Review-Mirror

By Margaret Brand The Review-Mirror Rideau Centennial Pub- lic School's students are looking for the public's help to tell the story of their school's 50-plus years in their community. Students are creating a video documentary and, in the school's hallway, a timeline history of the school. The students will be showcasing their history project at a special event for the public on May 10, as one of the Upper Cana- da District School Board's 150 days of celebration of Canada's 150th anniver- sary of Confederation. The 150th project is also part of the students' saying goodbye to their school in June before the Portland school's students move on to new schools next year when the school will be closed. The students have been re-imagining their school's past through interviews with students and staff, an online survey and with the collecting of other memorabilia includ- ing yearbooks, programs and photographs. "There's been great interest from people who were willing to share their stories of the school" said Principal Dawn Bouchard. Much of the material for the documentary pro- ject has come through interviews the students have been conducting with The Township of Rideau Lakes will not be pursuing the administra- tion of a licensing fee on seasonal trailers. They floated the idea as a way to compensate the municipality for the cost of OPP services, for which the township is assessed on a per trailer basis. A proposal to council to pursue the new revenue emerged during the municipalities budget deliberations last month. The OPP's 'per house- hold' fee of around $300 is charged to all assessed properties, including trail- ers, which under Munici- pal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) rules change to taxable property with the addition of struc- tures around it and the removal of wheels. Taxation on a trailer valued at $10,000 would be less than $45 in rev- enue for the township in taxes, a fraction of what the township is assessed for OPP services. In his research on the issue, township CAO Mike Dwyer learned that to support the licensing fee as valid it must bear a reasonable relation to the cost of providing a busi- ness specific service and not the general services of the municipality. Campgrounds' MPAC assessments are based on the land and improve- ments along with assess- able trailers, minus depre- ciation. Mayor Ron Holman, in his lobbying with the provincial municipal asso- ciations, has been pushing for a change in the assess- ment of policing costs, which have been of partic- ular hardship to his munic- ipality. The inequity of assess- ment for policing costs – an assessed trailer and a whole shopping centre are billed the same – has been a complaint of Holmans. "I'm going to continue to carry that battle for- ward. If you can count trailers you can count businesses in a shopping centre. One requires a lot of policing, one hardly any," he said. Thursday, February 23, 2017 Serving North Leeds and area since 1893 Vol. 126, No. 7 $1incl. tax Canada Post Contract No. 40021501 Township not pursuing fees on seasonal trailers Rideau Centennial student Abe Pepper has taken on the task of mastering the tech- nical side of the school's documentary about the history of the school. He and Prin- cipal Dawn Bouchard are getting some of their documentary making how-to from YouTube. 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 Portland school marking final year with history project Mirror The Review Westport Council took their last stab at finalizing their 2017 budget at Tues- day's committee of the whole meeting. The budget will require taxpayers shell out $65,591 more this year, an increase of 8.7 per cent over 2016. As it stands, the overall levy would rise to $815,303 from $749,712 in 2016. Council expects to pass the budget at their March 6 meeting. The proposed $65,591 levy increase includes $15,591 in the operating budget with the remaining $50,000 increase in capital operations. On Tuesday night, council cut $27,500 in spending, including $13,500 from the roads budget. Council trimmed the amount for repairs by $5,000, down to $15,000 and eliminated another $10,000 earmarked for an assessment of the roads. A plan to spend $20,000 on an asset inven- tory management plan on the village's storm sewers was cut in half, with a plan to spend the other $10,000 in 2018 if necessary. Other capital spending includes $10,000 on side- walks, $15,000 on dock repairs, $10,000 on mould and asbestos removal from the post office basement and $5,000 for shingles for the library and informa- tion centre. They also plan to spend $30,000 on Lockwood Memorial Field but that work is covered by fundraising and a match- ing grant, up to $15,000 •Continued on page 3 •Continued on page 3 Rideau Lakes Building Centre YOUR TRUSTED BUILDING SUPPLY PARTNER 7719 Hwy. 42, Crosby 613-272-0209 www.RideauLakesBuildingCentre.com Special Offer Ambiance 100% Hardwood Pellets $ 5. 69 per bag when purchasing a skid of 75. *Delivery available Final budget deliberations take Westport tax increase to 8.7% 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 Westport vs. Athens Preliminary round next week. 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