Latest / North Shore News / April 30th, 2025

Transcript

April 30th, 2025 · North Shore News

• 0:07
  Welcome to North Shore News and Interviews on
• 0:10
  Amherst Island Radio. Each week we keep you updated
• 0:14
  on newsworthy events, happenings and conversations
• 0:17
  that we've had with people in the local community
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  and beyond. Lennox and Addington County and Loyalist
• 0:27
  Township are taking the opportunity to thank
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  local volunteers and highlight some of their
• 0:31
  work this week as it's Volunteer Appreciation
• 0:34
  Week across Canada. Both the county and township
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  will be highlighting the work of volunteers on
• 0:38
  their social media pages throughout the week.
• 0:41
  Warden of Lennox and Addington County Nathan
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  Townend noted this year's theme and spoke about
• 0:45
  the positive impact volunteering has on the community.
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  During this week we would like to recognize and
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  celebrate all the ways that volunteers make waves
• 0:54
  across our county, province and country. The
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  sharing of time, skills, empathy and creativity
• 1:01
  is vital to the well -being of our communities.
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  Through these actions, volunteers contribute
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  exponentially to the quality of life we all strive
• 1:09
  for. I am pleased to take this opportunity to
• 1:12
  highlight the value of volunteers and thank them.
• 1:15
  for their positive impact on our county community.
• 1:18
  Mayor of Loyalist Township Jim Hagedorn spoke
• 1:20
  about the dedication, passion and hard work the
• 1:23
  volunteers have put forth. As part of National
• 1:26
  Volunteer Appreciation Week, we want to recognize
• 1:28
  the incredible individuals who help make our
• 1:31
  community shine. So many of the programs, events
• 1:34
  and initiatives we enjoy simply would not be
• 1:37
  possible without the dedication, passion and
• 1:41
  the hard work of our volunteers. Throughout this
• 1:44
  week, we'll be highlighting some of the amazing
• 1:47
  contributions made by local community members
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  on our social media. To all our volunteers, thank
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  you. You truly make a difference. For Amherst
• 1:58
  Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative,
• 2:01
  I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore News. The
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  Sunday Market in Bath is looking to kick off
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  another season in Centennial Park with a new
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  look this year. Market manager Tara Williamson
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  has undertaken a market revitalization and says
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  it's well underway. Williamson noted the focus
• 2:25
  of supporting and engaging with local farmers.
• 2:28
  I think it's something that's like different.
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  for this market this year than from previous
• 2:33
  years is we have a big focus on farmers. So we
• 2:38
  have a lot more farm vendors, so people can come
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  and get their local produce, their local maple
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  syrup, flowers. So lots of farmers at this market
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  now. Williamson explains her background and experience
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  running the Frontenac Farmers Market. My background
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  is actually in business development. I scale
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  up businesses, usually in the tech space, but
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  just sort of anywhere I can fit in. And then,
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  so when Frontenac was struggling, I volunteered
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  my expertise to that market and spearheaded a
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  revitalization of that market in 2022. And that
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  market's rocking now. So a lot of time that was
• 3:19
  spent on that market previously, I don't. need
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  to spend on it, because it sort of does its own
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  thing now. So I jumped on board with Bath, and
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  I'm going to repeat the same process there that
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  we did in Frontenac. Williamson highlighted different
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  weekly events that will take place at the market.
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  There'll be lots of weekly events. So live music
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  will happen at least once a month, but maybe
• 3:42
  more frequently. We have kids craft days, which
• 3:45
  are really fun. Some workshops that the various
• 3:49
  vendors are putting on. We're going to have the
• 3:53
  local fire department come out 1 of the weeks
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  and maybe do the touch the truck event there.
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  So, yeah, we're working within the community
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  to have special events as well as have our vendors.
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  You know, host different things themselves. There
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  will be over 35 different vendors with on -site
• 4:11
  food and drink every week. The Bath Sunday Market
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  runs every Sunday from 10 a .m. to 2 p .m. in
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  Centennial Park from May 11th to October 26th.
• 4:20
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism
• 4:22
  Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore
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  News. As one of the 169 Ontario municipalities
• 4:38
  to be receiving strong mayor powers, Greater
• 4:41
  Napanee Council discussed what that will mean
• 4:43
  for the town. The province announced April 9th
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  that it intends to introduce legislation to expand
• 4:48
  strong mayor powers to 169 municipalities. The
• 4:51
  province originally introduced strong mayor powers
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  in 2022 for the cities of Ottawa and Toronto.
• 4:57
  Through 2023, 44 additional municipalities received
• 5:00
  these powers. Effective May 1st, 216 of Ontario's
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  414 single and lower tier municipalities would
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  have this legislation apply to them. Manager
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  of Legislative Services and Municipal Clerk Jessica
• 5:13
  Walters explains the intended goal of the legislation.
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  They have indicated this expansion is being made
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  to single and lower tier municipalities with
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  councils with seven or more members and that
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  this is being done with a goal to expand housing
• 5:27
  in Ontario. This is a big thing for us and for
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  a lot of other municipalities. We assume to be
• 5:33
  introduced next week in order to go into effect
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  on May 1st. So there are still a few unknowns
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  and if anything changes, once we see the text
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  of that bill, we will let council know as soon
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  as possible. Walter's detailed staff's plans
• 5:44
  going forward. The discussions that we've only
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  had this for a couple of weeks, so it's a little
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  preliminary in our discussions. But I believe
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  the intent of the mayor and of staff is to as
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  quickly as possible after this May 1 deadline,
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  establish what our normal is going to look like,
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  create that predictability that we've been trying
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  to have as an organization to create routines
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  and establish processes of this is how we as
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  a municipality define how these powers are going
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  to be used. So our goal is to define as much
• 6:18
  of that Quickly with this term of council establish
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  what normal looks like, bake as much of it into
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  bylaws and policies as we can. Could a new mayor
• 6:28
  overturn all of that day one, November 16th,
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  2026? Maybe. We don't know. Nobody's been in
• 6:36
  that situation yet to know. Walters noted what
• 6:39
  they saw as the largest change. The mayor has
• 6:41
  to introduce the budget by February 1, after
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  which council has 30 days to vote on amendments
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  to the budget. We do anticipate this to be our
• 6:49
  largest operational change and will be working
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  to update our public consultation practices to
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  account for this new time frame. The mayor can
• 6:58
  give direction to members of staff, so this will
• 7:00
  require an amendment to our council staff relations
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  policy, which currently states that council direction
• 7:05
  is given by way of resolution policy and bylaw.
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  The mayor has the sole authority to appoint and
• 7:11
  dismiss the CAO unless the mayor chooses to delegate
• 7:14
  this power back to council. The mayor has the
• 7:16
  sole authority to appoint and dismiss department
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  heads that are non -statutory positions, i .e.
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  not your clerk, treasurer, fire chief, chief
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  building official, as the legislation says those
• 7:25
  must be appointed by council. unless the mayor
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  chooses to delegate this back to council or to
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  the CAO. Currently our by -law states that council
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  has hiring and firing authority for general managers
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  and statutory positions and the CAO has authority
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  to manage staffing below that level. The mayor
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  can propose a bylaw to support a provincial priority.
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  Currently this is defined as building new homes
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  and infrastructure to support those homes. If
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  the mayor introduces the bylaw it only needs
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  three out of seven instead of four out of seven
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  votes to pass and the mayor counts as one of
• 8:00
  those votes. The mayor can veto a bylaw if he
• 8:03
  believes it interferes with the provincial priority.
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  This can either be announced in advance or up
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  to two business days after the bylaw is passed.
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  So we will need to amend our procedure bylaw
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  to account for how that's going to work in practice.
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  The mayor can introduce an item of business at
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  a council meeting and require council to vote
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  on the matter at that meeting i .e. can't be
• 8:22
  deferred or request an additional staff report
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  if it advances a provincial priority. So we'll
• 8:27
  need to amend our procedure by a lot to define
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  how that's going to work. These powers are not
• 8:34
  absolute. There are additional requirements and
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  limitations on how they're used. So as noted,
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  some of these can be delegated back to council
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  or the CAO. If a power can't be delegated, council
• 8:44
  can still override it with a two -third majority
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  within certain set time limits. Any use of these
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  powers must be made in writing and typically
• 8:53
  a justification for how this relates to a provincial
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  priority needs to be attached. The mayor can't
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  use any of these powers if they have a conflict
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  of interest as defined in the Municipal Conflict
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  of Interest Act for the matter under consideration
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  and these powers can't be used to waive any public
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  notice and public consultation requirements so
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  for example your planning applications you would
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  still have to have your published notice your
• 9:17
  public hearing your public meeting you would
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  you still have to go through all of those steps
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  this couldn't be used to skip any of those steps.
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  Mayor Terry Richardson weighed in on the situation
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  and noted the changes they'll have to make across
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  the different departments. This isn't a very
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  easy topic to talk about especially when you
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  have a group of people sitting around a horseshoe.
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  that get along as well as we do. But yes, we
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  do disagree with things. Sometimes we get mad
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  at each other, but by the end of the night, you
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  know what, we're all able to go for something
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  to eat and life is grand. It's going to be some
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  interesting times. There's going to be some work
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  from Madam Clerk because we now have to adjust
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  procedures, adjust policies, adjust bylaws, add
• 10:00
  documents onto agendas that have to be signed
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  within two or three days. Bear with us. We'll
• 10:07
  wait and see what comes out in the next week
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  or so and we'll move forward from that. Councillor
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  Mike Shank voiced his concerns with the strong
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  mayor powers. We're elected free democracy. We
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  can agree to disagree but I have grave concerns
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  not with this council but when we're gone that
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  if you have a mayor that comes in and he you
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  know and he doesn't believe in free speech of
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  every listen to every member of councils over
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  the time and the pressure he does on the staff
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  and the turmoil that he's done with the staff
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  it can wreck the whole municipality because any
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  of the good staffs is gonna say see you later
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  we're out of here I don't want to see all the
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  work that we've done and the staff that we have
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  lose it you get a real wrong council and it can
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  destroy municipality really quick Walters noted
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  staff's uncertainty of whether or not they could
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  opt out of receiving the strong mayor powers.
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  The first round when it was just Ottawa and Toronto
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  was not optional. The second round was optional
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  because you had to sign a housing pledge to opt
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  in to receive the powers and some municipalities
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  chose not to. We have not heard anything about
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  a housing pledge or any opting in or out this
• 11:27
  time around so we don't know. Some municipalities
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  have pass motions saying we don't want these
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  powers. We don't know if that is going to have
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  any impact on the bill that gets introduced next
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  week. For Amherst Island Radio and the Local
• 11:44
  Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is
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  North Shore News. Loyalist Township Council granted
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  Hot -to -Trot Stables a noise exemption for a
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  total of 57 days between the months of April
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  and September. The company will be using some
• 12:07
  of those days to run shows and events. Owner
• 12:10
  of Hot -to -Trot Stables, Megan Desjardins, noted
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  their focus this year towards accommodating neighbors'
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  concerns. We kind of changed it this year to
• 12:18
  accommodate our neighbors by going to a Wednesday
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  night jackpot, which would be two to three hours
• 12:23
  and only having two weekends this year to accommodate
• 12:27
  the Friday, Saturday or the Friday, Saturday
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  and Sunday for the barrel bash. So this is a
• 12:32
  little bit more accommodating our neighbors for
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  the sound and allowing them to have our weekends.
• 12:38
  Desjardin explained the need for including 57
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  days on their application for exemption. We did
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  put in a lot of dates and then we. we narrowed
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  it down to the dates that we would like to go
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  forward with as a possibility. The dates are
• 12:52
  rain dates. They're not every date was going
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  to be a show. A neighbor who shares a fence with
• 12:56
  the property, Mary Jo Muir, shared her support
• 12:59
  for the event. Last year we had quite the argument
• 13:02
  about whether this should happen or not. I can
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  tell you that Ms. Desjardins kept her promise.
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  The noise was kept to a reasonable level. It
• 13:11
  went from intolerable to a little bit annoying.
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  So a little bit annoying is life in the country.
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  And I'm very impressed with the work she's done.
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  So I looked at all of the dates that she has
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  in mind. Almost all of them are Wednesday evenings
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  from 5 till 9 p .m., which is well within reason.
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  So I can't say that I speak for all of the neighbors,
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  but I can say for myself, I share a fence line
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  with Megan. She's been a great neighbor this
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  year and I'm very much in support of what she's
• 13:45
  doing. Desjardins spoke about the progress they've
• 13:47
  made towards hosting the event this year. I didn't
• 13:50
  receive any complaints and everything's panned
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  out for our decimal readings and I think that
• 13:57
  we showed that we were capable of accommodating
• 14:02
  the show and neighbours at hand. Councillor Mike
• 14:05
  Buderich noted the changes since last year and
• 14:07
  showed his support for the event. It was a little
• 14:09
  contentious last year and there was no pushback
• 14:13
  and the fact that a neighbour came in and spoke
• 14:15
  this evening to say things had improved is a
• 14:19
  good good move forward and the fact that the
• 14:22
  applicant respected their neighbours and it sounds
• 14:24
  great so I'm happy to see progress. Councillor
• 14:26
  Carol Park showed her support for accommodating
• 14:29
  neighbours. I think it's great that The owners
• 14:32
  have taken the initiative to make sure that the
• 14:34
  neighbors are taken care of and their concerns
• 14:37
  that they have. Hot to Trot Stables hosts horse
• 14:39
  shows and events at 1003 Lucas Road in Odessa.
• 14:42
  They've specified that during these events, riders
• 14:45
  names and orders will be announced over the speakers
• 14:47
  along with playing music throughout the event.
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  Staff noted the events attract people from all
• 14:52
  over Eastern Ontario and Quebec who also access
• 14:55
  businesses within the township while attending.
• 14:58
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism
• 15:00
  Initiative I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore
• 15:04
  News. A number of loyalist firefighters were
• 15:14
  recognized for their efforts in the water rescue
• 15:16
  that took place in Napanee on March 22nd. They
• 15:19
  received recognition certificates from MPP Rick
• 15:22
  Brzee, presented by one of his team members,
• 15:24
  Mark Handley, in his absence. Loyalist firefighters
• 15:27
  joined members of Napanee's Emergency Services
• 15:30
  Network to help rescue a lone occupant of a vehicle
• 15:33
  that entered the water and became lodged at the
• 15:35
  top of the falls at Springside Park in Napanee.
• 15:38
  Adam Irving, Mike Joyce, Jordan McLaughlin, John
• 15:42
  Shea, Joe Rebacca, Nick DiMarco and Fire Chief
• 15:45
  Kent Reedman attended the meeting to receive
• 15:47
  the certificates. Hanley read the first certificate
• 15:50
  from Brazil meant for the entire department.
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  Congratulations on behalf of the Government of
• 15:55
  Ontario. I am pleased to extend my sincerest
• 15:58
  congratulations to Loyalist Township Fire and
• 16:01
  Emergency Services in recognition of the bravery
• 16:04
  and dedication expressed during the water rescue
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  that took place at Springside Park on March 22nd,
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  2025. Through your skill, determination, and
• 16:15
  quick response, you demonstrated the true spirit
• 16:18
  of service, ensuring the safety of those in need.
• 16:21
  Your efforts are deeply appreciated. and will
• 16:24
  be remembered as a testament to the life -saving
• 16:26
  mission you afford. Staff noted the great risks
• 16:29
  taken by all those involved in the rescue. Mayor
• 16:32
  Jim Hagedorn commended the work of firefighters
• 16:34
  and emergency services personnel. This is just
• 16:37
  one example of what our firefighters do every
• 16:40
  day for our communities. Not only do they do
• 16:43
  it here, but they do it in other communities
• 16:44
  as well when they need assistance. And I think
• 16:47
  that speaks very highly of the firefighters that
• 16:50
  we do have. and all of the EMS across the county
• 16:54
  that work hard for everyone. And this is a great
• 16:57
  example of what they do, putting themselves at
• 17:00
  risk to be able to help out everyone else that
• 17:04
  is in need. So kudos to all the firefighters,
• 17:08
  specifically the ones that responded and took
• 17:11
  it upon themselves to brave that situation as
• 17:14
  well. Handley explained Brzee's absence and passed
• 17:17
  on a personal message. Unfortunately, he can't
• 17:19
  be here. He actually had a fall and damaged his
• 17:23
  knee and it looks like he's not going to be walking
• 17:25
  for about six weeks but he did send this message.
• 17:29
  We want to honor our firefighters in the way
• 17:31
  in all they do and most specifically express
• 17:34
  our appreciation for their expertise in unusual
• 17:37
  situations and thank them all as for being there
• 17:40
  for our community each other and for supporting
• 17:43
  our neighboring municipal fire services like
• 17:46
  this recent incident with a car in the Napanee
• 17:48
  River. They say it takes a village. But with
• 17:51
  fire services, we extend those boundaries to
• 17:53
  lend a hand to our neighbouring communities as
• 17:56
  well. Thank you. Great job in the rescue. For
• 17:59
  Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism
• 18:02
  Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore
• 18:05
  News. Loyalist Township will be following strategies
• 18:17
  set in place by Lenox and Addington County to
• 18:19
  mitigate the effects of U .S. tariffs. Council's
• 18:22
  latest motion regarding tariffs has set a standard
• 18:24
  for how they'll approach procurement and economic
• 18:27
  development as the situation continues to change.
• 18:30
  The report noted the effects felt locally in
• 18:32
  Loyalist Township. Going forward, staff will
• 18:34
  be investigating the implementation of a bi -Canadian
• 18:37
  procurement policy, including comparing approaches
• 18:40
  from other municipalities and completing a solicitor
• 18:42
  review. Township staff will be working with county
• 18:45
  staff, as well as the other lower -tier municipalities,
• 18:48
  to share information. A report will then be brought
• 18:50
  back to Council at a future meeting. Director
• 18:52
  of Finance and Treasurer Shelley Steadall noted
• 18:55
  the Township's plan going forward. This item
• 18:58
  is fluid so a report was written on April the
• 19:01
  1st and of course there's been changes since
• 19:03
  then you know going forward the recommendation
• 19:07
  is to follow the strategies that are outlined
• 19:10
  with the with Blandingston -Addington County
• 19:13
  that we follow their lead and work with them
• 19:15
  and also that we continue to investigate the
• 19:19
  implementation of a bi -Canadian procurement
• 19:21
  policy some of the different policies they've
• 19:24
  been changing and we haven't really found one
• 19:26
  that we've adopted and if we do find something,
• 19:28
  then we will take it back to our solicitor to
• 19:31
  make sure that it is valid because there's so
• 19:34
  many tariffs and different trade agreements that
• 19:37
  we have to make sure we're compliant. Currently,
• 19:39
  the Township procures over 95 % of its goods
• 19:41
  and services from Canada. However, items such
• 19:44
  as software, water meters, and other utility
• 19:47
  supplies, such as UV bulbs, come from the U .S.
• 19:50
  The report states that U .S. software is the
• 19:52
  largest ticket item in the Township. Staff noted
• 19:55
  it is the most difficult to change suppliers
• 19:57
  as well. Changing to other software can result
• 19:59
  in large acquisition and implementation costs.
• 20:03
  Most standard software charges are licensing
• 20:05
  fees. Steadall noted how they'll be informing
• 20:07
  the public of work that's being done. The other
• 20:10
  item is the direction for staff to be directed
• 20:13
  to send a mailer out to Loyalist Township for
• 20:16
  the commercial and industrial customers, notifying
• 20:19
  them of the work that's being done by the county.
• 20:22
  So that's just to inform the public as to what...
• 20:25
  we are doing. I know it's very fluid and you
• 20:33
  know I think we just have to get it out there
• 20:34
  that we're just a small cog but we we need to
• 20:38
  push Canadian first. I think The fluidity of
• 20:48
  the situation is is multiform. It's not simply
• 20:51
  what's happening south of the border Obviously,
• 20:52
  we're in the middle of a federal election. I
• 20:54
  think what's important to most most citizens
• 20:57
  is that there's a team approach. And obviously,
• 21:01
  whoever happens to be elected on April 28th will
• 21:05
  have a particular strategy. I think the strategy
• 21:08
  that our municipal associations are taking in
• 21:10
  Ontario is that whatever those strategies happen
• 21:13
  to be, that municipalities need to be and want
• 21:16
  to be a part of the team. And I think that's
• 21:19
  the important message. Mayor Jim Hagedorn spoke
• 21:21
  about the fluidity of the situation and the many
• 21:23
  factors involved. the CAO and I had some discussions
• 21:27
  and we thought this would be good for us to take
• 21:28
  a good review of that's been done. And I agree
• 21:32
  with the recommendation. There's still a lot
• 21:35
  of factors in play as well. There are trade agreements
• 21:37
  that have never been nullified. They've just
• 21:39
  been walked on a little bit, for lack of a better
• 21:43
  term. There's so many factors. It's so fluid.
• 21:45
  I mean, it'll be changed probably by dark tomorrow.
• 21:48
  So we have to be prepared for anything. So I
• 21:50
  think this is a good exercise so we know where
• 21:52
  we are to know where we could go. For Amherst
• 21:55
  Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative,
• 21:58
  I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore News. Napanee's
• 22:10
  Arts Advisory Committee is taking over Music
• 22:12
  by the River, a live music series in Napanee.
• 22:15
  The committee noted they'll be scaling back to
• 22:17
  just two performances throughout 2025. Councilor
• 22:20
  and member of the Arts Advisory Committee, Bob
• 22:22
  Norrie, explained the role the committee is taking
• 22:24
  in running the event. He noted that through other
• 22:26
  venues that wouldn't affect their budget, there
• 22:28
  would be more than two performances. We scaled
• 22:31
  it right back, or the thinking of it, to just
• 22:33
  twice, once in July, once in August, two entertainers
• 22:36
  each time. I've spoken to the sound person, he's
• 22:39
  charging the same as last year, he's been very
• 22:41
  fair, and we're looking for local talent. So
• 22:43
  we've scaled it back to just what we think is
• 22:45
  good and we're working closely with Michelle
• 22:47
  Hauser for other venues. So there will be music
• 22:49
  down there more than just twice, but that's what
• 22:51
  the group has come to. The committee has partnered
• 22:53
  with a company called Harmony to look after sponsorship
• 22:56
  for the event. Norrie noted the company is responsible
• 22:58
  for lining up the sponsorships while the committee
• 23:01
  pays the artists. Norrie mentioned the committee's
• 23:03
  small budget and a study they did last year to
• 23:05
  monitor attendance. We just have a small budget
• 23:08
  with a limited budget for advertising as well.
• 23:11
  We did a study of how many people came last year.
• 23:14
  Appreciate those that come and the amount of
• 23:16
  people it takes to set up and you need some of
• 23:19
  us there. So we decided we're going to try it
• 23:21
  twice this year and then piggyback with what
• 23:23
  happens with Harmony. CAO Matthew Grant explained
• 23:26
  how the committee's budget works. As part of
• 23:28
  this effort, they are looking to expend a portion
• 23:31
  of their budget as yet undisclosed towards that
• 23:34
  effort. They do have $5 ,000 that has been budgeted
• 23:37
  through the town's municipal budget process.
• 23:40
  Should there be a desire for any further support
• 23:44
  from the town, that would come in the form of
• 23:46
  a recommendation from the community to council
• 23:48
  for approval such as staff time or other resources.
• 23:58
  and sit and listen to the music. I just think
• 24:00
  that anytime that we can promote anything around
• 24:04
  our river, that natural beauty we have in this
• 24:06
  town, we have to utilize that much more than
• 24:09
  what we are and I think we're on the right way.
• 24:10
  Come on in by boat, tie up and listen to it and
• 24:13
  it's just great. So anytime that I can help promote
• 24:16
  that, I'm all for it. Councillor Mike Schenck
• 24:19
  was hopeful the event would be able to expand
• 24:20
  again in the future, noting public input. I fully
• 24:23
  support what Bob and the Arts Committee, our
• 24:26
  advisory committee, is doing. I live so close,
• 24:28
  right on the water along Highway 33. In Loyalist,
• 24:32
  they have a bath every weekend, and it's very
• 24:36
  well attended there. So if it's very well attended
• 24:39
  here and it's a takeoff here, we can increase
• 24:41
  those dates. You know what I mean? Because I've
• 24:43
  had some phone calls where they're saying, Jones,
• 24:45
  you know, why is there only two? Why can't there
• 24:47
  be five? Well, the committee is the one. I'm
• 24:50
  not part of that committee. I let the committee
• 24:52
  go through its process. process and go from there."
• 24:54
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism
• 24:56
  Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore
• 25:00
  News. Greater Napanes Arts Advisory Committee
• 25:11
  will be reintroducing their arts awards after
• 25:14
  it had been shut down by the pandemic. The awards
• 25:16
  will run every two years with the possibility
• 25:18
  of moving to an annual event. Staff's report
• 25:21
  noted the awards are to recognize the efforts
• 25:22
  of local artists and those that support the local
• 25:25
  arts and culture scene. There will be several
• 25:27
  categories with submissions made and vetted by
• 25:30
  volunteers. Winners will be selected by the committee
• 25:32
  and awarded during a ceremony at Town Hall. In
• 25:36
  the event the hall is not available due to renovations,
• 25:38
  staff recommended making the conference area
• 25:40
  at the Best in Bash Arena available for the event.
• 25:43
  Town staff will participate in promotion of the
• 25:45
  event and its winners. The report noted the impact
• 25:48
  on staff resources is anticipated to be four
• 25:51
  hours or less. Consideration may also be given
• 25:53
  to broadening the awards initiative in the future
• 25:56
  to include recognition of other areas, including
• 25:58
  heritage. CAO Matthew Grant explained how the
• 26:01
  town views the event and noted staff's support.
• 26:04
  When I take a look at this particular request
• 26:06
  and the mandate of advisory committees, this
• 26:09
  would be a... corporate endorsed events run by
• 26:14
  volunteers, but I would see this in the vein
• 26:17
  as something that the municipality both supports
• 26:20
  and encourages and would likely have some of
• 26:25
  our branding on it as this is an advisory committee
• 26:27
  that is advising the activities of the town.
• 26:30
  And staff is quite supportive of the recommendation.
• 26:33
  Councillor Bob Norrie highlighted the work of
• 26:35
  the committee. This has been discussed since
• 26:37
  the start of this term. They're very passionate
• 26:39
  about it. They started what they wanted, large
• 26:42
  -scale ball and that, and they've realized that's
• 26:43
  possible. So we're starting small. And they just
• 26:46
  want to recognize local artists as best they
• 26:48
  can. And they're coming up with some good ideas.
• 26:50
  So I really appreciate this report. And I know
• 26:52
  they'll be looking forward to working on that.
• 26:54
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism
• 26:57
  Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore
• 27:00
  News. This has been North Shore News and Interviews.
• 27:06
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• 27:09
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• 27:12
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• 27:17
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