After passing a motion last month to appoint the mayor to the Fort Frances Power Corp.’s board of directors, town council will hear from FFPC chair Doug McCaig tonight regarding the procedure for appointments to the FFPC board and, in fact, whether there any vacancies to fill.
At the Feb. 28 council meeting, Mayor Dan Onichuk announced he was
giving up seats on three boards (the Polices Services Board, Business Improvement Association board, and Rainy River District Social Services Administration Board) with the intent of filling a vacancy on the FFPC board.
At that meeting, council supported this motion, with Couns. Rick Wiedenhoeft, Todd Hamilton, and Tannis Drysdale agreeing to finish up the mayor’s terms on the three boards, respectively.
But in a March 7 letter to Clerk Glenn Treftlin, Coun. Hamilton wrote he had been notified there are no open positions on the FFPC board, noting the vacancy left by former FFPC CEO and current Fort Frances CAO Mark McCaig last fall was to be filled by new FFPC CEO Jim Kibiuk.
“It is also my understanding when there are vacancies on the board, the procedure is that any interested parties are welcome to put their names forward at the annual general meeting [of the FFPC],” Coun. Hamilton wrote.
“Council made a mistake at the end of the Feb. 28 meeting. I and council voted in favour of nominating Mayor Onichuk to a position that is not vacant,” he noted.
“We’ll have to rectify the mistake.”
In a second presentation at tonight’s council meeting, two representatives from the CNR will talk about the McIrvine Road rail crossing and the proposed upgrades to its warning system that council was first notified about at its Feb. 14 meeting.
Council has expressed concerns over the past two years, and received numerous complaints from the public, regarding long waiting times for motorists at that crossing.
Tonight’s council meeting is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. It will be preceded by the committee of the whole, which will meet in-camera from 5:30-6:30 p.m. and then open to the public at 6:40.
Other business at tonight’s council meeting will include:
•a break-open ticket licence application from the Border Skating Cub at Sparky’s Confectionery from March 29, 2005-Sept. 29, 2005;
•a financial request from Confederation College regarding funding for a community-based Bachelor of Science Nursing program in Fort Frances;
•a request from the “chem-free” grad committee regarding the waiving of rental fees for the arena and auditorium for this year’s party;
•a request from the Municipal Tax Collectors of Ontario for support of its resolution regarding amendments to taxation legislation for Current Value Assessment (CVA) taxation;
•a bylaw to authorize the entering into of certain lease renewal agreements at the Fort Frances Municipal Airport; and
•a bylaw to amend Bylaw 10/03 (the Traffic Control Bylaw) and put into effect changes to parking on the 200 block of First Street East (these include the elimination of calendar parking on the 200 block of First Street East, 24-hour parking along the north side only, and the provision of one curbside handicap accessible parking spot at the pedestrian ramp/sidewalk leading into Family and Children’s Services at 240 First St. E.)
Fort Frances Times
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