Review-Mirror

Rideau Lakes and Westport hosting a joint public meeting on Thurs- day, Jan. 26 on the realign- ment of municipal bound- aries for the village to include its wastewater treatment plant. Most of Lot 10, Con- cession 7 will become part of the Village of West- port's territory. The pro- posed agreement would see the transfer as of July 1, 2017. The second half of the year's taxes on those properties affected will be paid to the village instead of the township. Both municipalities approved the agreement at council meetings in December, making way for the public meeting which will be held between 4:30 and 7:00 pm on January 26. Provincial guidelines mandate the municipali- ties to hold a joint public meeting before the change in boundaries can be com- plete. The proposed agree- ment includes a one-time payment from Westport of $12,500 in compensation for ten years of lost taxes for Rideau Lakes. The issue of annexation of the lands was initiated by Rideau Lakes during the consultation process of an environmental assess- ment to replace the vil- lage's Snowfluent system with a large subsurface sewage disposal system (LSSDS). Days and nights cold enough to operate West- port's Snowfluent freeze crystallization wastewater treatment are key to get- ting Westport's waste- water lagoon levels low enough to avoid hauling again this year. That village council's hope for suitable weather is now shared by infra- structure manager Max Christie who has the job of overseeing the mainte- nance and operation of the system in its final winter. Christie also has the help of the Ontario Clear Water Agency (OCWA), which has been operating the wastewater treatment plant since the end of December, after the depar- ture of David Wallond. This week they were already problem solving after the partially defunct system, which has used as many as five of the seven towers over the last sever- al years, lost the use of three more towers, taking it down to two. The repair of a broken water pipe at the site with a steel and rubber collar would be taking care of that problem, said Christie who gave council the bad news on Monday that it was going to be a $10,000 fix to get the operation back to running. "The infrastructure is in terrible shape," said Christie who is pleased to have OCWA's technical expertise. "They are doing an excellent job. When it is - 15, they are running at night. When it's -15 you can do three times as much. They did a great job of coming in and making Township of Rideau Lakes ratepayers, unless they live in Newboro, won't be seeing a change in council representation in the 2018 election. After a ward restructur- ing consultation exercise conducted by consultants at a cost of $20,000, six of the 10 council members voted for Option 2, a nine- member council that retains a two-councillor per ward system while rolling Newboro into North Crosby. That was one of two preferred options of the consultant, which also included an option to com- bine North Crosby and Newboro, which along with the other three wards with one representative each. Two more coun- cilors would have been elected at large for a seven-member council. Option 4 was the pre- ferred option of the mayor who encouraged coun- cilors to think of the future in making their decision. "Don't take the easy way out. Option 2 will solve the problem of today but is blind to the chal- lenge of tomorrow," said Holman in an eight-point plea for Option 4 which had some support around the table. Mayor Holman, Coun- cillors Arie Hoogenboom and Doug Good voting for Option 4 with Councillors Linda Carr, Claire Gun- newiek, Bob Lavoie, Cathy Livingston, Cathy Monck and Ron Pollard voting for Option 2, one of five options councilors could choose from in a ranked ballot vote. Councillor Jeff Banks voted for Option 7, a seven-member council with all six councillors elected at large. Public consultations found the majority of the public who responded to the survey wanted a seven-member council and preferred option 4 which allowed the two 'at large' councilors along with one representative for each of the four wards. Council has completed the process in time for the change to be in effect for the fall 2018 election. Thursday, January 12, 2017 Serving North Leeds and area since 1893 Vol. 126, No. 1 $1incl. tax Canada Post Contract No. 40021501 Snowfluent limps into final season with new operator Mayor loses plea to cut Rideau Lakes council to seven members •Continued on page 3 The demolition last month at the Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands newly purchased property at 405 Lyndhurst Road is one more step forward to a vision of the site as interpreting the village's heritage of having the first iron foundry in Upper Canada. There was at least one resident (inset) who had to find a new home. See page 5 for more. 75 units from 6'x6' to 12'x36' Easy year round access right in Westport 75 units from 6'x6' to 12'x36' Easy year round access right in Westport 75 units from 6'x6' to 12'x36' Easy year round access right in Westport 75 units from 6'x6' to 12'x36' Easy year round access right in Westport Soho's Self Storage Soho's Self Storage Soho's Self Storage Soho's Self Storage Soho's Self Storage 75 units from 6'x6' to 12'x36' Easy year round access right in Westport 43 Bedford St., Westport 613-273-8848 soho@rideau.net Westport and Rideau Lakes to host meeting on boundary change Christine Jennings, Owner 20 Whelan St., Westport, Ontario 613-273-9800 Full Service Dog Grooming Salon Duncan ' s APPLIANCE SALES & SERVICE Call 359-5660 53 Main St., Elgin Dishwashers 24" Built-in Dishwasher •Orbit Clean® •Sahara Dry™ •34-Minute Quick Wash Model #FGID2466QW $ 599 00 24" Built-in Dishwasher •Orbit Clean® Wash Arm •Effortless™ Dry •Floor Beam Done Indicator •30-Minute Quick Wash •Delicate-Care™ Soft Grips Reg. $999.95 Model #FGID2474QT $ 799 00 Continuing a 30 year tradition serving North Leeds Cash & Carry - Delivery & Set Up Available Mirror The Review Saturday and Sunday, January 28-29, 2017

• Cover