Regular Council Highlights - March 19, 2024

Kawartha Lakes – The following are highlights from the Regular Council Meeting on March 19, 2024.

The meeting can be viewed in full on our YouTube Channel.

Special Council Minutes from February 15, 2024 and Regular Council Minutes from February 20, 2024 were received and adopted.

Communications Strategy 2024 to 2027

Cheri Davidson, Manager, Communications, Advertising and Marketing, presented Council with the draft Corporate Communications Strategy 2024 to 2027. The strategy included five goals that the municipality will accomplish by 2027:

1. Create authentic connections
2. Deliver inclusive and convenient communications
3. Build process and standards that add value
4. Elevate engagement
5. Cultivate brand identity and voice

The draft Corporate Communications Strategy was put together with the forecasted growth and development of Kawartha Lakes in mind.

View the Corporate Communications Strategy 2024 to 2027 council report.

Committee of the Whole – March 5, 2024

All recommendations from Committee of the Whole were adopted as printed in the minutes save and except for Items 9.3.2, 9.3.8, 9.3.11, 9.3.18, 9.3.33, 9.3.34, 9.3.35, and 9.3.39:

Item 9.3.2 - Update to Roads Five Year Plan:
A motion was brought forward to establish a task force consisting of four Council members to work with staff to review and make recommendations on the municipality’s road programs and Council processes moving forward by the end of September 2024. The motion was carried.

Item 9.3.8 - Littering at Public Water Access on Frank Hill Road:

A motion was brought forward that staff provide litter waste signage, waste receptacles, weekly waste pick-up and enhanced seasonal communications for the public water access on Frank Hill Road in the township of Emily. The motion was carried.

Item 9.3.11 - Deputation regarding High-Water Bill:

A motion was brought forward to have staff investigate the high-water bill brought forward in a deputation at the March 5 Committee of the Whole Meeting. Staff were instructed to provide further information to Council at the next meeting. The motion was carried.

Item 9.3.18 - Encroachment Adjacent to 106 Bond Street West, Fenelon Falls:

A motion was brought forward to continue to have an open dialogue with the resident looking to purchase the land and allow him to have more time to complete surveys and discussions with the municipality with staff returning with the results by June 2024. The motion was carried.

Item 9.3.33 - Proposed Organic Diversion Program:

A motion to amend the recommendation in the Proposed Organic Diversion Program report was carried. The new motion was that the report be received, that staff review, evaluate and report to Council on the effectiveness of the program and provide recommendations for future program rollout and improvements, and that the recommendations be brought forward to Council for consideration at the next Regular Council meeting.

Going forward, staff were instructed to tender an RFP for a Source Separated Organics (SSO) program for the urban areas in Kawartha Lakes. The RFP will request a quote for the program rolling out to Lindsay in January 2025, and it will include provisional items for quotes to determine the feasibility of rolling the program out in Bobcaygeon, Fenelon Falls and Omemee at the same time. Once the quotes are received and total cost is determined, Council will decide whether they want to roll the program out to Lindsay first and then the other three urban areas (Bobcaygeon, Fenelon Falls, and Omemee), or if they want to launch the program in all four urban areas at the same time.

Item 9.3.34 - ATV Pilot Program Summary:

Staff were directed to amend By-law 2019-077 to include the road routes from the Pilot Program identified in Appendix B resulting from By-law 2022-032 on a permanent basis, was brought forward and it passed. The ATV Pilot Program is now permanent.

For more details, view the ATV Pilot Program Summary report.

Item 9.3.35 - Drainage near 149 Fenelon Drive:

A motion was brought forward to direct staff to report on the requirements for an additional drain at the walkway on Cameron Drive in Southview Estates and report back to Council by June 2024. The motion was carried.

For more details, view the Drainage near 149 Fenelon Drive report.

Item 9.3.39 - 40km/h Sign for Princes’ Street West in Fenelon Falls:

A motion was brought forward to replace the sign and the motion was carried.

Planning Advisory Committee – March 6, 2024

All recommendations from the Planning Advisory Committee were adopted as printed in the minutes.

Note that the Fenelon Trails development application discussed in the March 6 Planning Advisory Committee meeting will be sent back to staff until review of the technical studies is completed. This proposed development is southwest of where Highway 121 and Highway 8 intersect in Fenelon Falls and consists of 894 residential units.

Kawartha Lakes 2024 to 2027 Strategic Plan Public Consultation

Additional public engagement was carried out for the Kawartha Lakes 2024 to 2027 Strategic Plan. This included 202 new survey responses and a Special Council Meeting where 18 people made deputations and correspondence was received. At today’s Regular Council Meeting, the Strategic Plan was unanimously approved. Read the full story here.

View the Kawartha Lakes 2024 to 2027 Strategic Plan Public Consultation council report.

Feral Cat Trap Neuter Return Manage Pilot Project and Kennel Services Update

Staff provided Council with an update on the Feral Cat Trap, Neuter, Return Pilot Project and the municipality’s Kennel Services contract with the Humane Society of Kawartha Lakes (HSKL). As of December 31, 2023, the municipality’s Kennel Services agreement with the HSKL has expired. The contract was temporarily extended until end of March 2024, while the municipality began to investigate the next steps. Due to the expiration of the Kennel Services contract with the HSKL, staff recommended that the Feral Cat Trap, Neuter, Return, Pilot Project be temporarily suspended until a new vendor is selected for Kennel Services in Kawartha Lakes. Staff also recommended that three Request For Proposal (RFP) processes for new Kennel Services contracts be established. The report was adopted as printed.

View the Feral Cat Trap Neuter Return Manage Pilot Project and Kennel Services council report.

Next Council meeting

Council will return in two weeks for a Committee of the Whole meeting on April 9, 2024 at 1pm.

Public attendance in Council Chambers is welcome. Regular and Committee of the Whole meetings will be broadcast live on the City’s YouTube Channel and on Cogeco cable television.

Please note that you can typically watch recordings of the City of Kawartha Lakes Regular Council Meetings on Cable Cable channel 26 and Rogers Ignite channel 548 at 1pm on the Sunday that follows the Tuesday meeting. Due to a scheduling conflict on Sunday, the recording will be shown on Monday March 25 at 1pm this week.

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