August 2024 Municipal Update - Victoria-by-the-Sea
JuHappy 2024!
In this edition:
1 - From the Mayor’s Desk
2 - Victoria Park
3 - A New Fees and Water and Sewer Bylaw
4 - Active Transportation
5 - Engine Brakes
6 - Strategic Plan
7 - Rotation on Council Committees
1 - From the Mayor’s Desk
As I write this month’s message, we are in the middle of another PEI heat wave. I hope everyone is able to keep cool at home or can find a way to one of our wonderful beaches.
The role of your municipal government has been in the limelight lately with the process we have been going through to consider the development application by Amar Seafood. The application requests the Municipality to rezone part of the property they purchased across the road from their current facility and to construct another building on the rezoned property for expansion of their operations. The process that the municipality must follow is determined by the provincial Planning Act and our own Planning Board Bylaw and Zoning and Subdivision Control Bylaw. This process was presented by our CAO at the public meeting on June 4th and is available to residents who want to know more about the process. The process requires separate consideration by the Planning Board and the council of the requests for the rezoning of the land and the request for the development of a building to grow fish. Through the able guidance of our CAO and Development Officer, the Municipality is doing everything possible to adhere to this statutory process.
At the recent council meeting on July 8th, the Planning Board tabled its report on its consideration of the application. The report recommended to the Council that it approves the rezoning of 12.75 acres of the property (15 acres was requested) and to proceed with the issuance of a development permit for the construction of the building with a number of conditions. The conditions for the issuance of a building permit included the completion of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) that would cover a number of matters and concerns raised by residents, Planning Board members and our Development Officer. After considering the report from the Planning Board, the Council voted to approve the rezoning of 12.75 usable acres of the approximate 50 acre property and to issue the conditional development permit.
In carrying out this work and following the statutory process, I am reminded of the democratic fundamentals that we operate under. The Council is elected by the members of the community to make decisions that they believe will be in the best interest of their community. In the laws that we are required to follow, there are times when we are to engage the public to obtain input. However, it is the Council that ultimately makes decisions on behalf of its residents. I am saying this, although it may appear to be obvious, because of the number of conversations I have had with residents and even suggestions by some council members that significant decisions such as the application from Amar Seafood be subject to a community referendum. This is not how our municipal government is designed to work. Therefore, it is critical for the Council to adhere to the democratic principles underlying our decision-making practices and I will do everything possible to ensure this happens.
Members of the public who engage council members and staff, both in public and in private meetings are reminded to do so respectfully. This includes the members of our council who are obligated to follow our bylaws and rules of conduct. Those rules of conduct are designed to ensure the well-functioning of our democratic process and when they are not followed, there are other rules in place to deal with the matter. When our Council does not follow the rules in place, there is a reputational risk for our Municipality and potentially, a financial risk that we can ill afford with our limited resources. Our proceedings are reported on by the media who have, in the past, brought these situations to light. There are other negative impacts of not following our democratic principles including the added challenges of attracting community members to participate on the council and committees and the greater challenges for attracting new businesses and residents to come to our community. Therefore, I want to remind everyone of the importance of our democratic processes and the need to respect them at all times.
Just before the Canada Day weekend, the municipality had to deal with a problem with the operations of the newly installed sewage lift station on the wharf. Once notified of the problem, our municipal staff took immediate action to mitigate any potential environmental issues by engaging the water and sewer operator and sub-contractors as required. Water testing of the seawater was subsequently conducted by the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action and one of the samples indicated a high content of Enterococci, a measurement of fecal contamination in marine water. It is still unclear what caused the contaminated water sample. Unfortunately, the information about the water sample and the subsequent public notification by the Department of Health & Wellness was disseminate without consulting our municipal staff due to the timing on a Friday afternoon. This included the requirement for signs to be posted on the beach. While volunteers put up some temporary signs, the Department of Health and Wellness staff put up formal signs the following day. Within a few days, resampling occurred and the risks were identified as no longer existing. In order to ensure that the Municipality has proper processes in place going forward and a good understanding of our responsibilities under the provincial laws, the CAO and I met with Dr. Heather Morrison and her staff on July 11th. As a result of that meeting, the Municipality should be much better prepared for situations like this in the future.
The Water and Sewer Corporation Board met on July 15th. At the meeting, the Board received updates from the CAO on the major capital projects and discussed the issues related to the operational problems with the wharf lift station shortly after it became operational in June. Once the nature and scope of the problems were understood, the Board provided direction to the CAO for follow-up action with the contractors. The Board also heard that the pumping station generators should be installed and operational at the end of the month and that future power outages will not result in a loss of water. The generators will also power up the Old School house and allow it to open as an Emergency Reception Centre in the event an emergency is declared.
Due to the small size of the operations, the Water and Sewer Corporation Board discussed the risks associated with providing safe and reliable services to the residents and agreed to develop a formal plan for the operations that would better manage the risks associated with such an important community service. The work will be incorporated into the council’s fall strategic planning exercise. The Board discussed the increase in the unpaid accounts and, based on advice from the CAO, the Board agreed that practices outlined in the IRAC guidance be followed and that there should be more aggressive measures taken to collect the amounts due. It was decided that the Board would meet more regularly in the future (at least quarterly) and that those dates be posted on our website.
The Council will meet on July 23rd to deliberate on the bylaw amending our official plan and development bylaw related to the Amar Seafood application. At our July 8th council meeting, it was decided to not hold a regular meeting of the council in August. Should residents have comments or concerns about municipal services, please contact Yves Dallaire at our municipal office. Also please feel free to contact me or any one of the council members if you would like to talk about our municipal government and have suggestions for how we can improve on our services.
It remains an honor to be your mayor and have the privilege to serve this beautiful community on the south shore of PEI. Enjoy the rest of the summer with your family, friends and neighbors.
2 - Victoria Park
The Municipal Office has been advised that a team from the Provincial Government will be visiting Victoria Park in the coming days in order to assess the current state of the park’s building and land erosion. This is a first step towards what we hope to be a recognition by the Province of the necessity to revamp the park’s installations and to make it safer. At this time, the Municipality has no obligation towards this park as its lease is terminated since last year although the Municipality managed to seal the Victoria Park building that was considered unsafe.
3 - A New Fees and Water and Sewer Bylaw
Following a recommendation of the Municipal Office and the Water and Sewer Corporation, the Council has passed a resolution about a new Fees and Water and Sewer Tariffs Bylaw. The main purpose of this resolution is to collect more effectively the water and sewer taxes and to make sure the process is equitable for all. The new bylaw is also updated to take into consideration the IRAC’s rules and regulations.
Hopefully this bylaw will give new tools to the Municipality to collect more than 25,000$ of past due receivables, a sum the Municipality needs to proceed with new projects. The new bylaw will also include a way to assess the interior layout of businesses and Tourist rental spaces to better evaluate the W&S tax to be charged.
4 - Active Transportation
A project called “Pedestrian & Cycling Safety and Connection for the Iconic Victoria Core” earlier submitted to the Environment, Energy and Climate Action Department of PEI, has been turned down by the Active Transportation Working Group. Although Victoria will apparently not benefit from the 50,000$ grant that was asked for, a transportation plan will be addressed in the coming Strategic Plan.
5 – Engine Brakes
Following a recommendation of Mr Ian Dennison, signs to prevent the use of truck’s engine brakes will be installed at both ends of the Municipality (Causeway Road and Nelson Road). Thanks to this Victoria citizen who rightly indicated to the Victoria Council that the noise caused by this equipment is very disturbing and should be reduced to a minimum. The Municipal Office has been mandated by Council to ask the PEI Transportation Department to install such signs.
6 – Strategic Plan
At its May meeting, the Victoria Council accepted a recommendation of the Municipal Office to initiate a strategic plan process. This process is already going ahead and many steps need to be taken before a final plan is adopted by Council in early 2025. The main purpose of such a plan is to better focus on 2025-30 projects and to prepare accordingly. The plan will be the base of major requests for grants of different nature to improve Victoria’s financial position while putting forward interesting initiatives. A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses opportunities and threats) analysis is currently underway. Different focus groups will be created this autumn to discuss further areas of interest for the Village. The Municipal Office will keep you informed of the developments of this project.
7 – Rotation on Council Committees
A joint recommendation of PEI Municipal Affairs and the Municipal Office to Council will make possible a rotation for the positions of chair on Council Committees. This new rotation policy will help alleviate the number of tasks undertaken by Council members.
That’s all for this month! See past issues at www.RMVictoria.com/newsletters
Questions or feedback? Info for a future newsletter or photos you’re willing to share?
Contact staff at victoriamunicipalitypei@gmail.com
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Victoria Historic Schoolhouse, 730 Victoria Road, Victoria, PE, C0A 1J0, Canada