Grey County Committee of the Whole Meeting Transcript — July 9, 2026

00:00:04 Speaker 01: Okay, we are set to go.

00:00:05 Speaker 01: So I will call to order

00:00:06 Speaker 01: this committee. The whole meeting of

00:00:08 Speaker 01: July ninth, twenty twenty-six. At this

00:00:11 Speaker 01: point in time, I'll put out

00:00:12 Speaker 01: a call. Are there any declarations

00:00:13 Speaker 01: of interest on today's agenda? Seeing

00:00:16 Speaker 01: no hands raised, we'll progress. Business

00:00:19 Speaker 01: arising for minutes. Okay, so then

00:00:23 Speaker 01: we will move on. Then to

00:00:25 Speaker 01: we do have a delegation this

00:00:26 Speaker 01: morning. I would like to welcome

00:00:28 Speaker 01: both Ashley Cameron and Robin. Strangeway

00:00:30 Speaker 01: Calder, who will be providing us

00:00:33 Speaker 01: with the delegation. But let me

00:00:35 Speaker 01: first get the motion on the

00:00:37 Speaker 01: floor before they speak. So I

00:00:39 Speaker 01: will look for a motion that

00:00:40 Speaker 01: the financial statements for the year

00:00:42 Speaker 01: ending December thirty first, twenty twenty

00:00:44 Speaker 01: five, be received, and that the

00:00:46 Speaker 01: treasurer be hereby authorized to approve

00:00:48 Speaker 01: and sign the financial statements, and

00:00:51 Speaker 01: the staff be authorized to proceed

00:00:53 Speaker 01: prior to county county council approval

00:00:56 Speaker 01: as per section twenty six six.

00:00:59 Speaker 01: B of the procedural bylaw fifty

00:01:01 Speaker 01: one thirty four twenty two may

00:01:03 Speaker 01: ask for a mover and a

00:01:04 Speaker 01: seconder. Okay, got to get somebody

00:01:05 Speaker 01: fresh here. So I'm going to

00:01:07 Speaker 01: go, Councillor Mackie and Councillor Hutchins

00:01:09 Speaker 01: in a second seconding. Thank you.

00:01:11 Speaker 01: It's now on the floor for

00:01:13 Speaker 01: discussion. So welcome to you. The

00:01:14 Speaker 01: lectern is yours, and and we'll

00:01:15 Speaker 01: just make sure that we alternate

00:01:17 Speaker 01: between when the red red light

00:01:18 Speaker 01: is on. So I'm going to

00:01:19 Speaker 01: turn mine off, and you can

00:01:21 Speaker 01: turn yours on, and we'll go

00:01:24 Speaker 01: back and forth. Thank you. Can

00:01:27 Speaker 01: you hear me? Excellent. I'd like

00:01:28 Speaker 01: to thank Council for having me

00:01:29 Speaker 01: here this morning. I'm Robin Strangway

00:01:31 Speaker 01: Calder. I'm the engagement partner on

00:01:33 Speaker 01: your audit, and I assumed the

00:01:35 Speaker 01: role that used to be Tracy

00:01:38 Speaker 01: Smith upon her retirement. I have

00:01:39 Speaker 01: with me Ashley Cameron, a manager

00:01:41 Speaker 01: who's taken over the role of

00:01:43 Speaker 01: supervising the audit. I'd like to

00:01:45 Speaker 01: thank your entire management team for

00:01:47 Speaker 01: their assistance during the audit. I'd

00:01:48 Speaker 02: especially like to thank Garrett, Sue,

00:01:50 Speaker 02: Mary Lou, and the rest of

00:01:52 Speaker 02: the finance team. Preparation of the

00:01:54 Speaker 02: financial statements, including all the disclosures.

00:01:56 Speaker 02: and the notes is the responsibility

00:01:58 Speaker 02: of your management team. Although we

00:02:00 Speaker 02: can assist in formatting and making

00:02:03 Speaker 02: suggestions on the wording, all the

00:02:04 Speaker 02: numbers are provided by your management

00:02:06 Speaker 02: team from the accounting records of

00:02:07 Speaker 02: the county. If you have any

00:02:09 Speaker 02: questions during the presentation, I would

00:02:11 Speaker 02: be happy to stop my presentation

00:02:12 Speaker 02: and answer them as we go,

00:02:14 Speaker 02: or you can save them until

00:02:17 Speaker 02: the end. The first item we'll

00:02:19 Speaker 02: be going through is the letter

00:02:22 Speaker 02: that goes along with the draft

00:02:24 Speaker 02: financial statements. This is a

00:02:26 Speaker 02: required communication under Canadian auditing standards,

00:02:27 Speaker 02: so the content of this letter

00:02:30 Speaker 02: will seem very similar to prior

00:02:34 Speaker 02: years. The financial statements need to

00:02:36 Speaker 02: be approved by council before MNP

00:02:38 Speaker 02: can issue a final audit report,

00:02:39 Speaker 02: and that is why the statements

00:02:42 Speaker 02: in the other package are unsigned

00:02:45 Speaker 02: at this time. For us to

00:02:47 Speaker 02: issue final statements, they need to

00:02:48 Speaker 02: be approved, and then management signs

00:02:50 Speaker 02: a representation letter, and we finish

00:02:52 Speaker 02: subsequent event work up to. the

00:02:55 Speaker 02: date that they are approved. Materiality

00:02:58 Speaker 02: remained unchanged from planning at six

00:03:01 Speaker 02: million dollars. No suspected, actual, or

00:03:02 Speaker 02: alleged fraud came to our attention

00:03:04 Speaker 02: during the audit. Should you become

00:03:06 Speaker 02: aware of any, please reach out

00:03:08 Speaker 02: to us directly. We did not

00:03:09 Speaker 02: find any deficiencies in the internal

00:03:11 Speaker 02: controls that we tested during the

00:03:14 Speaker 02: audit. If I keep moving on,

00:03:17 Speaker 02: I'm just going to continue with

00:03:20 Speaker 02: a few highlights. I can confirm

00:03:21 Speaker 02: that we are in. I can

00:03:22 Speaker 02: confirm that we are independent. There

00:03:26 Speaker 02: is a detailed letter in Appendix

00:03:28 Speaker 02: A that outlines our communication in

00:03:29 Speaker 02: regards to that under Canadian auditing

00:03:31 Speaker 02: standards, but I won't go into

00:03:32 Speaker 02: it in detail. We are independent

00:03:35 Speaker 02: and therefore can issue an independent

00:03:37 Speaker 02: auditor's report. And there were no

00:03:38 Speaker 02: unadjusted differences that were identified during

00:03:40 Speaker 02: the audit, so there is no

00:03:43 Speaker 02: schedule of unadjusted differences included in

00:03:45 Speaker 02: this package. Does anyone have any

00:03:46 Speaker 02: questions about this required communication before

00:03:49 Speaker 02: we move on to the statements

00:03:50 Speaker 02: themselves? So I'll just look around.

00:03:52 Speaker 02: the room to see if anybody

00:03:59 Speaker 02: has any questions at this point.

00:04:01 Speaker 02: Seeing none, please carry on. Thank

00:04:03 Speaker 02: you. Okay, so we're going to

00:04:05 Speaker 02: look at the consolidated statement of

00:04:08 Speaker 02: financial statements, starting with the independence

00:04:10 Speaker 02: audit report. Our audit opinion is

00:04:11 Speaker 02: appears before the financial statements, and

00:04:14 Speaker 02: it's the only part of this

00:04:15 Speaker 02: package that belongs to us, or

00:04:16 Speaker 02: part of the statements that belongs

00:04:18 Speaker 02: to us. The statements are management's,

00:04:20 Speaker 02: as I already went over. and

00:04:22 Speaker 02: the audit opinion belongs to MNP.

00:04:23 Speaker 02: It is an audit opinion and

00:04:24 Speaker 02: is the highest level of assurance

00:04:27 Speaker 02: that can be provided by a

00:04:30 Speaker 02: public accountant. In second paragraph under

00:04:31 Speaker 02: opinion, is where we say that

00:04:34 Speaker 02: in our opinion, the financial statements

00:04:35 Speaker 02: present fairly in all material respects

00:04:39 Speaker 02: the financial position of the county

00:04:40 Speaker 02: as at December 31, 2025,

00:04:43 Speaker 02: for the year ended in accordance

00:04:44 Speaker 02: with Canadian public sector accounting standards.

00:04:45 Speaker 02: Therefore, it is a clean audit

00:04:47 Speaker 02: opinion, and we had no issues

00:04:49 Speaker 02: or concerns. that came to our

00:04:50 Speaker 02: attention during the audit. In

00:04:52 Speaker 02: the middle of the report, it

00:04:54 Speaker 02: highlights management's responsibility for the financial

00:04:55 Speaker 02: statements, and at the bottom of

00:04:57 Speaker 02: this page, it also highlights those

00:04:59 Speaker 02: charged with governance. In this case,

00:05:02 Speaker 02: council are responsible for overseeing the

00:05:04 Speaker 02: county's financial reporting process. On the

00:05:06 Speaker 02: next page, it details the responsibilities

00:05:08 Speaker 02: of the auditor, which I won't

00:05:10 Speaker 02: go into in detail. So, if

00:05:11 Speaker 02: there's no questions about the audit

00:05:15 Speaker 02: opinion itself, we'll move on to

00:05:17 Speaker 02: the statement of financial position. On

00:05:18 Speaker 02: page four of the financial statement

00:05:20 Speaker 02: is the statement of financial position

00:05:23 Speaker 02: or balance sheet. It presents the

00:05:24 Speaker 02: county's financial state assets and liabilities

00:05:29 Speaker 02: at a point in time on

00:05:32 Speaker 02: December 31st, 2025. Financial assets totaled

00:05:34 Speaker 02: 130 million dollars, with 118 million

00:05:36 Speaker 02: of that in cash and investments.

00:05:38 Speaker 02: You will notice that cash decreased

00:05:39 Speaker 02: compared to last year, and that

00:05:41 Speaker 02: was due to timing of deferred

00:05:43 Speaker 02: revenue that had been on hand

00:05:44 Speaker 02: at the end of last year,

00:05:47 Speaker 02: but was. spent during the year.

00:05:48 Speaker 02: So basically, you're holding less provincial

00:05:49 Speaker 02: funding in the bank at the

00:05:52 Speaker 02: end of 2025 because you used

00:05:59 Speaker 02: it in 2025 compared to last

00:06:02 Speaker 02: year. Liabilities totaled 94 million, and

00:06:05 Speaker 02: included in that is accounts. Sorry,

00:06:06 Speaker 02: included in that is 40.9 million

00:06:08 Speaker 02: in normal trade payables and accrued

00:06:11 Speaker 02: liabilities that were paid subsequent to

00:06:13 Speaker 02: year end. There's also 36.5 million.

00:06:15 Speaker 02: in deferred revenue, which is broken

00:06:16 Speaker 02: down in the continuity schedule on

00:06:20 Speaker 02: page 30 of the financial statements.

00:06:23 Speaker 02: Within that schedule of deferred revenue,

00:06:26 Speaker 02: you'll see that there's 24.5 million

00:06:28 Speaker 02: in unspent development charges and 8

00:06:30 Speaker 02: million unspent Canada Community Building funds,

00:06:32 Speaker 02: previously referred to as gas tax,

00:06:34 Speaker 02: that are available to be spent

00:06:36 Speaker 02: in future years. These are really

00:06:37 Speaker 02: more like reserves, but because they

00:06:39 Speaker 02: are legislated, they don't get recorded

00:06:43 Speaker 02: as revenue until they're actually used.

00:06:47 Speaker 02: to finance projects or unspent. There

00:06:50 Speaker 02: is also eleven million dollars received

00:06:52 Speaker 02: late in twenty twenty four for

00:06:54 Speaker 02: Rockward Terrace in advance of expenditures

00:06:56 Speaker 02: being incurred. Since those were spent

00:06:59 Speaker 02: in twenty twenty five because the

00:07:06 Speaker 02: Rockward Terrace project proceeded, that's why

00:07:07 Speaker 02: deferred revenue decreased so much. Total

00:07:11 Speaker 02: assets of one hundred thirty million

00:07:13 Speaker 02: less. liabilities of thirty of ninety-four

00:07:16 Speaker 02: million comes to the net financial

00:07:18 Speaker 02: assets of thirty-six million. Below that,

00:07:19 Speaker 02: you'll see the non-financial assets increase

00:07:21 Speaker 02: to three hundred and seven point

00:07:23 Speaker 02: one million, and this includes

00:07:27 Speaker 02: the tangible capital assets, which are

00:07:29 Speaker 02: the linear infrastructure, roads, buildings, vehicles,

00:07:31 Speaker 02: and that increased to three hundred

00:07:34 Speaker 02: five point four million in the

00:07:36 Speaker 02: year. The bottom of this comes

00:07:38 Speaker 02: to the accumulated surplus of three

00:07:39 Speaker 02: hundred forty-three million. 343 million. It

00:07:41 Speaker 02: is the equity of the council

00:07:43 Speaker 02: and includes both monetary assets and

00:07:46 Speaker 02: your physical assets. The detailed breakdown

00:07:47 Speaker 02: can be seen in note six,

00:07:49 Speaker 02: accumulated surplus, and this is where

00:07:51 Speaker 02: you can also see that the

00:07:54 Speaker 02: reserve balance is 65.5 million because

00:07:56 Speaker 02: that equity number includes your reserves.

00:08:00 Speaker 02: On the next page is the

00:08:02 Speaker 02: consolidated statement of operations and accumulated

00:08:04 Speaker 02: surplus. It the statement of operations

00:08:06 Speaker 02: is the transactions for the year.

00:08:08 Speaker 02: Revenue include all external revenues for

00:08:11 Speaker 02: both. operating and capital. You can

00:08:14 Speaker 02: see that total revenue for 2025

00:08:16 Speaker 02: was 213 million. Included in this

00:08:18 Speaker 02: is taxation, fees and user charges,

00:08:20 Speaker 02: government transfers, and other income. If

00:08:22 Speaker 02: we look at government transfers for

00:08:25 Speaker 02: a moment, you will see that

00:08:27 Speaker 02: the actual of 106 million was

00:08:32 Speaker 02: lower than the budgeted amount of

00:08:35 Speaker 02: 113.8 million. A lot of this

00:08:38 Speaker 02: relates to the Canada-wide child care.

00:08:41 Speaker 02: Canada-wide childcare funding coming from the

00:08:45 Speaker 02: province, so it's sometimes referred to

00:08:46 Speaker 02: as Cwelk or Welk. Basically, the

00:08:47 Speaker 02: province sent funding amounts that they

00:08:49 Speaker 02: were willing to give up to,

00:08:51 Speaker 02: and they cash flowed a lot

00:08:52 Speaker 02: of it. But it wasn't used

00:08:54 Speaker 02: in 2025, and since it wasn't

00:08:55 Speaker 02: used, it can't be recognized as

00:08:57 Speaker 02: revenue. But that budget was based

00:08:59 Speaker 02: on that maximum funding that was

00:09:02 Speaker 02: available to centers should they take

00:09:03 Speaker 02: advantage of all of the spots

00:09:05 Speaker 02: and one-time startup funding. That's partly

00:09:07 Speaker 02: why I. That's partly why accounts

00:09:09 Speaker 02: payable was so high on the

00:09:12 Speaker 02: balance sheet. Is that because that

00:09:16 Speaker 02: money was cash flowed and not

00:09:18 Speaker 02: used? It is due back to

00:09:19 Speaker 02: the province. The other item is

00:09:21 Speaker 02: other income budget of twenty three

00:09:23 Speaker 02: million compared to actual of fifteen

00:09:24 Speaker 02: point nine million. A lot of

00:09:26 Speaker 02: that was there was it was

00:09:28 Speaker 02: anticipated to be using a lot

00:09:30 Speaker 02: more development charges for capital in

00:09:31 Speaker 02: twenty twenty five, but timelines changed

00:09:33 Speaker 02: on some of those capital projects,

00:09:39 Speaker 02: and so since those development

00:09:41 Speaker 02: charges weren't used in 2025, they

00:09:44 Speaker 02: cannot be recognized as revenue. Expenses,

00:09:46 Speaker 02: including operating costs, and sorry, expenses

00:09:49 Speaker 02: include operating costs, amortization, and accretion

00:09:54 Speaker 02: for asset retirement obligation. It does

00:09:57 Speaker 02: not include capital or reserve transfers.

00:09:59 Speaker 02: Total expenses for 2025 were 185.8

00:10:02 Speaker 02: million dollars. Budget expenses and actual

00:10:03 Speaker 02: expenses are significantly different because the

00:10:07 Speaker 02: actual expenses include amortization. of those

00:10:09 Speaker 02: tangible capital assets as required by

00:10:10 Speaker 02: public sector accounting standards. Amortization is

00:10:12 Speaker 02: a non-cash amount for accounting purposes,

00:10:14 Speaker 02: which is the estimate of the

00:10:15 Speaker 02: wear and tear on physical assets

00:10:17 Speaker 02: from their use, and it's based

00:10:19 Speaker 02: on the historical cost of the

00:10:21 Speaker 02: assets that they're set up in

00:10:24 Speaker 02: the balance sheet. The budget does

00:10:26 Speaker 02: not include amortization, so if amortization

00:10:27 Speaker 02: was removed from actual expenses, then

00:10:32 Speaker 02: the actual expenses would be 171

00:10:33 Speaker 02: million, which is more in line

00:10:36 Speaker 02: with the total budgeted expenses. for

00:10:39 Speaker 02: 2025, total revenue less total expenses

00:10:41 Speaker 02: comes to the annual surplus of

00:10:44 Speaker 02: 27.2 million. The 27.2 million annual

00:10:46 Speaker 02: surplus presented on this statement is

00:10:47 Speaker 02: not the operating surplus. The annual

00:10:49 Speaker 02: surplus on this statement focuses on

00:10:51 Speaker 02: the long term. It is the

00:10:54 Speaker 02: amount of external revenue raised during

00:10:55 Speaker 02: the year after paying all operating

00:10:57 Speaker 02: costs and to cover amortization. The

00:10:59 Speaker 02: annual surplus should always be a

00:11:04 Speaker 02: positive amount to be able to

00:11:05 Speaker 02: make debt. payments and also be

00:11:07 Speaker 02: large enough to fund capital asset

00:11:10 Speaker 02: purchases. So you don't see on

00:11:11 Speaker 02: this statement what would be the

00:11:13 Speaker 02: operating surplus for the year. So

00:11:16 Speaker 02: on April 23rd, there was a

00:11:17 Speaker 02: report to council that reported a

00:11:20 Speaker 02: projected operating surplus of 1.8 million

00:11:25 Speaker 02: that was transferred into reserve, and

00:11:27 Speaker 02: that didn't change significantly as a

00:11:29 Speaker 02: result of the audit. The next

00:11:31 Speaker 02: statement. is the statement of changes

00:11:33 Speaker 02: in net financial assets, and it

00:11:35 Speaker 02: takes that annual surplus for the

00:11:37 Speaker 02: year of 27 million from the

00:11:39 Speaker 02: previous page, and adjusts for amortization

00:11:40 Speaker 02: and the actual amount that was

00:11:42 Speaker 02: spent on capital assets during the

00:11:44 Speaker 02: year. So during the year, there

00:11:47 Speaker 02: was 51 million in capital assets

00:11:49 Speaker 02: acquired. So the statement comes down

00:11:50 Speaker 02: to a decrease in net financial

00:11:53 Speaker 02: assets of 7.2 million, which agrees

00:11:55 Speaker 02: to the change in the assets

00:11:57 Speaker 02: on the balance sheet. The 2025

00:11:58 Speaker 02: budget had anticipated. Five budget had

00:12:00 Speaker 02: anticipated that Rockwood Terrace project would

00:12:02 Speaker 02: be further along at the end

00:12:05 Speaker 02: of 2025, and that is why

00:12:09 Speaker 02: the budgeted decrease in net financial

00:12:11 Speaker 02: assets was so much larger at

00:12:14 Speaker 02: 64 million. The project had anticipated

00:12:15 Speaker 02: incurring both external debt and utilizing

00:12:16 Speaker 02: reserves, and so you can also

00:12:18 Speaker 02: see that in Note Eight of

00:12:22 Speaker 02: the budget. So if we were

00:12:24 Speaker 02: to look at Note Eight in

00:12:26 Speaker 02: the budget, you would see that

00:12:28 Speaker 02: there was budgeted reserve transfers and

00:12:31 Speaker 02: debt. Transfers and and receiving more

00:12:32 Speaker 02: debt, and since that didn't happen

00:12:34 Speaker 02: because the capital expenditures weren't incurred,

00:12:36 Speaker 02: that's also why there wasn't as

00:12:38 Speaker 02: large a decrease in net financial

00:12:40 Speaker 02: assets in the year. So the

00:12:41 Speaker 02: difference to budget is just reflecting

00:12:42 Speaker 02: changing in timelines. I've tried to

00:12:44 Speaker 02: keep the presentation at a high

00:12:46 Speaker 02: level overview, so I'm not going

00:12:51 Speaker 02: to go into the rest of

00:12:52 Speaker 02: the statements in more detail unless

00:12:54 Speaker 02: anyone has any specific questions. So

00:12:55 Speaker 02: I guess, any questions? Okay, thank

00:12:57 Speaker 02: you. very much. I'll put it

00:12:59 Speaker 02: out to committee. The whole members,

00:13:01 Speaker 02: if they have any questions about

00:13:04 Speaker 02: any of the other details that

00:13:07 Speaker 02: were already in the information or

00:13:08 Speaker 03: what was presented today, we'll go

00:13:12 Speaker 03: to Councillor Greg. Thank you for

00:13:14 Speaker 03: the presentation this morning. And this

00:13:18 Speaker 03: pro, this these two questions are

00:13:22 Speaker 03: probably more for staff. But the

00:13:25 Speaker 03: one item was government transfers. It

00:13:26 Speaker 03: was budgeted at forty-two million. The

00:13:30 Speaker 03: actual is. thirty-six million. Twenty-four was

00:13:32 Speaker 03: thirty-two million. Really, the answer here

00:13:33 Speaker 03: just supports me when we're looking

00:13:35 Speaker 03: at the the report later. Our

00:13:40 Speaker 03: corporate financial update as to that

00:13:42 Speaker 03: difference between the forty-two million and

00:13:47 Speaker 03: the thirty-six million. I presume it's

00:13:48 Speaker 03: just government transfers. So I guess

00:13:50 Speaker 03: perhaps that's maybe more to Garrett

00:13:55 Speaker 03: and Sue just to reply to

00:13:57 Speaker 03: that. Okay, so I'll invite. Manager

00:13:59 Speaker 04: Reed to come to the lectern

00:14:01 Speaker 04: and provide a response. Good morning,

00:14:05 Speaker 04: through the warden. Yeah, that's a

00:14:07 Speaker 04: good question. So that is the

00:14:10 Speaker 04: social services grant that you're referencing

00:14:11 Speaker 04: on page twenty-eight, or sorry, page

00:14:13 Speaker 04: twenty. That is our Seawell grant.

00:14:13 Speaker 04: So we don't know our grant

00:14:15 Speaker 04: funding when we develop the budget.

00:14:17 Speaker 04: Usually, it comes out somehow. They

00:14:19 Speaker 04: know and they do it about

00:14:20 Speaker 04: a week after we pass the

00:14:23 Speaker 04: budget, and then Tara Cockrell. brings

00:14:24 Speaker 04: the report back, saying, "Here's the

00:14:25 Speaker 04: changes that we're proposing based on

00:14:27 Speaker 04: the changes in funding. 2025 was

00:14:31 Speaker 04: the first year of us being

00:14:33 Speaker 04: fully within the Seawell program, so

00:14:34 Speaker 04: it was a complete overhaul in

00:14:36 Speaker 04: our funding. The 42 million dollar

00:14:38 Speaker 04: budget is still pretty close to

00:14:40 Speaker 04: the overall funding they provided, but

00:14:42 Speaker 04: there were quite a few buckets

00:14:44 Speaker 04: that we could not use in

00:14:46 Speaker 04: the year. The first two that

00:14:48 Speaker 04: are top of mind is startup

00:14:50 Speaker 04: and infrastructure funding that was available

00:14:53 Speaker 04: to build." new childcare centers or

00:14:54 Speaker 04: enhance childcare centers, but there was

00:14:55 Speaker 04: no increase in our licenses attached

00:14:56 Speaker 04: to that funding. So the operators

00:14:58 Speaker 04: kind of had the opinion that

00:14:59 Speaker 04: why would we build this space

00:15:01 Speaker 04: if if the province isn't going

00:15:02 Speaker 04: to provide us with the seawell

00:15:03 Speaker 04: funding? So we weren't able to

00:15:04 Speaker 04: spend any of it. So the

00:15:06 Speaker 04: province has cash flowed it. We're

00:15:08 Speaker 04: going to give that back to

00:15:10 Speaker 04: the province because we had no

00:15:11 Speaker 04: use for it. The other is

00:15:12 Speaker 04: because it was done mid year,

00:15:14 Speaker 04: and Tara and her team were

00:15:16 Speaker 04: were scrambling to get it rolled

00:15:18 Speaker 04: out to as many providers as

00:15:19 Speaker 04: we could with our licenses. Providers

00:15:20 Speaker 04: that we could with our license

00:15:22 Speaker 04: counts, we didn't spend our full

00:15:24 Speaker 04: C well allocation for the operating

00:15:26 Speaker 04: funding either because by the time

00:15:28 Speaker 04: we got them enrolled in the

00:15:30 Speaker 04: new system, we were already you

00:15:33 Speaker 04: know three four months into the

00:15:36 Speaker 04: year and working through that. There

00:15:37 Speaker 04: was also some changes within our

00:15:41 Speaker 04: non C well funding for childcare

00:15:43 Speaker 04: as a result of the increased

00:15:44 Speaker 04: C well funding. So one of

00:15:45 Speaker 04: the major things we spend money

00:15:46 Speaker 04: on is is fee subsidy for

00:15:48 Speaker 04: parents that can't afford the full

00:15:50 Speaker 04: rate of daycare. and that's a

00:15:52 Speaker 04: formula that we have based on

00:15:53 Speaker 04: income and based on cost of

00:15:55 Speaker 04: childcare. How much that we reimburse

00:15:57 Speaker 04: for a given family, and that's

00:16:00 Speaker 04: administered by the county. As more

00:16:02 Speaker 04: families in Gray County get on

00:16:04 Speaker 04: the SeaWok program and are paying

00:16:05 Speaker 04: twenty-two dollars a day or twenty-two

00:16:07 Speaker 04: dollars a day, more families become

00:16:08 Speaker 04: ineligible for that fee subsidy because

00:16:09 Speaker 04: their overall daycare costs have gone

00:16:12 Speaker 04: down. So that is a fair

00:16:14 Speaker 04: number. I think it actually might

00:16:16 Speaker 04: be a bit higher. I think

00:16:18 Speaker 04: that variance you mentioned is about

00:16:20 Speaker 04: five point seven million dollars. 5.7

00:16:25 Speaker 04: million dollars budget to actual. I

00:16:26 Speaker 04: think we're actually giving back about

00:16:29 Speaker 03: just north of six million dollars

00:16:31 Speaker 03: to the province of child care

00:16:33 Speaker 03: child care funding that we are

00:16:35 Speaker 03: not able to use. Okay, thank

00:16:38 Speaker 03: you for that response. And maybe

00:16:40 Speaker 03: don't go too far because really

00:16:43 Speaker 03: my questions do just support me.

00:16:45 Speaker 03: Looking at the one third of

00:16:49 Speaker 03: the way through the year 2026,

00:16:54 Speaker 03: the auditors did point out in

00:16:58 Speaker 03: page 29. Out in page twenty

00:17:01 Speaker 03: nine, the notes to the consolidated

00:17:03 Speaker 03: financial statements show year over year.

00:17:06 Speaker 03: So just a question of there's

00:17:07 Speaker 03: growth in the transportation salaries, which

00:17:09 Speaker 03: is probably explained by the overtime

00:17:12 Speaker 03: accumulated during the heavy winters. Beside

00:17:17 Speaker 04: that is human services went from

00:17:20 Speaker 04: sixty seven point eight million to

00:17:24 Speaker 04: from sixty two point eight million.

00:17:25 Speaker 04: So just wondering if you could.

00:17:27 Speaker 04: Millions. So, just wondering if you

00:17:28 Speaker 04: could explain a little more so

00:17:31 Speaker 04: on, particularly the human services salaries

00:17:32 Speaker 04: line. There. Yep, through the warden.

00:17:34 Speaker 04: Correct. The transportation will be a

00:17:36 Speaker 04: result of increased overtime cost and

00:17:39 Speaker 04: wages as a result of the

00:17:44 Speaker 04: harsh winter, which we talked about

00:17:46 Speaker 04: in our in our year end

00:17:48 Speaker 04: transfer report. Human services. So, as

00:17:50 Speaker 04: a reminder to council, that's made

00:17:51 Speaker 04: up of the housing department, social

00:17:55 Speaker 04: services, long. Social services, long-term care,

00:17:56 Speaker 04: and paramedic services. And you're correct;

00:17:59 Speaker 04: that increased 2025 over 2024 by

00:18:01 Speaker 04: 4.9 million, which would be an

00:18:04 Speaker 04: increase of about eight percent—a little,

00:18:07 Speaker 04: little bit less than that. So

00:18:09 Speaker 04: obviously, we would expect it to

00:18:13 Speaker 04: increase every year with collective agreement

00:18:16 Speaker 04: wages and cost of living adjustments

00:18:18 Speaker 04: for non-union staff. But within the

00:18:19 Speaker 04: paramedic and long-term care departments, there

00:18:22 Speaker 04: were also increased staffing. So I'll.

00:18:24 Speaker 04: start with paramedic services. In we

00:18:27 Speaker 04: have our deployment enhancement plan where

00:18:28 Speaker 04: we're adding shifts. In 2024, we

00:18:31 Speaker 04: added two shifts, which requires eight

00:18:31 Speaker 04: full time paramedics plus backfill. But

00:18:33 Speaker 04: because of how the funding works,

00:18:35 Speaker 04: we don't start that enhancement until

00:18:37 Speaker 04: July first in the year. So

00:18:38 Speaker 04: when you're looking at 2024, you'll

00:18:39 Speaker 04: only have half a year of

00:18:42 Speaker 04: actuals on those enhancements, and then

00:18:44 Speaker 04: in 2025 they'll been here for

00:18:46 Speaker 04: the full year, and then in

00:18:50 Speaker 04: 20 For the full year, and

00:18:52 Speaker 04: then in 2025, July 1st, there

00:18:55 Speaker 04: was another enhancement to add one

00:18:59 Speaker 04: more shift, and again, that would

00:19:01 Speaker 04: have started July 1st. So, when

00:19:04 Speaker 04: we're looking at the paramedic increase,

00:19:06 Speaker 04: it's partially due to collective agreement

00:19:08 Speaker 04: wages increases and non-union wage increases,

00:19:10 Speaker 04: but it's really that we've added

00:19:12 Speaker 04: essentially three shifts to our operations.

00:19:14 Speaker 04: And again, the 2024 wouldn't include

00:19:16 Speaker 04: the full cost of the 2020

00:19:17 Speaker 04: 2024 enhancement because we started halfway

00:19:19 Speaker 04: through the year. Similarly to long-term

00:19:20 Speaker 04: care, council remember that in 2024,

00:19:22 Speaker 04: the long-term care department had a

00:19:24 Speaker 04: large surplus as there was an

00:19:26 Speaker 04: increase in grant funding. Part of

00:19:28 Speaker 04: that was case mix index. Part

00:19:30 Speaker 04: of it was also increase in

00:19:31 Speaker 04: direct care funding from the province.

00:19:33 Speaker 04: We did not know of that

00:19:35 Speaker 04: increase until part way through the

00:19:37 Speaker 04: year. So same thing, we then

00:19:38 Speaker 04: go out and need more staff

00:19:41 Speaker 04: to to meet those direct care

00:19:42 Speaker 04: hours, which are then funded by

00:19:44 Speaker 04: the province through that that grant

00:19:46 Speaker 04: program. but when you're just looking

00:19:48 Speaker 04: at the salary and benefits line,

00:19:50 Speaker 04: yes, it will show a big

00:19:54 Speaker 04: increase. But then, if we're looking

00:19:56 Speaker 04: at that same those two same

00:19:59 Speaker 04: pages, you'll also see an increase

00:20:02 Speaker 04: in government transfers as well for

00:20:04 Speaker 04: that department, as there's now more

00:20:09 Speaker 04: long term care funding to cover

00:20:12 Speaker 04: off those wage increases, as well

00:20:15 Speaker 01: as more fifty fifty funding as

00:20:18 Speaker 01: part of the paramedic services grant

00:20:20 Speaker 01: formula. So it is partially increase

00:20:21 Speaker 01: in just the cost of our

00:20:22 Speaker 01: staffing, but those two. very large

00:20:23 Speaker 01: departments did have staffing enhancements in

00:20:26 Speaker 01: 2024 and 2025, which will impact

00:20:27 Speaker 01: those numbers. Okay, thank you for

00:20:29 Speaker 01: that answer. I'll look around if

00:20:30 Speaker 01: there are any other questions. Okay.

00:20:32 Speaker 01: Well, I'm not seeing any then,

00:20:34 Speaker 01: and we do have a motion

00:20:37 Speaker 01: that has been moved and seconded

00:20:38 Speaker 01: that is on the floor, so

00:20:40 Speaker 01: I'll call the vote for that.

00:20:42 Speaker 01: Then, all those in favor, and

00:20:44 Speaker 01: that motion is. carried. Thank you

00:20:46 Speaker 01: very much. We appreciate you coming

00:20:48 Speaker 01: and presenting the material to us

00:20:49 Speaker 01: today. And thank you to Manager

00:20:54 Speaker 01: Reed as well for providing the

00:20:55 Speaker 01: extra information. At this point in

00:20:58 Speaker 01: time, we will look at our

00:21:02 Speaker 01: list in Item Six, the Consent

00:21:07 Speaker 01: Agenda, and I'll put a call

00:21:12 Speaker 01: out for any of those items.

00:21:14 Speaker 01: There are five items listed. Any

00:21:18 Speaker 01: that any committee, the whole member

00:21:20 Speaker 01: wishes to pull for a separate

00:21:22 Speaker 01: discussion. Hey, Councilor McQueen. Thank you,

00:21:23 Speaker 01: Madam Warden. I wish to

00:21:24 Speaker 01: pull six. A. Okay, so six

00:21:26 Speaker 01: A has been pulled, and Councillor

00:21:29 Speaker 01: Gray. Six E, please. Six E

00:21:31 Speaker 01: has been pulled. Any others? Okay,

00:21:33 Speaker 01: so seeing no further hands, then

00:21:36 Speaker 01: it is recommended that the following

00:21:37 Speaker 01: consented items be received, and that

00:21:39 Speaker 01: staff be authorized to take the

00:21:42 Speaker 01: actions necessary to give effect to

00:21:45 Speaker 01: the recommendation. To give effect to

00:21:46 Speaker 01: the recommendations in the staff reports,

00:21:49 Speaker 01: and that the correspondence be supported

00:21:51 Speaker 01: or received for information as recommended

00:21:53 Speaker 01: in the consent agenda, noting that

00:21:55 Speaker 01: we will look at items six

00:21:58 Speaker 01: a and six e separately. May

00:22:00 Speaker 01: I ask for a mover and

00:22:03 Speaker 01: a seconder? Move by Councillor Kevany,

00:22:06 Speaker 01: seconded by Councillor Eccles. All those

00:22:09 Speaker 01: in favor? And that motion is

00:22:12 Speaker 01: carried. So we'll make sure we

00:22:15 Speaker 01: revisit those items after seven, section

00:22:17 Speaker 01: seven. So we will now move

00:22:20 Speaker 01: on to our. items for discussion.

00:22:22 Speaker 01: The first, the first one is

00:22:24 Speaker 01: item seven A. It is it's

00:22:26 Speaker 01: recommended that report E D T

00:22:29 Speaker 01: C C W zero nine twenty

00:22:31 Speaker 01: six regarding the Bruce Dufferin Grey

00:22:34 Speaker 01: Wellington Regional Transit Study update and

00:22:37 Speaker 01: interim recommendations be received, and that

00:22:40 Speaker 01: Council endorse the contract extension of

00:22:43 Speaker 01: the G T R route two

00:22:44 Speaker 01: and Ghost to and reintroduce the

00:22:46 Speaker 01: G T. Reintroduce the GTR Route

00:22:48 Speaker 01: 5 from Owen Sound to Wyarton

00:22:50 Speaker 01: until a decision can be made

00:22:53 Speaker 01: on a unified regional transit network

00:22:54 Speaker 05: and subject to funding approval from

00:22:57 Speaker 05: the province, and that all service

00:22:58 Speaker 05: be funded within the approved 2026

00:23:01 Speaker 05: county budget allocations and supported by

00:23:02 Speaker 05: the Ontario Transit Investment Fund, known

00:23:04 Speaker 05: as OTIF. May I ask for

00:23:05 Speaker 05: a mover and a seconder? I've

00:23:07 Speaker 05: got a move by Councillor Hutchison,

00:23:08 Speaker 05: seconded by Councillor Dobrée. Seconded by

00:23:09 Speaker 05: Councillor Dobrin, it's now on the

00:23:11 Speaker 05: floor for discussion. And so, oh,

00:23:12 Speaker 05: okay, we will begin with Director

00:23:14 Speaker 05: Myers. Thank you. I'm just buying

00:23:16 Speaker 05: Stephanie a moment to come into

00:23:18 Speaker 05: the room. I just wanted to

00:23:19 Speaker 05: make a note that this is

00:23:29 Speaker 05: the same, almost the same report

00:23:31 Speaker 05: that was on the agenda in

00:23:32 Speaker 05: May. We pulled it off the

00:23:33 Speaker 05: report because we were in the

00:23:35 Speaker 05: midst of conversations with the province.

00:23:37 Speaker 05: But after last week, we finally

00:23:39 Speaker 05: got some answers, which is good.

00:23:41 Speaker 05: So we are back with an

00:23:42 Speaker 05: amendment to that report, and Stephanie

00:23:44 Speaker 05: is going to present. it, so

00:23:47 Speaker 05: I will hand it over to

00:23:49 Speaker 05: her. Good morning. Oh, all right.

00:23:51 Speaker 05: So, as Savannah said, I will

00:23:54 Speaker 05: be providing you with a little

00:23:56 Speaker 06: bit of an update. So, I'll

00:23:58 Speaker 06: begin with the overall study update,

00:23:59 Speaker 06: and then I'll move into the

00:24:02 Speaker 06: intern service recommendation for council's consideration.

00:24:04 Speaker 06: So, the purpose of this report

00:24:06 Speaker 06: is to provide you with an

00:24:08 Speaker 06: update regarding the Bruce Dufferin Gray

00:24:10 Speaker 06: Wellington Regional Transit Study. and recommend

00:24:12 Speaker 06: interim measures to maintain and introduce

00:24:14 Speaker 06: temporary service while the regional working

00:24:17 Speaker 06: group continues to investigate potential of

00:24:19 Speaker 06: a unified regional transit network. Since

00:24:21 Speaker 06: our March council presentation, the project

00:24:24 Speaker 06: team has continued to work alongside

00:24:25 Speaker 06: Dylan Consulting towards a draft unified

00:24:28 Speaker 06: regional transit plan. In the past

00:24:30 Speaker 06: couple of months, several developments have

00:24:31 Speaker 06: unfolded in parallel to this work,

00:24:33 Speaker 06: including the ask from the Western

00:24:36 Speaker 06: Ontario Wardens Caucus to establish a

00:24:38 Speaker 06: regional transit authority, which is model.

00:24:40 Speaker 06: Which is modeled after this work

00:24:42 Speaker 06: that we're doing here today. So,

00:24:44 Speaker 06: following those discussions, as Savannah has

00:24:45 Speaker 06: discussed, we will continue this great

00:24:47 Speaker 06: work, and we will come back

00:24:50 Speaker 06: to you soon. As staff understand

00:24:52 Speaker 06: it, the Bruce, Dufferin, Grey, Wellington

00:24:54 Speaker 06: Regional Transit Study is the

00:24:56 Speaker 06: largest of its kind in the

00:24:58 Speaker 06: province, which contributes to its overall

00:25:00 Speaker 06: complexity. Project partners are recommending more

00:25:02 Speaker 06: time is given to the current

00:25:05 Speaker 06: study phase to ensure the best

00:25:07 Speaker 06: possible information is available for council.

00:25:10 Speaker 06: Information is available for councils and

00:25:12 Speaker 06: the Smart Board to make their

00:25:15 Speaker 06: decision on a unified regional transit

00:25:16 Speaker 06: network. Staff suggests taking the summer

00:25:18 Speaker 06: to gather more information to

00:25:20 Speaker 06: supplement the draft plan through a

00:25:22 Speaker 06: request for information regarding technology and

00:25:23 Speaker 06: operator interest to explore the requirements

00:25:26 Speaker 06: and potential of a unified rideshare

00:25:26 Speaker 06: bylaw. Staff will also continue to

00:25:29 Speaker 06: work alongside the MTO to better

00:25:31 Speaker 06: understand the OTIF program and gas

00:25:34 Speaker 06: tax tax opportunities and limitations, along

00:25:35 Speaker 06: with implications from changes. to Bill

00:25:38 Speaker 06: 98 and the Metro Links Act.

00:25:40 Speaker 06: As project partners have been going

00:25:42 Speaker 06: through the study, the need

00:25:46 Speaker 06: for further analysis regarding specialized transit

00:25:48 Speaker 06: has also been identified. With the

00:25:49 Speaker 06: support of OTIF, this will be

00:25:53 Speaker 06: explored in further detail as part

00:25:55 Speaker 06: of the final leg of our

00:25:57 Speaker 06: study. With more time and this

00:26:00 Speaker 06: additional information, the project team and

00:26:01 Speaker 06: Dylan Consulting would return this fall

00:26:02 Speaker 06: to present the draft plan and

00:26:05 Speaker 06: recommendations for information. At that time,

00:26:08 Speaker 06: staff will seek direction to include.

00:26:10 Speaker 06: budget allocations in the proposed draft

00:26:13 Speaker 06: 2027 budget for consideration. Final recommendations

00:26:16 Speaker 06: for decision would be brought forward

00:26:18 Speaker 06: to councils and the new smart

00:26:19 Speaker 06: board in 2027. I'll now turn

00:26:21 Speaker 06: to the interim service recommendations, which

00:26:23 Speaker 06: is intended to maintain continuity while

00:26:25 Speaker 06: the broader study work continues. So,

00:26:27 Speaker 06: as per the report we shared

00:26:30 Speaker 06: with you in November of 2025,

00:26:31 Speaker 06: the Grey Transit route from Dundalk

00:26:34 Speaker 06: to Orangeville and Guelph, Owen Sound,

00:26:36 Speaker 06: was extended from until August thirty

00:26:38 Speaker 06: first, twenty twenty six, to ensure

00:26:40 Speaker 06: service continuation during the study period.

00:26:42 Speaker 06: As the study period progresses, the

00:26:45 Speaker 06: project team is recommending a pre

00:26:47 Speaker 06: approval phase that sees the continuation

00:26:48 Speaker 06: of those existing routes, along with

00:26:51 Speaker 06: the reintroduction of GTR route five

00:26:52 Speaker 06: from Owen Sound to Wyarton, and

00:26:55 Speaker 06: a seasonal soluble beach service in

00:26:57 Speaker 06: twenty twenty seven, until a decision

00:26:59 Speaker 06: can be made on a unified

00:27:01 Speaker 06: transit network. All services would exist

00:27:03 Speaker 06: under the same operating and funding

00:27:06 Speaker 06: currently in place. Staff from the

00:27:08 Speaker 06: project partners, so Bruce County,

00:27:11 Speaker 06: Dufferin County, Grey, and Wellington, along

00:27:13 Speaker 06: with SMART, see value in these

00:27:14 Speaker 06: services and are aligned in their

00:27:17 Speaker 06: support of sustaining these operations during

00:27:20 Speaker 06: the study period and using the

00:27:23 Speaker 06: OTF funding to accommodate these extensions.

00:27:24 Speaker 06: As a pre-approval phase, the continuing

00:27:26 Speaker 06: the service ensures that riders are

00:27:29 Speaker 06: not left without access while long-term

00:27:32 Speaker 06: solutions are being considered and helps

00:27:34 Speaker 06: avoid a loss of ridership. It

00:27:37 Speaker 06: also provides. Bruce County with temporary

00:27:39 Speaker 06: service on a previously popular route,

00:27:41 Speaker 06: including coverage during peak seasons, until

00:27:43 Speaker 06: a recommendation for a permanent

00:27:46 Speaker 06: solution can be developed. The interim

00:27:47 Speaker 06: approach also helps leverage available OTIF

00:27:49 Speaker 06: funding by utilizing 2026 budget allocations

00:27:54 Speaker 07: from each county and pending OTIF

00:27:56 Speaker 07: approval from the province. There is

00:27:57 Speaker 07: no additional funding required to maintain

00:28:00 Speaker 07: this interim phase. Funding required for

00:28:03 Speaker 07: 2027 operations will be included in

00:28:05 Speaker 07: the annual budget. council consideration. So,

00:28:06 Speaker 07: in summary, the recommendation is to

00:28:08 Speaker 08: allow the study team more time

00:28:11 Speaker 08: to complete regional transit planning work,

00:28:12 Speaker 08: while using available funding to maintain

00:28:13 Speaker 08: temporary reintroductions and key services, so

00:28:16 Speaker 08: riders are not left without access

00:28:18 Speaker 08: during this decision-making period. Are there

00:28:20 Speaker 08: any questions? Okay, thank you very

00:28:20 Speaker 08: much, and we're going to start

00:28:23 Speaker 08: with Councillor Nielsen. Thank you very

00:28:25 Speaker 08: much, Ward Matrasov. I think the

00:28:27 Speaker 08: question I have is more along

00:28:28 Speaker 08: lines of the reintroduction of the

00:28:31 Speaker 08: GTR route five, and my question

00:28:33 Speaker 08: only is because if you can

00:28:34 Speaker 06: just refresh my memory as to

00:28:39 Speaker 06: how long it has been out

00:28:41 Speaker 06: of service, if we're reintroducing it,

00:28:43 Speaker 06: and two, it's out of service.

00:28:45 Speaker 06: We're putting it back into service.

00:28:48 Speaker 06: We're not a hundred percent sure

00:28:49 Speaker 06: it's going to continue service. That's

00:28:51 Speaker 06: the part where I'm I don't

00:28:54 Speaker 06: understand the logic in in redoing

00:28:56 Speaker 06: it for a short period of

00:28:57 Speaker 06: time when we're still discussing what

00:28:59 Speaker 06: the broader broader picture looks like.

00:29:04 Speaker 06: So, if you can just help

00:29:06 Speaker 06: me understand the logic there. Thank

00:29:07 Speaker 06: you, Your Worship. Thank you, Councilman

00:29:09 Speaker 06: Yasin. So, to answer your first

00:29:15 Speaker 06: question, it started October 2020 and

00:29:16 Speaker 06: went till December 2024. So, part

00:29:18 Speaker 09: of the logic is, as I

00:29:22 Speaker 09: mentioned, it was a really popular

00:29:23 Speaker 09: route, and right now, Bruce County

00:29:27 Speaker 09: is without service. So, it would

00:29:29 Speaker 09: support the Bruce County residents that

00:29:31 Speaker 09: are in need of a transit

00:29:33 Speaker 09: option. I do hear. your concerns,

00:29:37 Speaker 09: and I, I understand. But at

00:29:39 Speaker 09: the same time, there's also a

00:29:43 Speaker 09: need, and we are trying to

00:29:45 Speaker 09: service that need as well. And

00:29:46 Speaker 09: I see. Through you, Warden, just

00:29:48 Speaker 09: to build on that, and thank

00:29:50 Speaker 09: you for those explanations, Stephanie. So

00:29:52 Speaker 09: another, another item to the importance

00:29:55 Speaker 09: of the own sound to Wyarton

00:29:57 Speaker 09: route, more match sauce. I think

00:29:59 Speaker 09: provide an update. Match source. I

00:30:01 Speaker 09: think provided an update a couple

00:30:06 Speaker 09: months ago that we attended along

00:30:07 Speaker 09: with Bruce County Warden and CAO

00:30:10 Speaker 09: to the Chippewas and Awash, and

00:30:12 Speaker 09: they have a bus that provides

00:30:15 Speaker 09: a connection between Chippewas and Awash

00:30:17 Speaker 09: and Wyarton, and so this Owen

00:30:20 Speaker 09: Sound of Wyarton will allow them

00:30:22 Speaker 09: to get to Wyarton, but also

00:30:25 Speaker 09: to get to Owen Sound if

00:30:27 Speaker 09: if if needed as well. So

00:30:30 Speaker 09: that was an important connection for

00:30:32 Speaker 09: for them. So we see re.

00:30:34 Speaker 09: So we see reestablishing that not

00:30:36 Speaker 09: only provides the the Bruce County

00:30:38 Speaker 09: connection because again this is a

00:30:41 Speaker 09: a four partner partnership that's being

00:30:42 Speaker 09: done as part of this project

00:30:45 Speaker 09: and all the other three county

00:30:49 Speaker 09: partners have some sort of routes

00:30:50 Speaker 08: in them. This would provide that

00:30:53 Speaker 08: Bruce County connection in the interim

00:30:55 Speaker 08: until we finalize the study. When

00:30:57 Speaker 08: we look at where we're looking

00:31:00 Speaker 08: at the routes and other things.

00:31:02 Speaker 08: in terms of the long-term study,

00:31:03 Speaker 08: those those pieces will would still

00:31:07 Speaker 08: be part of what would be

00:31:08 Speaker 08: coming forward as as some of

00:31:09 Speaker 08: those recommendations. So, so we're confident

00:31:11 Speaker 08: that those would be part of

00:31:12 Speaker 08: the recommended network going forward as

00:31:13 Speaker 08: well. So, there's those are some

00:31:16 Speaker 08: of the considerations as to why

00:31:19 Speaker 08: why these are recommended. Okay, follow

00:31:19 Speaker 08: up, Councillor Nielsen. Thank you very

00:31:22 Speaker 08: much, Ward Matrasoff. So, just I

00:31:23 Speaker 08: think one main follow up is.

00:31:25 Speaker 08: where where are we on the

00:31:26 Speaker 08: timeline of the study completion? Just

00:31:34 Speaker 08: maybe help. We have the report

00:31:36 Speaker 08: suggesting that the funding is in

00:31:37 Speaker 08: place, that there's no extra capital

00:31:39 Speaker 08: costs or or funding costs needed

00:31:40 Speaker 05: from the county, but that it

00:31:43 Speaker 05: will be a budget discussion for

00:31:44 Speaker 05: 2027. And so I'm just trying

00:31:45 Speaker 05: to wonder: Do we know where

00:31:49 Speaker 05: we are on the project completion

00:31:50 Speaker 05: for the the study we're doing,

00:31:52 Speaker 05: and where are we at to

00:31:54 Speaker 05: the end of that? Because we've

00:31:55 Speaker 05: already had few discussions. We've already

00:31:57 Speaker 05: had a few discussions on what

00:31:58 Speaker 05: the 2027 budget's looking like, and

00:32:00 Speaker 05: as we keep having these discussions,

00:32:01 Speaker 05: it just impacts that. Thank you,

00:32:02 Speaker 05: thank you, Warden. Right now, the

00:32:05 Speaker 05: intent is to come back later

00:32:06 Speaker 05: this year with the draft study.

00:32:07 Speaker 05: We are getting very, very close

00:32:10 Speaker 05: to the end of it. The

00:32:11 Speaker 05: amount of number crunching that has

00:32:13 Speaker 05: gone on in the last little

00:32:15 Speaker 05: while, as things constantly change, has

00:32:17 Speaker 05: been impressive. So I think that

00:32:18 Speaker 05: what we wanted to ensure. is

00:32:19 Speaker 05: that we have crunched everything possible,

00:32:20 Speaker 05: and we've looked at all of

00:32:21 Speaker 05: the if this then that things

00:32:23 Speaker 05: that could happen as part of

00:32:24 Speaker 05: this, so that we can bring

00:32:26 Speaker 05: it back. But what we do

00:32:27 Speaker 05: know is that we're not going

00:32:28 Speaker 10: to ask this council for approval

00:32:34 Speaker 10: of the whole network at this

00:32:35 Speaker 10: moment, because by the time it

00:32:38 Speaker 10: comes back to you, we are

00:32:40 Speaker 10: right in transition mode. So it

00:32:42 Speaker 11: would be looking to new council

00:32:43 Speaker 11: to make a formal decision

00:32:45 Speaker 11: on whether or not they're ready

00:32:48 Speaker 11: to support a unified transit network.

00:32:50 Speaker 11: But we want to make sure

00:32:52 Speaker 11: that this council is aware. of

00:32:54 Speaker 11: all of the work that's been

00:32:55 Speaker 11: done because you have been with

00:32:58 Speaker 11: us all along the path, so

00:33:00 Speaker 11: that you can see what we're

00:33:02 Speaker 11: looking at, and then that would

00:33:03 Speaker 11: give you an indication of what

00:33:06 Speaker 11: would be included in that budget

00:33:09 Speaker 11: going forward. Okay, thank you. I'm

00:33:10 Speaker 11: going to go online to Councillor

00:33:12 Speaker 12: Borden. Thank you. Good morning, County

00:33:13 Speaker 12: Council. Good morning, Borden. Through you,

00:33:15 Speaker 12: we've talked about this in the

00:33:16 Speaker 12: past. We talked about our regional

00:33:19 Speaker 09: partners, Bruce, Stephanie, Gray, Wellington, Saguin.

00:33:20 Speaker 09: What about Simcoe? I know it's

00:33:24 Speaker 09: we that's been in the conversation

00:33:25 Speaker 09: in the past, and we know

00:33:27 Speaker 09: just from being at the far

00:33:28 Speaker 09: east end of the region the

00:33:30 Speaker 09: need for more regional transit, not

00:33:31 Speaker 09: just the resort, but we have

00:33:35 Speaker 09: other employers in the area and

00:33:37 Speaker 09: people moving back and forth. So

00:33:39 Speaker 09: can somebody just reiterate the points

00:33:40 Speaker 09: of the possibility of looking at

00:33:43 Speaker 09: Simcoe? I don't know if it's

00:33:46 Speaker 09: for the CAO or, but through

00:33:49 Speaker 09: the board and if staff can

00:33:52 Speaker 09: answer that, please. Yes, thank you.

00:33:55 Speaker 09: I work. Yes, thank you. We're

00:33:56 Speaker 09: going to go to the CAO

00:33:58 Speaker 09: for that. Through you, Warden. Thank

00:34:01 Speaker 09: you for that question, Councillor Bounioux.

00:34:03 Speaker 09: The so, what I'll start with

00:34:06 Speaker 09: is that we are fortunate that

00:34:09 Speaker 09: the same consultant that we're using

00:34:10 Speaker 09: for this study is also the

00:34:12 Speaker 09: consultant that Simcoe is using for

00:34:13 Speaker 09: part of their transit review as

00:34:14 Speaker 09: well. And so, the sharing of

00:34:16 Speaker 09: information has been a lot easier

00:34:20 Speaker 09: to be able to to provide

00:34:22 Speaker 09: some of those updates. And so,

00:34:24 Speaker 09: with that, we've had some. preliminary

00:34:25 Speaker 09: conversations with Simcoe County, as well

00:34:27 Speaker 09: as Collingwood, as well as other

00:34:30 Speaker 09: providers that provide transit connections that

00:34:32 Speaker 09: don't just end at the border,

00:34:36 Speaker 09: so to speak, to make sure

00:34:37 Speaker 09: that whatever transit network is being

00:34:39 Speaker 09: recommended, there's connections that are being

00:34:42 Speaker 09: provided to to those routes. So

00:34:44 Speaker 09: that's that is being implemented and

00:34:45 Speaker 09: being discussed actively as part of

00:34:46 Speaker 09: the study work, and to make

00:34:49 Speaker 09: sure that at the end of

00:34:50 Speaker 09: the day. hopefully, we'll be able

00:34:52 Speaker 09: to also look at things like

00:34:53 Speaker 09: unified fare structures, unified payment systems,

00:34:56 Speaker 09: etc., long term as well. So

00:34:57 Speaker 09: that's that's the goal: is to

00:34:59 Speaker 09: try to not just look at

00:35:00 Speaker 09: the end of those borders of

00:35:03 Speaker 09: those four counties, but how they

00:35:05 Speaker 09: connect overall. As Stephanie indicated as

00:35:08 Speaker 09: well, Western Ontario Wardens Caucus is

00:35:10 Speaker 09: very interested in in what this

00:35:13 Speaker 09: looks like as a model that

00:35:14 Speaker 01: could be scaled to all of

00:35:17 Speaker 01: southwestern Ontario. So. back to

00:35:20 Speaker 01: Savannah's earlier comments, making sure that

00:35:22 Speaker 01: we get this right, we're taking

00:35:23 Speaker 01: the time to get this this

00:35:25 Speaker 01: to do this study work is

00:35:27 Speaker 01: is very important because there's lots

00:35:29 Speaker 01: of lots of folks that are

00:35:31 Speaker 01: very interested in the results of

00:35:34 Speaker 01: this study. So that's that is

00:35:36 Speaker 01: something also that we're we're looking

00:35:38 Speaker 01: at. So it's it's we we

00:35:40 Speaker 01: recognize it's even bigger than the

00:35:42 Speaker 01: four county and the four partners

00:35:44 Speaker 11: four county partners. It has to

00:35:47 Speaker 11: connect and and be scalable and

00:35:49 Speaker 11: connect to other operations that are

00:35:51 Speaker 11: throughout the the our nation. The

00:35:54 Speaker 13: our neighbors as well. Thank you,

00:35:56 Speaker 13: and I would add to that

00:35:57 Speaker 13: too that the the provincial interest

00:36:00 Speaker 13: and our our local provincial representation

00:36:03 Speaker 13: definitely sees the value that what

00:36:06 Speaker 13: we do here, the work we

00:36:07 Speaker 13: do here, could be duplicatable not

00:36:09 Speaker 13: just across the Western Ontario Warden's

00:36:10 Speaker 13: Caucus, but across counties across Ontario.

00:36:12 Speaker 13: We're all looking for the same

00:36:14 Speaker 13: solutions, so we we are people

00:36:16 Speaker 13: are watching, and and I'm glad

00:36:18 Speaker 13: because there's great work going on.

00:36:19 Speaker 13: So thank you very much for

00:36:20 Speaker 13: that. Any other questions? We'll go

00:36:22 Speaker 13: to Councilor McQueen. Oh, sorry, follow

00:36:24 Speaker 13: up, Councilor Bourdon. No, thank you,

00:36:26 Speaker 13: Madam Warden. You actually you answered

00:36:28 Speaker 13: my my next follow up in

00:36:30 Speaker 13: in in your comments. So thank

00:36:32 Speaker 13: you. Okay, thank you. And then

00:36:33 Speaker 13: we'll go to Councilor McQueen. Thank

00:36:35 Speaker 13: you, Madam Warden. Just a follow

00:36:36 Speaker 13: up with, with Nielsen with regards

00:36:42 Speaker 06: to budget wise, any idea when

00:36:43 Speaker 06: that might be coming? I hold

00:36:45 Speaker 06: that for a minute. I think

00:36:47 Speaker 06: what you. were saying, Randy, about

00:36:49 Speaker 06: fees and how we can charge.

00:36:51 Speaker 06: I mean, the system has to

00:36:53 Speaker 06: be sustainable. And I know with

00:36:54 Speaker 06: the past, with the grants, we're

00:36:56 Speaker 06: limited to what we could charge.

00:36:59 Speaker 06: Are we able to move past

00:37:01 Speaker 06: that? So it costs money to

00:37:03 Speaker 06: have a car, insurance, gas, and

00:37:04 Speaker 06: stuff like that. So you know,

00:37:05 Speaker 06: five dollars a ride, it's not

00:37:06 Speaker 06: sustainable at five bucks a ride.

00:37:10 Speaker 06: So so point is, roughly when

00:37:13 Speaker 06: that budget numbers will be coming

00:37:15 Speaker 06: with the options, I'm sure. But

00:37:18 Speaker 14: also the model that is makes

00:37:21 Speaker 14: it sustainable. All of that is

00:37:24 Speaker 14: makes it sustainable in the sense

00:37:25 Speaker 14: of what we can charge for

00:37:28 Speaker 14: fees. Thank you, Your Worship. I

00:37:29 Speaker 14: think Councilor McQueen. So we have

00:37:31 Speaker 14: heard the feedback over the last

00:37:33 Speaker 14: few years of operating the previous

00:37:34 Speaker 14: system. So I can assure you

00:37:36 Speaker 14: that when we do present our

00:37:44 Speaker 05: final findings, we will present a

00:37:45 Speaker 05: different fee structure to assist in

00:37:46 Speaker 05: the sustainability of a regional system

00:37:48 Speaker 05: and also accounting for the large

00:37:51 Speaker 05: geography that people may be traveling.

00:37:54 Speaker 05: So as Savannah noted, when we

00:37:55 Speaker 05: bring that all back to you

00:37:57 Speaker 05: in the future, it will all

00:37:59 Speaker 05: be covered in those documents. Okay,

00:38:01 Speaker 05: we'll go to the deputy warden.

00:38:03 Speaker 05: Thank you, Madam Warden, and thank

00:38:05 Speaker 05: you, Stephanie, for the report. And

00:38:07 Speaker 05: Savannah, without necessarily pulling the curtain

00:38:08 Speaker 05: back too far, Savannah alluded to

00:38:09 Speaker 05: a lot of number crunching, a

00:38:12 Speaker 05: lot of idea crunching. I'm wondering

00:38:13 Speaker 05: if you could give us any

00:38:14 Speaker 05: kind of sense of where are

00:38:16 Speaker 05: the pain points, and you know.

00:38:17 Speaker 05: where are we kind of headed,

00:38:18 Speaker 05: and why is this taking so

00:38:21 Speaker 05: much longer than we anticipated? Please.

00:38:22 Speaker 05: Well, that's a tricky question, but

00:38:26 Speaker 05: I will take I'll take a

00:38:27 Speaker 05: stab at that. I think as

00:38:31 Speaker 05: soon as you go

00:38:34 Speaker 05: beyond one council and one county

00:38:36 Speaker 05: and work with four and a

00:38:39 Speaker 05: huge geography, like we're talking over

00:38:42 Speaker 05: twelve thousand square kilometers, we're fifty

00:38:44 Speaker 05: three percent larger than the GTA.

00:38:46 Speaker 05: GTHA. This is the biggest study

00:38:47 Speaker 05: of its kind in the province.

00:38:48 Speaker 05: So that complexity alone has really

00:38:50 Speaker 05: added to it because everybody has

00:38:53 Speaker 05: a little bit of a different

00:38:54 Speaker 05: need. So trying to understand where

00:38:56 Speaker 05: those base levels could be and

00:38:57 Speaker 05: where those enhancements could be, so

00:38:58 Speaker 05: that we're not all on the

00:39:00 Speaker 05: hook for the same things. We're

00:39:02 Speaker 05: on the hook for what matters

00:39:05 Speaker 05: to us, but we're also sharing

00:39:07 Speaker 05: those base components as well. So

00:39:08 Speaker 05: that has been complex. A lot

00:39:10 Speaker 05: of certainty. That's a conversation that

00:39:13 Speaker 05: we just had with provincial staff

00:39:14 Speaker 05: and. our minister delegates because understanding

00:39:16 Speaker 05: that provincial certainty really matters when

00:39:17 Speaker 05: it comes to gas tax. For

00:39:19 Speaker 05: example, we have frozen figures, but

00:39:20 Speaker 05: they're based on assumptions from ridership

00:39:22 Speaker 05: two years ago. So it's trying

00:39:24 Speaker 05: to figure out when is the

00:39:26 Speaker 05: proper timing to actually look to

00:39:28 Speaker 05: gas tax. As O TIF goes

00:39:30 Speaker 05: down, gas tax could come up,

00:39:31 Speaker 05: but originally it was slated right

00:39:32 Speaker 05: from the very beginning. So that

00:39:34 Speaker 05: is one of those policy certainty

00:39:35 Speaker 05: pieces as well. Trying to make

00:39:37 Speaker 05: sure that we utilize and leverage

00:39:38 Speaker 05: the dollars that are available to

00:39:40 Speaker 05: the best ability that we have,

00:39:42 Speaker 05: while looking to year six. So

00:39:43 Speaker 05: I will. So I don't know

00:39:45 Speaker 05: if that was me. I will

00:39:46 Speaker 05: say that year six backwards is

00:39:48 Speaker 05: how we have been doing all

00:39:49 Speaker 05: of the financial crunching because we

00:39:51 Speaker 05: need to know when OTIF is

00:39:52 Speaker 05: no longer available. What does that

00:39:54 Speaker 05: look like on the budget? That

00:39:55 Speaker 05: is where we have spent the

00:39:57 Speaker 05: majority of our focus, making sure

00:39:59 Speaker 05: that we can be comfortable bringing

00:40:01 Speaker 05: something forward to this. table and

00:40:02 Speaker 05: three other councils and a board,

00:40:03 Speaker 05: knowing that we are all in

00:40:04 Speaker 05: this together. So looking around the

00:40:05 Speaker 05: different MetroLink Act, Bill ninety eight,

00:40:10 Speaker 03: all of those pieces, even though

00:40:13 Speaker 03: they don't actually apply to us

00:40:14 Speaker 03: this very moment, MetroLink applies to

00:40:17 Speaker 03: two of the four partners. So

00:40:20 Speaker 03: there are little bits and pieces

00:40:23 Speaker 03: that we just need to be

00:40:25 Speaker 03: sure about before we come back

00:40:27 Speaker 03: with a recommendation. Because the last

00:40:30 Speaker 03: thing we would want is to

00:40:31 Speaker 03: to ask you for your approval

00:40:33 Speaker 03: and your endorsement of something, and

00:40:35 Speaker 03: then realize that we actually asked

00:40:37 Speaker 03: you for the wrong thing. So

00:40:39 Speaker 03: that's why it's taken a little

00:40:41 Speaker 03: bit long. That's why it's taken

00:40:43 Speaker 03: a little bit longer, but I

00:40:45 Speaker 03: think that right now project partners

00:40:46 Speaker 03: feel very comfortable with the information

00:40:48 Speaker 03: that we're gathering, the work that

00:40:49 Speaker 03: we're doing, and the extra time

00:40:53 Speaker 03: that we've taken. And we're hoping

00:40:54 Speaker 03: the council will be supportive of

00:40:56 Speaker 03: that as well. Thank you. Anything

00:40:57 Speaker 03: further? We'll go to Councilor Greg.

00:40:59 Speaker 03: Thank you. And just to follow

00:41:00 Speaker 03: up on Councilor McQueen's comments regarding

00:41:02 Speaker 03: the fare structure, I'm still when

00:41:03 Speaker 03: we're looking at reintroducing another route,

00:41:05 Speaker 03: why we are. so fixated and

00:41:12 Speaker 03: stuck on five dollars a ride?

00:41:15 Speaker 03: Over the years that we've had

00:41:17 Speaker 03: this service, the wages for the

00:41:19 Speaker 03: driver went up, the mechanics went

00:41:22 Speaker 03: up, the bus costs more to

00:41:23 Speaker 03: buy, the fuels has increased. None

00:41:24 Speaker 03: of these costs have went down.

00:41:27 Speaker 03: And for a young person, they're

00:41:29 Speaker 03: paying ten dollars a day, approximately,

00:41:31 Speaker 03: just to get insurance on their

00:41:32 Speaker 03: own vehicle. They haven't bought the

00:41:34 Speaker 03: car or the truck yet. They're

00:41:36 Speaker 03: just insuring what they're going to

00:41:39 Speaker 03: plan on driving. When I looked

00:41:41 Speaker 03: at the audited financial statements, we

00:41:43 Speaker 03: have like ten point, I don't

00:41:45 Speaker 03: know, ten and a half to

00:41:49 Speaker 03: eleven million dollars in fees and

00:41:51 Speaker 03: charges that we derive from our

00:41:54 Speaker 03: own revenues as a corporation, which

00:41:56 Speaker 03: is about the same as we

00:41:58 Speaker 03: have in Owen Sound. And I

00:42:00 Speaker 03: wonder if we shouldn't be more

00:42:02 Speaker 03: concerns—not the right word—but look for

00:42:04 Speaker 03: opportunities to increase that line item

00:42:07 Speaker 03: in our budget. And this is

00:42:10 Speaker 03: one of those where. to to

00:42:12 Speaker 03: I get it. You're going to

00:42:17 Speaker 03: bring the report back and you'll

00:42:18 Speaker 06: look at the fare structure. But

00:42:20 Speaker 06: here's another opportunity after five or

00:42:21 Speaker 06: six years, where in reintroducing a

00:42:23 Speaker 06: route, it could be six dollars

00:42:24 Speaker 06: a ride, and people would understand

00:42:25 Speaker 06: that. People will push back. Everybody

00:42:27 Speaker 06: wants everything for free, but when

00:42:28 Speaker 06: you explain it and say over

00:42:31 Speaker 06: this many years the price has

00:42:32 Speaker 06: been static, and as a corporation

00:42:33 Speaker 06: we should identify that opportunity for

00:42:35 Speaker 06: increased revenues. because that in itself

00:42:37 Speaker 06: makes it more sustainable long term.

00:42:38 Speaker 06: If people pay their fair share,

00:42:39 Speaker 06: and when you parallel it with

00:42:41 Speaker 06: what people, the cost of owning

00:42:42 Speaker 06: a vehicle, it's a really good

00:42:44 Speaker 06: bargain. So I still I struggle

00:42:45 Speaker 06: with why we pass up an

00:42:46 Speaker 06: opportunity even now for a an

00:42:48 Speaker 06: opportunity to derive some increased revenues

00:42:50 Speaker 06: and make it more sustainable. Through

00:42:51 Speaker 06: your worship, thank you, Council. Through

00:42:55 Speaker 06: your worship, thank you, Councillor Craig.

00:42:56 Speaker 06: So, just as a note, the

00:42:58 Speaker 06: reintroduction of Route Five there is

00:42:59 Speaker 06: a fare increase. So, previously it

00:43:07 Speaker 15: was three dollars and fifty cents

00:43:09 Speaker 15: one way, and we have increased

00:43:12 Speaker 15: it to five. So, there is

00:43:13 Speaker 15: an an increase on that new

00:43:15 Speaker 15: introduction, a reintroduction, sorry. I also

00:43:17 Speaker 15: think there is a piece of

00:43:19 Speaker 15: this puzzle is right now the

00:43:21 Speaker 15: system is not. You can't go

00:43:24 Speaker 15: all over yet. So, right now

00:43:26 Speaker 15: you're still kind of in sections.

00:43:28 Speaker 15: You can go Owensend to Wyarston,

00:43:31 Speaker 15: you can go Owensend to Guelph,

00:43:33 Speaker 15: and then you can do Dundalk

00:43:34 Speaker 15: to Orangeville. So, I think there's

00:43:36 Speaker 15: some legitimacy in leaving the fares

00:43:38 Speaker 15: the way they are at this

00:43:39 Speaker 15: exact. Affairs the way they are

00:43:43 Speaker 15: at this exact moment, I appreciate

00:43:46 Speaker 06: your comment. Like I hear where

00:43:47 Speaker 06: you're coming from, but I think

00:43:48 Speaker 06: because the system is not completely

00:43:49 Speaker 06: connected yet, there is rationale to

00:43:51 Speaker 06: leave it at its current price.

00:43:53 Speaker 06: But happy to reconsider if that's

00:43:55 Speaker 06: the wish. Okay. All right. Oh,

00:43:57 Speaker 06: we'll go to Councillor Mackie. Thank

00:43:58 Speaker 06: you, Warden. Thank you, Stephanie. I

00:44:01 Speaker 06: know there's a a lot of

00:44:02 Speaker 06: work being done, and I guess.

00:44:04 Speaker 06: my question is in regards to

00:44:06 Speaker 06: point to point as opposed to

00:44:07 Speaker 06: fixed route. What is being looked

00:44:08 Speaker 06: at from point to point based

00:44:09 Speaker 06: on our geographic vastness? Point to

00:44:10 Speaker 06: point, in my opinion, is going

00:44:12 Speaker 06: to be a necessity. I don't

00:44:14 Speaker 06: think there'll be any fixed route

00:44:17 Speaker 06: going to Walters Falls. So, how

00:44:19 Speaker 06: does that person get to Highway

00:44:21 Speaker 06: Six or Highway Ten? So, could

00:44:22 Speaker 06: you just elaborate on what work's

00:44:23 Speaker 06: being done on point to point,

00:44:24 Speaker 06: please? Matthew, your worship, thank you,

00:44:26 Speaker 06: Councillor Mackie. So, there's a few

00:44:29 Speaker 06: different options that will be presented

00:44:31 Speaker 06: to you in the future as

00:44:33 Speaker 06: to how the system can work.

00:44:40 Speaker 06: There will be potentially a fixed

00:44:41 Speaker 06: route system. Previously, our consultant in

00:44:42 Speaker 06: March spoke to the different options

00:44:44 Speaker 01: as well. So, a fixed route.

00:44:46 Speaker 01: There can be point-to-point, as you

00:44:48 Speaker 01: noted. There's the first mile, last

00:44:50 Speaker 01: mile connection, so helping people get

00:44:51 Speaker 01: to the fixed route. So, there's

00:44:53 Speaker 01: a various options that you can

00:44:55 Speaker 01: kind of turn on and turn

00:44:56 Speaker 01: off, and they all come with

00:44:58 Speaker 01: different costs associated to them, and

00:45:01 Speaker 16: they all come with different pros

00:54:38 Speaker 01: and cons. So currently, our peers

00:54:40 Speaker 01: in Wellington County have point-to-point across

00:54:41 Speaker 17: their entire geography, and as noted,

00:55:11 Speaker 01: there's pros and cons to both.

00:55:13 Speaker 01: So I think when we come

00:55:14 Speaker 01: back with our final study results,

00:55:17 Speaker 01: we can show you all of

00:55:19 Speaker 01: the different options and how we

00:55:21 Speaker 01: plan on rolling out a successful

00:55:23 Speaker 01: system. So I assure you, those

00:55:25 Speaker 01: those things will come back to

00:55:28 Speaker 01: you soon with some more detail.

00:55:29 Speaker 01: Okay. All right. Well, in that

00:55:31 Speaker 01: case, then I don't see any

00:55:33 Speaker 01: further hands. Thank you very much

00:55:36 Speaker 01: for all that extra information. I'll

00:55:38 Speaker 01: call the vote then. All those

00:55:41 Speaker 01: in favor, and that motion is

00:55:42 Speaker 01: carried. Thank you. We'll call a

00:55:45 Speaker 01: break now. We're at just past

00:55:48 Speaker 01: 10 after, so if we can

00:55:50 Speaker 01: be back by 11:20, that will

00:55:51 Speaker 01: allow us to carry on with

00:55:53 Speaker 01: items 7A and B, and then

00:55:55 Speaker 01: return to 6A and E. Thank

00:55:57 Speaker 01: you. Okay, we are at eleven.

00:55:59 Speaker 01: twenty. So I'll invite everybody to

00:56:33 Speaker 01: come back to the council chamber.

00:56:35 Speaker 01: Excellent. Thank you very much. So

00:56:36 Speaker 01: we are on to item seven

00:56:39 Speaker 01: B at this point in time.

00:56:40 Speaker 01: It's recommended that report PDR CW

00:56:43 Speaker 01: twenty seven twenty six regarding the

00:56:46 Speaker 01: approval of the municipality of Westray's

00:56:48 Speaker 01: new official plan for the primary

00:56:49 Speaker 18: settlement areas of Durham and New

00:56:52 Speaker 18: Stat be received, and that the

00:56:54 Speaker 18: Committee of the Whole hereby approves

00:56:57 Speaker 18: the official, the new official plan

00:56:58 Speaker 18: for the primary settlement areas of

00:57:01 Speaker 18: Durham and New Stat. Of Durham

00:57:04 Speaker 18: and Newstadt, in the municipality of

00:57:06 Speaker 18: West Grey, as adopted by Bylaw

00:57:07 Speaker 18: Twenty Five Twenty Twenty Five One

00:57:09 Speaker 18: Hundred Five, subject to those modifications

00:57:11 Speaker 18: attached to the report PDRCDOU Twenty

00:57:13 Speaker 18: Seven Twenty Six as Appendix One.

00:57:15 Speaker 18: May I ask for a mover

00:57:17 Speaker 18: and a seconder? We have a

00:57:20 Speaker 18: move by Councillor Hutchinson, and seconded