Summary of the municipal council meeting of June 1, 2022

The Town Council meeting was held in public on Wednesday, June 1, 2022. Its video recording is available on our YouTube channel and its official minutes (in French only) are available on our website.

INTRODUCTION

The mayor did the follow up of the current files:

  • Bill 96 approved on May 24 regarding municipal bilingualism: Council’s response is clear: we will maintain our status for historical, cultural, inclusiveness, diversity reasons. Upon receipt of a notice from the OQLF, we will have 120 days to respond, and we will adopt a resolution at the next council. We are committed to being an inclusive society.
  • Respect Courtesy Kindness campaign: we want to convey these values in terms of benevolent relations between citizens and with the administration. A positive message that is already beginning to be felt at the reception desk at Town Hall.
  • Safety on provincial and local roads: open letter co-signed by the Mayor and sent to the MTQ to point out the problems of road maintenance and the lack of communication between MTQ and the Town. MTQ response: a meeting has been scheduled with a list of topics.
  • Traffic calming measures put in place by the Town: bollards are being knocked down or ripped out, speed bumps are being moved! This is a total lack of respect!
  • Fiber optics: IHR has 4 months left to complete the connections. The network is 93% built in Sutton, but 0 connections. Meanwhile, Bell is creaming the market. The mayor met with Bell: they are developing their own parallel network. We can’t be against the competition, but we have a $1.3M bond (out of a total $7M bond for the MRC).
  • ParticicpACTION Challenge: from June 1st to 30th, we move in Sutton! Look at all the information on our site: physical activities to do to count minutes for Sutton. We can win a prize of $100 000 in Canada and $15 000 in Quebec! We are off to a great start.
  • On behalf of Council, Councillor Lynda Graham offered her condolences to the family of Hollis Page, a long-time resident of Sutton who passed away recently at the age of 99. He had served in World War II and was a prominent veteran of the Sutton Legion.
  • Good luck to the Sutton School students participating in the Défi OSEntreprendre : they won the local and regional prizes and are in the running for the national prize with their project À l’école, à vélo [They won the national prize on June 8!]
  • Distribution of trees to the citizens of Sutton on the occasion of the Biodiversity Day: it was a great success!

BY-LAWS

  • Council adopted By-law number 115-16-2022 entitled “By-law amending Zoning By-law number 115-2, as amended, in order to modify the applicable areas for accessory buildings”;

AMINISTRATION

  • Confirmation of Sarah Biggs as receptionist and cashier.
  • Hiring of Virginie Sauriol as secretary at the general management and at the town hall.
  • Hiring of Frédéric Chouinard as environment and urbanism inspector.
  • Hiring of Sara Girard as Chief of Staff.
  • Hiring of Libby Richardson and Kaelynn Dawson as day camp animators for the 2022 summer season.
  • Hiring of Simon Lafrance as a Recreation, Community Life and Cultural Services Clerk.
  • Resignation of Sylvie Vézina, coordinator of the Sutton municipal and school library. The Town thanks her for her good service.
  • Constitution of the Environment Advisory Committee and nomination of its members: Sylvie Berthiaume, Patricia Dumais, Jacques Legault, Julie Lesfargues, Éric Pineault, Thibault Rehn, Councillors Marie-José Auclair, Carole Lebel and Marc-André Blain.
  • Constitution of the Quality of Life Advisory Committee and appointment of members: Céline Charbonneau, André Forest, Luce Goerlach, Sylvie Grégoire, Lori Hoey, Pierre Lefrançois, Louis Taillefer and Councillors Lynda Graham and Thérèse Leclerc
  • Appointment of the members of the Toponymy Committee: Gilles Gauthier, Jean Marsolais, Jeanne

FINANCES

The council approved the following expenditures:

  • $53,915 to Thibault Chevrolet Cadillac Buick GM of Sherbrooke for the supply of a pickup truck for the Public Works and Capital Assets Department
  • Appropriation of up to $3,000 from the park fund for the supply and installation of surveillance cameras at Goyette Hill Park
  • Authorization to sign an agreement with the FQM in order to benefit from the call for tenders for the analysis of our lighting fixtures, with the goal of replacing approximately 198 remaining HPS streetlights with less energy consuming LED fixtures.
  • Up to $20,000 to Kezber & Associates Inc. to replace the telephone system at Town Hall and the fire hall.
  • 1,000 granted to Pleins Rayons for the active social inclusion of young adults with intellectual disabilities or autism spectrum disorders in the Brome-Missisquoi region.
  • 1,000 granted to the Parc naturel d’environnement Sutton (PENS) to support its École Buissonnière project.

URBANISM

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Request for Blue Community certification given by Eau Secours to cities in Quebec: certification that includes three commitments: to recognize the human right to access to safe drinking water, to commit to keeping our drinking water and wastewater systems public, to commit to not selling bottled water in our buildings and at Town events. These commitments will be in place by December 31 and bottles will also be prohibited at events hosted by others on Town property.
  • Authorization to sign a deed of easement with IHR Telecom for the installation of a fibre optic TDL cabinet, necessary for the deployment of fibre optics in Sutton, in the parking lot of Goyette-Hill Park

QUESTION PERIOD

Only the questions asked are included, as the full speeches can be heard online on YouTube.

  • (last meeting) Permit compliance: were any minor variances granted? ANSWER: no, no exemption.
  • Has the Arts Sutton operating grant been reconsidered? ANSWER : no
  • Will a cultural committee be created? ANSWER : We will consider it when revising the Cultural Policy in the future.
  • Is it possible to (re)ask the MTQ to have a pedestrian crossing at the corner of Principale and Maple (for the safety of pedestrians and bicycles)? ANSWER: yes
  • When are the citizen consultations planned in relation to the revision of the urban plan and particularly the question of affordable housing? ANSWER: Very soon. There will be several types of consultations on specific topics this summer. The operation Rêvons Sutton will begin shortly, with a Web site. Community development in the village and urban planning issues will be studied.
  • There are few street lights on Maple for 1 km, between O’Brian and Huttopia, while there are many downstream: what are the standards? ANSWER: the question will be looked into, but this road belongs to the MTQ.
  • What make is the vehicle purchased by Public Works (resolution of May 4th meeting) and why was it chosen? ANSWER: Jeep hybrid. Chosen for its price and availability.
  • Is a permit required to repair a balcony? ANSWER: No, if the dimensions do not change.
  • Has clothing for the PR been ordered? ANSWER: We will check.
  • Why didn’t the RPs go to the cyclist accident on Maple Street last weekend? ANSWER: There were no 9-1-1 calls made (a doctor was on site). We respond to 100% of calls.
  • Was the “Walking Safely on Maple” file sent to the Clerk received? ANSWER: Yes, and it has been forwarded to council. The Quality of Life Committee is reviewing it as part of their work.
  • Will the Town consider short-term rentals of second homes given: the economic impact of seasonal tourists renting on a short-term basis; the lack of additional affordable housing; the rationale for discriminatory exclusion of certain areas under the C507 use; and the control of nuisances in an equitable manner between rentals and neighbors? ANSWER: The application of the C507 use is temporary while a new by-law is being developed. Citizens will be consulted.
  • How will Sutton and the Ski Sutton live if there are no more short-term rentals? ANSWER: There is no question of banning short-term rentals. It is about regulating them. The Town will consider the economic issues.
  • Do the other municipalities also have to pay a deposit for IHR? ANSWER: The total is $7M for the MRC. Sutton’s share ($1.3M) is higher because of the size of the territory and the number of doors to be connected.
  • If the residence is not connected before September 30, will it be too late? ANSWER: IHR will no longer have grants.
  • Bill 96: What is new about this? ANSWER: It doesn’t change what we are already doing. Note that recognition of bilingual status only gives a municipality the option of translating its publications, but it is not an obligation. Municipalities that do not have this status do not have the right to translate.
  • Is there an opportunity to educate citizens on the issue of Bell’s competition with IHR? RESPONSE: The Town cannot prevent competition, but can alert people to the financial issue. 
  • The brown bin was picked up, but put back far too far away. RESPONSE: The case will be checked.
  • Is it possible to find a solution so that electric cars that use the Town Hall charging station do not stay all day? RESPONSE: Yes, the vehicle being identified…
  • Does the new urban plan that the MRC requires to be filed before the end of December have to be complete or a draft? ANSWER : We must file a first draft of the by-law which is more than a draft.
  • Where does Ski Sutton get its water to make snow? ANSWER : it comes from streams, like us, but they have a separate reservoir, it does not come from our water system. Their water is not potable.
  • Is the 15-month delay for an accessory building application normal? ANSWER: No, it is not normal, but we are making every effort to correct the situation. In this case, several explanations have been given.
  • Does the Town intend to audit undeclared short-term rentals of second homes? ANSWER: We want to frame the by-law so that we can control it. 
  • If the accessory building by-law is passed tonight, could the permit that would then be authorized be issued in June? ANSWER: the MRC must first issue a notice of conformity at the next council of mayors: if everything is accepted, the permit could be issued in early July.
  • Why was a PIIA that goes against the RCI granted? ANSWER: This request was made before the ROI came into effect.
  • Will the Town intervene regarding the light pollution from the stable on Dyer Road?  RESPONSE: We are aware of the light pollution issues and this will be one of the tasks of our new environmental inspector.

Next council meeting: Wednesday, July 6, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. (See the 2022 meeting schedule).

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