Grey County Committee of the Whole Meeting Transcript — June 25, 2026

00:00:00 Speaker 01: Call to order. This, thank you,

00:00:04 Speaker 02: thank you, communications. Now that we're

00:00:06 Speaker 02: recording, I'd like to call to

00:00:07 Speaker 02: order this committee. The whole agenda

00:00:09 Speaker 02: of June twenty fifth, twenty twenty

00:00:11 Speaker 02: six. At this point in time,

00:00:12 Speaker 02: I'll put a call out if

00:00:13 Speaker 02: there are any declarations of interest

00:00:15 Speaker 02: on the agenda today. Seeing no

00:00:19 Speaker 02: hands, I will proceed to business

00:00:21 Speaker 02: arising from minutes. We've already had

00:00:25 Speaker 02: a discussion, so we'll go to.

00:00:27 Speaker 02: We do not have any delegations

00:00:29 Speaker 02: this morning. and so we can

00:00:31 Speaker 02: go on to determination of items

00:00:32 Speaker 02: required requiring separate discussion. So, if

00:00:35 Speaker 02: you review the list that is

00:00:37 Speaker 02: in Section Six, we have six

00:00:40 Speaker 02: different items. I ask at this

00:00:42 Speaker 02: point if you could please raise

00:00:44 Speaker 02: a hand—a virtual raise your your

00:00:50 Speaker 02: hands. Oh, I have to come

00:00:51 Speaker 02: up with better terminology. Your virtual

00:00:53 Speaker 02: hand, as in the ones that

00:00:54 Speaker 02: that you're clicking, and I'll go

00:00:56 Speaker 02: down the list and hear which

00:00:57 Speaker 02: item is to be called. So.

00:00:58 Speaker 02: we're going to start with Councillor

00:01:04 Speaker 02: Greg. Six B and six D,

00:01:07 Speaker 02: please. Okay, B is in Bob,

00:01:09 Speaker 02: D is in Dog. Okay, thank

00:01:12 Speaker 02: you. And Councillor Eccles. C is

00:01:15 Speaker 02: in Cat. Thank you. And anything

00:01:18 Speaker 02: else? Not seeing any further hands.

00:01:22 Speaker 02: So then, I would like to

00:01:25 Speaker 02: then move. on to the consent

00:01:27 Speaker 02: agenda motion that the following consent

00:01:29 Speaker 02: agenda items be received and that

00:01:31 Speaker 02: staff be authorized to take the

00:01:33 Speaker 02: actions necessary to give effect to

00:01:34 Speaker 02: the recommendations in the staff reports

00:01:36 Speaker 02: and that the correspondence be supported

00:01:38 Speaker 02: or received for information as recommended

00:01:40 Speaker 02: in the consent agenda. It would

00:01:42 Speaker 02: be for items 6A, E, and

00:01:44 Speaker 02: F at this point. Thank you.

00:01:47 Speaker 02: I've got it moved by Councillor

00:01:48 Speaker 02: Hutchison, seconded by Councillor Dicker. It's

00:01:50 Speaker 02: now on the floor for discussion.

00:01:51 Speaker 02: Okay. Seeing no hands, then I'll

00:01:56 Speaker 02: ask you to use your real

00:01:57 Speaker 02: hand. All those in favor? Thank

00:02:00 Speaker 02: you. Excellent. So that motion is

00:02:04 Speaker 02: carried. Thank you. And we'll return

00:02:07 Speaker 02: to those items after we go

00:02:08 Speaker 02: to Section Seven. So we'll move

00:02:10 Speaker 02: on to Section Seven then. And

00:02:12 Speaker 02: the first one is Item Seven

00:02:14 Speaker 02: A. It is the Urban Roads

00:02:16 Speaker 02: and Roads Exchange Task Force minutes,

00:02:18 Speaker 02: and we will have some staff

00:02:21 Speaker 02: speaking to this. So I am.

00:02:22 Speaker 02: going to put out the the

00:02:26 Speaker 02: recommended motion first. So it's recommended

00:02:29 Speaker 02: that the Urban Roads and Road

00:02:31 Speaker 02: Road Exchange Task Force minutes dated

00:02:35 Speaker 02: May twenty six, twenty twenty six,

00:02:38 Speaker 02: be adopted as presented, and that

00:02:40 Speaker 02: the following resolutions contained therein be

00:02:43 Speaker 02: endorsed. Number one, that the report

00:02:46 Speaker 02: TRU R twenty three twenty six

00:02:49 Speaker 02: be received, and that the County

00:02:51 Speaker 02: of Gray support. the following as

00:02:53 Speaker 02: it pertains to the road transfers

00:02:56 Speaker 02: considered version B in the report,

00:02:59 Speaker 02: which includes an updated full lane

00:03:02 Speaker 02: replacement fixed transition funding model for

00:03:05 Speaker 02: ten years of thirty-three million six

00:03:08 Speaker 02: hundred seventy-one and two hundred eighty-six

00:03:12 Speaker 02: dollars, and the traffic signal operational

00:03:15 Speaker 02: funding transitional over one year one

00:03:19 Speaker 02: to through five of four hundred

00:03:20 Speaker 02: and eighty. Five of four hundred

00:03:24 Speaker 02: eighty-four thousand nine hundred sixty-one, and

00:03:26 Speaker 02: development charges one-time payment of five

00:03:28 Speaker 02: million five hundred fourteen thousand five

00:03:31 Speaker 02: hundred twenty-seven dollars, and the future

00:03:34 Speaker 02: project transfer costs transfer slash costs

00:03:36 Speaker 02: of two million four hundred twenty

00:03:38 Speaker 02: thousand two hundred twenty-nine dollars, and

00:03:40 Speaker 02: that the bylaw to assume and

00:03:42 Speaker 02: remove roads from Gray County the

00:03:44 Speaker 02: Gray County road system be brought

00:03:47 Speaker 02: forward for council's consideration, reflecting a

00:03:49 Speaker 02: legal transfer date of June first.

00:03:52 Speaker 02: twenty twenty-seven, and that the warden

00:03:55 Speaker 02: and clerk be authorized to execute

00:03:58 Speaker 02: the road transfer agreements with member

00:04:01 Speaker 02: municipalities. So, may I ask for

00:04:03 Speaker 02: a motion to ask for a

00:04:03 Speaker 02: move and or a second, or

00:04:06 Speaker 02: to get that on the floor?

00:04:08 Speaker 02: It's moved by Councilor Gregg, seconded

00:04:10 Speaker 02: by Councilor Eccles. It's now on

00:04:12 Speaker 02: the floor for discussion. I am

00:04:13 Speaker 02: going to, at this point in

00:04:15 Speaker 02: time, then I'm going to look

00:04:19 Speaker 02: to Director Hoy to provide. some

00:04:20 Speaker 02: introduction to this topic as we

00:04:25 Speaker 02: move into discussion. Thank you. Okay.

00:04:27 Speaker 03: Thank you, Warden. Basically, I just

00:04:29 Speaker 03: kind of reiterate what I said

00:04:30 Speaker 03: last week that this was our,

00:04:31 Speaker 03: you know, one of our three

00:04:33 Speaker 03: options out of our workshop. Lots

00:04:36 Speaker 03: of good feedback from the municipalities

00:04:37 Speaker 03: and especially the public works staff,

00:04:40 Speaker 03: of course. And so this was

00:04:41 Speaker 03: kind of our option B that

00:04:43 Speaker 03: went through the task force. There

00:04:47 Speaker 03: was some discussion after about. additional

00:04:48 Speaker 03: questions and that type of thing,

00:04:50 Speaker 03: but we were comfortable with this

00:04:53 Speaker 03: funding because of the delays. Funding

00:04:55 Speaker 03: is probably in this year's budget

00:04:56 Speaker 03: a lot of it, so it's

00:04:58 Speaker 03: not as big a number as

00:05:01 Speaker 03: you think originally. And we're ready

00:05:02 Speaker 03: to move forward with this motion

00:05:03 Speaker 04: on behalf of the task force.

00:05:12 Speaker 04: I guess it's now on the

00:05:13 Speaker 04: floor for discussion. I'm going to

00:05:16 Speaker 05: go to Councillor Patterson. I'm going

00:05:18 Speaker 05: to go to Councilor Patterson. Thank

00:05:22 Speaker 05: you, Warden Matrasovs, and good morning,

00:05:26 Speaker 05: County Council. First, firstly, I appreciate

00:05:28 Speaker 05: the opportunity for further review and

00:05:30 Speaker 05: time to discuss the outcome of

00:05:33 Speaker 05: the task force workshop that was

00:05:35 Speaker 05: held on May 26. And I

00:05:38 Speaker 05: do want to thank County staff

00:05:40 Speaker 05: and Hanover staff for their assistance

00:05:43 Speaker 05: and input with the amendment that

00:05:48 Speaker 05: I am proposing, which is to

00:05:51 Speaker 05: further. advance version B, and I

00:05:53 Speaker 05: propose the motion be amended to

00:05:57 Speaker 05: incorporate the following. And I have

00:06:01 Speaker 05: a summary. Thank you, Clerk Tara.

00:06:03 Speaker 05: This number one requirement that the

00:06:05 Speaker 05: transitional funding payment be subject to

00:06:08 Speaker 05: a minimum annual increase equal to

00:06:10 Speaker 05: the greater of five percent and

00:06:12 Speaker 05: the increase to the Gray County

00:06:15 Speaker 05: Major Construction Capital Budget. for

00:06:18 Speaker 05: the current year. Number two, inclusion

00:06:23 Speaker 05: of a five-year decreasing operations transition

00:06:25 Speaker 05: allocation for incremental operation impacts to

00:06:28 Speaker 05: receiving municipalities, and that amount is

00:06:32 Speaker 05: seven hundred thirty thousand seven hundred

00:06:34 Speaker 05: and eighty-three dollars. Number three, a

00:06:38 Speaker 05: requirement that the road transfer agreement

00:06:41 Speaker 05: removes language that makes transition payments

00:06:44 Speaker 05: contingent on the county's annual. budgetary

00:06:48 Speaker 05: process to reflect the fixed minimum

00:06:50 Speaker 05: payment obligations approved by council, and

00:06:53 Speaker 05: inclusion of a clause allowing

00:06:56 Speaker 05: either party to request a

00:06:59 Speaker 05: review of transfer

00:07:02 Speaker 05: configuration where an updated transportation master

00:07:05 Speaker 05: plan changes the functional classification, jurisdictional

00:07:08 Speaker 05: rationale, or regional role of a

00:07:10 Speaker 05: transferred role. Number four, a requirement

00:07:13 Speaker 05: that prior. Or a requirement that

00:07:16 Speaker 05: prior to the execution of

00:07:19 Speaker 05: any road transfer agreement, Gray County

00:07:24 Speaker 05: will provide the receiving municipality

00:07:27 Speaker 05: with all available condition assessment data,

00:07:29 Speaker 05: inspection records, CCTV reports, asset inventory

00:07:33 Speaker 05: data, citywide records, capital planning information,

00:07:36 Speaker 05: and known deficiencies for all infrastructure

00:07:38 Speaker 05: proposed to be transferred, and finally

00:07:42 Speaker 05: a clause directing that costs associated

00:07:44 Speaker 05: with the above. be included in

00:07:51 Speaker 05: the twenty twenty seven budget process.

00:07:53 Speaker 02: Okay, thank you, and Councillor Bordignon,

00:07:55 Speaker 02: you are seconding. Yes, I'll second

00:07:56 Speaker 02: the motion. Okay, thank you. So

00:07:58 Speaker 02: it's on the floor for discussion.

00:08:00 Speaker 02: So, Madam Clerk, if you could

00:08:02 Speaker 02: please provide the the motion that

00:08:05 Speaker 02: is going to be considered on

00:08:06 Speaker 02: the screen for the benefit of

00:08:08 Speaker 02: anyone who is following the meeting,

00:08:11 Speaker 02: and for. our committee of the

00:08:12 Speaker 02: whole members to be able to

00:08:14 Speaker 02: refer to anything specific, and we

00:08:16 Speaker 02: will now thank you for doing

00:08:18 Speaker 02: that. We will now then open

00:08:20 Speaker 02: it up for discussion. So I'll

00:08:29 Speaker 02: look for if you can use

00:08:30 Speaker 02: your virtual hand if you would

00:08:37 Speaker 02: like to be added to the

00:08:41 Speaker 02: discussion. Okay, we're going to begin

00:08:43 Speaker 02: with Councillor McQueen. Yes. Madam Warden,

00:08:46 Speaker 02: and to the amending motion, I

00:08:49 Speaker 02: guess question of clarity, and I

00:08:51 Speaker 06: think the last clause says subject

00:08:55 Speaker 06: to twenty twenty seven's budget. I

00:08:57 Speaker 06: think it was mentioned at our

00:09:02 Speaker 06: last county council meeting that the

00:09:05 Speaker 06: rough numbers will add seven million

00:09:07 Speaker 06: dollars to the twenty twenty seven

00:09:10 Speaker 06: budget. Is that? Can I? Is

00:09:12 Speaker 06: everybody? Is that a confirmation of

00:09:14 Speaker 06: that? Because I know that was

00:09:16 Speaker 06: what the Treasury head of Treasury

00:09:18 Speaker 06: Department was saying that was it

00:09:19 Speaker 06: was going to add an additional

00:09:20 Speaker 06: seven million dollars to the 2027

00:09:22 Speaker 06: budget. So I just I don't

00:09:24 Speaker 06: know if there's any clarity. It

00:09:27 Speaker 06: was in front of everybody, but

00:09:28 Speaker 06: I just remember that number was

00:09:29 Speaker 06: was mentioned that it was seven

00:09:33 Speaker 07: million. Okay. Thank you. So let

00:09:35 Speaker 07: me put that to. It looks

00:09:38 Speaker 07: like the CAO is going to

00:09:40 Speaker 07: respond. Yeah, thank you, and through

00:09:43 Speaker 07: you, Warden, and thank you, Councillor

00:09:46 Speaker 07: McQueen, for for that question. Yeah,

00:09:48 Speaker 07: as noted with at the last

00:09:51 Speaker 07: council meeting, there's a question asked

00:09:53 Speaker 07: with respect to clarification regarding what

00:09:56 Speaker 07: is currently the estimated budget that

00:09:59 Speaker 07: was considered and projected as part

00:10:01 Speaker 07: of the 2026 approved budget. So,

00:10:04 Speaker 07: as as noted at the meeting,

00:10:08 Speaker 07: the 2027 projected budget was estimating

00:10:12 Speaker 07: a levy increase. of approximately just

00:10:14 Speaker 07: over seven point two million, and

00:10:16 Speaker 07: that's pre-growth. That increase over over

00:10:17 Speaker 07: the twenty twenty six budget, the

00:10:21 Speaker 07: estimated new assessment growth for twenty

00:10:23 Speaker 07: twenty seven that was included in

00:10:27 Speaker 07: the in the projected budget was

00:10:30 Speaker 07: one point four million, and therefore

00:10:33 Speaker 07: twenty twenty seven projected budget was

00:10:33 Speaker 07: estimating approximately five point nine million,

00:10:36 Speaker 07: including growth, which equates to about

00:10:38 Speaker 07: a six. Which equates to about

00:10:41 Speaker 07: a 6.93% increase over the 2026

00:10:44 Speaker 07: budget. So just to give you

00:10:46 Speaker 07: a sense of what what that

00:10:48 Speaker 07: was in terms of the estimated

00:10:50 Speaker 07: budget. No doubt there's been some

00:10:54 Speaker 07: additional pressures that we've seen with

00:10:55 Speaker 07: respect to that will likely increase

00:10:57 Speaker 07: some of those numbers. Obviously that'll

00:10:58 Speaker 07: all be part of the discussion,

00:11:01 Speaker 07: and staff are currently working through

00:11:03 Speaker 07: all those details to be able

00:11:05 Speaker 07: to bring forward a draft budget

00:11:07 Speaker 07: in a. Draft budget in in

00:11:09 Speaker 07: the next couple months back to

00:11:12 Speaker 07: this council, and then obviously for

00:11:17 Speaker 07: consideration and approval for the new

00:11:19 Speaker 07: incoming council early in their term.

00:11:20 Speaker 07: So, but that's just gives you

00:11:22 Speaker 07: a sense of what was projected

00:11:25 Speaker 08: and as part of the the

00:11:27 Speaker 08: approved budget for 2027. Okay, thank

00:11:30 Speaker 08: you. Next, we'll go to Councilor

00:11:31 Speaker 08: Gray. Can have a follow-up. Oh,

00:11:34 Speaker 08: sorry. Yes, follow-up, Councilor McQueen. Just

00:11:37 Speaker 08: a quick follow-up. Thanks for that.

00:11:38 Speaker 08: Randy. For that, I just want

00:11:40 Speaker 08: to also add a summary of

00:11:42 Speaker 08: a couple other things that's going

00:11:45 Speaker 08: to affect our overall budget is

00:11:48 Speaker 08: is obviously the 196,000 that's with

00:11:50 Speaker 08: regards to the option one and

00:11:52 Speaker 08: green and gray, and also I

00:11:54 Speaker 08: see later on in our report

00:11:55 Speaker 08: there's an additional 2.8 for conservation

00:11:58 Speaker 08: authorities requirements for our 2027 budget

00:12:00 Speaker 08: as well. So I support this

00:12:01 Speaker 08: resolution. I think it's important that

00:12:04 Speaker 09: it does include that. it'll to

00:12:06 Speaker 09: be included in the twenty seven

00:12:07 Speaker 09: twenty twenty seven budget to be

00:12:09 Speaker 09: determined. So, thank you. Okay, thank

00:12:11 Speaker 09: you. I'm going to go to

00:12:13 Speaker 09: the Deputy CAO, who's raised this

00:12:15 Speaker 09: hand. Thank you. Good morning, County

00:12:18 Speaker 09: Council. Thank you, Madam Warden. And

00:12:20 Speaker 09: just for greater clarity, the two

00:12:21 Speaker 09: point eight million, which is in

00:12:25 Speaker 10: the Conservation Authority report, would not

00:12:27 Speaker 10: be a twenty twenty seven budget

00:12:35 Speaker 10: impact. That is predicted for twenty

00:12:38 Speaker 10: twenty eight. So, it will be

00:12:40 Speaker 10: included as part of this year's

00:12:44 Speaker 10: budget process as part of the

00:12:47 Speaker 10: draft. 2028 budget. Okay, thank you

00:12:51 Speaker 10: for that clarification. We'll go to

00:12:53 Speaker 11: Councillor Greg. Thank you, and just

00:12:56 Speaker 11: a couple questions. I guess one

00:13:00 Speaker 11: for staff and one for Councillor

00:13:04 Speaker 11: Patterson. I'm in agreement with a

00:13:06 Speaker 11: lot of the material within the

00:13:08 Speaker 11: proposed motion. but when we set

00:13:10 Speaker 11: out as a committee, there was

00:13:12 Speaker 11: a very basic formula that calculated

00:13:15 Speaker 11: the cost, which was effectively A,

00:13:19 Speaker 11: which equated to the cost of

00:13:21 Speaker 11: the rural road exchanges. So we

00:13:24 Speaker 11: had a cost of taking on

00:13:28 Speaker 11: the new roads, bringing them up

00:13:31 Speaker 11: to county standard, which was offset

00:13:34 Speaker 11: by the savings coming off the

00:13:35 Speaker 11: books from the roads we are

00:13:38 Speaker 11: giving up, and we used a.

00:13:40 Speaker 11: That's a. B was savings projected

00:13:43 Speaker 11: from the urban road download to

00:13:47 Speaker 11: the urban communities, and that equated

00:13:50 Speaker 11: to C. So I guess the

00:13:53 Speaker 11: question the staff is: Can they

00:13:58 Speaker 11: comment effectively on where this leaves

00:14:01 Speaker 11: us with that net operating or

00:14:05 Speaker 11: net capital increase forecast annually as

00:14:08 Speaker 11: an outcome? of the proposed amended

00:14:11 Speaker 11: motion at this time, the second

00:14:14 Speaker 11: question I guess to Councillor Patterson

00:14:17 Speaker 11: is: In constructing the motion, the

00:14:23 Speaker 11: committee goal was always to look

00:14:24 Speaker 11: for fairness across all municipalities in

00:14:27 Speaker 11: carrying out the the goal or

00:14:29 Speaker 11: the objective of of optimizing the

00:14:32 Speaker 11: road network across the county. Can

00:14:34 Speaker 11: the councillor just comment on the

00:14:36 Speaker 11: fairness perspective? I get that there

00:14:38 Speaker 11: could be some local concerns here,

00:14:43 Speaker 11: but in terms of creating the

00:14:45 Speaker 11: motion, what considerations were given to

00:14:46 Speaker 11: the broad county as a whole,

00:14:48 Speaker 11: and in terms of maintaining that

00:14:51 Speaker 11: fairness and ensuring that it's not

00:14:53 Speaker 11: just responding to a particular municipality's

00:14:56 Speaker 02: concerns, which I I think staff

00:14:57 Speaker 02: have. done a pretty good job

00:14:59 Speaker 02: of when they went to each

00:15:01 Speaker 02: municipal partner. So, questions to

00:15:04 Speaker 02: the mover and questions to staff.

00:15:07 Speaker 05: Thank you. Okay, I think perhaps

00:15:09 Speaker 05: it might work to call

00:15:13 Speaker 05: upon the mover first for a

00:15:16 Speaker 05: response, and then then we'll go

00:15:18 Speaker 05: to staff who can respond appropriately

00:15:22 Speaker 05: afterwards. So, Councilor Patterson, please go

00:15:25 Speaker 05: ahead. Thank you, Warden, and thank

00:15:29 Speaker 05: you, Councilor Greg. The amendment was

00:15:31 Speaker 05: prepared, represented. Representing all lower tiers,

00:15:34 Speaker 05: not any particular municipality. When you

00:15:38 Speaker 05: look at the first one, having

00:15:42 Speaker 05: a minimum increase of five percent

00:15:45 Speaker 05: is something every municipality can use

00:15:48 Speaker 05: when they're budgeting or finance, so

00:15:51 Speaker 05: that they have a stable number

00:15:53 Speaker 05: every year when budgets are prepared.

00:15:58 Speaker 05: And the second one, item two,

00:16:02 Speaker 05: the transition allocation of seven hundred

00:16:04 Speaker 05: thirty thousand seven hundred eighty-three. That's

00:16:06 Speaker 05: across for all nine municipalities, and

00:16:11 Speaker 05: it is to assist with more

00:16:12 Speaker 05: than just winter maintenance. It covers

00:16:14 Speaker 05: patrol maintenance, inspection, traffic operations, and

00:16:17 Speaker 07: service level costs associated with this

00:16:19 Speaker 07: transfer. So it's not just specific

00:16:22 Speaker 07: to one; it's specific to all.

00:16:24 Speaker 07: Okay, thank you for that. So

00:16:28 Speaker 07: then, I will then look to

00:16:31 Speaker 07: staff, and we'll go to the

00:16:33 Speaker 07: CAO. Thank you, Morden, and I'll

00:16:36 Speaker 07: probably start the the the discussion,

00:16:39 Speaker 07: and then maybe look to Nile

00:16:40 Speaker 07: and Garrett for any further details.

00:16:42 Speaker 07: Staff have have reviewed the amended

00:16:44 Speaker 07: motion, and we feel this would

00:16:46 Speaker 07: essentially be what we'll call an

00:16:49 Speaker 07: Option B enhanced version. It's somewhere

00:16:51 Speaker 07: in between Option B. and an

00:16:53 Speaker 07: option that the task force recommended,

00:16:56 Speaker 07: and option C that was also

00:16:57 Speaker 07: presented as part of that workshop

00:16:59 Speaker 07: and that summary report at the

00:17:01 Speaker 07: last meeting, we've done an initial

00:17:04 Speaker 07: review of the finances, and as

00:17:06 Speaker 07: it relates to the recommended option

00:17:08 Speaker 07: B, and we think that with

00:17:09 Speaker 07: the delay in the implementation the

00:17:10 Speaker 07: current year and what was already

00:17:14 Speaker 07: included in the 2026 budget, we're

00:17:16 Speaker 07: fairly close to making version B

00:17:19 Speaker 07: fit within existing budgets without too

00:17:22 Speaker 07: much. pressure, but we have some

00:17:24 Speaker 07: some further detail to work out

00:17:26 Speaker 07: with respect to those finances. The

00:17:28 Speaker 07: amended motion, the option B enhanced

00:17:29 Speaker 07: version, would would place some additional

00:17:33 Speaker 07: pressure, but it does come come

00:17:34 Speaker 07: close to equating to some of,

00:17:38 Speaker 07: but it doesn't come close to

00:17:40 Speaker 07: what I guess would have been

00:17:42 Speaker 07: the financial pressure as it related

00:17:45 Speaker 07: to the full version C option.

00:17:46 Speaker 07: So the proposed adjustment to the

00:17:48 Speaker 07: five percent minimum inflation target can.

00:17:51 Speaker 07: Inflation target compared to the 2.5%

00:17:53 Speaker 07: in the Version B financial model,

00:17:55 Speaker 07: it introduces a little more risk

00:17:56 Speaker 07: on the county, but again, it's

00:17:59 Speaker 07: it's within the realm of what

00:18:02 Speaker 07: the task force has received and

00:18:04 Speaker 07: approved to date. It is it's

00:18:06 Speaker 07: it is proposing a minimum that's

00:18:08 Speaker 07: what we would consider in the

00:18:10 Speaker 07: middle of Version B, which again

00:18:13 Speaker 07: was at 2.5%, and the Version

00:18:14 Speaker 07: C, which was which was 7%.

00:18:16 Speaker 07: So by proposing 5%, somewhere in

00:18:17 Speaker 07: the middle between. those two, in

00:18:18 Speaker 07: terms of the proposed changes, and

00:18:21 Speaker 07: I'll just speak to this as

00:18:23 Speaker 07: as we're as as I'm noting,

00:18:25 Speaker 07: but the proposed changes to the

00:18:27 Speaker 07: agreement language and the sharing of

00:18:30 Speaker 07: the data and information, again from

00:18:32 Speaker 07: a staff perspective, we see these

00:18:34 Speaker 07: as items that would have been

00:18:36 Speaker 07: implemented anyways. So we have no

00:18:38 Speaker 07: concerns with respect to introducing that

00:18:42 Speaker 07: as part of the recommendation, if

00:18:43 Speaker 07: that's if that's council's direction. But

00:18:48 Speaker 07: I may look to Nile and

00:18:50 Speaker 07: or Garrett to see if there's

00:18:52 Speaker 07: Or Gara to see if there's

00:18:54 Speaker 07: any further that they can clarify,

00:18:56 Speaker 12: as it relates to Councillor Greg's

00:18:58 Speaker 12: specific questions on the financial aspects.

00:19:00 Speaker 12: Okay, thank you. So I'll look

00:19:04 Speaker 12: to either Manager Reid or the

00:19:06 Speaker 12: Deputy CEO. Yeah, I can I

00:19:09 Speaker 12: can build on that a little

00:19:10 Speaker 12: bit. Thank you. Councillor Greg's correct

00:19:11 Speaker 12: that at the beginning there was

00:19:13 Speaker 12: really those three elements: the additional

00:19:14 Speaker 12: cost of the rurals, the transfer

00:19:15 Speaker 12: payments, and then the savings from.

00:19:16 Speaker 12: not having to do the urban

00:19:17 Speaker 12: road construction work on a going

00:19:20 Speaker 12: forward basis, and then there was

00:19:23 Speaker 12: a million dollars worth of operational

00:19:26 Speaker 12: savings that were expected to be

00:19:28 Speaker 12: found. The first three of those

00:19:30 Speaker 12: were all kind of in the

00:19:31 Speaker 12: two point one to two point

00:19:34 Speaker 12: two million dollar range. So I

00:19:37 Speaker 12: think they kind of started to

00:19:40 Speaker 12: blur together as we as we've

00:19:42 Speaker 12: gone along, but the the transfer

00:19:43 Speaker 12: payments are now larger, which was

00:19:45 Speaker 12: the the original two point two

00:19:47 Speaker 12: two point than the original two

00:19:49 Speaker 12: point one, two point two million

00:19:50 Speaker 12: dollars, because based on discussions with

00:19:52 Speaker 12: the lower tiers and some evaluating

00:19:54 Speaker 12: the actual kilometers, the percentage of

00:19:56 Speaker 12: the budget that was agreed upon

00:19:59 Speaker 12: that should be going to the

00:20:00 Speaker 12: lower tiers, based on the capital

00:20:04 Speaker 12: savings we would be finding, went

00:20:08 Speaker 12: up slightly. So it's gone from

00:20:10 Speaker 12: ten percent of the budget to

00:20:13 Speaker 12: eleven point something of the budget.

00:20:15 Speaker 12: So that still is a direct

00:20:17 Speaker 12: offset. So we don't anticipate there

00:20:21 Speaker 12: being any additional levy. required for

00:20:23 Speaker 12: those transfer payments being larger because

00:20:26 Speaker 12: they're offset by the the savings

00:20:27 Speaker 12: for the the urbans being downloaded.

00:20:29 Speaker 12: The one thing that could impact

00:20:32 Speaker 12: the 2027 budget above the numbers

00:20:33 Speaker 12: that Randy just just shared for

00:20:37 Speaker 12: the 6.93% is that the million

00:20:38 Speaker 12: dollars worth of savings may not

00:20:40 Speaker 12: be fully realized right away, depending

00:20:42 Speaker 12: on what's decided today. Now we

00:20:45 Speaker 12: we do have some. strategies that

00:20:47 Speaker 12: we've discussed internally. As far as

00:20:48 Speaker 12: Pat mentioned, the the transfer payments

00:20:50 Speaker 12: that are in the budget in

00:20:52 Speaker 12: 2026 will not be needed based

00:20:54 Speaker 12: on the proposed the new proposed

00:20:58 Speaker 12: transfer dates. So whether we look

00:21:00 Speaker 12: at transferring that those funds into

00:21:05 Speaker 12: reserve and then taking them out

00:21:07 Speaker 12: to offset those additional operating costs

00:21:09 Speaker 12: that we would incur depending on

00:21:12 Speaker 12: what gets discussed today, we think

00:21:14 Speaker 12: we're we're pretty close to still

00:21:16 Speaker 12: being under that that 1.2 total

00:21:18 Speaker 12: cost. To total cost for the

00:21:19 Speaker 12: for the total program that was

00:21:20 Speaker 12: included in the twenty twenty seven

00:21:23 Speaker 11: proposed budget. Okay, thank you for

00:21:26 Speaker 11: those details. With that, then we

00:21:27 Speaker 11: will move on to Councillor Eccles.

00:21:30 Speaker 11: Oh, sorry, Councillor Greg, is there

00:21:32 Speaker 11: a follow up? I I did.

00:21:34 Speaker 11: Thank you for recognizing me. And

00:21:38 Speaker 11: my other follow up was it

00:21:42 Speaker 11: went off the screen, but I

00:21:43 Speaker 11: think it's about seven hundred and

00:21:46 Speaker 11: thirty thousand in the decreasing operating.

00:21:47 Speaker 11: funding, could staff just speak to

00:21:50 Speaker 11: how that might apply to Owen

00:21:51 Speaker 11: Sound, being that Owen Sound is

00:21:52 Speaker 11: somewhat unique to the other municipalities,

00:21:55 Speaker 11: as we provide a lot of

00:21:56 Speaker 11: those servicing requirements on a memorandum

00:21:59 Speaker 11: or a cost. You know, basically

00:22:02 Speaker 11: we do it and we invoice

00:22:05 Speaker 11: the county, so so we're a

00:22:06 Speaker 11: little different. So staff could just

00:22:10 Speaker 11: comment that seven the second bullet

00:22:13 Speaker 09: there, the seven hundred thirty thousand

00:22:14 Speaker 09: seven eighty three is. Thirty thousand

00:22:17 Speaker 09: seven eighty three as to how

00:22:20 Speaker 09: that would apply relative to own

00:22:23 Speaker 09: sound, just to ensure that we're

00:22:25 Speaker 09: not left out inadvertently or separate

00:22:26 Speaker 09: separately because of our current standing.

00:22:29 Speaker 09: Okay, so looks like the deputy

00:22:32 Speaker 09: CEO can respond to that. Thank

00:22:33 Speaker 09: you, Madam Warden. Yes, so so

00:22:35 Speaker 09: for most member municipalities, that would

00:22:37 Speaker 09: either constitute them taking on the

00:22:39 Speaker 09: maintenance, and then receiving the decreasing

00:22:40 Speaker 09: payment in lieu of the county

00:22:42 Speaker 09: no longer. doing the maintenance, or

00:22:43 Speaker 09: it would be we would continue

00:22:49 Speaker 09: to do the maintenance and phase

00:22:51 Speaker 09: in the costs associated to that.

00:22:54 Speaker 13: It would be up to each

00:22:57 Speaker 13: municipality how best to do that.

00:23:02 Speaker 13: In the case of Owen Sound,

00:23:04 Speaker 13: where you do the maintenance currently

00:23:07 Speaker 13: and we pay you, it would

00:23:10 Speaker 13: be a decreasing payment over the

00:23:12 Speaker 13: term of the contract. The term

00:23:17 Speaker 13: of the transition, the five year

00:23:22 Speaker 13: transition. Okay. All right. So with

00:23:24 Speaker 13: that, then let's move to Councillor

00:23:29 Speaker 13: Eccles. Thank you, Madam Warden, and

00:23:32 Speaker 13: through you, I don't know Nile

00:23:34 Speaker 13: or Garrett. In the in the

00:23:36 Speaker 13: original version B, there's traffic signal

00:23:41 Speaker 13: operational funding transition one to five

00:23:44 Speaker 13: years, four hundred eighty-four thousand. In

00:23:47 Speaker 13: the amendment, it's a five-year decreasing

00:23:48 Speaker 13: operation transition. Am I to understand?

00:23:57 Speaker 13: that that is an additional, it's

00:23:58 Speaker 13: an increase in that operations, or

00:23:59 Speaker 13: is it that the traffic signal

00:24:04 Speaker 13: four hundred eighty four thousand is

00:24:06 Speaker 13: part of that seven hundred thirty

00:24:07 Speaker 13: thousand? So that increase in the

00:24:08 Speaker 13: operation transition funding is somewhere around

00:24:09 Speaker 13: three hundred and fifty thousand, or

00:24:10 Speaker 14: is it in addition to? and

00:24:13 Speaker 14: maybe that's a question more for

00:24:14 Speaker 14: the councillor Patterson. Okay, let me

00:24:17 Speaker 14: go to the deputy CAO first,

00:24:19 Speaker 14: and then I can check in

00:24:22 Speaker 14: with the mover. I would be

00:24:24 Speaker 14: happy to defer to others on

00:24:26 Speaker 14: this one. I can only I

00:24:29 Speaker 14: I have a very small screen,

00:24:32 Speaker 14: and I'm not able to see

00:24:34 Speaker 14: who else may have put their

00:24:36 Speaker 14: hands up. But I believe the

00:24:38 Speaker 14: intent is that this would be

00:24:40 Speaker 14: an addition. Is that this would

00:24:42 Speaker 14: be an additional, a fully additional

00:24:44 Speaker 14: operating transitional fund? The way

00:24:46 Speaker 14: in which we currently do traffic

00:24:49 Speaker 14: signal operations and the four hundred

00:24:51 Speaker 14: eighty-four thousand or so, which is

00:24:54 Speaker 14: in the exist, is in the

00:24:55 Speaker 14: the pre-amendment version and indeed the

00:24:58 Speaker 14: post-amendment version. That four hundred eighty-four

00:24:59 Speaker 14: thousand is a capital line because

00:25:01 Speaker 14: the traffic signals are a contracted

00:25:03 Speaker 14: out service. We actually contract through

00:25:05 Speaker 14: the City of Owen Sound for

00:25:08 Speaker 14: contract signal maintenance, and so that's

00:25:11 Speaker 14: a. distinctive capital element. The additional

00:25:13 Speaker 14: operating transitional funds really speak to

00:25:14 Speaker 14: the other operational elements that the

00:25:16 Speaker 05: county does, and and the number

00:25:18 Speaker 05: that's been used is nine thousand

00:25:21 Speaker 05: two hundred per kilometer that absorbs

00:25:23 Speaker 05: some of the winter maintenance, well,

00:25:25 Speaker 05: and the winter maintenance costs. So

00:25:27 Speaker 05: it is over and above the

00:25:30 Speaker 05: four hundred eighty four thousand. Is

00:25:33 Speaker 05: the intent, I believe, of the

00:25:36 Speaker 05: mover's amendment to the motion? Okay,

00:25:38 Speaker 05: and thank you. There weren't any

00:25:43 Speaker 05: other staff hands up, and I

00:25:45 Speaker 05: will then go over for confirmation

00:25:49 Speaker 02: to the mover. So, Councillor Patterson.

00:25:52 Speaker 02: Thank you, Warden. I agree. That

00:25:53 Speaker 02: was my understanding that the four

00:25:55 Speaker 02: hundred eighty-four thousand is for the

00:25:56 Speaker 02: traffic light funding, and again, spread

00:25:59 Speaker 02: out over the municipalities that have

00:26:04 Speaker 02: the signalized lights. And the seven

00:26:05 Speaker 02: hundred thirty-three thousand is to provide

00:26:06 Speaker 02: for all the other maintenance, so

00:26:08 Speaker 02: the winter patrol, the inspection. The

00:26:10 Speaker 02: inspections, any insurance, anything to keep

00:26:11 Speaker 02: the service level at what it

00:26:14 Speaker 02: is now. Okay, thank you for

00:26:16 Speaker 02: that response. There was another hand

00:26:19 Speaker 02: up, but it is now off.

00:26:20 Speaker 02: So I'll just put another call

00:26:22 Speaker 02: out if there are any other

00:26:24 Speaker 02: hands to go up for discussion.

00:26:25 Speaker 15: Okay, okay. So, Madam Clerk, I'm

00:26:35 Speaker 15: not seeing any further hands up

00:26:37 Speaker 15: for discussion on this amendment to

00:26:38 Speaker 02: the main motion. So. you could

00:26:40 Speaker 02: remove it from the screen so

00:26:42 Speaker 02: that we can see all of

00:26:44 Speaker 02: us. Thank you, and I will

00:26:48 Speaker 02: now, therefore, using your your real

00:26:49 Speaker 02: hand, please vote in favor. If

00:26:51 Speaker 16: you are in favor, please raise

00:27:00 Speaker 16: your hand of the amend in

00:27:06 Speaker 16: favor of the amendment to the

00:27:08 Speaker 16: main motion. All those in favor?

00:27:10 Speaker 16: Yes, Madam Clerk, that is carried.

00:27:12 Speaker 02: Okay, thank you. So we. are

00:27:14 Speaker 02: now going to take this enhanced

00:27:16 Speaker 02: version of B and put it

00:27:17 Speaker 02: into the main motion. So I'll

00:27:18 Speaker 02: give the the clerk a moment

00:27:19 Speaker 02: to do that, so that we're

00:27:21 Speaker 02: clear on what we're voting on

00:27:22 Speaker 02: as the main motion as it's

00:27:24 Speaker 02: now been amended. Okay, and Madam

00:27:26 Speaker 02: Clerk, it is. I did originally

00:27:27 Speaker 02: read out the main motion, and

00:27:33 Speaker 02: I did, and it was read

00:27:34 Speaker 02: out as it's been amended. But

00:27:37 Speaker 06: it is rather lengthy to be

00:27:40 Speaker 06: showing on the screen. I'm thinking

00:27:41 Speaker 06: we may need to have it

00:27:44 Speaker 06: read out to make sure everybody's

00:27:46 Speaker 06: clear on what they're voting on.

00:27:48 Speaker 06: But in the meantime, let me

00:27:50 Speaker 06: make sure that I go through

00:27:51 Speaker 06: discussion. So we're now discussing the

00:27:54 Speaker 06: main motion as it's been amended,

00:27:56 Speaker 06: and I will go to Councillor

00:27:58 Speaker 06: McQueen. Yes, thank you, Madam Warden,

00:28:00 Speaker 06: and just on the. main motion

00:28:02 Speaker 06: as amended, just following up with

00:28:04 Speaker 06: regards to the budget part of

00:28:07 Speaker 06: this. I do see that in

00:28:08 Speaker 06: that report, Deputy CEO is correct

00:28:11 Speaker 06: that the effects on the budget

00:28:13 Speaker 06: won't happen from the conservation authority

00:28:14 Speaker 06: to 2028. But it was it

00:28:16 Speaker 06: was mentioned there just a few

00:28:18 Speaker 06: minutes ago that the savings that

00:28:21 Speaker 06: that may come back in 2027

00:28:23 Speaker 06: may not be realized. So obviously

00:28:24 Speaker 06: those savings will need to be

00:28:26 Speaker 06: offsetting that extra 2.8 million dollars

00:28:29 Speaker 06: that's. Two point eight million dollars.

00:28:30 Speaker 06: It's coming in twenty twenty eight.

00:28:34 Speaker 06: I guess my point is, is

00:28:38 Speaker 06: is certainly this needs to go

00:28:40 Speaker 17: through a budget process, and but

00:28:42 Speaker 17: I'm I'm just raising those points

00:28:45 Speaker 17: that there's other pressures through our

00:28:49 Speaker 17: budget that we will see as

00:28:51 Speaker 17: well. So that two point eight,

00:28:53 Speaker 17: with regards to this, this ten

00:28:54 Speaker 17: year plan will be certainly affected

00:28:55 Speaker 17: not only in twenty twenty seven

00:28:58 Speaker 17: but also in twenty twenty eight

00:29:01 Speaker 17: as well. So I just wanted

00:29:03 Speaker 17: to raise those points. Thank you.

00:29:05 Speaker 17: Thank you. We'll go to Councillor

00:29:07 Speaker 17: Nielsen next. Mr. Nielsen, next. Thank

00:29:09 Speaker 17: you very much, Ward Matrosov. I'm

00:29:11 Speaker 17: at the same same place I

00:29:12 Speaker 17: was when this whole conversation started,

00:29:14 Speaker 17: and so I'll share my comments

00:29:16 Speaker 17: now. Somehow or another, we are

00:29:17 Speaker 17: doing a download to municipalities, and

00:29:21 Speaker 17: a and this is a like

00:29:23 Speaker 17: what's being presented today is a

00:29:24 Speaker 17: fundamental change from what was presented

00:29:26 Speaker 17: at the beginning of this process.

00:29:28 Speaker 17: That is increasing the costs to

00:29:31 Speaker 17: the county. we are then uploading

00:29:34 Speaker 17: roads that is increasing costs to

00:29:35 Speaker 17: the county, while at the same

00:29:36 Speaker 17: time every lower tier municipality is

00:29:37 Speaker 17: upset about the roads that they're

00:29:39 Speaker 17: getting because of the increased cost

00:29:42 Speaker 17: they're going to have to endure

00:29:46 Speaker 17: once this ten year agreement is

00:29:52 Speaker 17: is over, and suddenly the entire

00:29:54 Speaker 17: road is on our books. I

00:29:56 Speaker 17: am straight up confused as to

00:29:57 Speaker 17: how all these roads exist and

00:30:01 Speaker 17: all the traffic exists now, but

00:30:03 Speaker 17: we are about to change things

00:30:05 Speaker 17: and cost the county of Gray

00:30:07 Speaker 17: almost forty million dollars to continue

00:30:12 Speaker 17: to provide traffic services across. While

00:30:14 Speaker 17: then at the end of the

00:30:17 Speaker 17: ten years, all the lower tier

00:30:18 Speaker 17: municipalities are going to have to

00:30:19 Speaker 17: increase their levies. I've been lost

00:30:21 Speaker 17: from the beginning about the cost

00:30:23 Speaker 17: benefit of this agreement and this

00:30:25 Speaker 17: price tag. For I I just

00:30:28 Speaker 17: don't see the benefit. I don't

00:30:29 Speaker 17: see the value for the forty

00:30:32 Speaker 17: million. dollars, we're going to put

00:30:35 Speaker 17: out. I've been stuck on this

00:30:37 Speaker 17: for a while. I I feel

00:30:40 Speaker 17: like I'm missing something. Somewhere I'm

00:30:41 Speaker 17: missing something as to why this

00:30:42 Speaker 17: actually makes sense. I have questions

00:30:45 Speaker 17: in my mind, but I'm trying

00:30:47 Speaker 17: to process the amendment and the

00:30:49 Speaker 17: difference in cost. And I'm trying

00:30:51 Speaker 17: to hear from my fellow council

00:30:53 Speaker 17: members to maybe hear something that

00:30:57 Speaker 17: then makes this make sense. I

00:30:58 Speaker 17: just don't see it. We are

00:30:59 Speaker 17: talking significant increases in the levy

00:31:03 Speaker 17: to the county for the next

00:31:05 Speaker 17: ten years. This amendment changed it

00:31:10 Speaker 02: so that there's guaranteed five percent.

00:31:13 Speaker 02: So if we, if if the

00:31:15 Speaker 02: post-election there's a more conservative county

00:31:16 Speaker 02: council that comes in that doesn't

00:31:23 Speaker 13: want to increase the capital levy

00:31:28 Speaker 13: that that high to try and

00:31:30 Speaker 13: save the county money, we're still

00:31:33 Speaker 13: going to offset the lower tiers

00:31:34 Speaker 13: so that there'll be perhaps less

00:31:38 Speaker 13: money brought in for our own

00:31:40 Speaker 13: capital needs. Forgive me, I'm lost.

00:31:42 Speaker 13: I from the beginning I've been

00:31:44 Speaker 13: lost, and I'm still lost as

00:31:47 Speaker 13: to how this actually benefits all

00:31:48 Speaker 13: nine member municipalities and the county

00:31:52 Speaker 13: of Gray itself. Okay, thank you.

00:31:54 Speaker 13: I I'll give an opportunity for

00:31:55 Speaker 13: staff to come with any any

00:31:57 Speaker 13: response to that. In the meantime,

00:32:00 Speaker 13: I'm going to go to Councillor

00:32:03 Speaker 13: Eccles. Just a comment on the

00:32:07 Speaker 13: 2.8 million that is going to

00:32:08 Speaker 13: the from Councillor McQueen. That's going

00:32:10 Speaker 13: to be spent on the on

00:32:12 Speaker 13: the county. It's going to be

00:32:16 Speaker 13: taken off of the lower tiers

00:32:20 Speaker 13: who pay it right now. So

00:32:24 Speaker 13: there's only one taxpayer in this.

00:32:26 Speaker 13: It's just you know who's going

00:32:30 Speaker 13: to write the check of the

00:32:34 Speaker 13: taxpayers' money to support this. so

00:32:36 Speaker 13: we're getting. You know, the break

00:32:37 Speaker 13: is going to come off of

00:32:40 Speaker 13: the municipal one, simplistically how I

00:32:44 Speaker 13: see it, anyways, because that's about

00:32:45 Speaker 13: 2.8 million that the Gray County

00:32:49 Speaker 13: municipalities are paying conservation authorities now.

00:32:51 Speaker 13: So instead of it being divvied

00:32:53 Speaker 13: up as nine different checks, it's

00:32:57 Speaker 13: going to be one check that

00:32:59 Speaker 13: comes from the county. That that's

00:33:00 Speaker 13: about it. The comment on. why

00:33:03 Speaker 13: we're doing this in the railroad

00:33:06 Speaker 13: rationalization, it's because there is a

00:33:10 Speaker 13: number of roads in this performance

00:33:13 Speaker 13: that are county roads, but are

00:33:14 Speaker 13: being you know in Shottsworth and

00:33:18 Speaker 13: George and Bluffs. I call it

00:33:21 Speaker 13: the Mennonite Corner and going south

00:33:25 Speaker 13: down to Gray Road Forty, Cross

00:33:28 Speaker 13: Fifteen. The amount of traffic that's

00:33:32 Speaker 13: on that, it is a county.

00:33:35 Speaker 13: road. It is that it meets

00:33:39 Speaker 13: those standards, and it doesn't meet

00:33:41 Speaker 13: the standards of a municipal. So

00:33:43 Speaker 13: to be able to get to

00:33:46 Speaker 13: that, and the safety and the

00:33:48 Speaker 13: risk that is in that, obviously,

00:33:50 Speaker 13: I've been promoting this. It should

00:33:52 Speaker 13: have been done 15 years ago.

00:33:54 Speaker 13: That is the biggest the understanding

00:33:56 Speaker 13: of where this traffic is going.

00:33:58 Speaker 13: Yeah, the traffic is there. but

00:34:01 Speaker 13: we can't continue as a lower

00:34:04 Speaker 13: tier to have that risk. It

00:34:07 Speaker 13: is a county road, county meets

00:34:08 Speaker 13: the county criteria. That, Councilor Nielsen,

00:34:11 Speaker 13: is the biggest option here, or

00:34:14 Speaker 02: the biggest reason why we're doing

00:34:16 Speaker 02: this. Yep, there's it. And in

00:34:18 Speaker 02: comparison to the conservation authority, it's

00:34:20 Speaker 02: a shift. Some of this might.

00:34:21 Speaker 02: Shift. Some of this money is,

00:34:23 Speaker 02: it's in development charges. So, is

00:34:25 Speaker 02: it really that big of a

00:34:27 Speaker 02: thing? No. Some, a lot of

00:34:29 Speaker 02: this money is being transferred out

00:34:35 Speaker 02: of reserves. It's, it's a bit

00:34:38 Speaker 02: of a shift. It's not an

00:34:40 Speaker 18: upload of financial burden towards the

00:34:44 Speaker 18: county. It, in the end of

00:34:48 Speaker 18: it, it'll be basically a wash.

00:34:51 Speaker 18: That's all I'm going to say

00:34:53 Speaker 18: about it. That's why I'm supporting

00:34:54 Speaker 18: it so much. Okay, thank you

00:34:57 Speaker 18: very much, Councillor Eccles. And yes,

00:34:59 Speaker 18: I appreciate the the analogy and

00:35:01 Speaker 18: using the example of the conservation

00:35:03 Speaker 18: authorities. But for the purpose of

00:35:06 Speaker 18: our discussion here, so as not

00:35:10 Speaker 18: to confuse people following along, we'll

00:35:12 Speaker 18: try to stick to just this

00:35:16 Speaker 18: this that is in front of

00:35:19 Speaker 18: us. We'll go to Councillor Kentner

00:35:22 Speaker 18: next. Thank you, Board and Mactrisovs.

00:35:24 Speaker 18: I just want to you know

00:35:25 Speaker 18: support Councillor Nielsen in his. his

00:35:29 Speaker 18: comments, at the very bottom line,

00:35:33 Speaker 18: like there's a saving for the

00:35:35 Speaker 06: county once this is all. We

00:35:39 Speaker 06: get to the end of the

00:35:40 Speaker 06: ten year road, a huge saving.

00:35:42 Speaker 06: I've never heard how many staff

00:35:43 Speaker 06: we'll be reducing by, or you

00:35:45 Speaker 06: know what kind of sales we'll

00:35:47 Speaker 06: have of snowplows and and other

00:35:52 Speaker 06: equipment. In fact, we're we're building

00:35:54 Speaker 06: more more, you know. more shelter

00:35:56 Speaker 06: for snow plows and and equipment.

00:35:57 Speaker 06: So I'm in the camp that

00:36:00 Speaker 06: says I haven't really understood the

00:36:02 Speaker 06: the whole basis for this. There

00:36:04 Speaker 06: there is a saving to the

00:36:06 Speaker 06: county, but I see no evidence

00:36:07 Speaker 06: of what a how how the

00:36:08 Speaker 06: county will get that saving. Thank

00:36:11 Speaker 06: you. Okay, thank you. We'll go

00:36:13 Speaker 06: to Councilor McQueen. Yeah. thanks, Madam

00:36:15 Speaker 06: Ward. And the only reason I

00:36:16 Speaker 06: raised the 2.8 was only for

00:36:17 Speaker 06: budget purposes. Only I wasn't to

00:36:20 Speaker 06: get in that whole debate about

00:36:22 Speaker 06: that part. Just on the sense

00:36:25 Speaker 06: of of roads that are have

00:36:27 Speaker 06: been considered lower tier roads and

00:36:29 Speaker 06: are you know acting almost as

00:36:32 Speaker 06: county roads. At the very beginning

00:36:34 Speaker 06: of this process and task force,

00:36:36 Speaker 06: 12B in Gray Highlands was raised

00:36:38 Speaker 06: that it was a county road.

00:36:43 Speaker 06: It was downloaded to the municipality

00:36:46 Speaker 19: and is meeting that the criteria.

00:36:48 Speaker 19: And is meeting the criteria of

00:36:51 Speaker 19: other roads that are being uploaded

00:36:53 Speaker 19: from municipalities to the county. So

00:36:55 Speaker 19: there is other areas, and talk

00:36:57 Speaker 19: about fairness throughout the county. That

00:36:59 Speaker 19: was a road that was raised

00:37:01 Speaker 19: at the very beginning of the

00:37:03 Speaker 19: task force conversation, and it was

00:37:05 Speaker 19: also raised through our delegation point

00:37:07 Speaker 19: at the Sedingham school a few

00:37:09 Speaker 19: months or a month or so

00:37:11 Speaker 19: ago. So there are lots of

00:37:14 Speaker 19: arguments across this whole discussion, but

00:37:22 Speaker 19: I just as a rebuttal to

00:37:25 Speaker 19: Councillor Eccles. Councilor Eccles, there's other

00:37:27 Speaker 19: roads that are that are meeting

00:37:29 Speaker 19: the criteria of a county road.

00:37:31 Speaker 19: Great, thank you. Next, we'll go

00:37:33 Speaker 19: to the Deputy Warden. Thank you,

00:37:35 Speaker 19: Madam Warden. And you're right, Councilor

00:37:38 Speaker 19: McQueen. There are a multitude of

00:37:40 Speaker 19: other roads that could be included

00:37:43 Speaker 20: in this process, but it was

00:37:45 Speaker 20: decided some time ago, and it

00:37:48 Speaker 20: would be at least maybe three

00:37:49 Speaker 20: years ago that we needed to

00:37:51 Speaker 20: pick a handful of. projects and

00:37:53 Speaker 20: move on with them, get them

00:37:54 Speaker 20: done, and then would be another

00:37:58 Speaker 20: tranche of roads potentially that could

00:38:00 Speaker 20: be used. And in response to

00:38:03 Speaker 20: Councillor Nielsen, the entire intent of

00:38:06 Speaker 20: this project was that the volume

00:38:07 Speaker 20: of traffic on a given road

00:38:09 Speaker 20: should be maintained. That road should

00:38:11 Speaker 20: be maintained by the appropriate authority.

00:38:13 Speaker 20: Higher volume roads should be. maintained

00:38:14 Speaker 20: by the county. There's no point

00:38:18 Speaker 20: in a lower tier trying to

00:38:19 Speaker 20: maintain a road when it's got

00:38:21 Speaker 20: a county level of traffic on

00:38:23 Speaker 20: it. That was the original premise

00:38:24 Speaker 17: of the of the project, and

00:38:25 Speaker 17: I I think we're getting at

00:38:27 Speaker 17: that, but we're getting dragged down

00:38:30 Speaker 17: and quite rightly so. We're getting

00:38:32 Speaker 17: dragged down into the details of

00:38:36 Speaker 17: how we make that happen, and

00:38:38 Speaker 17: I'm supportive of what has been

00:38:40 Speaker 17: proposed here, including the amendment. I

00:38:43 Speaker 17: think we need to stop clutching

00:38:45 Speaker 17: our pearls and say, "Okay, let's

00:38:48 Speaker 17: get on with this project and

00:38:50 Speaker 17: and and get it done, and

00:38:52 Speaker 17: then move on to other roads

00:38:54 Speaker 17: that potentially could be transferred." Thank

00:38:57 Speaker 17: you, Madam Ward. Okay, thank you,

00:38:59 Speaker 17: and I'll circle back then to

00:39:01 Speaker 17: Councillor Nielsen, his raised his hand.

00:39:02 Speaker 17: Thank you very much, Ward, and

00:39:05 Speaker 17: just a final comment from myself,

00:39:08 Speaker 17: and then I won't raise my

00:39:10 Speaker 17: hand again. I promise. We are

00:39:12 Speaker 17: talking. traffic volumes and what should

00:39:13 Speaker 17: and shouldn't constitute county roads, and

00:39:16 Speaker 17: then we're downloading urban centers, which

00:39:19 Speaker 17: are county roads that go through

00:39:21 Speaker 17: municipalities. Like so, the one argument

00:39:24 Speaker 17: kind of defeats itself if we're

00:39:25 Speaker 17: talking about that because I'm sure

00:39:26 Speaker 17: the what we're downloading to Hanover

00:39:28 Speaker 17: as a main trench right through

00:39:29 Speaker 17: their significant town and the the

00:39:30 Speaker 17: traffic that goes through there. You

00:39:32 Speaker 17: know, we're we're downloading to try

00:39:33 Speaker 17: to save ourselves money. where I

00:39:35 Speaker 17: get lost again is as we

00:39:37 Speaker 17: sit here with our county hats

00:39:40 Speaker 17: on, trying to do what's best

00:39:42 Speaker 17: for Gray County. The original deal

00:39:44 Speaker 17: that staff put forward and started

00:39:45 Speaker 17: this process made more sense than

00:39:47 Speaker 17: what we're putting forward today. The

00:39:50 Speaker 17: amendment increased the cost to Gray

00:39:51 Speaker 17: County. The conversations we've had, you

00:39:53 Speaker 17: know, if we're talking about different

00:39:55 Speaker 17: ways it could have been done,

00:39:58 Speaker 17: we're trying to make it fair.

00:40:00 Speaker 17: We're trying to do as best.

00:40:02 Speaker 17: we can as the county. The

00:40:03 Speaker 17: county has the authority to download

00:40:06 Speaker 17: the roads. If we were about

00:40:07 Speaker 17: trying to line this up, it

00:40:08 Speaker 17: could have been done more efficiently

00:40:10 Speaker 17: and for less cost to the

00:40:11 Speaker 17: county. As I and I've said

00:40:14 Speaker 17: this before, as I sit with

00:40:16 Speaker 17: my Gray Highlands hat on, I

00:40:18 Speaker 17: am in favor of this urban

00:40:20 Speaker 17: road transfer for Gray Highlands. I

00:40:24 Speaker 17: believe it benefits Gray Highlands to

00:40:25 Speaker 17: own and maintain the road of

00:40:27 Speaker 17: Gray Road Four and Gray Road

00:40:31 Speaker 17: Twelve through our maino corridors, and

00:40:33 Speaker 17: allows many different reasons. why that's

00:40:34 Speaker 17: beneficial, from parking to speeding to

00:40:36 Speaker 17: road access, entrance permits, and everything

00:40:37 Speaker 02: else. It is my Gray County

00:40:39 Speaker 02: hat that I sit here and

00:40:41 Speaker 02: don't see the the value in

00:40:42 Speaker 02: the cost. This could have been

00:40:45 Speaker 02: done in a way that was,

00:40:48 Speaker 02: you know, even the original staff

00:40:50 Speaker 02: plan, like I said, was a

00:40:53 Speaker 02: lesser cost to Gray County. We

00:40:55 Speaker 02: to Brian, to sorry Deputy Warden

00:40:56 Speaker 02: Milne, your last comment of being

00:40:57 Speaker 02: dragged into Manusa is what's causing

00:40:59 Speaker 02: this problem. We're sitting here. Challenged

00:41:01 Speaker 02: by which hat we're to be

00:41:02 Speaker 02: wearing, and in my opinion, the

00:41:04 Speaker 02: county hat is is tilted to

00:41:06 Speaker 02: the side when it comes to

00:41:07 Speaker 02: the way we are challenging and

00:41:10 Speaker 02: moving forward with this. And that

00:41:11 Speaker 02: is it for me. Thank you

00:41:13 Speaker 02: very much, Warden Mathersoff. Okay, thank

00:41:17 Speaker 02: you very much. I don't see

00:41:19 Speaker 02: any further hands up. I'll just

00:41:21 Speaker 02: look to the deputy CAO, perhaps,

00:41:23 Speaker 02: or the CAO, both having been

00:41:25 Speaker 07: involved in consolidating the input that

00:41:28 Speaker 07: did come from that workshop day.

00:41:31 Speaker 07: and now that we've seen an

00:41:32 Speaker 07: amendment to the main motion, so

00:41:33 Speaker 07: now the main motion looks a

00:41:35 Speaker 07: little different than it was originally

00:41:37 Speaker 07: presented to the task force and

00:41:38 Speaker 07: supported by the task force. So

00:41:41 Speaker 07: it has now had an enhancement

00:41:43 Speaker 07: to it, still along the lines

00:41:46 Speaker 07: of B, not C, not option

00:41:47 Speaker 07: C, but somewhere in the middle.

00:41:51 Speaker 07: So can I just look to

00:41:53 Speaker 07: either the deputy CAO or the

00:41:56 Speaker 07: CAO to just affirm that this

00:41:58 Speaker 07: is aligned to what you had

00:42:02 Speaker 07: been able to. ascertain from the

00:42:04 Speaker 07: workshop day, getting the input from

00:42:05 Speaker 07: the lower tiers. I'll go to

00:42:09 Speaker 07: the CEO. Yeah, thank you, Warden,

00:42:11 Speaker 07: and through you, I think I

00:42:12 Speaker 07: think this is kind of the

00:42:14 Speaker 07: middle ground. I'd say of what

00:42:16 Speaker 07: some of the comments we heard

00:42:19 Speaker 07: from municipal staff at the workshop,

00:42:21 Speaker 07: who were more leaned towards, I'd

00:42:24 Speaker 07: say, some of the version C

00:42:26 Speaker 07: recommendations and options, and the task

00:42:28 Speaker 07: force recommendation, obviously version B, and

00:42:31 Speaker 07: this is somewhere in the middle,

00:42:34 Speaker 07: as as you noted, Warden. So.

00:42:38 Speaker 07: so again, when we when we

00:42:40 Speaker 07: reviewed the the amendment, the proposed

00:42:43 Speaker 07: amendment internally, we didn't see any

00:42:44 Speaker 07: immediate concerns. It as noted, there

00:42:48 Speaker 07: is there's going to be some

00:42:50 Speaker 07: increased financial pressures that relates to

00:42:52 Speaker 07: the operational piece of that that

00:42:54 Speaker 07: amended motion. But we'll work through

00:42:58 Speaker 07: that those details as part of

00:43:01 Speaker 07: the budget when we bring those

00:43:03 Speaker 07: budget details forward to as a

00:43:04 Speaker 07: draft to this this current council

00:43:06 Speaker 07: and. obviously for consideration approval for

00:43:07 Speaker 07: the incoming council. Beyond that, there

00:43:10 Speaker 02: was there was nothing in the

00:43:13 Speaker 02: amended motion or that raised again

00:43:15 Speaker 02: any concerns with respect to staff

00:43:16 Speaker 02: at this stage. And ultimately, I

00:43:19 Speaker 02: think staff are looking forward to

00:43:20 Speaker 02: receiving some some clear direction in

00:43:24 Speaker 02: terms of being able to either

00:43:26 Speaker 02: move this forward at this stage

00:43:28 Speaker 02: so we can start to implement

00:43:29 Speaker 02: that process. and work with the

00:43:31 Speaker 02: member municipalities on finalizing those agreements,

00:43:33 Speaker 02: and then having that all ready

00:43:35 Speaker 02: to go if this motion passes

00:43:46 Speaker 02: for the transfers in June of

00:43:47 Speaker 02: 2027. Again, we're happy to take

00:43:50 Speaker 02: any further questions, but we think

00:43:52 Speaker 02: this is generally in alignment and

00:43:54 Speaker 02: somewhere in the middle of what

00:43:55 Speaker 02: we heard based on the comments

00:43:57 Speaker 02: between municipal staff through those discussions

00:43:58 Speaker 02: at the workshop. Okay, thank you.

00:44:00 Speaker 02: There are no further hands. So,

00:44:02 Speaker 02: Madam Clerk, could you please remove

00:44:03 Speaker 02: the screen share so that we

00:44:05 Speaker 02: can see all the hands here?

00:44:06 Speaker 02: Excellent. Thank you. Okay, so it

00:44:08 Speaker 02: has been amended. We have considered

00:44:10 Speaker 02: and discussed the main motion as

00:44:11 Speaker 02: it's been amended. I will call

00:44:13 Speaker 02: the question. All those in favor?

00:44:14 Speaker 02: Please raise your real hand and

00:44:16 Speaker 02: keep them up while we count.

00:44:18 Speaker 02: And that motion is carried. Thank

00:44:20 Speaker 02: you very much. Okay, now we

00:44:21 Speaker 16: do still have some discussion items

00:45:01 Speaker 02: ahead of us on this agenda.

00:45:03 Speaker 02: So at twelve o'clock, since we

00:45:04 Speaker 02: only had a five-minute morning break,

00:45:06 Speaker 02: I'm going to call our lunch

00:45:08 Speaker 02: session, lunch break. At this point

00:45:09 Speaker 02: in time, we're going to try

00:45:11 Speaker 02: to keep it trim because we

00:45:12 Speaker 02: do have quite a bit left

00:45:15 Speaker 02: to go through on the agenda

00:45:17 Speaker 02: item, including closed sessions. So if

00:45:19 Speaker 02: everyone can be please back here

00:45:21 Speaker 02: and ready to go at twelve.

00:45:23 Speaker 02: thirty. Then we will carry on.

00:45:25 Speaker 02: So we'll do just a half

00:45:27 Speaker 02: hour lunch, and then be able

00:45:29 Speaker 02: to pick up on item seven

00:45:31 Speaker 02: B when we return. So we

00:45:34 Speaker 02: will be on lunch break until

00:45:36 Speaker 02: twelve thirty. Thank you. Okay. Okay.

00:45:39 Speaker 02: Well, we do have our quorum.

00:45:41 Speaker 02: There may be one or two

00:45:42 Speaker 02: others just coming in as we're

00:45:44 Speaker 02: getting ready to discuss the next

00:45:45 Speaker 02: item. we're going to be moving

00:45:46 Speaker 02: on to item seven B. But

00:45:48 Speaker 02: just on the advice of the

00:45:51 Speaker 02: clerk, having had a discussion, I'm

00:45:55 Speaker 02: going to recommend, unless there's any

00:45:57 Speaker 02: objection to our committee, the whole

00:45:59 Speaker 02: members, that when we get to

00:46:01 Speaker 02: item seven E, before we go

00:46:02 Speaker 02: into seven F, in between seven

00:46:03 Speaker 02: E and seven F, we'll take

00:46:06 Speaker 02: a moment to return back

00:46:08 Speaker 02: to the consentage items, consent items

00:46:11 Speaker 02: that were pulled, items six A,

00:46:14 Speaker 02: C, and D, just because item

00:46:17 Speaker 02: seven F. Section seven F is

00:46:19 Speaker 02: in relation to what we may

00:46:21 Speaker 02: be discussing and close matters, and

00:46:22 Speaker 02: we'll want to go smoothly into

00:46:24 Speaker 02: that. So, at that point in

00:46:25 Speaker 02: time, we'll take a break from

00:46:27 Speaker 02: section seven, go back to section

00:46:29 Speaker 02: six, and then return to the

00:46:30 Speaker 02: regular agenda. Seeing no objections, objections.

00:46:31 Speaker 02: Okay, that allows us to move

00:46:34 Speaker 02: on to seven B, and this

00:46:37 Speaker 21: is the minutes, and we will

00:46:39 Speaker 21: be hearing from the deputy clerk

00:46:43 Speaker 21: in a moment. But just to

00:46:45 Speaker 21: get it on the floor, it's

00:46:48 Speaker 21: recommended that the Gray County Joint

00:46:50 Speaker 21: Accessibility Advisory Committee minutes dated June

00:46:53 Speaker 21: 18, 2026, be adopted as presented,

00:46:56 Speaker 21: and it contains the six. It

00:46:58 Speaker 21: contains the eight resolutions that were

00:47:01 Speaker 21: provided for, published, and circulated in

00:47:02 Speaker 21: the agenda. So, may I ask

00:47:06 Speaker 21: for a mover and a seconder?

00:47:08 Speaker 21: Thank you. I've got that moved

00:47:10 Speaker 21: by Councilor Gregg and seconded by

00:47:13 Speaker 21: Councilor Eccles. So it's now on

00:47:14 Speaker 21: the floor for discussion. So at

00:47:17 Speaker 21: this point in time, I would

00:47:21 Speaker 21: like to look to the deputy

00:47:22 Speaker 21: clerk. Thank you, Madam. Morden, and

00:47:24 Speaker 21: good afternoon, County Council. The Grey

00:47:26 Speaker 21: County Joint Accessibility Advisory Committee met

00:47:30 Speaker 21: last Thursday, June 18th, via Zoom.

00:47:33 Speaker 21: To begin, the committee heard a

00:47:34 Speaker 21: delegation from Kate Reconomy from the

00:47:37 Speaker 21: Canadian National Institute for the Blind,

00:47:39 Speaker 21: a nonprofit organization that

00:47:41 Speaker 21: delivers innovative programs and

00:47:46 Speaker 21: advocacy to individuals impacted by blindness.

00:47:47 Speaker 21: She noted the importance of understanding

00:47:50 Speaker 21: sight loss and further provided tips

00:47:52 Speaker 21: to build and. support environments that

00:47:55 Speaker 21: are barrier-free. Following that delegation, the

00:47:57 Speaker 21: committee heard from member municipal staff,

00:47:59 Speaker 21: the Town of Hanover, the Township

00:48:02 Speaker 21: of Southgate, and the Municipality of

00:48:04 Speaker 21: Grey Highlands. Each presented their accessibility

00:48:07 Speaker 21: plans. The 2026 municipal and school

00:48:12 Speaker 21: board election. It was noted that

00:48:13 Speaker 21: election staff would be available to

00:48:17 Speaker 21: assist throughout the entire election process

00:48:19 Speaker 21: for members of the public. Additionally,

00:48:21 Speaker 21: the committee reviewed the 2026. The

00:48:23 Speaker 21: committee reviewed the 2025 annual accessibility

00:48:26 Speaker 21: status report from the City of

00:48:28 Speaker 21: Owen Sound. The summary detailed the

00:48:29 Speaker 21: progress and measures taken to improve

00:48:31 Speaker 21: accessibility through the Integrated Accessibility Standards.

00:48:33 Speaker 21: Furthermore, the committee reviewed the plans

00:48:35 Speaker 21: for the reconstruction of Toronto Street

00:48:39 Speaker 21: North and South of Highway 10,

00:48:41 Speaker 21: located in Markdale Grey Highlands. The

00:48:43 Speaker 21: Municipality of Grey Highlands was successful

00:48:46 Speaker 21: in the Connecting Link grant application

00:48:48 Speaker 21: and updated. Application and updates include

00:48:51 Speaker 21: the replacement of existing storm sewers,

00:48:53 Speaker 21: a full-depth reconstruction of the road,

00:48:54 Speaker 21: installation of left left turn lanes,

00:49:01 Speaker 21: and more. Additionally, the committee heard

00:49:03 Speaker 21: from the City of Owen Sound

00:49:04 Speaker 21: regarding the rehabilitation of Weaver's Creek

00:49:07 Speaker 21: Boardwalk located in Harrison Park. The

00:49:09 Speaker 21: boardwalk trail consists of two boardwalk

00:49:11 Speaker 21: sections and two gravel pathway sections.

00:49:14 Speaker 21: The two boardwalk sections of the

00:49:17 Speaker 21: trail are in poor condition, and

00:49:19 Speaker 21: as a result, the trail

00:49:21 Speaker 21: is now closed. So at this

00:49:26 Speaker 21: time, design refinement is underway and

00:49:28 Speaker 21: included any comments received from the

00:49:30 Speaker 21: committee. Furthermore, the committee heard from

00:49:33 Speaker 21: the City of Owen Sound regarding

00:49:36 Speaker 21: the replacement of the 25-year-old playground

00:49:39 Speaker 21: and revitalization of the splash pad

00:49:44 Speaker 21: located at Kelso Beach at Naewash

00:49:45 Speaker 21: Park. The updates are funded approximately

00:49:47 Speaker 21: equally by the City of Owen

00:49:48 Speaker 21: Sound and the Scenic City Order

00:49:50 Speaker 21: of Good Cheer. Following this, materials

00:49:52 Speaker 21: from Employment and Social Development Canada

00:49:54 Speaker 21: were provided to the committee for

00:49:57 Speaker 21: information. A call for proposals have

00:50:00 Speaker 21: been made under the Accessible Canada

00:50:01 Speaker 21: Fund for the National Accessibility Week

00:50:03 Speaker 21: stream. The funding opportunity would support

00:50:05 Speaker 21: projects that promote the implementation of

00:50:08 Speaker 21: the Accessible Canada Act and its

00:50:10 Speaker 21: regulations through the National Accessibility Week

00:50:13 Speaker 21: activities. There. were also three

00:50:15 Speaker 21: site plan approvals on the

00:50:17 Speaker 21: agenda from the City of Owen

00:50:20 Speaker 21: Sound. These include included two seven

00:50:23 Speaker 21: nine five East Bayshore Road, two

00:50:27 Speaker 21: seven five three Fifteenth Street East,

00:50:30 Speaker 21: and finally eleven seventy First Avenue

00:50:33 Speaker 21: East. At the end of the

00:50:35 Speaker 21: meeting, the committee received an update

00:50:37 Speaker 21: from county staff on a virtual

00:50:39 Speaker 21: event that was hosted by the

00:50:40 Speaker 21: Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility on

00:50:41 Speaker 21: June eleventh. The purpose was to

00:50:44 Speaker 21: collaborate with other municipal representatives, learn

00:50:46 Speaker 21: about accessible best practices, and share

00:50:49 Speaker 21: insights. There was a lot of

00:50:52 Speaker 21: valuable information shared to help support

00:50:53 Speaker 21: committee membership, as well as a

00:51:01 Speaker 21: really neat program was shared called

00:51:04 Speaker 21: Melly's, which is a workplace cafe

00:51:06 Speaker 21: and marketplace in Whitby. This provides

00:51:07 Speaker 21: hands-on learning and employment development for

00:51:09 Speaker 21: individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities,

00:51:13 Speaker 02: and their website can be found

00:51:15 Speaker 02: at www. At www.meliesworkplace.ca for those

00:51:18 Speaker 02: who are interested. Overall, there was

00:51:20 Speaker 02: great feedback and comment from staff

00:51:23 Speaker 02: and members of the committee. Staff

00:51:24 Speaker 02: have indicated that applications for the

00:51:26 Speaker 02: new committee term would open following

00:51:27 Speaker 02: the new term of council, and

00:51:29 Speaker 02: that the terms of reference are

00:51:32 Speaker 02: to be reviewed and updated this

00:51:38 Speaker 02: fall. And finally, the final meeting

00:51:41 Speaker 02: of the Grey County Joint Accessibility

00:51:43 Speaker 02: Advisory Committee is scheduled for October

00:51:46 Speaker 02: fifteenth. That was about all

00:51:48 Speaker 02: that encompassed the meeting, and I'm

00:51:50 Speaker 02: happy to answer any questions. Thank

00:51:52 Speaker 02: you. You're unmute, Matthew Morgan. Yeah,

00:51:53 Speaker 02: it's great. Now Zoom puts a

00:51:56 Speaker 02: little flag. Our Karosa says, "Hey,

00:51:58 Speaker 02: I think you're trying to talk,

00:51:59 Speaker 02: but you better unmute." So, thank

00:52:01 Speaker 02: you. Yes, with that, any questions

00:52:05 Speaker 02: from any members of the committee?

00:52:06 Speaker 22: The whole. If you want to

00:52:08 Speaker 22: use your virtual hand, okay. I'm

00:52:10 Speaker 22: not seeing hands go up for

00:52:13 Speaker 22: any questions, so in that case,

00:52:15 Speaker 22: then I will call the vote.

00:52:19 Speaker 22: All those in favor of the

00:52:21 Speaker 22: motion that's on the floor, and

00:52:23 Speaker 22: I see that as carried, Madam

00:52:26 Speaker 22: Clerk. Okay. Thank you very much.

00:52:28 Speaker 22: And with that, we'll move on

00:52:31 Speaker 22: to the recommendation for 7C that

00:52:33 Speaker 22: the Agricultural Advisory Committee meet. Cultural

00:52:34 Speaker 22: Advisory Committee meeting minutes dated June

00:52:36 Speaker 22: eighteenth, twenty twenty six, be adopted

00:52:37 Speaker 22: as presented. May I ask a

00:52:39 Speaker 22: remover and a seconder? There, got

00:52:40 Speaker 22: it. Moved by Councillor Patterson, seconded

00:52:42 Speaker 22: by Councillor Mackie. So it's now

00:52:44 Speaker 22: on the floor for discussion. And

00:52:47 Speaker 22: I would like to look to

00:52:49 Speaker 22: Director Taylor. Great, thank you, Madam

00:52:51 Speaker 22: Warden. So we had another exciting

00:52:52 Speaker 22: meeting of the Agricultural Advisory Committee.

00:52:54 Speaker 22: The meeting kicked off with an

00:52:56 Speaker 22: introduction from Linda Scott Swanson and

00:52:59 Speaker 22: a presentation from Emily McKeag about

00:53:00 Speaker 22: the. 2026 Great Experimental Acres Program.

00:53:02 Speaker 22: Ms. McKeag noted that we

00:53:03 Speaker 22: had seven projects that have been

00:53:06 Speaker 22: approved for for funding in 2026,

00:53:08 Speaker 22: and and they represent a broad

00:53:11 Speaker 22: range of of agriculture from across

00:53:12 Speaker 22: the county. So this was really

00:53:15 Speaker 22: just sort of the kickoff and