Owen Sound Council Meeting - Regular Meeting Transcript — December 15, 2025

00:00:17 Speaker 01: We are calling the meeting to order.

00:00:21 Speaker 01: Call for additional business.

00:00:22 Speaker 01: Anyone have Councillor Farmer?

00:00:24 Speaker 02: Through the Mayor, I'll have one piece of additional business: just reporting back on the most recent Community Safety and Well-being Plan community-of-practice Meeting.

00:00:32 Speaker 02: Anyone else?

00:00:33 Speaker 01: Seeing none; I'm going to cover mine earlier.

00:00:36 Speaker 01: Declaration of Interest: No, just me.

00:00:41 Speaker 01: I've got an interest in items 11A and 21H, which is Bylaw 138.

00:00:49 Speaker 01: Item 11A is the report on the partial lease of the CN station.

00:00:57 Speaker 01: I have acted as solicitor for the party involved in the past.

00:01:01 Speaker 01: Confirmation of Council minutes: Moved by myself, Deputy Mayor Greig; seconded by Councillor Hamley that the minutes of the following meetings be adopted as printed:

00:01:15 Speaker 03: one closed session of the regular council meeting held on November tenth, two thousand twenty-five; and B) two special council meeting held on November twenty-fourth, two thousand twenty-five;

00:01:25 Speaker 03: and three regular council meeting held on November twenty-fourth, two thousand twenty-five.

00:01:29 Speaker 03: All in favour?

00:01:31 Speaker 01: And that is carried.

00:01:33 Speaker 01: Number five: motion to move Council into Committee of the Whole.

00:01:37 Speaker 04: Moved by myself, Deputy Mayor Greig; seconded by Councillor Hamley that City Council now moves into Committee of the Whole to consider public meetings, deputations and presentations, public forum matters arising from correspondence,

00:01:47 Speaker 04: reports of city staff, consent agenda, committee minutes, matters postponed, motions for which notice was previously given, and additional business.

00:01:54 Speaker 04: All in favour?

00:01:56 Speaker 01: And that is carried.

00:01:58 Speaker 01: So we're now in Committee of the Whole.

00:02:00 Speaker 01: Number six: we have no public meetings.

00:02:02 Speaker 01: At number seven, my annual deputation.

00:02:05 Speaker 01: I'm going to go down to the other podium; so I will pass the gavel off to Deputy Mayor Greig.

00:02:38 Speaker 01: Good evening, Council and City of Owen Sound.

00:02:41 Speaker 01: This is our last council meeting of the year, and I want to highlight a few things from two thousand twenty-five.

00:02:47 Speaker 01: I think I've got it down to fifteen and sixteen instead of thirty-four that we had last year.

00:02:53 Speaker 01: For the past number of years, Council has prepared for appropriate growth by making the right investments in order to have development-ready land.

00:03:02 Speaker 01: We've ensured our community remains our home by fostering a sense of place, lifestyle and celebrating the culture of Owen Sound.

00:03:10 Speaker 01: We've worked on streamlining the planning process for development; we have reasonable residential development charges; and we have positioned our community as investment-ready.

00:03:19 Speaker 01: Investment ready.

00:03:21 Speaker 01: We've worked hard to ensure taxpayers' money is fully utilised.

00:03:25 Speaker 01: We've leveraged grants.

00:03:26 Speaker 01: Are working with our neighbours in Grey County and found efficiencies in the operations of our city.

00:03:32 Speaker 01: We've had low levy increases relative to other municipalities for several years to get us and our tax rates into the middle range compared to other municipalities like ours across Ontario.

00:03:45 Speaker 01: We did this to grow our tax assessment base and population so as to attract investment and people to live here, and we do that so we can afford the services that we want to provide.

00:03:57 Speaker 01: Everything that we've been working on seems to have started to come together in twenty twenty-five; and here is a list of a few activities, decisions and accomplishments that support that statement.

00:04:10 Speaker 01: So slide two: there we go.

00:04:14 Speaker 01: Future Owen Sound Vision 2050 long-term strategic plan identified seven priorities and outcome-based metrics for each of the priorities was approved and adopted by Council this year.

00:04:26 Speaker 01: We worked to work; we continue to work on service review priority opportunity action plan to ensure the municipality's financial and organisational resources are being used as efficiently as possible.

00:04:40 Speaker 01: This year, based on current progress, the city has achieved slightly more than a million dollars in either savings, revenue or efficiencies.

00:04:49 Speaker 01: Slide three: construction value reached two hundred and seventeen point five million dollars year-to-date; tripling construction values peaked at sixty-seven thousand yes, sixty-seven million, in twenty twenty.

00:05:05 Speaker 01: Building fees collected exceeded one point three million.

00:05:09 Speaker 01: As most of us know, large housing projects have started on long-vacant industrial land at B.C., industrial land at BCCK and RCA lands,

00:05:16 Speaker 01: as well as the restart of the project across the street from the Bayshore Community Centre; Freshco grocery store opened.

00:05:25 Speaker 01: Now this next one: just slow down a little bit.

00:05:27 Speaker 01: We know that the Canadian government does a census every five years: two thousand eleven, two thousand sixteen—our numbers were down; two thousand twenty-one—they're back up.

00:05:38 Speaker 01: The next censuses will be this summer, next summer in twenty-six and '26; they are the most accurate numbers.

00:05:46 Speaker 01: However, in between, Embronic's Analytics estimates so they look at the numbers and estimate them.

00:05:54 Speaker 01: So these aren't as factual as the census.

00:05:57 Speaker 01: Just to be clear: they've estimated that the population of Owen Sound could be as high as 24,190 accounting for recent residential development; this represents a growth of eight point four percent since two thousand twenty.

00:06:08 Speaker 01: Four percent since two thousand twenty—they project the population to grow by seven point seven percent over the next five years.

00:06:17 Speaker 01: So again, this is what we've been working towards.

00:06:21 Speaker 01: And I think back to 2014–'15 that we had a Growth Committee with a "pie in the sky" phrase: it was totally unrealistic—apparently have thirty-by-thirty, thirty thousand people by two thousand thirty.

00:06:34 Speaker 01: Depending on what Council does in the next term, that may be possible as we try and attract industry and new people and more housing.

00:06:47 Speaker 01: Site preparation work has started at the new St. Mary's School on 28th Avenue East.

00:06:52 Speaker 01: The city completed the ice pad and arena board-and-glass replacement project at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre with funding from the Ontario Ministry of Sports, Communities and Recreation Infrastructure Fund.

00:07:12 Speaker 01: We have a new relation—sorry—we have new external relations and investment attraction action plan; and we've launched a new community profile celebrating local innovators and entrepreneurs available in both digital and print form.

00:07:31 Speaker 01: One of the other things that isn't on my list, of course:

00:07:33 Speaker 01: is that we cut the ribbon and opened the next phase of River Precinct between Ninth Street and Tenth Street and First Avenue—I think that was this summer.

00:07:42 Speaker 01: Everything becomes a blur after a little while.

00:07:46 Speaker 01: Number five: we launched the new Green Bin programmemememe with weekly curbside collection of organic waste; we initiated a citywide water metre replacement project to upgrade residential water metres with advanced technology;

00:08:02 Speaker 01: major work is continuing at the Richard Neath Water Treatment Plant.

00:08:06 Speaker 01: to keep your drinking water safe for when you turn on that tap and fill your glass.

00:08:13 Speaker 01: Number six: Sixth Street at Ninth Avenue East reopened after replacement of the underground pipe networks, sidewalk expansion, and road resurfacing; and that was a major project.

00:08:26 Speaker 01: At seven: Safe and Sound in partnership with Support Outreach Services or SOS through a Grey County programmemememe.

00:08:32 Speaker 01: The Grey County programmemememe launched the neighbourhood response team, a pilot project aimed at simultaneously supporting local businesses and the In-House population in Owen Sound's downtown River District.

00:08:47 Speaker 01: The Canadian Navy ship Margaret Brooke, an offshore patrol vessel, visited the bay this summer, and we were able to briefly meet and welcome Lieutenant Governor the Honourable Edith Dumont as she disembarked from the ship.

00:09:06 Speaker 01: CBC Morning's live broadcast was aired across Canada from the steps at City Hall; Heather Hiscock hosted one of her last shows here in her hometown, visiting with a number of her former teachers and students,

00:09:22 Speaker 01: and it was just a great way to showcase our community, and for all of us to say thank you to Heather for all that she's done for our country.

00:09:32 Speaker 01: Number nine: The On-Site Police Services has launched new Generation 911 services for itself and several of its contract partners,

00:09:43 Speaker 01: as well as continuing to provide dispatch services for a number of police forces and fire departments.

00:09:50 Speaker 01: So finally, I want to thank Council; the one I get to sit with for your dedication to making On-Side a better place to live.

00:10:00 Speaker 01: As trustees for the people of Owen Sound, we strive to make the best decisions we can in the long-term best interest of the whole community, based on all the information provided.

00:10:12 Speaker 01: Some of those decisions may not be popular with everyone.

00:10:15 Speaker 01: However, we are making positive changes in people's lives, and the great majority of people in our community appreciate it.

00:10:23 Speaker 01: None of us could make the commitment we do without the support of our families.

00:10:27 Speaker 01: We thank our spouses who maintain some normalcy for us at home while we run out the door to another meeting,

00:10:34 Speaker 01: often with a piece of toast or whatever they put into our hands while we run out.

00:10:41 Speaker 01: They listen to us rant when we come home frustrated and pulling our hair out.

00:10:45 Speaker 01: They listen to us talk quickly with excitement when we come home ecstatic about some of the city's accomplishments and some of the things that are going on.

00:10:54 Speaker 01: So, to our families, to our children who go to school and have to listen from other kids: mine isn't there anymore, but I know there are some that still have kids that go to school.

00:11:04 Speaker 01: And somebody said, "Why did your parent decide that?"

00:11:07 Speaker 01: So we say thank you to our families and our spouses for allowing us to come here and do the work we do.

00:11:15 Speaker 01: We couldn't possibly do it without our families.

00:11:18 Speaker 01: We thank City Manager Tim, Directors Kate, Pam, Laura, Michelle; Clerks Brianna, Stacy, Allison, Christina; for all of your support.

00:11:26 Speaker 01: We thank all the city staff, indoors and outdoors, whose dedication and skill we have the pleasure of seeing every year.

00:11:33 Speaker 01: We appreciate everything that staff does, and it's pretty amazing when we get to see the reports and the pictures that come back up through directors and the things that are going on.

00:11:46 Speaker 01: We have a very, very, very dedicated staff, and I'm proud.

00:11:50 Speaker 01: It's pretty nice to watch what they do and be able to appreciate it.

00:11:56 Speaker 01: On behalf of all Council and city staff to our citizens of Owen Sound: we are honoured to represent you and thank you for your support.

00:12:05 Speaker 01: We thank you for the way you look after each other in challenging times in the community.

00:12:10 Speaker 01: More than anything that we do here at the council table, it is the people of our community that make On-Sound such a great place to live.

00:12:18 Speaker 01: So with that, I look forward to working with Council and staff in 2026 to continue focusing on moving our city forward in the last year of the council term.

00:12:27 Speaker 01: Happy holidays and happy New Year to everyone.

00:12:28 Speaker 01: Thank you.

00:12:29 Speaker 01: He stays?

00:12:29 Speaker 01: Did I get him?

00:12:50 Speaker 01: Estates; did I get it under thirty minutes this time?

00:12:52 Speaker 01: That was good.

00:12:53 Speaker 01: Thank you.

00:12:54 Speaker 01: Thanks, everybody.

00:12:55 Speaker 01: Number eight: Public Forum.

00:12:58 Speaker 01: Anybody has anything they wish to say, please go to the microphones, state their name and what municipality they live in, and go ahead.

00:13:05 Speaker 01: The clock will be on just in front of us.

00:13:09 Speaker 05: Hi everyone.

00:13:10 Speaker 05: I'm Ali Belsfield Bastido, and this is Margo joining me tonight.

00:13:14 Speaker 05: I just wanted to take a quick minute to talk about Item Ten C on your agenda regarding community committee structure.

00:13:20 Speaker 05: I preemptively want to say I'm not here to vie for any specific one of the options outlined, but I wanted to provide the perspective of a sitting committee member for your discussion later this evening.

00:13:30 Speaker 05: The staff report highlights issues with staff time spent on committee meetings and aims towards better work-life balance; which I appreciate and agree is a worthwhile pursuit.

00:13:38 Speaker 05: And while fewer committees or public members may reduce staff time spent in meetings,

00:13:42 Speaker 05: I do have some concerns that merging or reducing committees further has the potential to draw less engagement overall and limits the perspectives in community conversations.

00:13:54 Speaker 05: I joined the Community Services Committee two years ago.

00:13:56 Speaker 05: When applying, I carefully considered which committee I would be best suited for from both a personal and professional perspective.

00:14:02 Speaker 05: From a personal perspective: at the time, I was a mother of a young child; now two.

00:14:10 Speaker 05: What could I reasonably provide, time-wise, to this?

00:14:14 Speaker 05: Professionally: what experience does my professional background provide that would be of use to a committee?

00:14:19 Speaker 05: I was excited to join the Community Services Committee because it fit both.

00:14:22 Speaker 05: The average items to review seemed manageable and were on topics with which I had some familiarity; reducing the need for additional time and research to ensure I was contributing meaningfully to each meeting.

00:14:32 Speaker 05: Can I pull that back?

00:14:34 Speaker 05: If the mandate or areas of focus were to greatly expand for committees, I'm not sure I would have applied as enthusiastically.

00:14:41 Speaker 05: It would require a greater time commitment from me and involve areas outside my professional wheelhouse.

00:14:47 Speaker 05: We're just gonna pop this in: I fear that reducing committees to include greater topics would limit the type of individual you'd receive applications from.

00:14:58 Speaker 05: This is similar to discussions that have taken place in the past on the personal and professional backgrounds that allow a person to run for a term of Council.

00:15:05 Speaker 05: Realistically, it's not something everyone can do.

00:15:08 Speaker 05: Though we're so grateful to those who can; being a committee member has allowed me to engage and contribute to local topics and issues, and for that I'm really grateful.

00:15:17 Speaker 05: I hope that community participation is something that continues to be prioritized.

00:15:21 Speaker 05: Thank you.

00:15:24 Speaker 05: Good.

00:15:24 Speaker 05: Thank you.

00:15:24 Speaker 05: Is there anyone else?

00:15:25 Speaker 05: I think Bob, go ahead.

00:15:40 Speaker 05: All right.

00:15:41 Speaker 05: Great.

00:15:41 Speaker 05: Right, right.

00:15:44 Speaker 05: John Farmer; short while ago pointed out a document that this city had issued on public participation, which I guess is part of this evening's discussion.

00:15:58 Speaker 05: Yeah.

00:15:59 Speaker 06: So it was a 22-page document.

00:16:02 Speaker 06: Well, I read the whole thing, then I gave it to my friend who did a ChatGPT in a two-page summary; that pretty well has the exact same information,

00:16:14 Speaker 06: and I'll leave it here for staff to be able to see how you can reduce what your information is getting down to the bare bones without spending a tremendous amount of time.

00:16:27 Speaker 06: So in the report they point out—basically in the summary: ChatGPT says "Recent data shows persistent challenges in recruiting and retaining public members, alongside concerns about clarity of roles and meaningful influence."

00:16:55 Speaker 06: So those are really important things.

00:16:59 Speaker 06: When I was on City Operations Committee for maybe somebody gave me a glass of water... when I was on City Operations Committee during one leadership that was very productive;

00:17:14 Speaker 06: it was when all the pipes were freezing.

00:17:18 Speaker 06: I don't know how many of you members remember that period.

00:17:22 Speaker 06: Thank you.

00:17:24 Speaker 06: And at every meeting they kept coming back saying, "We think we're just keep getting worse.

00:17:31 Speaker 06: We don't know what the hell to do, right?"

00:17:35 Speaker 06: And as it got worse, I suggested: "Why don't you hook a fire hose to a distant fire hydrant and just run it into the river?

00:17:47 Speaker 06: Just get that water pipeline flowing."

00:17:51 Speaker 06: And that's when it stopped.

00:17:54 Speaker 06: Probably saved two million dollars, right?

00:17:57 Speaker 06: And my point is that citizens can have influence if there's a need for that influence.

00:18:14 Speaker 06: I used to be on a board where, to make things interesting for the board members, they would ask people from staff to discuss what has not been decided; present what has not been decided.

00:18:34 Speaker 06: Don't present all the wonderful things you did and how smart you are and everything's great because they want to influence what decisions are being made.

00:18:49 Speaker 06: There's no room for influence if you only present what you've done.

00:19:02 Speaker 06: And I think the idea of the three-minute limitation, which I haven't really looked at my watch but you'll forgive me:

00:19:12 Speaker 06: is that if you really felt that anything important could be succinctly and completely described in only three minutes by a non-professional, then your professional staff should be held to the same standard as a citizen.

00:19:36 Speaker 06: That their reports be only three minutes in duration because they're asking citizens to do that.

00:19:48 Speaker 06: Good.

00:19:48 Speaker 06: So those are your comments.

00:19:52 Speaker 06: Yes.

00:19:52 Speaker 06: Good.

00:19:53 Speaker 07: Thank you Bob for coming in.

00:19:56 Speaker 07: And yes we do remember you being on the Operations Committee, and it was—it was a good committee at the time.

00:20:05 Speaker 07: Oh sorry; his name is Bob Hope and he lives in the City of Owen Sound.

00:20:09 Speaker 07: I forgot to ask you that but you know Anne Finley Stewart and I too live in Owen Sound,

00:20:17 Speaker 08: and I did not consult with either of these people so I didn't know that I was going to be speaking on the same subject.

00:20:23 Speaker 08: But I really just come to ask you to postpone this decision; a 22-page report and it's an excellent report.

00:20:33 Speaker 08: It's very in-depth and has lots of research in it, everything.

00:20:36 Speaker 08: But the community hasn't had a chance to talk about this at all.

00:20:40 Speaker 08: I geek that I actually read the agenda and read this stuff but you know nobody in the community has had this conversation;

00:20:48 Speaker 08: and I don't doubt that you spent 65 hours recruiting public members for committees—I don't doubt that at all—but I also remember sitting here, and you know I've sat in many council and committee meetings.

00:20:59 Speaker 08: And I believe it was Carol who suggested when you are going to go for recruitment you need to promote this the way you would promote something that you actually wanted somebody to buy and participate

00:21:15 Speaker 08: in;

00:21:15 Speaker 08: that you need to tell them more about it.

00:21:17 Speaker 08: You might need to make it more robust.

00:21:19 Speaker 08: You need to help them understand what part of decision-making they'll be part of, what kind of things you're looking for.

00:21:26 Speaker 08: I also noticed that in the exit survey people didn't participate very well.

00:21:33 Speaker 08: Why is that?

00:21:34 Speaker 08: You might ask yourself.

00:21:36 Speaker 08: But they did mention a lack of clarity on the role of committee members; which Carol mentioned needs to be clear: anticipating more opportunities for open discussion, collabouration, brainstorming,

00:21:48 Speaker 08: constructive criticism and idea sharing—and approving reports with limited input.

00:21:55 Speaker 08: So I just ask that the citizens of Owen Sound get a chance to have this conversation about this.

00:22:01 Speaker 08: We put a lot of things in Open City.

00:22:03 Speaker 08: You invite people to participate and give their opinions; and this one as far as I can see—I know you've been studying it for a while—but I don't think the public knows that.

00:22:12 Speaker 08: And I think if you really want a robust idea,

00:22:15 Speaker 08: instead of proposing a new structure and then telling everybody ten days before Christmas what you're going to do on your last term of Council about to start—and people considering participating in committees and running for

00:22:31 Speaker 08: council—that maybe they need to have this conversation first.

00:22:34 Speaker 08: Thank you.

00:22:36 Speaker 07: Thank you.

00:22:36 Speaker 07: Is there anyone else who wishes to comment in the public forum?

00:22:43 Speaker 07: I guess seeing none; we'll move to number nine.

00:22:52 Speaker 07: We thank everyone for coming in and giving your comments.

00:22:55 Speaker 07: Number nine: we have no correspondence items being presented for consideration.

00:23:01 Speaker 07: We're at number ten, which is reports from city staff starting at 10 a.m.

00:23:07 Speaker 07: The Manager of Corporate Services discussing the 2026–2030 multi-year capital plan update.

00:23:17 Speaker 07: Oh Brady's going to do it.

00:23:24 Speaker 07: Good evening Mayor; members of Council.

00:23:26 Speaker 07: We've done this many times over the last three years so I won't necessarily go through all the details of the multi-year capital plan benefits because I think everybody is tired of listening to me go

00:23:37 Speaker 07: through them,

00:23:38 Speaker 09: and we're all interested in the changes that have been made.

00:23:39 Speaker 09: So I'm just going to summarise a couple pieces of the plan.

00:23:43 Speaker 09: The multi-year capital plan is reviewed by Council biannually: in June where we add projects and an additional year to the capital plan;

00:23:51 Speaker 09: and then in December where as staff we've had opportunity to work on the approved plan over the last six months looking into future projects such as 2026.

00:23:59 Speaker 09: We make some recommendations on budget increases, addition of new projects,

00:24:05 Speaker 09: deferral of other projects that we can't simply get to or cancellation of projects that are no longer required or where we didn't get grant funding for; and we bring this back to Council.

00:24:16 Speaker 09: When Council approves the multi-year capital plan in June they are approving five full years of projects.

00:24:22 Speaker 09: So by adding this additional step into the process it allows Council to have that revisit conversation which is a two-way street: staff can bring forward projects, Council can bring forward projects.

00:24:33 Speaker 09: This is the time to review that.

00:24:35 Speaker 09: The only caveat is that once a project has been started it's very difficult to stop because we're in contracts with contractors or consultants to move forward.

00:24:47 Speaker 09: The changes proposed in this year's update are: inclusion of nine new projects equalling approximately $966,000; increase budget request for six projects of approximately $105,000;

00:25:01 Speaker 09: 20 projects where timing has been changed either deferred out one year or outside the five-year capital plan; and two projects have been removed.

00:25:10 Speaker 09: So overall we are reducing thirteen projects in total from the plan;

00:25:14 Speaker 09: a lot related to staff resourcing or competing priorities or another project that's in the five-year plan not being completed so us having to move it out to accommodate those changes.

00:25:31 Speaker 09: The total budget of the capital plan in June was $91 million dollars.

00:25:38 Speaker 09: This has been reduced to $85 million based on this update.

00:25:43 Speaker 09: That being said, that hasn't freed up any tax levy that goes into the capital plan to support it.

00:25:51 Speaker 09: The projects that have been moved out—the majority funded through OCIF funding programmemememe—are related to some infrastructure projects particularly around bridges and projects connected to Grey County roads within the city which we were waiting for

00:26:08 Speaker 09: official determination on the future of those roads.

00:26:10 Speaker 09: So those projects have been pushed back and are now outside the plan; they're not completely fallen off—they've just been pushed out into 2031 instead of 2030.

00:26:23 Speaker 09: There are four attachments attached to this report:

00:26:25 Speaker 09: The first attachment is a summary of all project or funding changes proposed.

00:26:30 Speaker 09: If Council brings up one of the projects I imagine that's the sheet we're going to reference for any conversation.

00:26:36 Speaker 09: The second attachment is updated capital detail sheets outlining changes to projects identified in Attachment One.

00:26:43 Speaker 09: Attachment Three is an updated summary of capital projects; so that would be the piece published on our website, used by Treasurer to develop capital progress reports and shared with interested members of public.

00:26:59 Speaker 09: And fourth: status of 2025 capital projects showing we still have some going but pushed out to 2026 while staff continue working actively waiting for contractors or other items to align themselves.

00:27:14 Speaker 09: So with that I'm happy to answer any questions related to changes to the plan.

00:27:19 Speaker 09: Councillor Farmer, pardon me through Mayor:

00:27:23 Speaker 10: I have a question about River District Revitalization Plan which is Project Number Twenty Six C Point Two identified for next year and $100k of which we're expecting grant funding for.

00:27:42 Speaker 10: If we are not successful in getting that grant funding will we be moving forward with a scoped-down version or would it only go forward if we get full $100k?

00:27:58 Speaker 09: To Councillor Armour through your Worship: typically when we structure these projects and identify grant funding source is that we will not proceed unless that grant has been received.

00:28:10 Speaker 09: If this project is priority in work plan for Downtown River Group I suspect if we don't get grant funding and they want to proceed with revised scope of work they'll bring it back to appropriate

00:28:21 Speaker 09: committee.

00:28:23 Speaker 09: Thank you.

00:28:23 Speaker 09: Other questions?

00:28:25 Speaker 02: Yep thank you Mr Mayor again I have suggestion or request: I don't know if this would require motion but specifically regarding lacrosse turf I think we need to support that project;

00:28:41 Speaker 02: time limited clearly benefit and public support for it.

00:28:46 Speaker 02: Also clear we have lot of unfunded capital needs and as we see further in correspondence pack/agenda package proposal is continue forward with 1% cap on levy increase for capital items;

00:29:04 Speaker 02: also Canada Helps page through which city can solicit donations provide tax receipts to residents ability highlight specific projects so members who want to support that project can do so but doesn't have to fall entirely

00:29:32 Speaker 02: on tax levy or capital reserves.

00:29:34 Speaker 02: In this case would I need looking to staff?

00:29:42 Speaker 02: Should I make motion effect potential revenue source be Canada Helps page added as trial because don't think city fully used platform yet; is suggestion?

00:29:58 Speaker 02: Is motion?

00:29:59 Speaker 02: If needs motion happy to make it.

00:30:06 Speaker 09: To Councillor Farmer through your Worship: this one's a little bit difficult only because know there another report coming Community Services Committee Wednesday about this.

00:30:16 Speaker 09: So when we struggled which do put first how deal with this condition was project wouldn't proceed without agreement in place so not sure if conversation should be held Wednesday and that recommendation within development future

00:30:36 Speaker 09: agreement;

00:30:38 Speaker 09: or whether enough members Council sitting here today carry forward on Wednesday prefer committee looking at it can have open discussion report coming more informed making decision by seat pants sense better go through want committees

00:31:03 Speaker 07: able participate think makes sense goes to committee left there.

00:31:10 Speaker 07: Through Mayor I'm on that committee happy hold idea until Wednesday okay anyone else?

00:31:17 Speaker 07: Okay got recommendation before us go ahead.

00:31:20 Speaker 03: I have two items which'd like point out this evening first at time note discuss Centennial Tower became familiarized back June update believe approximately $265,000 sits unfunded and as opposed to me tonight pointing specific funding

00:31:48 Speaker 03: sources I'd like move amendment five-year plan that Centennial Tower refurbishment project added funded list for 2027 allowing staff opportunity examine next six months where may locate some funding sources.

00:32:11 Speaker 03: Know end of 2025 mat tax reserve will have approximately $200,000 by time so as opposed to cherry picking other projects don't wish get into tonight but do think this asset built residents city people enjoyment

00:32:41 Speaker 03: long term responsibility obligation whatever Council recognize work needs done firstly move amendment plan update include Centennial Tower project 2027.

00:32:59 Speaker 01: So there motion we don't have motion floor recommendations separate motion included when get recommendation yeah recognizing motion Scott just brought any discussion call question all in favour carried go ahead next items three new additions

00:33:28 Speaker 04: unfortunately forgot readers under water and two under wastewater one flow metre replacement backwash one infiltration flow monitoring one think above it $250k study never like surprise moments felt reading document one those dislike liked pathway

00:34:07 Speaker 04: River District enhancements came through Council washroom facility came through Council IT software transformation came through Council service review turf study perfect pathways went committee discussion recommendation adopted rejected council consideration next year budget frankly even

00:35:25 Speaker 04: chair operations committee surprised caught off guard significance projects think represents items should go committee first fulsome discussion flushing pun opposed three projects included 2026 move those not discussed don't think place belongs committee 2026 further

00:35:38 Speaker 04: direction two councils consider future so'd move got screen separate.

00:35:59 Speaker 04: Item 26N-13 $250k studies funded $103k water rates $70k wastewater rates $50k OCIF other thing mention potentially see increased water revenues new metre replacement extremely important committee council maintains clear line

00:39:36 Speaker 04: Mr. Mosbey, go ahead.

00:39:39 Speaker 11: Thank you, Worship, and just for clarity: then,

00:39:40 Speaker 11: so is your recommendation stating that we are going to be sending these three to Operations Committee to be discussed in the next six months before the next capital plan review,

00:39:53 Speaker 11: or is it just completely remove them from the capital budget?

00:39:57 Speaker 11: Completely.

00:39:59 Speaker 03: It would go to the committee for discussion.

00:40:02 Speaker 03: I see the City Manager nodding,

00:40:04 Speaker 03: and any Operations Chair or any chair of a relevant committee would be able to read the room and see something and take it back and put it on the agenda for their committee to consider.

00:40:18 Speaker 07: Do you want to add anything just before I'm going to get Brandon to read the motion and then vote on it?

00:40:23 Speaker 07: But if you want to add something, thank you, Your Worship.

00:40:27 Speaker 09: I just want to point out one of the projects: the flow metre replacement, the backwash, and the industrial media filter replacement project, and the ability for it to function as designed.

00:40:44 Speaker 09: So this is through the course of construction; this project has been identified as something that needs to be added to fully finish off that project.

00:40:52 Speaker 09: That's why it was included for 2026.

00:40:56 Speaker 09: I think I'd like staff to proceed with that project.

00:40:59 Speaker 09: The Director can speak to the urgency of that, and then regarding just clarifying: if these projects are pushed off for further conversation,

00:41:09 Speaker 09: the projects we're suggesting be removed to fund these projects are also tied there, and this money would also go to the reserve.

00:41:16 Speaker 09: So I hope that we as staff can continue to keep these funds within the budget/reserve without having to come back and ask for them again.

00:41:23 Speaker 09: Just if that could be confirmed with Council through the motion?

00:41:25 Speaker 09: But I think I'll let the Director speak to the flow metre requirements before you move to your next motion.

00:41:36 Speaker 09: Thank you, Your Worship.

00:41:38 Speaker 12: Yes; the flow metre was identified as...

00:41:42 Speaker 12: Now I think I'm going to back up a little bit.

00:41:45 Speaker 12: If we had done a water capital needs assessment, we would have known that when we did the filter project, we would have needed to do the flow metre at the same time.

00:42:00 Speaker 12: We would have known it would be part of the project because we would know what assets we had and what were compatible,

00:42:06 Speaker 12: and what were required in addition to or because of whatever work we were going to do in the plant.

00:42:16 Speaker 12: So what happened was: we went ahead with the filter project.

00:42:20 Speaker 12: It spawned a number of sort of sub-projects within that project because there were a number of things not considered in the design of that project.

00:42:30 Speaker 12: I've mentioned, I think before, a set of doors that needed to be retrofitted because we couldn't get some equipment into the building.

00:42:40 Speaker 12: There's also this flow metre; there was—I think—a pump issue or something.

00:42:44 Speaker 12: There are a bunch of different things that were not considered.

00:42:49 Speaker 12: So the short story is: we need to do the flowmetre, or else the work we're doing for the filter project isn't going to function properly.

00:43:00 Speaker 12: It will not be able to be commissioned.

00:43:04 Speaker 12: Aside from that, I guess I've sort of sidetracked with a plug for rationale regarding the needs assessment.

00:43:11 Speaker 12: It provides us essentially our roadmap: an inventory of what we have for process equipment in these plants and what needs to be done in what sequence—to spend our dollars as wisely as possible.

00:43:29 Speaker 12: We took off a couple of projects that were cherry-picked out of the plant before, in order to do this, so that we know we're doing things in the right order.

00:43:41 Speaker 12: Thank you.

00:43:42 Speaker 12: So...

00:43:43 Speaker 01: I allowed this to get off-topic and shouldn't have.

00:43:45 Speaker 01: But we are not talking about the flow metre replacement; that's not the motion on the floor.

00:43:52 Speaker 01: It is strictly wastewater—the way it's spelled anyway—it does matter—and the Wastewater Capital Needs Assessment, which is before us now, which is the motion before us.

00:44:00 Speaker 01: And I think Laura just kind of explained why we need to do the assessment.

00:44:04 Speaker 01: So that's what we're talking about only.

00:44:07 Speaker 01: Go ahead through you, Mayor.

00:44:11 Speaker 13: So we really need to get to the dollars and cents of all of this in a variety of ways.

00:44:17 Speaker 13: We will be hearing shortly that we are moving forward still with one per cent towards capital; that additional one per cent from the Mayor's budget will be removed.

00:44:36 Speaker 13: What concerns me: a couple of things.

00:44:40 Speaker 13: Where will we find the money when we continue with that one per cent?

00:44:46 Speaker 07: Okay, hold on.

00:44:46 Speaker 07: I'm just going to...

00:44:47 Speaker 07: We're talking about the motion on the floor, not the next one coming down the road.

00:44:54 Speaker 13: The motion on the floor is how much—two hundred and fifty thousand dollars—that we have to find to pay for a capital needs assessment.

00:45:04 Speaker 13: Have we recovered that two hundred and fifty thousand dollars with cherry-picking?

00:45:09 Speaker 13: With the cherry-picking done to remove other projects that would have gone forward...

00:45:16 Speaker 09: To Councillor Merton, through your Worship: yes; the water-related funding has come from cancellation of the Slice Gates project.

00:45:27 Speaker 09: I think that was a project the Director was referencing.

00:45:31 Speaker 09: There was one project approved in the budget for this amount, but staff are unsure what other items upstream and downstream could evolve through this project, and I think this is what scares them.

00:45:42 Speaker 09: When I've met with them, when Directors met with their team, and even when senior leadership talked about this: we picked some of these projects; we had some turnover of staff,

00:45:51 Speaker 09: and haven't had a chance to really make sure that these projects are scoped out.

00:45:55 Speaker 09: And I think when you see the capital progress sheet and you see some of these projects not being completed each year—it's because we've had staff turnover.

00:46:02 Speaker 09: Some of us are picking up projects from predecessors, trying to run with them, but aren't necessarily sure what the scope is.

00:46:08 Speaker 09: In this instance, we have a Manager of Water and Wastewater who has been here just over a year; he's working diligently to try and scope this capital work,

00:46:17 Speaker 09: but he's unable to get background information or properly scope out that project.

00:46:21 Speaker 09: So the intention of this assessment is to look at each piece of equipment, then also look at what are the "children" of that piece of equipment, and then bundle some of those projects.

00:46:31 Speaker 09: We're not doing one item this year, another next year, third item in the third year;

00:46:36 Speaker 09: we're looking at bundling those projects into four or five key items so he can scope out for future capital plans and for future water and wastewater rate studies:

00:46:46 Speaker 09: a million-dollar project instead of three hundred thirty-three thousand dollar project.

00:46:51 Speaker 09: Then we can retain one consultant, retain one contractor, manage one project at a time, and make sure the benefits from Project A are seen by inclusion of Project C down the line.

00:47:04 Speaker 09: So in the case when you're talking about the media filter: we're replacing that; it's going to be great—that asset is being replaced—and it's critical for us.

00:47:13 Speaker 09: But now we're seeing two or three items downstream that will not allow that filter to operate as efficiently as expected or required from the plant.

00:47:25 Speaker 09: Factored into these projects—even including OSF money—we had allocation for some facility conditions.

00:47:29 Speaker 09: So that's what the fifty thousand dollars will come towards: doing those facilities, inventorying equipment to be able to use it for asset management plan;

00:47:37 Speaker 09: but a building condition assessment doesn't look at process equipment and how things flow.

00:47:41 Speaker 09: That's what the consultant is going to help determine and then develop these scopes of work.

00:47:45 Speaker 09: I think one thing that has been said before too is that the Water and Wastewater team doesn't have a capital project coordinator specifically for it.

00:47:54 Speaker 09: So on top of what the Manager has to do from day-to-day operations, they don't have that capital project person who can support them in doing a lot of this work.

00:48:01 Speaker 09: So in instances like this, we have to outsource and get third-party support as well.

00:48:07 Speaker 07: Thank you.

00:48:08 Speaker 07: So Branda—can you read the motion to us please?

00:48:13 Speaker 02: What's...

00:48:14 Speaker 02: Go ahead through the Mayor: I guess I'm...

00:48:16 Speaker 02: I'm sympathetic to the intention to want Committee to look at this.

00:48:22 Speaker 02: My assumption would be there would be a report anyway.

00:48:24 Speaker 02: I'm curious if a report was already planned on a certain timeline to present this to committee, and I'm also wondering what the timeline implications are for the project itself.

00:48:32 Speaker 02: If it's been identified newly as an urgent project by taking it out of the capital budget for the sake of bringing that to Committee:

00:48:41 Speaker 02: are we delaying necessary work while also preempting a report that would be coming to Committee in the natural flow of things anyway?

00:48:49 Speaker 02: Does this layer of questioning make sense?

00:48:53 Speaker 02: Yeah, I think it's a good question.

00:48:54 Speaker 02: Can you read it please?

00:48:58 Speaker 14: Through you Your Worship: motion is that City Council direct staff to remove Item 26 and Point 13 from the capital plan, and forward Items 26 and 13 to Operations Committee for review.

00:49:14 Speaker 14: Thank you.

00:49:14 Speaker 14: I'm going to call the question.

00:49:15 Speaker 14: All in favour?

00:49:17 Speaker 14: One, two.

00:49:19 Speaker 14: Opposed.

00:49:20 Speaker 01: So that is defeated.

00:49:22 Speaker 01: Was there another one?

00:49:24 Speaker 03: Yes; the flow metre replacement is funded ninety thousand dollars from reserves and thirty thousand dollars from capital reserves.

00:49:33 Speaker 03: So I will pass it.

00:49:35 Speaker 03: Sixty thousand dollars from wastewater rates for infiltration flow monitoring—again, another project that I think should have gone to Committee and followed the same pathway as other projects mentioned earlier.

00:49:47 Speaker 03: And there would be more information; we wouldn't be having a committee discussion as part of a Council meeting anyway.

00:49:56 Speaker 03: So I'll move 26-07 for removal.

00:50:00 Speaker 03: And again, I'll just note: many people are commenting that their adjusted water bills seemingly at this point are reading higher volumes,

00:50:13 Speaker 03: and there may be an expectation the City is going to see or realize additional revenues across the board.

00:50:21 Speaker 03: So I'll be watching very closely once we get this system fully initiated and seeing where those revenues are.

00:50:30 Speaker 03: Because if there's abundance of revenue coming in: it's not just about spending them wherever we can; it's about realizing what is over above our projections for revenues when we did that plan,

00:50:45 Speaker 03: and finding balance between expenditure on necessary projects and realizing savings to the user in the City.

00:50:56 Speaker 03: So I will move that one—same thing, 26-07 for removal this time from Water and Wastewater budget.

00:51:04 Speaker 03: And again: it's one that should be at Committee for information.

00:51:09 Speaker 07: So thanks; same principle.

00:51:11 Speaker 07: Are there any questions new?

00:51:12 Speaker 07: Seeing none, I'll call the question.

00:51:15 Speaker 07: All in favour?

00:51:18 Speaker 07: Four already... five, six, seven.

00:51:20 Speaker 07: So that one is carried.

00:51:21 Speaker 07: Okay.

00:51:21 Speaker 07: Anything else?

00:51:25 Speaker 07: Okay Brock Councillor Hamley: Yeah no—just wanted to point out the lacrosse turf very much in favour of that.

00:51:37 Speaker 15: But I did have two questions.

00:51:39 Speaker 15: First one: we're certain the size is appropriate for the floor it's going to be laying on?

00:51:51 Speaker 16: Through your Worship, new size well—the size is same but shape of new Bayshore floor is compatible with floor proposed to be acquired.

00:52:07 Speaker 16: Okay thank you.

00:52:08 Speaker 15: And then second question: these things—it's really important to have pretty solid plan to store it because if you don't store it, it deteriorates much quicker and life cycle shrinks rapidly.

00:52:23 Speaker 15: So I just wanted to see if there was a plan for storage.

00:52:28 Speaker 16: Through your worship, part of the budget proposed by La Crosse is the acquisition of a storage container.

00:52:37 Speaker 16: The agreement that we'll talk about on Wednesday night will figure out where we'll keep that container.

00:52:43 Speaker 16: But that container is proposed for storing the floor during the lacrosse off-season.

00:52:51 Speaker 07: Mister Brown, if you want to go back to the original report and the recommendation that was there, Trev.

00:52:59 Speaker 11: Thank you, Your Worship.

00:52:59 Speaker 11: And I don't have any direct questions regarding what's being proposed in the capital plan.

00:53:05 Speaker 11: My general question is, you've kind of hit the nail on the head there.

00:53:09 Speaker 11: We've had some key personnel who have switched roles or there've been some switches up and changes, and that does leave a lot of work for the next individual.

00:53:24 Speaker 11: Right?

00:53:24 Speaker 11: The next individual comes in and says, "Hey, wait a second, where were we on this file?

00:53:28 Speaker 11: I got to pick it up and start running again."

00:53:30 Speaker 11: And I do think we've had a very aggressive capital plan over the last number of years, so my only question or comment or concern—maybe a broad one—is what we're putting in the plan.

00:53:47 Speaker 11: We're trying to base it off our funding gaps and all these other parts, but are we ensuring that we aren't being too ambitious?

00:54:02 Speaker 11: Right?

00:54:02 Speaker 11: Thinking about the personnel and the morale weight they're carrying doing this and not getting burned out by having such an aggressive plan:

00:54:14 Speaker 11: what are we doing as a senior leadership team to ensure that the health and well-being of our staff is controlled and contained,

00:54:24 Speaker 11: and isn't just council saying we want 300 capital projects done with someone trying to catch all of them in a twelve-month cycle?

00:54:32 Speaker 11: I don't think that's fair.

00:54:33 Speaker 11: And I just want to ensure that as our planning moves forward, we aren't pushing too much onto staff.

00:54:44 Speaker 11: I know that's more of a comment than a question, but I'm wondering if we could get something from senior leadership about how we're ensuring that our capital budget isn't becoming too onerous on our staff.

00:55:00 Speaker 17: Thank you.

00:55:04 Speaker 17: Thank you, Mayor—or thank you through the Mayor to Councillor Dodd for calling it not a question but an observation; and it's a good one.

00:55:12 Speaker 17: We struggle with that as the senior leadership team when looking at not only capital projects but operating projects.

00:55:19 Speaker 17: You know, there are many projects we're juggling.

00:55:22 Speaker 17: Through service review, we have initiated a new software package:

00:55:28 Speaker 17: a project management tool that is actually helping us align all of those projects—operating and capital—together so we can see them in a more fulsome picture to look at workloads, etc. This past week,

00:55:42 Speaker 17: we got together as the strategic senior leadership team and started reviewing all 200-plus projects in the hopper, so to speak: again, capital and operating—and are putting a critical lens on staff workloads and availability,

00:55:58 Speaker 17: etc. We have had some turnover with key staff and are trying to balance that out again—not just regarding work-life balance but what can be achieved versus what is too ambitious.

00:56:12 Speaker 17: I think it comes back also to good budgeting.

00:56:16 Speaker 17: If we keep sinking dollars into a capital plan knowing upfront that we will never get to those projects, why are we committing those dollars now on those things?

00:56:26 Speaker 17: So there is a whole prioritization process in place right now.

00:56:31 Speaker 17: Council, when we get to the July annual update on the capital plan, you'll see a number of revisions and changes: timelines moving, etc. I'd say a lot of capital projects don't necessarily go away;

00:56:45 Speaker 17: but we will assess them based on how they fit into staff workflows and if things can be prioritized accordingly.

00:56:54 Speaker 17: It's not just whether this is important to council, but where it sits with the age of the asset, etc.,

00:57:01 Speaker 17: the criticalness of replacing or repairing something—we will take all that again using some of our new software, regular meetings, and bringing back a more fulsome, complete look.

00:57:13 Speaker 17: But we are very cognizant of staff workloads right now.

00:57:19 Speaker 17: Okay, recommendation before us.

00:57:24 Speaker 17: Hello, Travis.

00:57:26 Speaker 17: Thank you, Worship.

00:57:27 Speaker 17: I move the recommendation as it's listed.

00:57:29 Speaker 17: So Councillor Dodd moved the recommendation with an amendment.

00:57:38 Speaker 07: I think his microphone was off so I'm just repeating it: Call the question.

00:57:41 Speaker 07: All in favour?

00:57:43 Speaker 07: That is carried.

00:57:47 Speaker 07: Ten B. Hearing from Deputy Clerk Landry on council board and committee selections.

00:57:56 Speaker 07: Fun day.

00:57:56 Speaker 07: Over to you.

00:57:57 Speaker 18: In accordance with policy number GOV-001, City Council will make selections for seating arrangements and Boarding Committee representation which will be effective February 1, 2026.

00:58:11 Speaker 18: We will first start with seat selection.

00:58:12 Speaker 18: Each councillor, except the Deputy Mayor, will draw a number out of an envelope starting from left to right that corresponds with numbered seats.

00:58:19 Speaker 18: As the Mayor and Deputy Mayor sit in the same seats each year, seat numbers four and five are not available for selection.

00:58:25 Speaker 18: After the meeting if any council members need to switch seats you need to notify me of the change by the end of the day on Monday January 5th.

00:58:32 Speaker 18: This can be done by email and please have both councillors who are part of this exchange included in the email.

00:58:36 Speaker 18: So I'll take the envelope around now for each member to select.

00:59:40 Speaker 07: Okay, we're going to call back in.

00:59:42 Speaker 07: I'm nine.

00:59:44 Speaker 07: Going to start with Councillor Hamley.

00:59:48 Speaker 07: What number?

00:59:49 Speaker 07: Two.

00:59:52 Speaker 07: Councillor Middlebro'.

00:59:55 Speaker 07: Number one.

00:59:58 Speaker 07: Councillor Dodd.

00:59:59 Speaker 07: Number eight.

01:00:02 Speaker 07: Councillor Merton.

01:00:04 Speaker 07: Number nine.

01:00:08 Speaker 07: Councillor Kukreja.

01:00:12 Speaker 07: Number six.

01:00:15 Speaker 07: Councillor Koepke.

01:00:20 Speaker 07: Number three.

01:00:22 Speaker 07: Councillor Farmer: lucky number seven.

01:00:28 Speaker 07: Okay, you got it all.

01:00:31 Speaker 07: Handing those back in.

01:00:39 Speaker 19: So now for the committee selections:

01:00:40 Speaker 19: councillors who are on a board for multiple years have the opportunity to pass on a round of selections during the selection process as per their appointments under the Board and Committee Bylaw.

01:00:49 Speaker 19: Deputy Mayor Greig has one pass; Councillor Dodd has one pass; Councillor Farmer has one pass; Councillor Koepke has two passes, and Councillor Merton has one pass.

01:00:59 Speaker 19: For committee selection order each councillor will draw a number out of an envelope starting from left to right.

01:01:03 Speaker 19: The councillor who draws number one makes the first selection.

01:01:07 Speaker 19: Selections are made in sequence: 1 through 8 then back to 8 down to 1 until all council positions on boards and committees have been filled.

01:01:14 Speaker 19: The City Clerk will display the council selection sheet so members can follow along.

01:01:19 Speaker 19: When there is one vacancy remaining for a board or committee, the line turns yellow; when no vacancies remain it turns red.

01:01:25 Speaker 19: After the meeting when you are reviewing your selections if scheduling conflicts arise and councillors need to exchange a board or committee you need to notify me of the change by end-of-day Monday January 5th via

01:01:37 Speaker 19: email with both councillors included in that communication.

01:01:40 Speaker 19: The appointing bylaw presented on January 12th will accurately reflect all selections made tonight and any changes after-the-fact.

01:01:47 Speaker 19: So I'll go around now for the next numbers.

01:03:17 Speaker 01: Okay, have to do it out loud: Councillor Deputy Mayor Greig what number did you get?

01:03:23 Speaker 01: One.

01:03:24 Speaker 01: Councillor Merton what number did you get?

01:03:27 Speaker 01: Number two.

01:03:30 Speaker 01: Councillor Koepke what number did you get?

01:03:33 Speaker 01: Number three.

01:03:33 Speaker 01: Am I pretty good at this aren't I Councillor Middlebro'?

01:03:39 Speaker 01: Number four.

01:03:43 Speaker 01: Councillor Kukreja what number did you get?

01:03:45 Speaker 01: Number five.

01:03:47 Speaker 01: Odd eh, Councillor Dodd: six.

01:03:54 Speaker 01: Councillor Hamley what number did you get?

01:04:01 Speaker 01: Seven.

01:04:03 Speaker 01: Then then you would blow your reputation as a councillor; but Councillor Farmer got number eight there.

01:04:25 Speaker 01: Okay Deputy Mayor Greig go ahead first choice.

01:04:29 Speaker 01: Well previous to that I was just wondering is there a place to have discussion about the merits of each committee?

01:04:39 Speaker 03: We've never had—I can't recall the last time we had minutes from the Owen Sound Fund for example.

01:04:45 Speaker 03: I've sat on the Owen Sound Fund and I'm not convinced—meaning we may delay a report tonight or work with a report that spells out times and commitments so forth—and I just am not convinced that

01:05:00 Speaker 03: the Owen Sound Fund is one where we should be placing a council member on it.

01:05:04 Speaker 03: The council member on for representation.

01:05:10 Speaker 07: I was just about to go to Ms. Bloomfield, and her hand went up.

01:05:13 Speaker 07: Go ahead.

01:05:15 Speaker 14: Through your worship, we had brought a report in the fall, which was sort of when we'd hoped that those decisions would be made.

01:05:23 Speaker 14: And I will note that this is based on an agreement, a donor-advised fund agreement between the City of Owen Sound and the Community Foundation Greater Bruce.

01:05:29 Speaker 14: So, I think we would have to look into that further if we were going to make a change.

01:05:37 Speaker 14: So, back to you.

01:05:38 Speaker 14: If you want to pick a committee, noting that I will choose Operations: Councillor Merton.

01:05:51 Speaker 14: Operations: Councillor Koepke.

01:05:58 Speaker 14: Community Services: Councillor Middlebro'.

01:06:04 Speaker 14: Community Services: Councillor Kukreja.

01:06:10 Speaker 14: Community Services: Councillor Dodd.

01:06:17 Speaker 14: I'll take Community Services as well.

01:06:26 Speaker 14: Councillor Hamley.

01:06:31 Speaker 14: Ah.

01:06:32 Speaker 14: Operations, Councillor Farmer.

01:06:41 Speaker 14: Community Safety and Well-being.

01:06:48 Speaker 01: Yeah, go ahead.

01:06:49 Speaker 01: You're next.

01:06:49 Speaker 01: From eight back to one, Councillor Farmer.

01:06:56 Speaker 01: Operations.

01:07:00 Speaker 01: Councillor Hamley.

01:07:03 Speaker 01: Owen Sound Fund: Councillor Dodd.

01:07:10 Speaker 01: Corporate Services: Councillor Kukreja.

01:07:18 Speaker 01: Corporate Services: Councillor Middlebro'.

01:07:25 Speaker 01: Corporate Services: Councillor Koepke.

01:07:31 Speaker 01: Art Gallery: Councillor Merton.

01:07:36 Speaker 01: Corporate Services.

01:07:39 Speaker 01: And Deputy Mayor Greig, Art Gallery.

01:07:46 Speaker 01: Okay, then it's back to you.

01:07:56 Speaker 01: Housing Company.

01:08:03 Speaker 01: Okay, Councillor Merton.

01:08:10 Speaker 01: Owen Sound Tourism Development.

01:08:15 Speaker 01: Okay, Councillor Koepke.

01:08:15 Speaker 01: Pass.

01:08:18 Speaker 01: Councillor Merton.

01:08:25 Speaker 01: Councillor Middlebro'.

01:08:35 Speaker 01: Then I will take the Great Bruce Property Task Force: Councillor Kukreja.

01:08:44 Speaker 01: Well, that's all of them.

01:08:45 Speaker 01: Ah, I was looking down; I wasn't looking up.

01:09:00 Speaker 19: So, through the Mayor, if anyone does need to make selections after looking at their schedules, you can do so by letting me know by the end of the day on January fifth, just by email.

01:09:09 Speaker 19: And just make sure both people who are doing the exchange are copied on the email, so I know that both people agreeable.

01:09:19 Speaker 07: And we'll need a motion with regard to the recommendation that's in front of us.

01:09:31 Speaker 20: I'll move the recommendation in the report that staff bring forward a report to appoint Council members to serve on boards and committees for terms effective February 1, two thousand and twenty-six.

01:09:44 Speaker 20: Thank you.

01:09:44 Speaker 01: In all favour, and it is carried.

01:09:48 Speaker 01: So we're down to ten C, which is the report from N.C., which is the report from City Manager and City Clerk with regard to committee structure review.

01:09:58 Speaker 17: Thank you, Mayor, and through you to Council.

01:10:00 Speaker 17: I'm going to start just before we go to the first slide.

01:10:03 Speaker 17: I just want to bring special attention and thank the City Clerk for all of her work on this file.

01:10:13 Speaker 17: As you can imagine, when you start to look at committee structure review—and if I could have a slide, please—there is no right or wrong answer.

01:10:23 Speaker 17: It's really about finding the right fit for Owen Sound.

01:10:27 Speaker 17: So staff, myself included, have worked in other municipalities where there are multiple different variations of themes regarding committees.

01:10:37 Speaker 17: So today's discussion really speaks to the notion of overlaying governance concepts into six options that we're presenting in the report and in the presentation tonight.

01:10:48 Speaker 17: And I just want to encourage everyone to explore an open-mindedness on this.

01:10:53 Speaker 17: And the goal is, again, to work towards finding what's best for our context.

01:10:59 Speaker 17: And why now?

01:11:02 Speaker 17: We're talking about a committee structure that would begin in 2027.

01:11:06 Speaker 17: And some people might say, "Well, why aren't we just waiting till 2027, a new term of Council?"

01:11:11 Speaker 17: But as we talk about this with staff and as we talk about governance, the collective expertise of this Council really can play into determining that governance structure that best fits for Owen Sound.

01:11:27 Speaker 17: We're currently in a standing committee setup, but over the past year, another driving force behind looking at committee structure and governance is Vision 2050 that everybody has worked so hard on.

01:11:39 Speaker 17: It's been brought up a number of times tonight already, and as we move more towards setting ourselves up in all things we do with Vision 2050,

01:11:49 Speaker 17: we want to make sure that the seven themes that emerged through that project and the will-be statements that emerged with that project have a governance structure that supports that ambitious plan because it's a 25-year

01:12:02 Speaker 17: plan that we're laying out.

01:12:04 Speaker 17: Slide, please.

01:12:07 Speaker 17: So just a little bit of context: what is a committee?

01:12:10 Speaker 17: Committees are flexible tools for Council governance; by definition in the Municipal Act, section two hundred and thirty-eight speaks to committees.

01:12:18 Speaker 17: It doesn't have a lot to say about committees, but it says a committee includes advisory committees, subcommittees, or similar entities established by Council.

01:12:25 Speaker 17: And the purpose of committees is to assist in Council decision-making, in a nutshell.

01:12:31 Speaker 17: Then the governance aspect: committees are subject to the same procedural bylaw requirements as Council meetings.

01:12:36 Speaker 17: So an example of that is notice, openness, and record-keeping.

01:12:41 Speaker 17: As we look at our Committees tonight,

01:12:44 Speaker 17: I also wanted to make a note that although we're talking about standing committees—and I think this was brought up earlier by a member of Council—there is a lot of participation and a lot of work

01:12:54 Speaker 17: done by you as Council members on various committees.

01:12:57 Speaker 17: So we're talking about our standing committees, but overall there are 14 Committees and boards that you serve on, and it takes a lot of time and effort.

01:13:06 Speaker 17: And that plays into this discussion from an equity remuneration down the road, etc., but the time and effort that each of you place into Boards and Committees is quite significant.

01:13:19 Speaker 17: The one thing: no matter how many committees or what structure you move forward with, it is the primacy of Council; Council has complete oversight.

01:13:30 Speaker 17: And this is just a very simple diagram.

01:13:32 Speaker 17: I show two committees here in this flow chart, but if you had 22 committees, they still all report to Council.

01:13:38 Speaker 17: Council is the basic decision-maker in all things.

01:13:42 Speaker 17: So again,

01:13:43 Speaker 17: whether any of the options you might move forward with tonight or at a future date—what they might look like even if it's not exactly one of the options—the one thing to always keep in mind

01:13:53 Speaker 17: is that Committees always report to Council and Council ratifies and makes all decisions in the decision-making process.

01:14:03 Speaker 17: Something else discussed briefly tonight, when we talked about committee structures: the difference between public involvement and public engagement.

01:14:09 Speaker 17: I think both matter; they serve different governance purposes but it's important to recognize that public involvement really speaks to participation within Committee processes, whereas public engagement is more of broader outreach,

01:14:23 Speaker 17: ongoing community dialogueueueue outside formal meetings to inform and consult.

01:14:27 Speaker 17: And I think one of the things we've formally and informally heard back from committee members is the notion that our standing committees have a free-flowing conversation around them;

01:14:38 Speaker 17: they want to present ideas and participate in more of a public engagement discussion rather than just public involvement.

01:14:46 Speaker 17: Don't get me wrong, there is public involvement,

01:14:47 Speaker 17: but I think there's a notion that at a Committee meeting it's not as structured—it puts an idea on the table and the committee can discuss that at length for whatever the idea might be.

01:14:58 Speaker 17: And so when public members come in and find out that it's more written submissions where they're reviewing reports from staff etc., it feels more ring-fenced, and people ask, "How does this work?"

01:15:09 Speaker 17: As opposed to perhaps a task force where Council charges a task force with an idea, goes out and takes a look at it.

01:15:17 Speaker 17: That task force gets together and has those open, free-flowing conversations and looks into things.

01:15:25 Speaker 17: Some of the advantages and disadvantages of committees: again we're not taking either side of this fence to say there are numerous advantages or disadvantages;

01:15:33 Speaker 17: we're just trying to lay out some of this picture as you begin your discussion tonight.

01:15:38 Speaker 17: So some of the advantages: Committees can reduce Council workload, help streamline decision-making, deputations can go to committees, specialization opportunities exist, a less formal atmosphere may encourage discussion, and you have public participation on the committee.

01:15:58 Speaker 17: Some disadvantages though, as we've seen: they can slow down that decision-making process; discussions may be duplicated at the Council table; also there's a risk of siloed thinking,

01:16:09 Speaker 17: which in our current structure might be more evident than what some of the options coming forward offer; and it may focus too much on details rather than policy.

01:16:21 Speaker 17: So what is working?

01:16:22 Speaker 17: I think what's working right now: public voices at the table; we have very clear organised reporting structures; we have a comfortable forum for dialogueueueue; we have experienced leadership in the chair;

01:16:35 Speaker 17: we have efficient staff participation, and broad exposure for Councillors also.

01:16:40 Speaker 17: And looking at different things...

01:16:43 Speaker 17: On the opposite side of that, what isn't working?

01:16:46 Speaker 17: What isn't working is some of the breaking down of silos.

01:16:49 Speaker 17: So I, as City Manager, have spoken a lot about that.

01:16:52 Speaker 17: Vision 2050 speaks about that; Service Review Committee has spoken about it—that we want to start in today's work.

01:17:01 Speaker 17: Work should not be dedicated to one form or service function; it's not just about parks—there are multiple aspects that touch parks; it's not just about roads—multiple different departments touch roads,

01:17:12 Speaker 17: etc. So our work is not siloed.

01:17:15 Speaker 17: There's clarity on where some items belong.

01:17:18 Speaker 17: We've all experienced over the years that some items will end up going to Council and back to a committee or going through multiple committees before coming to Council,

01:17:26 Speaker 17: and it doesn't necessarily go back and forth but can sort of feel like a little bit of a merry-go-round as opposed to having very clear direction.

01:17:33 Speaker 17: Aligning with strategic priorities: our current model is set up again by departments in our organisational model rather than strategic priorities.

01:17:42 Speaker 17: I mentioned at the onset that we're moving towards Vision 2050; we think it's very important to start aligning to our strategic priorities rather than organisational alignment.

01:17:52 Speaker 17: Boosting public participation so recruitment challenges and mid-term resignations require ongoing effort—there's a lot of time and effort spent with our Clerks Department in managing that.

01:18:03 Speaker 17: Maximizing meeting value: sometimes our agendas aren't necessarily the most robust, reducing opportunities for meaningful input.

01:18:10 Speaker 17: And then lastly, quality over quantity: meeting frequency doesn't equal productivity.

01:18:15 Speaker 17: So we want to take a hard look at what is coming to committee.

01:18:19 Speaker 17: Just because we can say we might schedule 12 meetings a year—but as the report notes—often those twelve meetings are reduced down to nine; those nine meetings sometimes also get cancelled,

01:18:31 Speaker 17: and it's not just about hitting a number.

01:18:33 Speaker 17: I know the Clerk reports back on meeting attendance etc., and sometimes it feels like if you've hit one hundred percent of your meetings we've really added value to the process.

01:18:42 Speaker 17: But really I think some of the thinking we'd like to start putting into this is that meeting frequency doesn't equal productivity.

01:18:50 Speaker 17: So what's our end goal?

01:18:51 Speaker 17: We want to establish a governance structure that supports City business and our strategic priorities; put those two things on a scale and try to find that nice, equal balance.

01:19:01 Speaker 17: We want to ensure our decisions are clear, collabourative, and aligned with community direction.

01:19:06 Speaker 17: Council's role in all of this is to represent the public, set policies, determine services, maintain accountability, and also above all financial integrity.

01:19:15 Speaker 17: Staff's role: we're here to implement those Council decisions, provide research and advice, and manage operations.

01:19:22 Speaker 17: Committees do strengthen policy development and bring diverse perspectives to decision-making; the structure should enable cross-functional collabouration and again reflect our Vision 2050 priorities.

01:19:33 Speaker 17: So as I started, governance has no right or wrong answer—it's about Owen Sound finding the right fit for us.

01:19:41 Speaker 17: And in addition to the first two bullet points from our first slide, some other questions I'd leave you with as I turn this over to Briana to take a look at the options:

01:19:51 Speaker 17: Is what option best supports governance while preserving Council-led decision-making?

01:19:57 Speaker 17: How will we differentiate public involvement from public engagement?

01:20:02 Speaker 17: And what option might best support Vision Two Thousand and Fifty?

01:20:05 Speaker 17: With that, I'll turn it over to the Clerk to walk through our options.

01:20:12 Speaker 14: Through your worship, staff explored a variety of options but six have been included in the report for Council's consideration.

01:20:22 Speaker 14: The next slides will provide a brief overview of the options.

01:20:26 Speaker 14: Following Council's direction further refinement will occur with subsequent reports presented to Council for review and consideration.

01:20:34 Speaker 14: Option one is to maintain the current structure with a couple of enhancements: include a youth member on all committees where possible, and incorporate Vision 2050 priorities into terms of reference.

01:20:45 Speaker 14: To terms of reference...

01:20:48 Speaker 14: Option two is a two-committee structure; it reduces Committees from five to two, includes public and Council members, there are no changes to Council meetings,

01:20:58 Speaker 14: and decreases the number of Council and Committee meetings from sixty-three to forty-two.

01:21:05 Speaker 14: Option three is a three-committee structure: it reduces committees from five to three; there are two committees that include public and Council members...

01:21:14 Speaker 14: One committee includes Council members only.

01:21:17 Speaker 14: There are no changes to Council meetings, and it decreases the number of Council and committee meetings from sixty-three to fifty-three.

01:21:24 Speaker 14: This option is supported by staff for several reasons.

01:21:27 Speaker 14: It offers the most straightforward transition for both staff and the public.

01:21:31 Speaker 14: It provides a more balanced approach to evening meetings and maintains public membership on committees.

01:21:37 Speaker 14: The Governance and Finance Committee is comprised of all members of Council, which provides a more effective structure for overseeing the City's core business, administrative, and fiscal functions.

01:21:48 Speaker 14: By involving full council, this committee ensures that strategic decisions related to governance and financial management are made collabouratively, and it strengthens Council's direct oversight of the budget, organisational structure, and long-term planning.

01:22:03 Speaker 14: Option four is a four-committee structure.

01:22:05 Speaker 14: It reduces committees from five to four.

01:22:08 Speaker 14: There are three committees that include public and Council members; one Committee includes Council members only.

01:22:13 Speaker 14: There are no changes to Council meetings, and it increases the number of Council and Committee meetings from 63 to 64.

01:22:21 Speaker 14: While staff support a four-Committee structure for its ability to narrow the focus of each Committee and maintain a comparable number of meetings,

01:22:28 Speaker 14: this model does not fully resolve challenges related to public participation and may not best support operational effectiveness.

01:22:37 Speaker 14: Option five is a seven-committee structure.

01:22:41 Speaker 14: Staff looked at this, but once we broke everything down, it just wouldn't come together.

01:22:45 Speaker 14: Reasons include it being too narrowly focused, uneven workload between Committees, limiting cross-departmental collabouration, and increasing administrative tasks and public member recruitment.

01:23:00 Speaker 14: Option six is to expand the Committee of the Whole.

01:23:03 Speaker 14: It reduces committees from five to two, reduces monthly Council meetings from two to one; there are no public members, and it decreases the number of Council-Committee meetings from 63 to 33.

01:23:14 Speaker 14: The chart on the screen is also included in the staff report and provides an overview of the six options being presented.

01:23:22 Speaker 14: The Chart notes the number of Committee appointments and the number of meetings.

01:23:30 Speaker 14: The Report also includes recommendations about changes to appointment terms.

01:23:33 Speaker 14: Staff recommend that, where possible, Council and public member terms be for two years because it will create continuity, attract public members; reappointments can be made, and there are recruitment efficiencies.

01:23:47 Speaker 14: The overall staff report and its recommendation is that City Council direct staff to bring back a draft Terms of Reference for Option three, as outlined in the Report:

01:23:59 Speaker 14: bring forward a bylaw effective 2027 to amend the Board and Committee By-law to change Council member appointment terms on Committees from one year to two years;

01:24:08 Speaker 14: change public member appointment terms on Committees from three years to two years; change the Council member appointment term on the Grey Sauble Conservation Authority Board from four years to two years;

01:24:17 Speaker 14: change the Council member appointment term on the Owen Sound Housing Company Board from one year to two years;

01:24:23 Speaker 14: change both the Council and public member appointment terms on the Owen Sound Police Service Board from four years to two years;

01:24:29 Speaker 14: and change the Council member appointment term for community organisations from one year to two years.

01:24:33 Speaker 14: And with that, City Manager Tim Simmonds and I are happy to take any questions.

01:24:39 Speaker 11: Councillor Dodd: Thank you, Worship.

01:24:42 Speaker 11: First, I just like to say thanks to City Manager Tim Simmonds, Clerk Briana Bloomfield, as well as the rest of senior management for all the time and effort put into this;

01:24:53 Speaker 11: I'm truly appreciative of the work that you've done.

01:24:56 Speaker 11: Clearly, it's a lot of hours that you put in, and you've thought about a lot of different options.

01:25:01 Speaker 11: So I truly appreciate the work that's gone into it.

01:25:09 Speaker 11: I guess one concern—and we've heard it earlier during the public forum as well—is ensuring there is some clarity prior to the 2027 election so that by the time people submit their names for nomination,

01:25:23 Speaker 11: they have a general idea of what that commitment looks like and whether it is doable or manageable.

01:25:29 Speaker 11: So right now I don't feel there needs to be a huge rush to make a decision on this today.

01:25:35 Speaker 11: Considering we do have some time on our side to ensure we are making the right decision—and not jamming one in at the last meeting of the year—personally,

01:25:49 Speaker 11: I would like to see us hear from our standing Committees and those public members about how they envision the Committee structure working going forward.

01:26:20 Speaker 11: That is something I think is really important for Council to consider before moving ahead.

01:26:27 Speaker 11: We could potentially make a change this evening without actually consulting the individuals currently sitting on those Boards, but I feel that step isn't necessarily needed considering we have flexibility in our timing.

01:26:41 Speaker 11: Therefore,

01:26:43 Speaker 11: I am prepared to move that we send this Report to all standing Committees—including the Tom Thomson Art Gallery—to provide feedback at their next meeting in January and bring it back forward to Council at a

01:27:00 Speaker 11: future date,

01:27:01 Speaker 11: whether end of January or February.

01:27:03 Speaker 11: That would be the motion I'd like to put on the floor: send it to three standing plus the Art Gallery.

01:27:15 Speaker 11: Did I get that right?

01:27:16 Speaker 11: Yes, correct.

01:27:17 Speaker 11: I'll go with all three standing Committees—Operations, Community Services, and Corporate Services—and include the Tom Thomson Art Gallery as well.

01:27:21 Speaker 11: Tim (Nicholls Harrison), you've got your hand up; through you, Mayor, to Councillor Dodd: thank you for that.

01:27:31 Speaker 17: No issues with it going back to Committee for further input from Committee members?

01:27:36 Speaker 17: Logistically, I'd ask Clerk Briana Bloomfield to remind me—the Tom Thomson Art Gallery doesn't meet until February, if my understanding is correct—so I'm wondering:

01:27:48 Speaker 17: is the goal to hear from Committees as a whole or specifically from public members on those Committees?

01:27:54 Speaker 17: Could there be an opportunity for something akin to a survey of all public members across all Committees that would come back by end of January to accommodate timing preferences?

01:28:10 Speaker 17: Or would you prefer it be presented directly to the Committees?

01:28:16 Speaker 11: Thank you, Worship; through you: I'd prefer this actually be discussed at the Committee level.

01:28:21 Speaker 11: That allows for open and transparent discussion about some of the changes being made.

01:28:27 Speaker 11: Having a survey—I'll admit as the first one—if someone gives me a survey listing my answers ("Do you like it?", "Don't you like it?"), maybe I don't know,

01:28:35 Speaker 11: but you probably spend five minutes on it just to pass along what they said because you had to.

01:28:41 Speaker 11: Whereas if we sit in roundtable discussion, that correspondence can be added to all those agendas;

01:28:47 Speaker 11: there could be actual good dialogueueueue and feedback from us—all of us sitting on those Committees—we can take into perspective what members say, and I think that's a little bit more important than a survey.

01:29:01 Speaker 11: We'll get better results from it, and personally,

01:29:04 Speaker 11: I'd feel much more comfortable having in-person discussions with those individuals to let them know this is coming forward to Council so they can express concerns or appreciation regarding the proposed changes for the future.

01:29:20 Speaker 07: Tim (Nicholls Harrison), did your hand go back up?

01:29:24 Speaker 17: Three; Mayor: not to get into weeds on logistics, but I think I'll work with Clerk Briana Bloomfield.

01:29:29 Speaker 17: We might be able to ask Chair of the Tom Thomson Art Gallery Committee to call a meeting in January just to help align all of that so we can come back at the first February

01:29:39 Speaker 17: meeting or one of the two meetings scheduled for February.

01:29:44 Speaker 17: Okay; motion is on the floor.

01:29:45 Speaker 13: Go ahead, through you Mayor: I will support the motion.

01:29:53 Speaker 13: We have... let me go back to why this has come forward.

01:29:59 Speaker 13: To summarise correctly: it was to be able to get applications from public members so they can sit on Committees.

01:30:11 Speaker 13: Going back to Committees and asking public members seems to complete that loop of engagement—involvement with the public.

01:30:21 Speaker 13: However, we've also identified or discussed—or had presented—the importance of moving forward to educate, inform, mentor, assist, and serve as a resource for Committee Chairs.

01:30:36 Speaker 13: So parallel to reviewing Committee structure would be realigning how we do our introductions but also establishing mentorship programmemememes to support new public members.

01:30:51 Speaker 13: It is quite a learning curve; any of us around this table will freely admit it's big, and we need to give them the opportunity just as we've been given opportunities ourselves by providing resources.

01:31:06 Speaker 13: So I believe parallel processes are critical.

01:31:11 Speaker 13: I do support the motion because we're here to represent people—we need to speak with people—and I support face-to-face conversations.

01:31:22 Speaker 13: Thank you for bringing that forward, Councillor Dodd (not Don).

01:31:25 Speaker 02: Others: Councillor Farmer; thank you through Mayor—I also support putting this off and not making a hasty decision.

01:31:34 Speaker 02: Personally, I'm concerned that a number of the justifications for the changes in the report don't include enough, I think, like specific feedback from current or former members of committees,

01:31:48 Speaker 02: and we've only recently implemented an exit survey.

01:31:52 Speaker 02: I would float a friendly amendment to this motion as well to request that an exit survey or a survey be resent to members of committee who have served in this term of council.

01:32:06 Speaker 02: The claims that we're having a hard time recruiting people, and that's a reason to make fewer seats on committees, I don't think is fully supported by the numbers over the last few years.

01:32:17 Speaker 02: Where in applications for 2024, we had more than three times as many people apply as we had seats, and that was only a few years ago.

01:32:25 Speaker 02: And if we're having a hard time retaining members on committee, I think that's different than recruiting, and that speaks to the need, as Councillor Merton mentioned,

01:32:36 Speaker 02: to talk about how we're actively engaging people and making them feel equipped while they're here, in the same way that the HR department is working to support folks.

01:32:47 Speaker 02: So, if Councillor Dodd is open to a friendly amendment to also request that a survey be sent out, soliciting feedback from former members of committee from within this term of council.

01:32:58 Speaker 02: If not, I would formally move the amendment.

01:33:05 Speaker 02: I yeah, I'll accept that.

01:33:08 Speaker 11: I think if we can try to see if people would provide that exit interview,

01:33:15 Speaker 11: I'm not sure if staff maintain that contact information or what the rules on that would be to continue to reach out after they're no longer in that position for any spam legislation.

01:33:26 Speaker 11: But I would leave that up to the clerks to decide if that is an acceptable way that they can still reach out.

01:33:32 Speaker 11: But that'd be my only comment.

01:33:36 Speaker 11: Councillor Koepke.

01:33:38 Speaker 20: Thank you.

01:33:39 Speaker 20: With respect to the art gallery, tell me what the proposed changes are, please.

01:33:48 Speaker 14: Sorry, through you, Your Worship, to Councillor Koepke.

01:33:51 Speaker 14: There were...

01:33:52 Speaker 14: Do you mean within the options within the report?

01:33:56 Speaker 14: It would be some of the options include it being coordinated amongst a larger, broader committee and so it would not be directly art gallery related.

01:34:12 Speaker 14: It would be grouped in with others.

01:34:17 Speaker 20: Okay, then I can see why there needs to be discussion with them, and it's imperative, I think,

01:34:26 Speaker 20: that this happened in January because February all the new people start on committees and they won't have the experience of that committee,

01:34:33 Speaker 20: so I think it's important to reach out to the ones that public members that are on the committee now.

01:34:41 Speaker 21: And Deputy Mayor Greig, a couple things.

01:34:45 Speaker 21: Firstly, I think I'll direct this to the clerks.

01:34:47 Speaker 21: The motion is a deferral method motion, so I don't think we can take amendments to a deferral motion as a point of order.

01:34:56 Speaker 21: Go ahead, Your Worship.

01:35:00 Speaker 14: Through your worship, that is correct, and I will also point out that the request from Councillor Farmer is something we would be doing as a normal course of business.

01:35:11 Speaker 03: And I would add it's at the end of the evening there will be no discussion because the Tom Thomson Art Gallery meeting in December did not achieve quorum.

01:35:21 Speaker 03: So we do have material that we can pull, committee members and respond back to Council in a reasonably quick time in January.

01:35:30 Speaker 03: I certainly coming in tonight...

01:35:33 Speaker 03: To tonight, I was totally on side with listening to each councillor's opinion and had no expectations on making a decision myself tonight.

01:35:43 Speaker 03: I was hoping to have a month to just consider what I'd heard.

01:35:48 Speaker 03: And it's not time sensitive so totally makes sense for me to have it come back.

01:35:53 Speaker 03: There are components here that I'm...

01:35:55 Speaker 03: I'm on board with.

01:35:57 Speaker 03: I have proposed for a few years a budget committee.

01:36:01 Speaker 03: I think, well in the words of our former city manager, "You show me your budget and I'll show you your priorities," which I think he kind of borrowed from former Prime Minister Paul Martin.

01:36:15 Speaker 03: So I do like the enhanced eye on the finances as part of the proposed finance and governance structure of all council when it comes to members.

01:36:30 Speaker 03: I've...

01:36:30 Speaker 03: I'm always speaking with members as they're leaving terms, asking what they've liked, disliked, gaps.

01:36:38 Speaker 03: So I'm super appreciative of all the work of staff.

01:36:40 Speaker 03: I think it's really encapsulated just about every talking point already that's out there.

01:36:47 Speaker 03: You can't force someone to speak so I think you've done a great job gathering the information.

01:36:53 Speaker 03: But that's my comments.

01:36:55 Speaker 03: I certainly was just here for listening.

01:36:59 Speaker 03: I'm on side with the finance and governance committee of council to enhance the financial lens,

01:37:10 Speaker 03: and the strong mayor's budget changes things too like that just changed everything about the world of the budget coming forward.

01:37:19 Speaker 03: So we're about to go through that in January.

01:37:21 Speaker 03: So that'd be interesting.

01:37:22 Speaker 03: So I agree with the motion.

01:37:24 Speaker 03: Okay, I think I'm going to call the question.

01:37:26 Speaker 03: All in favour?

01:37:27 Speaker 01: That is carried.

01:37:29 Speaker 01: So that gets us through 10C of city staff reports.

01:37:33 Speaker 01: Got a verbal update from Deputy Mayor Greig from Grey County Council.

01:37:45 Speaker 03: And County Council has had a couple of meetings since their last council meeting.

01:37:50 Speaker 03: Andrea Matrosov, Andrei Matrosovsav...

01:37:52 Speaker 03: Mayor of Town Blue Mountains was acclaimed to a second term as Grey County Warden.

01:37:56 Speaker 03: Council completed budget deliberations last week and endorsed the 2026 budget with a tax levy of $83 million, 951 thousand dollars,

01:38:05 Speaker 03: an increase of four point seven eight percent year over year adding approximately fifty-nine dollars and sixteen cents to the average single detached home in the county.

01:38:14 Speaker 03: The budget maintains service levels increasing the annual contribution to the housing reserve moving closer to one percent of annual levy increasing funding to asset management and moving forward with the urban road and rural road

01:38:25 Speaker 03: transfer undertaking as well as funding a comprehensive waste management study.

01:38:31 Speaker 03: Council received a housing action plan update.

01:38:34 Speaker 03: Thirty thousand dollars is included in the 2026 budget to further possible properties in Markham, Markdale and Durham for development.

01:38:43 Speaker 03: The county is completing a growth management strategy update in the upcoming year which will inform the housing needs assessment and we certainly already heard earlier tonight about the growth management strategy update and implications for

01:38:56 Speaker 03: the city.

01:38:57 Speaker 03: County Council voted to include examining a possible county-wide library system through the Joint Municipal Services Committee.

01:39:04 Speaker 03: Council supported a resolution from Town of Blue Mountains and Owen Sound regarding the non-eligible sources of recycling.

01:39:11 Speaker 03: The county forwarded comments to the Environmental Registry regarding changes to the Conservation Authority structures as well as many councillors verbally questioning the province on this legislation council supported the municipal boundary restructuring between West Grey

01:39:24 Speaker 03: and Hanover which adds land to Hanover for industrial commercial and residential growth.

01:39:30 Speaker 03: And in 2026 Mayor Boddy will serve in the Planning Economic Development Committee and I will serve in the Community Services Budget and Finance Committee as well as the Rockwood Terrace Redevelopment and Road Exchange Committees

01:39:40 Speaker 03: until those project completions occur.

01:39:43 Speaker 03: Noting that at our next council meeting we will discuss the future of the budget committee as per a notice of motion served.

01:39:50 Speaker 03: Welcome any questions?

01:39:51 Speaker 03: And ask for Council's endorsement of the verbal report.

01:39:54 Speaker 07: Any questions seeing none call the question all in favour that is carried thank you.

01:40:01 Speaker 07: We're down to eleven consent agenda handing over the gavel for 11A and as Mayor Boddy indicated a conflict earlier at this time I will go to Councillor Hamley move by myself that in consideration of

01:40:22 Speaker 15: item 11A on the December 15,

01:40:24 Speaker 15: 2025 consent agenda City Council approves the recommendation contained in item 11A.

01:40:31 Speaker 04: Any questions comments not seeing any all those in favour that's carried unanimously thank you and we will just await Mayor Boddy to return Miss Bloomfield want to do a survey of the rest of the

01:40:51 Speaker 14: consent agenda there your worship on the consent agenda this evening is a report on the 2026 term tax levy bylaw report on the election report on a short-term rental C one licence fee a report

01:41:06 Speaker 14: on 2026 public appointments to boards and committees a report on a lease of the Rice House a report on a lease with Transport Canada for the pedestrian bridge at Kelsey Beach at Naewash Park and

01:41:16 Speaker 14: a report on the assumption of operational services at the East Ridge Business Park.

01:41:20 Speaker 14: There are minutes for receipt from the River District Board Library Board Great Salt Lake Conservation Authority Police Board Community Safety and Wellbeing Planning Committee and Bruce Grey Poverty Task Force.

01:41:29 Speaker 14: There is a mayoral direction respecting the 2026 operating budget and the last item on the consent agenda is the information package.

01:41:36 Speaker 14: A full listing is available at 11 p thank you Deputy Mayor Greig and just before I move this motion Mayor Boddy if I could just note I failed to mention what 11A actually referred to

01:41:52 Speaker 03: and I probably should do that just for the public's awareness but it was a partial lease of the former CN station 155 First Avenue West so just so that that's clear for the public moved

01:42:04 Speaker 03: by myself count the Deputy Mayor Greig that in consideration of the items listed on the December fifteenth two thousand twenty-five consent agenda city council receives items eleven B to eleven P and approves the recommendations

01:42:17 Speaker 03: contained in items eleven B to eleven H. And all in favour that is carried I notice at 11I there are minutes from the River District Board anything to report Councillor Dodd thank you worship the

01:42:35 Speaker 11: biggest one is just to highlight on where there was 11 hours of foot patrol traffic by the police services in July 99 hours in August as well as there was additional 40 hours of bike

01:42:47 Speaker 11: patrolling.

01:42:48 Speaker 11: The other big highlight that was in there was that the board reviewed the draft 2026 budget at the latest meeting that just happened two weeks ago we held the public meeting and then the following

01:43:00 Speaker 11: January meeting will actually be the budget review thank you councillor Councillor Koepke Owen Sound North Grey Union Public Library thank you worship these are minutes of September and October so I won't go into detail

01:43:15 Speaker 11: of the minutes.

01:43:16 Speaker 20: Just bring you a few emerging issues December thirteenth which is this Saturday is the last repair cafe for this year and it's happening from one to four and along with several other programmemememes that are

01:43:33 Speaker 20: happening in December if you just check the Owen Sound North Grey Union Public Library website also to mention the Township of Georgian Bluffs was successful in receiving a deputation with the Ministry of Tourism Culture

01:43:48 Speaker 20: and Gaming at the Roma Conference.

01:43:51 Speaker 20: And City of Owen Sound issues for the North Grey Owen Sound North Grey Union Public Library will be brought forward at that time as well there's a book launch happening on Thursday by Zanny Rabi

01:44:05 Speaker 20: and it's her book launch of Frozen in Time and that's just a brief summary of what's going on at the library good thank you Georgian Bay Conservation Authority Deputy Mayor Greig thank you through the

01:44:22 Speaker 02: highlights from the October meeting include direction to partner with Conservation Ontario to enrol GSC lands in Canada's Protected and Conserved Areas database in support of the national 30 by 30 target.

01:44:33 Speaker 02: There was discussion of the draft budget and information about the various expansions and successes of the education programmemememing in 2025.

01:44:41 Speaker 02: The GBRA is actively seeking sponsors to support the education work which ranges from the much-loved day camp programmemememe to book clubs for adults and also the new turtle stewardship programmemememe among other initiatives interested individuals

01:44:54 Speaker 02: or organisations can learn more about supporting the education work at the GBCA website good thank you Owen Sound Police Services Board Councillor Koepke thank you worship members received the same presentation that was given to

01:45:09 Speaker 20: Council on the 2026 budget so I won't go into details on that chair Thompson reported on priorities outlined in the 2026 to 2029 strategic plan under mission education advocacy and expertise monthly reports are available

01:45:25 Speaker 20: and attached to the police services minutes they can be viewed there members reviewed a building comparison report which outlined outstanding facility issues including exterior masonry repairs and roof replacement chief Ambrose reported on funding awarded

01:45:45 Speaker 20: through the Community Safety and Policing Grant Programmemememe for 2025 to 2026 fiscal year.

01:45:51 Speaker 20: A three-year provincial grant was received for bail compliance and warrant apprehension to enhance enforcement of bail conditions and monitor high-risk offenders which in the past has funded two officers and a part-time civilian however this

01:46:08 Speaker 20: grant is short-term and will end in March 2026 that concludes my summary your worship good thank you

01:46:16 Speaker 20: Community safety and well-being plan, Councillor Farmer.

01:46:21 Speaker 02: Thank you.

01:46:21 Speaker 02: At most, through the Mayor, at the most recent meeting, there were comprehensive updates from county partners and associated tables on housing and homelessness, poverty and income, substance use and addictions, mental health and crime prevention.

01:46:33 Speaker 02: I want to highlight that we heard federal funding cuts are threatening the future of Friendship Centres that support urban Indigenous folks across Ontario.

01:46:40 Speaker 02: With our local example being M'Wikwedong here in Owen Sound, there was also a presentation by Beth Aubry of Big Brothers Big Sisters highlighting their programmemememing.

01:46:48 Speaker 02: Key takeaways: Big Brothers Big Sisters convene a youth advisory table that municipalities can invite to partner for feedback on projects; and coming up,

01:46:57 Speaker 02: the Community Safety and Well-being Plan is doing its second community-wide survey to update the plan.

01:47:02 Speaker 02: Now that we're five years in, they're launching the public survey in January and are asking all partners to assist in promoting it to ensure comprehensive and representative feedback across Grey-Bruce Counties.

01:47:13 Speaker 02: More details are available in the package, and I'm happy to answer any questions or connect folks to the experts as I'm able.

01:47:21 Speaker 02: Thank you.

01:47:22 Speaker 02: And the last one's Grey Bruce Poverty Task Force.

01:47:25 Speaker 02: Councillor Hamley, nothing to report.

01:47:28 Speaker 15: Just two things: there was discussion around making a submission to the Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy; then there was a presentation on the Ontario Living Wage, which has risen up to $24.60 in Huron-Bruce,

01:47:45 Speaker 15: Grey and Perth.

01:47:51 Speaker 01: Good.

01:47:51 Speaker 01: Thanks.

01:47:52 Speaker 01: So I think we can move on to number twelve: Committee minutes with recommendations for approval.

01:47:57 Speaker 01: It's just that Tom Thomson and Rick Elery.

01:48:01 Speaker 01: Nothing to report.

01:48:02 Speaker 01: As quorum was not achieved at that meeting, so we don't have to pass anything.

01:48:07 Speaker 01: We do a motion to receive the minutes of the December meeting that didn't happen.

01:48:20 Speaker 01: All in favour?

01:48:20 Speaker 01: That is carried.

01:48:22 Speaker 01: Number thirteen: we have no matters postponed.

01:48:25 Speaker 01: At fourteen, we have no motions which were previously given notice.

01:48:29 Speaker 01: Number fifteen: discussion of additional business.

01:48:32 Speaker 01: Councillor Farmer.

01:48:33 Speaker 02: Thank you, through the Mayor.

01:48:34 Speaker 02: So, the Community Safety and Well-being Plan, as folks may remember,

01:48:38 Speaker 02: is inviting municipal partners—not just those on the plan advisory table—but everyone is invited for monthly conversations about issues relevant to our scope and the goals of the plan.

01:48:52 Speaker 02: They met in November with the topic of youth engagement.

01:48:55 Speaker 02: I was really excited to see that in the report around committee structures we discussed the benefit of greater youth engagement in processes,

01:49:02 Speaker 02: both for the youth themselves and for the organisation getting more youth involved locally.

01:49:08 Speaker 02: We also discussed a range of case studies from youth advisory tables to municipalities that make room on council itself for a youth member;

01:49:16 Speaker 02: many of those examples include folks who are younger than the voting age as well.

01:49:24 Speaker 02: It's really an interesting way to get people involved earlier and spread that youth engagement.

01:49:28 Speaker 02: I'm happy to share the resources with Council or staff if interested.

01:49:33 Speaker 02: The next meeting will be in January, but I don't remember the topic.

01:49:37 Speaker 02: Thank you, Deputy Mayor Greig.

01:49:40 Speaker 02: Motion that the Committee of the Whole rise and report: moved by myself, Deputy Mayor Greig; seconded by Councillor Hamley—that the Committee of the Whole rise and report.

01:49:47 Speaker 02: All in favour?

01:49:48 Speaker 01: That is carried at 17 minutes into the formal session.

01:49:51 Speaker 04: Motion to adopt proceedings: Moved by myself, Deputy Mayor Greig, seconded by Councillor Hamley that the action taken in Committee of the Whole—considering public meetings, deputations, presentations, public forum matters arising from correspondence,

01:50:03 Speaker 04: reports to City staff, consent agenda, committee minutes, matters postponed, motions for which notice was previously given, and additional business—be confirmed by this Council.

01:50:12 Speaker 04: All in favour?

01:50:14 Speaker 01: That is carried.

01:50:15 Speaker 01: Are there any notices of motion being given tonight?

01:50:20 Speaker 01: Seeing none.

01:50:21 Speaker 01: Next is a motion to move into the closed session.

01:50:26 Speaker 01: But before we go into the closed session, I'd like to note that if you're watching this meeting on Rogers Cable TV or the Rogers TV website,

01:50:34 Speaker 01: their feed will not reconnect to this meeting when we return to the open session to report out of the closed session and review the bylaws.

01:50:42 Speaker 01: If you would like to view the remainder of the open session, you can watch the live stream on City Council's and Committee's website at www.Owen Sound.ca/meetings.

01:50:49 Speaker 01: The video recording of the meeting will also be posted on this website following the meeting.

01:50:59 Speaker 01: So, over to you.

01:51:03 Speaker 04: Moved by himself, Deputy Mayor Greig; seconded by Councillor Hamlin—that City Council now move into closed session to consider a minutes of the closed session of the regular Council meeting held on November 24, 2025:

01:51:13 Speaker 04: and B1 matter regarding a position, plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to negotiations respecting property on Second Avenue East.

01:51:23 Speaker 04: All in favour?

01:51:25 Speaker 01: And that is carried.

01:51:26 Speaker 01: And take us a minute to switch over.

01:59:42 Speaker 01: Okay.

01:59:42 Speaker 01: It is now seven-thirty p.m.

01:59:44 Speaker 01: City Council is returning to the open session.

01:59:47 Speaker 01: During the closed session, City Council reviewed minutes of the closed session of the regular Council meeting held on November 24th, 2025; discussed one matter regarding a position, plan, procedure,

01:59:59 Speaker 01: criteria or instruction to be applied to negotiations respecting property in Second Avenue East.

02:00:04 Speaker 01: No direction was provided.

02:00:08 Speaker 01: So we're down to the bylaws.

02:00:10 Speaker 01: If you want to review the bylaws: save and accept 21H.

02:00:16 Speaker 14: Through your Worship, the bylaws listed for approval on tonight's agenda include: a confirmatory bylaw;

02:00:21 Speaker 14: a bylaw to execute a memorandum of understanding with the Oceanside Police Board respecting access to the River District video surveillance system; a bylaw to amend the Derby Camping By-law to address trailer sizes;

02:00:31 Speaker 14: a bylaw to amend the Video Surveillance Programmemememe Policy to provide Oceanside Police Service with access rights to the River District video surveillance system;

02:00:40 Speaker 14: a bi-lateral executed licence agreement with the Minister of Transport respecting the use and maintenance of pedestrian bridge at Castle Beach in Nee-Wash Park;

02:00:47 Speaker 14: a bi-lateral executed lease agreement with Women's House serving Bruce and Grey respecting use of the Rice House;

02:00:53 Speaker 14: and a bi-lateral executed assumption of operational services agreement with Ampet Realty Limited for the East Ridge Business Park.

02:00:58 Speaker 14: Deputy Mayor Greig, she is leaving well?

02:01:08 Speaker 04: Moved by Deputy Mayor Greig; seconded by Councillor Hamley—that By-law numbers 2025-131 through 2025-137 be passed and enacted.

02:01:16 Speaker 04: All in favour?

02:01:18 Speaker 01: And that is carried.

02:01:20 Speaker 01: I'll pass over the last one to Deputy Mayor Greig to chair.

02:01:28 Speaker 03: And I think at this, I'll just go right to Councillor Hamley to introduce the one remaining bylaw.

02:01:34 Speaker 15: Moved by myself; seconded by Councillor Kepke—that By-law number 2025-138 be passed and enacted.

02:01:43 Speaker 04: That is a bylaw to authorise the Mayor and Clerk to execute a lease agreement with Kingsley Management Incorporated respecting partial use of the former CN Rail Station located at 1,155 First Avenue West.

02:01:54 Speaker 04: No questions; not seeing any.

02:01:55 Speaker 04: All those in favour?

02:01:57 Speaker 04: Then that's carried unanimously.

02:01:59 Speaker 04: And I don't even have to allow for the Mayor to get back because that's the last item of business.

02:02:04 Speaker 04: So Merry Christmas, everyone!

02:02:07 Speaker 04: We certainly enjoyed everyone's festive spirit this evening.

02:02:11 Speaker 04: Oh, he is back!

02:02:12 Speaker 04: I'll let the Mayor Boddy wrap up 2025.

02:02:16 Speaker 04: Mayor Boddy expressed it earlier but thank you very much on behalf of Mayor and Council to all City staff.

02:02:23 Speaker 04: And we wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season to each and every one of you.

02:02:28 Speaker 04: Thank you for the work you've done through 2025, contributing to a bigger and better city.

02:02:33 Speaker 04: Adjourned.