Keep the taps running

Duane Hicks

The Town of Fort Frances is reminding residents with a history of frozen water service lines to keep running those taps.
Over the last about three weeks, the town has gone from having five reported frozen water lines to 29, Operations and Facilities manager Travis Rob told council last night.
“People think that because the sun’s out and it’s nice and warm, that ‘It’s not a problem. I can shut my water off. The frost’s gone,'” he noted.
“No, that’s definitely not the case,” Rob stressed.
“So we’re still asking people to continue to run their water, particularly if you’ve froze before–even moreso if we’ve not been able to in the past thaw your water line.”
Residents can run their water from one tap in their home, such as in the basement.
It does not have to be a lot, just a stream about the thickness of a pencil to make sure your water stays running and doesn’t freeze through the rest of the winter, Rob advised.
“It is nice and warm right now. [But] we’re supposed to get some more cold weather,” he noted.
“It is only [coming to] March,” Rob added. “As much as people wish it was spring, unfortunately I don’t think we’re quite out of winter season yet.”
Also at last night’s meeting, council:
•received documents from Jim Cumming re: trees within town limits, and directed that future plans for trees in town be addressed through the development of municipal tree canopy policy as required under the Municipal Act (this policy will be developed by March 1, 2019);
•approved a draft of a revised sidewalk snow removal bylaw (the actual bylaw will be brought forward at the next council meeting for passage);
•approved a Safe Communities Rainy River District per capita request for 2018 in the amount of $3,977.50;
•approved a Rainy River Future Development Corp. per capita request for 2018 in the amount of $55,685;
•received a “Heart of the Continent Partnership” financial request, with no further action to be taken;
•authorized a donation in the amount of $300 to the Rainy River District Festival for the Performing Arts;
•approved a purchase card expense claim from Fort Frances CAO Doug Brown, in the amount of $607.08, for his attendance at Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference held Jan. 21-23 in Toronto;
•approved meeting per diem claims for Couns. John Albanese and Doug Kitowski, in the amount of $160 each, for their attendance at the Rainy River District Municipal Association annual general meeting held here Jan. 13;
•agreed to uphold an Ice For Kids Arena rental contract as signed with Davis and Nolan Ross;
•referred a letter from Gary and Lori Durbin re: permission to put in a driveway;
•passed bylaws to amend tax cab and “Dial-A-Ride” rates; and
•passed a bylaw to approved a contract with 1723047 Ontario Ltd. (Equity & More) for consultation services to review and update the town’s pay equity plans.