Grey County Committee of the Whole Meeting Transcript — January 8, 2026

00:00:04 Speaker 01: Thank you. Now, I would like

00:00:07 Speaker 01: to now call to order this

00:00:08 Speaker 01: committee, the whole, and the agenda

00:00:10 Speaker 01: has been circulated and published and

00:00:12 Speaker 01: provided to members of the public,

00:00:13 Speaker 01: members of the committee, the whole

00:00:15 Speaker 01: of January, January eighth, twenty twenty

00:00:18 Speaker 01: six. So, I'd like to call

00:00:19 Speaker 01: to order this meeting, but I

00:00:20 Speaker 01: would like to just give give

00:00:24 Speaker 01: a moment to ask if if

00:00:26 Speaker 01: it would be amenable to council

00:00:28 Speaker 01: to our committee, the whole members,

00:00:29 Speaker 01: if we were to move the.

00:00:31 Speaker 01: delegation up ahead of the business

00:00:32 Speaker 01: arising from the minutes, we do

00:00:33 Speaker 01: have a notice of motion that

00:00:35 Speaker 01: will require discussion during that that

00:00:37 Speaker 01: business arising from the minutes. And

00:00:39 Speaker 01: out of respect to Mr. Krieko,

00:00:41 Speaker 01: who is ready to present the

00:00:42 Speaker 01: delegation, I would like to ask

00:00:44 Speaker 01: if it is amenable to move

00:00:46 Speaker 01: it up. I'll I'll just say,

00:00:48 Speaker 01: please raise your hand if there

00:00:50 Speaker 01: is any anybody who has a

00:00:53 Speaker 01: concern about moving those two items.

00:00:55 Speaker 01: Okay, not seeing hands go up,

00:00:57 Speaker 01: we will then continue with that.

00:00:57 Speaker 01: First of all, though, I will

00:00:59 Speaker 01: put out a call. for declarations

00:01:01 Speaker 01: of interest. Are there any declarations

00:01:02 Speaker 01: of interest for this committee? The

00:01:05 Speaker 01: whole agenda. Seeing none, we will

00:01:08 Speaker 01: proceed, and we will proceed therefore

00:01:09 Speaker 01: with item 4A, which is

00:01:12 Speaker 01: a delegation regarding safety and accessibility

00:01:14 Speaker 01: from Nicholas Gully at Nicholas Gully

00:01:16 Speaker 01: on Gray Road 17B. I would

00:01:20 Speaker 01: like to welcome Mr. Joseph Grieco

00:01:22 Speaker 01: for coming here. I see you

00:01:24 Speaker 01: there on the screen. Thank you

00:01:25 Speaker 01: very much. And can you hear

00:01:28 Speaker 01: me? Okay. Yes, I can. Can

00:01:30 Speaker 01: you hear me? Yes, you are.

00:01:31 Speaker 01: You are coming in nice and

00:01:33 Speaker 01: clear, so we welcome that. And

00:01:36 Speaker 01: the deputy clerk is going to

00:01:37 Speaker 01: start to share the screen for

00:01:38 Speaker 01: you. So, if there's something you

00:01:39 Speaker 01: need her to scroll down to

00:01:41 Speaker 01: or the next slide, just go

00:01:42 Speaker 01: ahead and say that, and then

00:01:43 Speaker 01: she'll move it down for you.

00:01:45 Speaker 01: So, welcome. The floor is yours.

00:01:50 Speaker 01: Good morning, Madame Ward, and thank

00:01:52 Speaker 01: you for letting me speak today.

00:01:54 Speaker 01: As you know, I'll be speaking

00:01:57 Speaker 01: about Gray Road 17B and the

00:02:01 Speaker 01: portion known as Nichols Gully. A

00:02:04 Speaker 01: bit of background: I live very

00:02:06 Speaker 01: close to Kippel Sarawak Elementary School.

00:02:10 Speaker 01: I frequently use Summer Street in

00:02:12 Speaker 01: Georgian Bluffs, then on to Nichols

00:02:16 Speaker 01: Gully to access services and visit

00:02:18 Speaker 01: my daughter in the area known

00:02:22 Speaker 01: as the Sunset Strip. I access

00:02:24 Speaker 01: those services mostly. by car, but

00:02:26 Speaker 02: have also used my bike on

00:02:30 Speaker 02: numerous occasions. My family would typically

00:02:33 Speaker 02: use Nichols Gully and 17B five

00:02:36 Speaker 02: or six days a week, traveling

00:02:39 Speaker 02: to and from our destination. I

00:02:41 Speaker 02: guess you could say that our

00:02:42 Speaker 02: family is part of the on

00:02:47 Speaker 02: average 4,500 vehicles using that route

00:02:52 Speaker 02: every day in 2025. I. have

00:02:54 Speaker 02: had concerns about road safety in

00:02:57 Speaker 02: Nichols Gully, so I contacted Grey

00:03:00 Speaker 02: County Roads about a year ago,

00:03:01 Speaker 02: and was glad to find out

00:03:04 Speaker 02: that Nichols Gully and Grey Road

00:03:07 Speaker 02: 17B were slated for an upgrade

00:03:11 Speaker 02: in 2027. I was told by

00:03:13 Speaker 02: county staff that both vehicle and

00:03:16 Speaker 02: pedestrian safety concerns would be addressed

00:03:20 Speaker 02: with the planned upgrade. I also

00:03:23 Speaker 02: was told that the plan would

00:03:27 Speaker 02: include structural changes similar to those

00:03:29 Speaker 02: made to Alpha Street in Owen

00:03:34 Speaker 02: Sound in 2025. These changes would

00:03:37 Speaker 02: include safe separation between pedestrians, bike,

00:03:41 Speaker 02: and vehicle traffic. These changes would

00:03:44 Speaker 02: also include better sightlines, improved rain,

00:03:47 Speaker 02: rain and snow runoff, and a

00:03:49 Speaker 02: wider and wider shoulders. for automobile

00:03:54 Speaker 02: traffic. I hope all staff and

00:03:56 Speaker 02: councilors here today would agree that

00:03:59 Speaker 02: safety for vehicle traffic, pedestrians, and

00:04:01 Speaker 02: cyclists must be the primary concern

00:04:04 Speaker 02: when considering any changes to the

00:04:08 Speaker 02: road. That is why it is

00:04:12 Speaker 02: important to hear about Bill. Bill

00:04:13 Speaker 02: is one of the many pedestrians

00:04:15 Speaker 02: that live on or near Gray

00:04:18 Speaker 02: Road 17B and uses. Nichols Gully

00:04:21 Speaker 02: Road to access services on 10th

00:04:24 Speaker 02: Street West and the Sunset Strip.

00:04:28 Speaker 02: As you can see in front

00:04:29 Speaker 02: of you, a picture of Bill

00:04:31 Speaker 02: making his way down the gully

00:04:35 Speaker 02: are included in this presentation, and

00:04:37 Speaker 02: he has given me permission to

00:04:43 Speaker 02: have that picture presented today. He

00:04:44 Speaker 02: is in good shape, but is

00:04:47 Speaker 02: elderly and. for personal reasons, can

00:04:50 Speaker 02: no longer drive. He could be

00:04:53 Speaker 02: anyone's father or grandfather here today.

00:04:56 Speaker 02: I was able to talk to

00:04:57 Speaker 02: him last fall and called him

00:05:00 Speaker 02: recently to ask him the following

00:05:05 Speaker 02: questions. First question is: Do you

00:05:07 Speaker 02: feel safe walking Nichols Gully Road?

00:05:11 Speaker 02: And his answer was: Not really.

00:05:14 Speaker 02: It is very dangerous. Sometimes to

00:05:16 Speaker 02: walk on the narrow, unpaved shoulder.

00:05:20 Speaker 02: Sometimes I'm forced to walk on

00:05:22 Speaker 02: the road itself to avoid chunks

00:05:24 Speaker 02: of snow, ice, or potholes. Second

00:05:31 Speaker 02: question was, do you encounter other

00:05:33 Speaker 02: people walking or riding bikes while

00:05:37 Speaker 02: walking the road? His answer was,

00:05:41 Speaker 02: I've been living on 17B for

00:05:43 Speaker 02: 18 years and. B for 18

00:05:45 Speaker 02: years and have been walking the

00:05:48 Speaker 02: road for at least 10. I

00:05:50 Speaker 02: often see people walking, riding, and

00:05:53 Speaker 02: biking along the road. I often

00:05:55 Speaker 02: see three boys use the road,

00:06:02 Speaker 02: who I presume attend the high

00:06:04 Speaker 02: school. Question number three: Do you

00:06:06 Speaker 02: have any suggestions on how to

00:06:11 Speaker 02: improve safety for pedestrians or cyclists?

00:06:12 Speaker 02: His answer: It would be good.

00:06:16 Speaker 02: to have wider paved shoulders or

00:06:18 Speaker 02: a separate walkway that that's not

00:06:21 Speaker 02: close to the road. Right now,

00:06:25 Speaker 02: there are many potholes and unevenness

00:06:26 Speaker 02: to the shoulders. The snow is

00:06:28 Speaker 02: piled up right next to the

00:06:30 Speaker 02: guardrails, and there are no there

00:06:35 Speaker 02: is no room for pedestrians. Properly

00:06:39 Speaker 02: remove the excess snow. Better lighting,

00:06:42 Speaker 02: especially at this time of the

00:06:43 Speaker 02: year. find a way to stop

00:06:46 Speaker 02: the water and ice runoff from

00:06:50 Speaker 02: making things even more dangerous. Next

00:06:54 Speaker 02: question was, should the Flicks bus

00:06:59 Speaker 02: to Solvall use that route? His

00:07:02 Speaker 02: answer: It seems dangerous for such

00:07:05 Speaker 02: a large vehicle. There are also

00:07:10 Speaker 02: other large trucks, like grain trucks,

00:07:12 Speaker 02: using the route. In my conversation

00:07:14 Speaker 02: with Bill, we both came to

00:07:16 Speaker 02: the conclusion that until the upgrade

00:07:20 Speaker 02: to Nickel Gully Road is completed,

00:07:24 Speaker 02: that at every that at the

00:07:28 Speaker 02: very least, watch for pedestrian signs

00:07:30 Speaker 02: should be posted at both the

00:07:34 Speaker 02: north and south access points of

00:07:37 Speaker 02: the gully. We both wondered why

00:07:40 Speaker 02: those signs haven't. already been posted,

00:07:45 Speaker 02: considering that both the administration and

00:07:47 Speaker 02: the council are fully aware that

00:07:52 Speaker 02: both pedestrians and cyclists use the

00:07:55 Speaker 02: road. The takeaway from my presentation

00:07:58 Speaker 02: is as follows: one, any changes

00:08:01 Speaker 02: to Grey Road 17, Nichols Gully

00:08:04 Speaker 02: must have vehicle and pedestrian safety

00:08:09 Speaker 02: as their number one priority. Number

00:08:12 Speaker 02: two, a safe separation from pedestrian,

00:08:17 Speaker 02: bike traffic, and vehicle traffic is

00:08:20 Speaker 02: imperative. Number three, better lighting and

00:08:26 Speaker 02: proper snow removal are essential for

00:08:28 Speaker 02: pedestrian safety. There is a question

00:08:32 Speaker 02: that should be asked at this

00:08:35 Speaker 02: council, and that is. Do the

00:08:38 Speaker 02: road upgrades need to have public

00:08:42 Speaker 02: input to properly address before any

00:08:49 Speaker 02: final decision is made? And that's

00:08:55 Speaker 02: the end of my my formal

00:08:58 Speaker 02: talk. But there is a photo

00:08:59 Speaker 02: that I would like for council

00:09:00 Speaker 02: to see, and that would be

00:09:03 Speaker 02: the last photo. I believe it's

00:09:06 Speaker 02: the one that. is showing the

00:09:10 Speaker 02: cleared road, that one there. That

00:09:14 Speaker 02: sorry, yeah, that one. That is

00:09:16 Speaker 02: a cleared sidewalk at the top

00:09:18 Speaker 02: of Alpha Street, and the other

00:09:20 Speaker 02: road in front, the road in

00:09:24 Speaker 02: front of you is 17B. That

00:09:29 Speaker 02: is an example of what the

00:09:34 Speaker 02: Nichols Gully pedestrian walkway should look

00:09:38 Speaker 02: like. and I I don't know

00:09:41 Speaker 02: the logistics. I know that Georgian

00:09:44 Speaker 02: Bluffs and Owen Sound are adjacent

00:09:46 Speaker 02: to that roadway, and I'm not

00:09:49 Speaker 02: sure if Georgian Bluffs have a

00:09:51 Speaker 02: vehicle that does remove snow from

00:09:54 Speaker 02: sidewalks, but I do know that

00:09:56 Speaker 02: Owen Sound does, and I think

00:10:02 Speaker 02: it would take maybe some cooperation

00:10:06 Speaker 02: between the two municipalities. and Great

00:10:08 Speaker 02: County, to somehow, in some cooperative

00:10:12 Speaker 02: way, find a way that pedestrians

00:10:17 Speaker 02: and cyclists can feel safe using

00:10:18 Speaker 02: Nicholas Gully. That's the end of

00:10:20 Speaker 02: what I have to say. But

00:10:22 Speaker 02: if there's any questions or if

00:10:24 Speaker 02: you have any comments, I'd be

00:10:27 Speaker 02: free to answer any questions that

00:10:29 Speaker 02: you have. Okay, thank you very

00:10:31 Speaker 01: much for that, President. Thank you

00:10:32 Speaker 01: very much for that presentation. And

00:10:34 Speaker 01: just before I open it to

00:10:35 Speaker 01: committee, the whole members to see

00:10:37 Speaker 01: if they have any questions for

00:10:38 Speaker 01: you. I just want to look

00:10:41 Speaker 01: to Director Hoy. Director Hoy, I

00:10:43 Speaker 03: believe that there is a report

00:10:47 Speaker 03: that's forthcoming in February with regards

00:10:50 Speaker 03: to the that will include this

00:10:52 Speaker 03: section of the road. Yes, through

00:10:54 Speaker 03: you, Andrea. Yeah, I want to

00:10:55 Speaker 03: thank Mr. Greco for coming to

00:10:57 Speaker 03: the the committee. We are aware

00:10:57 Speaker 03: of a lot of these issues.

00:11:01 Speaker 03: We know that that's. We know

00:11:02 Speaker 03: that that section of road has

00:11:05 Speaker 03: a lot of active transportation challenges,

00:11:06 Speaker 03: and you know, as per our

00:11:07 Speaker 03: cycling and trails master plan, it

00:11:10 Speaker 03: really is supposed to have paved

00:11:11 Speaker 03: shoulders or kind of it's a

00:11:12 Speaker 03: key corridor in our active transportation

00:11:14 Speaker 03: plan. So we do have a

00:11:17 Speaker 03: report coming in February that will

00:11:19 Speaker 03: address some of these issues. There's

00:11:23 Speaker 03: many options. It's a very difficult

00:11:25 Speaker 03: area because of the confined space

00:11:27 Speaker 03: down there and just the vertical

00:11:29 Speaker 03: and horizontal, you know, variation, and

00:11:32 Speaker 03: and. I did want to thank

00:11:33 Speaker 03: him for some of the short-term

00:11:35 Speaker 03: fixes, such as pedestrian signs. We'll

00:11:37 Speaker 03: look into that immediately, just to

00:11:39 Speaker 03: see. We have seen people through

00:11:41 Speaker 03: there as well, and cyclists as

00:11:42 Speaker 03: well. So there is a lot

00:11:44 Speaker 03: of options there, and it's not

00:11:46 Speaker 03: an easy design. Some of that

00:11:46 Speaker 03: section is our narrowest right-of-way, but

00:11:47 Speaker 03: I don't want to get in

00:11:49 Speaker 03: too into it here. That should

00:11:51 Speaker 03: all be coming in their report

00:11:52 Speaker 03: in February. It's going to be

00:11:54 Speaker 03: pretty inclusive. We met with George

00:11:55 Speaker 03: and Bluffs already at a staff

00:11:56 Speaker 03: level to start talking about the

00:11:59 Speaker 03: project. So. there's a lot in

00:12:01 Speaker 01: the works there that we can

00:12:02 Speaker 01: bring in the February report. Okay,

00:12:04 Speaker 01: thank you very much, Director Hoy.

00:12:05 Speaker 01: So, with that, Madam Deputy Clerk,

00:12:08 Speaker 01: if you wouldn't mind just unsuring

00:12:09 Speaker 01: your screen so we can have

00:12:10 Speaker 01: all the members back on the

00:12:11 Speaker 01: screen, and I will just ask

00:12:13 Speaker 01: if you could use your virtual

00:12:20 Speaker 01: hand, Committee of the Whole members,

00:12:22 Speaker 01: if you have any questions to

00:12:24 Speaker 01: direct towards our delegate. Okay. All

00:12:26 Speaker 01: right, I'm not seeing any hands

00:12:29 Speaker 01: go up for. you. Thank you

00:12:30 Speaker 01: very much for presenting the material,

00:12:32 Speaker 01: both the visual material and your

00:12:36 Speaker 01: your oral presentation. And it is

00:12:38 Speaker 01: good to see that there's already

00:12:40 Speaker 01: communication between you and and our

00:12:42 Speaker 01: our director of of transportation. And

00:12:44 Speaker 01: as he mentioned, in the next

00:12:47 Speaker 01: cycle of our committee committee, the

00:12:49 Speaker 01: whole and committee and council meetings

00:12:52 Speaker 01: in February, we'll be hearing more

00:12:53 Speaker 01: more details on that. So with

00:12:55 Speaker 01: that, I thank you for the

00:12:57 Speaker 01: the deck. Excuse me. The delegation,

00:13:01 Speaker 01: and we received that, and that

00:13:02 Speaker 01: will help frame our contemplation as

00:13:04 Speaker 01: we see that report come forward.

00:13:05 Speaker 01: Thank you very much. You're quite

00:13:08 Speaker 01: welcome. Okay, so with that, then

00:13:10 Speaker 01: we will go to business arising

00:13:13 Speaker 01: from the minutes, which is item

00:13:15 Speaker 01: three of our committee. The whole

00:13:18 Speaker 01: published agenda, and there was a

00:13:19 Speaker 01: notice of motion presented by Councillor

00:13:21 Speaker 01: Millon on December 11th, 2025, during

00:13:24 Speaker 01: the committee. The whole, and so

00:13:26 Speaker 01: in order for us to go

00:13:27 Speaker 01: any. further on discussion, we will

00:13:31 Speaker 01: need to confirm our that Councillor

00:13:33 Speaker 01: Millen is or Deputy Warden Millen

00:13:35 Speaker 01: is moving the motion, and we

00:13:37 Speaker 01: will need a seconder. So, Deputy

00:13:39 Speaker 01: Warden, are you still moving that

00:13:40 Speaker 01: now? Therefore, be it resolved that

00:13:42 Speaker 01: on the adoption of the 2026

00:13:43 Speaker 01: budget, the Budget and Finance Committee

00:13:45 Speaker 01: be resolved. Can I just confirm

00:13:45 Speaker 01: that you're still moving? Thank you.

00:13:47 Speaker 01: I see your thumbs up. Yes,

00:13:49 Speaker 01: yes, I am. And I okay.

00:13:51 Speaker 01: Thank you. So I would ask

00:13:52 Speaker 01: at this time if there is

00:13:54 Speaker 01: a seconder, and I. As a

00:13:56 Speaker 01: seconder, and I see seconded by

00:13:56 Speaker 01: Councillor Borden-Yell, so it's now on

00:13:59 Speaker 01: the floor for discussion. So, if

00:14:02 Speaker 01: you could please use your virtual

00:14:05 Speaker 01: hands, that'll be helpful because it

00:14:09 Speaker 01: will put you to the top

00:14:10 Speaker 01: of my screen. And we'll begin

00:14:14 Speaker 01: with the Deputy Warden. Thank you,

00:14:16 Speaker 04: Warden, and thank you for indulging

00:14:18 Speaker 04: me on this this topic. I

00:14:20 Speaker 04: guess off the top, I'd say

00:14:21 Speaker 04: it's it's ironic that this comes

00:14:23 Speaker 04: before today. Part, if not most

00:14:27 Speaker 04: of the reason. why we're meeting

00:14:32 Speaker 04: virtually is because the agenda is

00:14:35 Speaker 04: fairly small, and we don't want

00:14:38 Speaker 04: to waste people's time driving dull

00:14:39 Speaker 04: and sound for a very short

00:14:41 Speaker 04: meeting. So, that said, the reason

00:14:44 Speaker 04: why I've brought this forward is

00:14:48 Speaker 04: to reduce the amount of wasted

00:14:49 Speaker 04: time, and I guess I'll bear

00:14:52 Speaker 04: some of the responsibility because we've

00:14:55 Speaker 04: had discussions on committee the whole

00:14:59 Speaker 04: versus other. and I thought I

00:15:00 Speaker 04: was very supportive of having this

00:15:01 Speaker 04: committee—the budget and audit committee, budget

00:15:04 Speaker 04: and finance committee—so really deep deep

00:15:07 Speaker 04: dives into finances, primarily budget. And

00:15:09 Speaker 04: we did that. I think I

00:15:11 Speaker 04: think we did a pretty good

00:15:13 Speaker 04: job. And the recommendation was to

00:15:16 Speaker 04: bring back the suggestions to council.

00:15:20 Speaker 04: What I didn't anticipate was going

00:15:22 Speaker 04: all through the budget again with

00:15:26 Speaker 04: all the staff, senior staff. sitting

00:15:29 Speaker 04: there again. I think the budget

00:15:31 Speaker 04: meeting, budget committee, rather, met at

00:15:34 Speaker 04: least twice, maybe three times, to

00:15:37 Speaker 04: discuss the budget, and then we

00:15:40 Speaker 04: went through the whole thing again

00:15:41 Speaker 04: with the entire council, at least

00:15:43 Speaker 04: twice, maybe three times, with all

00:15:47 Speaker 04: the senior staff. It seemed to

00:15:48 Speaker 04: me a colossal waste of time

00:15:49 Speaker 04: if we're going to go through

00:15:51 Speaker 04: it. in depth with the entire

00:15:55 Speaker 04: council, that's fine, that's great. But

00:15:57 Speaker 04: what's the point of the committee

00:15:59 Speaker 04: if we're going to go through

00:16:01 Speaker 04: the whole thing again with the

00:16:02 Speaker 04: entire committee? So, hence my resolution,

00:16:08 Speaker 04: and I'll leave it at that

00:16:12 Speaker 05: for now. Thank you. Okay, thank

00:16:14 Speaker 05: you very much, Deputy Warden. So

00:16:16 Speaker 05: it is on the floor for

00:16:18 Speaker 05: discussion. Okay, we'll go to Councillor

00:16:19 Speaker 05: Carleton. Thank you, Warden, and Happy

00:16:21 Speaker 05: New Year to everyone. I agree

00:16:23 Speaker 05: with Deputy Warden Millen and his

00:16:27 Speaker 05: comments. I think anything to do

00:16:28 Speaker 05: with our budget and finance is

00:16:30 Speaker 05: so important to all of Council

00:16:31 Speaker 05: that everyone wants to be included.

00:16:35 Speaker 05: So, I completely support eliminating this

00:16:38 Speaker 05: committee and just bringing it all

00:16:43 Speaker 05: forward to all of Council in

00:16:44 Speaker 05: future. So, thank you for bringing

00:16:51 Speaker 06: this forward. Okay, thank you. Any

00:16:54 Speaker 06: other discussion? I'll look for the

00:16:57 Speaker 06: virtual hand. I'll look for the

00:17:00 Speaker 06: virtual hands. Okay, I'm not seeing

00:17:05 Speaker 06: any. For oh, we'll go to

00:17:08 Speaker 06: Councillor Eccles next. Thank you, Madam

00:17:12 Speaker 06: Warden, and through you, I was

00:17:17 Speaker 06: a strong proponent of bringing this

00:17:20 Speaker 06: back in as a budget and

00:17:24 Speaker 06: finance committee. What I have found,

00:17:28 Speaker 06: as Sitting on the committee, and

00:17:30 Speaker 06: the variations of the committee throughout

00:17:34 Speaker 06: the year was that the finance

00:17:37 Speaker 06: part of that committee, I think

00:17:39 Speaker 06: somewhere got lost, or maybe it

00:17:42 Speaker 06: just wasn't something that was a

00:17:45 Speaker 06: priority or needed to be addressed.

00:17:50 Speaker 06: We worked strongly, I think, the

00:17:54 Speaker 06: committee did on the. budget, but

00:17:55 Speaker 06: the same as what Councillor Millan

00:17:57 Speaker 06: said. Just to have it repeated

00:18:01 Speaker 06: again at committee of the whole,

00:18:07 Speaker 06: and in reference to Councillor Carleton,

00:18:10 Speaker 06: the same thing. That if we're

00:18:11 Speaker 06: going to do the same thing

00:18:15 Speaker 06: at committee of the whole, this

00:18:17 Speaker 06: committee certainly can be eliminated, and

00:18:21 Speaker 06: the. costs certainly do not need

00:18:23 Speaker 06: to be recognized, and we can

00:18:26 Speaker 06: move forward, making the budget more

00:18:29 Speaker 06: healthy and hearty by going through

00:18:32 Speaker 06: committee of the whole. So I'm

00:18:34 Speaker 06: supporting the idea of disbanding the

00:18:35 Speaker 06: committee and getting more effective and

00:18:36 Speaker 06: efficient time from staff and council

00:18:40 Speaker 06: on the duties that we need

00:18:42 Speaker 06: to hold. Thank you. very much.

00:18:43 Speaker 06: Then I'll put a call out.

00:18:47 Speaker 06: Is there anybody else that would

00:18:51 Speaker 06: like to add to the discussion?

00:18:53 Speaker 07: Okay, I'll put a final call

00:18:56 Speaker 07: out. Is there anybody that would

00:18:58 Speaker 07: like to add to the discussion?

00:19:00 Speaker 07: We'll go to Councillor Mackey next.

00:19:03 Speaker 07: Thank you, Warden Matrussos, and good

00:19:06 Speaker 07: morning, County Council. I have to

00:19:09 Speaker 07: agree with the comments made by

00:19:12 Speaker 07: my colleagues that I sit with

00:19:13 Speaker 07: on the Budget and Finance Committee.

00:19:15 Speaker 07: Yeah, Budget and Finance Committee. It

00:19:16 Speaker 07: was certainly painful to go through

00:19:18 Speaker 07: all the information twice. It was

00:19:22 Speaker 07: duplication that is not required. My

00:19:24 Speaker 07: thought when the committee was created

00:19:27 Speaker 07: that we would take a deep

00:19:28 Speaker 07: dive, and I think the committee

00:19:30 Speaker 07: did do that. But there needs

00:19:31 Speaker 07: to be some trust and given

00:19:34 Speaker 07: to the members of the committee

00:19:35 Speaker 07: from the rest of council that

00:19:37 Speaker 07: we are taking that deep dive,

00:19:41 Speaker 07: and that there isn't a need

00:19:44 Speaker 07: to bring. it all back back

00:19:45 Speaker 07: in front of a committee of

00:19:49 Speaker 01: the whole. That being said, that

00:19:51 Speaker 01: didn't take place this year, so

00:19:54 Speaker 01: I support disbanding the budget and

00:19:59 Speaker 01: finance committee. Unfortunately, I think it

00:20:01 Speaker 01: could serve a very good purpose,

00:20:02 Speaker 01: but not under the current setting.

00:20:04 Speaker 01: Thank you. Okay, thank you very

00:20:05 Speaker 01: much. Is there any other discussion?

00:20:10 Speaker 01: Look for any other virtual hands.

00:20:14 Speaker 01: Not seeing any further virtual hands,

00:20:16 Speaker 01: then it looks like we're ready

00:20:17 Speaker 01: to call the vote. So I'll

00:20:19 Speaker 01: ask all those in favor, please

00:20:21 Speaker 01: raise your hand. And that motion

00:20:23 Speaker 01: is carried. Thank you very much.

00:20:25 Speaker 01: Okay, so we have now already

00:20:28 Speaker 01: taken care of item number four,

00:20:30 Speaker 01: that allows us to go on

00:20:32 Speaker 01: to determination of items for separate

00:20:34 Speaker 01: discussion. So in item six, we

00:20:38 Speaker 01: have a number of pieces. We

00:20:41 Speaker 01: have items. Actually, it's just. two.

00:20:43 Speaker 01: We have item six A and

00:20:45 Speaker 01: six B. Are either of those?

00:20:48 Speaker 01: Does anybody desire to have a

00:20:50 Speaker 01: separate discussion about either of those?

00:20:51 Speaker 01: Okay. Yes, Madam Clerk. Sorry, Madam

00:20:53 Speaker 01: Horton. Just to confirm that there

00:20:55 Speaker 01: is also six C and six

00:20:58 Speaker 01: D regarding OSA funding. And sorry,

00:21:00 Speaker 01: I see that they're on my

00:21:03 Speaker 01: second page. Yes, thank you. So

00:21:07 Speaker 01: we do have four items: item

00:21:08 Speaker 01: six A through D. Anything that

00:21:11 Speaker 01: anybody would like to. discuss separately,

00:21:13 Speaker 01: Councilor Eccles. Six C, please. I

00:21:14 Speaker 01: would like to pull. Okay, so

00:21:16 Speaker 01: six C has been pulled. Anything

00:21:18 Speaker 01: else? Okay, so not seeing any

00:21:20 Speaker 01: further hands in. It's recommended that

00:21:22 Speaker 01: the following consent agenda items be

00:21:24 Speaker 01: received, and that staff be authorized

00:21:25 Speaker 01: to take actions necessary to give

00:21:28 Speaker 01: effect to the recommendations in the

00:21:30 Speaker 01: staff reports, and that the correspondence

00:21:31 Speaker 01: be supported or received for information

00:21:36 Speaker 01: as recommended in the consent agenda,

00:21:39 Speaker 01: and we. will we will consider

00:21:41 Speaker 01: this for items 6A, B, and

00:21:43 Speaker 01: D, but 6C we will have

00:21:46 Speaker 01: several discussion. I see it moved

00:21:48 Speaker 01: by Councillor Debrine. Do I have

00:21:49 Speaker 01: a seconder? Seconded by Councillor Kieveny.

00:21:51 Speaker 01: Any discussion? All those in favor,

00:21:52 Speaker 01: please raise your hand. And that

00:21:54 Speaker 01: motion is carried. Thank you.

00:21:57 Speaker 01: Okay, so we will go to

00:22:00 Speaker 01: the item for discussion first, and

00:22:01 Speaker 01: then we'll circle back to item

00:22:03 Speaker 01: 6C. So first of all, we'll

00:22:06 Speaker 01: move. on to item seven A,

00:22:08 Speaker 01: and this is the Agricultural Advisory

00:22:10 Speaker 01: Committee meeting minutes dated December tenth,

00:22:16 Speaker 01: twenty twenty five. And the recommendation

00:22:19 Speaker 01: is that the minutes of the

00:22:22 Speaker 01: Agricultural Advisory Committee meeting minutes dated

00:22:25 Speaker 01: December tenth, twenty twenty five, be

00:22:26 Speaker 01: adopted as presented, and the following

00:22:27 Speaker 01: resolution contained therein be endorsed: that

00:22:28 Speaker 01: the report CAORACC nineteen twenty five

00:22:30 Speaker 01: regarding the experimental acres twenty twenty

00:22:32 Speaker 01: five program. 2025 program outcomes and

00:22:33 Speaker 01: next steps be received for information,

00:22:35 Speaker 01: and I'll call upon Director Taylor

00:22:39 Speaker 01: in a moment. But first of

00:22:40 Speaker 01: all, let me just see if

00:22:41 Speaker 01: I can get that onto the

00:22:44 Speaker 08: floor. I see it moved by

00:22:45 Speaker 08: Councilor McQueen, and seconded by Councilor

00:22:47 Speaker 08: Dicker. It's now on the floor

00:22:49 Speaker 08: for discussion. So welcome, Director Taylor.

00:22:50 Speaker 08: Great, thanks, Madam Warden, and good

00:22:51 Speaker 08: morning to everyone and happy New

00:22:52 Speaker 08: Year. So the Agricultural Advisory Committee

00:22:54 Speaker 08: held its last meeting of the

00:22:56 Speaker 08: year on December 10th, and as

00:22:57 Speaker 08: always, it was a good and

00:22:59 Speaker 08: and informative discussion. I'm going to

00:23:02 Speaker 08: touch on just some of the

00:23:03 Speaker 08: highlights here for for committee of

00:23:05 Speaker 08: the whole's benefit, but certainly happy

00:23:08 Speaker 08: to take any questions if there

00:23:10 Speaker 08: are any. To lead off the

00:23:12 Speaker 08: meeting, we had a short discussion

00:23:14 Speaker 08: from Sean Anthony in our Transportation

00:23:16 Speaker 08: Services Department, and this was in

00:23:18 Speaker 08: relation to a question that had

00:23:21 Speaker 08: come from a previous committee meeting.

00:23:23 Speaker 08: And Mr. Anthony spoke about about

00:23:25 Speaker 08: Transportation Services practices as it relates

00:23:26 Speaker 08: to the cutting of of ash

00:23:28 Speaker 08: trees and elm trees on our

00:23:30 Speaker 08: county roadsides. He noted that there

00:23:32 Speaker 08: has been an increase in workload.

00:23:33 Speaker 08: over over recent years, and and

00:23:35 Speaker 08: that their their crew runs from

00:23:37 Speaker 08: April to October of each year.

00:23:39 Speaker 08: When ash or elm or any

00:23:41 Speaker 08: other trees are cut, the body

00:23:44 Speaker 08: wood is left on the roadside

00:23:44 Speaker 08: for for scavengers. But their crews

00:23:48 Speaker 08: do patrol it, and if nobody

00:23:50 Speaker 08: picks it up, the the wood

00:23:52 Speaker 08: is removed at that point. If

00:23:54 Speaker 08: there's any work in close proximity

00:23:57 Speaker 08: to hydro lines or utilities, then

00:23:58 Speaker 08: then Hydro One or the utility

00:24:00 Speaker 08: is contacted in that regard. We

00:24:02 Speaker 08: also had an update to the

00:24:04 Speaker 08: committee on the proposed. municipal boundary

00:24:07 Speaker 08: expansion between the municipality West Grey

00:24:10 Speaker 08: and the town of Hanover, and

00:24:11 Speaker 08: because this was December tenth, we

00:24:13 Speaker 08: noted to the committee that that

00:24:15 Speaker 08: any any future decisions still need

00:24:17 Speaker 08: to go through both municipal councils

00:24:18 Speaker 08: as well as county council and

00:24:19 Speaker 08: ultimately be approved by the province

00:24:21 Speaker 08: if they were supported locally. If

00:24:23 Speaker 08: if the the decisions were approved,

00:24:25 Speaker 08: and they have now been approved

00:24:26 Speaker 08: by all three councils and and

00:24:28 Speaker 08: sent on to the province. Onto

00:24:31 Speaker 08: the province, there still needs to

00:24:32 Speaker 08: be future planning processes to take

00:24:35 Speaker 08: place in terms of updates to

00:24:36 Speaker 08: the zoning bylaw and the official

00:24:39 Speaker 08: plans in that regard, and there

00:24:40 Speaker 08: would be robust public consultation as

00:24:41 Speaker 08: part of that. We had a

00:24:43 Speaker 08: discussion with the committee and stressed

00:24:46 Speaker 08: that no landowners are being forced

00:24:48 Speaker 08: to develop their lands, and and

00:24:50 Speaker 08: certainly farming can continue on those

00:24:54 Speaker 08: lands as long as any farmers

00:24:55 Speaker 08: wish to continue to farm in

00:24:58 Speaker 08: that regard. Next, we had a

00:25:00 Speaker 08: staff report, and this links to

00:25:04 Speaker 08: the motion that the warden read

00:25:06 Speaker 08: out a few minutes ago. from

00:25:07 Speaker 08: Linda Scott Swanson, and a presentation

00:25:10 Speaker 08: from Emily McKeag from Greg Services,

00:25:11 Speaker 08: who provided a year-in-review of the

00:25:14 Speaker 08: Experimental Acres Program for 2025. So

00:25:15 Speaker 08: there were six projects in 2025,

00:25:17 Speaker 08: which included farmlands in West Gray,

00:25:20 Speaker 08: Georgian Bluffs, Beaufort, and Southgate, on

00:25:22 Speaker 08: approximately 265 acres of land. There

00:25:24 Speaker 08: is the staff report from from

00:25:25 Speaker 08: Linda, as well as the detailed

00:25:28 Speaker 08: 2025 project outcomes report, which, if

00:25:31 Speaker 08: you've not had a chance to

00:25:34 Speaker 08: peruse. yet, highly recommend taking a

00:25:36 Speaker 08: look through. It's very detailed. There's

00:25:38 Speaker 08: some some good information, some good

00:25:41 Speaker 08: photos, and and summary of this

00:25:42 Speaker 08: of this partnership project between the

00:25:46 Speaker 08: farming community, Greg Services, and Gray

00:25:49 Speaker 08: County in this regard. I understand

00:25:53 Speaker 08: that the the intake for 2026

00:25:55 Speaker 08: projects for experimental acres is is

00:25:56 Speaker 08: coming very soon. Next, there was

00:25:58 Speaker 08: an update on dead stock removal

00:26:02 Speaker 08: and the requirements on farmers. This

00:26:03 Speaker 08: stems from some past discussions at.

00:26:08 Speaker 08: the Agricultural Advisory Committee, as well

00:26:09 Speaker 08: as a recent webinar that OMAFA

00:26:11 Speaker 08: had held to refresh everyone's memory

00:26:14 Speaker 08: on on the requirements along. Sorry,

00:26:15 Speaker 08: the requirements for dead stock removal.

00:26:17 Speaker 08: We will be sharing the slide

00:26:20 Speaker 08: deck from OMAFA once that's been

00:26:22 Speaker 08: received with the committee. Next, we

00:26:25 Speaker 08: had our roundtable discussion, which we

00:26:26 Speaker 08: have at every at every Agricultural

00:26:28 Speaker 08: Advisory Committee meeting. First off, there

00:26:29 Speaker 08: was a discussion on the proposed

00:26:31 Speaker 08: changes to the conservation authorities, and

00:26:34 Speaker 08: there was a committee member that

00:26:37 Speaker 08: noted the commenting deadline for for

00:26:39 Speaker 08: people wishing to submit comments, similar

00:26:41 Speaker 08: to the the comments on on

00:26:43 Speaker 08: today's consent agenda. There was certainly

00:26:45 Speaker 08: lots of discussion along that topic.

00:26:47 Speaker 08: We also had a discussion on

00:26:49 Speaker 08: the county's living snow fence program

00:26:51 Speaker 08: and whether or not there was

00:26:52 Speaker 08: any changes being proposed or improvements

00:26:55 Speaker 08: that could be made to to

00:26:58 Speaker 08: both improve the attractiveness of that

00:27:00 Speaker 08: program for the farm. ness of

00:27:03 Speaker 08: that program for the farm community,

00:27:05 Speaker 08: while also hopefully achieving some of

00:27:07 Speaker 08: the goals with respect to shielding

00:27:09 Speaker 08: some of our roads from from

00:27:10 Speaker 08: snow drifting. In that regard, and

00:27:13 Speaker 08: finally, we had a request for

00:27:14 Speaker 08: a future topic for the committee,

00:27:17 Speaker 08: and this was to to explore

00:27:19 Speaker 08: the impacts of energy projects on

00:27:21 Speaker 08: farmland, and more notably, ground-mounted solar

00:27:24 Speaker 08: projects. And and with some of

00:27:26 Speaker 08: the recent intakes from IESO, what

00:27:28 Speaker 08: would that mean for for farmers

00:27:31 Speaker 08: and farmland in Gray County? Land

00:27:32 Speaker 08: in Gray County going forward, so

00:27:34 Speaker 08: this is something staff will be

00:27:36 Speaker 08: digging further into and sharing with

00:27:38 Speaker 08: the committee at our first meeting

00:27:40 Speaker 08: in 2026. We also had a

00:27:42 Speaker 08: discussion on some recent work that's

00:27:44 Speaker 08: being done by our neighbors in

00:27:45 Speaker 08: Wellington County on farm transition planning

00:27:49 Speaker 08: and succession planning in that regard.

00:27:50 Speaker 08: Director Myers Savannah noted that there

00:27:52 Speaker 08: would be some some training and

00:27:54 Speaker 08: program coming forward in early 2026

00:27:57 Speaker 08: on this topic, so we hope

00:27:59 Speaker 08: to be able to share more

00:28:01 Speaker 08: on that soon. Linda. Soon, Lynda

00:28:02 Speaker 08: and Savannah also noted an upcoming

00:28:03 Speaker 08: exhibit that's coming to Gray Roots

00:28:06 Speaker 08: in May of 2026 called Wild

00:28:07 Speaker 08: Weather. There was a call out

00:28:08 Speaker 08: to both committee members, farmers, and

00:28:09 Speaker 08: the public to share any firsthand

00:28:11 Speaker 08: experiences they might have with respect

00:28:13 Speaker 08: to weather and the environment over

00:28:16 Speaker 08: the years. We know certainly weather

00:28:19 Speaker 08: is is is key to farmers,

00:28:20 Speaker 08: and and there's a lot of

00:28:23 Speaker 08: junior and not so junior meteorologists

00:28:24 Speaker 08: out there that that track this

00:28:26 Speaker 08: very carefully. And so I think

00:28:29 Speaker 08: as part of this this exhibit,

00:28:32 Speaker 08: they were looking for any first

00:28:34 Speaker 08: hand experience that that the farm

00:28:35 Speaker 08: community could share in that regard.

00:28:37 Speaker 08: And certainly, even among the committee

00:28:39 Speaker 08: members, there was some that spoke

00:28:41 Speaker 08: to having some logs or or

00:28:42 Speaker 08: notes that they could share with

00:28:44 Speaker 08: with the team at Gray Roots

00:28:46 Speaker 08: and and and Linda in that

00:28:48 Speaker 08: regard. And finally, CEO Schertzler took

00:28:50 Speaker 08: a moment to thank Chair Lori

00:28:52 Speaker 08: Smith for all of her work

00:28:53 Speaker 08: on the egg cultural advisory committee

00:28:55 Speaker 08: and Gray Cultural Services, as well

00:28:57 Speaker 08: as recognizing her her coming retirement

00:28:58 Speaker 08: in in early twenty twenty six.

00:29:02 Speaker 08: In in early 2026, I'm sure

00:29:03 Speaker 08: this this committee is is very

00:29:05 Speaker 08: familiar with Ms. Smith, but she's

00:29:07 Speaker 08: got over 20 years' experience with

00:29:10 Speaker 08: Gray Egg Services, and has been

00:29:11 Speaker 08: an absolutely wonderful asset not only

00:29:13 Speaker 08: to Gray Egg Services but to

00:29:15 Speaker 08: the county as a whole and

00:29:16 Speaker 08: and to the county's agricultural advisory

00:29:20 Speaker 08: committee. I know personally, whenever you

00:29:22 Speaker 08: have a question or a thought,

00:29:25 Speaker 08: you can email Lori, and and

00:29:28 Speaker 08: almost any time of day get

00:29:30 Speaker 08: a response within minutes. She's just

00:29:32 Speaker 08: such a fountain of knowledge and

00:29:33 Speaker 08: and enthusiasm in that regard, and

00:29:36 Speaker 08: is always happy to to help

00:29:37 Speaker 08: educate and and speak up for

00:29:40 Speaker 08: the farm community in that regard.

00:29:42 Speaker 08: As as the warden mentioned in

00:29:43 Speaker 08: our council meeting today, Greg Bruce

00:29:44 Speaker 08: Farmers Week is ongoing as we

00:29:45 Speaker 08: speak, and this is the 60th

00:29:47 Speaker 08: iteration of of that event. and

00:29:50 Speaker 01: And both major events like Farmers

00:29:53 Speaker 01: Week, but also all the educational

00:29:56 Speaker 01: offerings that Greg Services offers throughout

00:29:57 Speaker 01: the year, don't happen without a

00:29:59 Speaker 01: lot of logistics and organization and

00:30:03 Speaker 01: and hard work behind the scenes

00:30:04 Speaker 01: from very. dedicated individuals like Lori.

00:30:09 Speaker 09: So, so both CEO Scherzer and

00:30:12 Speaker 09: the committee wish Lori all the

00:30:15 Speaker 09: best in her retirement and and

00:30:16 Speaker 09: encouraged her not to be a

00:30:19 Speaker 09: stranger at future events and and

00:30:21 Speaker 09: and matters across the county. And

00:30:23 Speaker 10: so, with that, that was a

00:30:25 Speaker 10: quick summary of what we talked

00:30:27 Speaker 10: about at the egg advisory committee.

00:30:29 Speaker 10: But if there are any questions,

00:30:31 Speaker 10: happy to take any. Okay, thank

00:30:34 Speaker 10: you very much, and welcome words

00:30:36 Speaker 10: about Lori as well. So, with

00:30:39 Speaker 10: that, then I'll put it out

00:30:42 Speaker 10: to. committee. The whole members, I

00:30:45 Speaker 10: see, Councillor Greg, your hand is

00:30:48 Speaker 11: raised. Just thank you, Warden, and

00:30:51 Speaker 11: Happy New Year, everyone. One quick

00:30:54 Speaker 11: question about the succession planning and

00:30:58 Speaker 11: staff bringing back resources. I just

00:30:59 Speaker 11: I have a little bit of

00:31:00 Speaker 11: trepidation about how many, how much

00:31:01 Speaker 11: internally for we would be dedicating

00:31:03 Speaker 11: for resources to succession planning. This

00:31:04 Speaker 11: sounds a little bit to me

00:31:06 Speaker 11: like scope creep. or moving beyond

00:31:11 Speaker 12: our core mandate for service provision.

00:31:12 Speaker 12: Just wondering if you could expand

00:31:15 Speaker 12: a little bit on that for

00:31:17 Speaker 12: me, Scott, in terms of what

00:31:19 Speaker 12: type of resources we allocate. I

00:31:20 Speaker 12: think that's probably a topic that

00:31:22 Speaker 12: would become endless in terms of

00:31:24 Speaker 12: succession planning in a broad sense.

00:31:25 Speaker 12: I would be very reluctant to

00:31:27 Speaker 12: to be going into that sphere.

00:31:28 Speaker 12: Fear. So, just wondering if you

00:31:30 Speaker 12: could expand on that. Thanks, Director

00:31:31 Speaker 12: Taylor. Did you want to take

00:31:33 Speaker 12: that, or I see Director Myers

00:31:35 Speaker 12: has put up her hand as

00:31:37 Speaker 12: well. Through you, Madam Warden. I'll

00:31:38 Speaker 12: happily turn this over to to

00:31:40 Speaker 12: Savannah Hose, much more well versed

00:31:42 Speaker 12: here. Okay, Director Myers, go ahead.

00:31:43 Speaker 12: Thank you. Good morning, County Council.

00:31:44 Speaker 12: Through you, Warden. Succession planning is

00:31:49 Speaker 12: something that our department already does,

00:31:51 Speaker 12: and it's actually becoming a mandate

00:31:54 Speaker 12: of the Business Center Price Center

00:31:57 Speaker 12: contract with the new TPA. that

00:31:58 Speaker 12: will come out as April first.

00:32:01 Speaker 11: So that's the new information that's

00:32:04 Speaker 11: coming. We've been told to

00:32:09 Speaker 11: expect that change to the TPA.

00:32:10 Speaker 11: There will be resources coming along

00:32:12 Speaker 11: with that. The training is coming

00:32:16 Speaker 11: from the province, and there

00:32:19 Speaker 11: is a pilot happening with the

00:32:24 Speaker 11: province that we will have full

00:32:25 Speaker 11: access to. So it's not a

00:32:29 Speaker 11: matter of new internal resources. We'll

00:32:32 Speaker 11: be leveraging what is now being

00:32:34 Speaker 11: created through the province and able

00:32:36 Speaker 13: to deliver that locally. So it's

00:32:39 Speaker 13: a really good news story for

00:32:41 Speaker 13: our region. Okay. Any. follow up

00:32:44 Speaker 13: there, Councillor Greg? Yeah, thanks for

00:32:45 Speaker 13: that. It sounds like it's just

00:32:49 Speaker 13: piggybacking off the resources that we

00:32:52 Speaker 13: already have at the the the

00:32:55 Speaker 13: BEC, which I know historically has

00:32:58 Speaker 13: supported a lot of small business

00:33:02 Speaker 13: type establishments throughout the county. So

00:33:05 Speaker 13: I think that's what I'm hearing,

00:33:07 Speaker 13: and hopefully it's not the province

00:33:11 Speaker 13: adding rules or responsibilities to the

00:33:14 Speaker 13: county without. correspondingly funding it for

00:33:17 Speaker 01: us. Okay, thank you. Next, we'll

00:33:20 Speaker 01: go to Councilor Dobrin. Good morning,

00:33:21 Speaker 01: Warden and County Council. Happy New

00:33:24 Speaker 01: Year, everyone. I wanted to just

00:33:25 Speaker 01: ask a little bit more about

00:33:29 Speaker 01: the Living Snow Fence project. I

00:33:31 Speaker 14: had been contacted actually just yesterday

00:33:32 Speaker 14: by someone asking if there were

00:33:35 Speaker 14: incentives, and I did mention that

00:33:37 Speaker 14: there was a and then a.

00:33:39 Speaker 14: And in a program, it's more

00:33:43 Speaker 14: about the provincial highway, Highway Six

00:33:46 Speaker 14: and Highway Ten. Those farm properties,

00:33:48 Speaker 14: does the pro, is there, or

00:33:50 Speaker 14: does the project incent farm landowners

00:33:51 Speaker 14: along those corridors as well, or

00:33:55 Speaker 14: is this just a Grey County

00:33:58 Speaker 14: living snow fence project through Ag

00:33:59 Speaker 14: Services, perhaps? And where can we

00:34:00 Speaker 14: find more information about it? Okay,

00:34:03 Speaker 14: I do see the CAO's hand

00:34:05 Speaker 14: is up. So, Director Taylor, if

00:34:08 Speaker 14: if I'll start with CAO, and

00:34:09 Speaker 14: then you can add on anything.

00:34:12 Speaker 14: Go ahead, CAO Shirts. Yeah, thank

00:34:15 Speaker 01: you, thank you, Warden, and Happy

00:34:19 Speaker 01: New Year, County Council, and good

00:34:20 Speaker 01: morning, everyone. And I might also

00:34:24 Speaker 01: lean on Pat with respect to

00:34:26 Speaker 01: this, but in terms of the

00:34:27 Speaker 01: living snow fence work and and

00:34:30 Speaker 01: that was updated with. with respect

00:34:33 Speaker 01: to the Ag Advisory Committee. That

00:34:34 Speaker 01: was primarily focused on the the

00:34:38 Speaker 06: work as it relates to our

00:34:42 Speaker 06: county roads. I'm not aware in

00:34:45 Speaker 06: terms of any programs that MTO

00:34:50 Speaker 06: might have, and that's where maybe

00:34:52 Speaker 06: I'll look to Director Hoy to

00:34:55 Speaker 06: see if he's aware of any.

00:34:56 Speaker 06: But I'm I'm not aware of

00:35:00 Speaker 06: any any with with respect to

00:35:04 Speaker 06: MTO. Okay, thank you. I'll just

00:35:08 Speaker 06: look for Director Hoy to confirm.

00:35:12 Speaker 06: Yeah, I'm not aware of any

00:35:15 Speaker 06: either. three-year order. Right. Okay. All

00:35:21 Speaker 06: right. That would be. I can

00:35:23 Speaker 06: just imagine all of the the

00:35:24 Speaker 06: places along highways, provincial highways, where

00:35:27 Speaker 06: where it would be advantageous. So

00:35:29 Speaker 06: that must must be part of

00:35:31 Speaker 06: a bigger bigger piece of the

00:35:33 Speaker 06: puzzle. Okay. Thank you very much.

00:35:37 Speaker 06: And with that, we will go

00:35:42 Speaker 01: to Councillor Eccles next. Thank you,

00:35:46 Speaker 01: Madam Warden. Through you. Probably back

00:35:48 Speaker 01: to Savannah. Wanted to go back

00:35:49 Speaker 01: to the farm succession planning. Strangely

00:35:50 Speaker 01: enough, when we look across and

00:35:51 Speaker 01: look, you know, it's more in

00:35:55 Speaker 01: the southern part of Gray County,

00:35:57 Speaker 01: Gray Highlands, Southgate, West Gray, up

00:35:58 Speaker 01: into Chatsworth. We have a very

00:35:59 Speaker 01: strong, active farm community, more or

00:36:01 Speaker 01: less called in. Into the Mennonite

00:36:02 Speaker 01: community, and they've already pretty much

00:36:03 Speaker 01: given succession planning an absolute footprint

00:36:05 Speaker 01: of how to do it. I

00:36:07 Speaker 01: don't know why we need

00:36:09 Speaker 01: to reinvent it. Maybe we could

00:36:12 Speaker 01: just steal it from how they

00:36:12 Speaker 01: do succession farming. Because once a

00:36:16 Speaker 01: farm is in that community, it

00:36:18 Speaker 01: stays being a farm and successfully

00:36:19 Speaker 01: transition forward. Just, just a thought.

00:36:21 Speaker 01: Thank you. Any other comments for

00:36:22 Speaker 01: discussion? Okay, I'm not seeing any

00:36:24 Speaker 01: further hands up. Then, thank you

00:36:26 Speaker 01: for all that input. I will

00:36:29 Speaker 01: now call the question. Then, all

00:36:32 Speaker 06: those in favor, please raise your

00:36:35 Speaker 06: hand. And that motion is carried.

00:36:39 Speaker 06: Thank you. That allows us to

00:36:40 Speaker 06: move back to the one item

00:36:44 Speaker 06: that was pulled from the consent

00:36:48 Speaker 06: agenda, item six C. So, first

00:36:50 Speaker 06: of all, let me get it

00:36:52 Speaker 06: onto the floor. It's recommended

00:36:55 Speaker 06: that the correspondence from the town

00:37:00 Speaker 06: of Smith Falls. regarding Ontario Community

00:37:03 Speaker 06: Infrastructure Fund be supported by Grey

00:37:07 Speaker 06: County. May I ask for a

00:37:11 Speaker 06: mover and a seconder? I've got

00:37:17 Speaker 06: it moved by Councillor Kentner and

00:37:19 Speaker 06: seconded by Councillor Eccles. It's now

00:37:21 Speaker 06: on the floor for discussion. And

00:37:25 Speaker 06: Councillor Eccles, you had requested this

00:37:27 Speaker 06: be pulled. Do you want to

00:37:32 Speaker 06: pose your your thought or your

00:37:36 Speaker 06: question, and then I will look

00:37:38 Speaker 06: to Director Spicer. Yes, thank you.

00:37:40 Speaker 06: And I think certainly, absolutely support

00:37:43 Speaker 06: the idea and whatnot, but. I

00:37:47 Speaker 06: was hoping that we could get

00:37:49 Speaker 06: even a stronger response—a letter to

00:37:53 Speaker 06: the Minister of Finance and the

00:37:58 Speaker 06: Ontario Government supporting this idea. As

00:38:02 Speaker 06: we've gone forward, and as we've

00:38:05 Speaker 06: seen, you know, remarkably since amalgamation,

00:38:11 Speaker 06: the downloading and from the province

00:38:13 Speaker 06: and the inability to maintain the

00:38:15 Speaker 06: funding that. should be coming from

00:38:17 Speaker 06: income resources, not property tax, is

00:38:20 Speaker 06: as we deliver municipalities deliver services

00:38:22 Speaker 06: that, as I said, downloaded from

00:38:23 Speaker 06: the province without the funding and

00:38:27 Speaker 06: whatnot, and it needs to be

00:38:33 Speaker 06: dramatically put pressure on the province

00:38:37 Speaker 06: to maintain at at a minimum

00:38:40 Speaker 01: their Among their financial support for

00:38:42 Speaker 01: municipalities doing their work that they're

00:38:43 Speaker 01: responsible for, and that was the

00:38:44 Speaker 01: reason for me pulling it and

00:38:45 Speaker 01: wanting to, you know, more than

00:38:47 Speaker 01: just a vote to support it,

00:38:49 Speaker 01: but a letter forward to the

00:38:51 Speaker 01: ministry or the ministries that Grey

00:38:52 Speaker 01: County effectively would like to see

00:38:54 Speaker 01: this fund. at a minimum, be

00:38:56 Speaker 01: supported by an index towards inflationary

00:38:59 Speaker 01: measures or something along that line

00:39:03 Speaker 15: going forward, and that was the

00:39:07 Speaker 15: reason I would pull it and

00:39:09 Speaker 15: put forward a motion that we

00:39:14 Speaker 15: send as Grey County a letter

00:39:16 Speaker 15: on behalf of the nine municipalities

00:39:20 Speaker 15: and the county, asking the province

00:39:23 Speaker 15: to at least minimally. continue to

00:39:26 Speaker 15: support the OSIF with an inflationary

00:39:29 Speaker 15: increase on a yearly basis, at

00:39:34 Speaker 15: a minimum. Thank you. Okay, thank

00:39:38 Speaker 15: you. So just hold that thought.

00:39:42 Speaker 15: I'll come back to you then.

00:39:47 Speaker 15: In terms of an amendment to

00:39:51 Speaker 01: the main motion, let me just

00:39:53 Speaker 01: give the floor to Director Spicer.

00:39:55 Speaker 01: She'd like to add any further

00:39:56 Speaker 01: background, and then I will look

00:39:57 Speaker 01: to the clerk for some process

00:39:59 Speaker 01: questions before we move forward with

00:40:00 Speaker 01: an amendment. Director Spicer, please go

00:40:02 Speaker 01: ahead. Thank you, Madam Warden.

00:40:05 Speaker 01: I will say that the OSIF

00:40:07 Speaker 01: funding is something that all municipalities

00:40:10 Speaker 01: are relying upon to assist with

00:40:11 Speaker 01: funding their infrastructure, and it's certainly

00:40:12 Speaker 01: a needed and valued resource financially.

00:40:17 Speaker 01: And I would agree with Councillor

00:40:18 Speaker 01: Eccles with respect to there's many

00:40:21 Speaker 01: things that we pay for. on

00:40:23 Speaker 01: a property tax basis that doesn't

00:40:26 Speaker 01: necessarily correlate to the property owner's

00:40:29 Speaker 01: income, and an indexation of the

00:40:32 Speaker 01: OCIF allocation would certainly be warranted

00:40:35 Speaker 01: and appreciated by municipalities, and I

00:40:36 Speaker 01: would support that. Okay, thank you

00:40:38 Speaker 01: very much. So, Madam Clerk, I'm

00:40:39 Speaker 01: just going to look to you

00:40:40 Speaker 01: just. to confirm the way that

00:40:41 Speaker 01: we've got it moved on the

00:40:45 Speaker 01: floor right now. If we say

00:40:48 Speaker 01: that we are supporting it, that

00:40:50 Speaker 06: the county gray is supporting the

00:40:51 Speaker 06: correspondence that's received, who gets a

00:40:55 Speaker 06: copy of of our support already,

00:40:57 Speaker 06: and then that way I can

00:41:00 Speaker 06: then look to Councilor Eccles in

00:41:02 Speaker 06: terms of an amendment. So the

00:41:05 Speaker 06: way the motion is currently worded,

00:41:08 Speaker 06: we would, as a matter of

00:41:13 Speaker 06: internal process, send it back to

00:41:18 Speaker 06: Smith Falls for their. further handling

00:41:21 Speaker 06: and follow up with the province,

00:41:25 Speaker 06: so there wouldn't be any letter

00:41:27 Speaker 06: sent directly to the province without

00:41:30 Speaker 06: direction from council. Okay, thank you

00:41:32 Speaker 06: very much. So, with that, Councilor

00:41:34 Speaker 06: Eccles, do you want to articulate

00:41:36 Speaker 06: what it is that you would

00:41:37 Speaker 06: like to move as an amendment

00:41:38 Speaker 06: to the main motion? Oh boy,

00:41:41 Speaker 06: I feel like you put me

00:41:43 Speaker 06: just before lunch and in the

00:41:47 Speaker 06: process of Mr. Taylor at this

00:41:49 Speaker 06: point in time because it. In

00:41:50 Speaker 06: time, because just to simplify it,

00:41:53 Speaker 06: yes, I would like to you

00:41:56 Speaker 06: know more than circulate the letter

00:42:02 Speaker 06: back to Smith Falls saying yes,

00:42:05 Speaker 06: we support you. Put it directly

00:42:07 Speaker 06: a letter to the province and

00:42:10 Speaker 01: the appropriate ministries from Grey County

00:42:11 Speaker 01: that requiring or requesting on a

00:42:12 Speaker 01: go forward basis that. not only

00:42:15 Speaker 01: the OSA funding, but a number,

00:42:16 Speaker 01: and I can't tell you the

00:42:19 Speaker 01: exact number of other provincial funding

00:42:21 Speaker 01: formulas that we have never seen

00:42:23 Speaker 01: an increase to. Some of them

00:42:24 Speaker 01: in 20 or 25 years. Mary

00:42:26 Speaker 01: Lou will probably be better to

00:42:27 Speaker 01: say how long that is on

00:42:28 Speaker 01: some of that funding. That all

00:42:30 Speaker 01: of them be indexed as we

00:42:34 Speaker 15: continue to do the work on

00:42:36 Speaker 15: behalf of the province, and no

00:42:38 Speaker 15: big deal. but on behalf of

00:42:43 Speaker 15: the province, but that their funding

00:42:45 Speaker 15: models need to be updated, and

00:42:47 Speaker 15: we are not financially burdened by

00:42:49 Speaker 15: delivering those services by the lack

00:42:52 Speaker 15: of increased funding to support those

00:42:54 Speaker 15: services. Okay, thank you. I do

00:42:56 Speaker 15: see Director Spitzer has put up

00:42:59 Speaker 15: her hand. So just before I

00:43:04 Speaker 15: go to a seconder, just briefly,

00:43:06 Speaker 15: if we could put that back

00:43:09 Speaker 15: onto the screen, please. so that

00:43:14 Speaker 15: Councillor Eccles can contemplate the the

00:43:16 Speaker 15: wording that was captured by the

00:43:18 Speaker 15: clerks, and then I'll look to

00:43:23 Speaker 15: you to confirm if that's the

00:43:26 Speaker 15: way that you would like the

00:43:28 Speaker 15: wording or what changes you'd like

00:43:30 Speaker 15: to make. In the meantime, Director

00:43:32 Speaker 15: Spicer, I see your hand is

00:43:35 Speaker 15: raised. Thank you, Madam Warden. What

00:43:36 Speaker 15: I should have also mentioned is

00:43:39 Speaker 15: that Smith Falls resolution mentions mentions

00:43:41 Speaker 15: indexing it by CPI, and the

00:43:43 Speaker 15: the one thing that would be

00:43:45 Speaker 15: more beneficial is if it was

00:43:47 Speaker 15: indexed by NRB CPI, which is

00:43:49 Speaker 15: the non-residential building consumer price index.

00:43:50 Speaker 15: That's what we use, for example,

00:43:52 Speaker 15: indexing our development charges, and that

00:43:54 Speaker 15: index is more specific to construction

00:43:56 Speaker 15: versus CPI, which has a different

00:43:57 Speaker 15: set of baskets. And with respect

00:44:00 Speaker 15: to Councillor Epple's comment about a

00:44:02 Speaker 15: number of software funding programs. that

00:44:05 Speaker 15: have not been indexed, there's any

00:44:07 Speaker 15: number of those, and the interesting

00:44:10 Speaker 15: thing with OSIF is we prepare

00:44:12 Speaker 15: a report called a current replacement

00:44:14 Speaker 15: value report, and it goes to

00:44:19 Speaker 15: the province. And what happens is

00:44:20 Speaker 15: they take that data, they they

00:44:21 Speaker 15: compare against our previous year. There's

00:44:23 Speaker 15: a number of data points, including

00:44:26 Speaker 15: across the province, so you can't

00:44:28 Speaker 01: calculate what our OSIF allocation would

00:44:29 Speaker 01: be. for the following year because

00:44:30 Speaker 01: we don't have all the data

00:44:32 Speaker 01: points. In the past, it went

00:44:34 Speaker 01: up a max; it could go

00:44:36 Speaker 01: up or down a maximum of

00:44:39 Speaker 01: fifteen percent. So, if we went

00:44:40 Speaker 01: up fifteen percent, you were pretty

00:44:41 Speaker 01: confident that we should have went

00:44:45 Speaker 01: up more than that. But we

00:44:46 Speaker 01: were held at fifteen percent because

00:44:47 Speaker 01: somebody else went down fifteen percent,

00:44:48 Speaker 01: and they should have probably gone

00:44:51 Speaker 01: down further. And for twenty twenty

00:44:53 Speaker 01: six, that threshold has been reduced

00:44:56 Speaker 01: to a. plus or minus of

00:44:57 Speaker 01: ten percent. So just to provide

00:44:58 Speaker 01: some additional context. Okay, so we'll

00:45:00 Speaker 01: need to make sure that the

00:45:05 Speaker 06: amendment to the main motion. We

00:45:08 Speaker 06: can we can provide further details,

00:45:14 Speaker 06: but in addition to supporting, but

00:45:16 Speaker 06: at the moment the motion on

00:45:19 Speaker 06: the floor is to support Smith

00:45:20 Speaker 06: Falls in the way that they

00:45:24 Speaker 06: framed it. So I'll just ask

00:45:26 Speaker 06: if Councillor Eccles, if you can

00:45:29 Speaker 06: just firm up your your amendment

00:45:32 Speaker 01: to the main motion, keeping it

00:45:34 Speaker 01: close enough that it doesn't become.

00:45:36 Speaker 01: a whole new topic of business,

00:45:37 Speaker 01: and and it is with it

00:45:45 Speaker 01: is in response to the letter

00:45:47 Speaker 01: from Smith Falls, so I think

00:45:48 Speaker 01: we've got a good start that

00:45:52 Speaker 01: way. And and then I did

00:45:54 Speaker 01: briefly see yes, I do I

00:45:57 Speaker 01: I do see recognize Councillor Debrine's

00:45:58 Speaker 01: hand before I can look for

00:46:00 Speaker 01: a second or let me confirm

00:46:02 Speaker 01: with the mover. So go ahead,

00:46:05 Speaker 01: Councillor Eccles. Yeah, and I agree

00:46:06 Speaker 01: with absolutely instead of the CPI

00:46:08 Speaker 01: or inflationary. the manufacturers or price

00:46:11 Speaker 01: index, I think, is what we're

00:46:14 Speaker 01: looking for in these programs. And

00:46:20 Speaker 01: I think Tara's got it there.

00:46:24 Speaker 01: The amendment is with that little

00:46:26 Speaker 01: addition that the annual be indexed

00:46:27 Speaker 01: with the manufacturing index would be

00:46:29 Speaker 01: a good response. Thank you. I'll

00:46:30 Speaker 01: move. Okay. So, okay. So I'm

00:46:33 Speaker 01: not seeing that on my screen.

00:46:34 Speaker 01: I guess maybe we need a.

00:46:36 Speaker 01: refresh then for the annually index.

00:46:37 Speaker 01: I'll just give the floor to

00:46:40 Speaker 13: Clerk in case she needs to

00:46:42 Speaker 13: have any clarification with you, Councillor

00:46:46 Speaker 13: Eccles. Yeah, there's got it there.

00:46:50 Speaker 13: Okay. Okay. So the amendment to

00:46:54 Speaker 13: the main motion is now reading

00:46:59 Speaker 13: that the motion be amended to

00:47:03 Speaker 13: insert the an additional clause being

00:47:04 Speaker 13: and that that Gray County write

00:47:09 Speaker 13: a letter. directly to the Ministry

00:47:10 Speaker 13: of Finance, urging the province to

00:47:13 Speaker 13: continue to support and annually index

00:47:16 Speaker 13: the funding support provided by municipalities

00:47:19 Speaker 13: by NRBCPI. Okay, Councillor Debrina, is

00:47:22 Speaker 13: your hand raised to second? Yes.

00:47:26 Speaker 13: Okay, so it is now moved

00:47:29 Speaker 13: and seconded. It's on the floor

00:47:33 Speaker 13: for discussion. Just this particular part,

00:47:35 Speaker 13: just this amendment to the main

00:47:38 Speaker 13: motion, and at that at this

00:47:42 Speaker 13: point in time. yes. Thank you.

00:47:45 Speaker 13: I'll just look for any hands.

00:47:48 Speaker 13: We'll go to Councillor Dobrin, who

00:47:51 Speaker 01: has her hands raised. Thank you,

00:47:53 Speaker 01: Warden, and through you, I wanted

00:47:55 Speaker 01: to seek clarification in that when

00:47:57 Speaker 01: we generally support at our local

00:47:59 Speaker 01: level municipal resolutions, we circulate the

00:48:00 Speaker 01: support letter to the ministries and

00:48:02 Speaker 01: the Premier, whether. it's the federal

00:48:04 Speaker 01: government or the provincial government, local

00:48:05 Speaker 01: local MPPs and the Association of

00:48:08 Speaker 01: Municipalities of Ontario, which Smith Falls

00:48:10 Speaker 01: did on their letter, I heard

00:48:13 Speaker 01: that it would just be circulated

00:48:15 Speaker 01: back to Smith Falls for them

00:48:16 Speaker 01: to recirculate it back or do

00:48:20 Speaker 01: their administration. I would suggest, and

00:48:21 Speaker 01: if it requires a further clause

00:48:24 Speaker 01: amendment, that. our letter and our

00:48:28 Speaker 01: support of the Smiths Falls resolution

00:48:29 Speaker 01: be circulated to the various ministries,

00:48:31 Speaker 01: including our MPP Paul Vickers. Okay,

00:48:32 Speaker 01: and our MPPs plural, Paul Vickers

00:48:34 Speaker 01: and Brian Saunderson. Yes, sorry, thank

00:48:37 Speaker 01: you. So I I think I'm

00:48:38 Speaker 01: I'm not going to entertain that

00:48:39 Speaker 01: as an additional amendment because that

00:49:02 Speaker 01: is you are correct when we

00:49:04 Speaker 01: write a letter ourselves and do

00:49:05 Speaker 01: that that has become. a

00:49:08 Speaker 01: common practice. So I think, Madam

00:49:12 Speaker 01: Clerk, if we can just highlight

00:49:13 Speaker 01: that in the amendment to the

00:49:15 Speaker 01: main motion, unless the mover specifically

00:49:17 Speaker 01: did not want that. I'll just

00:49:21 Speaker 01: go to the mover. Okay. So,

00:49:24 Speaker 01: Madam Clerk, if you could just

00:49:27 Speaker 01: contain it in the motion, so

00:49:33 Speaker 01: it's there for for public record,

00:49:36 Speaker 01: as per the practice that we've

00:49:37 Speaker 01: come to do. Thank you very

00:49:39 Speaker 01: much. Okay. So, is there any

00:49:43 Speaker 01: other discussion? Okay. I'm not seeing

00:49:46 Speaker 01: any other hands raised. Then, so

00:49:48 Speaker 01: I'll call the vote on the

00:49:49 Speaker 01: amendment to the main motion. All

00:49:53 Speaker 01: those in favor, and that motion

00:49:55 Speaker 01: is carried. Thank you. So, we'll

00:49:56 Speaker 01: give the clerk a moment to

00:49:58 Speaker 01: update the main motion now. Okay,

00:50:01 Speaker 01: thank you. And so now reads

00:50:04 Speaker 01: that the correspondence of the the

00:50:06 Speaker 01: town of Smith Falls regarding Ontario

00:50:07 Speaker 01: Community Community Infrastructure Fund OCIF be

00:50:10 Speaker 01: supported by the County of Grey,

00:50:10 Speaker 01: and that Grey County write a

00:50:14 Speaker 01: letter directly to the relevant ministries

00:50:16 Speaker 01: and M MPPs, urging the province

00:50:17 Speaker 01: to continue to support and and

00:50:18 Speaker 01: annually index the funding support. provided

00:50:19 Speaker 01: to municipalities by NRBCPI. All right.

00:50:21 Speaker 01: So, is there any further discussion?

00:50:24 Speaker 01: Please use your virtual hand so

00:50:25 Speaker 01: you come to the top of

00:50:29 Speaker 01: the screen. Councillor Eccles. No. Okay.

00:50:30 Speaker 01: Hit the wrong button. Okay. All

00:50:32 Speaker 01: right. In that case, then I'll

00:50:33 Speaker 01: call the the vote on the

00:50:35 Speaker 01: main motion. Now, all those in

00:50:37 Speaker 01: favor. And that is carried. Thank. you. So that concludes any of our items for discussion. Then we do not have any closed meeting matters. And is there any other business? Not seeing any hands raised. We will then move on to any notices of motion. Please raise your virtual hand if you have a notice of motion. Not seeing any virtual hands go up. In that case, then we can look to a motion to adjourn. May I ask for a mover and a second? Move by the deputy warden, seconded by Councillor McKay. Any discussion? All those in favor, please raise your hand. And this meeting is adjourned. Thank you very much, and happy New Year again to everyone. And thank you for your participation this morning. Look forward to seeing many of our colleagues in the forthcoming Roma later this month. Thank you.