Duane Hicks
Mayor Roy Avis has returned to his seat at the council table.
Mayor Avis, who took a temporary leave of absence in early February to undergo back surgery, appeared at last night’s council meeting and should be back for good.
“It’s been a long journey,” he told council. “I missed the last two-and-a-half months and I’m glad to be back.
“I hope I can fulfil my duties again and make sure we can find a good direction,” added Mayor Avis, noting administration and council has been doing an excellent job.
“I’m still recovering, but I think I’m able to come to meetings as long as I can get up and walk around every so often and keep myself in good health,” he told the Times after the meeting.
“It’s been very, very hard to slow down,” the mayor admitted, noting that with his usually hectic schedule, “you have to take every day as you can.”
Mayor Avis said a full recovery could anywhere from six months to a year.
Coun. Paul Ryan had been the acting mayor in Avis’ absence.
Also at last night’s meeting, council:
•approved a per diem claim, in the amount of $240, as submitted by Coun. Ken Perry for his attendance at a NOMA executive meeting being held March 29 in Thunder Bay;
•agreed to sanction the hiring of the three available staff who are interested in returning to work for the Memorial Sports Centre this summer but do not conform to the Student Employment Policy criteria (i.e., they’re not returning to post-secondary school in the fall);
•approved a contribution from the town’s corporate contingency reserve fund in the amount of $194,868.64 to fund the outstanding assessment appeal liability for the 2016 year end (this is a liability stemming from the reassessment of the local Canadian Tire property);
•passed a bylaw to authorize the use of telephone and Internet voting as an alternative voting method for the 2018 municipal and school board elections for the Town of Fort Frances;
•passed a bylaw to approve an agreement with the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. for funding for an Asset Management Plan Co-ordinator Intern from the Northern Ontario Internship Program;
•passed a bylaw to approve a marketing licence agreement with Service Line Warranties of Canada Inc. to provide services to participating Ontario municipalities related to sewer and water line laterals;
•passed a bylaw to authorize a geospatial data licence agreement, for the purposes of utilizing the town’s geospatial data, with Fire Underwriters Survey;
•passed a bylaw to approve an agreement with Automotive Materials Stewardship Inc. for funding for the collection of automotive products collected at the annual Municipal Hazardous and Special Waste event;
•passed a bylaw to approve an agreement with Sunset Country Ford for the supply and delivery of a half-ton, two-wheel drive, four-door pickup truck tendered through a public tender process; and
•declared as surplus land part of Lot 40 River Range and part of the Original Road Allowance (Geographic Township of McIrvine), designated as Part 1 on Plan 48R-4489, Town of Fort Frances, District of Rainy River being Part of PIN 56019-0014 (LT).
