Standby power, dog impounding fees and historical walls were a few of the items discussed at the Guelph-Eramosa council meeting on Aug. 8.
Station Street pumphouse
Verantio Canada Inc. will be installing standby power for the Station Street pumphouse for about $130,487.
The 2016 budgeted amount was $151,000 and with the bid results, engineering related costs for design, tendering, contract administration and inspection, the total cost of the project using Verantio Canada Inc. will be about $140,000.
Other bids for the project included:
– Roberts On-Site for $143,320;
– Bill Snyder Electric Inc. for $146,222;
– Selectra Inc. for $148,324;
– Drexler Construction Limited for $143,362; and
– AB Project Management and Construction Inc. for $162,749.
Heritage wall
Council approved a $3,449 heritage wall installation at the Marden Community Centre.
The Guelph-Eramosa heritage committee has logs from the first home in former Guelph Township and has approved a design that will use the logs to replicate the façade of the original log cabin, stated a report to council from clerk Meaghen Reid said.
Joseph McDonald and his family left the Highland of Scotland to travel to La Guayran in Venezuela to farm. However, when the conditions were unsuitable, the family traveled to Guelph Township to settle.
There will be photos of the original structure in the windows and a historical write-up about the McDonald log home in the door frame.
The installation will likely take place later this fall.
Guelph Humane Society
The township has added fees for impounding and boarding to the Legislative Services Department Schedule of Fees, as this is a service the Guelph Humane Society now offers within the township.
The humane society took over the township’s animal control and shelter services on July 1.
The impounding fee will be $56.50 and the boarding fee will be $16.95 per day.
“With our previous contractor impounding/boarding fees were actually part of the agreement,” Reid said.
“In moving with Guelph Humane Society they were not included so we’re just updating our schedule of fees to include impound and boarding fees.”
The impounding and boarding fees relate to the impound of dogs that are found running at large in the community and housing them for a period of time.
“And you only have to pay it if your dog gets loose,” councillor Corey Woods said. “So if your dog never gets loose you never have to pay it.”
Maintenance agreement
Guelph-Eramosa has entered a standardized formal agreement with Wellington County for road maintenance. It is the same for every other municipality in the county, director of public works Harry Niemi explained.
“It outlines who’s responsible for what through the rural areas on county roads, through the semi-urban areas on county roads and through an urban area,” he said.
“So it really impacts us primarily on Main Street North, County Road 27 and Harris Street.”
It formalizes what the township has already been doing in terms of snoplowing, sanding, sweeping, etc.
Eden Mills Writers’ Festival
The Eden Mills Writers’ Festival is set for Sept. 15 to 18. Council is supporting the festival once again with signage, water coolers, water, picnic tables, garbage cans, garbage bags, parking vests, traffic control equipment and recycling bins.
