Councillor McCann Meeting Report (May 2, 2023)

West Parry Sound Community Support Services Volunteer Appreciation
On Wednesday evening, April 19, 2023, my wife and I attended a Volunteer Appreciation Dinner at the Foley Agriculture Centre, hosted by the West Parry Sound Community Support Services. It was the agency’s way of extending a big thank you to all its volunteers. Volunteers deliver Meals on Wheels, provide transportation services, conduct friendly visiting and participate in several means to reach out to our senior population in the area. We were treated to a wonderful evening.


Town of Parry Sound Special Council Meeting
On Monday evening, April 24, 2023, I attended a special Town Council Meeting.  Following the opening of the meeting, Mayor, Council and Staff went into a closed meeting to deal with a matter pertaining to litigation or potential litigation affecting the municipality (contractor work for a Board) and also pertaining to advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose (contractor work for a Board).


West Parry Sound District Museum Monthly Board Meeting
West Parry Sound District Museum Monthly Board Meeting took place virtually viz ZOOM, on Thursday evening, April 27, 2023. Due to some short holiday time, I was not available to attend but am happy to report on that meeting. Financial Reports were reviewed and accepted. The museum continued to have some computer hardware issues and has worked through most of them. The outdoor deck is in bad need of repair and we have retained a contractor to work on the structure, completing all repairs by the end of this month. There are fire system repairs required, mostly to replace faulty smoke and heat detectors. The Museum is also stepping up its own marketing with radio advertising and rack cards and posters. The rack cards will be distributed to tourist locations including the Cruise Ships. The attendance numbers and gift shop sales are growing. The Museum was successful in submitting a Young Canada Works application. This grant partially funds the employment of a summer student from May 14 to September 2, 2023. The Museum was approached by the YMCA Employment Centre with funding to hire a student from their Youth program. There was a motion then to hire an additional Gift Shop Attendant with the YMCA’s wage subsidy for May and June. We were also successful in receiving a MAP Grant for the creation of a Digital Strategic Plan. The grant covers 100% of the consultant fees. The Museum’s contribution will be to cover the Manager/Curator’s salary for the time required to complete the project.