Brett Thoms
Pontiac Aug 9, 2022
The August 9 Municipality of Pontiac (MoP) public council meeting saw over 20 people in attendance and various resolutions concerning the fire department passed, as well as extensive discussion of the proposed bylaw concerning the public maintenance of private roads.
Notably, a resolution was passed naming Benoit Chartrand, director of the Fire and Civil Security Department in La Pêche, as interim director of the MoP Fire Department on a part-time basis for a period of 12 months.
Another resolution was passed that . . .
named the acting director general, Mario Allen, the director of administration, Mario Pilon and Mayor Roger Larose to a committee that will negotiate a new collective agreement for the MoP Fire Department. The previous agreement expired in June.
The resolution also announced that the law firm RPGL Law Firm would also represent the municipality during the contract negotiations. The council of the MoP authorized the municipality to purchase up to 100 hours of legal services in June.
Another resolution was passed which suspended a firefighter for disciplinary action. According to the resolution the suspension will last until an investigation is concluded.
During the meeting there was much discussion of the new bylaw on public maintenance of private roads. The law allows associations governing the private roads to enter into an agreement with the MoP where the roads would be maintained by the municipality.
Mayor Larose explained the law as giving three options to residents served by private roads in the municipality. The first option is that the municipality would take over maintenance activity like snow plowing completely and absorb 100 per cent of the cost.
The second option means that the municipality would partially cover the cost of maintenance, while the association would be charged for the remainder. Larose said this option would be available to associations who want more service than what is offered by the municipality.
Under these two options, a private road would no longer be considered private in practice and be completely opened to the public, according to Larose.
The third option would make it so associations would cover the full cost of road maintenance, but maintain their status as private roads.
Other notable resolutions include:
A resolution was passed to authorize the director general and director of finance of the MoP to bid on behalf of the municipality for the properties that are to be put for sale for non-payment of taxes. This auction will happen on December 2, 2022.
A resolution was passed that called for the creation of an indefinite contract for acting Director general, director of public works and acting director of the fire department, Mario Allen. Councillor Chantal Allen, Mario Allen’s sister and Councillor Serge Laforest both recused themselves from the vote due to conflict of interest rules.
During the question period, residents also expressed concerns about current issues.
One resident asked the municipality to forbid Airbnb’s in the municipality. Airbnb is a service that allows property owners to rent out their properties as if they were hotels. The resident stated that Airbnb was disruptive and several other municipalities in Quebec had banned them. The mayor said he and the council would check into the issue.
Another resident requested that the municipality ask for an increased police presence on Hwy 148 in order to deter dangerous and intoxicated driving. The mayor said he would bring the request to the chief of Sécurité Publique MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais when he meets with him.
The next MoP municipal meeting will be held on September 13.
