Norfolk digest: Councillors nix $5 fee to dispose of garbage cans

Norfolk County residents won’t have to pay to put their garbage cans in the trash. At a council-in-committee meeting on July 14, councillors voted against a county staff recommendation to implement a $5 cost recovery fee for the disposal of garbage containers at transfer stations. With the transition in late September to automated waste collection, residents won’t be able to set [...]

Article content Norfolk County residents won’t have to pay to put their garbage cans in the trash. At a council-in-committee meeting on July 14, councillors voted against a county staff recommendation to implement a $5 cost recovery fee for the disposal of garbage containers at transfer stations. Recommended Videos With the transition in late September to automated waste collection, residents won’t be able to set their old garbage cans at the curb.

The county is providing households with containers compatible with the automated system. While residents are encouraged to repurpose their old containers, Merissa Bokla, the county’s supervisor of waste management, recommended a $5 fee per container, from Sept. 28 to Nov. 28, for those who want to get rid of their useless cans. The current minimum drop-off fee is $16 at the Simcoe Transfer Station and $20 at the South Walsingham Transfer Station.

County staff estimated 20 per cent of properties would use the garbage container disposal program, which would have a direct cost of about $5,500. But Coun. Alan Duthie called the plan “asinine.”

“We’re the ones that made the decision to change the garbage collection strategy and now we’re going to make people pay to take back their garbage can that they’ve already paid for? I can’t get behind charging $5 to get rid of a garbage can. That’s crazy.”

Duthie suggested residents who don’t need their containers break them up and put them in their bins for recycling. Cost of repair work at Simcoe pool increases The cost of repairs at the Annaleise Carr Aquatic Centre have increased. At a council-in-committee meeting on July 14, Norfolk councillors approved an extra $140,000 for the inlet and pool deck replacement project.

The money will come from the general capital replacement reserve. That brings the total cost for repair work at the pool to $1.34 million. A report from county staff said the additional work – replacement of deteriorated gutter drains — was discovered through demolition of the pool inlets and deck reconstruction.

The project is expected to be complete by October. The report said doing the work while the pool is closed is a “cost-effective approach by consolidating capital works and avoiding the need for future shutdown costs” and loss of facility revenues. While councillors approved the extra funding, Coun.

Kim Huffman called the expenses “unsettling.” “I just wish we didn’t have so many repairs to the pool. It’s quite unsettling, I guess, to say the least.

It just goes to show that we should definitely be in the market for some resources here.” County staff to investigate creation of culture master plan Norfolk County staff will prepare a report outlining the potential cost and opportunities of creating a culture master plan. It comes at the request of Coun.

Adam Veri who thinks this is the right time — with the relocation of the Lynnwood Arts Centre to the county archives building in Simcoe, and the implementation in 2028 of an accommodation tax for tourists — for the municipality to have a strategic plan related to culture. “I’m looking at a way to grow our tourism sector,” said Veri at a council-in-committee meeting on July 14. “Norfolk County doesn’t have a plan.

Culture and arts and heritage is an economic driver the same way manufacturing, agriculture and commercial (sectors are). It’s one of those other pillars that we keep putting to the side because I think that there’s not a lot of understanding of the economic value of it.” Veri shared data from the Ontario Arts Council that indicate tourists spend $11.4 billion a year on arts and culture in the province and the sector supports more than 77,000 full-time jobs.

County staff will come back with a plan for budget consideration by the next elected council.