Tony Rotherham

The mayor and all councillors were present. There were nine residents in attendance.

The meeting opened with the introduction of the new Director General of West Bolton, Lea Laplante.

Town Planning – Four permits with a total value of $592,000 for renovations were issued in September. An additional 10 permit applications are under study.

Administration –Some new members joined the urban planning advisory committee. A new building inspector is needed to ensure prompt management of applications for building permits. Gestin 2024 has been hired to provide this service and the FQM will post a notice of the job opening on their website.

Notice of Motion was given for new bylaws on Fire Prevention, Responsibility for pets, Contract and internal management. Ms. Pepin’s service as interim municipal GM is over but she will provide advice and mentorship to the new municipal staff for the period of transition.

According to StatsCan, 49% of West Bolton residents have English as their mother tongue, which is a reduction in the propor- tion from historic levels. Under Quebec’s language laws, municipalities without a majority anglophone population must offer services only in French – both written and verbal. A resolution to maintain bilingual status was approved by council to permit the munici- pal office to legally offer services in both languages. The resolution recognizes that maintaining the legal bilingual status is in the inter- ests of all residents.

The 2025 calendar of municipal council meetings will be posted on the website.

Roads and Infrastructure –A new road maintenance worker has been hired. Joint maintenance of Summit Rd will be agreed with St-Étienne.

Public Safety – The cost of police service by the SQ in 2024 was $236,109. The cost will increase by 10% in 2025, and the number of SQ officers serving the MRC will be reduced. A letter of complaint will be sent to Quebec.

Questions – The speed limit should be reduced to 50 km/h on Bailey Rd. There are many houses and too many speeding cars. Reduction of the limit will send a message to drivers.

Smoke from burning debris in a gravel pit is creating a serious nuisance for neighbours.

Perhaps West Bolton should join TBL in negotiating shared police services with Bromont.

Next Meeting – Dec 9th, 2024