Brighton’s Mayor was grilled about doctor recruitment on Monday.
After announcing at last week’s planning meeting, that the committee of the whole would be overseeing a new doctor recruitment program, a pair of residents quizzed him about his plans at the regular council meeting.
Both residents were wondering what happened to another doctor, who had committed to coming to the area in 2017.
Mayor Mark Walas says that’s still the plan, even though an exact date isn’t known.
Walas added that if that new doctor doesn’t fill the void being left, councillors will continue to work towards attracting another family physician and that’s why $100,000 was put aside for doctor recruitment last week.
Dog park group wants more communication
Members of BOLDRA, the group that operates Brighton’s off-leash dog park, say they aren’t thrilled with how the first two years of the partnership with the town has gone.
The park has been open for two years and is funded by proceeds from dog tags, sold jointly by BOLDRA members and at town hall.
But BOLDRA’s Kevin McClintock told Brighton Council on Monday there needs to be better record keeping and communication between the two sides, since they’ve never received any financial reports on tag sales.
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McClintock also says BOLDRA members, with the help of local businesses, have built a water tank, shelter and other improvements and are spending most of the money they raise on operating the park.
On Monday, council directed staff to review the current dog tag revenue-sharing agreement and look at changing the repayment terms of a loan, handed out by the municipality.
Lighting retrofit and road work contracts approved
A Brighton-based company has been selected to do extensive lighting work, in and around the town’s arena, community centre and ball diamond canteen.
At Monday’s meeting, Rowley Electric was awarded a contract to install LED bulbs around facilities at King Edward Park, with a total $75,260 price tag.
Rowley’s bid was in the middle of the pack, with the lowest coming from FES Canada at $48,000.
However, councillors decided to go with Rowley for a number of reasons, especially since the company is familiar with the majority of the fixtures that need to be replaced, some of which date back to the 1970s.
Also, a company from Trenton has been tapped to do some expensive infrastructure work in Brighton.
Council has given the OK to award Cooney Excavating two contracts, for some road work and drainage upgrades around the municipality.
The first contract, with a tendered price of about $292,000, is for various improvements on Good Fellow Road, Rush Road, Moran Drive, Cramahe Hill Road and base improvements on Old Wooler Road.
The second project, with a tender over $452,000, is for paving and drainage work on Craig Boulevard, Applewood Drive, Georgina Street, the Codrington Community Center and King Edward Park.
In both cases, Cooney was the lowest tender received.
Another request for tenders for work on more urban areas of Brighton will go out in the near future.
No trillium help may mean no upgrades to tennis court and skate park
Brighton won’t be getting any financial help with two local parks and recreation projects and that means they might not go ahead.
On Monday night, Director of Parks and Rec Jim Millar told council, Ontario Trillium Fund cash had been denied for renovations at the King Edward Park tennis courts and more ramps at the Brighton Skate Park.
The tennis court work was slated at more than $130,000 and the skateboard park at just over $35,000, with the completion of both projects relying heavily on that funding.
The OTF says there were “higher priority projects in need of funding, during this round of applications”.
Meetings will take place next week with tennis club officials, to see what could still be done with what money is currently available.
Brighton Digital Archives asking for expansion cash
Organizers of the Brighton Digital Archives say things have been going so well, they want to expand.
The website includes a collection of historical photos and other information on the municipality and organizers have asked Brighton Council for about $2,500 to expand digital storage capabilities and upgrade their web design software.
Archives organizers also say they’re looking at offering a photo digitizing and restoration service, which could become a means of revenue.
You can visit the Brighton Digital Archives site by clicking here.
March calls for service down for Brighton Fire Department
Calls for service at the Brighton Fire Department were down in March of this year, compared to last.
In his monthly report, Chief Lloyd Hutchinson says there were 36 calls for service last month, compared to 44 in March the previous year.
The majority of those calls were medical assists, with four of them being actual fires.
Hutchinson reported 16 calls came from the urban area, south of the railway tracks and that crews were never disrupted by trains.
Council asked to support Community Connections Expo
Brighton Council has been asked to support an upcoming community safety event.
The Northumberland County Community Connections Expo will take place at the Cobourg Community Centre on June 3rd and 4th, educating residents about what services are available to them and also identifying gaps in those services.
Northumberland OPP Inspector Lisa Darling asked Brighton Councillors on Monday night, to consider contributing $1,000 to help provide free transportation to the event, for people county-wide and also to advertise it on the municipal website.
Darling says they’ll be asking other councils in Northumberland to contribute the same amount.
Council decided to refer the request to staff and will make a decision at its next meeting.