GREGGCHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca Weed woes and the Prescott-Russell Trail gŏđŏ
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trail maintenance as far as the section that passes through the village of Hammond before it connects with Ottawa’s trail net- work. But he noted that there is still a limit to the trail maintenance budget. “When VIA had the maintenance responsibility,” said Kirby, regarding the trail route, “the mainte-
nance was done 100 per cent.” Jean-Yves Lalonde, mayor for Alfred- Plantagenet Township, another rural com- munity in the counties, also noted that responsibility for PR Trail maintenance has come up for discussion at his council. The Prescott-Russell Recreational Trail group
(PRRT) has responsibility of looking after and promoting the trail for the counties. The UCPR council will ask the group to have one of its members attend the next com- mittee of the whole session to discuss the maintenance situation and offer any ideas on dealing with concerns.
L’ORIGNAL | Concerns about weed con- trol and the Prescott-Russell Recreation- al Trail are on the minds of some mem- bers of the counties council. East HawkesburyMayor Robert Kirby put the topic of trespassing and the PR Trail on the late-additions list for the May 8 com- mittee of the whole agenda. He expressed concerns about motor vehicle traffic on the trail during the spring and summer months. “I do not support trespassing,”Kir- by said. “Maybe we should fence our trails.” Kirby also noted that some sections of the trail pass through “prime farm land” areas of Prescott and Russell and that problems can result for the neighbouring farms if regular brushing and weeding of the trail is not done. He has received some com- plaints from local farmers about noxious weeds allowed to grow alongside some sections of the trail and these weeds then pose problems for the farm and pasture lands when their seeds and spores drift in the wind. The PR Trail is part of a former railway line that VIA Rail has leased to the United Counties of Prescott-Russell (UCPR) for use as a recreational trail route. Sylvain Char- lebois, UCPR economic development and tourism director, noted that the City of Ot- tawa provides some support funding for
Counties will host municipal affairs minister GREGG CHAMBERLAIN GREGG.CHAMBERLAIN@EAP.ON.CA Claude Levac of Casselman, with other mayors on counties council echoing his thought.
Infrastructure, housing on list of priorities
L’ORIGNAL | What to chat about when the municipal affairs minister comes to visit was the talk of the table for mayor at the United Counties of Prescott-Russell council committee of the whole session. Ontario’s Municipal Affairs and Hous- ing Minister Linda Jeffrey is stopping by Prescott-Russell on May 23 during a tour of Eastern Ontario. The counties council is confirmed for a face-to-face session with the minister during her travels but the amount of time available is not very long so Stéphane Parisien, administrative di- rector, has advised the council members to focus on the priority themes of financ- ing, infrastructure, and social housing and related needs. “I would suggest we have a ‘counties picture’,” said Parisien, regarding issue top- ics, “and then some local ones as well.” “Infrastructure is essential,” said Mayor
“Infrastructure,” said Mayor Gary Barton of Champlain Township. “That’s the bot- tom line for us.” The Nation’s mayor wants to make sure senior care issues get a spotlight during the meeting with Jeffrey. “Social housing for seniors is a key pri- ority for me,” said François St-Amour. “We have an aging population.” He also listed the ongoing dispute rural municipalities have with the provincial government over the farm tax issue. East Hawkesbury Mayor Robert Kirby added natural gas access for his community onto the list of possible discussion topics. He noted that his municipality is the only one in all of the United Counties of Prescott- Russell (UCPR) which does not have natu- ral gas as a home heating option for its residents. Other topics listed for possible discus-
sion with the minister include extending the provincial gas tax subsidy to all On- tario municipalities and not just those with a public transit service, the rising cost for policing service, and restoring municipal autonomy over zoning, including those involving alternative energy. The Green Energy Act that the McGinty Liberal gov- ernment brought in gave the provincial energy board the power to allow exemp- tions from the usual municipal zoning re- view process for alternative energy proj- ects approved through the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) program.
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