Cavan Monaghan policing deal extended by council

City councillors gave preliminary approval Monday night to allow Peterborough Police to continue patrolling Cavan Monaghan Township for another two years.

The city police service has been patrolling the township — in addition to the village of Lakefield in Selwyn Township — since 2015.

The current contract with Cavan Monaghan Township will expire at the end of September. Police, city staff and township staff had been negotiating a contract renewal when the pandemic struck.

Because it’s unclear when a state of emergency may be lifted, councillors voted Monday to offer a two-year extension of the current contract to the township to end Sept. 30, 2022.

Councillors approved the idea with no debate on Monday.

From Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2020, the township would pay $324,249 for policing.

For Jan. 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2022, annual policing increases for the contract with Cavan Monaghan would be based on negotiations with staff for salaries.

Pool water

Councillors voted Monday night to order a new city staff report that examines how to potentially give a break to homeowners paying a premium on the sewer surcharge to fill their in-ground pools.

Coun. Henry Clarke said the inequity comes because the sewer surcharge — which is meant to help the city pay for wastewater treatment — is tied to the metered amount of water used by a customer.

But some customers are using a lot of water to fill a pool, he said — and yet that water isn’t later going down the sewers.

He said it’s unfair to expect that customer to pay more toward the sewer surcharge, and some city staff members agree.

Two councillors — Coun. Gary Baldwin and Coun. Lesley Parnell — declared a pecuniary interest and didn’t vote on the matter because they have inground pools.

But all other councillors voted in favour of asking for the report from staff (only Mayor Diane Therrien voted against it).

Otonabee Region Conservation funding

Councillors gave preliminary approval on Monday to writing the provincial government to ask for “stable funding” for Otonabee Region Conservation Authority.

The motion came from Coun. Kim Zippel, who sits on the conservation authority’s board along with Mayor Diane Therrien and Coun. Gary Baldwin.

A year ago, the provincial government notified conservation authorities that their budgets for flood-reduction programs are about to be cut in half.

There was no debate prior to the vote; all councillors voted in favour except for Coun. Stephen Wright.

New trucks

Councillors gave preliminary approval Monday to buy three new trucks for use in the planned new curbside collection of kitchen organic waste. The cost is expected to be about $990,000.

Peterborough will likely have its own organic waste composting facility by 2023; in February, the federal government announced up to $6 million toward the $15.3-million project. The facility will compost both kitchen scraps and yard waste. The city already composts yard waste locally, but not kitchen waste.