February 2, 2021: Mayor's Report
January 19th
I participated in Hastings County Planning and Development Meeting and Finance Property and Personnel.
As part of the meeting Mayor Bonnie Adams, Carlow – Mayo and Reeve Carl Stefansky, Limerick Township were nominated for the new position of Deputy Warden for the County. The election was scheduled for the regular meeting of January 28th.
I presided over our regularly scheduled Council Meeting.
January 20th
I attended the Hastings Prince Edward County Board of Health and Hastings County teleconference and update on COVID-19. The County has very few cases. Thank you to the residents for being compliant and keeping our area relatively low risk. However, it is imperative we remain vigilant.
At 1:00 p.m. I participated in a teleconference with the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark and Hastings County.
The minister proposed a campaign to reach out to what he referred to as “influencers” in the community to reinforce the message of ministry guidelines for wearing masks, social distancing, hand hygiene and ultimately comply with the rule to “Stay Home” unless it is absolutely necessary.
Staff have updated the website with the message and the message is being put on the LED board at the Information Centre.
At 3:00 p.m. I participated in the Emergency Control Group Meeting. At the previous Council Meeting, a report was provided with details of the work schedules regarding working remotely and the closing of municipal facilities. All Department Managers reported that the working arrangements are accepted and staff are adjusting to changed schedules, they are continuing to sanitize surfaces and comply with government guidelines and COVID protocol. Tonia confirmed with the Ministry that anyone who can work from home should work from home and only those essential services that require personal contact, such as snow clearing, should be performed in-person.
January 21st
I participated in the Crowe Valley Conservation Authority meeting. The 2021 Budget was passed.
Trent Hills Councillor Cathy Redden was re-elected as Board Chair and Janice MacKilliken was elected as Vice-Chair. You will note that a Municipal Brief provided by the conservation authority has been posted on our web page.
January 25th
I participated in a training session with Hastings County Clerk’s Department to prepare for electronic voting for the position of Deputy Warden.
January 26th
I presided over a Special Closed Meeting of Council.
January 27th
I participated in the weekly HPEPH teleconference meeting.
For your information, HPEPH reported that there are very few cases in our community and there are no cases of the variant at this time.
Dr. Oglaza explained that the vaccine will be administered per government regulations and specific decisions on locations and priority population will be identified and those decisions will be made when an adequate supply of the vaccine is available for distribution. HPEPH anticipates a vaccination site in Central Hastings. I recommended two possible locations in Marmora to be set up for vaccination sites and they are both considered suitable.
January 28th
I participated in a Closed meeting of Hastings County and a regular meeting of Hastings County Council.
Councillor Bonnie Adams was elected as Deputy Warden.
CAO, Jim Pine, recognized and commended county staff for their hard work and continued contribution during COVID.
As Mayor, thank you to members of Council for your continued service as elected officials. Thank you for meeting the technical challenges we have had to overcome in order to continue our meetings virtually. Council meetings streamed live over Facebook seems to be very popular as we are having hundreds of views.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our municipal staff for their continued support and express my appreciation for their efforts in continuing to provide and exceed our service standards during COVID. Thank you to Tonia for your management and leadership and for ensuring compliance in the workplace to keep our staff safe; Thank you to department managers and all staff for the essential work that you do!
The guidelines and restrictions for living with COVID are so important. It is imperative that we do not let our guard down; that we continue to work safely and follow the directions of the government and professional medical experts. I am going to repeat the ORDER and the eight directives and sincerely request that you comply.
The Order reads as follows;
Every individual shall remain in their place of residence at all times unless leaving their place of residence is necessary for one or more of the stated following purposes. There are 29 exceptions. Please refer to the web site if you wish to review these exceptions.
Schedule 1 (2) states:
(2) Despite subsections (1), no person shall attend a business or place that is required to be closed under the Stage 1 Order, except to the extent that temporary access to the closed business or place is permitted under subsection 1(6) of Schedule 1 to the Stage 1 Order
(3) This Order does not apply to individuals who are homeless.
(4) If this Order allows an individual to leave their residence to go to a place, it also authorizes them to return to their residence from that place.
(5) The requirement in subsection (1) to remain at an individual’s place of residence does not prevent the individual from accessing outdoor parts of their place of residence such as a backyard, or accessing indoor or outdoor common areas of the communal residences in which they reside that are open, including lobbies.
(6) For greater certainty, nothing in this Order permits a business or place to be open if it is required to be closed under the Stage 1 Order.
(7) For greater certainty, nothing in this order permits an individual to gather with other individuals if the gathering is not permitted under the Stage 1 Order.
(8) For greater certainty, individuals may only attend an outdoor organized public event or social gathering that is permitted under the Stage 1 Order for a purpose set out in subsection (1).
If there is any doubt about choices you are uncertain about making in regard to the ORDER, please visit the HPEPH web site or call the HPEPH Board of Health.
A reminder that the public meeting for the budget is on February 16. If you wish to speak at the meeting please contact the Deputy Clerk to register, you can also write your comments to be included in the agenda. If you have any questions or wish to discuss the budget, please feel free to contact staff.
Another reminder. This is the 200th Anniversary of Marmora and Lake. Staff are working tentatively toward plans to celebrate and will be looking for fundraising opportunities, committee volunteers and donations.
Thank you.