Addington Highlands Council

Jeff Green | Nov 05, 2014

Too much snow, plows at fault; too much water, beavers

Two complaints from residents came up at Addington Highlands Council this week.

Residents living on Dennison Road came to council to complain that the road crews pushed snow onto their lot when clearing their road last winter.

“We recognise that since we live on a dead end road, there is a problem, but if there is a build up this year, then we would want the snow to be removed instead of being continually pushed into our property,” one of them said.

Public Works Manager Royce Rosenblath said the expense of removing snow instead of pushing it off the road is not something the township normally gets into.

Council passed a motion asking Public Works to come up with a proposal for Dennison Road.

Beavers: The township received a letter from Timothy Laidler who lives on Addington Road 7, complaining about the effects of constant beaver activity on his road, causing costs to the township for de-clogging and replacing culverts and putting gravel down on the road.

“I suggest a new approach” he said, and then proposed that all deciduous trees be removed from within 100 metres of the high water mark of the pond that is near the road. “The deciduous trees should be replaced with planting of coniferous trees, cedar close to the water, spruce further back, pine even further back .. Beavers only live on deciduous species," Laidler said.

He added that beavers end up doing this to their habitat eventually, “eating themselves out of house and home."

“I don't think we want to get into a program like that,” said Deputy Reeve Bill Cox.

“I think we should respond saying we will do our best to control the beavers and leave it at that,” said Councilor Tony Fritsch.

County OP causes concern

The draft Lennox and Addington County Official Plan was received by council. “There's a lot there that I don't like, such as restricting developments to hamlets; we don't have serviced hamlets,” said Reeve Hogg, “but I don't see what we can do.”

Council accepted the OP for information purposes only.

Move in date for fire hall put back.

The move in date for the new Northbrook fire hall is set for December 24, but expectations are that the construction may drag on into the new year.