(NSN) Get ready for the 10^th edition of the Winter Carnival organized by the Deux-Montagnes Lions Club, a much anticipated event for young and old alike.

What better time to move around and gather together with neighbours or family to enjoy winter activities? This event will take place on January 25^th from 11 am to 4 pm at Olympia Park, located at 1005 Guy Street in Deux-Montagnes.

Come for the fun

Young and old will not want to miss this outdoor event. All activities are free and there will be horse and buggy rides, skating, toboggan slides and children’s games with prizes.

The Lions volunteers will serve free hot beverages, tasty soup, hot dogs and their famous chilli that will keep you warm during these winter activities. Maple taffy on snow will also be available for all to enjoy. Appreciate a beautiful day outdoors in Deux-Montagnes.

A family tradition

The City of Deux-Montagnes is very pleased to partner with the Lions, by promoting this event which has become over the years a traditional winter activity for the families of Deux-Montagnes.

The organizing committee and the president of the Deux-Montagnes Lions Club, Florindo Stabile, said they would like to thank the administration of the City of Deux-Montagnes for their support of this event.

So the invitation is made: Come play outside. They are waiting for you to show up in large numbers on Jan. 25 at Olympia Park.

(NSN) Mayor Eric Westram has announced that Rosemère’s Winter Carnival will be held on Saturday, February 8 from 10 am – 3 p.m. at Charbonneau Park.

This traditional family event that everyone looks forward to each year is the ideal place to get together and make the most of the joys of winter with family and friends.

Fun for the family

“Our Winter Carnival is a must for all Rosemerites,” Westram said. “With its festive, family atmosphere, this event is sure to please the whole family. Our team has worked hard to offer you a variety of activities. On February 8, come celebrate winter at Charbonneau Park. I hope to see a large turnout.”

As every year, there will be a full range of activities: sleigh rides, inflatable games, snow sculptures and more. Come enjoy the famous taffy on snow and keep toasty with warm-up exercises to music offered by Cardio Plein Air at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Skating and sledding

Residents are also invited to bring their sleds and skates to take advantage of the giant slide and outdoor rink on site. As well, the 49^th Lorraine-Rosemère scout troop will be on hand to offer participants a few inexpensive refreshments.

It should be noted that the event will take place rain or shine, with the exception of heavy rain. In there is any doubt, residents will be able to listen to the Recreation Department’s voice message the same day, at 450 621-3500, extension 7380, or by consulting the town’s website and Facebook page.

Martin C. Barry

The City of Deux-Montagnes is undertaking perhaps the largest reorganization its fire department has ever undergone with an announcement that the city’s staff of part-time firefighters is about to be replaced by a smaller staff of full-timers.

Risk coverage

The news was officially revealed by Mayor Denis Martin at the Jan. 16 city council meeting. According to a resolution read out by Councillor Micheline Groulx-Stabile, the fire department, which also serves Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, is obliged to conform to a provincial law which establishes norms for fire prevention and risk coverage.

According to the resolution, the Ministry of Public Security has indicated by decree to the city that the Deux-Montagnes/Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac Fire Department is not respecting its governance obligations related to emergency interventions.

Labour negotiations

As well, a collective agreement with the department’s current staff of firefighters expired on Dec. 31 2018, and the City of Deux-Montagnes made provisions in its 2020 budget measures to deal with the situation.

As such, a plan by the city, tentatively coming into effect next Sept. 14, will create 16 full-time firefighter positions and six part-time positions to replace the 40 part-time firefighters currently staffing the department, the whole to be negotiated with firefighters’ union representatives.

Change of structure

“This is an important change of structure we are undertaking to meet the norms we are being asked to conform to by the government,” the mayor said during the meeting, providing some background for the decision.

According to the mayor, bringing the fire department up to the standards demanded by the Public Security Ministry will end up costing Deux-Montagnes $300,000 more annually. But at the same time, he admitted that running the fire department as it is now had become increasingly hard.

Accepting recommendations

“Having those 40 part-time positions is difficult when they’re on call,” he said. “It’s harder than ever to get personnel and to have them available when needed. So in order to assure the security of our residents, we decided to move forward with what was being proposed by the government and we will carry out the negotiations keeping this in mind.”

On the brighter side, the city’s chief legal clerk, Jacques Robichaud, noted that conforming to the provincial norms will have the advantage of reducing the City of Deux-Montagnes’ liability should it ever be sued for negligence following a fire that was responded to by the Deux-Montagnes/Ste-Marthe-sur-le-Lac Fire Dept.

Trois-Rivière was sued

“Just as an example, the City of Trois-Rivières, over the course of the year 2019, was ordered to pay more than $1 million in damages as a result of having neglected to respect the number of firefighters who were required to respond to a fire,” said Robichaud. “So it is not a trivial thing when it comes to the consequences of not respecting the fire risk requirements.”

In an interview following the council meeting, the mayor told North Shore News the proposed structural change will mean four firefighters will be on duty at all times seven days a week.

Keeping costs down

“It was causing problems in terms of the firefighters’ availability,” he said regarding the part-time system, although he acknowledged the low cost meant Deux-Montagnes had until now been operating one of the most cost-efficient fire departments in the region.

However, he noted that cooperative agreements between North Shore municipalities for sharing fire services will also be instrumental to help keep costs down. But in order to comply with those agreements, the Deux-Montagnes/Ste-Marthe-sur-le-Lac Fire Dept. will need to respect the provincial fire risk norms.

(NSN) The Moisson Laurentides food bank has announced that it has received a $100,000 donation from the Stablex company as part of a recent Moisson Laurentides fundraising campaign.

The food bank says the donation will help Moisson Laurentides develop and build a new and larger distribution centre that will be better adapted to new realities.

Part of the community

“Stablex was already a valuable partner for Moisson Laurentides and we are very proud they are supporting our major financing campaign,” said Moisson Laurentides executive-director Annie Bélanger.

“For more than 35 years, Stablex, a pioneer in the Blainville industrial park, has been actively taking part in regional community activities,” said Stablex executive-director Michel Perron. “We are proud to be able to contribute to Moisson Laurentides’ work combating hunger while nourishing hope,” he added.

Martin C. Barry

Recent modifications to the Town of Rosemère’s regulations stipulating dates when winter car shelters can be put up and taken down motivated two town residents to complain during the Jan. 13 town council meeting that they find the shelters unsightly and might just as soon not see them at all.

Shelter period extended

In a change made in December by Rosemère town council, by-law 801 was amended in order to allow “Tempo” winter car shelters, as well as shelters covering private sidewalks, to be kept up for about a month longer at the end of winter.

Whereas a previous version of the by-law required property owners to take down the shelters by April 1, the amended by-law will now allow them to remain up until May 1. The earliest date each year when the shelters can be put up is Nov. 1.

They disagreed

“The reason we came here is that we don’t agree,” said one of the residents, adding that they were concerned about some winter car shelter owners who don’t maintain their shelters properly and don’t always respect the deadline for removal.

According to Mayor Eric Westram, the town has been extending the deadline for removal for the past three years as the winter-time weather has lingered longer than usual, leaving ice behind and the shelters more difficult to remove.

“I think we postponed the deadline at least twice,” said Westram. Still, the woman’s spouse noted that even if the weather is good by the end of April, some people may still delay taking down their car shelters.

A form of pollution

“It’s a form of visual pollution, especially in certain neighbourhoods,” he said. “And now you’re going to extend it to the end of the month of April, so it’s certain that people are going to go to the end of April. Whereas the old way, you gave them permission on a case-by-case basis.”

The two residents maintained that after checking the rules in nearby municipalities, few except for Rosemère allow winter car shelters to be kept in place to the end of April. The exceptions are Saint-Eustache and the City of Laval.

They suggested Rosemère should change the date to remove the car shelters to April 15, as a compromise between March 31 and April 30.

No change in policy

In an interview with the North Shore News immediately after the council meeting, Mayor Westram said the town will be continuing with the extension to the end of April for at least another year or two in order to assess the impact.

“We’ve adopted this change and it’s with us for a year or two, and then we can look at it again,” he said. “Because obviously if the winters keep on going the way they have the last few years, I think it’s a good change we’ve made.

“People have a hard time removing the plastic on those shelters because remains stuck to it,” he added. “But if things change then we’ll adopt a new ruling when it becomes necessary.”

Marsh boardwalk repairs

In other business during the meeting, the mayor and councillors formally approved a $976,000 loan and expenditure to cover costs related to repairs to be carried out on the lengthy wooden boardwalk that crosses the Tylee Marsh.

As previously reported in the North Shore News, the footbridge was closed last summer after it became apparent the structure was deteriorating and had become potentially dangerous. Also during the meeting, the council approved a more than $3.5 million expenditure for the construction of a new chalet building along the riverbank at Charbonneau Park.

Bill 101 sign compliance

As an interesting aside, the town council’s Planning and Architectural Integration Committee gave its approval for a change to a commercial sign located above the Chaussures Yellow Shoes store at 390 Labelle Blvd.

According to town councillor Marie-Hélène Fortin who oversees the SPAI’s work, Quebec’s Office de Langue Française now requires businesses with English names to add descriptive information in French. As such, the Yellow logo above the Rosemère store must now also include the phrase “Depuis 1916.”

Martin C. Barry

The owner of an average single-family home in the City of Deux-Montagnes will pay 0.82 per cent more in property taxes next year, representing an increase of around $23 for a house worth $254,000, according to the 2020 budget tabled at Deux-Montagnes city hall last week.

Avg. $2,917 tax bill

A single-family house owner in Deux-Montagnes who paid $2,894 in property taxes in 2019 will be paying $2,917 in 2020, according to the new budget.

Mayor Denis Martin’s latest budget since first being elected in 2013 allots more than $25 million to pay for expenses next year, a four per cent increase over the previous year. There were $24.33 million in operating expenses and a 1.15 per cent tax increase last year.

Debt has been reduced

While the City of Deux-Montagnes’ long-term debt load was close to $50 million six years ago, a gradual debt repayment program undertaken by the current administration over the past five years has brought the total debt down to $35 million (or $22 million as carried by taxpayers), with debt financing costs reduced by 21 per cent.

According to the mayor, Deux-Montagnes’ debt-financing costs previously accounted for up to 25 per cent of the annual budget, which was one of highest debt servicing levels reached by any municipality in Quebec. Debt-financing now accounts for 16 per cent of Deux-Montagnes’ budget, which in turn is helping to keep taxes under control, said the mayor.

Among the lowest taxes

“This is probably the lowest tax increase in the Montreal area,” he said in an interview with the North Shore News. “Since most of the cities are between 1.5 and 2.5, we’re happy to have been able to offer this to our citizens.”

According to a statement issued by the city, this was the fifth consecutive year that tax increases in Deux-Montagnes came in below an inflation rate of 2 per cent.

This was achieved despite an increase in snow removal costs in Deux-Montagnes and elsewhere in Quebec during recent winters. A portion of the city’s annual expenses incurred but not reimbursed for construction of the new anti-flood dike was also an additional budgetary challenge, said the city.

Some 2020 budget highlights

• A three-year capital construction program sets aside more than $9 million for infrastructure investments in 2020, 70% of which will be funded through grants or city reserves.
• An investment of more than $1 million in Armitage Park (corner Oka Rd. and 26^th

Ave.), which will undergo a major transformation in the coming months. The park will be transformed into an intergenerational outdoor space offering attractions for the whole family.

• Deux-Montagnes Blvd. will be completely redone from the train station area further eastward.
• Renewal of wheeled equipment for the public works department, especially for snow removal and for the purchase of electric vehicles.
• A $500,000 investment to purchase blue wheeled bins to standardize those used in collecting recyclable materials throughout the city.

During the regular city council meeting after the budget was tabled, the mayor revealed that the City of Deux-Montagnes is planning to develop a new park, green space or outdoor facility, to be known as Place du Centenaire, in conjunction with the 100^th anniversary of Deux-Montagnes’ incorporation as a municipality in 2021.

Place du Centenaire

“It’s a project we’re looking into,” he said. “We’re having discussions with certain people so we’re not ready to announce it. But it’s in the works to have a beautiful park, an area where the citizens can be close to the water. We hope to be able to announce a project for this early in the spring.”

As well, the city is in the early stages of developing a plan for a subterranean containment basin to have better control of springtime flood waters. The location could be underneath playing fields in Central Park. The mayor said plans are being developed in conjunction with the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM).

(NSN) Mayor Eric Westram presented the 2020 budget estimates that were adopted by town council at a special meeting on Monday Dec. 16.

“Since taking office, we have focused on consultation with our residents in order to clearly identify their needs, expectations and ability to pay,” said the mayor. “With our urbanistic vision taking shape from day to day, the next two years will make it possible to develop the Rosemère of tomorrow in a way that respects our community.”

Budget highlights

An operating budget of $32,226,400; introduction of a new tax for infrastructure consolidation; protection of areas that are sensitive to climate change; improvements to services for residents; implementation of a community life development plan; and a 50 per cent reduction in the use of the accumulated surplus to balance the budget ($350,000), equivalent to 1.5 per cent of municipal tax.

The operating budget is slightly higher (by 1.8 per cent) compared to 2019. With the CPI in Québec at 2.3 per cent, the Westram administration said that “rigorous management of public funds remains a constant priority.”

An enviable tax bill

The 2020 budget provides for a 2.1 per cent adjustment, on average, to the general residential property tax (including the rates of service charges). By adding the new tax for infrastructure consolidation ($0.0043), validated by residents during a public consultation, the new tax rate will come to 0.5452 per $100 of assessment.

Consequently, for the average house in Rosemère, the infrastructure consolidation tax represents an adjustment of approximately $18, while in total, the fluctuation will be $76. For the non-residential sector, the rate of taxation for general property tax will be set at $1.7452 per $100 of assessment.

Non-residential impact

The impact for the non-residential sector is different for each business, depending on the variation in values on the property assessment roll. It should be noted that there is no transfer of the tax burden between the residential and non-residential sectors.

According to town officials, Rosemère is maintaining an enviable regional position. In 2018, the owners of an average Rosemère home paid 9 per cent less property tax, while benefiting from a 30 per cent higher value of their property. Moreover, the Town of Rosemère is 50 per cent less in debt.

Infrastructure investments

“Our financial management policy is to ensure that Rosemerites continue to pay less tax and obtain more value for their home than elsewhere,” added Westram.

The budget will make it possible to invest approximately $11.3 million, in 2020, in the well-being of the community. Here are the main investments: infrastructure consolidation plan; Charbonneau Park pavilion and development; and emergency measures equipment. Details of the 2020 budget may be found on the Town’s website: www.ville.rosemere.qc.ca.

Martin C. Barry

Grande Côte Road in Rosemère was aglow with the magic of the Christmas season on the evening of Friday Dec. 6 as hundreds of residents – including many families with children – came out to take part in the town’s annual Christmas Torchlight Walk.

The colorful procession was the beginning a weekend-long schedule of Christmas events sponsored by the Town of Rosemère along with a few local businesses.

Torchlit Way

In keeping with tradition, torches were handed out to cheerful revelers in the train station parking lot for the torchlight parade to Memorial Community Centre.

Among the local elected officials who braved the chilly air to take part were Rosemère mayor Eric Westram, as well as councillors René Villeneuve, Hélène Akzam, Philip Panet-Raymond and Melissa Monk.

The walkers were accompanied by a float featuring Santa Claus and the Snow Queen from the Frozen movie. All paraded along Grande-Côte to the Community Centre where music, dancing and entertainment continued until 9 p.m.

Christmas Market

The Torch Walk was followed by a Christmas Market at the community centre, where dozens of crafts workers presented their locally-made products. The festivities were organized in partnership with Place Rosemère, the Aile des gens d’affaires de Rosemère and Jeunesse Action Rosemère.

Other activities for the rest of the weekend included a concert by the Orchestre symphonique des jeunes de Rosemère (OSJR), a concert by the Rosemère Big Band, a performance on Saturday afternoon at Sainte-Françoise-Cabrini Church by the Petit Chœur de Rosemère, and a performance on Sunday at the church by the Chœur Classique des Basses-Laurentides.