Charlton-Dack keeping an eye on the future

The Municipality of Charlton and Dack is entering 2024 with the ongoing issue of staffing.

Long-time deputy clerk-treasurer Gisele Belanger has left that position, and at the turn of the year the municipality was seeking applications for the position.

In the late fall a new chief administrative officer, Vaughn Finch, came on board and oversees the administration duties for both Charlton-Dack and for the Township of Chamberlain, which has a shared services agreement with the municipality.

Reeve Sandra Parkin said the focus for the municipality this year will be on technical upgrades at the office, policy reviews where needed, and also municipal infrastructure.

The municipality also wants to update its website and social media.

Parkin said the municipality wants to know, “Do we have everything that we need to be efficient and move forward into the future?”

The municipality continues to work on its River Road bridge project, which is still with the engineers.

“We’re hoping we’re going to be able to tackle that this year,” Parkin said of the surface improvement project.

The township will also be looking at needed culvert projects, and examining its budget to see what can be afforded this year.

Technical upgrades are taking place in the office to improve efficiencies and enhance speeds, Parkin added.

“Things are going well on our shared services agreement with Chamberlain, so we’re trying to make improvements on that, to see if there are any more efficiencies that we can bring to the table for both townships,” she continued.

“It is working from what we can see, so we would like to keep it going in that direction.”

The municipality, which has annually held a Canada Day fireworks display, had to hold off on the display in 2023 until late summer due to fire hazard concerns and the potential to start a fire.

“We’re looking at a drone show this year,” said Parkin.

“A drone show would go regardless of whether there’s a fire ban or not,” she pointed out. “And, from an environmental aspect, it’s a lot nicer for people’s pets.”

She said the municipality is considering it as a pilot project and needs to determine whether a drone show could be presented at the same cost as a fireworks display.

“It would be something new,” she said, adding that she has seen a drone show and it is impressive.

Darlene Wroe, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Temiskaming Speaker