Grey County County Council Meeting Transcript — January 22, 2026

00:00:12 Speaker 01: Good morning, County Council. To all

00:00:13 Speaker 01: those who are virtual today, as

00:00:16 Speaker 01: well as in the chamber, we

00:00:17 Speaker 01: are glad you are safe wherever

00:00:18 Speaker 01: you are. And at this point

00:00:20 Speaker 01: in time, I would like to

00:00:21 Speaker 01: call to order this January twenty

00:00:22 Speaker 01: second, twenty twenty six County Council

00:00:26 Speaker 01: meeting. And if you are able,

00:00:28 Speaker 01: please rise and join us in

00:00:29 Speaker 01: the singing of. "O Canada." O

00:00:40 Speaker 02: Canada, our home and native land,

00:00:47 Speaker 02: true patriot love in all of

00:00:52 Speaker 03: us command. With glowing hearts, we

00:00:58 Speaker 03: see. thee rise, the true North,

00:01:01 Speaker 03: strong and free, from far and

00:01:06 Speaker 03: wide. O Canada, we stand on

00:01:10 Speaker 03: guard for thee. God keep our

00:01:17 Speaker 03: land, glorious and free. O Canada,

00:01:25 Speaker 03: we stand on guard. for thee,

00:01:32 Speaker 03: O Canada. We stand on guard

00:01:38 Speaker 03: for thee. Thank you. At this

00:01:49 Speaker 03: point in time, Madam Clerk, could

00:01:50 Speaker 03: you please conduct the roll call?

00:02:00 Speaker 04: Councillor Mackie, present. Councillor McKay,

00:02:03 Speaker 04: present. Councillor Carleton, Councillor

00:02:06 Speaker 04: Pringle, Councillor McQueen is on route

00:02:08 Speaker 04: this morning. Councillor Nielsen, excited to

00:02:10 Speaker 04: be here. Councillor Patterson, present.

00:02:14 Speaker 04: Councillor Dickert, present. Councillor Kentner,

00:02:18 Speaker 04: Councillor Keaveny, Councillor Body is on

00:02:21 Speaker 04: his way as well. Councillor Greg,

00:02:24 Speaker 04: Councillor Milne, Councillor Dobrine, Gordon

00:02:35 Speaker 04: Matrosovs, Councillor Bourignon, Councillor

00:02:40 Speaker 04: Echoes, Councillor Hutchinson. We have all

00:02:43 Speaker 04: members and attendants this morning, with

00:02:45 Speaker 04: the exception of Councillors Body and

00:02:50 Speaker 01: McQueen. Thank you very much, Madam

00:02:52 Speaker 01: Clerk, and we'll. Very much, Madam

00:02:53 Speaker 01: Clerk, and will will be advised

00:02:56 Speaker 01: when those county council members join

00:02:58 Speaker 01: us as they are able. So

00:03:01 Speaker 01: let us begin by acknowledging with

00:03:02 Speaker 01: respect that we are gathered on

00:03:05 Speaker 01: the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe

00:03:06 Speaker 01: Nation, the people known as the

00:03:09 Speaker 01: Three Fires, known as Ojibwe, Odawa,

00:03:12 Speaker 01: and Potawatomi nations. We give thanks

00:03:14 Speaker 01: to the Chippewas of Saugeen and

00:03:16 Speaker 01: the Chippewas of Nawash, traditional keepers

00:03:18 Speaker 01: of these lands and waters since

00:03:21 Speaker 01: time immemorial. In our south. lies

00:03:23 Speaker 01: the traditional territories of the Six

00:03:24 Speaker 01: Nations of the Grand River and

00:03:27 Speaker 01: the Haudenosaunee. We are dedicated to

00:03:29 Speaker 01: Indigenous history and culture, and committed

00:03:31 Speaker 01: to moving forward in the spirit

00:03:34 Speaker 01: of truth, reconciliation, and friendship with

00:03:42 Speaker 01: all First Nation, Métis, and Inuit

00:03:43 Speaker 01: people. And with that, we will

00:03:44 Speaker 01: move on to item five, which

00:03:46 Speaker 01: is our adoption of the minutes.

00:03:47 Speaker 01: It's recommended that the minutes of

00:03:48 Speaker 01: the County Council meeting and the

00:03:50 Speaker 01: committee, the whole meeting. dated January

00:03:52 Speaker 01: eighth, twenty twenty six, and the

00:03:55 Speaker 01: resolutions contained therein be adopted as

00:03:56 Speaker 01: presented. May I ask for a

00:03:58 Speaker 01: mover and a seconder? Moved by

00:04:02 Speaker 01: Councillor Delbrain, seconded by Councillor Mackie.

00:04:03 Speaker 01: Any discussion? Seeing no hands online

00:04:05 Speaker 01: or here in the chamber. All

00:04:08 Speaker 01: those in favor? And that motion

00:04:10 Speaker 01: is carried. Thank you. Next, we

00:04:13 Speaker 01: have the long term committee of

00:04:17 Speaker 01: management minutes dated January fifteenth, twenty

00:04:19 Speaker 01: twenty six, and we have. Madam

00:04:20 Speaker 01: Clerk. Do you wish for me

00:04:26 Speaker 01: to read that out? Okay. Okay.

00:04:28 Speaker 01: So it is recommended that the

00:04:31 Speaker 01: Long Term Care Committee, Committee of

00:04:34 Speaker 01: Management meeting minutes dated January twenty,

00:04:36 Speaker 01: January fifteenth, twenty twenty six, be

00:04:38 Speaker 01: adopted as presented, with the resolutions

00:04:40 Speaker 01: that have been published and contained

00:04:41 Speaker 01: herein in our agenda. May I

00:04:43 Speaker 01: ask for a mover and a

00:04:45 Speaker 01: seconder? Moved by Councillor Carleton, seconded

00:04:46 Speaker 01: by Councillor Kibany. It's now on

00:04:48 Speaker 01: the floor. So I. welcome. Good

00:04:55 Speaker 01: morning, Director Cornell. The floor is

00:04:59 Speaker 05: yours. Thank you, Madam Warden, and

00:05:01 Speaker 05: good snowy morning, County Council. I'm

00:05:04 Speaker 05: here just to provide a summary

00:05:07 Speaker 05: and highlight of key discussions and

00:05:08 Speaker 05: decisions from the January 21st meeting

00:05:10 Speaker 05: of the Long Term Care Committee

00:05:14 Speaker 05: of Management. So the key highlights:

00:05:15 Speaker 05: the the leadership elections were held

00:05:19 Speaker 05: at the beginning of the. meeting,

00:05:22 Speaker 05: and congratulations and with gratitude, thank

00:05:26 Speaker 05: you to Councillor Mackie, who is

00:05:29 Speaker 05: chair, and Vice Chair Councillor Patterson.

00:05:31 Speaker 05: The director's update was

00:05:34 Speaker 05: provided, and there was an overview

00:05:36 Speaker 05: of additional ministry funding announcements, particularly

00:05:40 Speaker 05: around attracting and retaining nurses, updates

00:05:44 Speaker 05: on education programs, reporting requirements, and

00:05:45 Speaker 05: cultural placement model changes in legislation.

00:05:47 Speaker 05: had a little discussion about universal

00:05:49 Speaker 05: masking that was implemented in our

00:05:51 Speaker 05: three homes on December nineteenth for

00:05:56 Speaker 05: staff and residents as an added

00:05:58 Speaker 05: precaution, and I would encourage everyone

00:06:00 Speaker 05: to click on the link in

00:06:03 Speaker 05: the in the report around our

00:06:04 Speaker 05: Prep LTC student placement program, the

00:06:08 Speaker 05: Colorit Coach program, which was featured

00:06:10 Speaker 05: in Ontario CLRI's annual report. The

00:06:13 Speaker 05: operational report was for the period

00:06:15 Speaker 05: of October fifteenth. Of October 15th

00:06:17 Speaker 05: to December 14th, highlighting that all

00:06:21 Speaker 05: three of our homes have transitioned

00:06:23 Speaker 05: to inter rye assessment system. Vaccine

00:06:26 Speaker 05: roll out was completed for staff

00:06:30 Speaker 05: and residents. A good discussion and

00:06:33 Speaker 05: overview around compliance orders and inspection

00:06:36 Speaker 05: findings. Karen Kraus gave an update

00:06:38 Speaker 05: on the operational readiness around the

00:06:40 Speaker 05: redevelopment of Rockwood Terrace, and that

00:06:44 Speaker 05: is going to become a regular

00:06:47 Speaker 05: update. as part of the operational

00:06:49 Speaker 05: report, and we had a good.

00:06:51 Speaker 05: I always encourage us to share

00:06:55 Speaker 05: a colorist story, and so there

00:06:57 Speaker 05: was a story around men's programming

00:07:00 Speaker 05: at Lee Manor, and then there

00:07:04 Speaker 05: was a verbal update that Lee

00:07:08 Speaker 05: Manor has been chosen as one

00:07:12 Speaker 05: of fifteen homes province wide to

00:07:14 Speaker 05: implement a. dementia care program based

00:07:17 Speaker 05: on the Color Your Way philosophy,

00:07:21 Speaker 05: and so we are working away

00:07:22 Speaker 05: on getting that going. The final

00:07:27 Speaker 05: report was around planning for Rockwood

00:07:28 Speaker 05: Terrace and Gray Gables. Committee approved

00:07:32 Speaker 05: a $198,000 budget from the one-time

00:07:34 Speaker 05: reserve to develop a comprehensive background

00:07:37 Speaker 05: report. This report will inform future

00:07:40 Speaker 05: decisions on the current Rockwood Terrace

00:07:41 Speaker 05: site post-transition. and what opportunities or

00:07:44 Speaker 05: options there are around additional beds

00:07:47 Speaker 05: at Grey Gables to meet growing

00:07:50 Speaker 05: demand. Collier's project leaders engaged via

00:07:52 Speaker 05: a single-source agreement to lead this

00:07:54 Speaker 05: work, and the final report would

00:07:55 Speaker 05: be expected fall of 2026, and

00:07:57 Speaker 05: will be presented to Committee of

00:08:01 Speaker 05: the Whole for decision making. And

00:08:04 Speaker 05: there was a closed session discussing

00:08:05 Speaker 01: staff matters related to personal information,

00:08:06 Speaker 01: and if there's questions about that,

00:08:12 Speaker 01: we'll of course need to go

00:08:13 Speaker 01: into closed session. Okay. So, are

00:08:16 Speaker 01: there any questions for Director Cornell

00:08:20 Speaker 01: at this point in time, Councillor

00:08:20 Speaker 01: Greig? I guess I'd just like

00:08:24 Speaker 06: to learn a little bit more

00:08:28 Speaker 06: about the scope of the project.

00:08:32 Speaker 06: I'm always hesitant against to support

00:08:33 Speaker 06: sole sourcing. I think there's a

00:08:35 Speaker 06: snowball's chance in the center

00:08:38 Speaker 06: of the planet. that we are

00:08:41 Speaker 06: going to redevelop Rockwood Terrace in

00:08:43 Speaker 06: anything resembling long-term care again. So,

00:08:44 Speaker 06: could you explain to me why

00:08:47 Speaker 06: that seems to be part of

00:08:48 Speaker 06: the discussion? We should be probably

00:08:50 Speaker 06: just walking away from that, and

00:08:53 Speaker 06: we'll find alternative adaptive reuses for

00:08:55 Speaker 06: the property, as opposed to it

00:08:57 Speaker 06: seems like it's going to remain

00:08:59 Speaker 06: in the discussion for long-term care.

00:09:01 Speaker 06: But I think actually, there's not

00:09:02 Speaker 06: a chance that's going to be

00:09:03 Speaker 06: an outcome. Doesn't matter what the

00:09:09 Speaker 06: report says. We won't be having

00:09:14 Speaker 06: two long-term care homes in Durham.

00:09:16 Speaker 06: Secondly, would this report consider the

00:09:19 Speaker 06: current subsidy cost per bed that

00:09:25 Speaker 06: the county currently has for long-term

00:09:27 Speaker 06: care, and essentially create a pathway

00:09:30 Speaker 06: to demonstrating that we can lower

00:09:32 Speaker 06: that cost per bed versus the

00:09:34 Speaker 06: continual escalation of that cost per

00:09:40 Speaker 06: bed? what kind of information can

00:09:42 Speaker 06: we get back that would consider

00:09:44 Speaker 05: that important component? Thank you. And

00:09:46 Speaker 05: through you, Madam Warden, I'll start,

00:09:49 Speaker 05: and then I'll hand it over

00:09:53 Speaker 05: to Deputy CIO Lovely. So, with

00:09:55 Speaker 05: regards to your first question around

00:09:56 Speaker 05: long term, the existing Rockwood site

00:10:00 Speaker 05: being considered for long term care,

00:10:01 Speaker 05: why is that part of the

00:10:04 Speaker 05: discussion? And I, I'll. And I'll

00:10:07 Speaker 05: give my thoughts on that, and

00:10:09 Speaker 05: then we'll see. Nile has other

00:10:13 Speaker 05: things to add to it. The

00:10:14 Speaker 05: Ministry of Long Term Care, if

00:10:16 Speaker 05: you recall, sent out two surveys,

00:10:18 Speaker 05: and so the Ministry of Long

00:10:19 Speaker 05: Term Care is kind of driving

00:10:21 Speaker 05: that discussion. And so it would

00:10:22 Speaker 05: be helpful for us to be

00:10:24 Speaker 05: able to reflect one way or

00:10:25 Speaker 05: the other whether it's a viable

00:10:30 Speaker 05: option or not a viable option.

00:10:32 Speaker 05: And so the scope of work

00:10:35 Speaker 05: would help provide evidence. to that,

00:10:37 Speaker 05: to what to whatever we conclusion

00:10:41 Speaker 05: we come to. The second question,

00:10:43 Speaker 05: I'm I'm not sure if that's

00:10:46 Speaker 05: part of the scope. Although proformas

00:10:48 Speaker 05: have historically been part of the

00:10:50 Speaker 05: scope of this type of

00:10:56 Speaker 05: consultation work in determining what are

00:10:57 Speaker 05: the opportunities for the use of

00:10:59 Speaker 05: space or buildings. Historically, consideration on

00:11:01 Speaker 05: whether we can build it. but

00:11:04 Speaker 05: then can we operate it, has

00:11:08 Speaker 05: always been part of those discussions.

00:11:10 Speaker 07: But I'll pass it over to

00:11:13 Speaker 07: Niall, if that's. Thank you, Madam

00:11:15 Speaker 07: Warden. Good morning, good morning, members

00:11:17 Speaker 07: of council. Just to build on

00:11:19 Speaker 07: Jen's Jen's answer, the scope of

00:11:20 Speaker 07: work at Rockwood, the existing Rockwood,

00:11:21 Speaker 07: is well beyond its potential future

00:11:24 Speaker 07: use as a long-term care home.

00:11:25 Speaker 07: So we're going to be looking

00:11:27 Speaker 07: at its future use, potentially for

00:11:30 Speaker 07: rental space, its future use for

00:11:32 Speaker 07: potential. Its future use for potentially

00:11:35 Speaker 07: for affordable housing units or for

00:11:36 Speaker 07: housing units. Full stop. We're looking

00:11:38 Speaker 07: at its potential use for its

00:11:39 Speaker 07: potential value as an asset that

00:11:40 Speaker 07: could be marketed on the open

00:11:44 Speaker 07: market, either as a lease property

00:11:45 Speaker 07: or for sale. So it's a

00:11:46 Speaker 07: valuation of what we could expect

00:11:48 Speaker 07: if if county decided to to

00:11:49 Speaker 07: get out of that business. And

00:11:51 Speaker 07: just to build on the the

00:11:53 Speaker 07: future use case in respect of

00:11:55 Speaker 07: long term care, when the ministry

00:11:57 Speaker 07: gave us the survey a

00:11:59 Speaker 07: few months ago, they certainly introduced

00:12:01 Speaker 07: the notion that they. Introduce the

00:12:03 Speaker 07: notion that they may want to

00:12:04 Speaker 07: activate it as a long-term care

00:12:06 Speaker 07: facility themselves without our involvement through

00:12:09 Speaker 07: perhaps a private operator, and so

00:12:11 Speaker 07: again, it's to provide the information

00:12:12 Speaker 07: if the ministry comes back with

00:12:13 Speaker 07: requests for further details in regards

00:12:15 Speaker 07: to in regards to Rockwood Terrace.

00:12:18 Speaker 07: Certainly, one of the pieces of

00:12:20 Speaker 07: work that we'd be expecting to

00:12:22 Speaker 07: get back from Colliers is some

00:12:24 Speaker 07: pro forma information. Obviously, that will

00:12:26 Speaker 07: be subject to significant further work

00:12:29 Speaker 07: if council decides to go down

00:12:30 Speaker 07: any particular course of. course of

00:12:33 Speaker 07: action, but it would look at

00:12:34 Speaker 07: the the cost of various different

00:12:36 Speaker 07: operating scenarios at Grey Gables. It

00:12:37 Speaker 07: would also look at the potential

00:12:39 Speaker 07: cost scenarios of any operations that

00:12:42 Speaker 07: Grey County would be involved in

00:12:45 Speaker 07: at Rockwood Terrace, be that long

00:12:47 Speaker 07: term care or an alternative use.

00:12:49 Speaker 07: So we've kept the scope very

00:12:51 Speaker 07: broad for Rockwood Terrace, everything from

00:12:53 Speaker 07: us not owning that site at

00:12:54 Speaker 07: all to us operating something on

00:12:56 Speaker 07: that site and pretty much everything

00:12:59 Speaker 07: in between, so that if if

00:13:00 Speaker 07: and when council wants to have

00:13:02 Speaker 07: conversations around the future of that

00:13:03 Speaker 07: side, we've got the information. And

00:13:05 Speaker 07: for Grey Gables, again, keeping the

00:13:07 Speaker 07: scope very, very open, so that

00:13:14 Speaker 06: we're able to respond when the

00:13:16 Speaker 06: ministry comes back, and also able

00:13:19 Speaker 06: to bring back information as part

00:13:21 Speaker 06: of the twenty twenty seven budget

00:13:23 Speaker 06: forecast for council to consider at

00:13:25 Speaker 06: that time. And that last sentence

00:13:28 Speaker 06: kind of hit upon my follow

00:13:30 Speaker 06: up. Why is this? so important

00:13:34 Speaker 06: now? We just passed the bylaw

00:13:37 Speaker 06: approving the budget at the last

00:13:38 Speaker 06: meeting. I hate drawing upon one-time

00:13:41 Speaker 06: funding reserve in instances like this

00:13:46 Speaker 06: just because it's there. Whereas, I'm

00:13:49 Speaker 06: just I wonder where was this

00:13:53 Speaker 06: item six weeks ago when we

00:13:55 Speaker 06: were talking budget for 2026? It

00:13:57 Speaker 06: was not part of the discussion.

00:13:58 Speaker 06: So I get the the the

00:14:02 Speaker 06: province's demands. It's very evident. Demands—it's

00:14:04 Speaker 06: very evident in the reports. I

00:14:06 Speaker 06: tend to think of Councillor Milne's

00:14:08 Speaker 06: comments about the province taking those

00:14:11 Speaker 06: beds back, and I tend to

00:14:12 Speaker 06: agree with them. I don't think

00:14:14 Speaker 07: that's going to occur. Why is

00:14:18 Speaker 07: this so time critical to do

00:14:20 Speaker 07: it now, as opposed to us

00:14:21 Speaker 07: having a discussion about what makes

00:14:23 Speaker 07: it into the 2027 budget, as

00:14:26 Speaker 07: opposed to drawing it from one-time

00:14:27 Speaker 07: funding reserve because we have it.

00:14:29 Speaker 07: So through you, Madam Warden, good

00:14:32 Speaker 07: questions, and and the fact that

00:14:34 Speaker 07: we couldn't get this in front

00:14:36 Speaker 07: of the budget for 2026 is

00:14:38 Speaker 07: regrettable. We had those surveys, if

00:14:40 Speaker 07: you remember, when we were very

00:14:42 Speaker 07: deep into the 2026 budget planning

00:14:43 Speaker 07: process, weren't able to advance that

00:14:46 Speaker 07: conversation and get that number ready

00:14:48 Speaker 07: for the budget. We are we're

00:14:49 Speaker 07: respecting council's direction to have this

00:14:51 Speaker 07: information in advance of the 2027

00:14:52 Speaker 07: budget, and that process will be

00:14:54 Speaker 07: seeing its first iterations in front

00:14:55 Speaker 07: of council probably. in in May

00:14:56 Speaker 07: and early summer, and so this

00:14:57 Speaker 07: is about a seven month body

00:14:59 Speaker 07: of work. We've been informed, and

00:15:00 Speaker 07: so we're going to be running

00:15:02 Speaker 07: quite hard to get this information

00:15:03 Speaker 07: in front of the budget. So,

00:15:05 Speaker 07: there's one of the pieces of

00:15:06 Speaker 07: pressure. The second piece of pressure,

00:15:08 Speaker 07: at risk of giving away some

00:15:09 Speaker 07: of Randy's updates from Roma a

00:15:10 Speaker 07: little later, is we had good

00:15:11 Speaker 07: conversation with the Ministry of Long

00:15:13 Speaker 07: Term Care when we were at

00:15:14 Speaker 07: Roma in the last week or

00:15:15 Speaker 07: so, and they did provide some

00:15:16 Speaker 07: indication they are going to be

00:15:18 Speaker 07: responding to those surveys. We don't

00:15:20 Speaker 07: know what that response will look

00:15:23 Speaker 07: like at this point in time,

00:15:24 Speaker 07: but they are going to be

00:15:25 Speaker 07: responding to those surveys, and they

00:15:27 Speaker 07: are looking to activate new beds

00:15:29 Speaker 07: across the province as quickly as

00:15:30 Speaker 07: possible. So, we're anticipating this will

00:15:32 Speaker 07: become a very current conversation through

00:15:33 Speaker 07: 2026, and as I say, the

00:15:35 Speaker 07: timeline to get this in front

00:15:37 Speaker 07: of you for 2027 would necessitate

00:15:41 Speaker 07: some fairly early action right now.

00:15:44 Speaker 07: So, yes, I would quite agree.

00:15:45 Speaker 07: It's regrettable we didn't have the

00:15:46 Speaker 07: numbers in front of you in

00:15:52 Speaker 07: term in time for budget 2026,

00:15:56 Speaker 07: but that's just simply a factor

00:15:57 Speaker 07: of of timelines. Okay, thank you.

00:15:59 Speaker 07: Next, we'll go to the. Deputy

00:16:00 Speaker 07: Warden. Thank you, Madam Warden, and

00:16:04 Speaker 08: thank you very much for the

00:16:06 Speaker 08: report or the minutes, rather. There.

00:16:07 Speaker 08: If I'm selling my farm, I

00:16:09 Speaker 08: don't engage a company and pay

00:16:11 Speaker 08: them to tell me what my

00:16:12 Speaker 08: farm is worth or what it

00:16:14 Speaker 08: could be worth. I engage a

00:16:17 Speaker 08: reputable realtor to determine that on

00:16:19 Speaker 08: their own, and then they will

00:16:20 Speaker 08: tell me what the property is

00:16:27 Speaker 08: worth. And generally, there's no cost.

00:16:29 Speaker 08: That's part of built into their

00:16:34 Speaker 08: commission. So I, I don't understand

00:16:39 Speaker 08: why we're paying somebody, to do

00:16:40 Speaker 08: that work when normally that is

00:16:43 Speaker 08: their expense and it's taken out

00:16:45 Speaker 08: of their commission. The other thing

00:16:47 Speaker 08: is, if the ministry is so

00:16:50 Speaker 08: hell bent, on on on developing

00:16:53 Speaker 08: new beds, why didn't we, at

00:16:57 Speaker 08: Rockwood, why didn't they provide the

00:16:59 Speaker 08: funding for us to redevelop the

00:17:02 Speaker 08: current Rockwood in the first place,

00:17:04 Speaker 08: rather than take the decision and

00:17:09 Speaker 08: chew up a large part of

00:17:12 Speaker 08: our repayment capacity to build a

00:17:16 Speaker 08: new facility? I just do not.

00:17:18 Speaker 08: I I understand the need, the

00:17:21 Speaker 08: the desperate need almost for new

00:17:22 Speaker 08: long-term beds across the province, but

00:17:24 Speaker 08: I think we're being dragged into

00:17:26 Speaker 08: a huge. expense potentially for Grey

00:17:31 Speaker 08: County to satisfy somebody's political promises

00:17:33 Speaker 05: writ large across the province. So

00:17:35 Speaker 05: I have some concerns. I have

00:17:37 Speaker 05: some questions. More questions than that,

00:17:39 Speaker 05: but I'll leave it at that

00:17:43 Speaker 05: for now. I just do not

00:17:47 Speaker 05: understand, and I fear for where

00:17:52 Speaker 05: we're headed. I don't think we

00:17:55 Speaker 05: need to back away. I think

00:17:58 Speaker 05: I do. They they. thank you

00:18:02 Speaker 05: for those good questions, and I'll

00:18:05 Speaker 05: start through you, Madam Warden. So,

00:18:06 Speaker 05: first question around the need for

00:18:07 Speaker 05: going outside for external support. There's

00:18:10 Speaker 05: a there are many many options

00:18:14 Speaker 05: for the existing building, for example,

00:18:16 Speaker 05: and because we have such an

00:18:17 Speaker 05: engaged county council and population, I

00:18:19 Speaker 05: I worry that I. wouldn't be

00:18:22 Speaker 05: able on my own to be

00:18:24 Speaker 05: able to answer all of the

00:18:27 Speaker 05: questions related to the varying options

00:18:28 Speaker 05: with good confidence and and lots

00:18:30 Speaker 05: of evidence. So having an external

00:18:31 Speaker 05: partner where this is the work

00:18:34 Speaker 05: that they do. So one option

00:18:37 Speaker 05: is assisted living, and what does

00:18:39 Speaker 05: that look like? Another option is

00:18:41 Speaker 05: a private public partnership, and what

00:18:44 Speaker 05: does that look like? I know

00:18:47 Speaker 05: nothing of those things. Those are

00:18:49 Speaker 05: just two examples off the top

00:18:51 Speaker 05: of my head in terms. of

00:18:56 Speaker 05: ensuring that this council has as

00:19:00 Speaker 05: much information as possible to make

00:19:02 Speaker 05: a decision that makes the most

00:19:06 Speaker 05: sense for the financially, for the

00:19:08 Speaker 05: people that live in the community,

00:19:12 Speaker 05: and looking forward into the future.

00:19:15 Speaker 05: So that's my two cents on

00:19:16 Speaker 05: on that question. The second question,

00:19:22 Speaker 05: I forget. Second question. Oh, the

00:19:25 Speaker 05: iterations, the funding. So there has

00:19:28 Speaker 05: been a series of iterations of

00:19:30 Speaker 05: the capital funding in a in

00:19:33 Speaker 05: very quick succession, quick over two

00:19:36 Speaker 05: years. And so the current Rockwood

00:19:39 Speaker 05: rebuild, we are in the middle

00:19:42 Speaker 05: capital funding program. We're not in

00:19:45 Speaker 05: the newest, most recent. That's much

00:19:47 Speaker 05: more robust. We advocated strongly

00:19:50 Speaker 05: to be considered to be able

00:19:52 Speaker 05: to be in that new. construction

00:19:54 Speaker 05: funding, we're fortunate we aren't in

00:19:56 Speaker 05: the first iteration, which was less

00:20:01 Speaker 07: construction funding, and so this government

00:20:02 Speaker 07: has been listening to the advocacy.

00:20:03 Speaker 07: Unfortunately, there's still barriers, so they've

00:20:07 Speaker 07: been making improved iterations of construction

00:20:08 Speaker 07: capital and capital funding programs, but

00:20:10 Speaker 07: there are still barriers that once

00:20:12 Speaker 07: you're locked into one, you're not

00:20:13 Speaker 07: eligible for the newest one. You

00:20:15 Speaker 07: have something to add, to you,

00:20:16 Speaker 07: Madam Warder? I might add one

00:20:18 Speaker 07: thing to that. The mix again.

00:20:19 Speaker 07: I'd echo. Good question. When when

00:20:21 Speaker 07: we applied for funding for Rockwood

00:20:23 Speaker 07: Terrace, and indeed, constant across all

00:20:25 Speaker 07: of the funding streams, the capital

00:20:27 Speaker 07: funding streams available in the long

00:20:28 Speaker 07: term care sector right now, is

00:20:30 Speaker 07: for the creation of Class A

00:20:32 Speaker 07: level beds. Rockwood Terrace, as you

00:20:35 Speaker 07: know, had Class C level beds,

00:20:36 Speaker 07: so there was no option we

00:20:38 Speaker 07: could have at that point. Said

00:20:41 Speaker 07: we'll close Rockwood Terrace down as

00:20:42 Speaker 07: a Class C facility. and rehab

00:20:44 Speaker 07: it as a Class A facility

00:20:46 Speaker 07: that would have obviously been quite

00:20:48 Speaker 07: disruptive, both to Great County and

00:20:50 Speaker 07: and obviously to the residents, and

00:20:52 Speaker 07: wasn't an option that was considered

00:20:54 Speaker 07: when when planning for the new

00:20:56 Speaker 07: Rockwood. So, the work that Colliers

00:20:57 Speaker 07: will help guide us through would

00:20:58 Speaker 07: be to understand what Rockwood, the

00:21:00 Speaker 07: existing Rockwood Terrace, could look like

00:21:01 Speaker 07: and what the costs could be

00:21:02 Speaker 07: associated with upgrading it to Class

00:21:03 Speaker 07: A level beds from its current

00:21:04 Speaker 07: Class C level, and so that

00:21:06 Speaker 07: could be the That could be

00:21:08 Speaker 07: that they can't get 100 in

00:21:10 Speaker 07: there. It's a smaller number. It

00:21:16 Speaker 07: might not be that it's financially

00:21:18 Speaker 07: feasible at all. And all of

00:21:20 Speaker 09: this gives us the power to

00:21:22 Speaker 09: go back to the province and

00:21:25 Speaker 09: say we're quite happy to do

00:21:27 Speaker 09: this, but it's 100 on your

00:21:30 Speaker 09: dime. And so this allows council

00:21:34 Speaker 09: that information to be able to

00:21:39 Speaker 09: have those conversations with the full

00:21:41 Speaker 09: sweep information. Do you, Warden? Just

00:21:43 Speaker 09: to clarify, in terms of the

00:21:44 Speaker 09: the Rockwood, at the time of

00:21:46 Speaker 09: looking at options, we did look

00:21:48 Speaker 09: at the. option of redeveloping the

00:21:50 Speaker 09: existing Rockwood. At that time, based

00:21:51 Speaker 09: on costs, it it wasn't, and

00:21:53 Speaker 09: based on based on the the

00:21:56 Speaker 09: current construction of the existing Rockwood,

00:21:58 Speaker 09: it wasn't. There was no cost

00:22:01 Speaker 09: benefit analysis to be able to

00:22:06 Speaker 09: identify that that made the most

00:22:08 Speaker 09: sense at that time. At that

00:22:09 Speaker 09: time, then we were then on

00:22:12 Speaker 09: a path of looking at a

00:22:14 Speaker 09: new long term care home based

00:22:15 Speaker 09: on again the requirements. from the

00:22:18 Speaker 09: province at that time, as as

00:22:21 Speaker 09: has been noted, I think the

00:22:22 Speaker 09: province is looking for all options

00:22:24 Speaker 09: in order to address the the

00:22:26 Speaker 09: the level of need that's going

00:22:29 Speaker 09: to be required for long term

00:22:31 Speaker 09: care homes across this province. Hence,

00:22:33 Speaker 09: the surveys that were put out

00:22:35 Speaker 09: towards the end of last year,

00:22:37 Speaker 09: where we had to do very

00:22:41 Speaker 09: quick response times to those surveys,

00:22:42 Speaker 09: we provided the information. to them

00:22:44 Speaker 09: at that time, based on the

00:22:46 Speaker 09: direction from this council, and we

00:22:49 Speaker 09: provide those those responses. We know

00:22:50 Speaker 09: they're still actively interested in looking

00:22:53 Speaker 09: at all options as it relates

00:22:55 Speaker 09: to long term care home beds,

00:22:58 Speaker 09: and that was confirmed, as noted

00:22:59 Speaker 09: by Deputy CEO at our long

00:23:01 Speaker 09: term care delegation meeting, and and

00:23:02 Speaker 09: in speaking with some of the

00:23:04 Speaker 09: staff, that they are looking at

00:23:06 Speaker 09: all options because they're trying to

00:23:09 Speaker 09: address the the needs and the

00:23:12 Speaker 09: continued growing needs. as it relates

00:23:14 Speaker 09: to long-term care homes. Whether or

00:23:16 Speaker 09: not that option is now indicated,

00:23:17 Speaker 09: the the breadth of options that

00:23:20 Speaker 09: we're proposing in order to provide

00:23:25 Speaker 09: as much information to this council

00:23:27 Speaker 09: as well as to the province

00:23:28 Speaker 09: as well as to any other

00:23:29 Speaker 09: private operator that may be interested

00:23:32 Speaker 09: in us potentially selling the home,

00:23:36 Speaker 09: if that's what is is the

00:23:37 Speaker 09: direction. We need that information in

00:23:38 Speaker 09: order to be able to make

00:23:40 Speaker 09: the dis for this council to

00:23:42 Speaker 09: make a decision on what. what

00:23:45 Speaker 09: what what's next. Is it based

00:23:46 Speaker 09: on the the various options? Could

00:23:48 Speaker 09: it be a assisted living facility?

00:23:50 Speaker 09: Could it be a combined assisted

00:23:51 Speaker 09: living facility and long term care

00:23:54 Speaker 09: home? Could it be affordable rental

00:23:55 Speaker 09: units? Could it be us operating

00:23:58 Speaker 09: it? Could it be somebody else

00:24:01 Speaker 09: operating and we're selling it? Are

00:24:04 Speaker 09: are we leasing the the building

00:24:05 Speaker 09: to somebody else? A number of

00:24:07 Speaker 09: different iterations, a number of different

00:24:09 Speaker 09: options that we want to explore.

00:24:11 Speaker 09: to be able to provide this

00:24:12 Speaker 09: information to this council in order

00:24:14 Speaker 09: to determine what's the what's the

00:24:17 Speaker 09: best use of that building going

00:24:19 Speaker 09: forward. Same on the Gray Gable

00:24:21 Speaker 09: side. In order to inform, based

00:24:23 Speaker 09: on the direction of council to

00:24:26 Speaker 09: consider other options in 2027, there's

00:24:28 Speaker 09: a large body of work to

00:24:29 Speaker 09: be able to advance to say

00:24:32 Speaker 09: identify what are those options and

00:24:33 Speaker 09: what are the costs of those

00:24:35 Speaker 09: options. Should this council be interested

00:24:37 Speaker 09: in pursuing any of those options

00:24:42 Speaker 09: in the future? and so that's

00:24:43 Speaker 09: where we're recommending to proceed with

00:24:44 Speaker 09: this this body of work. That

00:24:48 Speaker 09: will at least provide us with

00:24:50 Speaker 10: the information to be able to

00:24:55 Speaker 10: either decide to move forward with

00:24:57 Speaker 10: those options, either as part of

00:25:00 Speaker 10: the 2027 budget or in future

00:25:02 Speaker 10: budgets. But that will be up

00:25:06 Speaker 10: to either this council or the

00:25:09 Speaker 10: the next term of council in

00:25:11 Speaker 10: terms of what to do with

00:25:20 Speaker 09: those two facilities. Okay, thank you

00:25:23 Speaker 09: very much. We're going to go

00:25:25 Speaker 09: on to Councillor Kentner next. Thank

00:25:26 Speaker 09: you, and through Madam Warden, I

00:25:28 Speaker 09: just sort of hitchhiking on the

00:25:30 Speaker 09: first comment. I just don't quite

00:25:32 Speaker 09: understand, and maybe I've missed something.

00:25:35 Speaker 09: But if the province is dictating

00:25:37 Speaker 09: that the scope of the report

00:25:39 Speaker 09: needs to include the possible rehabilitation

00:25:40 Speaker 09: of the former Rockwood Terrace, why

00:25:42 Speaker 09: aren't they sharing the cost of?

00:25:45 Speaker 09: the report, Mr. Upton, that is

00:25:47 Speaker 09: something that we haven't requested. But

00:25:50 Speaker 09: if that is something that Council

00:25:52 Speaker 09: would like us to to ask

00:25:54 Speaker 09: about, if whether or not there

00:25:56 Speaker 09: are any funds in order to

00:26:00 Speaker 09: support that, then then we can

00:26:02 Speaker 09: pursue that. Again, that is one

00:26:03 Speaker 09: potential option of a breadth of

00:26:05 Speaker 09: options that we want to explore.

00:26:06 Speaker 09: I don't know what the exact

00:26:08 Speaker 09: cost would be to just explore

00:26:09 Speaker 09: that particular one option. The bulk

00:26:11 Speaker 09: of work to get to exploring

00:26:16 Speaker 09: those options will probably be the

00:26:17 Speaker 09: majority of the work in terms

00:26:19 Speaker 09: of what's the existing condition of

00:26:21 Speaker 09: the building, et cetera, in order

00:26:23 Speaker 01: to determine what what options are

00:26:24 Speaker 01: available to that building. So it's

00:26:25 Speaker 01: it's probably a small portion if

00:26:27 Speaker 01: we really were to break it

00:26:28 Speaker 01: down. But if council is interested

00:26:29 Speaker 01: in us asking if there's some

00:26:31 Speaker 01: funding to be able to support

00:26:39 Speaker 01: this project, we're happy to make

00:26:40 Speaker 11: that request. Okay, thank you. And

00:26:46 Speaker 11: the motion on the floor is

00:26:48 Speaker 11: to receive the minutes as to

00:26:52 Speaker 11: adopt the minutes as provided. So,

00:26:54 Speaker 11: if there is an inclination that

00:26:59 Speaker 11: way, we'll need an amendment to

00:27:02 Speaker 11: the main motion. I'd like to

00:27:04 Speaker 11: just carry on with the discussion

00:27:08 Speaker 11: before we look to any amendments.

00:27:10 Speaker 11: So, I'm going to go to

00:27:15 Speaker 11: Councillor Eccles next, who I see

00:27:17 Speaker 11: has a hand raised high. Do

00:27:20 Speaker 11: we still have an asset management

00:27:22 Speaker 11: plan in Cuyahoga County? Are there

00:27:25 Speaker 11: long-term care homes in that asset

00:27:29 Speaker 11: management plan? So we should already

00:27:33 Speaker 11: have an idea of what the

00:27:35 Speaker 11: value of that is. That just

00:27:38 Speaker 11: strange. I always had a slight

00:27:39 Speaker 11: bugaboo about how much time we

00:27:41 Speaker 11: spent. on the province' behalf. They

00:27:45 Speaker 11: have asset management plans that were

00:27:48 Speaker 11: so robust to know our infrastructure,

00:27:49 Speaker 11: and yet to get a determination

00:27:52 Speaker 07: of what these left of Rockwood

00:27:57 Speaker 07: Terrace or Grey Gables in this

00:27:58 Speaker 07: whole asset thing, we're spending fifty-eight

00:28:00 Speaker 07: thousand dollars to Collier. My second

00:28:02 Speaker 07: question, though, is: We're spending fifty-eight

00:28:03 Speaker 07: thousand. What's the other? hundred and

00:28:05 Speaker 07: forty thousand worth? Where where does

00:28:06 Speaker 07: that come in? Because we're looking

00:28:09 Speaker 07: at one hundred and ninety-eight thousand

00:28:11 Speaker 07: of the budget. Like, is there

00:28:13 Speaker 07: a few public meetings that Colliers

00:28:14 Speaker 07: is going to have to have

00:28:16 Speaker 07: on this? Is there a comment

00:28:18 Speaker 07: further? So, see you, Madam Warden,

00:28:20 Speaker 07: and thank you for the question.

00:28:22 Speaker 07: So, Colliers is project managing this,

00:28:23 Speaker 07: so they bring with them the.

00:28:25 Speaker 07: experience they have of already working

00:28:27 Speaker 07: with us on Rockwood, so they

00:28:30 Speaker 07: already have a firm local footprint.

00:28:32 Speaker 07: They also have the contacts across

00:28:33 Speaker 07: the the industry of long term

00:28:34 Speaker 07: care. They have a specialist specialism

00:28:35 Speaker 07: in the healthcare side of things

00:28:38 Speaker 07: and long term care, so they

00:28:40 Speaker 07: are very familiar with the the

00:28:42 Speaker 07: costs, the nature, the programs that

00:28:44 Speaker 07: the province offers, and and the

00:28:46 Speaker 07: potential grants that are there in

00:28:48 Speaker 07: terms of long term care. They

00:28:49 Speaker 07: also have significant experience in the

00:28:52 Speaker 07: construction sector and the real estate

00:28:53 Speaker 07: sector, so. what Colliers are bringing

00:28:55 Speaker 07: is that experience. They're going to

00:28:56 Speaker 07: be the ones that are going

00:29:00 Speaker 07: to be doing the heavy lifting

00:29:01 Speaker 07: from the from developing the report

00:29:04 Speaker 07: and pulling the expertise together. The

00:29:06 Speaker 07: balance is what Colliers have advised

00:29:07 Speaker 07: us we should be

00:29:09 Speaker 07: putting to one side for the

00:29:12 Speaker 07: subsequent tenders. So, this isn't a

00:29:14 Speaker 07: whole wholly sole sourced piece of

00:29:15 Speaker 07: work. We're simply asking for support

00:29:18 Speaker 07: to sole source to Colliers to

00:29:20 Speaker 07: project manage the work for us.

00:29:21 Speaker 07: There would then be at least

00:29:23 Speaker 07: two tenders for real estate work

00:29:26 Speaker 07: around. the the valuation of the

00:29:29 Speaker 07: various different scenarios that have been

00:29:32 Speaker 07: articulated this morning, and the second

00:29:35 Speaker 07: body of work is to bring

00:29:39 Speaker 07: in engineers, mechanical engineers, design engineers,

00:29:41 Speaker 07: architectural engineers, to undertake looking at

00:29:43 Speaker 07: those various different scenarios. How much

00:29:44 Speaker 07: is required? We know that the

00:29:46 Speaker 07: fabric of the existing Rockwood Terrace,

00:29:48 Speaker 07: the outside walls, are in good

00:29:49 Speaker 07: condition. We also know that all

00:29:51 Speaker 07: the mechanical, most of the electrical,

00:29:53 Speaker 07: will need completely redone in any

00:29:55 Speaker 07: scenario. And so, there. And so

00:29:58 Speaker 07: they'll be bringing in design teams,

00:30:00 Speaker 07: architectural teams, mechanical engineering teams to

00:30:01 Speaker 07: understand what a various different scenarios

00:30:03 Speaker 07: of reuse at Rockwood Terrace could

00:30:06 Speaker 07: cost if they were decided to

00:30:08 Speaker 07: go down. And again, that work

00:30:09 Speaker 07: is going to be needed to

00:30:12 Speaker 07: help inform any value or appraisals

00:30:14 Speaker 07: that are around in regards to

00:30:15 Speaker 07: the Rockwood Terrace. We're not simply

00:30:16 Speaker 07: looking at this as a as

00:30:18 Speaker 07: a sell the site or or

00:30:19 Speaker 07: lease the site option. We're trying

00:30:21 Speaker 07: to understand what potential uses that

00:30:22 Speaker 07: building could be made in the

00:30:24 Speaker 07: future, and and and the the

00:30:30 Speaker 07: balance of that is is to

00:30:32 Speaker 07: to tender for those those bodies

00:30:35 Speaker 07: of work. And so, what similarly

00:30:36 Speaker 01: to how they have with the

00:30:38 Speaker 01: existing Rockwood Collieries, would be developing

00:30:39 Speaker 01: the tenders, the RFPs, the specifications

00:30:41 Speaker 01: for work, and issuing those on

00:30:43 Speaker 01: behalf of the county. They would

00:30:46 Speaker 01: be coming back for award, and

00:30:49 Speaker 01: that's the balance of the budget

00:30:50 Speaker 01: that we're looking to set up

00:30:52 Speaker 01: alongside of a small contingency in

00:30:55 Speaker 01: case things the costs are not

00:30:57 Speaker 01: as Collieries. The costs are not

00:31:00 Speaker 01: as high as it predicted. Okay,

00:31:05 Speaker 07: so the asset management plan we

00:31:06 Speaker 07: do have, and and it does

00:31:08 Speaker 07: it looks at the structure of

00:31:10 Speaker 07: the building. It says when you're

00:31:12 Speaker 07: going to need to replace things.

00:31:14 Speaker 07: It says what the long term

00:31:15 Speaker 07: projection of it. But the focus

00:31:18 Speaker 07: here is its value alters according

00:31:19 Speaker 07: to its potential use. So this

00:31:20 Speaker 07: information would provide us with that,

00:31:23 Speaker 07: so that we could potentially sell

00:31:24 Speaker 07: it to another another. entity with

00:31:25 Speaker 07: a higher or a lower value,

00:31:27 Speaker 07: depending on what it's it's what

00:31:29 Speaker 07: what it might turn into. Is

00:31:31 Speaker 07: that correct? So through Man and

00:31:33 Speaker 07: Warding, yes. What we're doing is

00:31:36 Speaker 07: we're doing a very comprehensive set

00:31:37 Speaker 07: of scenario planning for both sides

00:31:39 Speaker 07: and trying to forecast out on

00:31:41 Speaker 07: both sides. When we had the

00:31:42 Speaker 07: conversation, and as Council directed for

00:31:44 Speaker 07: for further information, we had the

00:31:46 Speaker 07: conversation in regards to the surveys

00:31:49 Speaker 07: that did come in. We did

00:31:51 Speaker 07: have extensive. conversation about the various

00:31:53 Speaker 07: different routes and options that could

00:31:54 Speaker 07: be available at both sites, and

00:31:55 Speaker 07: so this is a very, very

00:31:56 Speaker 01: broad scope of scenario planning. When

00:31:58 Speaker 01: we actually laid it out, I

00:32:00 Speaker 01: think we got to about 13

00:32:02 Speaker 01: or 14 different scenarios that we

00:32:03 Speaker 01: wanted to be explored, and so

00:32:05 Speaker 01: this is a comprehensive set scenario

00:32:06 Speaker 01: planning. And then each one, hopefully,

00:32:09 Speaker 01: will have all the pieces of

00:32:12 Speaker 06: information to allow council to make

00:32:14 Speaker 06: informed decisions should they need to

00:32:15 Speaker 06: in the future. Okay, thank

00:32:17 Speaker 06: you. We do have an. Thank

00:32:21 Speaker 06: you. We do have another hand

00:32:22 Speaker 06: raised for discussion, or we'll

00:32:25 Speaker 06: need at this point in time

00:32:26 Speaker 06: if there's an interest in an

00:32:30 Speaker 06: amendment to the main motion, because

00:32:32 Speaker 06: the main motion includes the resolution

00:32:34 Speaker 06: number five, which talks about the

00:32:38 Speaker 06: cost of fifty-four thousand. It does

00:32:40 Speaker 06: not refer to asking the province

00:32:42 Speaker 06: to share in that cost. So

00:32:43 Speaker 06: we'll go to Councillor Greg next.

00:32:47 Speaker 06: Thank you for indulging one last

00:32:48 Speaker 06: question, Board. I do have the

00:32:51 Speaker 06: committee report open here, and I

00:32:53 Speaker 06: was going to ask the ninety-five

00:32:55 Speaker 06: thousand dollars for architectural and engineering

00:32:56 Speaker 07: firm. do we anticipate coming out

00:33:01 Speaker 07: of this with the effectively design-ready

00:33:03 Speaker 07: drawings for an additional wing? Like,

00:33:06 Speaker 07: is this a fifty-fifty balance? Is

00:33:07 Speaker 07: this ninety-ninety-ten that we're going to

00:33:09 Speaker 07: have build-ready drawings for Gray Gables

00:33:10 Speaker 07: for a new wing? Secondly, it's

00:33:11 Speaker 07: a study, so is a twenty

00:33:14 Speaker 07: percent contingency a little excessive when

00:33:15 Speaker 07: we are actually not talking about

00:33:16 Speaker 07: something here that is construction phase

00:33:19 Speaker 07: with a ton of unknowns? This

00:33:22 Speaker 07: is just simply a consulting firm,

00:33:24 Speaker 07: and we're gaining, we're gathering information.

00:33:28 Speaker 07: So twenty percent strikes me as

00:33:29 Speaker 07: a little heavy in terms of

00:33:31 Speaker 07: a contingency at this phase. So,

00:33:34 Speaker 07: Madam Warden, the twenty percent contingency

00:33:35 Speaker 07: is generous. I grant you, and

00:33:36 Speaker 07: and my my very firm hope

00:33:38 Speaker 07: would be that we will not

00:33:40 Speaker 07: need to touch any contingency, and

00:33:42 Speaker 07: if we do need to touch

00:33:43 Speaker 07: contingency, it wouldn't be to that

00:33:48 Speaker 07: extent. In terms of your first

00:33:49 Speaker 01: part of the question, what we

00:33:50 Speaker 01: get out. of this is, I'm

00:33:52 Speaker 01: anticipating we get class D costing,

00:33:53 Speaker 01: so very, very high level costing

00:33:56 Speaker 01: for each one of the scenarios,

00:33:58 Speaker 01: and and schematics. They would not

00:33:59 Speaker 01: be full design drawings, but they

00:34:00 Speaker 01: would be site layouts, site plans,

00:34:05 Speaker 01: and they would be clearly indicative

00:34:08 Speaker 01: of the types of things that

00:34:12 Speaker 01: would be required on both properties.

00:34:13 Speaker 01: So it gets us a significant

00:34:14 Speaker 01: way down the way. It does

00:34:17 Speaker 01: not get us to shovel ready

00:34:19 Speaker 01: plans by any stretch of imagination.

00:34:21 Speaker 01: Okay, so with that, I'm going

00:34:23 Speaker 01: to look around the room. If

00:34:24 Speaker 01: I don't see any hands up,

00:34:27 Speaker 01: we will vote on the

00:34:29 Speaker 01: motion the way that has been

00:34:31 Speaker 01: presented. Okay, I'm not seeing a

00:34:33 Speaker 01: hands virtually. I'm not seeing a

00:34:36 Speaker 01: hands here in the chamber, so

00:34:39 Speaker 01: I'll therefore call the question as

00:34:43 Speaker 01: is. All those in favor? And

00:34:46 Speaker 01: opposed? Okay, so that motion is

00:34:49 Speaker 01: carried, Madam Clerk. All right, thank

00:34:51 Speaker 01: you. That allows us to move

00:34:52 Speaker 01: on. to thank you very much,

00:34:53 Speaker 01: Director Cornell, and and to the

00:34:55 Speaker 01: Deputy CAO and CAO for

00:34:58 Speaker 01: your input on that. Next,

00:35:00 Speaker 01: we have item five C for

00:35:03 Speaker 01: the closed session minutes. It's recommended

00:35:04 Speaker 01: that the closed session long term

00:35:06 Speaker 01: care committee of management meeting minutes

00:35:07 Speaker 01: dated January fifteenth, twenty twenty six,

00:35:09 Speaker 01: be adopted as provided. May ask

00:35:11 Speaker 01: for a mover and a seconder.

00:35:13 Speaker 01: Moved by Councillor Carleton. Oh, seconded

00:35:15 Speaker 01: by Councillor Patterson online. Any discussion?

00:35:17 Speaker 01: All those in favor. And that

00:35:20 Speaker 01: motion is carried. Thank you. We

00:35:23 Speaker 01: do not have any closed meeting

00:35:24 Speaker 01: matters at this point in time,

00:35:26 Speaker 01: nor reports that allows us

00:35:29 Speaker 01: to move on to our bylaws.

00:35:31 Speaker 01: It's recommended that bylaws fifty-two sixty-five

00:35:33 Speaker 01: twenty-six and fifty-two sixty-six twenty-six and

00:35:35 Speaker 01: fifty-two sixty-seven twenty-six be introduced and

00:35:37 Speaker 01: be taken as read a first,

00:35:38 Speaker 01: second, and third time. Finally, passed,

00:35:40 Speaker 01: signed by the warden and the

00:35:42 Speaker 01: clerk, sealed with the seal of

00:35:44 Speaker 01: the corporation, and engrossed in the

00:35:46 Speaker 01: bylaw book. number one fifty two

00:35:49 Speaker 01: sixty five twenty six, a bylaw

00:35:51 Speaker 01: to enter into an amendment agreement

00:35:53 Speaker 01: with Gray Gables Gray Sable Conservation

00:35:56 Speaker 01: Authority. Number two fifty two sixty

00:35:58 Speaker 01: six twenty six, a bylaw to

00:36:00 Speaker 01: authorize the warden and clerk to

00:36:01 Speaker 01: execute a contribution agreement with Lutheran

00:36:03 Speaker 01: Social Services and Lutheran Outreach Ministries.

00:36:05 Speaker 01: And number three fifty two sixty

00:36:07 Speaker 01: seven twenty six, a bylaw to

00:36:08 Speaker 01: confirm all the actions and proceedings

00:36:10 Speaker 01: of the council. May I ask

00:36:11 Speaker 01: for mover? May ask for a

00:36:13 Speaker 01: mover and a seconder. I've got

00:36:15 Speaker 01: a move by Councillor Bourneal, seconded

00:36:17 Speaker 01: by Councillor Hutchinson. It's now on

00:36:19 Speaker 01: the floor for discussion. Seeing no

00:36:21 Speaker 01: hands, all those in favor, and

00:36:24 Speaker 01: that motion is carried. Thank you.

00:36:25 Speaker 01: News and celebrations. We have a

00:36:26 Speaker 01: couple of a few items here,

00:36:29 Speaker 01: and we will. You'll note that

00:36:30 Speaker 01: in our committee, the whole agenda,

00:36:33 Speaker 01: we've actually reserved a place for

00:36:34 Speaker 01: a Roma update. So we'll save

00:36:35 Speaker 01: on any kind of information with

00:36:36 Speaker 01: regards to the Roma programming and.

00:36:38 Speaker 01: and the activities that we are

00:36:39 Speaker 01: all doing down there for the

00:36:41 Speaker 01: committee of the whole, but we

00:36:43 Speaker 01: do have a couple of items

00:36:45 Speaker 01: that are are fit for news

00:36:46 Speaker 01: and celebrations in this section. Now,

00:36:49 Speaker 01: the first one that we are

00:36:51 Speaker 01: going to mention is that we

00:36:52 Speaker 01: do have our SOS outreach vehicle

00:36:54 Speaker 01: here present today and made it

00:36:55 Speaker 01: through the snow. It is parked

00:36:57 Speaker 01: here out back, ready to be

00:36:58 Speaker 01: able to be provided as a

00:37:01 Speaker 01: tour for the council members,

00:37:03 Speaker 01: at council and staff that are

00:37:12 Speaker 01: here to have a look at

00:37:13 Speaker 12: it, and we will be doing.

00:37:15 Speaker 12: that at our lunch break. Director

00:37:16 Speaker 12: McNab, did you want to speak

00:37:18 Speaker 12: to it all at this point

00:37:20 Speaker 12: in time, or save it for

00:37:21 Speaker 12: the tour? Okay, all right. So

00:37:22 Speaker 12: he'll he'll be able able to

00:37:25 Speaker 12: address questions and talk about the

00:37:27 Speaker 12: phenomenal resource that we have parked

00:37:29 Speaker 12: right here this morning, so we

00:37:30 Speaker 12: can have a look. Next, although

00:37:32 Speaker 12: it did happen at Roma, it

00:37:33 Speaker 12: is something worthy of note and

00:37:36 Speaker 12: celebration. I'm going to look to

00:37:38 Speaker 12: Director Taylor to talk to us

00:37:40 Speaker 12: about the age friendly age friendly

00:37:42 Speaker 12: community recognition that was received. at

00:37:44 Speaker 12: Roma. Yeah, thanks, Madam Warden, and

00:37:46 Speaker 12: good morning, Madam Warden, members of

00:37:47 Speaker 12: Council, and and those that might

00:37:48 Speaker 12: be tuning in today. So, I'm

00:37:50 Speaker 12: pleased to share some some good

00:37:51 Speaker 12: news. I'd like to think most

00:37:53 Speaker 12: most news that planning shares is

00:37:55 Speaker 12: good news, but this particularly good

00:37:58 Speaker 12: news. So, so Grey County is

00:37:59 Speaker 12: one of multiple communities presented with

00:38:01 Speaker 12: an age friendly communities recognition

00:38:03 Speaker 12: award, and that was this

00:38:05 Speaker 12: was at a special ceremony hosted

00:38:07 Speaker 12: by the Ontario. Ministry for Seniors

00:38:09 Speaker 12: and Accessibility on the the Sunday

00:38:10 Speaker 12: evening of Roma at the Sheraton

00:38:12 Speaker 12: Centre, and of course it coincided

00:38:13 Speaker 12: with with the Roma Conference. I

00:38:14 Speaker 12: believe both the warden and and

00:38:17 Speaker 12: Director Cornell were able to attend

00:38:19 Speaker 12: the ceremony. So thank you to

00:38:21 Speaker 12: both for for attending on Gray's

00:38:23 Speaker 12: behalf there. But just a little

00:38:24 Speaker 12: bit of background on on Gray's

00:38:27 Speaker 12: age friendly journey in this regard.

00:38:28 Speaker 12: So the county first launched its

00:38:31 Speaker 12: age friendly community strategy and action

00:38:33 Speaker 12: plan in 2021, and this was

00:38:35 Speaker 12: after receiving funding from the province

00:38:38 Speaker 12: as part of an inclusive community

00:38:39 Speaker 12: Province is part of an

00:38:42 Speaker 12: inclusive communities grant. The county, municipalities,

00:38:45 Speaker 12: and community partners all continue

00:38:47 Speaker 12: to implement the the action plan

00:38:49 Speaker 12: that was endorsed by council. We

00:38:51 Speaker 12: actually have a progress report coming

00:38:53 Speaker 12: up on the action plan in

00:38:54 Speaker 12: the next few months, which is

00:38:58 Speaker 12: going to be presented to to

00:39:01 Speaker 12: county council and and shared more

00:39:02 Speaker 12: widely with the community. The plan

00:39:05 Speaker 12: itself focuses on the eight dimensions

00:39:07 Speaker 12: or eight realms of an age

00:39:09 Speaker 12: friendly community, and it looks to

00:39:11 Speaker 12: support all residents regardless of age

00:39:13 Speaker 12: and and making livable communities that

00:39:15 Speaker 12: are that are accessible for eight-year-olds

00:39:17 Speaker 12: and 80-year-olds and everyone in between.

00:39:18 Speaker 12: The county is part of a

00:39:20 Speaker 12: global network, the Ontario Age-Friendly Communities

00:39:22 Speaker 12: Network, as well as a member

00:39:24 Speaker 12: of the World Health Organization's Global

00:39:27 Speaker 12: Age-Friendly Network. The county, locally here,

00:39:28 Speaker 12: hosts our Age-Friendly Communities Committee, and

00:39:31 Speaker 12: that consists of both municipal partners

00:39:32 Speaker 12: as well as community stakeholders in

00:39:34 Speaker 12: that regard. Grey County, as you're

00:39:36 Speaker 12: aware, also leads the administration of

00:39:38 Speaker 12: a joint local, a joint municipal

00:39:40 Speaker 12: accessibility advisory. Committee, and this is

00:39:42 Speaker 12: supporting the great work of Kathy

00:39:43 Speaker 12: Nuno of our office. So, with

00:39:45 Speaker 12: this recognition, staff would like to

00:39:47 Speaker 12: thank County Council, first and foremost,

00:39:48 Speaker 12: for their leadership on this topic

00:39:50 Speaker 12: and and for striking out on

00:39:53 Speaker 12: on this journey with us. In

00:39:54 Speaker 12: addition, I would like to thank

00:39:56 Speaker 12: the following planning staff who've been

00:39:57 Speaker 12: involved in this project both currently

00:39:59 Speaker 12: and in the past: so Cassandra

00:40:00 Speaker 12: Dilman, Becky Hillier, Derek McMurty, and

00:40:02 Speaker 12: past staff Stephanie Lacy, Avon, and

00:40:04 Speaker 12: Hiba Hiba who. And Hiba Hussein

00:40:05 Speaker 12: in that regard. The work has

00:40:06 Speaker 12: also been tremendously supported by by

00:40:10 Speaker 12: all the different departments in Gray

00:40:12 Speaker 12: and a number of your municipalities

00:40:14 Speaker 12: and municipal departments in that regard.

00:40:16 Speaker 01: With respect to our own county

00:40:18 Speaker 01: departments, it's been tremendously supported by

00:40:22 Speaker 01: long term care. So certainly, like

00:40:23 Speaker 01: to thank Director Cornell and her

00:40:26 Speaker 01: team in that regard. And finally,

00:40:27 Speaker 01: I just like to say, also

00:40:28 Speaker 01: congratulate the town of Hanover, who

00:40:30 Speaker 01: received a similar recognition at this

00:40:32 Speaker 01: at the ceremony. Hanover has really

00:40:33 Speaker 01: led the charge here locally on

00:40:35 Speaker 01: on age friendly community. On on

00:40:37 Speaker 01: age-friendly communities and and Straco to

00:40:38 Speaker 01: even well ahead of the county,

00:40:39 Speaker 01: so kudos to Hanover for their

00:40:42 Speaker 01: leadership in that regard. And again,

00:40:45 Speaker 01: thank you for to County Council

00:40:47 Speaker 01: for the support in in all

00:40:49 Speaker 01: of this project to date. But

00:40:56 Speaker 13: happy to take any questions if

00:40:58 Speaker 13: there are any. Okay, thank you

00:41:00 Speaker 13: very much. Yes, and indeed, Hanover,

00:41:02 Speaker 13: the mayor of Hanover and and

00:41:05 Speaker 13: the deputy mayor were there to

00:41:07 Speaker 13: in attendance to receive that award

00:41:09 Speaker 13: as well. Were there any? Director

00:41:11 Speaker 13: Hillers put it out there. If

00:41:13 Speaker 13: there are any questions. about that

00:41:16 Speaker 13: item, but we will be hearing

00:41:19 Speaker 13: more, as you said. Though there

00:41:20 Speaker 13: will be an update. Excellent. It

00:41:23 Speaker 13: was indeed a wonderful to celebrate.

00:41:26 Speaker 13: And I should mention in the

00:41:29 Speaker 13: context, it was only 69 communities

00:41:31 Speaker 13: across all of Ontario that received

00:41:34 Speaker 13: that award that evening. So it

00:41:35 Speaker 13: was nice to see that we

00:41:36 Speaker 13: were celebrated twofold, both with Hanover

00:41:41 Speaker 13: and here as the larger county

00:41:44 Speaker 13: community. Next, we have the Community

00:41:47 Speaker 13: Safety and Wellbeing Survey news. So

00:41:49 Speaker 13: I'll look to Director Shaw for

00:41:50 Speaker 13: that. Good morning, County Council. Just

00:41:52 Speaker 13: wanted to make everybody aware that

00:41:53 Speaker 13: the Gray Bruce Community Safety and

00:41:55 Speaker 13: Wellbeing Survey is now available. The

00:42:00 Speaker 13: survey is inviting all residents to

00:42:02 Speaker 01: participate in the region-wide survey. It

00:42:04 Speaker 01: launched on Monday and it runs

00:42:05 Speaker 01: until April. It is available on

00:42:07 Speaker 01: our website, Bruce County's website, and

00:42:08 Speaker 01: also the Community Safety and Wellbeing

00:42:11 Speaker 01: website. The survey allows community members

00:42:12 Speaker 01: to share. their experiences, priorities, and

00:42:14 Speaker 01: concerns on issues such as housing,

00:42:16 Speaker 01: mental health, community belonging, crime, and

00:42:18 Speaker 01: access to services. Any feedback that

00:42:20 Speaker 01: is gathered will directly influence the

00:42:22 Speaker 01: next five years of the community

00:42:24 Speaker 01: safety and well-being plan, which will

00:42:26 Speaker 01: be 2026 to 2031. There's also

00:42:27 Speaker 01: paper copies and accessible copies available

00:42:28 Speaker 01: at libraries, municipal offices, and Alexis

00:42:30 Speaker 01: Cook, who is the coordinator, will

00:42:33 Speaker 01: be at. The coordinator will be

00:42:34 Speaker 01: attending. I think she's got about

00:42:36 Speaker 01: forty events that she's attending in

00:42:37 Speaker 01: the next three months to also

00:42:40 Speaker 01: promote the survey. So happy to

00:42:42 Speaker 01: answer any questions. Okay, any questions

00:42:44 Speaker 01: there? Not seeing any hands. Okay,

00:42:46 Speaker 01: you've given us good options on

00:42:47 Speaker 01: how to access that survey. Thank

00:42:50 Speaker 01: you very much. And I think

00:42:51 Speaker 01: I'd just like to lead on

00:42:53 Speaker 01: just before we open it to

00:42:54 Speaker 01: the rest of council to share

00:42:55 Speaker 01: any news and celebrations. One item

00:42:57 Speaker 01: that happens traditionally the week before

00:42:59 Speaker 01: Roma is the. For Roma is

00:43:01 Speaker 01: the it is the Ontario Marine

00:43:03 Speaker 01: Chamber of Commerce week, and at

00:43:04 Speaker 01: that event, at that week, there

00:43:06 Speaker 01: are lots of meetings going on

00:43:08 Speaker 01: with that whole industry. But one

00:43:10 Speaker 01: of the things I'd like to

00:43:12 Speaker 01: highlight is each and every year,

00:43:13 Speaker 01: Georgian College is featured at the

00:43:15 Speaker 01: at the event that happens at

00:43:16 Speaker 01: the end of that that week

00:43:17 Speaker 01: because of the Georgian students who

00:43:19 Speaker 01: are acknowledged for their top ranking.

00:43:21 Speaker 01: So each each year of the

00:43:23 Speaker 01: marine engineering students, they pick out

00:43:24 Speaker 01: a top member who has who

00:43:26 Speaker 01: has excelled in in their study.

00:43:28 Speaker 01: Excelled in in their studies here,

00:43:29 Speaker 01: and that is the incredible thing.

00:43:30 Speaker 01: That each each year I'm invited

00:43:34 Speaker 01: as the warden to go down

00:43:35 Speaker 01: and sit at the at the

00:43:37 Speaker 01: Georgian College table, and I have

00:43:38 Speaker 01: a chance to sit down beside

00:43:39 Speaker 01: these these young people who have

00:43:41 Speaker 01: embarked on this career in the

00:43:44 Speaker 01: in the marine and shipping industry,

00:43:45 Speaker 01: and they are coming from all

00:43:46 Speaker 01: over Ontario, or even sometimes all

00:43:48 Speaker 01: over the world. It's it's a

00:43:50 Speaker 01: global reputation, and also some of

00:43:52 Speaker 01: our very own local students as

00:43:54 Speaker 01: well. And wherever they hail from,

00:43:56 Speaker 01: while they're here for all of

00:43:57 Speaker 01: that training, it's happening right here.

00:43:59 Speaker 01: Training—it's happening right here in the

00:44:00 Speaker 01: in the heart of Gray County,

00:44:02 Speaker 01: right here in Owen Sound at

00:44:04 Speaker 01: the Marine Training and Research Center.

00:44:06 Speaker 01: So, however they came here, they

00:44:07 Speaker 01: are our students until the day

00:44:13 Speaker 01: that they graduate. And it is

00:44:16 Speaker 01: fantastic to see how in demand

00:44:18 Speaker 01: they are when they graduate because

00:44:20 Speaker 01: of the quality of the program

00:44:23 Speaker 01: and the quality of the candidates

00:44:24 Speaker 01: and how lively and engaged they

00:44:26 Speaker 14: are, how excited they are to

00:44:29 Speaker 14: be in that. So, it's a

00:44:30 Speaker 14: great shout out to those who

00:44:32 Speaker 14: have made that choice and who

00:44:34 Speaker 14: are venturing through and excelling so

00:44:35 Speaker 14: well, but also good. So well,

00:44:38 Speaker 14: but also a good message for

00:44:39 Speaker 14: all of us to share in

00:44:41 Speaker 14: our community: that if our young

00:44:42 Speaker 14: people are looking to explore an

00:44:44 Speaker 14: industry and looking to explore a

00:44:46 Speaker 14: career field, there is one where

00:44:51 Speaker 01: you can get top-notch training right

00:44:53 Speaker 01: here in our backyard. So, my

00:44:54 Speaker 01: congratulations to the students of this

00:44:56 Speaker 01: year, and it's a wonderful legacy

00:44:57 Speaker 01: that we get to see each

00:44:58 Speaker 01: and every year coming from Gray

00:45:01 Speaker 01: County. And with that, I'd like

00:45:05 Speaker 15: to put it out then: if

00:45:07 Speaker 15: there are other news and celebrations.

00:45:09 Speaker 15: Okay, I'm going to start with

00:45:12 Speaker 15: Councilor Nielsen online. Thank you very

00:45:15 Speaker 15: much, Ward Matrasov. I just want

00:45:17 Speaker 15: to bring County Council's attention. There

00:45:19 Speaker 15: is a public meeting tonight in

00:45:21 Speaker 15: Gray Highlands and Markdale at the

00:45:28 Speaker 15: Anziana Church, being put on by

00:45:30 Speaker 15: the nonprofit group AHAI, which stands

00:45:30 Speaker 15: for Affordable Housing in Gray Highlands,

00:45:33 Speaker 01: and they've put a purchase in

00:45:38 Speaker 01: at the Old Markdale Hospital. So

00:45:39 Speaker 01: they just have a public meeting

00:45:40 Speaker 01: tonight about their hopes and plans.

00:45:41 Speaker 01: So I just want to bring

00:45:43 Speaker 01: everybody's attention. to that. If the

00:45:44 Speaker 01: weather is good and we can

00:45:46 Speaker 01: make it, hopefully, it'll it'll go

00:45:47 Speaker 01: on, and we'll be able to

00:45:50 Speaker 01: see some people out there. Excellent,

00:45:51 Speaker 01: thank you. And and I guess

00:45:54 Speaker 01: everybody should be advised to check

00:45:57 Speaker 01: in with the organization prior to

00:45:59 Speaker 01: heading out, just to make sure

00:46:00 Speaker 01: there hasn't there doesn't need to be a cancellation. Okay, we'll go to Councilor Dobry next. Good morning, Morden County Council. I just wanted to let everyone know that. the Junction Community Initiatives will be holding on February 1st a opening ceremony for Black History Month. It'll be held at the Dundalk United Church on Main Street there in Dundalk at 3 p.m. And sorry, cut off Mike there. And it's free. That was the last of the message. Thank you. And anything else online or here in the chamber? I imagine by the next time we meet with each other, there will be lots of family day activities to share, etc. So this sounds good for this time of year. All right. So with that, then I'll look for a motion to adjourn. Got it. Moved by Councillor Pringle and seconded by Councillor McKay. Any discussion? All those in favor? And this council is adjourned. We'll give a moment and for technology to switch over before starting committee of the whole.