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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLakeshore Advance, 2013-03-13, Page 2'2 Lakeshore Advance • Wednesday, March 13, 2013 Council want upper tier action for Port Franks cell issues Lynda HIIIman-Rapley Port Drunks resident I .:un ren Maurizio come to council ht hopes of clarifying the hell) needed by this municipality to mike Port Drunks safer for those suffering limn electromagnetic sensitivities. Before beginning her delegation, Maul izio asked that all cell phones be turned off as she was "stlfferirtg" Members of the Port Franks community have been delegating with council since they first learned a cell tower was bring erected near a marina. Resident Wendy I soy walked to Ottawa to raise iawill'l'llt'SS about the objections of some residents to cell phone towers being built near their honors. "Cell towers ill's' a source of involun- tary exposure to a type of electromag- netic radiation referred to as microwave radiation," 1 loy said In it press release. "And not one single Canadian has a say in whether or not you live next to a tower" 1 soy is it founding member of the Lakeshore Coalition, formed this year to oppose plans for nets cell phom' towers in and around Port Franks. Concern over where towers are planned caused Lambton Shores coun- c11 10 enact its own "protocol" about where they're built. Control rests coni pletely with Industry Canada. (:ell towers ale WHIN' the jurisdiction of the federal government and one of the constants of this issue has been the com- munication with MP Bev Shipley. Lamb - ton Shores stuff has also been attempting communication with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs with no response. Before the tower was l'l)11at11itil'll ('01111 ciI did what they could to have it moved or to work with Industry Canada to hell) those with health effects- but the tower went up. 111 February Lambton Shores I )(ptlty N'layor 1?Iizabeth I )avis I )agg said she wants to see council take action, ask- ing for the municipality to conduct a sur- vey to ser how sonny people in Pori Hanks would support a beige zone that is an arra where there is a limited amount of electromagnetic waves. She also asked stall to figure out how much it would cost to hardwire Internet and phone service to the marina in Port Franks for emer- gency use and that this information be sent out to the residents of )'ort Franks for their input on the matter. In it report from Senior Planner Paul Richardson, it was also established from the solicitor that, Municipalities cannot regulate the placement of cell towers. 'I hat is a federal responsibility. • Municipalities cannot (generally) regu- late the use of personal property. • Municipalities cannot regulate the ownership or use of wireless devices. That is also fedentl responsibility. • Municipalities cannot refuse to grant building permits where the proposed building or structure complies with all applicable laws. • Municipalities can restrict their own communications (to land lines) hut cannot prevent others from using wireless frequencies. Restric- tions on wireless use by staff will have to take competing interests Arbortech/Taylor Professional Tree Care Inc. Within this past year Arbortech Professional Tree Care and Taylor Tree Service became one company. Both businesses have operated in the area since the early 1990's, run by people who have been in the trade for over 30 years. We employ well-educated, informed and friendly Certified Arborists, apprenticing Arborists and Certified Horticulturists. These professionals come with a great work ethic and attention to quality and detail. Here's What We Can Safely & Professionally Do For You: • Pruning of Trees, Shrubs and Hedges • Tree Removal • Stump Removal • Cabling and Bracing of Weak Trunks and Limbs • Qualified Electrical Utility Line Clearing • Fertilization of Trees, Shrubs and Hedges • Disease and Insect Management • Emerald Ash Borer Control • Brush Chipping • Lot Clearing • Storm Damage Repair • Spotless Cleanup BUCKET TRUCKS TO 60' • TRAINED TREE CLIMBERS CRANE TRUCK • STUMP GRINDERS • CHIPPERS YEAR ROUND SERVICE Grand Bend: 519-238-5451 Strathroy: 519-245-1019 VISA Lauroen Maurizio at Lambton Shores council meeting (such as safety) into account. At last week's delegation with Maurizio, council member John Russell said he has supported going to the Feds from the begin- ning and that hN supports this group. l le said he has 00 problem polling the people of Port Franks and acknowledged a "Beige Zone" dues not exist in Canada. 111' said they have to get the feds attention but having said that they "could legally give them the finger" "Let's Lynda Hillman-Rapley deal with Monte (MPP Monte McNaughton), let's advocate- this is a health concern." 11e suggested they deal with McNaughton and MP Bev Shipley in 0 "polite way': Council member Doug Bonesteel said they received an excellent report limn staff and that they need to contact AM() and say, "Where are you'?" I le suggested they put a resource link on the municipal web site asking people if they support the municipality pursuing a "Beige ').one" Council member Martis) Underwood asked if they have the authority and could they enforce. Ile was told no. "'I hen what the hell are we doing it for?" he asked. Council ineinher Lurie Scott said many of her constituents won't understand what they are talking about- she said if they poll there needs to be some clarity. Davis- 1)agg said they have a role of advocacy and they could do 0 concise -one page summary that is readable and available. Council member Doug Bones - teel agreed with Maurizio stating instead of using the terns Beige Zone- to use the terns ERRA- as people will understand that tern' better. Mayor Bill Weber askec, about the time line of this report and Russell said the tower is up and they can't stop it. Council member Dave Maguire asked how they could have a "Beige Zone" if the tower was already up. Russell said no one said they d.ic1 not want the tower- they merely objected to the location. In a recorded vote, mayor Bill Weber and council member Doug Cook said no to the polling resi- dents. Cook said it was redundant and they were putting staff through extra work. Step one - appoint an Integrity Commlssloner Lynda HIIIman-Rapley Lambton Shores council wants to t'stilblish all acceptable level of ethical behaviour, to ensure respect for the integrity of the corporation, ation, so they are planning on bringing in the Integrity Commission. in late May they approved a by- law to "Establish Roles and Responsibilities for Council to pro- mote Accountability and'I'ranspar- ency in Municipal Governance': 'I he goal was to establish a stand- ardized and acceptable level of ethical behaviour for the members of Council to ensure respect for the integrity of the Corporation and to ensure the trust (tithe public. in addition to guidelines For expected behaviors, the by-law Included information on dealing with perceived "breaches" of Code of Conduct on both an informal and formai basis. The by-law further notes that if both the informal or formal processes were unsuccessful, the next step would be to refer issues / com- plaints to an integrity Commis- sioner, who would complete an independent and impartial review of the complaint. In order to process complaints fairly and equitably and to pro- ceed with the next step in the appointment of the integrity Commissioner, it was necessary for Council to determine 0 for- mal complaint process and the functions to be assigned to the Integrity Commissioner. It wits council member Doug lionesteel who brought 111)0111 the complaint in May 2012 and asked that they bring in an Integrity Commission. 11e advised that "With the comments and con- cerns raised 1'ecently on (a)tllll'il's conduct and the need to restore the public's confidence in its Municipal Council he, as empow- ered under the Municipal Act, would like to retain an integrity Commission to investigate com- plaints against Council's code of conduct to determine if there ha'' - been leaks and if so to Ileal wit thesis" A motion was carried ied that' stated, "That Council retain 1111 Integrity Commissioner under the Municipal Act to start an investigation to determine if alle- gations against Council has any grounds. Bonesteel said the report CONTINUED > PAGE 7 HYTER!S I' A S T E & TRADITION RETAIL STORE OPEN YEAR ROUND PAP 37467 Dashwood Rd., Dashwood 519-237-3561 . w)tnv.haytersjtnr.com SPRINGTIME Is TURKEY'TIME! 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