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RURAL MUNICIPALITY OF MISCOUCHE
Monthly Council Meeting
March 14th, 2023

1. OPENING MEETING

Mayor Albert Gallant called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M.

Present:
Albert Gallant – Mayor
Allan Parks – Deputy Mayor
Jacqueline Lecky- Councillor
Ivan Blanchard- Councillor
Charles MacAusland Councillor
Corey Gillis Councillor
David Hughes- Councillor
Michelle Perry- CAO

2. Declaration of Conflict of Interest: Councillor Gillis declared a conflict of interest on 5b and councillor MacAusland declared a conflict on 6f

3. MAINTENANCE REPORT: Monty MacAusland gave the following report:. Things are going good and we had to order an additional pallet of salt that we were not expecting to order.

4. ADOPTION OF MINUTES: Meeting minutes for February 14th, and Proposed Budget Meeting February 28th,2023.

MOTION moved by Charles MacAusland seconded by Allan Parks and carried
THAT the minutes for February 14th, and Proposed Budget Meeting on February 28th, 2023 be approved as presented.

5. BUSINESS ARISING:

a) West Lagoon Upgrades: Tenders were extended till March 16 at 1:00pm as an addendum was put in for additional work for the contractors.

b) Budget Adoption: Councilor Gillis declared a conflict and left the room.

MOTION moved by Allan Parks seconded by Jacqueline Lecky and carried
THAT the Proposed Budget be adopted as presented on February 28th, 2023 with no changes being made.

Councillor Gillis returned.

c) Wilfred St: Still no word on if the project was approved.

d) Annex the property on Kinsmen Rd: Still no word on any development yet.

e) Insurance on the floor for the seniors room: First onsite got back with the quote and it came in at $12,000.00 since the deductible is $10,000.00 council decided to get it done with out using insurance. Councilor Blanchard will get some quotes before the next meeting.

f)Fire Dues Increase for Surrounding Areas: The committee met and there was an increase in the dues by $500.00 a month.

6. COMMITTEE REPORTS:

a) Fire Dept: Fire Chief Woodbury gave the following report: They had 1 call for the month for Mutal Aid for Wellington. #131 had the lights replaced and rewired for the safety inspection. 3 chainsaws were ordered for the EMO plan. The log books are in place as well as the policy for the fire fighters. Mitchell Myers is now treasurer. A few of the retired members are looking to get an Auxiliary for the fire department that will assist the department in fundraising, and other little things. They will not have any benefits that the fire fighters will have it will be strictly more social, Chief Woodbury suggested creating a medal for any firefighter that has 25+ years in the department and it would be a different colour depending on the years of service. Councilor Lecky and himself will look into it and see what they come up with.

b) Recreation, Park, Playgrounds and Green Spaces: Councilor MacAusland gave the following report: Bingo are going good and the jackpots never went yet so the crowds are staying high. Still in the process of trying to get an electrician to give a quote on wiring the camera’s. Trees are still not taking down in the green-space off of Heritage. And there is some much needed upgrades that need to be done at the Rec Center that should be looked into next fiscal year.

c) Water & Sewer: Councilor Gillis gave the following report: Sewer Flushing will happen the second last week of August. Also he asked about any repairs that needed to be done to the sewer system. There are manholes that need to be fixed from a few years ago. He suggested that we get in touch with another contractor to see if they get here this year.

d) Repairs, Maintenance and Village Properties: Councilor Blanchard gave the following report: The roof at the Fire hall is still leaking and he will try to get a contractor out to look to see what needs to be done to fix it. Also he will get some quotes for the next meeting on painting the Rec Center downstairs and getting the floors cleaned. Also CAO Perry will get in touch with Highways to see about getting a 40 Km speed sign for Laughlin St.

e) PEI Federation of Municipalities: Councilor Hughes gave the following report: There is a meeting this Thursday in Charlottetown for the Federation, and the Annual meeting in Souris is on April 24th, 2023.

f) Finances, Budgets, Pay Committee, Bylaws and Planning: Councillor Parks gave the following report. Finances are all good as we prepare for the year end. The budget was just passed, and Councillor Parks asked that at this time the meeting be closed to the public to discuss pay raises for staff

All public left as well as CAO and Maintenance left the room as well as Councillor MacAusland.

After discussions public came back into the room:

MOTION moved by Ivan Blanchard seconded by Corey Gillis and carried
THAT the CAO wages be increased by $3.38 per hour starting April 1 2023.

MOTION moved by Ivan Blanchard seconded by David Hughes and carried
THAT the current Maintenance workers wages be increased by $3.48 per hour starting April 1 2023.

9. APPROVAL OF BILLS TOTALING $ 73,546.64

MOTION moved by Allan Parks seconded by Jacqueline Lecky and carried
THAT the payment of the bills totaling $ 73,546.64 be approved.

10. NEW BUSINESS:

a) Thank you cards: Council received 2 thank you cards one from Allan Parks for the fruit basket he received after surgery. And the other was from the Miscouchel School for the donation towards the Breakfast Program.

b) New Development PID 843086. The new owners for the land next to Sunny’s Dairy bar will be starting development as soon as they take possession of the land on March 31 2023. They will be keeping the road private and all the housing will stay as rentals. They will be building 6, 4 units this year and an additional 2, 6 units will be for future development. They will also be working with WSP on the designs and they will provide a copy once it is completed.

c) Welcome Signs: Councillor Blanchard showed all the new council on the design of the signs, and he will have new pricing done before the next meeting.

d) Newsletter: The new letter will go out for April 1st. It was suggested that we see if we can get some student volunteers that are looking to get volunteer hours to do some clean up around the community. This will go in the letter to see if there are any volunteers.

e) Rent for the Seniors Club: After some discussion about whether they should charge rent.

MOTION moved by Corey Gillis seconded by David Hughes
THAT the community leave everything as is with the senior club.

Charles MacAusland and Ivan Blanchard voted No Motion was Carried.

11. NEXT MEETING: Monthly Meeting April 11th, 2023

12. MEETING ADJOURNED

MOTION moved by Corey Gillis THAT the meeting of March 14th, 2023 be adjourned.