Laura Vink to become next Deputy Mayor of Brighton
Brighton’s next deputy mayor says she’s excited to experience a new role on Alice Street, as she begins her one year term on December first.
Laura Vink will take over from Brian Ostrander, after being appointed to the position by council on Monday night.
Vink tells Quinte News she’ll still be be drawing on from what she’s learned in the past and while working in her civilian job, to help with the town’s spending plans.
Vink was the only councillor nominated to take on the role and says she’s very pleased to have the full support of her peers moving forward.
FOI request leads to release of organizational review report
Brighton Council has agreed to release most of the details from a recent consultant’s report, following a citizen’s freedom of information request.
The report, done last year, outlined some suggestions about how municipal staff should be structured and which positions should be responsible for what duties.
CAO Bill Watson says any information that would identify the staff members being evaluated won’t be let out to the public.
Watson adds that while he wasn’t working for the town at the time the report came out, he did take some ideas from it when putting together the current municipal organizational chart.
Anyone who wants to see the document can visit the town hall.
Service clubs will step-up for new sign, with some help
A pair of Brighton service clubs say they’ll pitch-in for a new electronic message board outside the local arena, if the town will help them get some provincial money for the project.
Allan Simpson spoke to councillors Monday night, asking for help in obtaining an Ontario Trillium Grant, to pay half the cost of a new LED sign outside the King Edward Park Community Centre, which would be easier to operate than the current one.
Simpsons says the current sign has to be changed manually, which is labour intensive and dangerous in the winter.
He says it would cost about $12,000 to put the sign in and train people how to use it and that the local Lions and Kinsmen clubs have agreed to share the other $6,000, not covered by the grant.
Staff will be bringing a recommendation back to council at an upcoming meeting.
Councillors updated on the year at Campbellford Memorial Hospital
Things appear to be going well over at Campbellford Memorial Hospital.
CMH Foundation Executive Director John Russell gave Brighton Councillors his annual update on Monday and says the small hospital saw a number of accomplishments in 2016 and would like to keep growing.
They include a number of expansions in echo cardio, cardiovascular and other programs, as well as a top rating on a staff experience survey during the summer.
Russell also says the foundation was able to provide more than $725,000 for new equipment and staff education in the past year and a bit, and that early plans are in the works to eventually build a new hospital nearby, since expanding would be more expensive.
He says the first phase of those plans should be submitted to government officials in the new year.
Little talk about live streaming
There was barely any discussion on the idea to live stream council meetings in Brighton on Monday night, but things are moving ahead.
Councillors quickly agreed to refer the matter to the 2017 budget deliberations and deal with it then.
A staff report, approved as information on Monday, says the equipment would likely include one wide-angle camera, due to the small size of the council chamber and could be installed at at a cost of less than $10,000.
If approved, Brighton would be falling in line with other Quinte-area towns like Belleville, Quinte West and Prince Edward County, who already live stream their meetings.
