The staff at the Municipality of Merrickville-Wolford have been very busy over the past few months, streamlining processes and responding to the will of council.
The new council tasked staff to create new terms of reference for all committees of council that will be in place for the next four years. The terms of reference for the two legislated committees, the Committee of Adjustment and the Property Standards Committee, were adopted at the end of April, while the terms of reference for the five non-legislated committees were adopted by council at the council meeting of June 10. This includes a Recreation, Health and Wellness Advisory Committee, Community Development Advisory Committee, Environment Advisory Committee, Agricultural Advisory Committee, and Heritage Advisory Committee. The municipality is currently looking for volunteers to sit on all seven committees. The registration form can be found on the municipal website and emailed to deputyclerk@merrickville-wolford.ca
Staff have also been busy creating a new procedure for municipal grants. The new Community Grant Policy was adopted by council at the end of April, and the deadline to apply for this year’s round of grants was May 14, 2019. Using the new policy, staff were able to accept applications for both monetary grants and in-kind services from various community groups, and make recommendations to council about how the community grant budget could be allocated. Council had already waived $1550 in rental fees for Christmas in Merrickville, the Merrrickville Heritage Classic and the Merrickville Soccer Club, leaving $15,450 of the $17,000 community grants budget to be distributed.
Council held a special council meeting on June 3 to discuss how to allocate the funds. At the council meeting on June 10, they passed a resolution giving the Merrickville Agricultural Society and Friends of the Rideau their full asks and approving all in-kind donations. All other successful applicants received 48 per cent of their ask.
Staff are currently undertaking the large job of creating a new asset management plan as regulated by the provincial government. All municipalities in Ontario must have an approved asset management plan that includes all core and infrastructure assets by July 1, 2023. The first step in the process is to have a strategic asset management policy in place by July 1 ,2019. The By-law to adopt this policy was passed at the council meeting of May 27, well in advance of the July deadline. The staff report states that the next steps include building a database of Village assets, including condition assessments and replacement costs.
The Municipality has issued a community update to let residents know about the Drummond, Lewis and St. Patrick Street infrastructure project, tax bill payments, necessary burn permits for outdoor fires and the upcoming Sizzling Summer Camp. You can find the update on the front page of the Municipal website under public notices.