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Counties council looks at local ombudsman option
Wade Road Bridge fix-up Work will begin soon on a rehabilitation project for the Wade Road Bridge. Council approved a bylaw during its June 29 summer-break session to award the $1.24 million contract to Clearwater Structures Inc. The company was the lowest of six construction outfits bidding on the contract. The terms of the contract call for full closure of the bridge during the rehab project as a means to reduce both expense and time for the reconstruction. There will be a public notice of the closure, with the approved detour route, in advance of the start of construction. – Gregg Chamberlain Planning contract approved Russell Township’s official plan and zoning bylaw need reviewing and updating. Council appro- ved a contract during a special session June 29 for a consultant to help with the task before taking its summer break. MMM Group will work with municipal staff on the official plan and zoning bylaw reviews. The contract budget is for a maximum of $24,275.87, including HST, and will come out of the existing 2015 budget planning fund and reserve. MMM Group presented the best of three bids for the contract. – Gregg Chamberlain Valoris Street named The new short road where the office for Valoris for Children and Adults of Prescott-Russell will be located has an official name. It will be known as Valoris Street. Located off of Notre-Dame Street near the site of Embrun Ford, the street name is needed so that the Valoris office has an official site address for legal descriptions, deliveries, and other business needs along with meeting emergency services direction guidelines. – Gregg Chamberlain Province wants you to avoid bear contact The province is warning campers that bears are scouring the forests and that they should be careful when entering a wooded area. Recommended safety precautions include making noise when moving through wooded areas, especially in areas where background noise is high, such as near streams and waterfalls. People should also keep an eye out for signs of bears, such as tracks, claw marks on trees, flipped-over rocks or fresh bear droppings. The province also warns that strong fragrances may cause a bear to be curious. Lastly, while berry picking, it’s recom- mended to occasionally scan one’s surroundings in order to check for bears. – Francis Racine
at our level?,» said Mayor Pierre Leroux of Russell Township, with Hawkesbury’s Mayor Jeanne Charlebois agreeing. Leroux noted that anyone who didn’t like a local ombudsman’s ruling could go to the provincial office to have it over- turned. UCPR Chief Administrator Sté- phane Parisien told counties council that might be a possibility but added that other municipalities, like Toronto, which have their own local ombudsman’s office, have found that in the majority of cases, the local ombudsman’s ruling is accepted. Champlain TownshipMayor Gary Bar- ton expressed support for the EOWC’s regional ombudsman option. «I would prefer to have someone who understands the situation locally,» he said, regarding local complaints about how town and counties councils deal with matters. During the past couple of years, the provincial ombudsman’s attention has focused on the Prescott-Russell region several times, most of the complaints coming from residents and some council members in the City of Clarence-Rockland regarding the protocol for open and closed meetings during the administration of former-mayor Marcel Guibord.
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
An ombudsman for Prescott-Russell? It could happen. The Eastern OntarioWardens’ Caucus (EOWC) is looking into the feasibility of hiring a regional ombudsman to act as the go-between for residents with complaints about how local and county councils and municipal government agencies are han- dling business. The EOWC is surveying its member municipalities to see if there is enough interest among all of them to warrant the expense. The United Counties of Prescott-Rus- sell (UCPR) council thinks it may be a good idea. The counties council directed administration to prepare a resolution of support for the EOWC proposal for council to approve at its next regular session.There was a brief discussion beforehand with a few mayors questioning the necessity of hiring a regional ombudsman when the provincial ombudsman’s office already exists, if citizens have complaints about the actions of local councils and politi- cians. «Why bother having an ombudsman
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