Grey County County Council Meeting Transcript — September 25, 2025

00:07:05 Speaker 01: like to call to order this

00:07:07 Speaker 01: Council meeting of September twenty fifth.

00:07:09 Speaker 01: twenty twenty five. At this point

00:07:10 Speaker 01: in time, as you are able,

00:07:12 Speaker 01: please stand and join us in

00:07:13 Speaker 02: the singing of "O Canada." O

00:07:37 Speaker 03: Canada. Our home and native land,

00:07:43 Speaker 03: true patriot love in all of

00:07:50 Speaker 04: us command. With glowing hearts, we

00:07:55 Speaker 04: see thee rise, the true North,

00:08:00 Speaker 04: strong and free, Canada. We stand

00:08:05 Speaker 04: on guard for thee, O Canada!

00:08:21 Speaker 04: We stand on guard for. thee.

00:08:28 Speaker 04: Thank you, Madam Clerk. Could you

00:08:34 Speaker 04: please, Councillor Mackie sends his regrets

00:08:43 Speaker 04: today. Councillor McKay, Councillor Carleton, Councillor

00:08:47 Speaker 05: Pringle, Councillor McQueen sends his

00:08:50 Speaker 05: his regrets today. Councillor Allwood,

00:08:53 Speaker 05: Councillor Nielsen, Councillor Patterson, Councillor Dicker,

00:08:56 Speaker 05: Councillor Kentner, Councillor Kivney, Councillor

00:09:01 Speaker 05: Body, I believe, is joining

00:09:04 Speaker 05: us later this morning. Councillor Gregg,

00:09:09 Speaker 05: Councillor Milne, Councillor Dobrine. Word Matrasovs.

00:09:10 Speaker 05: Councillor Boardinghouse says he regrets

00:09:13 Speaker 05: today. Alternate Councillor Hope, Councillor

00:09:16 Speaker 05: Eccles, Councillor Hutchinson. So we have

00:09:18 Speaker 05: all members and attendances today, with

00:09:24 Speaker 05: the exception of Councillors Mackie, McQueen,

00:09:26 Speaker 05: Boardinghouse, and Body. Thank you, Madam

00:09:27 Speaker 05: Clerk. Let us begin by acknowledging,

00:09:33 Speaker 05: with respect, that we are gathered

00:09:37 Speaker 06: on the traditional territory of the

00:09:39 Speaker 06: Anishinabe Nation, the people of the

00:09:41 Speaker 06: Three Fires, known as the Ojibwe,

00:09:44 Speaker 06: the Odawa, the Odawa, and the

00:09:45 Speaker 06: Potawatomi Nations. We give thanks to

00:09:48 Speaker 06: the Chippewas of Saugeen and the

00:09:51 Speaker 06: Chippewas of Nawash, collectively known as

00:09:52 Speaker 06: the Saugeen Ojibwe Nation, the traditional

00:09:55 Speaker 06: keepers of these. lands and waters

00:09:58 Speaker 06: since time immemorial. In our south,

00:10:00 Speaker 06: the traditional territories of the Six

00:10:03 Speaker 06: Nations and of the Grand River

00:10:05 Speaker 06: and the Honechone. We are dedicated

00:10:07 Speaker 06: to honouring Indigenous history and culture,

00:10:10 Speaker 06: and committed to moving forward in

00:10:13 Speaker 06: the spirit of truth, reconciliation, and

00:10:15 Speaker 06: friendship with all First Nations, Métis,

00:10:18 Speaker 06: and Inuit peoples. At this point

00:10:21 Speaker 06: in time, by At this point

00:10:27 Speaker 06: in time, I'd like to put

00:10:28 Speaker 06: out a call if there are

00:10:29 Speaker 06: any declarations of interest for this

00:10:30 Speaker 06: council agenda. Seeing no hands raised,

00:10:34 Speaker 06: we'll move to the adoption of

00:10:36 Speaker 06: the minutes. It's recommended that the

00:10:37 Speaker 06: minutes of the county council meeting

00:10:38 Speaker 06: and the committee, the whole meeting,

00:10:40 Speaker 06: dated September 11, 2025, and the

00:10:42 Speaker 06: resolutions contained therein be adopted as

00:10:45 Speaker 06: presented. May I ask for a

00:10:47 Speaker 06: mover and a seconder? Moved by

00:10:47 Speaker 06: Councillor Kivney, seconded by Councillor Dobrin.

00:10:50 Speaker 06: Any discussion? All those in favour?

00:10:53 Speaker 06: And that motion is carried. Thank

00:10:55 Speaker 06: you. It's also recommended in item

00:10:57 Speaker 06: six B that the closed session

00:10:59 Speaker 06: committee, the whole meeting minutes, dated

00:11:00 Speaker 06: September 11th, be adopted as provided.

00:11:03 Speaker 06: May I ask, remover, move by

00:11:05 Speaker 06: Councillor Patterson, seconded by Councillor Kentner.

00:11:07 Speaker 06: Any discussion? All those in favour?

00:11:11 Speaker 06: And that motion is carried. We

00:11:14 Speaker 06: do not have any closed session

00:11:16 Speaker 06: matters in council this morning, nor

00:11:17 Speaker 06: reports, so we'll move to the

00:11:19 Speaker 06: bylaws. It's recommended that bylaw 524925

00:11:21 Speaker 06: and 5250 25 and 52, 50,

00:11:24 Speaker 06: 25 and 52, 51, 25 be

00:11:27 Speaker 06: introduced and taken as read a

00:11:29 Speaker 06: first, second, and third time, finally

00:11:31 Speaker 06: passed, signed with by the warden

00:11:33 Speaker 06: and the clerk, sealed with the

00:11:34 Speaker 06: seal of the corporation, and engrossed

00:11:35 Speaker 06: in the bylaw book. Number one,

00:11:37 Speaker 06: 52, 49, 25, a bylaw to

00:11:40 Speaker 06: provide tax refunds for eligible heritage

00:11:43 Speaker 06: properties. Number two, 52, 25, a

00:11:46 Speaker 06: bylaw to authorise the acquisition of

00:11:48 Speaker 06: certain lands in the municipality of

00:11:50 Speaker 06: Great Highlands for the new Feversham

00:11:52 Speaker 06: paramedic base. Feverston Paramedic Base, and

00:11:54 Speaker 06: number three fifty two fifty one

00:11:56 Speaker 06: twenty five a bylaw to confirm

00:11:58 Speaker 06: all actions and proceedings of council.

00:12:00 Speaker 06: May I ask for a mover?

00:12:03 Speaker 06: Move by alternate Allwood and seconded

00:12:06 Speaker 06: by Councillor Pringle. Any discussion? All

00:12:09 Speaker 06: those in favour? That motion is

00:12:12 Speaker 06: carried. And next, we will move

00:12:16 Speaker 06: on to news and celebrations. And

00:12:18 Speaker 06: looking to staff first. Okay. Thank

00:12:26 Speaker 07: you, Ward Matrousovs. So I'm excited

00:12:28 Speaker 07: to note that this Saturday, September

00:12:30 Speaker 07: 27th, is the official grand opening

00:12:32 Speaker 07: for the brand new Durham Paramedic

00:12:34 Speaker 07: Base. So from two to four

00:12:36 Speaker 07: p.m., we'll be hosting a ribbon

00:12:37 Speaker 07: cutting and open house. That's all

00:12:39 Speaker 07: about celebrating the incredible work that

00:12:41 Speaker 07: the paramedics do and the investment

00:12:43 Speaker 07: that Council has made in emergency

00:12:45 Speaker 07: care for our communities. Remarks will

00:12:47 Speaker 07: kick off at two o' five,

00:12:49 Speaker 07: followed by a tour of the

00:12:50 Speaker 07: facility and. A tour of the

00:12:51 Speaker 07: facility, an opportunity to meet the

00:12:53 Speaker 07: paramedic team, and check out some

00:12:55 Speaker 07: of our vehicles and equipment up

00:12:58 Speaker 07: close. It's a hands-on, behind-the-scenes look

00:13:00 Speaker 07: at how we're improving response times

00:13:03 Speaker 07: and supporting frontline healthcare. This base

00:13:05 Speaker 07: is a—it's a big step forward,

00:13:06 Speaker 07: not just in infrastructure, but in

00:13:08 Speaker 07: how we serve people across Gray

00:13:10 Speaker 07: County. So, I highly encourage county

00:13:12 Speaker 07: council and residents to join in

00:13:14 Speaker 07: celebrating this exciting milestone, and we

00:13:19 Speaker 07: hope to see you there. Thank

00:13:20 Speaker 07: you. very much, CAO. I look

00:13:22 Speaker 06: forward to attending that with my

00:13:25 Speaker 06: granddaughter, actually. And next, we'll go

00:13:26 Speaker 06: on to Director Hoyt. You have

00:13:30 Speaker 06: an announcement. Yes, I just wanted

00:13:32 Speaker 06: to congratulate Alan Kenwell out of

00:13:35 Speaker 08: our Clarksville Patrol. He had previously

00:13:37 Speaker 08: won the Gray Bruce Truck Road

00:13:41 Speaker 08: Rodeo, not Rodeo Road A O,

00:13:44 Speaker 08: which was thirty-six operators. So, Al

00:13:45 Speaker 08: won that, and he got to

00:13:47 Speaker 08: go to the provincial finals yesterday

00:13:49 Speaker 08: in Lanark. and although we didn't

00:13:50 Speaker 08: win, we're very proud of Al.

00:13:52 Speaker 08: It's hard to make the finals,

00:13:54 Speaker 08: and so there was 49 drivers

00:13:55 Speaker 08: there from across the province in

00:13:56 Speaker 08: Lanark yesterday. It's not that often

00:13:58 Speaker 08: we send somebody to the the

00:13:59 Speaker 08: finals, so we're very proud of

00:14:03 Speaker 08: Al for going to compete yesterday.

00:14:06 Speaker 08: Excellent and congratulations to Mr. Kenwell.

00:14:08 Speaker 08: And with that, we'll move on

00:14:12 Speaker 08: to Director Myers for an announcement.

00:14:13 Speaker 09: Thank you so much. Good morning.

00:14:14 Speaker 09: I think Brittany's going to help

00:14:16 Speaker 09: me with a quick little video

00:14:17 Speaker 09: here. but we wanted to share

00:14:19 Speaker 09: the good news that last Thursday

00:14:21 Speaker 09: we were very proud to host

00:14:24 Speaker 09: the Sydney Fall Fair at Sydney

00:14:25 Speaker 09: Campus. So it is the last

00:14:28 Speaker 09: remaining school-run agricultural fair in all

00:14:29 Speaker 09: of Canada. There were more than

00:14:31 Speaker 09: 800 students who attended that day.

00:14:33 Speaker 09: All the educational exhibits happened in

00:14:34 Speaker 09: the gym, and then the fair

00:14:35 Speaker 09: outside that you're going to see

00:14:37 Speaker 09: the video of here. That was

00:14:39 Speaker 09: livestock, pet, and zoo shows all

00:14:39 Speaker 09: in the green space. It was

00:14:41 Speaker 09: a great day, lots of energy

00:14:47 Speaker 06: at Sydney Campus. Thank you. Wonderful

00:14:48 Speaker 06: tradition in the fall fairs of

00:14:50 Speaker 06: our county, and with that, we

00:14:55 Speaker 06: will go to Director Morrow. Thank

00:14:56 Speaker 06: you. I wanted to share the

00:14:58 Speaker 10: news that this week on Tuesday

00:15:02 Speaker 10: we had our Employee Appreciation Day,

00:15:03 Speaker 10: and as part of that, we

00:15:07 Speaker 10: celebrate long-term career milestones within Gray

00:15:09 Speaker 10: County at every five-year increment, and

00:15:13 Speaker 10: we celebrated 126 staff members on

00:15:14 Speaker 10: Tuesday afternoon. and I just wanted

00:15:18 Speaker 10: to detail those that have been

00:15:20 Speaker 10: with us the longest within those

00:15:23 Speaker 10: milestones, and that is celebrating 30

00:15:24 Speaker 10: years of a career with Gray

00:15:28 Speaker 10: County from Paramedic Services, Diana Graham,

00:15:30 Speaker 10: from Lee Manor, our long-term care

00:15:32 Speaker 10: home in Owen Sound, Lisa Barfoot

00:15:36 Speaker 10: and Lorna Walker, from Rockwood Terrace,

00:15:38 Speaker 10: our long-term care home in Durham,

00:15:41 Speaker 10: Erin Grant, and from the Transportation

00:15:46 Speaker 10: Services Department. Chris Coleman, celebrating 35

00:15:48 Speaker 10: years of a career with Gray

00:15:50 Speaker 10: County. From our Social Services team

00:15:53 Speaker 10: is Joni Johnson, and at 40

00:15:55 Speaker 10: years of service with Gray County

00:15:58 Speaker 10: from Paramedic Services was Robert Bell.

00:16:00 Speaker 10: We thank all of them for

00:16:11 Speaker 10: their dedication and service to Gray

00:16:13 Speaker 01: County. Thank you, Director Morrow. And

00:16:14 Speaker 01: it was a pleasure for the

00:16:16 Speaker 01: Deputy CAO and the CAO and

00:16:17 Speaker 01: myself to be able to attend

00:16:19 Speaker 01: to help with that presentation of

00:16:22 Speaker 01: those certificates. It is an incredible,

00:16:24 Speaker 01: not just an incredible mark of

00:16:25 Speaker 01: their own dedication, but it's also

00:16:28 Speaker 01: so aspirational to see among the

00:16:31 Speaker 01: the newer comers to our staff

00:16:32 Speaker 01: that people come here, they stay

00:16:35 Speaker 01: here, they grow their careers professionally,

00:16:37 Speaker 01: and they truly see our staff

00:16:38 Speaker 01: and our council here as a

00:16:41 Speaker 01: family. So. it's wonderful. Okay, so

00:16:42 Speaker 01: with that, I'd like to put

00:16:44 Speaker 01: it out to the County Council

00:16:45 Speaker 01: floor for news and celebrations. We'll

00:16:49 Speaker 01: begin with the Deputy Warden. Thank

00:16:52 Speaker 11: you, Madam Warden. Next Tuesday, of

00:16:53 Speaker 11: course, is National Day of Truth

00:16:57 Speaker 11: and Reconciliation, and in conjunction with

00:16:59 Speaker 11: Southeast Grey Community Health Centre and

00:17:02 Speaker 11: Junction Community Initiatives, there will be

00:17:04 Speaker 11: an event at the United Church

00:17:06 Speaker 11: in Dundalk from five till eight

00:17:10 Speaker 11: to mark that occasion, and all

00:17:12 Speaker 11: are invited. There's going to be

00:17:14 Speaker 11: a supper at seven o'clock. I'm

00:17:15 Speaker 11: not saying that's why I'm going,

00:17:17 Speaker 11: but it doesn't hurt to have

00:17:22 Speaker 11: supper. But all are welcome to

00:17:24 Speaker 11: attend. It'll be a great event,

00:17:26 Speaker 12: and I welcome everyone to attend.

00:17:29 Speaker 13: Thank you, Deputy Warden. It's not

00:17:31 Speaker 13: just dinner, is it? It's fellowship,

00:17:33 Speaker 13: it's friendship, it's gathering together together

00:17:35 Speaker 13: at a table. So absolutely, we

00:17:39 Speaker 13: should. celebrate those moments together, and

00:17:42 Speaker 14: we'll go to Councillor Kevney. Thank

00:17:44 Speaker 14: you, Madam Warden, and good morning,

00:17:45 Speaker 14: everyone. And I just wanted to

00:17:48 Speaker 14: announce that next weekend, October the

00:17:50 Speaker 14: fourth and fifth, is our annual

00:17:52 Speaker 14: Apple Harvest Craft Show in Meaford.

00:17:53 Speaker 14: This is one of the top

00:17:56 Speaker 14: artisan shows in all of Ontario,

00:17:58 Speaker 14: with over two hundred vendors, many

00:18:00 Speaker 14: new ones this year. On the

00:18:01 Speaker 14: Saturday, it will be open from

00:18:02 Speaker 14: ten until six, and on the

00:18:04 Speaker 14: Sunday, although the power is supposed

00:18:04 Speaker 14: to be out. until noon, and

00:18:06 Speaker 14: we're working on that, but from

00:18:08 Speaker 14: ten until four, the scheduled hours

00:18:09 Speaker 14: at the community centre, the curling

00:18:12 Speaker 14: club, and the arena in Meaford,

00:18:13 Speaker 14: this event's been going for over

00:18:15 Speaker 14: forty years in our community, which

00:18:16 Speaker 14: is pretty incredible. And they've donated

00:18:18 Speaker 14: over a million dollars into the

00:18:20 Speaker 14: community, to our hospital and other

00:18:22 Speaker 14: projects. So it's it's pretty special.

00:18:23 Speaker 14: So come on out and start

00:18:24 Speaker 14: your Christmas shopping in Meaford next

00:18:32 Speaker 15: weekend. Thank you. Okay, we'll go

00:18:35 Speaker 15: over to Councillor Carl. Okay, we'll

00:18:38 Speaker 15: go over to Councillor Carleton. Thank

00:18:40 Speaker 15: you, Warden, and good morning, County

00:18:42 Speaker 15: Council. I would just like to

00:18:44 Speaker 15: somewhat reflect on an awards banquet

00:18:46 Speaker 15: for Inter Township Fire Department last

00:18:49 Speaker 15: Saturday night, and Deputy Mayor Kevany

00:18:52 Speaker 15: joined me as well at that.

00:18:54 Speaker 15: We had four of our volunteers

00:18:59 Speaker 15: celebrating twenty years of service, two

00:19:01 Speaker 15: celebrating fifteen. Deputy Mayor Kevany gave

00:19:05 Speaker 15: a special award to Jeff Freeze.

00:19:07 Speaker 15: Award to Jeffrey, his life saving

00:19:10 Speaker 15: skills that he used at an

00:19:12 Speaker 15: event they were at, and a

00:19:14 Speaker 15: second outstanding award, service award was

00:19:17 Speaker 15: presented to the twenty four firefighters

00:19:19 Speaker 15: who responded to the silo collapse

00:19:20 Speaker 15: rescue last October. So it was

00:19:22 Speaker 15: wonderful evening, a great way to

00:19:24 Speaker 16: say thank you to all of

00:19:28 Speaker 17: our volunteer firefighters and thank you

00:19:32 Speaker 17: to Shirley for being there with

00:19:33 Speaker 17: us. Thank you, and welcome back

00:19:35 Speaker 17: to Councillor Nielsen. And we'll go

00:19:36 Speaker 17: over to Councillor Nielsen. Thank you

00:19:40 Speaker 17: very much, Ward Matrosov. Grey Highlands'

00:19:42 Speaker 17: last, but certainly not least, fall

00:19:44 Speaker 17: fair of the fall fair season

00:19:46 Speaker 17: is this Saturday, September 27th, at

00:19:49 Speaker 17: the Rockland Fall Fair. You are

00:19:53 Speaker 17: welcome to come out and participate

00:19:55 Speaker 17: in our annual pie making contest—not

00:19:56 Speaker 17: contest, I guess, auction. All the

00:19:57 Speaker 17: county council members are welcome to

00:19:58 Speaker 17: make pies. We auction them off

00:19:59 Speaker 17: at the end of the night.

00:20:00 Speaker 17: If you don't want to make

00:20:01 Speaker 17: a pie, feel free to come

00:20:02 Speaker 17: and bring. your wallet. That's even

00:20:03 Speaker 17: more appreciated. But it should be

00:20:08 Speaker 17: a good time had by all,

00:20:10 Speaker 17: and hopefully we'll see somebody out.

00:20:11 Speaker 18: Sorry, it's competing with the paramedic

00:20:17 Speaker 18: base open. Okay, all right, and

00:20:19 Speaker 18: we'll go to Councillor Hope, and

00:20:22 Speaker 18: then to Councillor Body after that.

00:20:25 Speaker 18: Yes. Good morning. Just wanted to

00:20:28 Speaker 18: let everyone know that the Tunnel

00:20:30 Speaker 18: of Mountains will be holding its

00:20:32 Speaker 18: open fields in celebration of Active

00:20:33 Speaker 18: Farm. So there's six different locations,

00:20:37 Speaker 18: and they do include locations in

00:20:40 Speaker 18: Mayford, including Coffin Bridge, which is

00:20:41 Speaker 18: not far from my family's farm.

00:20:43 Speaker 18: So it's a free event. It's

00:20:45 Speaker 18: a wonderful family event, and there's

00:20:47 Speaker 18: a lot of focus on cider

00:20:48 Speaker 18: this year. So it's from ten

00:20:54 Speaker 18: till four o'clock on this coming

00:20:55 Speaker 18: Saturday, and I I hope everyone

00:20:57 Speaker 18: will be able to join us.

00:20:59 Speaker 18: Thank you. Thank you very much,

00:21:02 Speaker 18: and you can go. to exploreblue.ca

00:21:04 Speaker 18: if you want to get those

00:21:07 Speaker 18: details and those locations. And we'll

00:21:09 Speaker 19: go to Councillor Body. Thank you,

00:21:12 Speaker 19: Warden. Sorry for being a little

00:21:15 Speaker 19: late. I was just with the

00:21:16 Speaker 19: students and teachers at the Ecole

00:21:19 Speaker 19: Saint Dominic Savio School, French School,

00:21:23 Speaker 19: raising the Franco-Ontarian flag. It's an

00:21:26 Speaker 19: annual event in our community flagpole.

00:21:27 Speaker 19: This is the 50th anniversary of

00:21:31 Speaker 19: the Franco-Ontarian flag. Franco-Ontarian. Franco Ontario

00:21:32 Speaker 19: and community goes back 400 years

00:21:35 Speaker 19: because it goes back to 1613

00:21:37 Speaker 19: when Samuel de Champlain traveled through

00:21:39 Speaker 19: and mapped this part of the

00:21:41 Speaker 19: area, including Georgian Bay and the

00:21:42 Speaker 19: area near On Sound. There was

00:21:47 Speaker 19: also a French village, approximately 100

00:21:50 Speaker 19: years ago, between On Sound and

00:21:51 Speaker 19: Leith that was quite a community.

00:21:53 Speaker 19: Probably French trappers, way back when,

00:21:56 Speaker 19: that stuck around. So, this is

00:21:57 Speaker 19: one of my favourite mornings. Be

00:22:01 Speaker 19: Favourite mornings because this is a

00:22:06 Speaker 01: culture that sings, and all the

00:22:09 Speaker 01: kids sing French songs, and it's

00:22:13 Speaker 01: amazing. So, it's it's worth celebrating.

00:22:17 Speaker 20: Thank you. Thank you. Merci beaucoup.

00:22:20 Speaker 20: A félicitations. Our whole community, our

00:22:23 Speaker 20: whole francophone community across our county,

00:22:27 Speaker 20: and Councillor Dubrein. Thank you, Warden,

00:22:29 Speaker 20: and good morning, County Council. Those

00:22:32 Speaker 20: listening, Holstein is. celebrating its first

00:22:35 Speaker 20: Oktoberfest on Saturday, October 27th. There

00:22:38 Speaker 20: will be a cornhole tournament for

00:22:41 Speaker 20: those who enjoy that, starting at

00:22:44 Speaker 20: 3 p.m. with live music at

00:22:46 Speaker 20: 4, dinner at 6, and it

00:22:48 Speaker 20: is at the Holstein Optimist Hall.

00:22:53 Speaker 21: Holstein Fest this Saturday, September 27th.

00:22:55 Speaker 21: Tickets are on sale. If you

00:22:56 Speaker 21: are interested, let me know and

00:22:59 Speaker 22: I can give you the contact.

00:23:04 Speaker 23: information. Thank you very much, and

00:23:05 Speaker 23: I'll just look to see if

00:23:08 Speaker 23: there's a. We'll go to Councillor

00:23:12 Speaker 23: Eccles. This works. Thank you, and

00:23:14 Speaker 23: I would very much like to

00:23:17 Speaker 23: take up the offer from the

00:23:20 Speaker 23: Deputy Warden. His pie eating capabilities

00:23:23 Speaker 23: are tremendous, so he'll probably be

00:23:27 Speaker 23: in Rockland buying up pies. He's

00:23:29 Speaker 23: well noted for that. for sure.

00:23:32 Speaker 23: This Saturday, before you come to

00:23:35 Speaker 23: the paramedic opening at two o'clock

00:23:37 Speaker 23: in Westbury, as the CEO has

00:23:41 Speaker 23: mentioned, the last that I understand

00:23:43 Speaker 23: of the local plowing matches, the

00:23:45 Speaker 23: Bente plowing match is on, just

00:23:47 Speaker 23: south of Elmwood, about half a

00:23:51 Speaker 23: mile, the first corner south of

00:23:56 Speaker 23: Elmwood, off the county line, and

00:23:58 Speaker 23: in about a half. a mile

00:24:00 Speaker 23: on the eighth concession of Bentek,

00:24:03 Speaker 23: great support for our agricultural community.

00:24:06 Speaker 23: As you know, it was very

00:24:11 Speaker 23: successful. We had the Canadian Championships

00:24:12 Speaker 23: in Westray back at the end

00:24:16 Speaker 23: of August. It was tremendous, and

00:24:18 Speaker 23: sent a local individual, Brian Davenport,

00:24:20 Speaker 23: won the competition, and will be

00:24:24 Speaker 23: representing Canada at the Worlds. next

00:24:27 Speaker 23: year, and I just forgot where

00:24:29 Speaker 23: they are next year. I know

00:24:33 Speaker 23: that they're in Czechoslovakia this year.

00:24:34 Speaker 23: Anyways, tremendous, but an aspect of

00:24:37 Speaker 23: our agricultural community that was there.

00:24:42 Speaker 23: Ten o'clock, the plowing will start.

00:24:43 Speaker 23: So we have a chance to

00:24:46 Speaker 23: help out and endorse our support

00:24:48 Speaker 23: for our agricultural community. Thank you.

00:24:50 Speaker 01: Thank you very much. I'll just.

00:24:51 Speaker 01: look around the horseshoe. I don't

00:24:54 Speaker 01: see any further hands. Excellent. So

00:24:55 Speaker 01: lots happening in our county. Lots

00:24:58 Speaker 01: to enjoy. Lots of reasons to

00:24:59 Speaker 01: cross the boundaries and visit

00:25:01 Speaker 01: another municipality. So with that, then

00:25:04 Speaker 01: we will look for a motion

00:25:05 Speaker 01: to adjourn. May I have? I'll

00:25:22 Speaker 01: move by Councillor Patterson, seconded by

00:25:24 Speaker 01: Councillor McKay. All those in favour?

00:25:25 Speaker 01: And council adjourned. We'll give a

00:25:26 Speaker 01: moment for the technology to switch

00:25:28 Speaker 01: over. Okay. Thank you. I'd like

00:25:29 Speaker 01: to call to order this committee.

00:25:31 Speaker 01: The whole meeting of September twenty

00:25:34 Speaker 01: fifth, twenty twenty five. At this

00:25:36 Speaker 01: point in time, I'll put out

00:25:39 Speaker 01: a call. Are there any declarations

00:25:40 Speaker 01: of interest for this agenda? Seeing

00:25:42 Speaker 01: no hands raised, we will carry

00:25:43 Speaker 01: on business arising from the

00:25:45 Speaker 01: minutes. Okay. We will move on.

00:25:48 Speaker 01: We do not have. any delegations

00:25:49 Speaker 01: today. And next, we will move

00:25:52 Speaker 01: on to the determination of items

00:25:53 Speaker 01: requiring separate discussion from Section C,

00:25:55 Speaker 01: Section Six. In the consent agenda,

00:25:56 Speaker 01: there are four different items. So

00:26:01 Speaker 01: I will ask for if there

00:26:04 Speaker 01: are any that need to be

00:26:07 Speaker 01: pulled to examine at the end

00:26:10 Speaker 01: of today's agenda. Councillor Eccles. I'd

00:26:12 Speaker 01: like to pull Six C. Just

00:26:14 Speaker 01: to make sure that we've got

00:26:16 Speaker 01: that clear. Okay. Thank you. Anything

00:26:17 Speaker 01: else? Okay. Then it's recommended that

00:26:19 Speaker 01: the following consent agendas be received,

00:26:21 Speaker 01: and that staff be authorised to

00:26:23 Speaker 01: take actions necessary to give effect

00:26:24 Speaker 01: to the recommendations in the staff

00:26:30 Speaker 01: reports, and that the correspondence be

00:26:33 Speaker 01: supported and received for information as

00:26:41 Speaker 01: recommended in the consent agenda. May

00:26:44 Speaker 01: ask for mover and a seconder.

00:26:46 Speaker 01: Moved by. Excuse me. Moved over

00:26:48 Speaker 01: here to my right. Sorry about

00:26:52 Speaker 01: that. We'll need a seconder, and

00:26:54 Speaker 01: seconded by the deputy ordnance. Any

00:26:57 Speaker 01: discussion? All those in favour? And

00:26:59 Speaker 01: that motion is carried. Okay, so

00:27:00 Speaker 01: we will then visit 6D at

00:27:02 Speaker 01: the end of our agenda. Thank

00:27:06 Speaker 01: you. That allows us to move

00:27:09 Speaker 01: on into our items for direction

00:27:11 Speaker 01: and discussion. So the first one

00:27:15 Speaker 01: is item 7A, and it's recommended

00:27:18 Speaker 01: that. staff report PDR CW fifty

00:27:20 Speaker 01: seven twenty five regarding surplus lands

00:27:23 Speaker 01: for housing site preparation and derisking

00:27:25 Speaker 01: and derisking activities be received, and

00:27:26 Speaker 01: that one hundred and thirty thousand

00:27:29 Speaker 01: dollars be included in the proposed

00:27:33 Speaker 01: twenty twenty six budget and be

00:27:35 Speaker 01: funded from the one time funding

00:27:36 Speaker 01: reserve to fund select site preparation

00:27:40 Speaker 01: and derisking activities for the two

00:27:41 Speaker 01: county owned properties in Markdale. County-owned

00:27:43 Speaker 01: properties in Markdale and Durham may

00:27:45 Speaker 01: ask for a mover and a

00:27:47 Speaker 24: seconder. Move by Councillor Nielsen. Seconder.

00:28:00 Speaker 24: It's now on the floor for

00:28:01 Speaker 25: discussion. So I would like to

00:28:03 Speaker 25: invite our senior policy planner, Buckton,

00:28:04 Speaker 25: up to introduce the topic. Thank

00:28:07 Speaker 25: you. Wonderful. Thank you so much.

00:28:08 Speaker 25: I'm really happy to be here

00:28:11 Speaker 25: today. So I think Brittany's just

00:28:13 Speaker 25: going to pull up there, really.

00:28:14 Speaker 25: Some slides for us. Great. So

00:28:16 Speaker 25: very briefly today, I know there

00:28:21 Speaker 25: was is a very comprehensive report

00:28:22 Speaker 25: addressing what we'd like to do

00:28:23 Speaker 25: with respect to these lands, but

00:28:24 Speaker 25: I've just captured that recommendation here

00:28:25 Speaker 25: as well. Next slide, please. So

00:28:27 Speaker 25: we just really wanted to provide

00:28:30 Speaker 25: a bit of a visual anchor

00:28:31 Speaker 25: for you. I know we've got

00:28:33 Speaker 25: some key maps in the report,

00:28:35 Speaker 25: but I've also included some aerials

00:28:37 Speaker 25: here. So just wanted to identify

00:28:41 Speaker 25: that you know we have been

00:28:42 Speaker 25: having. some discussion regarding surplus lands

00:28:43 Speaker 25: for for a number of years

00:28:46 Speaker 25: now. We've been progressing as staff

00:28:49 Speaker 25: to do investigations around two potentially

00:28:51 Speaker 25: surplus parcels. That would certainly be

00:28:52 Speaker 25: a future discussion that we would

00:28:55 Speaker 25: have with council around their fate.

00:28:57 Speaker 25: But but essentially, we've been evaluating

00:28:59 Speaker 25: them with respect to their housing

00:29:01 Speaker 25: potential and what we might need

00:29:02 Speaker 25: to do to prepare those lands

00:29:04 Speaker 25: to be readily available for future

00:29:06 Speaker 25: construction, either by the county in

00:29:09 Speaker 25: partnership or by. others through an

00:29:11 Speaker 25: offering. So we do have a

00:29:13 Speaker 25: smaller parcel in Markdale, and then

00:29:14 Speaker 25: a larger parcel of about twenty

00:29:16 Speaker 25: acres in Durham that we've been

00:29:18 Speaker 25: investigating over the past few years.

00:29:21 Speaker 25: Next slide, please. Okay, and just

00:29:23 Speaker 25: a little bit of

00:29:25 Speaker 25: a zoomed-in view here. So with

00:29:26 Speaker 25: respect to the work that we

00:29:29 Speaker 25: are requesting funds or budget consideration

00:29:31 Speaker 25: for, with respect to the

00:29:33 Speaker 25: Markdale site, that would include archaeological

00:29:35 Speaker 25: assessment, an environmental assessment, and filing

00:29:37 Speaker 25: of a record of site condition.

00:29:39 Speaker 25: and some site servicing work. We've

00:29:40 Speaker 25: been fortunate to be coordinating together

00:29:42 Speaker 25: with transportation services staff. There, there

00:29:43 Speaker 25: is some upgrade happening right now

00:29:45 Speaker 25: to Great Ridge Road, just abutting

00:29:47 Speaker 25: this parcel as well. So, as

00:29:49 Speaker 25: noted in the report, there are

00:29:51 Speaker 25: some elements of that site preparation

00:29:53 Speaker 25: that we think will fall

00:29:55 Speaker 25: under that project and that that

00:29:57 Speaker 25: cost umbrella. But these, this would

00:29:59 Speaker 25: respect. Sorry, this would identify those

00:30:01 Speaker 25: additional items that we may be

00:30:03 Speaker 25: looking to to really establish the

00:30:05 Speaker 25: principle for residential development on the

00:30:07 Speaker 25: lands. and remove some of the

00:30:10 Speaker 25: uncertainty. With respect to the Durham

00:30:12 Speaker 25: site, we would be looking there

00:30:13 Speaker 25: for some funding to support us

00:30:15 Speaker 25: in identifying stormwater management pond sizing.

00:30:17 Speaker 25: We do understand there will be

00:30:19 Speaker 25: a fairly large stormwater facility required

00:30:21 Speaker 25: on that land, and that's a

00:30:22 Speaker 25: bit of a challenge in terms

00:30:25 Speaker 25: of identifying the potential for those

00:30:26 Speaker 25: lands just in relation to the

00:30:28 Speaker 25: footprint that that facility might take

00:30:31 Speaker 25: up. So we do want to

00:30:33 Speaker 25: do a little bit of additional

00:30:34 Speaker 25: work to just identify. To to

00:30:36 Speaker 25: just identify how much of a

00:30:40 Speaker 25: footprint that will take to help

00:30:41 Speaker 25: us understand what remains for development

00:30:44 Speaker 25: potential, and then I think there's

00:30:47 Speaker 25: some conversation to happen as well

00:30:48 Speaker 25: regarding a stormwater outlet for that

00:30:51 Speaker 25: site as well. So certainly happy

00:30:53 Speaker 25: to address questions, but what I

00:30:55 Speaker 25: would say is that you know

00:30:57 Speaker 25: we we we have put forward

00:31:00 Speaker 25: these activities not just on our

00:31:00 Speaker 25: own assessment but with some input

00:31:04 Speaker 25: as well from the development sector.

00:31:06 Speaker 25: We did have an opportunity. to

00:31:07 Speaker 25: meet with some folks in August

00:31:10 Speaker 25: to have a discussion with four

00:31:12 Speaker 25: and nonprofit developers, as well as

00:31:15 Speaker 25: some of the housing operators locally,

00:31:16 Speaker 25: around kind of what what makes

00:31:18 Speaker 25: the site attractive, or what rules

00:31:20 Speaker 25: the site out for them to

00:31:21 Speaker 25: consider around partnership and offering. And

00:31:23 Speaker 25: so, really, it is this de-risking

00:31:26 Speaker 25: and then providing that security around

00:31:26 Speaker 25: potential that allows a project to

00:31:29 Speaker 25: go forward if we were to

00:31:31 Speaker 25: surplus them. But regardless of what

00:31:34 Speaker 25: we decide to do with respect.

00:31:36 Speaker 25: to those lands in future, we

00:31:37 Speaker 25: anticipate that this information will be

00:31:42 Speaker 25: good for us to have, and

00:31:45 Speaker 25: and would you know represent a

00:31:51 Speaker 26: good investment in those lands and

00:31:52 Speaker 26: furthering their potential for future use.

00:31:54 Speaker 26: So I'll I'll leave it there,

00:31:56 Speaker 26: but like I say, happy to

00:31:59 Speaker 26: address any questions. Okay, so do

00:32:00 Speaker 26: we have any questions? Look for

00:32:02 Speaker 26: hands. We'll go to Councillor Nielsen.

00:32:04 Speaker 26: Thank you very much, Ward Microsoft.

00:32:06 Speaker 26: Just two two questions. My first

00:32:07 Speaker 26: question regarding the Markdale site in

00:32:10 Speaker 26: within the report, the Durham site

00:32:13 Speaker 26: suggested the possibility of up to

00:32:15 Speaker 26: like 200 units because of the

00:32:17 Speaker 26: size of the property. Is there

00:32:19 Speaker 26: an estimate of what we could

00:32:20 Speaker 26: possibly obtain out of the Markdale

00:32:21 Speaker 26: site for one and two? Just

00:32:23 Speaker 26: in consideration of that estimate, Grey

00:32:24 Speaker 26: Highlands recently rezoned a property very

00:32:26 Speaker 26: near to this one with approval

00:32:31 Speaker 25: for up to a six-story building.

00:32:32 Speaker 25: So. I'm just wondering if that's

00:32:33 Speaker 25: taken into consideration in terms of

00:32:34 Speaker 25: the type of housing, the accommodations,

00:32:36 Speaker 25: and then maybe the number of

00:32:38 Speaker 25: units we could potentially get out

00:32:40 Speaker 25: of that site. Wonderful, through you,

00:32:42 Speaker 25: Madam Warden. So, you know, with

00:32:44 Speaker 25: respect to the number of units,

00:32:45 Speaker 25: I do think it will depend

00:32:47 Speaker 25: a little bit on the form

00:32:49 Speaker 25: of building that might be considered

00:32:50 Speaker 25: for the lands. You know, with

00:32:52 Speaker 25: consideration to that adjacent six-story building

00:32:55 Speaker 25: and the trail corridor kind of

00:32:56 Speaker 25: going in between them, I do

00:32:57 Speaker 25: think we anticipate that probably a

00:32:59 Speaker 25: tall multi-story. building tucked right up

00:33:02 Speaker 25: on the other side of the

00:33:03 Speaker 25: trail would not be so desirable.

00:33:04 Speaker 25: But perhaps there would be opportunity

00:33:07 Speaker 25: to to push something kind of

00:33:08 Speaker 25: along the lot line, or or

00:33:10 Speaker 25: look at even a stacked row

00:33:11 Speaker 25: house type of development along the

00:33:14 Speaker 25: side. When we we looked

00:33:16 Speaker 25: at it, you know, we looked

00:33:17 Speaker 25: through the lines of minimum development

00:33:19 Speaker 25: density based on our policy, and

00:33:26 Speaker 25: so that would be 25 units

00:33:28 Speaker 25: per net hectare. So for this

00:33:30 Speaker 25: site, I think it's around 18

00:33:32 Speaker 26: units minimum. But I would anticipate

00:33:33 Speaker 26: probably something. more in the range

00:33:37 Speaker 26: of forty to sixty would be

00:33:39 Speaker 26: realistic for viability on the site.

00:33:41 Speaker 26: Thank you for that answer. And

00:33:44 Speaker 26: through you, Ward Microsoft. So, second

00:33:46 Speaker 26: question on the Durham site: when

00:33:49 Speaker 26: calculating the stormwater pond, it's kind

00:33:51 Speaker 26: of the same conundrum—is where you

00:33:53 Speaker 26: have to presuppose the form in

00:33:55 Speaker 26: which it's going to take.

00:33:58 Speaker 26: So, just my understanding of the

00:33:59 Speaker 26: land use would be. if you're

00:34:03 Speaker 26: trying to do subdivision style, you

00:34:04 Speaker 26: might need a larger stormwater pond

00:34:06 Speaker 25: than if you did apartment style.

00:34:08 Speaker 25: So I'm just wondering, in terms

00:34:11 Speaker 25: of council county staff's estimates, when

00:34:13 Speaker 25: calculating the stormwater pond, the form

00:34:15 Speaker 25: style might take. Wonderful, and again,

00:34:17 Speaker 25: thank you, Madam Warden. I thank

00:34:18 Speaker 25: you so much for that question.

00:34:20 Speaker 25: Yes, so with the Durham site,

00:34:21 Speaker 25: there has been some prior

00:34:24 Speaker 25: investigation completed. So with respect to

00:34:26 Speaker 25: the Rockwood Terrace. builds that that

00:34:29 Speaker 25: parcel was all one piece to

00:34:30 Speaker 25: begin with, so we do have

00:34:34 Speaker 25: some prior hydrogeological work that's been

00:34:35 Speaker 25: done, including boreholes across the site.

00:34:37 Speaker 25: So we do have some understanding

00:34:39 Speaker 25: of the hydrogeological situation there. There

00:34:42 Speaker 25: was initially a proposal to place

00:34:44 Speaker 25: the drainage for Rockwood Terrace on

00:34:46 Speaker 25: this parcel. So we've seen a

00:34:48 Speaker 25: preliminary design, but there were some

00:34:51 Speaker 25: assumptions I think tied with that

00:34:53 Speaker 25: that might not hold true in

00:34:55 Speaker 25: development of just this parcel. They

00:34:57 Speaker 25: did provide. us with a volume

00:34:59 Speaker 25: estimate of what was expected to

00:35:02 Speaker 25: need to be held, and so

00:35:03 Speaker 25: it's really translating that volume estimate

00:35:04 Speaker 25: into a spatial estimate to understand

00:35:05 Speaker 25: the footprint piece. In terms of

00:35:08 Speaker 25: the form of development for those

00:35:09 Speaker 25: lands, you're right; it's it's a

00:35:11 Speaker 25: larger parcel. There's the potential maybe

00:35:13 Speaker 25: for multiple road frontages with that

00:35:14 Speaker 25: as well. So I I could

00:35:15 Speaker 25: see it having it could go

00:35:17 Speaker 25: a number of ways. We could

00:35:20 Speaker 25: see some traditional subdivision type of

00:35:22 Speaker 25: development in a portion of that

00:35:24 Speaker 25: lands. if they could have room

00:35:27 Speaker 25: for a multi-residential as well, so

00:35:28 Speaker 25: I think that one has some

00:35:29 Speaker 25: potential to do a few things

00:35:31 Speaker 25: with. We have talked about does

00:35:32 Speaker 25: it make sense for for us,

00:35:33 Speaker 25: for example, to forward a a

00:35:35 Speaker 27: lot plan to try and divide

00:35:40 Speaker 27: it out into parcels. I'm not

00:35:42 Speaker 27: sure that that that's necessarily the

00:35:44 Speaker 27: way that we would recommend going

00:35:45 Speaker 27: at this point, but I think

00:35:46 Speaker 27: the information around the storm pond

00:35:48 Speaker 27: will certainly inform us in terms

00:35:49 Speaker 27: of what we've got to work

00:35:51 Speaker 27: with, and we can reevaluate that.

00:35:56 Speaker 11: Okay, sir. Thank you, and certainly,

00:35:57 Speaker 11: as you mentioned, what we're looking

00:36:02 Speaker 11: at approving right now will add

00:36:04 Speaker 11: value to the property. It will

00:36:07 Speaker 11: give us that information so that

00:36:10 Speaker 11: we can do those further explorations

00:36:12 Speaker 11: down the road. Okay, we'll go

00:36:14 Speaker 11: to the deputy warden. Thank you,

00:36:16 Speaker 11: Madam Warden. Thank you, Liz, for

00:36:21 Speaker 11: the presentation, or the report rather.

00:36:22 Speaker 11: Why, on the derm site, are

00:36:23 Speaker 11: we not proposing to do an

00:36:25 Speaker 11: archaeological phase? one, at least, to

00:36:28 Speaker 11: because I would think that would

00:36:29 Speaker 25: be a risk to any developer

00:36:31 Speaker 25: as to what might or might

00:36:34 Speaker 25: not be there. Please try that

00:36:38 Speaker 25: again. The microphones are always tricky.

00:36:39 Speaker 25: Thank you so much for that

00:36:41 Speaker 25: question and for you. So in

00:36:43 Speaker 25: that case, the archaeological is already

00:36:49 Speaker 25: completed. So as part of that

00:36:52 Speaker 28: early work, the archaeological was completed

00:36:54 Speaker 28: for the whole site. There, there,

00:36:59 Speaker 23: that report found no, no. items

00:37:03 Speaker 23: of cultural heritage value, and they've

00:37:06 Speaker 23: recommended no further study for the

00:37:09 Speaker 23: site. So, thankfully, that one's off

00:37:11 Speaker 23: the list already. Check. Okay. Any

00:37:14 Speaker 23: further questions? Yes, we'll go to

00:37:16 Speaker 23: Councillor Eccles. Thank you, Madam Warden,

00:37:18 Speaker 23: through you to Liz. I think

00:37:22 Speaker 23: I'll probably state the obvious here

00:37:24 Speaker 23: that working with Councilman Nielsen, some

00:37:26 Speaker 23: of your concerns on the stormwater,

00:37:29 Speaker 23: that portion at the town of

00:37:31 Speaker 23: Durham, West Grey has a 10-year

00:37:32 Speaker 23: projection. There will be work being

00:37:38 Speaker 23: done on Sadler Street as you

00:37:40 Speaker 23: get closer to Highway 6. We

00:37:45 Speaker 23: have had some stormwater issues in

00:37:49 Speaker 23: the past there, so I think

00:37:50 Speaker 23: it is in collabouration with this

00:37:52 Speaker 23: type of project of what that's

00:37:53 Speaker 06: going to add to it. So

00:37:57 Speaker 06: that's being addressed. Certainly going forward.

00:38:00 Speaker 06: Yeah, it won't be tomorrow, but

00:38:03 Speaker 06: it will start in 2026. Okay,

00:38:05 Speaker 06: thank you. Any further questions?

00:38:08 Speaker 06: Okay, not seen any. Then I'll

00:38:10 Speaker 06: call the question. All those in

00:38:12 Speaker 06: favour? And that motion is carried.

00:38:15 Speaker 06: Thank you, Senior Planner. Okay. So

00:38:18 Speaker 06: next, we will move on to

00:38:20 Speaker 06: Item 7B. It's recommended that CAO.

00:38:21 Speaker 06: R C W fifteen twenty five

00:38:24 Speaker 06: regarding a court security contribution agreement

00:38:25 Speaker 06: and costing implications be received, and

00:38:28 Speaker 06: that staff be directed to fund

00:38:30 Speaker 06: the anticipated twenty twenty five budget

00:38:32 Speaker 06: shortfall from surplus realized in the

00:38:33 Speaker 06: overall corporate services budget, or if

00:38:35 Speaker 06: none exists, to be financed from

00:38:38 Speaker 06: the one time funding reserve, and

00:38:40 Speaker 06: that the warden and the clerk

00:38:43 Speaker 06: be authorised to sign the court

00:38:44 Speaker 06: security contribution agreement, and that staff.

00:38:45 Speaker 06: be directed to prepare a letter

00:38:47 Speaker 06: under the warden's signature to the

00:38:49 Speaker 06: Ministry of the Solicitor General and

00:38:54 Speaker 07: the Ministry of the Attorney General,

00:38:55 Speaker 07: advocating for additional funding to support

00:38:58 Speaker 07: municipalities adhering to the security directives

00:38:59 Speaker 07: required by the province. May I

00:39:01 Speaker 07: ask for a mover and a

00:39:03 Speaker 07: seconder? Moved by Councillor De Braine,

00:39:05 Speaker 07: seconded by Councillor Body. It's now

00:39:08 Speaker 07: on the floor for discussion. Welcome,

00:39:11 Speaker 07: CAO Schertzler. Thank you, Warden Matrissaus,

00:39:12 Speaker 07: and good morning, County Council. So

00:39:16 Speaker 07: the purpose of this report is

00:39:18 Speaker 07: to provide council with an update

00:39:20 Speaker 07: on the court security contribution agreement,

00:39:22 Speaker 07: as directed by county council back

00:39:25 Speaker 07: in July of 2024. This agreement

00:39:28 Speaker 07: was developed to address the funding

00:39:30 Speaker 07: gap between the City of Buenos

00:39:32 Speaker 07: Aires' actual court security costs, which

00:39:33 Speaker 07: are called the court security and

00:39:36 Speaker 07: prisoner transportation costs, and the provincial

00:39:37 Speaker 07: CSPT grant. So, what the difference

00:39:41 Speaker 07: between what the province funds and

00:39:43 Speaker 07: what the actual costs actually are.

00:39:46 Speaker 07: the goal of of the

00:39:48 Speaker 07: previous direction that was provided council

00:39:51 Speaker 07: back in July twenty twenty four

00:39:52 Speaker 07: was to ensure the city is

00:39:54 Speaker 07: not unfairly burdened with costs for

00:39:56 Speaker 07: a service that benefits the entire

00:39:59 Speaker 07: region. Under the Community Safety and

00:40:01 Speaker 07: Policing Act twenty eighteen, municipalities are

00:40:04 Speaker 07: mandated to provide court security and

00:40:07 Speaker 07: prisoner transportation services through their local

00:40:11 Speaker 07: police services. The CSBT grant from

00:40:12 Speaker 07: the province is intended to support

00:40:16 Speaker 07: these services, but it's based

00:40:18 Speaker 07: on. expenses from two years prior.

00:40:19 Speaker 07: Typically, it's calculated as a proportionate

00:40:22 Speaker 07: share of a fixed provincial funding

00:40:25 Speaker 07: pool, and this model often results

00:40:26 Speaker 07: in in underfunding, as it does

00:40:28 Speaker 07: not reflect current costs or or

00:40:30 Speaker 07: what's what's actually happening on the

00:40:32 Speaker 07: ground from a security cost perspective.

00:40:33 Speaker 07: The court security costs contribution agreement

00:40:36 Speaker 07: allows Grey County to fund the

00:40:39 Speaker 07: difference between own sounds net CSPT

00:40:40 Speaker 07: costs and the provincial grant. So

00:40:42 Speaker 07: some of the key terms in

00:40:45 Speaker 07: the agreement is that the city

00:40:46 Speaker 07: is to submit an annual financial

00:40:48 Speaker 07: report to the county by April

00:40:53 Speaker 07: 30th of each year. The county

00:40:58 Speaker 07: will verify that report and provide

00:40:59 Speaker 07: funding within 60 days of council

00:41:02 Speaker 07: direction. The agreement renews annually and

00:41:05 Speaker 07: can be terminated if a new

00:41:07 Speaker 07: agreement is enacted with the province.

00:41:10 Speaker 07: and And the city would be

00:41:13 Speaker 07: responsible for notifying the county of

00:41:17 Speaker 07: any overpayments. in In 2024. the

00:41:19 Speaker 07: anticipated CSPT overage was approximately $250,000,

00:41:21 Speaker 07: and that was what was included

00:41:23 Speaker 07: in the 2025 budget. The actual

00:41:27 Speaker 07: shortfall, as reported in the 2024

00:41:30 Speaker 07: annual financial report, is just under

00:41:32 Speaker 07: $370,000. So this results in a

00:41:35 Speaker 07: budget overage of just under $120,000

00:41:37 Speaker 07: for 2025. Staff recommend funding this

00:41:39 Speaker 07: this overage from any surplus that's

00:41:41 Speaker 07: realized in the corporate services budget.

00:41:43 Speaker 07: or the one-time funding reserve, if

00:41:46 Speaker 07: there's no surplus that's available. Based

00:41:47 Speaker 07: on, we've had obviously lots of

00:41:49 Speaker 07: discussions with with Onsound Police Services

00:41:52 Speaker 07: and city staff about about why

00:41:55 Speaker 07: there's some overages, and and I'll

00:41:58 Speaker 07: just note that even the 2024

00:42:00 Speaker 07: report we noted that there's fluctuations

00:42:04 Speaker 07: that can happen with court security

00:42:07 Speaker 07: costs, and and last year being

00:42:10 Speaker 07: one of those years. Based on

00:42:12 Speaker 07: Onsound Police Services, they noted the

00:42:14 Speaker 07: the rationale for some. of those

00:42:16 Speaker 07: cost increases last year was hybrid

00:42:18 Speaker 07: court operations still require in-person bail

00:42:20 Speaker 07: hearings. There was four new part-time

00:42:24 Speaker 07: special constables began training in December

00:42:27 Speaker 07: 24, increasing staffing costs. Prisoner transports

00:42:28 Speaker 07: increased by 265 percent from 2023

00:42:31 Speaker 07: to 2024. There was a

00:42:34 Speaker 07: court backlog from COVID that they

00:42:38 Speaker 07: were still dealing with, and has

00:42:40 Speaker 07: led to more cases and longer

00:42:43 Speaker 07: trials. And they noted there's been

00:42:44 Speaker 07: violent crime and homicide cases have

00:42:46 Speaker 07: increased, requiring dedicated security personnel. They

00:42:49 Speaker 07: also noted virtual hearings have

00:42:51 Speaker 07: declined, leading to more in-person appearances

00:42:54 Speaker 07: and higher resource demands. And bail

00:42:56 Speaker 07: hearings now require in-person attendance for

00:42:58 Speaker 07: consolidation purposes. In terms of, we

00:43:01 Speaker 07: also outline in the report that

00:43:03 Speaker 07: there's been new provincial security

00:43:07 Speaker 07: directives. So we wanted to flag

00:43:10 Speaker 07: this for council that on August

00:43:11 Speaker 07: 11, 2023. That on August

00:43:15 Speaker 07: 11, 2025, the Ministry of the

00:43:18 Speaker 07: Solicitor General implemented new security directives.

00:43:21 Speaker 07: Single public entrance for all court

00:43:23 Speaker 07: premises were part of those directives.

00:43:25 Speaker 07: Mandatory screening with metal detectors or

00:43:26 Speaker 07: wands, and that an armed officer

00:43:28 Speaker 07: be present on every floor of

00:43:31 Speaker 07: court facilities. Oceansound Police Services began

00:43:33 Speaker 07: implementing these measures at the the

00:43:34 Speaker 07: POA Court in the Gray County

00:43:36 Speaker 07: Administration Building. Increase which will result

00:43:38 Speaker 07: in increasing staffing and costs. We

00:43:40 Speaker 07: are clarifying with Solgen regarding these

00:43:43 Speaker 07: new directives. So there's still some

00:43:45 Speaker 07: further discussions that we have to

00:43:48 Speaker 07: have with Solgen regarding this, and

00:43:49 Speaker 07: and try to better understand what

00:43:52 Speaker 07: those costs will be with respect

00:43:54 Speaker 07: to these new security directives. So

00:43:57 Speaker 07: we'll be bringing back further information

00:43:59 Speaker 07: as part of the budget process

00:44:01 Speaker 07: once we've clarified that that information.

00:44:04 Speaker 07: We just wanted to flag that

00:44:06 Speaker 07: for this particular report. These new

00:44:07 Speaker 07: directives will likely result in further

00:44:10 Speaker 07: cost increases in 2026 and beyond.

00:44:12 Speaker 07: The impact will be greater if

00:44:15 Speaker 07: the directives do apply fully to

00:44:16 Speaker 07: provincial fence courts, in addition to

00:44:18 Speaker 07: superior and interior courts. So, as

00:44:20 Speaker 07: noted, staff will continue working with

00:44:24 Speaker 07: OSPS, OPP, and Solgen to assess

00:44:25 Speaker 07: the financial impact and to clarify

00:44:27 Speaker 07: these new directives, and will update

00:44:30 Speaker 07: council during the budget process once

00:44:32 Speaker 07: we have further information. Based on

00:44:34 Speaker 07: those new directives, however, staff. recommend

00:44:36 Speaker 07: that correspondence be sent to Solgen

00:44:38 Speaker 07: and the Ministry of Attorney General,

00:44:40 Speaker 07: requesting that all additional court security

00:44:42 Speaker 07: costs resulting from the new directives

00:44:44 Speaker 07: be fully funded by the province.

00:44:45 Speaker 07: So the recommendation is that this

00:44:47 Speaker 07: report be received, that staff be

00:44:50 Speaker 07: directed to fund the anticipated

00:44:52 Speaker 07: 2025 budget shortfall from surplus realized

00:44:54 Speaker 07: in the overall corporate services budget,

00:44:58 Speaker 21: or if none exists, be financed

00:44:59 Speaker 21: from one-time funding. The warden clerk

00:45:00 Speaker 21: be authorised to sign the court

00:45:05 Speaker 21: security contribution agreement. that was agreed

00:45:07 Speaker 21: to previously by council back last

00:45:10 Speaker 20: year, and that staff be directed

00:45:13 Speaker 20: to prepare a letter under the

00:45:16 Speaker 20: warden's signature to Solgen and Meg,

00:45:19 Speaker 20: advocating for additional provincial funding to

00:45:22 Speaker 20: support Mississauga's base on the new

00:45:25 Speaker 20: security directives. Happy to take any

00:45:29 Speaker 20: questions. Okay, thank you very much.

00:45:31 Speaker 20: We'll put it out then to

00:45:34 Speaker 20: County Council, being under Councillor Dobrin.

00:45:36 Speaker 20: Thank you, Warden, and through you

00:45:39 Speaker 20: to the CAO. CEO, I just

00:45:41 Speaker 20: wanted to say I absolutely support

00:45:43 Speaker 20: the recommendation, and with the AMO

00:45:46 Speaker 20: board meeting tomorrow and or tonight

00:45:49 Speaker 01: and tomorrow, we will be discussing

00:45:51 Speaker 01: this as well. And would encourage

00:45:53 Speaker 01: that letter be copied to AMO.

00:45:55 Speaker 01: I'm confident that my Roma Caucus

00:45:56 Speaker 01: colleague across the horseshoe, Councillor Nielsen,

00:45:57 Speaker 01: and I will raise this at

00:46:02 Speaker 01: our caucus as a concern. and

00:46:03 Speaker 01: the the figures that you are

00:46:05 Speaker 01: outlining are very helpful. So thank

00:46:07 Speaker 01: you for that. the The timing

00:46:08 Speaker 01: is perfect. Why not? And thank

00:46:14 Speaker 01: you to Councillor Dobrine and to

00:46:17 Speaker 01: Councillor Nielsen and Councillor McKay as

00:46:21 Speaker 01: well. When he's sitting with Good

00:46:23 Speaker 01: Roads to to share those voices

00:46:26 Speaker 01: and be part of that discussion.

00:46:27 Speaker 01: So thank you. That's very helpful.

00:46:29 Speaker 01: Any other questions? Okay. I don't

00:46:32 Speaker 01: see any further questions. Then I'll

00:46:34 Speaker 01: call the question. All those in

00:46:38 Speaker 01: favour? And that motion is carried.

00:46:40 Speaker 01: Thank you very much. See you.

00:46:42 Speaker 01: So next, we'll move on to

00:46:44 Speaker 01: item seven C. It's recommended that

00:46:49 Speaker 01: report LTCRCW nineteen twenty five capital

00:46:51 Speaker 01: funding programme and ministry survey be

00:46:53 Speaker 01: received, and that staff be directed

00:46:56 Speaker 01: to complete the ministry of long

00:46:58 Speaker 01: term care survey by September twenty

00:47:00 Speaker 01: ninth, twenty twenty five, indicating Gray

00:47:02 Speaker 01: County's readiness to potentially. develop the

00:47:04 Speaker 01: approved 62 long-term long-term care beds

00:47:07 Speaker 01: at Gray Gables, and that action

00:47:10 Speaker 01: be taken prior to County

00:47:12 Speaker 01: Council approval as per Section 26.6B

00:47:13 Speaker 01: of the procedural bylaw, and that

00:47:15 Speaker 01: staff be directed to undertake

00:47:17 Speaker 01: updated cost forecasts and any other

00:47:18 Speaker 01: applicable studies for the potential development

00:47:23 Speaker 01: of 128 bed new home at

00:47:25 Speaker 01: Gray Gables to be funded from

00:47:29 Speaker 01: the one-time funding reserve, and that

00:47:30 Speaker 29: staff be directed to bring forward

00:47:33 Speaker 29: a report before March twenty-six outlining

00:47:35 Speaker 29: the updated budget impacts and a

00:47:37 Speaker 29: draft development agreement for council's consideration.

00:47:39 Speaker 29: May I ask for a mover

00:47:42 Speaker 29: and a seconder? Moved by Councillor

00:47:46 Speaker 29: Nielsen, seconded by Councillor Carlson. It's

00:47:48 Speaker 29: now on the floor for discussion.

00:47:49 Speaker 29: Welcome, Director Cornell. Thank you very

00:47:52 Speaker 29: much, Warden Matrousovs. Good morning, County

00:47:54 Speaker 29: Council. As the warden has indicated,

00:47:57 Speaker 29: I'm in front of council today.

00:47:59 Speaker 29: to present this report to discuss

00:48:01 Speaker 29: to discuss the Ministry of Long

00:48:04 Speaker 29: Term Care's capital funding programme and

00:48:07 Speaker 29: their recent request for operators to

00:48:09 Speaker 29: complete a redevelopment readiness survey. And

00:48:11 Speaker 29: so I'm going to go over

00:48:14 Speaker 29: some of the background. There's been

00:48:17 Speaker 29: a lot of moving parts on

00:48:20 Speaker 29: this topic over the past number

00:48:23 Speaker 29: of years. So in 2019, Grey

00:48:25 Speaker 29: County submitted applications to the Ministry

00:48:28 Speaker 29: of Long Term Care for two

00:48:32 Speaker 29: major Long-term care for two major

00:48:33 Speaker 29: long-term care projects: the Rockwood Terrace

00:48:34 Speaker 29: redevelopment and expansion to a new

00:48:37 Speaker 29: 128-bed facility, and Grey Gables redevelopment

00:48:39 Speaker 29: from a 66-bed Class A facility

00:48:41 Speaker 29: to a new 128-bed home on

00:48:44 Speaker 29: the same property, with the existing

00:48:46 Speaker 29: building repurposed as an assisted living

00:48:48 Speaker 29: retirement home. Both applications were approved,

00:48:54 Speaker 29: and the province allocated 62

00:48:56 Speaker 29: new beds to Grey Gables. That's

00:48:59 Speaker 29: 128 total beds. minus the 66

00:49:02 Speaker 29: existing. Staff have confirmed that the

00:49:04 Speaker 29: new beds are intended to be

00:49:07 Speaker 29: part of a new standalone facility

00:49:10 Speaker 29: and not an extension of the

00:49:12 Speaker 29: current building. Due to the scale

00:49:15 Speaker 29: of both projects, council prioritized Rockwood

00:49:17 Speaker 29: Terrace, which is now under construction

00:49:20 Speaker 29: and represents Gray County's largest capital

00:49:22 Speaker 29: project to date at $96 million.

00:49:25 Speaker 29: On February 23, 2023, council deferred

00:49:27 Speaker 29: a motion regarding Graygate. Motion regarding

00:49:30 Speaker 29: Grey Gables pending completion of the

00:49:32 Speaker 29: Rockwood Terrace tender process, with construction

00:49:34 Speaker 29: now 25% complete. There's an opportunity

00:49:38 Speaker 29: to reassess the financial feasibility of

00:49:40 Speaker 29: the Grey Gables redevelopment. So, looking

00:49:42 Speaker 29: at the capital funding programme and

00:49:44 Speaker 29: specifically around the ministry survey, the

00:49:47 Speaker 29: new capital funding programme offers up

00:49:50 Speaker 29: to 85% funding for new beds

00:49:52 Speaker 29: on a maximum per bed cost

00:49:55 Speaker 29: of $436,000. I just want to

00:49:57 Speaker 29: note. that Rockwood Terrace is not

00:50:00 Speaker 29: eligible for reconsideration under this

00:50:02 Speaker 29: programme. That was part of our

00:50:06 Speaker 29: delegation at AMO, and we've spent

00:50:09 Speaker 29: some time confirming that that is

00:50:11 Speaker 29: the case. The province has committed

00:50:13 Speaker 29: to adding thirty thousand new long-term

00:50:16 Speaker 29: care beds, and this construction funding

00:50:20 Speaker 29: programme is designed to support that

00:50:22 Speaker 29: mandate. In late August, twenty twenty-five,

00:50:24 Speaker 29: the ministry released a survey

00:50:26 Speaker 29: to assess which operators with previous

00:50:30 Speaker 29: Operators with previously previously approved but

00:50:33 Speaker 29: unbuilt beds can proceed in a

00:50:35 Speaker 29: timely manner. The survey outlines the

00:50:37 Speaker 29: following development timeline. The survey response

00:50:40 Speaker 29: deadline is September 29th. Executed executed

00:50:44 Speaker 29: development agreement needs to be in

00:50:47 Speaker 29: place by March of 2026, with

00:50:49 Speaker 29: a construction start deadline no later

00:50:51 Speaker 29: than March of 2028. Gray Gables

00:50:54 Speaker 29: existing 66 Class A beds meet

00:50:57 Speaker 29: the current design standards and are.

00:51:02 Speaker 29: therefore not eligible for the redevelopment

00:51:04 Speaker 29: funding under the construction funding programme.

00:51:06 Speaker 29: The 62 new beds are eligible

00:51:08 Speaker 29: for the CFP funding. Funding

00:51:11 Speaker 29: for the existing beds will need

00:51:15 Speaker 29: to be sourced through alternate mechanisms.

00:51:19 Speaker 29: The ministry survey presents three options.

00:51:21 Speaker 29: Option one: proceed with development planning,

00:51:23 Speaker 29: which would mean the counties opting

00:51:25 Speaker 29: to maintain the 62 bed allocation,

00:51:28 Speaker 29: and council would be. directing staff

00:51:32 Speaker 29: to explore redevelopment options, so updating

00:51:34 Speaker 29: cost estimates, concept designs, site analysis,

00:51:38 Speaker 29: and initial funding may be sourced

00:51:39 Speaker 29: from long-term care reserves or surplus

00:51:42 Speaker 29: to do that work. And this

00:51:44 Speaker 29: positions Gray County to meet ministry

00:51:46 Speaker 29: timelines and secure construction funding, that

00:51:48 Speaker 29: the CFP funding. Option two is

00:51:50 Speaker 29: to withdraw from redevelopment. That. would

00:51:54 Speaker 29: mean releasing the 62 bed allocation

00:51:55 Speaker 29: back to the province, and it

00:51:58 Speaker 29: forfeits future funding and development opportunities

00:52:00 Speaker 29: at Grey Gables under this CFP

00:52:02 Speaker 29: programme. Option three is to defer

00:52:05 Speaker 29: the decision until the Rockwood completion.

00:52:07 Speaker 29: This would mean requesting the ministry

00:52:10 Speaker 29: to maintain the 62 bed allocation

00:52:12 Speaker 29: and provide further information in 2027.

00:52:16 Speaker 29: I do want to note for

00:52:19 Speaker 29: council the risk here is that

00:52:21 Speaker 29: the ministry may rescind. the allocation

00:52:25 Speaker 29: due to a lack of commitment?

00:52:27 Speaker 29: Staff recommend option one to proceed

00:52:28 Speaker 29: with the development planning and submit

00:52:33 Speaker 29: a survey response confirming Grey County's

00:52:36 Speaker 29: intent to execute a development agreement

00:52:38 Speaker 29: with the province by March of

00:52:40 Speaker 29: 2026. This agreement would support the

00:52:42 Speaker 29: potential construction of a new 128-bed

00:52:45 Speaker 29: home at Grey Gables with construction

00:52:47 Speaker 29: beginning no later than March 2028.

00:52:50 Speaker 29: To support this approach, staff. will

00:52:55 Speaker 29: engage external consultants to review existing

00:52:57 Speaker 29: project plans and perform any applicable

00:53:00 Speaker 29: studies and site analysis to update

00:53:04 Speaker 29: the cost estimates. Those cost estimates

00:53:05 Speaker 29: that we have in place are

00:53:08 Speaker 29: from 2018-2019. A revised cost estimate

00:53:10 Speaker 29: and draft development agreement will be

00:53:12 Speaker 29: brought to council for review and

00:53:14 Speaker 29: approval prior to submission to the

00:53:16 Speaker 29: ministry. And upon confirmation of provincial

00:53:20 Speaker 29: funding, staff will initiate. detailed planning

00:53:22 Speaker 29: and design phases throughout 2026, followed

00:53:25 Speaker 29: by a procurement process in 2027

00:53:28 Speaker 29: and groundbreaking in 2028. In looking

00:53:31 Speaker 29: at the financial and resource implications,

00:53:34 Speaker 29: want to flag a number of

00:53:37 Speaker 29: areas. Significant additional work will be

00:53:40 Speaker 29: required should council support the staff

00:53:42 Speaker 29: recommendation to bring forward updated cost

00:53:44 Speaker 29: estimates and to complete the applicable

00:53:48 Speaker 29: studies and site analysis. It's recommended

00:53:50 Speaker 29: that. any cost to complete this

00:53:55 Speaker 29: work be funded from one-time funding.

00:53:57 Speaker 29: In 2019, the estimated cost for

00:54:01 Speaker 29: the project was approximately $37 million,

00:54:05 Speaker 29: based on a per-bed cost of

00:54:08 Speaker 29: $280,000 from a recent comparable build.

00:54:11 Speaker 29: Rockwood Terrace, our new 128-bed facility

00:54:14 Speaker 29: and a direct comparator, was procured

00:54:18 Speaker 29: in 2023-2024 at a total project

00:54:21 Speaker 29: value of $96 million, equating to

00:54:26 Speaker 29: a per-bed cost. Equating to a

00:54:28 Speaker 29: per bed cost on the overall

00:54:30 Speaker 29: project costs of approximately $750,000 per

00:54:32 Speaker 29: bed, an almost 170% increase in

00:54:35 Speaker 29: price from the 2020-19 comparable.

00:54:37 Speaker 29: Under the new capital funding programme,

00:54:39 Speaker 29: the province may contribute up to

00:54:42 Speaker 29: $376,000 per bed, which is 85%

00:54:45 Speaker 29: of the grant cap. In addition,

00:54:49 Speaker 29: the county qualifies for up to

00:54:51 Speaker 29: $500,000 of additional. Thousand dollars of

00:54:54 Speaker 29: additional funding to support design costs,

00:54:56 Speaker 29: which is a new funding opportunity

00:54:59 Speaker 29: for municipal and not-for-profit operators. In

00:55:00 Speaker 29: that's a feature of this construction

00:55:03 Speaker 29: funding programme. Based on Rockwood, it's

00:55:05 Speaker 29: anticipated that costs will exceed the

00:55:06 Speaker 29: provincial cap, and so the county

00:55:09 Speaker 29: might anticipate a full provincial grant

00:55:12 Speaker 29: of approximately twenty-three million four hundred

00:55:14 Speaker 29: seventy-seven thousand. Based on the Rockwood

00:55:15 Speaker 29: cost of 96 million, this would

00:55:18 Speaker 29: leave a balance of approximately 72

00:55:19 Speaker 29: million 522 thousand 800. In percentage

00:55:22 Speaker 29: terms, based on these assumptions, the

00:55:24 Speaker 29: total provincial grant would be approximately

00:55:26 Speaker 29: 24% of the total cost. It's

00:55:28 Speaker 29: noted that these costs are high-level

00:55:30 Speaker 29: estimates based on Rockwood Terrace and

00:55:32 Speaker 29: do not account for inflationary pressures

00:55:35 Speaker 29: between the time of report and

00:55:37 Speaker 29: tender. One of the key next

00:55:39 Speaker 29: steps, if Council's Key next steps,

00:55:41 Speaker 29: if council supports the staff recommendation,

00:55:43 Speaker 29: is to refine these cost estimates.

00:55:46 Speaker 29: Assuming a similar approach to Rockwood

00:55:48 Speaker 29: was taken, and that the balance

00:55:50 Speaker 29: of funds was funded through debenture,

00:55:53 Speaker 29: this would add to the county's

00:55:54 Speaker 29: long-term debt. The amount of debt

00:55:57 Speaker 29: a municipality can carry is subject

00:56:00 Speaker 29: to maximum limits that are established

00:56:03 Speaker 29: by the province, and the annual

00:56:07 Speaker 29: payments to service debts may not

00:56:11 Speaker 29: exceed twenty-five percent of the municipality's

00:56:13 Speaker 29: own source revenue. This is known

00:56:14 Speaker 29: as the annual. repayment limit, or

00:56:17 Speaker 29: ARL. Gray County has established a

00:56:17 Speaker 29: policy to limit the ARL to

00:56:21 Speaker 29: 10% or less. Based on the

00:56:24 Speaker 29: above figures and other commitments, staff

00:56:25 Speaker 29: anticipate that there is capacity to

00:56:27 Speaker 29: assume this magnitude of debt within

00:56:29 Speaker 29: that 25% provincial limit, but that

00:56:32 Speaker 29: this would incur a period where

00:56:34 Speaker 29: the ARL to meet debt repayments

00:56:37 Speaker 29: exceeds the county target of

00:56:39 Speaker 29: 10% or less. In your package,

00:56:42 Speaker 29: there is. a concept plan drawing

00:56:45 Speaker 29: of the the proposed build that

00:56:50 Speaker 29: was included in the original proposal

00:56:53 Speaker 29: submitted to the Ministry of Long

00:56:55 Speaker 29: Term Care in 2019, and I

00:56:58 Speaker 29: know that was a lot. And

00:57:00 Speaker 29: I just like to summarise some

00:57:03 Speaker 29: of the key points. This report

00:57:06 Speaker 29: does not commit Bracken County to

00:57:09 Speaker 29: building at this time. What it

00:57:12 Speaker 29: does is position us to respond

00:57:14 Speaker 29: to the ministry's request for readiness

00:57:18 Speaker 29: and to begin the. necessary due

00:57:20 Speaker 29: diligence required to work on this

00:57:22 Speaker 29: project, the financial forecasting, the feasibility

00:57:26 Speaker 29: studies, planning work, all of that

00:57:27 Speaker 30: information to inform a future decision.

00:57:29 Speaker 30: So, if if council directs and

00:57:30 Speaker 30: approves the recommendation presented, the next

00:57:34 Speaker 30: steps for staff would be to

00:57:38 Speaker 30: undertake that work, to update those

00:57:40 Speaker 30: cost forecasts and any other applicable

00:57:42 Speaker 26: studies. prepare that a follow-up report

00:57:44 Speaker 26: that would come to County Council

00:57:45 Speaker 26: well before March of 2026. That

00:57:49 Speaker 26: would include that updated budget information

00:57:52 Speaker 26: and a draft development agreement for

00:57:54 Speaker 26: Council's consideration. And so that I

00:57:55 Speaker 26: will leave it at that and

00:57:56 Speaker 26: hand it back to you, Warna

00:57:58 Speaker 26: Matrosovs, for questions. Thank you very

00:58:00 Speaker 26: much, Director Cornell. So we'll put

00:58:02 Speaker 26: it out to Council Committee of

00:58:03 Speaker 26: the Whole members if they. Committee,

00:58:04 Speaker 26: the whole members, if they have

00:58:07 Speaker 26: any questions. Okay, we'll begin with

00:58:09 Speaker 26: Councillor Nielsen. Thank you very

00:58:11 Speaker 26: much, Ward Matrussoff, and I'll add

00:58:14 Speaker 26: more of a comment than a

00:58:17 Speaker 26: question. Yesterday, County Council had its

00:58:20 Speaker 26: Budget and Finance Committee meeting, and

00:58:23 Speaker 26: during that conversation, we talked about

00:58:25 Speaker 26: operational efficiencies. This report today shows

00:58:26 Speaker 26: an idea of how we can

00:58:28 Speaker 26: move forward with Great Gables, and

00:58:31 Speaker 26: I think there's two options before

00:58:34 Speaker 26: Great County. The conversation. about whether

00:58:35 Speaker 26: or not Gray County wants to

00:58:37 Speaker 26: have three is ended. The conversation

00:58:38 Speaker 26: about what type of home we're

00:58:41 Speaker 26: going to have at the Gray

00:58:42 Speaker 26: Gables site is what's before us.

00:58:45 Speaker 26: To move to a 128-bed facility

00:58:47 Speaker 26: is a significant difference in operational

00:58:48 Speaker 26: efficiencies that's presented by the data

00:58:49 Speaker 26: coming from the Manor, from Rockwood

00:58:56 Speaker 26: Terrace, and is before long-term care

00:58:59 Speaker 26: community management. The difference is the

00:59:02 Speaker 31: Gray Gables bed as a home

00:59:05 Speaker 31: as it stands now may not

00:59:08 Speaker 31: be. operationally efficient, but it is

00:59:10 Speaker 31: a desirable living facility for the

00:59:15 Speaker 29: residents of that site. And so,

00:59:17 Speaker 29: I don't think there's a wrong

00:59:20 Speaker 29: answer here for Gray County in

00:59:22 Speaker 29: terms of whether we move towards

00:59:24 Speaker 29: a new facility, but as to

00:59:26 Speaker 29: just a decision as to do

00:59:30 Speaker 29: we go for operational efficiencies or

00:59:32 Speaker 29: lifestyle for the residents that exist.

00:59:37 Speaker 29: And so, just more of a

00:59:40 Speaker 29: comment as to what we're doing

00:59:42 Speaker 29: here. Okay, thank you. Look around.

00:59:44 Speaker 29: We'll go to Council Carleton. Thank

00:59:47 Speaker 29: you, Warden. Just a question about

00:59:55 Speaker 32: what the waitlist status is there.

00:59:57 Speaker 32: What's the potential for filling that

01:00:01 Speaker 32: home if we go ahead with

01:00:02 Speaker 32: the build there? Thank you for

01:00:04 Speaker 32: that question, and through you, Madam

01:00:08 Speaker 32: Chair, I did have those waitlist

01:00:11 Speaker 32: numbers handy for the Town of

01:00:14 Speaker 32: the Mountains seniors. The Town of

01:00:19 Speaker 32: Blue Mountain Senior's Fair last week,

01:00:21 Speaker 32: but that was so last week.

01:00:23 Speaker 32: But I can confidently say that

01:00:26 Speaker 32: the wait lists are lengthy; that

01:00:30 Speaker 32: people are waiting three months to

01:00:33 Speaker 32: more than a year to be

01:00:38 Speaker 32: able to move into one of

01:00:42 Speaker 32: the Grey County homes. And I

01:00:44 Speaker 32: don't foresee an issue in terms

01:00:47 Speaker 32: of occupancy at 128 beds. Okay,

01:00:49 Speaker 32: thank you, and we'll go to

01:00:51 Speaker 32: Councillor Dobrin. Thank you, Warden, and

01:00:51 Speaker 32: through you. Thank you for the

01:00:54 Speaker 32: report. It was very easy to

01:00:56 Speaker 32: follow. Guess my question, just for

01:00:59 Speaker 32: myself, or for anyone listening, is

01:01:03 Speaker 32: that we're prohibited from adding on

01:01:05 Speaker 32: to the existing 66 beds to

01:01:10 Speaker 32: make it 128 beds. We can

01:01:19 Speaker 29: add on 128 a new new

01:01:21 Speaker 29: facility and create an assisted living

01:01:25 Speaker 29: facility. But there's no funding for