Township Newsletter – June 2015

Concerns have been expressed regarding dogs running at large, and barking persistently. Please ensure that your dog is confined to your property, is not in your neighbours’ yard or on municipal roadway property, and have dog(s) refrain from frequently barking. Dogs are required to have a rabies shot (once every 2 years), be registered with the Township and have a tag. A $75 fine is attached to each of the infractions listed above.

Fire permits are required from April 1st in any year until October 31st in the same year. No day time burning is allowed without the explicit permission of the Fire Chief. Burn only from two hours before sunset to two hours after sunrise.

Should you be living in close proximity to a neighbour(s), please respect him/her/them by keeping the noise level to an acceptable intensity, particularly during the evening hours.

Council has established a Fall Clean-up similar to the Spring Clean-up. Clean-up hours will be the same, with Friday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday & Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fall Clean-up will take place the week end after the Thanksgiving holiday. MacDonald Drive will be upgraded and surface treated this summer. The developer provided the Township with money, which was placed in trust, to surface treat the road. A good number of lots have been built upon and Council now feels comfortable surface treating the road. The wharf property will probably see some clearing, grubbing, gravelling of driveway & parking lot areas for 2015. No tax increase will be necessary to accomplish this work. During the last couple of winters the municipal roads have experienced a lot of damage. As a result, council has committed to improving the worst roads by milling, gravelling and in some cases replacing the surface treatment. Sweeping and roadside cutting, along with trimming ditches with a special mower along roads will also be completed. To keep the tax rate increase to 2% and complete the necessary road work, a considerable amount of money was transferred from reserves to accomplish the road work. This is the first tax rate increase in more than twelve years. At least one more year of a tax rate increase is anticipated to further improve the road system. Even with the increased tax rate, Laird Township has a much lower tax rate than surrounding municipalities. Please note that two roads, or portions of the road, have had speed limits reduced to 60 km/hr – Pumpkin Point Road East and Bar River Road East, from the Village of Bar River to Cemetery Road. Please use caution when traveling municipal roads. Building permits are required for reshingling a roof. The cost is $60. Used shingles will not be accepted at the waste disposal site without a permit.

June 2015