General Committee Post-Meeting Highlights – September 25, 2024

This month, General Committee heard various issues including Bear Safety, Fire Department Capital Equipment Purchase, as well as administrative By-law revisions and standard financial and other Updates.

Here’s what happened:

• General Committee will hear an invited presentation from the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) regarding Bear Safety due to the number of recent black bear sightings in the Huntsville area.
  • Reports of bear sightings in the Huntsville area are believed to be higher this year due to lower availability of natural food sources for bears in the wild, which is leading them to forage in more populated areas. For more information on how to prevent and report bear encounters, please visit the province’s Bear Wise webpage.
  • We encourage all residents and business owners to take the time to learn how to prevent bear encounters, mitigate attractants such as garbage and fruit trees, keep dogs safe during bear season, and other important Bear Wise safety information by watching the ~25 minute presentation from MNR at the beginning of today’s Committee meeting by going to the recording on the Town’s YouTube channel.
• General Committee will hear a report from the Fire Department: Station 5 Association Capital Equipment Purchase. Fire administration staff are requesting council approval to accept a donation from the Port Sydney Fire Fighters Association of capital equipment for their station, including a Thermal Imaging Camera (TIC) and Two (2) portable light stands for scene lighting, with the items be placed in the Fire Department’s Capital Plan with an additional $930 added to Fire Capital funding in the draft 2025 Budget.
  • OUTCOME: Committee voted to accept the donation of capital equipment from the Port Sydney Fire Fighters Association, with the items be placed in the Fire Department’s Capital Plan with an additional $930 added to Fire Capital funding in the draft 2025 Budget.
• Administrative updates to several by-laws will be considered, including the Fees and Charges By-law and Special Event By-law.
  • OUTCOME: Committee voted to approve administrative updates to several by-laws, including the Fees and Charges By-law and Special Event By-law. Please see the recording for more detail (link below).
• Various standard financial or other updates will be made, including Capital Project Update, Lakeland Holding Limited Shareholder Update, and the status of Council Directives.

Want to dig deeper? Watch the full General Committee discussion through the livestream.