City calling back most laid-off staff; more dumps to re-open

Mayor Andy Letham and CAO Ron Taylor confirmed recently that the bulk of city staff laid off in April will be called back to work this month.

Letham shared that the call-back of staff has already begun. He said the city is not going to open up their facilities to the public until “we are ready.”

The mayor says, “We are not going to rush this process. We want to do it right as we want to offer a safe environment for residents and visitors.”

Taylor adds, “We are well back into the call-back list. By the end of the month we hope to have 80 per cent of the staff back. The other 20 per cent have had their programs suspended and may be redeployed to other areas of the city over the summer.”

The CAO suggested that it would take a minimum of two weeks to activate, complete maintenance and get appropriate signage in place so the city facilities are safe to use.

Fields have been receiving a bare minimum of maintenance this spring, and the city will now start getting athletic fields and baseball diamonds ready for play as well.

Letham says the shut-down due to the pandemic was used by the city to do necessary maintenance on local pools, and that maintenance is still ongoing. One of the city-owned pools currently has been drained completely for repair and refurbishment.

As the mayor shared, “We were caught mid-maintenance,” by the province’s re-opening announcement.

Taylor is aiming for the facilities approved by the stage two provincial re-opening mandate to be available for public use by July 1.

Taylor also shared that additional staff will be needed at landfill sites as the last two closed city landfills at Somerville and Laxton-Digby-Longford  are scheduled to re-open in the next 14 days.

More landfill sites set to reopen

The municipality will be reopening access to both the Laxton-Digby-Longford (Norland) and Somerville (Burnt River) landfill sites in the upcoming weeks. Both sites will be resuming full services, including normal hours of operations.

Re-opening schedule:

• The Laxton-Digby-Longford (Norland) landfill will be resuming full regular operations on this Sunday, June 14.
• The Somerville (Burnt River) landfill will be resuming full regular operations on Friday July 3.
• The Lindsay Ops, Fenelon and Eldon landfill locations reopened public access in May and are all still working under regular hours of operation.

Although the municipality is allowing residents on site, there will be modifications to service levels to ensure that safety protocols are being following. The following policies will be put in place for landfills that are opening:

• No cash payments. Only debit and credit will be accepted.
• Limited access on site. Please be patient and be prepared to wait as our staff will be directed to limit the number of vehicles and members of the public allowed on site. 

Please be advised
Round-Up Event Days and the city’s Adopt-a-Road Program have both been cancelled/put on hold for the 2020 calendar year due to the pandemic.

In addition, the Fenelon Reuse Centre and Lindsay Ops Habitat for Humanity Drop-Off bin are not currently operating or accepting donations due to the pandemic.

When on site
Cooperation and respect from all parties on site will need to be maintained to ensure that we can continue to offer waste management services.

If you are planning to visit a landfill location, please abide by all safety protocols in place and follow directions laid out by staff. Modified services and precautions have been put in place for the well-being and safety of everyone.

Tire Recycling
As per new regulations the City will no longer be accepting tires at landfill sites as of July 1. Tire producers are responsible for recycling tires.

There are many collection sites within Kawartha Lakes which must accept tires for recycling, such as garages and vendors.

There is a search tool on Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority’s (RPRA) website to assist you with finding a close and convenient collection site.

For more information, visit their website and type in your postal code to find a collection site near you, or call them at toll free line:1-833-600-0530.