Summary of the October 4, 2021 Town Council Meeting

The municipal council meeting was held in public on Monday, October 4 at the Saint-André church in Sutton. It was recorded and broadcast on our YouTube channel. The official minutes of the meeting are also available on our website.

The Mayor spoke about the difficult period that the health sector is going through with a major shortage of personnel. He recommended that people take the necessary precautions to protect themselves and not get sick.

BY-LAWS/LEGAL MATTERS

Adoption of 3 by-laws:

The 3 drafts by-laws tabled at the previous meeting on September 7, 2021 (see summary) were adopted, namely:

  • Bylaw number 117-3-2021 entitled “Bylaw modifying the construction bylaw number 117 as amended, in order to remove the application of the National Building Code”.
  • By-law number 251-4-2021 entitled “By-law amending the Permits and Certificates By-law number 251 as amended, in order to add elements to the required information and documents, and to specify paragraph 10) of article 53”.
  • By-law number 313 entitled “By-law concerning the increase of the working capital”.

Notice of Order:

A resolution authorizing the issuance of an order against the owner of the three dogs at 373 Morgan Road that are the subject of complaints was adopted. The owner has 15 days from receipt of the resolution to provide comments, after which time the order (modified or not) will be issued and the citizen will be required to comply immediately with all requirements. It should be noted that an order does not give the Town enforcement powers and the Town will have to go to court if there is non-compliance.

GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

(see October 7, 2021 press release)

  • Council approved the renewal of the Town’s two agreements covering the working conditions of its employees, which had expired on December 31, 2020. The agreements were renewed retroactively for five years, until December 31, 2025, and upgraded to address staff shortages and turnover:
    • The Collective Agreement for unionized staff (blue and white collar), including a 16.7% salary increase.
    • The Policy on working conditions for management employees (all other employees), including a 7% salary increase.
    • The board removed the executive director’s contract from the Terms and Conditions of Employment for Management Employees Policy to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest in negotiations with management. His contract was extended to January 5, 2025.
  • Council approved adjustments to two positions on the organizational chart:
    • The former position of Recreation, Community Life and Cultural Coordinator becomes Recreation, Community Life and Cultural Director.
    • The former position of Water Technician shall become Water Management Foreman

MUNICIPAL STAFF

  • Council extended the probationary period for Louis Pilon, Assistant City Manager | Citizen Relations, by three months to February 3, 2022.
  • Council confirmed the permanent hiring of:
    • Claude Théberge, Director of Urbanism and Land-Use Planning Department.
    • Élizabeth Deit as Coordinator of Recreation, Community Life and Culture (renamed as Director of Recreation, Community Life and Culture Department following the change in the organizational chart)
    • Guy Gauthier in the position of Water Management Technician in the Public Works and Fixed Assets Department (which position is renamed Water Management Foreman as a result of the organizational chart change)
  • Council confirmed the temporary hiring of Esther Dubé as Receptionist/Cashier.
  • Council confirmed the hiring of :
    • Dylan Burnham-Caswell in the position of unskilled labourer.
    • Patrick Goyette to the position of skilled labourer.
    • Cody Johnson and Riley Goyette to the positions of temporary unskilled laborers for the 2021-22 winter season.
  • Council confirmed the appointment of:
    • Harry Pressoir to the position of Urbanism and Land-Use Planning Advisor.
    • Ross Clarkson to the position of Fire Safety Officer.
  • Council authorized the pre-hiring of the following positions
    • Building Inspector for the Urbanism and Land-Use Planning Department, favouring if possible someone with environmental knowledge.
    • Secretary for the Urbanism and Land-Use Planning Department,
    • Receptionist and cashier.
  • Council appointed Jules Desnoyers and Shawn Lapaine to be responsible for the maintenance program (PEP) for the City’s fleet of vehicles.

FINANCES

  • Council tabled, as required by law, the statement of financial activities as at August 31, 2021 and estimates as at December 31, 2021 (note that these estimates are based on items known at the time of their production):
    • On the revenue side, preliminary estimates indicate a projected surplus of approximately $946,000 at year-end. This unexpected revenue comes from: additional revenue of $600,000 in fees collected on real estate transfers (double the amount budgeted) + an unexpected grant from the Department of Transportation of $230,000 (in addition to the $54,000 that the department pays annually for the maintenance of our roads) which is to be spent in fiscal year 2021) + an additional $80,000 in taxes from the increase in listings on the assessment roll.
    • On the expenditure side, estimates are expected to exceed the budgeted amount by $177,000, but these expenditures have all been allocated and authorized as they occur, so they do not reduce the expected amount of additional revenue.
  • Council authorized a payment of $110,564.53 to Excavations A.R. Valois Inc. for their contract to protect the sanitary sewer under the Maple Street Bridge.
  • Council authorized a payment of $523,069.73 to Sintra Inc. as part of its contract to repair Mountain Street.
  • Council authorized the payment of $30,000 to the Volunteer Bureau (VB) as per resolution number 2020-09-384; note that if the project is not completed, the money paid will have to be reimbursed.
  • Council authorized a budget of $4,000 for the City’s employee Christmas celebration activities.
  • Council authorized a budget of $8,000 for the 2021 Christmas decorations, including City Hall.

OTHER

  • Council authorized the signing of a Notice of Contamination for the former Filtex property to be published in the Quebec Land Registry: this legal requirement assesses the presence of hydrocarbons and metals in the soil between three levels of contamination (A: no contamination/ B: light contamination/ C: medium contamination). Since the land is between B and C, it would be possible to make it a residential use provided that it is decontaminated and it would also be possible to make it a public use (such as a parking lot or a park, but without children’s games).
  • Council approved the Town’s cultural development agreement with the Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications for the years 2022 to 2024, which covers three projects: cultural mediation, built heritage inventory and contemporary art.
  • Council authorized the submission of the Town’s application for the VÉLOSYMPATHIQUE certification.
  • Council authorized Élizabeth Deit to sit on the Sutton School Governing Board as a member of the community.
  • Council received a petition concerning noise problems from the outdoor activities of the Mocador.

Councillor Dominique Parent and Councillor André Forest will not be running in the next municipal election, they addressed a message of thanks to their fellow citizens whom they were proud to represent and to the municipal administration. They wished good luck to the next councillors and encouraged everyone to vote on November 7.

All agenda items are contained in the minutes of the October 4, 2021 meeting (in French) which are available online on the Town’s website.

Special Meeting of Council – October 6, 2021

A Special Meeting of Council was held the same week to deal separately with all specific planning applications. The results of the decisions made can be found in the minutes of this meeting held on October 6, 2021. It should be noted, however, that Resolution number 2021-10-465 (relating to item 10.8 of the agenda – Application for a minor variance relating to the minimum distance applicable to the base of a street and the high water mark of a watercourse on the proposed lot 4 868 076, located on Parmenter Road [2021-10086]) – was the subject of a refusal of approval on the part of the Mayor pursuant to paragraph 2 of Section 53 of the Cities and Towns Act. This means that the resolution will be resubmitted to Council at the next meeting on a priority basis.