CITY OF COWANSVILLE COUNCIL MINUTES SUMMARY A summary of the minutes of a Regular Council Meeting of the City of Cowansville. Le présent document ne constitue qu'un résumé du procès-verbal officiel, rédigé en français. Se référer à celui-ci pour plus de détails. This document is a summary of the official Council minutes which are prepared in French. Please refer to those minutes for complete details. A meeting of Council was held on February 7, 2012. A quorum of Councillors made up of Councillors Lucille Robert, Sylvie Beauregard, Ghyslain Vallières, Michel Charbonneau, Guy Patenaude and Yvon Pepin was present under the chairmanship of Mayor Arthur Fauteux and in the presence of senior staff, Me Sandra Ruel, City Clerk, Josée Tassé, CGA, Treasurer, and Claude Lalonde, Eng., Director General. Councillor Sylvie Beauregard was absent. OPENING OF THE MEETING The Mayor declared that a quorum was present and opened the meeting. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA The agenda was amended by withdrawing the following items: - support for the City of Amqui s resolution relating to energy drink sales - amendment to By-law 1671 and by adding the following items: - signing of an agreement with Scene Davignon - amendment to the RCM s regulation with respect to off-road vehicles - request from the City of Dunham for water and sewer services for the future SQ station The agenda was then adopted. FIRST QUESTION PERIOD
A citizen stated having read in the Voix de l Est that the City intended to raise the covered bridge and was informed that this was not the case. ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES The minutes of the meetings of January 9, 10, and 15, 2012 were adopted. ACTING MAYOR APPOINTMENT Council approved the appointment of Councillor Lucille Robert as Acting Mayor for the period March 1, 2012 to June 30, 2012. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE Council made the following grants: - to the Massey-Vanier Scholarship Bursary Fund, the amount of $500.00 for a scholarship to be given to a student from Cowansville. - to the Fonds d excellence Massey-Vanier (Davignon) Inc, in the amount of $250.00 to be added the sum of $250.00 already given for a scholarship to be awarded to a student at the June 11, 2012 graduation ceremony. GASOLINE TAX PROGRAMME (TECQ) Council adopted a resolution required under the Quebec Gasoline Tax Programme (TECQ) whereby the City of Cowansville stated that it agreed to be bound by the terms of the programme, that it indemnified the Federal And Provincial governments from any claims made against them under the programme, that it approves the contents of the programme and that it will provide the competent authorities with all documentation required under the said programme and that it undertakes to achieve the minimum threshold of $28.00 per resident in infrastructure programmes as required by the said programme. EXPENDITURE APPROVALS Council approved the following expenditures: - in the amount of $75.00 for the purchase of tickets for Saint- Amand Blues. - in the amount of $200.00 for the purchase of tickets for the Bien Cuit Luc Harbec.
- in the amount of $250.00 for the purchase of tickets for the benefit dinner for the Fondation au Diapason. - in the amount of $30.00 to permit Councillor Robert to participate in a training session organized by the Réseau des Élues municipals de la Montérégie Est. - in the amount of 15 cents per resident as the City s contribution to the Red Cross. SUPPLEMENTARY BUDGET APPROVAL Council approved a supplementary budget for the Municipal Housing Office in the amount of $15,000.00 for the replacement of windows at the Caroline Street property. RESIGNATIONS FIRE DEPARTMENT Council accepted the resignations of Lieutenant Michel Guenette, and Firefighters François Millette and Carl Thériault as members of the Cowansville Fire Department. Council expressed its thanks for the service these men had rendered. BY-LAWS ADOPTIONS AND NOTICES OF MOTION Council adopted the following by-law: - By-law 1749 with respect to the opening of streets and municipal infrastructures. The following Notices of Motion were given: - By Councillor Robert who will present at a future date By-law 1745 to create a reserve fund for the construction or acquisition of a new library building. - By Councillor Vallières who will present at a future date By-law 1750 for the purchase of a vehicle for the Fire Department and for an expenditure and loan in the amount of $600,000.00. - By Councillor Robert who will present at a future date By-law 1751 to authorize capital expenditure in the amount of $2,400,000.00. - By the Mayor who will present at a future date By-law 1752 to authorize an expenditure of $2,250,000.00 for the refurbishing of the water treatment plant, the pumping stations and the water mains and for a loan in the same amount. GREEN HOUSE GAS EMISSIONS REDUCTION PLAN
Council approved a five year plan which had been presented to it in December 2011 to reduce greenhouse gasses. LAND ACQUISITIONS Council approved the purchase of portions of the following lots for the following purposes: - lot 3 356 026 for a green space - lot 3 710 365 for a street - lot 3 710 368 for a street, as shown on a plan prepared by the Director, Planning and Environment. EASEMENT STORM SEWER Council authorized the creation of an easement over lots 3 900 292, 3 900 317, 3 900 318 and 4 059 762 of the cadastre of Quebec, as shown on a plan prepared by Kevin Migué, land surveyor, which lots are owned by Jean René Marin and Louise Brien, and under which the storm sewers serving the adjoining properties shall run. PURCHASE OF LAND Council agreed to purchase lot 3 355 987 of the Cadastre of Quebec from Mr. Georges-Aimé Labrie for the sum of $1,500.00; this lot borders on the Jacques Bonnette Park. SIGNING AUTHORITY EXTENTION OF NENUPHAR STREET Council authorized the Mayor and the City Clerk to sign an agreement between the City and Construction Horizon Inc. covering the infrastructure work in section 2 of phase 3 of the extension of Nénuphar Street and setting out the level of financial participation of the City. ENCROACHMENT AT 126 RUE PRINCIPALE Council agreed to extend to the Bribal Inc. building, the occupant of 126 rue Principale, and to any future owner thereof, an authorization that will allow a portion of the existing front wall to encroach upon the street right-of-way in accordance with a plan prepared by Yves Guillemette, land surveyor, dated February 8, 2007. Any changes to the building will require a further authorization from the City.
ZONING VARIATIONS On the recommendation of the Consultative Committee on City Planning (CCU), Council approved the following Architectural Integration and Implementation Plans (PIIA): - at 187 rue Principale, to permit the installation of a sign. - at 413 rue du Sud, to permit the reconstruction of the façade and the rear of the building as is more particularly set out in the official minutes. - At 417 rue du Sud, to permit the reconstruction of the façade of the building. SUPPORT FOR THE RCM S APPLICATION TO THE CPTAQ Council agreed to support the request made by the RCM to the CPTAQ under article 59 of the Act to Protect Agricultural Lands to allow for the approval of the concept of de-zoned islands within areas zoned as agricultural where single family dwellings could be built. PURCHASE OF AN ICE SURFACING MACHINE Council approved the purchase of an ice surfacing machine at a cost of $142,348.82 from Groupe GEMEC Inc., the lowest conforming bidder. FINANCIAL AID REQUEST AFEAS Council made a grant of $375.00 to the AFEAS (l Association feminine d éducation et d action sociale) for this group s project La Voix des femmes influentes. FINANCIAL SUPPORT MASSEY VANIER WRITING PROJECT Council granted the sum of $350.00 to the Massey-Vanier High School to support the publication of its writing project. USE OF THE PLACE PHILIPPE FORTIN PARKING LOT Council authorized the Association des personnes handicappées physique de Cowansville to use the parking lot of Place Philippe Fortin on June 2, 2012 during the association s information day.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE Council made the following grants: - to the Groupe Place aux Jeunes Brome-Missisquoi in the amount of $500.00 to assist in the group s programme to encourage young people to settle in the area. - To Couleurs Urbaines de Cowansville in the amount of $1,200.00 to finance a portion of a project entitled Oeuvres sur macadam provided that the group receives the financial support of the Fonds Culturel. MADA (municipalités amies des ainés) PROJECT Council adopted a resolution amending resolution 088-03-201 to show Ms. Brigitte Messier new title. PURCHASE OF SOFTWARE Council approved the purchase of the public safety software from Première Ligne at a cost of $10,510.65. SIGNING AUTHORITY PROTOCOLE WITH SCENE DAVIGNON Council approved a grant in the amount of $45,000.00 to Sur la Scène Davignon for the year 2012 to support this group s theatre production activities. EXEMPTION REQUEST TO THE RCM Council resolved to maintain the existing prohibition against the use of 3 and 4 wheel off-road vehicles on certain trails in conformity with the RCM s regulations. REQUEST FROM THE CITY OF DUNHAM FOR SEWER AND WATER SERVICE. Council agreed in principle to provide sewer and water service to the new SQ station which is within the territory of the City of Dunham, subject to the negotiation of a satisfactory agreement, the details of which are set out in detail in the official minutes. The following documents were tabled: TABLING OF DOCUMENTS
- The list of disbursements and authorized payments for January 2012. - The minutes of the regular meeting of the RCM council of January 17, 2012. SECOND QUESTION PERIOD A citizen pointed out that Brook Street had been opened despite that fact that he was told that this would not happen. The Mayor pointed out that the claims filed as a result of the most recent flood were being handled expeditiously. The meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m.