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Kincardine winter storm policy left unchanged By Liz Dadson |
Kincardine Council To Comment on this article Click Here |
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Kincardine council has decided to leave its winter storm policy unchanged. Councillor Maureen Couture brought forward an amendment at the meeting Wednesday night (March 2), which states that when Highway 21 and Bruce County Road 23 (B-line) are both closed at 3 p.m. on the day of the meeting, the meeting shall be cancelled. The current policy states that when just Highway 21 is closed, the meeting is cancelled. "We've missed four council meetings since we started (as a new council)," said Couture. "In one case, Highway 21 was just fine but it remained closed." She hastened to add that she is not urging people to venture out in bad weather. However, the staff policy dictates that employees must arrive at the municipal office unless both Highway 21 and County Road 23 are closed. "I'm not sure why we'd cancel our council meeting if people can arrive safely," said Couture. "I don't support it (the amendment)," said councillor Kenneth Craig. "There are a significant number of councillors who can be affected by the closure of Highway 21." He admitted this winter has been a particularly difficult one, with Highway 21 closed numerous times and motorists wondering why. 'However, if the road is closed, it's closed. I don't want people travelling to a meeting and jeopardizing their safety. Our policy should stay the same - if Highway 21 is closed, the meeting is cancelled." Craig added that if the staff policy is different, perhaps it should be reviewed. "I agree," said councillor Randy Roppel. "I don't support this change. The public has a right to voice their concerns, but they can't make it here in bad weather. If the highway is closed, no meeting." Deputy mayor Anne Eadie asked if there were some room for common sense on this issue. "The road has been closed on a perfectly fine day and it wasn't stormy," she said. "I'm fine to leave it as is," said Couture. "I just thought we should get the business of council done."
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 "I support the amendment," said mayor Larry Kraemer.
"We're asking our staff to come out and serve the constituents. We
should serve at the same level. Many times the road was closed and the
weather was fine. If both roads are closed, then you have a real storm
going on.""But staff arrive during daylight," argued councillor Mike Leggett. "We arrive in the daylight but it's dark when we leave here. I think changing the policy is a detriment for people getting home safely." "Common sense would tell you that if the highway is closed, you have no meeting," said Roppel. "If the people who work for us are being put in a dangerous situation, we should change that policy." "It's just that they (OPP) often leave Highway 21 closed for an extra day," said Eadie. "If the weather is good, we should be here." "Rather than having all this discussion about our policy, why don't we put our effort and energy into getting Highway 21 fixed up properly," said councillor Jacqueline Faubert. "We went three weeks without a council meeting (because of stormy weather)," said Kraemer. "If we leave this policy as is, then council business builds up. I could, perhaps, call a special meeting for another day." The proposed amendment to
the winter storm policy was defeated by a 5-4 vote. This means if
Highway 21 is closed by 3 p.m. of a day when a council meeting is
scheduled, the meeting is cancelled. Scrolling stops when you move your mouse inside the scroll area. You can click on the ads for more
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