Tony Rotherham, LJI
All members of council were present except M. Lanteigne; eight residents were in the audience.
Questions – during the meeting covered the following points: A request for more public consultation on major projects and expenditures – road reconstruction, budgets and town hall renovation. It was noted that there will probably be a public consultation held in March on the renovation of the town hall.
Hydro-Quebec provided a detailed presentation on the Hilo Energy saving pilot project by Zoom. The project was described in detail in the October issue of Tempo. It will provide free installation of the Hilo equipment in homes in 7 local rural municipalities including West Bolton and St-Étienne. Applications must be received by Hydro-Quebec between Feb 5 and 19 in 2024.
Town Planning – Six permits were issued in December with a value of $1,000. In 2023 a total of 117 permits were issued with a total value of $8,259,000.
Council approved an amendment to RM 460-2023 on peace order and nuisances to include a new regulation prohibiting all use of fireworks throughout the municipality. The objective is to avoid wildfire hazard, reduce nuisance and disturbance of wildlife and domestic animals.
Property tax rates for 2024 @ $0.36/$100 of evaluation were formally approved.
Roads and Infrastructure – John Rhicard has been hired to help supervise road maintenance on a part-time basis.
Public Security – The Red Cross service agreement has been renewed at a cost of $220/yr for a period of three years.
Next Meeting: Monday, February 19, 2024