Resident asks why road name not changed, East Hawkesbury council highlights

An East Hawkesbury resident wants to know why the name of the road she lives on has not been changed.

Annette Fournier-Villeneuve lives on Concession 2 and is upset that the township has not followed through with a plan to rename the road after Patrick Lormand.  The Canadian Armed Forces Corporal from Chute-à -Blondeau was killed on September 13, 2009 while serving with the Royal 22e Regiment in Afghanistan.  At that time, East Hawkesbury council proposed naming the road after Lormand.

At the December 9 meeting, Fournier-Villeneuve asked council why the name of the road has not been changed in the decade since Lormand’s death.

Mayor Robert Kirby said that some residents complained at the time because the change would have meant they needed to change the addresses for all of their personal information and identification.

However, following Fournier-Villeneuve’s complaint, council will again discuss the subject and will inform residents if the name of the road is changed.

Budget

East Hawkesbury’s 2020 budget will be approved within the next six weeks.  According to Clerk-Treasurer Luc Lalonde, the document is still being finalized and in its current draft state, there would be a 2.5 per cent tax rate increase in 2020.  Lalonde cautioned that the budget is still open for revision and full details will be released once it is approved, which will likely happen before the end of December or at the first council meeting in January.

Property purchased

East Hawkesbury now owns the former CO-OP property in St-Eugène.  On December 9, council approved purchasing the property for $150,000.  However, the township will recover the costs because it rents space on the roof to a company that has solar panels on it.  Mayor Robert Kirby said council decided to purchase the property because of its economic development potential for the community.

Insurance

Carolyn Corkery of Halpenny Insurance Brokers informed council on December 9 that the township’s insurance cost, before taxes, for 2020 is $73,946, which is the same as 2019.  Council is hoping that it is eligible for a $976 discount on insurance due to it participating in the purchase of a new truck with the area recycling committee.  Municipalities are eligible for the discount during the year a vehicle is acquired; however, the new truck will not be delivered until March of 2020.

“Would you give us a little discount?” Kirby asked Corkery?  She agreed to investigate further to see if it is possible.

Air base dump

A mountain of construction trash remains at the site of the former Royal Air Force base south of St-Eugène.  The property is now owned by the township because the previous owner had not paid the taxes on it.  Clerk-Treasurer Luc Lalonde said the individual who dumped the waste at the site, and the former property owner have missed two deadlines to remove it that were ordered by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks.  Lalonde said the order has now moved to a higher level within the ministry for resolution and that ministry staff have taken video footage by drone of the site.