Even virtual council meetings can be deterred by inclement weather.
Tuesday night’s meeting of Prince Edward County council was cut short as a vicious storm swept through the Bay of Quinte.
Multiple councillors experienced power outages, including a brief outage at Shire Hall, as well as loss of internet connection to the meeting being held via Zoom and streamed live on Youtube.
After Mayor Steve Ferguson fell out of the meeting due to losing his connection it was decided that council would recess the meeting and pick it back up Thursday after Committee of the Whole.
To that point, council had already voted on a number of items on the agenda but since the meeting isn’t technically concluded, the items are not technically enacted yet.
Council voted on and approved a staff report that will see the tender awarded for the first phase of restoration on the Crystal Palace building in Picton.
Council awarded the tender for the restoration to K. Knudsen Construction Ltd. totalling $123,123.00 plus HST.
The first of four phases involves restoring the cupola, the footings and the supports. There was only one other tender for the project, Phoenix Restoration, who quoted at $282,248.01
The approximate estimated cost for all the phases of the restoration is $700,000
Next council approved the sale of a municipally owned lot on Disraeli Street to the Prince Edward County Affordable Housing Corporation for $2 to be developed into affordable housing for Indigenous youth.
The lot, which used to house the water works division of the former Picton Public Utilities Commission, will be declared surplus and sold to the housing corporation.
Council further approved that the Chief Administrative Officer, Marcia Wallace, will draft a letter on behalf of council to be signed by Mayor Ferguson in support of the land being used for affordable housing for Indigenous youth to support grant funding applications.
Further, council approved a transfer of $100,000 to the PECAHC from the affordable housing 2021 budget allocation to assist with carrying, site preparation and any potential grant application costs.
The big item on the night’s agenda was a staff report regarding suggested amendments to the current parking by-law which was approved in April.
The suggested amendments proposed Tuesday were to “reflect lessons learned” since the by-law was passed.
Council approved the following changes:
- Schedule E of the Parking By–law be amended to include Water Street southerly, from West Street to Narrow Street, all times
- Schedule E of the Parking By–law be amended to include the two–hour parking zone on Niles Street in Wellington, but restricting parking on the north side of this road
- Schedule G of the Parking By–law be amended to add no parking restrictions in the immediate vicinity of all municipal boat launches
- Schedule H of the Parking By–law be amended to lift the seasonal no–parking area at the easterly end of the turning circle at County Road 20 (Huycks Bay Road)
- Schedule H of the Parking By-law be amended to include a new restriction be implemented on the south side of Bakker road from the end of the roadway to a point 100 metres easterly
One matter that was discussed and changed before approval was concerning the parking provision for County Road 27.
The original suggested amendment read:
“THAT the parking provision for County Road 27 of Schedule H of the Parking By–law be amended from “All times” to “Provincial Park Seasonal Opening and Closing“
Coun. Ernie Margetson suggested that they change the language so that there would be no parking allowed on County Road 27 at North Beach Provincial Park from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. so as to allow residents to park in the area during off-peak hours.
The amendment means that during North Beach Provincial Park’s season, June to September, residents would be able to park on County Road 27 after 8 p.m.
Margetson’s amended item was carried.
The suggested amendments concerning parking at Lake on the Mountain were struck from the list as Mayor Ferguson motioned to reopen the conversation on the matter. In order to discuss it before one year had elapsed from the meeting in April when it was approved, one year would have had to pass or a vote with two-thirds majority in favour would have to pass.
In a recorded vote, the motion to review the by-law section concerning Lake on the Mountain failed and was taken off the list for the original staff recommendation.
A deputation was made to council by Jenn Donville and Molly McCrea. Donville and McCrea both live in the county and created a Facebook group with over 450 members that is dedicated to letting council know about their concerns regarding the new parking by-law.
They claim that many people feel the strict new by-law is restricting residents’ ability to get to water access points without having to walk very far or risking getting a hefty ticket.
Council was in the middle of discussions surrounding the no parking zone on Stinson Block Road.
Staff suggested an amendment that would see the no parking zone on the north side of the lane to the lake citing the narrow road and a property owner’s driveway getting blocked by cars parking in front of it.
At that point the storm sweeping through the county cut the connections of multiple members of council.
The meeting was recessed, meaning the decisions are not yet official, until after Thursday’s Committee of the Whole meeting.
