Council Highlights - December 20, 2022

Highlights of the December 20th, 2022
Council Meeting

During last evening’s Council meeting, Mayor Lowry welcomed back Tiffany MacLaren to the Mississippi Mills team in the role of Manager, Community and Economic Development. Tiffany is well-known in the community and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, having served as Community Economic and Cultural Coordinator for ten years.

Council endorsed the Operational Plans for the Municipality of Mississippi Mills Drinking Water System; the Safe Drinking Water Act, O. Reg. 170/03, requires municipalities to submit Operational Plans that are accepted and endorsed by the system Owner (Municipality) to the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks for their Municipal Drinking Water License.

Council approved development of a project umbrella to include branding, consultation and using a consistent and integrated project planning method for the next round of Growth Management Planning. Growth Management is an exercise to determine where and how new population and employment growth will be guided and accommodated in an integral manner that promotes healthy, complete, and livable communities.

Council also approved the 2023 Fees and Charges schedule. The purpose of the fees is to recover costs for services and activities provided by or on behalf of a municipality and for the use of its property.

Council supported nominating Mayor Christa Lowry as Director to the Rural Ontario Municipal Association’s Board of Directors for the 2023-2027 term.

The Committee of the Whole heard the following items, which will be brought forward and approved at a future Council meeting:

• Rogers Communications Inc. approached Mississippi Mills staff with an unsolicited request to install a Communications Tower at the recycling depot on Howie Road. Staff will be authorized to negotiate fair terms and enter into a lease agreement with Rogers Communications Inc. to offset operational costs of the Howie Road Landfill. It would need to be processed through the City of Ottawa’s planning department as the property is located within the City.

• Recommend awarding a contract for the provision of Hydrogeological Peer Review Studies with BluMetric Environmental and Jp2g Consultants Inc. Hydrogeologic studies are essential in the planning process to ensure that the proposed developments have appropriate water quantity and quality to support the development.

• Following consultation with Lanark County staff to develop a Mississippi Mills Affordable Housing Grant Program or Policy as a supplement to the County program, staff is recommending an option that would allow for the Municipality to have full integration in the County’s grant program for those developments that are proposed within the boundaries of Mississippi Mills. It’s also recommended that $50,000 be included in budgets going forward for the Affordable Housing Grant Program until such time that it is no longer in place.

• Staff to proceed with a revised project plan for Additional Residential Units (ARU) as well an update to the Community Official Plan to implement amendments to the Planning Act as a result of Bill 23.

• Support for Lanark County Council’s resolution declaring Intimate Partner Violence an epidemic as per recommendation #1 from the jury from the Renfrew County Coroner’s Inquest into the 2015 murder of three women by the same man. 

Upcoming Meetings:

• Special Committee of the Whole meeting – January 10^th, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

• Special Committee of the Whole meeting – January 12^th, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

• Hybrid Regular meeting of Council and Committee of the Whole – January 17^th at 6:00 p.m.