Below is a summary of key items discussed at the Municipality of Port Hope Council Meeting and Committee of the Whole Meeting, held on Tuesday, November 17, 2020. The full agenda and staff reports are available on the Council Portal. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this meeting was held electronically via video conference.

Council Meeting Highlights

Fire Chief Appointment 

Council appointed Dan Smith as Director of Fire and Emergency Services / Fire Chief by By-law 61/2020.

Chief Smith has also been appointed the Community Emergency Management Coordinator and Emergency Management Program Committee Chair for the Municipality. This means that Chief Smith will lead the emergency response team for the Municipality, should the need arise.

Read the media release about the appointment of Chief Smith for more details.

Municipal Website Redesign Presentation

Staff provided a presentation and live demo of the newly launched municipal website redesign. You can read the media release about the website redesign launch to learn more. 

Committee of the Whole Meeting Highlights

Former George Hamilton Public School Acquisition

Staff provided a report to Council with a recommendation to acquire the former George Hamilton Public School, which is located at 3100 County Road 10 in Port Hope.

Staff advised that use of the property has not yet been established, but that the acquisition would be of strategic benefit to the Municipality. The value of the Property is such that this opportunity is worth pursuing for future efforts related to satisfying the objectives of the Strategic Plan 2019-2022.

Council will consider a resolution on December 1, 2020 to direct staff to submit an offer of purchase for the property to the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board and to bring forward the offer in the form of a By-law for authorization by Council at a future meeting.

Proposed Cancellation of Choate Street Extension / Changes to Vision in Motion

Council discussed a recommendation from staff to approve, in principle, Cameco’s proposal to cancel the Choate Street Extension, on the condition that a satisfactory negotiation of remaining expenses and previous commitments incurred by the Municipality takes place.

In August 2020, the Municipality issued a media release announcing that Cameco had approached the Municipality with a proposal to alter their Vision in Motion (VIM) project to exclude the construction of the Choate Street extension, a road that was planned to support the Waterfront Master Plan and Cameco’s VIM project.

Discussions have taken place between the Municipality and Cameco staff to identify key areas of concern that require further dialogue. These areas of concern include storm water improvements on Eldorado Place, watermain replacement on Eldorado Place and Marsh Street, waterfront access, and property ownership. The impacts of each of the proposed changes will be subject to further investigation and negotiation, prior to formal acceptance by the Municipality in the form of future By-law amendments.

As such, Council will consider a resolution on December 1, 2020 to approve, in principle, the Municipality’s acceptance of the proposed changes to the Vision in Motion Project as presented by Cameco, including the cancellation of the proposed Choate Street Extension conditional, in part, on the satisfactory negotiation of remaining anticipated expenses and previous commitments incurred by the Municipality to date.

Additionally, the resolution will direct staff to work with legal counsel and negotiate with Cameco to prepare the necessary amendments to By-law 60/2014 and the necessary agreement to repeal By-law 61/2014.

Minutes from the Council and Committee of the Whole meetings will be available pending approval at the next Council meeting on Tuesday, December 1, 2020, at which point they will become the official record of the meeting.

Recordings of the November 17, 2020 Regular Council meeting and Committee of the Whole meeting are available at on the Council webpage.