By the end of the year, Alberton will be well on its way to having an effective management plan in place to deal with any natural or man-made disasters.
At its regular meeting last Wednesday, Alberton council was presented with an explanation of the new government regulations that came into effect last year requiring all municipalities in Ontario to have a comprehensive emergency preparedness plan in place by year’s end.
Dale Smyk, from Emergency Management Ontario, gave a 20-minute presentation explaining the Community Emergency Management Program, its requirements, deadlines, and purpose.
Smyk was told Alberton already is co-ordinating its management plan and should have the first phase in place by the specified time.
He noted there are 444 communities throughout Ontario that fall under the new regulations that formally came into effect on April 15, 2003.
Under the program’s timetable, the plan will be phased in over three years. The first phase—designated as essential—is due to be met by Dec. 31, 2004.
The other two phases—designated as enhanced and comprehensive—will become law at the end of 2005 and 2006, respectively.
By the end of this year, municipalities will be required to:
•identify critical infrastructure that could be compromised in the event of a catastrophic event such as forest fire, flood, epidemic, toxic chemical spill, or act of terrorism;
•conduct annual staff training to deal with such contingencies;
•conduct at least one exercise annually;
•identify community emergency information staff;
•develop and implement a public awareness program; and
•perform an annual program review.
Alberton clerk Dawn Hayes requested permission from council to confer with adjacent municipalities with a view to establishing a joint emergency response committee.
Council gave its consent.
In other business, Alberton roads superintendent Larry George presented his report and made a number of recommendations for council’s consideration.
For instance, George suggested council contract out roadside grass cutting on municipal roads as a cost-saving measure. Council approved.
He also recommended the township try to locate a source of gravel within the municipality and secure an aggregate permit to save on the cost of road gravel.
George noted Alberton could save up to one-third of the cost of purchasing the material from one of the three local sources that currently provides it.
George also recommended Alberton consider investing up to $40,000 in repairing a two-km stretch of Frog Creek Road that is in a serious state of disrepair.
That road forms the boundary between Alberton and the unincorporated area of Miscampbell.
Currently, the township, Miscampbell, and the MTO share the cost to maintain the road, which runs for roughly eight km altogether. Alberton invests $5,000 annually while Miscampbell and the MTO contribute a total of $5,000.
Most of it is in fairly good shape, noted George, but the section in question runs through a swamp and over the years, the road bed has been undermined by beavers.
In fact, there’s a danger portions of road could collapse.
In addition, the surface requires a new crown to enable water to run off instead of sink in as it now does. This water accumulation, combined with frost heaving, is causing further deterioration.
Furthermore, George said the ditch on the south side is extremely deep and dangerously steep. Any vehicle going off the road there could find itself submerged in water that has accumulated as a result of damming activities by beavers.
He said the one-time investment would enable his department to fill in the ditch and the cavities under the road bed. In addition, George suggested council increase its maintenance investment to keep the road in a good state of repair.
Council agreed to give the matter further study.
Also last Wednesday, council:
•approved a recommendation from the Alberton recreational committee to donate $100 towards the skateboard park to be built in Fort Frances;
•passed a resolution to support construction of a federal abattoir in the district;
•turned down a request from the Rainy River Future Development Corp. for a contribution of $6,314;
•authorized Reeve Mike Hammond and Hayes to attend a risk-management conference Feb. 18 in Fort Frances;
•passed a resolution authorizing a land-use agreement with the Rainy River Valley Field Naturalists and agreed to pass a bylaw closing a portion of the road in Section 5 and Section 8 in Crozier to vehicular traffic;
•passed a resolution to authorize Dennis Robinson Ltd. to upgrade a municipal road allowance in Section 36 and Section 25 for access purposes, subject to the conditions the road meets MTO standards and is open to the public;
•endorsed a petition from the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters to have the spring bear hunt reinstated in Northwestern Ontario;
•supported a resolution by the City of Dryden to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance that funding for disease prevention and health promotion services be the responsibility of the province; and
•endorsed a resolution from the City of Dryden to petition the Northwestern Health Unit to reconsider its 2004 budget.
The next regular meeting of Alberton council is slated March 10 at 7 p.m. at the municipal office.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
