Bookmobile may be coming back (15 council briefs)

Mayor Matthew Shoemaker awarded 2023 Medal of Merit awards to David Orazietti and Dr. Chelene Christine Hanes at a city council meeting on Tuesday night.

The award recognizes individuals or groups who have achieved exceptional meritorious honours in athletics, cultural or academic fields or who make extraordinary contributions to the community.

Orazietti has served as Ward 1 city councillor, Sault Ste. Marie MPP (four consecutive terms) and as Ontario minister of natural resources; government and consumer services; and community safety and correctional services.

He's currently president of Sault College.

Dr. Hanes was honoured for her achievements in wildland fire research.

She specializes in drought estimation, fire probability and modeling potential forest fires within Canadian landscapes.

Return of the bookmobile?

It's been quite a few years since the Sault had a bookmobile to take library books to parts of the city without easy access to one of the city's two public libraries.

But Matthew MacDonald, chief executive officer of Sault Ste. Marie Public Marie, told city councillors this week that consideration is being given to bringing back a mobile library.

"The library did have a bookmobile at one point," MacDonald said.

"This is something that in our strategic plan we would like to explore the idea of. So we will be over the next few years developing a business case, either to develop a mobile library service or an alternate library service such as book lockers, book vending machines or another location."

MacDonald attended this week's city council meeting to talk about the library's strategic plan for 2024 to 2029.

Social and economic prosperity review

The city will ask the Association of Municipalities of Ontario to work with the provincial government to conduct a comprehensive social and economic prosperity review to promote the stability and sustainability of municipal finances across Ontario.

With municipalities being asked to take on complex health and social challenges like homelessness, supporting asylum seekers and addressing the mental health and addictions crises, councillors agree the province needs to invest more in prosperity.

"There is no feasible way that property taxes are going to pay for the things our communities require," said Ward 2 Coun. Luke Dufour.

Are you aware of planning applications affecting your neighbourhood?

The city will ask the Ontario government to change the Legislation Act, 2006 to allow online publications as an acceptable means of complying with municipal public notice requirements.

Saultites have complained in recent months that they never heard about public meetings related to planning matters in their neighbourhoods, even though ads were placed in the newspaper.

City officials have been looking at ways to better promote such events, but Ontario law stipulates prescribed public notices from municipalities must appear in printed newspapers.

A recent Angus Reid poll found 89 per cent of Canadians now get news from Internet sources, compared to 19 per cent for newspapers and other print publications.

"We need to be sure that the legislation covers all types of media," said Ward 1 Coun. Sandra Hollingsworth.

Other municipalities including North Bay and Parry Sound have passed similar resolutions.

Townhouse development approved

Overruling neighbourhood objections, council approved an application from David Peck and Tracy Buffone to build five multiple-attached townhomes and one single-detached dwelling, totalling 21 residential units, infilling the core of a block bounded by Dacey, Queen Street, River Road and Royal York Boulevard.

The developers must complete the project within five years but councillors were told it will likely be done in three years.

Buck-a-hour pay boost

A group of part-time and student city employees will be getting raises in the dollar-an-hour range starting with their next pay period.

It's a 'wage compression' effect prompted by last October's increase in the minimum wage to $16.55.

The wage hike will cost $175,000.

Other council crudités from this week's meeting:

• councillors gave a cold shoulder to Coun. Angela Caputo's idea of heating downtown sidewalks, after learning it carried a $25-million price tag
• the downtown plaza will have a New Year's Eve party, after GFL Environmental stepped up to pay the full $16,000 cost
• the mayor will write to Ontario health minister Sylvia Jones and Sault MPP Ross Romano to try the stop the closure of a public health lab at Albert and McDougald streets. A local real estate agent is concerned timely well-water tests will no longer be available when property changes hands
• Mayor M. Shoemaker (ex officio), Coun. Angela Caputo, Coun. Corey Gardi, Jeff Arbus, Saber Assi, Roohi Bedi, Pat Carter, Toyo Ibiyemi, Dave Mornix, Gunkaar Singh, Aaron Smith, Brendan Sutherland, and Amanda Zuke are appointed to the anti-hate advisory committee until Dec. 31, 2024
• Emily Boucher, Taimi Johnson, Lise Joyal and Jami van Haaften were appointed to the municipal heritage committee until Dec. 31, 2024
• Rebecca Evans, Nilah Moss, and Lee Rendell were appointed to the cultural vitality committee until Dec. 31, 2024
• Melissa Porco is appointed to the Tourism Sault Ste. Marie board of directors until Dec. 31, 2024
• UCab got a two-year extension on its contract to provide third-party transit transportation services of wheelchair accessible and ambulatory service vehicles needed by Sault Transit
• Work Equipment Ltd. was awarded a $176,595 contract to do a factory rebuild on a city-owned trackless municipal tractor