Latest / North Shore News / May 28th, 2025

Transcript

May 28th, 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. A petition with nearly 500 signatures
• 0:26
  helped Loyless Township Council with their latest
• 0:29
  decision about the reconstruction of Main Street
• 0:31
  in Odessa. Ultimately, council voted on the option
• 0:33
  that aligns best with the petition to reinstate
• 0:36
  the existing cross -section. The report noted
• 0:38
  this option maintains the status quo for on -street
• 0:41
  parking, which was identified as an important
• 0:43
  factor by business owners and residents through
• 0:45
  project consultation. The report noted consideration
• 0:48
  will also be given to making adjustments to the
• 0:50
  existing layout around intersections in particular.
• 0:53
  Amy Dornekamp, owner of Mill Creek Vet Clinic
• 0:55
  on Main Street, spoke about the need for parking
• 0:57
  in the area, referencing surveys and public input.
• 1:00
  While I support active living, Main Street is
• 1:03
  not the right location for a multi -use path.
• 1:06
  The 2021 Township survey showed that while 75
• 1:09
  % supported an investment in active transportation,
• 1:13
  over 65 % of those respondents commute more than
• 1:16
  10 kilometers to work, making it impractical.
• 1:20
  A county survey completed in the last couple
• 1:22
  of months found that 81 % of the respondents
• 1:25
  said a multi -use path would not benefit them
• 1:28
  more than parking. The community has spoken and
• 1:31
  their priorities are clear. Parking remains a
• 1:34
  greater need than a multi -use path in this location.
• 1:37
  David Savage, owner of Odessa Home Hardware,
• 1:40
  mentioned the petition and the customers he spoke
• 1:42
  with, noting the history of the store and importance
• 1:44
  of parking. We garnered about 500 names and all
• 1:48
  our customers that we spoke to thought it was
• 1:51
  not a wise decision. And you know, we've been
• 1:54
  in the business, we've been in the village now
• 1:56
  since 1938 in the same location. To remove the
• 2:00
  parking on that side of the street or anywhere
• 2:02
  on Main Street would be devastating to any small
• 2:05
  current business or prospective businesses. Dorna
• 2:09
  Camp speaks about the existing shared parking
• 2:11
  and the potential of losing business. There are
• 2:13
  only five spots on the opposite side of Main
• 2:16
  Street between Factory Street and Centre Street.
• 2:19
  And those are already shared by the church, Home
• 2:22
  Hardware, my clinic, the bank, and the residents
• 2:26
  in that area. This is not enough parking. If
• 2:29
  clients struggle to park, they'll go elsewhere.
• 2:32
  And with eight other vet clinics within a 15
• 2:35
  -minute drive, I'm deeply concerned we'll lose
• 2:37
  both current and prospective clients. Engineering
• 2:40
  and Environment Manager Luke MacDonald detailed
• 2:43
  the other options and why none of them were perfect.
• 2:45
  There's no sort of slam dunk alternative to this.
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  Each option has their trade -offs that are associated
• 2:51
  with it. The force main crossing, there's no
• 2:54
  existing crossing there now. So that would require
• 2:57
  work in water, that would require a number of
• 3:00
  permits from MNRF, CRCA, so on. So the cost would
• 3:04
  be considerably higher as well as just establishing
• 3:07
  a new structural call. crossing. The other option,
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  while it may be less. costly overall. There are
• 3:18
  significant concerns with the environmental condition
• 3:22
  of the property that the Babcock Mill rear yard
• 3:27
  is onto. Just some of the historic uses could
• 3:31
  lend itself potentially to contamination or things
• 3:33
  like that. Councillor Paul Proderick addressed
• 3:35
  public concerns and noted the history of Odessa.
• 3:38
  I appreciate Ms. Dornkamp's comment about the
• 3:41
  number of veterinary clinics being within a 15
• 3:44
  -minute drive. of that but it is and again it's
• 3:47
  the same for the hardware store there's so many
• 3:48
  places within an easy access point and I think
• 3:51
  when I go back we've got an 1880s village that
• 3:55
  my grandparents came to on horse and buggy with
• 3:57
  2025 traffic problems and I don't think we can
• 4:02
  reconcile the multi -use pathways I think we
• 4:05
  have to protect the businesses protect the the
• 4:08
  parking for that area. Prodereck also mentioned
• 4:10
  the concerns of cyclists in the area. It's the
• 4:13
  multi -use pathway and I'm thinking of the cycling
• 4:16
  side of it. And I talked to a few who I would
• 4:19
  call hardcore cyclists who have told me things
• 4:22
  like they don't use that road, they go back,
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  No Haven Road, back roads. And a couple of residents
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  and I was asking them about, you know, you have
• 4:29
  kids that age. He said, no, we don't, we don't
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  want them on highway. They call highway two.
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  And I also on one visit I stood. just across
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  from the veterinary clinic in the home hardware.
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  And it was probably 35 cars that went by in less
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  than five minutes. It's not the right location.
• 4:49
  I go back to the glory days of the Ernestown
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  Eagles in the late 70s, and it's changed so much,
• 4:55
  Odessa. We can't cut off business growth. Odessa,
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  I think, is in a bit of a renaissance, and the
• 5:01
  veterinary clinic, different things are coming
• 5:03
  back into the village. without the parking, it's
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  a choke for them, I think. This isn't about resisting
• 5:14
  progress. It's about being smart, practical,
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  and responsive to the needs of our township to
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  keep Main Street functional, accessible, and
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  true to the spirit of Odessa. Township staff
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  will now begin to explore alternative connectivity
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  routes surrounding the Babcock Mill, Factory
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  Street, and Shane Street. The report notes that
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  unless directed by council, staff would not consider
• 5:34
  these projects a priority. For Amherst Island
• 5:37
  Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm
• 5:40
  Ted Evans. This is North Shore News. Warden of
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  Lennox and Addington County Nathan Townend was
• 5:54
  part of signing a memorandum of understanding
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  that advocates for continued free trade and bilateral
• 5:59
  cooperation between Canada and the U .S. The
• 6:02
  agreement was made between the Eastern Ontario
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  Wardens' Caucus and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence
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  Cities Initiative. Townand spoke about his time
• 6:09
  at the conference in Milwaukee. Whilst I was
• 6:11
  there, I was able to join Chair Bonnie Clark
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  of EOWC and fellow warden Brian Ostrander of
• 6:18
  Northumberland County as we signed an MOU between
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  the EOWC and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence
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  City's initiative. Frankly, it was an inspiring
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  conference. It made me very proud to be a municipal
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  politician, as is often the case. municipalities
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  are the one that's building the dial on the key
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  economic and environmental challenges we face,
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  and that the commitments are shared on both sides
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  of the border. Townand noted the work of the
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  initiative and spoke about the focus of this
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  year's conference. Given the importance of economic
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  and environmental solidarity across the Great
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  Lakes region, particularly at this tumultuous
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  time, and particularly because the EOWC is providing
• 6:59
  leadership in this regard. The organization does
• 7:03
  work to protect and advocate for the environmental
• 7:07
  and economic vitality of the millions of Canadians,
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  Americans, and First Nations who live within
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  the watersheds of what is the largest freshwater
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  system on earth, 21 % of the world's freshwater
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  resources right here. So this year's conference
• 7:22
  was focused on equitable and sustainable management
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  of clean freshwater in a time of scarcity. And
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  it was spelled by all the conference that now
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  more than ever bilateral cooperation between
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  Canada and the United States must be strengthened.
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  Townand also spoke about separate meetings with
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  the Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus in Toronto.
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  I was joined by warden colleagues from across
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  our region in the Eastern Ontario Wardens' Caucus
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  on Advocacy Day at Queen's Park. They were very
• 7:51
  productive meetings which culminated in a multi
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  -minister delegation with the Premier. So these
• 7:56
  meetings give the EOWC an opportunity to share
• 8:00
  regional priorities with decision makers across
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  government and the legislature and they also
• 8:06
  provide an opportunity for us to hear firsthand
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  what the government's priorities are and how
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  municipalities feature as partners. Obviously
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  that's important considering we've just had an
• 8:16
  election. Townand presented this information
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  as part of his wardens report at this week's
• 8:20
  council meeting. For Amherst Island Radio and
• 8:23
  the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
• 8:26
  This is North Shore News. It was a close 4 -3
• 8:37
  vote in favor of a proposed ward boundary update
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  at Loyalist Township's latest council meeting.
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  The three opposing members voiced concerns about
• 8:45
  fair representation and extreme population disparity.
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  At a special committee of the whole meeting last
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  month, it was a 4 -3 vote as well. After much
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  discussion, option one was chosen and brought
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  to council. This option will see the division
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  of the existing three wards into five new wards.
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  The new configuration includes Amherst Island
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  as its own ward, although its population is only
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  around 450 people. Councillor Jake Ennis made
• 9:08
  note of this while speaking about population
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  disparity. It's well established that a variance
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  of up to 25 % can be appropriate for good reason,
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  perhaps up to 33 % in some municipal LLT decisions.
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  Here it's 500 % plus. If this bylaw stands, I
• 9:25
  think it would set a problematic precedent. If
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  919 people in one ward versus over 5 ,000 people
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  in other wards is okay, when does the disparity
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  ever become not okay? And has spoke about different
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  views towards each option. In my view, those
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  supportive of this motion are okay with mixing
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  rural mainlanders and urban mainlanders in one
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  ward. but are not okay with mixing islanders
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  and mainlanders in one ward. Why? I'm not sure.
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  My view is that those supportive of this option
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  erred in their focus on this community versus
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  that community, where instead the main focus
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  in my view should have been on each person in
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  Loyalist and each person's charter right to relative
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  equality of voting power and effective representation.
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  While reviewing options, staff noted they were
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  looking to evaluate the current electoral arrangements,
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  including how council representatives are elected,
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  existing ward boundaries, and overall council
• 10:23
  composition. Staff's original report noted a
• 10:26
  key objective was to support anticipated growth
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  over the next three municipal election cycles.
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  More information and an interactive map are available
• 10:34
  on the Township's website. For Amherst Island
• 10:37
  Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm
• 10:40
  Ted Evans. This is North Shore News. Loyalist
• 10:52
  Township is proclaiming June as Stroke Endophagia
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  Awareness Month. The Greater Kingston Victorian
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  Order of Nurses approached Township Council with
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  a proclamation request. The organization offers
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  community support programs for seniors and persons
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  with disabilities. Their stroke services programs
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  offer free non -medical support to individuals
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  and families affected by stroke endophagia. There
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  are monthly groups held in Sydenham, Kingston,
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  and Napanee. Social worker and coordinator of
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  stroke services with the Greater Kingston Victorian
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  Order of Nurses, Amelia Leslie, notes the importance
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  of awareness, highlighting statistics in Canada.
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  We have over 108 ,000 new strokes in Canada annually,
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  with over 800 ,000 Canadians living with the
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  effects of stroke, and stroke does happen every
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  five minutes in Canada. The organization encourages
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  community members to recognize the warning signs
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  of a stroke and to immediately call 911. They're
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  also encouraging people to learn about aphasia
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  and how to promote accessible communication.
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  Lesley explains the medical conditions. Stroke
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  being a neurological condition affecting the
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  disruption of blood flow in the brain and because
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  the brains are a control center of everything,
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  anything can be affected. When we talk about
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  aphasia, it's a language, a communication disorder
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  affecting our ability to read or write or produce
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  speech or understand speech, but not affecting
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  our intelligence. Leslie mentions the need for
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  communication accessibility and the awareness
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  of it as well. We're often teaching the community
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  about what's called accessible communication
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  strategies. We think about accessibility as far
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  as physical space, maybe having a ramp or an
• 12:32
  automatic door button, but we are also teaching
• 12:36
  folks about the communication accessibility.
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  Leslie notes the importance of Stroke and Aphasia
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  Awareness Month in all communities. We work all
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  year to raise awareness about these neurological
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  conditions. And June is Stroke and Aphasia Awareness
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  Month in Canada. So we're especially inviting
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  our communities to learn. what stroke and aphasia
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  are and how to help. For Amherst Island Radio
• 13:01
  and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted
• 13:03
  Evans. This is North Shore News. Loyalist Township
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  Council recognized the work of volunteers who
• 13:18
  ran local outdoor rinks this winter. Nine individuals
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  were given certificates for their efforts in
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  setting up and maintaining the rinks. Under the
• 13:26
  township's community outdoor rinks program, three
• 13:28
  rinks operated for a total of 53 days this past
• 13:31
  season. There was the rink at Skater Park in
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  Odessa, a rink in front of Bath Public School,
• 13:36
  and a rink in Amherst View. Mayor Jim Hagedorn
• 13:39
  noted the weather conditions and the work of
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  volunteers. This was our second year with the
• 13:44
  community outdoor rink program and our first
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  year with weather that cooperated to allow for
• 13:49
  three skatable outdoor rinks in our community.
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  Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our
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  volunteers, the rinks were open for an incredible
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  53 days and were enjoyed frequently. That means
• 14:02
  53 days of hard work for everybody that volunteered.
• 14:06
  That's pretty amazing. Hagedorn spoke about the
• 14:08
  local impact of the rinks. These teams of dedicated
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  volunteers built and maintained ice daily, giving
• 14:15
  residents of all ages a safe and fun place to
• 14:19
  skate, play hockey, and enjoy the outdoors. Their
• 14:22
  efforts created more than just rinks. They built
• 14:25
  spaces for connection, activity, and community
• 14:28
  spirit during the coldest months of the year.
• 14:31
  Hagedorn thanked the volunteers directly. I'd
• 14:34
  like to extend our sincere thanks to the volunteers
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  behind the past winter's community outdoor rink
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  season. On behalf of Council, Thank you for your
• 14:43
  time and commitment. Thank you again for making
• 14:46
  this winter one to remember. For Amherst Island
• 14:49
  Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm
• 14:52
  Ted Evans. This is North Shore News. A new water
• 15:04
  pollution control plant upgrade and replacement
• 15:06
  project in Napanee is underway. Greater Napanee
• 15:09
  Council approved a contract with Peak Construction
• 15:11
  for nearly $75 .5 million. The overall project
• 15:15
  cost is nearly $88 million, with $34 .8 million
• 15:19
  in funding coming from the province and another
• 15:21
  $14 million from the federal government. Between
• 15:24
  that funding and the town's reserves, it leaves
• 15:26
  $25 million to be funded through loans. Staff
• 15:29
  noted a total of $5 .5 million in contingencies,
• 15:32
  with $4 million of it built into tender pricing
• 15:35
  as an allowance for tariffs. Mayor Terry Richardson
• 15:38
  spoke about the scale of the project. I know
• 15:40
  folks out there are going to say, I was $25 million
• 15:42
  affordable, but an affordable way of getting
• 15:45
  this municipality into the future. I've said
• 15:47
  it many times that this is the largest purchase,
• 15:50
  largest investment we've made in this municipality
• 15:52
  in 170 years. And there are a lot of other municipalities
• 15:55
  I think would be... wishing they were in the
• 15:59
  position that we are right now. Yes, $25 million
• 16:05
  is a lot of money to take a loan out on, but
• 16:08
  it is our future. We couldn't do it without the
• 16:11
  help of our partners, of our federal partners
• 16:14
  and maybe more importantly, our provincial partners
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  who I couldn't imagine having this conversation
• 16:19
  if we didn't have the funding that we received
• 16:21
  to get us where we need to because if $25 million
• 16:25
  scares you. 60 million should scare the jump
• 16:28
  ins idea. General manager of growth and infrastructure
• 16:30
  and chief building official Michael Noebs explained
• 16:33
  why the project is needed. We need this for the
• 16:36
  anticipated growth of the community. So we're
• 16:38
  anticipating a significant amount of both residential,
• 16:41
  commercial and industrial growth within the urban
• 16:43
  settlement area, as well as modest growth within
• 16:46
  the rural area. So we're anticipating additional.
• 16:50
  rural growth that would have the need for sewage
• 16:53
  disposal through septic tank disposal. So that
• 16:56
  is being planned for in the design and throughout
• 16:59
  the construction of the project. Richardson noted
• 17:02
  how important the future of the town is, referencing
• 17:04
  all the work done in the past. There can't be
• 17:07
  a Band -Aid left in this country because they
• 17:08
  put them all on this wastewater treatment plant
• 17:10
  to get us to where we are today. And there just
• 17:13
  isn't any left. It's worn out. It needs to be
• 17:15
  replaced. And again, it is our future. This is
• 17:19
  the future of our municipality right here. And
• 17:21
  I know it sounds really kind of strange and weird
• 17:24
  that we should be excited about a wastewater
• 17:26
  treatment plant, but we really should because
• 17:28
  it's going to give us the future that we deserve
• 17:31
  in this municipality. Noebs detailed the timeline
• 17:34
  for completion. Through 2027 we would see the
• 17:38
  project continue and midway through 2027 or towards
• 17:42
  the end of 2027 is when the commissioning of
• 17:45
  the plant would be undertaken and through 2027,
• 17:49
  2028 and onward bringing the new facility up
• 17:53
  to full operation is the anticipated timeline.
• 17:57
  NOBES spoke about the overall goals of the project
• 17:59
  and the expected location. replace aging infrastructure
• 18:02
  with new enhanced treatment to dramatically reduce
• 18:05
  partially treated wastewater during bypass events
• 18:08
  as a result of heavy flows entering the plant
• 18:11
  and to provide further growth opportunities for
• 18:13
  the community through new development. The new
• 18:16
  plant would be located immediately west of the
• 18:18
  existing site and consists of new headworks,
• 18:22
  new activated granular sludge tanks, Tertiary
• 18:25
  treatment, UV dis and control building. Ul looking
• 18:30
  to increase the h of the plant, eliminate b peak
• 18:34
  wet weather events the Bay of Quinny remedia
• 18:39
  to provide for a better plan. Staff will also
• 18:43
  be w processes to simplify oper The report noted
• 18:51
  the existing plant location will become available
• 18:53
  for future expansion projects when required.
• 18:56
  Noebs detailed the type of growth the new plant
• 18:58
  could support. This new plant would provide for
• 19:01
  the capacity up to an anticipated, an approximate
• 19:04
  4 ,000 new homes in addition to a mix of commercial
• 19:09
  and industrial growth. And as we see this new
• 19:12
  development proceed, the assessment growth of
• 19:15
  the municipality will ultimately grow, which
• 19:18
  helps to provide additional operating and capital
• 19:20
  revenues for the municipality for future planning.
• 19:23
  We have nearly 1 ,600 dwelling units approved
• 19:25
  that are either in the construction stage or
• 19:28
  are considered shovel ready so draft plan approved,
• 19:32
  site plan approved, final plan of subdivision
• 19:34
  approved and these units were highlighted in
• 19:37
  our funding application to the province which
• 19:41
  helped get us the amount of funding that we ultimately
• 19:43
  did from the province. Of the 1600 units that
• 19:46
  are approved per se we would be looking at 16
• 19:50
  years of build -out for those. Only pre -qualified
• 19:53
  general contractors were able to view the tender
• 19:55
  and submit a bid. For a compliant submission,
• 19:58
  the report stated all pre -qualified general
• 20:00
  contractors had to partner with pre -qualified
• 20:02
  electrical and mechanical contractors. Director
• 20:05
  of Environmental Services, Kristy Kelly, explained
• 20:07
  the bids they received and noted who peak construction
• 20:10
  will be working with. Four out of five of the
• 20:14
  GC's submitted bits and all four were compliant.
• 20:17
  In addition to the general contractor work, Peak
• 20:20
  will utilize internal resources for the mechanical
• 20:23
  work and will be working with Sheridan Electric
• 20:25
  as their electrical contractor. Kelly spoke about
• 20:28
  contingencies built in and noted U .S. tariffs
• 20:31
  as a main cause. There's $4 million here that
• 20:34
  is set aside for tariffs. We all know... There's
• 20:37
  some uncertainties with the way things are right
• 20:40
  now. And a lot of that pre -selected equipment
• 20:42
  is being purchased from the United States. So
• 20:45
  we've allowed that contingency allowance in there
• 20:47
  for such a thing. Nobs explains staff's intentions
• 20:50
  with the contingencies. The intent is not to
• 20:53
  use these contingencies at all. But we did want
• 20:56
  to set out a plan for Council's awareness and
• 21:02
  for the community that really was as conservative
• 21:05
  as possible to take into account potential unknowns
• 21:08
  at this point. Kelly explains why they couldn't
• 21:11
  choose Canadian options or options from other
• 21:13
  countries besides the United States. The pre
• 21:16
  -selected equipment including the AGS tanks specifically
• 21:19
  and or the activated granular sludge process
• 21:23
  is a United States -based process. So that was
• 21:29
  purchased, again, before the talks of these tariffs.
• 21:32
  We had to pre -select these pieces of equipment.
• 21:36
  We certainly are working to do our best to ensure
• 21:39
  that, as I'm sure much of our country is, to
• 21:43
  purchase locally as much as possible. But a lot
• 21:46
  of these items were unfortunately only available
• 21:48
  from the United States. lifetime for the new
• 21:52
  plant, touching on upgrades in the distant future
• 21:54
  and mentioning the history of the current plant
• 21:56
  as well. The existing plant, it was built in
• 21:59
  1953. It's still in operation today. The actual
• 22:02
  use of it, 50 plus years is anticipated. Routine
• 22:06
  maintenance will always be required, but we would
• 22:08
  be talking a 50 plus year design of the building.
• 22:13
  When the capacity of the plant is reached per
• 22:17
  se, ultimately would depend on the rate at which
• 22:21
  the municipality builds out over time. So it
• 22:25
  would ultimately depend on how quickly the building
• 22:29
  permits are being pulled and homes are ultimately
• 22:31
  being built. If it's worth looking back over
• 22:36
  the last few years, we're looking at in the range
• 22:39
  of a hundred -ish units per year ballpark. It
• 22:46
  is very straightforward to add additional cells.
• 22:49
  Adding additional cells onto the site is not
• 22:52
  going to be a challenge. It would be a matter
• 22:55
  of doing additions to the existing footprint.
• 22:58
  So it's not like we would be looking at all a
• 23:01
  brand new $80 million project. Again, in the
• 23:04
  future, it would be a much more modest amount
• 23:06
  to add additional capacity, more or less additions
• 23:09
  onto those portions of the structure as a lot
• 23:12
  of the headworks, and other buildings on th to
• 23:18
  function with these ad Nobs speaks about the
• 23:23
  $ they received from the p and explains the $14
• 23:27
  mi 2020 from the federal go through the Canada
• 23:31
  infrastr communities infrastructure successful
• 23:38
  with working getting our name pulled up the list
• 23:45
  to get that funding. And last year, we were successful
• 23:48
  in receiving provincial funding just under $35
• 23:52
  million. And with that, it is certainly making
• 23:57
  the project feasible. Without these contributions,
• 24:00
  we would not be in a financial state to be able
• 24:03
  to undertake this significant infrastructure
• 24:05
  project fully on our own. Knobs highlighted staff's
• 24:09
  appearances at Roma conferences as a reason they
• 24:11
  received the funding. I recall being with council
• 24:14
  at Roma delegations and discussions with ministers
• 24:17
  prior to submitting those applications and I
• 24:20
  think those really helped to bring our application
• 24:23
  up in the queue in the eyes of the province and
• 24:26
  I think it really helped get us to this point
• 24:29
  and have a good outcome with those funding applications.
• 24:32
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism
• 24:35
  Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore
• 24:38
  News. Napanee's Arts Advisory Committee is taking
• 24:49
  over Music by the River, a live music series
• 24:52
  in Napanee. The committee noted they'll be scaling
• 24:54
  back to just two performances throughout 2025.
• 24:58
  Councilor and member of the Arts Advisory Committee,
• 25:00
  Bob Norrie, explained the role the committee
• 25:01
  is taking in running the event. He noted that
• 25:04
  through other venues that wouldn't affect their
• 25:06
  budget, there would be more than two performances.
• 25:08
  We scaled it right back, or the thinking of it,
• 25:10
  to just twice. Once in July, once in August.
• 25:13
  Two entertainers each time. I've spoken to the
• 25:16
  sound person, he's charging the same as last
• 25:18
  year, he's been very fair, and we're looking
• 25:19
  for local talent. So we've scaled it back to
• 25:22
  just what we think is good and we're working
• 25:24
  closely with Michelle Hauser for other venues.
• 25:27
  So there will be music done there more than just
• 25:28
  twice, but that's what the group has come to.
• 25:30
  The committee has partnered with a company called
• 25:32
  Harmony to look after sponsorship for the event.
• 25:35
  Norrie noted the company is responsible for lining
• 25:37
  up the sponsorships while the committee pays
• 25:39
  the artists. Norrie mentioned the committee's
• 25:41
  small budget and a study they did last year to
• 25:43
  monitor attendance. We just have a small budget
• 25:46
  with a limited budget for advertising as well.
• 25:49
  We did a study of how many people came last year.
• 25:52
  Appreciate those that come and the amount of
• 25:54
  people it takes to set up and you need some of
• 25:56
  us there. So we just decided we're going to try
• 25:58
  it twice this year and then piggyback with what
• 26:01
  happens with Harmony. CAO Matthew Grant explained
• 26:04
  how the committee's budget works. As part of
• 26:06
  this effort, they're looking to expend a portion
• 26:09
  of their budget as yet undisclosed towards that
• 26:12
  effort. They do have $5 ,000 that has been budgeted
• 26:15
  through the town's municipal budget process.
• 26:18
  Should there be a desire for any further support
• 26:22
  from the town that would come in the form of
• 26:24
  a recommendation from the community to council
• 26:26
  for approval such as staff time or other resources.
• 26:36
  and sit and listen to the music. I just think
• 26:38
  that anytime that we can promote anything around
• 26:42
  our river, that natural beauty we have in this
• 26:44
  town, we have to utilize that much more than
• 26:46
  what we are and I think we're on the right way.
• 26:48
  Come on in by boat, tie up and listen to it and
• 26:51
  it's just great. So anytime that I can help promote
• 26:54
  that, I'm all for it. Councillor Mike Schenck
• 26:56
  was hopeful the event would be able to expand
• 26:58
  again in the future, noting public input. I fully
• 27:01
  support what Bob and the Arts Committee, our
• 27:04
  advisory committee is doing. I live so close,
• 27:06
  right on the water along Highway 33 in Loyalist.
• 27:10
  They have a bath every weekend, and it's very
• 27:14
  well attended there. So if it's very well attended
• 27:17
  here and it's a takeoff here, we can increase
• 27:19
  those dates. You know what I mean? Because I've
• 27:21
  had some phone calls where they're saying, Jones,
• 27:23
  you know, why is there only two? Why can't there
• 27:25
  be five? Well, the committee is the one. I'm
• 27:28
  not part of that committee. I let the committee
• 27:29
  go through its process. process and go from there.
• 27:32
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism
• 27:34
  Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore
• 27:38
  News. This has been North Shore News and Interviews.
• 27:43
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• 27:46
  stories for the show, consider joining our 100
• 27:50
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• 27:54
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