John Klinck, who reportedly gained a consensus of council last month in favour of allowing three developers to cross municipal roads currently under load restrictions of five tonnes per axel, again received council’s support to review the reduced-load bylaw.

Klinck rounded up a consensus of council through telephone calls after an unsuccessful bid to convince town councillors during a March 18 public works committee meeting. At that meeting the town’s public works manager said he would not recommend waiving load restrictions on municipal roads no matter how significant the development.

Klinck’s memo to the public works committee on May 6 said current municipal load restriction methodology is based on a broad-stroke and all-inclusive policy. There are no consideration elements or methodology to either grant reprieve from the bylaw or amend the roads affected by the bylaw, he added. Klinck believes there are certain roads in the town’s network that can support heavy vehicles and equipment during the spring thaw.

In light of the “unprecedented level of development” and the change from predominantly single residential-style projects to numerous large-scale projects, Klinck said a longer construction period and much larger investment is subject to strict timelines and significant financial implications.

“If we don’t have the ability to get a contractor in and out, they can’t build a big facility in three months,” he said. “There’s no flexibility for ability and we got to have a flexible approach that protects the interests of the community.”

He suggested that until such time as the bylaw is considered for revision, a consensus of council and indemnity agreement to the benefit of the town be required to allow heavy equipment to cross over load-reduced roads.

Klinck said thanks to indemnity agreements for the Granite Trail condominium development on James Street, Residence Inn by Marriott at Muskoka Wharf, and Muskoka Bay subdivision off North Muldrew Lake Road, 100 people continued working and “assets” of between $40- and $50 million were closer to fruition.

Still councillor Terry Pilger said a “consensus of council” after the topic was unsuccessfully debated at committee was not appropriate. He said proper procedures should be followed and the formal way to address the issue and treat everyone the same is through changes to the bylaw.

“We dealt with the matter, there was no seconder and no one was on the yea side of things,” Pilger said. “A consensus by making a phone call is not the way we do business. We should be doing it openly in public.”

Klinck said in the future, exemptions by indemnity agreements would be dealt with in open session.

“The ironic thing is through this exercise, I had great conversations with local contractors who might be affected or have their nose out of joint because they perceived favourable treatment,” Klinck said.

Klinck spoke with contractors across the municipality and said he was surprised by their support for council’s decision and support to re-examine the bylaw.

Councillor Paisley Donaldson said council is “walking on touchy ground” because she is concerned about fairness to everyone. She said she even took some heat at home as her husband is building a new house and was not given load reprieve.

“I don’t want council perceived as making special provisions for people,” she said. “I look forward to reviewing the bylaw for everyone.”

Councillor Lou Guerriero pointed out how lengthy construction delays due to load restrictions also impact local residents who may have sold their home to move into the Granite Trail development.

“Fairness is what we want to do in this exercise,” Klinck agreed.

He admitted, though, that the three developers given load reprieve through indemnity agreements essentially saw cost savings.

“They should recognize the fact that the municipality took on some risks for those roads and provided some savings (to the developers),” he said.