On December 14th, Municipal CAO Tully Clifford quelled concerns from Council as to whether this initiative would require a great deal of time and effort, by informing Council that a template could easily be made for the certificates, which could then be personalized for individual businesses.
“It can be really quite easy,” said Clifford.
On December 7th, Councillor Andrew Saje questioned whether this is something that should fall under the Chamber of Commerce’s scope of responsibility.
At the December 14th meeting, Councillor Gallant told the rest of Council he felt it should not be a Chamber responsibility, as they have limited funding and formal staff.
“Also, the Chamber is not the official representative of the community,” said Councillor Gallant. “It is important that this council show people that we are committed to local businesses.”
The final decision regarding the certificates will be presented at the December 21st meeting.

Stake out of construction sites
At the November 2nd Council meeting, Council received a request from Glen Snelgrove to develop a policy regarding the stake out of construction sites and location of new construction, as originally requested by previous Council.
The purpose of the policy is to ensure that all such development will be within the designated lot of the landowner who is constructing the structure.
The policy would mean that any person to whom a development permit has been issued will be required to enlist the services of a qualified land surveyor to measure the site and designate the areas on the site where construction can occur.
The landowner will also be required to submit a letter of certification from the surveyor, as well as the surveyor’s sketch indicating the building site to the Development Officer, before a building permit can be issued.
Moreover, if the structure is not constructed within the designated site, the landowner will be required to relocate the structure at his or her own cost.
In some cases, this would imply the possible demolition and rebuilding of such a structure.
After some debate, Councillor Andrew Saje suggested that the request should be tabled until a formal policy could be written.
Snelgrove informed Council on December 14th that the Municipal Development Officer is “asking for some assurance of (a policy) at the development permit level.”
“If it is not to her satisfaction, she will not issue the permit,” he said.
Snelgrove indicated that the issue should be incorporated as part of the Municipality’s land use bylaw, along with a number of other amendments.
The issue was tabled until a special meeting regarding the land use bylaw can be held.