HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AUGUST 6TH 2007 COUNCIL MEETING

The Mayor,  4 councillors and  5 citizens were present.

COMMITTEES

ENVIRONMENT
Councillor Ginette Breton gave a report on the environmental actions undertaken by the municipality and its citizens during the past months:

• A ‘Green Day’ was held on May 6th where citizens were given the opportunity to order plants to revegetate their shorelines.  A second order will be placed on August 31st.  Order forms are available at the Town Hall as well as at the Iris Bleu.
• A conference entitled “Six ways to compost at Home” was presented on July 24th at the Town Hall.
• Another conference will be offered on August 10th by the MRC’s Green Squad, on the subject of reducing nutrient loads in order to protect our water bodies. 
• The Green Squad visited property owners on Trousers Lake and Long Pond door to door on July 26 and 27 to distribute information on the protection of our lakes and water bodies.
• The municipality is in the process of completing its inventory of septic installations.  A follow up will be made with property owners who have not yet supplied the information requested.  The inventory will be completed by the office staff but a firm of experts will be hired to deal with the more complex cases.
  
• The septic systems of properties bordering on Trousers Lake are being color tested to detect possible leakage.  Water samples have also been taken to test for the presence of coliforms. The results fall well within the standards for recreational activities. The RAPPEL study, financed by the municipality, is underway.
• Members of the Long Pond Association are keeping a close eye on their lake to detect the possible presence of blue-green algae.
  
• The Lake Nick Association is working to renaturalize the beach.
  
• The municipality will be purchasing English and French versions of the brochure produced by RAPPEL on the subject of lake protection. The brochures will be distributed to local businesses and associations in order to reach the maximum number of citizens.  

               
PRINCIPALS RESOLUTIONS
A notice of motion was given of the adoption, at a future meeting of council, of a bylaw regarding the measuring of septic waste and the follow up of the emptying of septic tanks.    In summary, if measurements indicate that septic wastes exceed the authorized level, the owner will be advised to have the tank emptied.  If the tank has not been emptied in the timeframe allowed, the municipality will have it emptied at the owner’s expense with added charges for administration.
The call for tenders for the waste management and disposal contract has been issued.  The specifications  were modified to take into account various comments and complaints from citizens: volume of garbage dumpsters and boxes, frequency of pick up in certain sectors as well as the frequency of large garbage pickups.

MAYOR’S REPORT
The municipality contributed 125 $ to the fundraising campaign of the Missisquoi North Volunteer Action Committee.

QUESTION PERIOD
A citizen requested clarification regarding the inventory of septic systems and the new bylaw regarding the measuring of septic waste.

A citizen asked about the level of Long Pond which he considers to be too high.  The Mayor responded that the dossier is in the hands of the Ministry of the environment and added that the actions of the ministry have been a source of frustration for the municipality as well as its citizens.

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