefully get out of this and life’s going to come back to relatively normal, we can slowly increase it again should need be,” Ashworth said.

However, she noted the BIA was still able to do other things in the pandemic such as increasing its advertising and Buy In and Win contest funding. In an address, Mayor Andrea Roberts said it has been a difficult year for the downtown.

“I do want to share with you at this time how proud I am of how the businesses in the downtown BIA have adapted and accommodated and shifted in this everchanging world of the pandemic,” she said. “Some of you are busier than you’ve ever been and some of you are hurting immensely.”

She added the municipality did start a recovery committee, but it is not meeting right now because “we’re not in recovery mode.” But she said they would inform the BIA when the committee reconvenes to discuss how to help local businesses.

Schell said one of the more successful BIA initiatives was working with the municipality to expand downtown patios in the summer due to pandemic restrictions.

“Really appreciated having the municipality fast track that,” Schell said.

He added the BIA will likely do it again this summer. However, he noted it is a debatable subject and there are liability concerns.

“But I think most people are pretty happy with that kind of service on main street,” Schell said. The BIA board once again remained mostly static. There was only one change – Upriver Trading Co. owner Mike Mckeon replacing Sharon Rowden.

“I know that we all enjoy serving our community in this fashion and we look forward to spending another year here,” Schell said. “Hopefully, 2020 is hindsight.”

Dysart eyes action on short-term rentals

By

Lisa Gervais

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February 20, 2021

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JQ - Short-term rental ban - 1-web — Photo via flikr.

Dysart et al councillors want to address short-term rentals as part of efforts to improve service delivery.

Council combed through its service delivery review in a special meeting Feb. 16. The document, first presented by consultant StrategyCorp in September, highlighted seven key initiatives for the municipality. Those included recommendations to address short-term rentals, strategic planning, customer service, landfills, the sewage treatment plant, and digitizing the roads department.

StrategyCorp estimated a potential for $700,000 in new cash flow. Council went through the next steps for each of the items. For rentals, they plan to have online platform iHost present about an online licencing system.

“My patience is up,” deputy mayor Patrick Kennedy said. “There’s a lot of work to be done, but I think the time for waiting is over.”

StrategyCorp recommended some type of regulatory response to short-term rentals, whether through a licencing system, a municipal accommodation tax, or both, implemented between 2022-2023. It estimated an effort could bring $75,000- $268,000 in increased revenue to the township.

Kennedy has previously said it is an issue the County should take up, given the struggles all four lower-tier townships are having with it. But both Kennedy and Mayor Andrea Roberts said that is not happening. Still, Roberts said it is important to communicate with the other townships to ensure consistency.

Coun. Tammy Donaldson said she studied the issue extensively. She said licencing is not necessary and suggested providing homeowners with easy-to-access resources on municipal rules to provide to renters.

“Short-term rentals bring more people into the area,” Donaldson said. “Licensing is not the answer to get the homeowners to comply, because the majority do a good job.”

Coun. Larry Clarke said he gets more complaints on the issue than anything else and there is a concern with people purchasing cottages solely to rent them out.

“A short-term rental property that’s primarily for that purpose, it is a business. It is not a residence. It has to be looked at differently,” Clarke said.

Making progress

Council discussed progress made in other areas of the review – and next steps for longer-term initiatives.

They intend to put more policies in place to standardize customer service response times. The digitizing of the roads department is underway, including a platform for online bids and tenders. A short-term waste management review was received by council in January from consultant J2PG with a subsequent education session to come. Recreation facilities and sewage treatment plant changes are longer-term projects without immediate plans, though a land donation for a possible site for a new recreation centre is processing.

As for strategic planning, CAO Tamara Wilbee said $25,000 is budgeted this year. Roberts said she hopes the plan is finished by May 2022, before the election cycle.

Coun. John Smith raised the issue with getting a strategic plan in place so late in council’s term, potentially restricting the next council.

Wilbee responded there will be a four-year planning cycle and an annual review of the strategic plan.

“It’s a very live document. That’s the intention,” she said.

Centre lake development launches consultation

By

Lisa Gervais

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February 20, 2021

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JQ - Centre Lake update - 1 — A map of the Centre Lake Crown reserve under consideration for disposal, at the behest of private developments. Photo via Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

Granite Shores is holding an online public consultation for a massive new cottage and resort development it is proposing on Centre Lake utilizing Crown Land.

The development launched a website to engage the public on the project, which is proposed to include a 60-suite resort and wellness spa, 28 cottage lots and a commercial area tapping into the maple trees in the area. The developer seeks to utilize a 200-foot Crown reserve along the lake. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has agreed to move forward with disposing of the land after a consultation process.

Public engagement manager, Steven Megannety, said they are responding to some Highlands East council concerns at a Dec. 15 meeting about ensuring a strong public consultation process.

“We want to make certain that there’s robust consultation,” Megannety said. “We figured that the best way to do it was to put all the information out there and say, ‘here’s what the project is’.”

The website includes an FAQ and summary of the project. It also has a series of reports, including applications, planning, economic and environmental analysis. Megannety said they made the website of their own volition, separate from any government plans for consultation. They have already had more than 70 responses.

Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry regional planner, Pauline Capelle, said the provincial consultation on proposed policy amendment to consider the sale of the Centre Lake Crown reserve is still to come. She said the timing of the consultation is difficult to predict but it should be posted in the coming months. Anyone interested in being added to a mailing list for that can contact pauline.capelle@ontario.ca.

The developers estimate about $40 million in new economic activity in the region, 75 construction jobs and 30-50 new jobs after the project finishes. Megannety said they are also consulting with Indigenous peoples in the area and plan to allot a parcel in the commercial area for them.

Megannety said Granite Shores conforms to County and official plans. The developers are assuring public access to the lake will be maintained – with plans to create a new access road and improve the existing boat launch point. B

But councillors have said there is some public concern. Jacqueline Ziorjen has frequented the area for many years. She said the lake is an oasis and called it “heartwrenching” to see it developed.

“These wonderful places we can access are being developed, so they lose the charm,” she said.

She added even if Granite Shores can maintain accessibility, the extra traffic could mean the spot is never the same.

Regardless of whether the Granite Shores is successful in getting Crown Land, Megannety said they plan to go ahead with privately-owned land nearby. He also said a new County bylaw in the works to restrict development within 30 metres of shorelines would also not stop the development, though added they are watching the bylaw closely.

Megannety said they hope to be in the final planning stages by the end of the year.

“We’re trying to come up with some solutions that make sense,” he said. “Obviously for the development, but also for the community.”

The consultation is available at letstalkcentrelake.ca.

Doing the reopening dance

By

Lisa Gervais

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February 19, 2021

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Balancing our collective desire to stay healthy with our instinct to want to support our local businesses can be a tricky dance.

We’ve taken to the floor again this week, but unlike the summer reopening, we’ve now got three new strains of the Coronavirus to contend with.

At a time when we’re all weary of this pandemic, we have to challenge ourselves to be even more vigilant in order to stave off the predicted third wave.

As most of you know, our health unit area is categorized as orange. That means we have been able to return to local restaurants for in-person dining. Gyms and fitness clubs are getting back to in-studio training. We can go back to retail stores. We can get our hair cut. Some small-scale entertainment can begin again. We can get together with family and friends – up to 10 people indoors and up to 25 outdoors.

But just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.

Acting medical officer of health, Dr. Ian Gemmill, said although the stay-at-home order has been lifted, we still have a moral obligation to do all that we can to stop the spread. He is pleading with people not to gather with others and to continue to stay home and only go out for essential reasons.

He points out the new variants are more easily spread and have just made their way into our health unit area. He is worried about them contributing to sudden surges locally.

Dr. Nell Thomas provides a very good overview of the three new variants in Covid Corner (below).

They have become a game changer. They have altered the battlefield. If you’ve had COVID-19, there’s no guarantee you can’t get one of the variants. Labs have had to change their analysis of swabs. All positive tests are being checked for the variants.

The good news, according to Dr. Thomas, is the current vaccines should still be fairly successful in fighting off both COVID19 and its variants. And more companies are developing new vaccines. In other words, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Now, we just have to make sure our community gets through that tunnel.

While in many ways, choosing how you support the economy is a personal decision, we urge locals to keep community in mind in their choices.

For example, you can dine-in, but the business will make just as much money or more if you opt for takeout.

We don’t know of many local churches that are opening their doors, even though they can. There continue to be very few weddings. For some, being able to have a small gathering of a celebration of life may take precedent. Being able to go into retail shops, versus ordering online and doing curbside pickup, is certainly more convenient for many of us. Some of us badly need a haircut.

So, do those things if you must. However, to repeat what we now hope is the obvious: masks must be worn, people need to stay two metres apart from anyone who is outside of their household, wash those hands.

And perhaps most importantly, if you are serious about boosting the local economy, stop with the Amazon and other out-of-town orders and confine your spending to Haliburton County. Don’t view this as a green light to jump in the car and head to Huntsville, Bancroft, Bracebridge, Lindsay and Peterborough.

Never too late for snow removal tips

By

Lisa Gervais

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February 18, 2021

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The health unit has provided some snow removal tips

by Kirk Winter

With winter not quite over, the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit has shared some reminders about snow removal.

Clearing snow and ice from your driveway and around your house is a necessary, but not always pleasant, activity for most of us, said health promoter Joanne Brewster.

Brewster said snow shoveling, especially for some older adults, can be a challenge. In some cases, especially after a bad snowstorm, it can also be a high-risk activity.

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, the physical demands of shovelling combined with cold temperatures can pose fatal risks on the heart.

Brewster said there was plenty of proof of that in a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in February 2017. Using 20 years of data from Quebec, the study found a direct link between the quantity of snow and length of snowfall and an increased risk of hospital admissions or deaths due to heart attacks. This was especially true for men.

“Some experts suggest that older adults (men especially) should not shovel snow due to the potential health effects and injury risks,” Brewster added.

Here are some health unit-suggested snow-removal safety tips to consider:

• Consult a health care provider. Anyone who is older, overweight, out of shape and/or has a history of heart disease in the family should seek advice from their doctor before taking any chances.

• Warm up first. Shovelling is just like any other exercise. It’s a good idea to limber up with some basic stretches before you begin.

• Layer upon layer. The body quickly generates heat when shovelling. By dressing in thin, breathable layers, you can avoid overheating.

• Avoid a full stomach. Be sure to digest your meals before picking up the shovel. A full stomach can cause strain on the heart during physical activity.

• Take your time. Take a break. Don’t forget to give yourself a breather in the middle of strenuous shovelling. A rest is good for the muscles, especially the heart.

• Push the snow before lifting it. If you do lift snow, use a small shovel or only partially fill the shovel to reduce the load.

• Stop immediately if you feel dizzy or tightness in your chest.

• Use the buddy system. Even shovelling is better when you do it in twos. You cut your work in half and you have a pal to keep you company. Plus, you can look out for one another should anything serious happen.

• Get with the program. Check with your local municipality or communitybased programs to see if there is help for snow removal, especially if you are a senior. One suggestion Brewster made is 211 Ontario.

• Pay the price and get help. Consider getting a snow blower to make snow removal easier. Hiring a snow removal service to do the job can also be money well-spent.

Giving the gift of safety for 22 years

By

Lisa Gervais

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February 18, 2021

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LG-Paula Pepping — Paula Pepping stands outside the HERS shelter in Minden Feb. 16, during her last week of work. She is retiring after a 22-year career of helping Haliburton County women and children

Cleaning out her files during her last week with the YWCA Peterborough-Haliburton, Paula Pepping is coming across cards from some of the “many, many, many” clients she has worked with during a 22-yearcareer. “

I have had some lovely cards from women saying how grateful they are for our support because it’s not just me. We’re a team,” Pepping said in a Feb. 12 interview.

She started her community development work in 1998 with The Women’s Safety Network. They provided outreach to abused women with two part-time staff. The office and resource centre was in Haliburton and a community-built emergency house was located behind the Dysart et al fire department.

With no ongoing permanent funding, they had to close the emergency house and Pepping was involved with the transition that would eventually come under the YWCA umbrella and lead to the development of the Haliburton Emergency Rural SafeSpace or HERS in Minden.

Pepping recalls some of the highlights of earlier community development work with “lots of programs for women, from Cardiff to Minden, Haliburton … wherever.”

With the health unit’s Rosie Kadwell, there was an early food box program that is continuing today. There was a lunch program at Cardiff Elementary School.

Pepping was jokingly referred to as the “condom lady” since she wanted to tackle high rates of unplanned pregnancy in the community by ensuring there were free condoms. She recalls how high school girls would come to the office to “use the bathroom” but would inevitably dip into the free condom basket. At the time she said it cost $25 for 144 condoms, so she would cajole her friends to donate $12.50 for a half pack. It was a precursor to today’s sexual health programs at the local health unit.

Starting with the Y, her focus shifted more to working with women in the community who were living in, leaving, or had left abusive relationships. She was involved in offering support, driving women to services or connecting them to them. It was also a time of formulating partnerships with community services and increasing the YWCA profile in the County.

She said that profile has been greatly increased and fundraising a key. “Many individuals have contributed and continue to. We could not survive without those contributions. Haliburton County is really an amazing community. Generous and kind.”

Pepping said, “My work has always been really close to my heart. All of the services we provide to the community. I have experienced much tragedy and also seen women have successes.”

She said their ethos is to support women in their choices, whether it is to stay, go back, go back-and-forth, or eventually leave.

“We work with women where they are at, inch by inch, sometimes by leaps and bounds. I think I did a good job with my team and with the community. And with the support the community gives, it gives the gift of safety for the women we work with to the best of our capacity.”

One example that stands out is a woman who came to the shelter with holes in her shoes, no underwear and just the clothes on her back. She worked two jobs to get back on her feet. She showed up at Christmas one year with a box of brand-new slippers as a donation.

In addition to the ‘thank you’ cards, Pepping recalls some of the phone calls over the years from women who had left abusive situations and “bloomed.” She said the common thread is, “I’m so thankful for your support. Without you I couldn’t have done this.” She added sometimes women call after a number of years to tell her, “Hey, Paula, I’m doing ok. That means a lot to me.”

At 65, Pepping said, “It’s just time for my next chapter in life.”

Tearing up, she said it is bittersweet. She will miss her co-workers. “

I feel really honoured that I was able to do this work in this community. I love the direct contact and grassroots work I’ve done. That has been my passion, I am going to miss it.”

Tips to get children ready for kindergarten

By

Lisa Gervais

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February 18, 2021

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by Carolyn Alder

Kindergarten registration is now open for the 2021-2022 school year.

While parents start helping their children with learning letters, numbers and preprinting, early interventionist with Point in Time, Tiffany Jones, offered some suggestions to help get your child ready for kindergarten with skills one might not think of.

“The things we can do to help prepare them for kindergarten can be done throughout our everyday life,” Jones said. “It can be fun and enjoyable and the kids don’t even know that you are teaching them skills.”

One of the more important goals to work on, according to Jones, is for new students to recognize their name.

“Their name is going to be on their desk, their belongings and their work. So being able to recognize their name will help when gathering up their belongings.”

One way to encourage name recognition and spelling is to have your child’s name printed at eye level on their bedroom door and go over the letters every night before bed.

Other skills for children to practice are packing and unpacking their backpack, putting shoes on and taking them off, putting their coat on by themselves and zipping it up, and washing their hands.

Jones encourages parents to remember they are already teaching their children when it comes to self help.

“Self help is a little bit extra but a lot of it is things that parents are already doing in their everyday life, with their children that their children are naturally learning through seeing siblings or parents do, that the skills are already starting but maybe need some more practice.”

Archie Stouffer Elementary School kindergarten teacher, Bonnie Tokar, said a child’s nature is also important.

“Establishing important character traits such as being motivated, patient, kind and respectful are of utmost importance. Academic skills come much easier when students adhere to these positive character traits.”

Jones advises to not lose sleep if you feel your child isn’t ready compared to other children their age.

“Try not to stress about it because your child is going to learn these skills in school. Teachers, early childhood educators and their peers will help teach them. However, if you feel they are struggling or aren’t picking it up as they should be, have a conversation with the school so the teachers can be aware and give more help.”

Parents can also call Point in Time at 705- 457-5345 for more support.

Point in Time also has video tips on how to help your child get ready for kindergarten on their Facebook page.

Kindergarten registration closes at the end of February

Survey says Minden landfills could do better

By

Lisa Gervais

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February 18, 2021

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LG-dump report card — Minden Hills council met via Zoom Feb. 11

Minden Hills residents gave the township an overall grade of C- in a recent waste services survey.

Questionnaire results were presented to the Feb. 11 committee of the while meeting.

Manager of waste facilities, Tara Stephen, said they asked people: whether rules are easy to understand; trip is quick; access to diversion programs; site is clean and organized; hours are plentiful; staff are friendly and helpful; and disposal is low cost.

She said the C- was a disappointing score to her, and she and council would like to see an A or A+ “so, we do have a bit of work to do here.”

In addition, people responding to the call for their opinion gave the municipality a D+ when it came to rules being easy to follow.

Stephen said, “and we have some work to do here.” She said in the past, rules have not been applied consistently and they have been working towards more standardized policies and procedures in the past year and will continue to do so moving forward.

Stephen said they had 429 valid responses, which she said was excellent for a community of Minden Hills’ size. The survey was conducted last November. “

We garnered a lot of really thoughtful feedback from our community that I think are going to provide some excellent insights into our future planning over the next few years,” she said.

Stephen said 60 per cent of respondents were seasonal, 38 per cent permanent and two per cent businesses.

One of the interesting responses she highlighted was that 26 per cent said they planned to convert cottages to houses and move to Minden Hills full-time in the short to long-term. Fourteen per cent plan to do it in the next five years. She said it could impact demographics, shifting to more full-time than seasonal residents in future and that will impact waste services. She attributed this to people being able to work remotely; retirement; getting out of the city and COVID-19.

“As this population shifts for us, we just need to be aware, when we’re looking at our waste services, about whether or not the services we are providing and the way we are providing them are still doing a good job for the type of community we have.”

Stephen said only six per cent of people are taking advantage of the current three garbage bag limit, and the township could consider reducing it. She said it would help with diversion rates and the township could make money off people bringing three or more bags.

She said they also learned that people think the website is not useable, and information unreliable and disorganized. They’ve made improvements the past year, “but there’s still room to do better.” They were also surprised to hear that 25 per cent of people get information by word-ofmouth and 10 per cent from other forms of social media, not township-generated. She suggested council go ahead with the annual waste guide and that an e-mail newsletter or email reminders might be helpful.

Stephen was, however, pleased that the public wants them to focus most on waste reduction and waste reuse. She said reduce is by far the most important of the three Rs.

“This shows that this community understands that hierarchy and understands that our most important next step is to reduce the amount of waste we’re actually generating in this community before we start focusing on recycling.”

She said other themes were: a need to improve the hazardous waste system; an interest in organic waste programs; some desire for curbside collection and collaboration with other townships.

Mayor Brent Devolin said with an overall rating of C- there is room for improvement.

“I think most of us that have been around for a few years, if we had done the same thing a couple of years ago, I’m not sure we would have even got a C- in this.”

Coun. Jennifer Hughey said she wanted the survey results shared with the general public. “I think it’s very important for people to be able to see this information.”

Cottage power rates set to escalate

By

Lisa Gervais

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February 18, 2021

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Hydro One says more than half of its seasonal customers could see a $650-a-year jump in electricity costs after the Ontario Energy Board approved the elimination of a special rate class for seasonal homes.

A spokesperson for the utility told The Highlander that in the coming weeks, the OEB will send out a notice to customers with details on next steps. There will be information on moving customers to one of the three residential rate classes, urban, medium or low density, and the projected bill impacts.

“We anticipate that 55 per cent of our seasonal customers, nearly 80,000 customers, will see an increase in their bills due to moving to the low-density class,” the spokesperson said.

“This change could increase costs for a typical seasonal customer by $650 per year in annual electricity bills.” The spokesperson said Hydro One does not profit from the OEB’s decision, and has advocated for a different solution that would have reduced the bill impact for seasonal customers.

They added Hydro One has submitted an implementation plan to the OEB that proposes rate mitigation measures for customers who are expected to see a total bill increase of more than 10 per cent. Rate mitigation is a tool used by the OEB to protect consumers from having large bill increases at one time – for example, by phasing in the increase over a number of years.

Cottagers’ association to campaign against rise

The OEB has yet to decide whether the change will take effect on Jan. 1, 2022 or later. It will hold a public hearing to determine the implementation plan. No date has been set.

Hydro One is inviting customers to have their say and provide feedback directly to the regulator by visiting oeb.ca or calling 1-877-632-2727.

When asked about internal cuts to save money, the spokesperson said “Hydro One is continually looking inward to improve productivity and take costs out of the system. In 2019, we saved $202 million in productivity savings, which allows us to drive costs out of the system and enhance efficiency.”

In making the decision the OEB said its concern was that the distribution rates charged to seasonal customers are not reflective of the cost to serve them.

It said, “The OEB was aware that eliminating the seasonal class would cause bill impacts for Hydro One’s seasonal customers, and particularly would cause bills to increase for lower-use seasonal customers. The OEB directed Hydro One to bring forward a bill mitigation plan.”

The Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations (FOCA), in a Feb. 9 update to members, said the change affects almost 80,000 low-use customers, who will see their monthly bills increase by $50-plus a month.

“FOCA has been an intervenor at the OEB for many years, and has been advocating against this significant bill impact,” they said.

FOCA is preparing to launch a campaign to stop the elimination, “because this change will result in the doubling of electricity rates for nearly 80,000 seasonal Hydro One customers and cottage owners.”

Long-time Kennisis Lake cottager, Tony Lepine, is worried about the impact.

He said it costs him about $100 every winter for hydro when he’s not there — mostly for the delivery charge.

With the change, he estimates his bill will go up by $60-70 a month, or about $720-a-year.

“That’s a lot of money.”

Lepine said he will still use his cottage, but is considering going off-grid, noting that option is costly as well.

“I’m retired and there’s no way my pension will increase that much,” he said. “I’m lucky to get two per cent per year. This is a significant increase.”

FOCA is encouraging people to sign up for FOCA’s new dedicated electricity e-newsletter, called The Power Line. S

For more information, see:

hydroone.com/about/regulatory/oebapplications/seasonal-rates

Province officers paramedic expansion

By

Lisa Gervais

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February 18, 2021

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JQ - Paramedic expansion - 1 — County of Haliburton director of paramedic services Tim Waite. File photo.

The County could be getting up to four additional community paramedics thanks to a three-year funding boost from the Ministry of Long-Term Care.

Department of emergency services director, Tim Waite, told County council Jan. 29 that the ministry seeks to expand the program. It wants to address the rising demand in the long-term care sector and help those waiting for beds.

To achieve this, the ministry proposed the funding and asked the County to submit a budget and proposal.

“This is really good news,” Coun. Andrea Roberts said. “Especially in an area like ours, a rural area, where transportation is an issue. The community paramedic program is a great way to get the service to the people as opposed to people having to get to the service.”

The program, which began in Haliburton County in 2017, does safety checks on at-risk people, providing weekly or monthly care. The new positions would be offered as temporary contracts completely funded by the province.

Waite said the province is processing the application and there is no guarantee yet the municipality will get the dollars. Roberts asked about the logistics of the proposal and handling the extra staff. Waite noted there is an additional vehicle in this year’s County budget but there may be an additional department staff person needed to facilitate the new paramedics.

Warden Liz Danielsen said Waite should do a deeper drive to ensure there will not be any limitations on what work the paramedics can do. She added based on a presentation she attended at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference, the province is considering community paramedicine seriously.

“It’s good to see that they’re putting funding in place for it,” she said.

Coun. Dave Burton asked what might happen at the end of the three years, raising the possibility that the municipality might have to then cover the costs.

“The hopes would be after three years they see it’s successful and they want to continue it,” Waite responded. “There is the risk that at that time, the funding could discontinue.”

He added there is language in the provincial collective agreement to lay off the individuals at the end of the term.

Council voted to receive the report as information. A further report will come to council if the province approves the initiative.