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Home My WebLink AboutLakeshore Advance, 2013-02-27, Page 3Wednesday, February 27, 2013 • Lakeshore Advance 3 Municipal solicitor weighs in on regulating wireless Lynda Hillman-Rapley/Heather Wright MMI Agency Efforts to make Port Franks a haven for people suffering from electromag- netic: sensitivity seem to be stalling. Some residents have been trying to keep Bell Canada from building a 4-G cell phone tower at Port Frank's marina saying people can suffer from electromagnetic sensitive from the waves emitted from the towers. 'that, they say, can lead to sleeplessness, headaches and tinnitus or ringing in die ears. Lambton Shores tried to find an ,alternative site for the tower and asked Industry Canada to intervene but attempts to stop the tower from going up were blocked at every turn. Recently, construction began. But Lambton Shores Deputy Mayor Elizabeth Davis Dagg still wants to see council take action, ask- ing for the municipality to conduct a survey to see how many people in Port Franks would support a beige zone - that is an area where there is a limited amount of electromagnetic waves. She also asked staff to figure out how much it would cost to hard- wire Internet and phone service to the marina in Port Franks for emer- gency use. Staff had yet to answer Davis Dagg request and with the bull- dozers beginning construction, the deputy mayor wanted quick action, asking staff to draft a letter for council to pass at its March 4 meeting and send out immediately. But the idea of asking Port Franks residents if they wanted a beige zone got 0 cool reception. "We have no jurisdiction to stop the tower from going up - what are we going to do move the tower afterward?" asked Councilor Doug Cook. "I don't see the point of going through it... l doubt if that tower is going to be moved even if everyone said they didn't want it because there isn't an alternate location:' Councilor Martin Underwood agreed saying "what are the odds of them (Bell Canada) saying 'alright, we'll take it down?' We were caught with our pants down (when Bell first started making plans) without having a telecommunications policy... we care about our community but that ship has sailed," he says. And Underwood says it's unlikely even if the community wanted to restrict cell towers that the munici- pality could do that since cell towers are a federal responsibility. "i think it is important that it goes to the level of government that can do something," he says. "Otherwise we are filling thein with false hope because we don't even have the right to do any- thing under the legislation because it is not our jurisdiction:' Davis Dagg says the municipality should try to influence the situation anyway. "If we as a municipality don't use the leverage and influence we have, these people are stranded;' she says. "We could do something and who knows what will happen unless we try:' Council wasn't moved by Davis 1)agg's plea and didn't ask staff to prepare the survey letter. instead council will wait for a meeting in March to review a staff report on the issue before making any decisions on how to fight the towers. "In a report from staff they stated the solicitor said Municipalities can- not regulate the following as they are regulated by the Federal Govern- ment: placement of cell towers, own- ership or use of wireless devices and cannot prevent others from using wireless frequencies. Further Munic- ipalities cannot regulate the use of personal pmperty and cannot refuse to grant building permits where the proposed project complies with all applicable laws:" Staff also said, "As previously men- tioned, the information received thus far does not support a method for the Municipality to regulate cell towers or Beige Zones. It was discussed at the time the Municipal protocol was dis- cussed that the municipality diel not have the authority to regulate cell tower location as that is federally reg- ulated; however, the passing of the protocol would indicate to tele- communication companies the pref- erence of the Municipality with respect to location. That being said, staff could review the locational crite- ria used to locate towers and identify areas within the Municipality where they could be accommodated with minimal impact to residents. In a letter after the meeting, South- cott Pines resident Arthur Lake said, "My heart swelled with pride today as the Deputy Mayor attempted to initi- ate a step in the process whereby I ambton Shores would set itself apart from the crowd as being miles and years ahead of the curve on antipol- lution of the environment by EMF radiation:' "'Ib my surprise, the Deputy Mayor was voted down when she proposed that residents in Port Franks he can- vassed about setting up a silent zone for those noised by EMF radiation. Perhaps, I should have turned up some loud speakers and blasted these at those sleepy councillors. Who were they?" Last'lhursday a flyer can to local post boxes that stated the Bell Canada CeII Phone tower in Southcott is now up and running. "We are sending out this advisory concerning the most common symptosis one would expe- rience from the radiation coming from the cell tower," stated the mate- rial sent out by "The Lakeshore Coali- tion'; adding multiple residents have reported noticing symptoms new to them, some even from over one kil- ometer away. The coalition offers towerpf@ yahoo.com for continents. Lambton Shores choses $23,000 consultant to find new CAO Heather Wright OMI Agency Lambton Shores council will spend $23,000 to find the next chief administrative officer. And it will be worth every penny, according to one councilor, to make sure the community has confidence the process was transparent. Lambton Shores has been embroiled in controversy since the Nov. 13 suspension of John Byrne. 1 le was dismissed after a month but not before an outcry from commu- nity members who wanted to know why he was fired, how much it cost the municipality and why some people in the community knew about the suspension - a matter which under municipal rules should be private - before the meeting took place. Eight complaints were filed to the Ontario Ombudsman's office about the meeting, although investigators could find no evidence there had been a prearranged meeting to dis- cuss Byrne's dismissal. It did chas- tise council for holding some of the votes about the issue in camera when they should have been done in public. So when it came time to replace Byrne, councilors tread carefully, first hoping to hire an interim CAO so a full search could be completed and then deciding instead to hire a consultant to find a permanent replacement as soon as possible. Lambton Shores staff contacted four local experts in the field and three bid on the job with the cost for service ranging from $7,000 to $23,000. Council chose the most expensive consultant, Nigel Bellchamber, to guide the municipality through the process. Bellchamber is well known in municipal circles. Ile worked in municipal government for years, including a four year stint as the CAO of Huron County. Huron recently hired Bellchamber to straighten out their personal prob- lems at the top job. Ile's also the past general man- ager of the Ontario Municipal Administrators Association. Councilor Doug Bonesteel admit- ted it was unusual to accept the highest bid in a process like this, but Bellchamber is well respected and the plan he laid out in his proposal - which was not made public - best met the municipality's needs. "'There has to be rigor w this proc- ess," says Bonesteel. "We live in a fishbowl. We have to be open and transparent. Whoever gets this posi- tion here has to believe they have earned it...We have to get it right." Only one council member objected to the decision, Deputy Mayor Elizabeth Davis Dagg. She suggested a consultant shouldn't be hired until council had done an internal search to see if there was an appropriate candidate for the CAO's job. LOCAL NEWS... LOCAL EVENTS... LOCAL SPORTS...LOCAL COLUMNISTS... LOCAL SERVICES... "YOUR I.00AI. COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER" [toaboroGrand8¢d Advellce Subcsribe Today! 58 Ontario St., S. I'O Box 1195 Grand Bend ON NOM 1TO PH: 519-238-5383 Fax: 519-238-5131 Email: Iakeshore.advance@sunmedia.ca www.Iakeshoreadvance.com