Owen Sound Council Meeting Transcript — September 14, 2026

00:04:46 Speaker 02: Well, call the meeting back to order.

00:04:48 Speaker 02: I understand that Rogers Cable are able to hear us, but it's just our own screening device that is not recording the sound.

00:05:01 Speaker 02: So I'll go back, calling for additional business.

00:05:04 Speaker 02: And it was Councillor Cappe.

00:05:05 Speaker 02: I'll get you to repeat it just in case.

00:05:08 Speaker 02: Thank you, Worship.

00:05:08 Speaker 02: I have three items.

00:05:09 Speaker 02: One is the opening of the pickleball club.

00:05:12 Speaker 02: The second is Bayshore parking, and the third is Shore parking, and the third is river and harbor fishing.

00:05:17 Speaker 02: Good, thank you.

00:05:18 Speaker 02: No one else going?

00:05:19 Speaker 02: Yup, go ahead.

00:05:21 Speaker 03: Through Mayor Boddy, I will have one item related to the two thousand and twenty-six River District Board of Management election.

00:05:28 Speaker 03: Good, looking this way, Councillor Farmer.

00:05:31 Speaker 04: Thank you, through the mayor.

00:05:32 Speaker 04: I'll have one item about some recent climate news.

00:05:37 Speaker 04: Anyone else going that direction?

00:05:39 Speaker 05: Seeing none.

00:05:39 Speaker 05: I'll have a few things to catch up on: events and things, declarations of interest and general nature thereof.

00:05:50 Speaker 05: Go ahead.

00:05:52 Speaker 06: Yeah, your Worship, only to update on myself.

00:05:54 Speaker 06: I'm leaving my role with the Government of Ontario at the end of the month.

00:05:58 Speaker 06: Going to be a management consultant in the private sector, and so I won't be declaring a pecuniary interest on the Government of Ontario anymore.

00:06:05 Speaker 07: That ought to speed up meetings.

00:06:07 Speaker 07: Anyone else, Councillor Farmer?

00:06:09 Speaker 08: Through the matter, there's a potential for a conflict depending on how the conversation goes for item 10A, but I'll declare that at the time if necessary.

00:06:20 Speaker 08: Good, thank you.

00:06:22 Speaker 08: Bring that to our attention.

00:06:22 Speaker 05: I also, with regard to report CR 26090, which is a housekeeping amendment on our agenda, it's 11A and 21A being bylaw number 2026-09, declare a direct pecuniary interest or indirect in those items.

00:06:47 Speaker 05: I declare a disqualifying interest.

00:06:49 Speaker 05: I act as a solicitor for the parties involved.

00:07:01 Speaker 05: Deputy Mayor Greig's got the motion.

00:07:02 Speaker 05: So we're down at four A, which is confirmation of the minutes of the regular council meeting held on July twenty-seven.

00:07:08 Speaker 05: July twenty-seventh.

00:07:09 Speaker 09: Moved by myself, Deputy Mayor Greig, seconded by Councillor Hamley, that the minutes of the regular council meeting held on July twenty-seventh, two thousand and twenty-six, be adopted as printed.

00:07:20 Speaker 05: And all in favour, and that is carried.

00:07:23 Speaker 05: Thank you.

00:07:25 Speaker 05: Number five, motion to move council into committee of the whole.

00:07:30 Speaker 09: Moved by myself, Deputy Mayor Greig, seconded by Councillor Hamley, that City Council now move into committee of the whole to consider public meetings, deputations, and presentations; public forum matters arising from correspondence;

00:07:41 Speaker 09: reports of city staff; consent agenda; committee minutes; matters postponed; motions for which notice was previously given; and additional business.

00:07:50 Speaker 09: Thank you.

00:07:50 Speaker 09: All in favour?

00:07:51 Speaker 05: That is carried.

00:07:52 Speaker 05: So now, in committee of the whole.

00:07:53 Speaker 05: I note that I forgot to note: Councillor Dodd is not present tonight.

00:07:57 Speaker 05: Everyone else is at the council table in their usual seats.

00:08:01 Speaker 05: So, at number six on the agenda, we have no public meetings.

00:08:04 Speaker 05: At number seven A, we have a deputation from Tim Lanthier, C.A.O. of Grey-Sable Conservation Authority, with regard to their two thousand and twenty-seven draft operating and capital budget.

00:08:15 Speaker 05: Welcome.

00:08:20 Speaker 10: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, Council.

00:08:21 Speaker 10: It's great to see everybody again.

00:08:23 Speaker 10: Before I get started, I'd like to respectfully ask through you, Mr. Mayor, if Council is willing to waive the typical ten-minute deputation timeline.

00:08:35 Speaker 11: Do I see anybody not wanting to?

00:08:38 Speaker 11: Not seeing any hands going up, so if you think you're going to be like ten or eleven minutes, eleven or twelve minutes, or go ahead.

00:08:51 Speaker 10: So what I'm here to talk to Council about tonight is Grey Sauble's 2027 draft budget.

00:08:58 Speaker 10: Before I get into that, I'll go over a little bit of the highlights from 2026, recognizing that we're still only two-thirds of the way through 2026,

00:09:05 Speaker 10: but because of some changes coming down the pipe for conservation authorities as well as the municipal election, our budget's coming forward earlier this year than it typically would.

00:09:14 Speaker 10: In the second part of the presentation that I have for you tonight, I do want to talk to Council a little bit about those changes that are coming to the conservation authorities,

00:09:22 Speaker 10: so that you understand what they are and so that you can ask any questions that you might have.

00:09:31 Speaker 10: So when we develop our budget for any year, but for 2027, we're basing it around the work plan that we're developing that's guided by our strategic plan.

00:09:42 Speaker 10: So in 2025, our board of directors approved the 10-year strategic plan, and the primary goals of that strategic plan are laid out on this slide.

00:09:51 Speaker 10: Each of these goals has four strategic directions that drive achieving these goals, and for each of those strategic directions, year work plans develop strategic actions.

00:10:04 Speaker 10: So for 2026, there are 146 strategic actions that we've developed to help us achieve our strategic goals in the plan.

00:10:11 Speaker 10: I'm happy to say that we're well on track with all of these, except for two that are being deferred into 2027.

00:10:18 Speaker 10: One of these, and one of our broader goals, is to achieve organisational excellence,

00:10:24 Speaker 10: and one of the big key factors for us in that is ensuring transparency about the work that we do and our communication with the public.

00:10:30 Speaker 10: So one of the things that we've taken on is you can view our strategic plan not real time, but month by month on our website.

00:10:39 Speaker 10: So it shows how we're tracking over the year on each of the five goals, but also how we're tracking over the year on each of the 146 strategic actions that we're looking at.

00:10:48 Speaker 10: So that anybody can check in on that at any time.

00:10:51 Speaker 10: Some of the other highlights for 2026 are that we have moved back into our new administration centre, so I'd like to formally thank Council for that.

00:11:02 Speaker 10: And I believe you've all received an invitation to come out for a ribbon cutting, and we hope to see you there.

00:11:07 Speaker 10: And I would further like to thank the City of Allensound for being the body that worked with us to prepare a loan,

00:11:16 Speaker 10: so that we could undertake this project with the help of our other municipal partners.

00:11:20 Speaker 10: So thank you for that.

00:11:22 Speaker 10: In terms of some of the other highlights, we have acquired recently a new property in Keppel Township, just north of Owen Sound.

00:11:30 Speaker 10: We have a large property there called the Glen.

00:11:32 Speaker 10: It's about 700 acres, and we've recently added another 50 acres of that with a generous donation from Walker Industries.

00:11:39 Speaker 10: So, was a quarry, it will be a lake in the future, and we'll be soliciting comments from the public on what opportunities exist for this property, which is pretty rare.

00:11:48 Speaker 10: Normally, when we receive a property, it's a forest.

00:11:51 Speaker 10: The opportunities are what they are, but this one offers a lot more opportunity, and we're really excited to see what the future holds for it.

00:11:58 Speaker 10: Some new recreational opportunities have been created just outside of the city, again in Township of Georgian Bluffs, just outside of Hepworth.

00:12:07 Speaker 10: So it's a property that we call the Hepworth Management Area.

00:12:09 Speaker 10: It's a property that everybody else in the world knows as the Sawmill Ski Trails, and so now we have cross-country skiing there in the winter, but we have mountain biking there now in the summer.

00:12:19 Speaker 10: So a new recreational opportunity that was missing for the community.

00:12:23 Speaker 10: We've secured almost four hundred thousand dollars in grant funding this year.

00:12:27 Speaker 10: That's going back into the community through our environmental education programmemememememememememing and our agricultural stewardship programmemememememememememing, as well as distributing nearly fifty thousand trees throughout the watershed this year.

00:12:39 Speaker 10: Specific to Owen Sound, some of the highlights is a couple of years ago we did a management plan for English Falls, and we've been acting on the recommendations from that management plan since.

00:12:50 Speaker 10: One of those is new trailhead signage throughout the property at key areas.

00:12:54 Speaker 10: One of those trailhead signages is right at the interface of Harrison Park and the English Falls property, which adds another layer of recreation for visitors to Harrison Park.

00:13:04 Speaker 10: We're in discussions with the city right now about working on a climbing plan for Westerox Conservation Area and Management Area.

00:13:12 Speaker 10: So we're in phase one of that, which is the information gathering stage, and we hope to move through phase two and three next year if possible.

00:13:19 Speaker 10: We did return our very popular day camp to our administration centre this year, and happy to say that it was mostly full again this year.

00:13:29 Speaker 10: So very popular.

00:13:30 Speaker 10: Really great to get kids out into nature and start that learning early.

00:13:34 Speaker 10: We're working on a new planning agreement with the city,

00:13:36 Speaker 10: and we continue to manage 266 acres of green space within the city and nearly fifteen thousand acres of green space in the municipalities immediately adjacent to the city.

00:13:48 Speaker 10: So as we look at 2027 and our budget, the budget for 2027 for capital and operating combined is $4.85 million dollars.

00:13:58 Speaker 10: Of this, or with this rather, our staff looks after the watershed that's 3,200 square kilometres in size, contains five major rivers, and 155 kilometres of shoreline.

00:14:11 Speaker 10: Grey Sauble brings just over 50 percent of that funding to the table through our self-funded programmemememememememememes like our parking programmemememememememememe, which brought in over four hundred thousand dollars last year, our environmental planning work,

00:14:22 Speaker 10: our forestry work, our education work, our municipal partners bring about forty-four percent of the money to the table through apportionment, and the remainder comes from the Province of Ontario.

00:14:35 Speaker 10: The lion's share of that money from the province is for drinking water source protection, which we do for Grey Sauble, for Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority, and for Northern Bruce Peninsula.

00:14:48 Speaker 10: So the change from 2026 to 2027 in levy is about $70,000, just shy of seventy thousand dollars.

00:14:56 Speaker 10: This is largely driven by just regular operating costs of the organisation.

00:15:02 Speaker 10: The actual increase in operating budget from 2026 to 2027 is about 0.8 percent.

00:15:08 Speaker 10: As we go into the merger that's coming up, we're trying to keep things pretty static and pretty level.

00:15:13 Speaker 10: We are doubling our capital budget in 2027, though, but that's not impacting levy.

00:15:19 Speaker 10: So levy actually goes down about $5,000 in our capital budget, and that increase is funded by our reserves, by grants, and by donations.

00:15:29 Speaker 10: So this is what that change looks like for the city.

00:15:31 Speaker 10: It's about $7,400 in increase to levy.

00:15:35 Speaker 10: Our overall levy increase from across all of our municipalities is about 3.66 percent.

00:15:42 Speaker 10: The increase specific to Owen Sound is closer to two percent, and the reason for that is the way it's apportioned out.

00:15:48 Speaker 10: So, assessed values of properties would have gained more in other municipalities last year than they did in the city.

00:15:59 Speaker 10: An easy way to think about how the levy impacts the community and is to look at it as to what would it mean to an average household.

00:16:06 Speaker 10: So, our levy for 2027 is thirteen cents per thousand dollars of assessed value, so that means that a house that's assessed, not market value, but assessed at four hundred thousand dollars,

00:16:18 Speaker 10: would pay about fifty-two dollars a year towards the conservation authority's levy across the watershed, and that's up about eighty-one cents from last year per household.

00:16:30 Speaker 10: So, in terms of next steps, the Conservation Authorities Act requires that we provide our municipal partners with thirty days' notice for consultation.

00:16:38 Speaker 10: We try to do a lot better than that, so it's usually between 50 and 60 days, depending on when our board meetings fall.

00:16:45 Speaker 10: This year, it's about 60 days.

00:16:46 Speaker 10: So the board approved the budget for circulation at the end of July.

00:16:50 Speaker 10: We'll be bringing it back to them for a vote at the end of September.

00:16:54 Speaker 10: So September 23rd.

00:16:57 Speaker 10: If Council has any comments or questions that they'd like brought forward to our board, you can either ask me tonight, and I can bring them forward, or you can send them through your members:

00:17:05 Speaker 10: Deputy Mayor Gray, Deputy Mayor Greig, or Councillor Farmer, or your staff can connect with me directly to bring those comments forward.

00:17:17 Speaker 10: And so, Mr. Mayor, the presentation will shift gears a little bit here as we talk about the changes to the Conservation Authorities Act.

00:17:23 Speaker 10: So, I'll put it to you as to whether it makes sense for Council to ask any budget-related questions now, or whether to wait till the end.

00:17:30 Speaker 10: Thank you.

00:17:30 Speaker 10: Won't we do that?

00:17:31 Speaker 11: Any questions with regard to the budget?

00:17:35 Speaker 11: Not seeing any hands going up; that we may come up with questions that we'll put in paper and send to you later.

00:17:41 Speaker 11: But so go ahead.

00:17:43 Speaker 10: Thank you very much.

00:17:45 Speaker 10: So I was here to talk to Council last fall about some changes coming proposed by the province to the Conservation Authorities.

00:17:53 Speaker 10: Those changes have been enacted in legislation, and they are moving forward.

00:17:57 Speaker 10: And so what that looks like is 36 existing conservation authorities will become nine regional conservation authorities.

00:18:04 Speaker 10: So the map that you see on the slide right now, the bold outlined black lines, demonstrate where the existing 36 conservation authorities in Ontario are today.

00:18:14 Speaker 10: The colour shading represents the new nine conservation authorities.

00:18:17 Speaker 10: So the area in green represents the Lake Huron Regional Conservation Authority, which Grey-Sable and On Sound will fall within.

00:18:26 Speaker 10: This new area extends from just east of Lake Simcoe, across the southern end of Georgian Bay, down Lake Huron Bay, down Lake here onto about Port Franks Grand Bend area.

00:18:36 Speaker 10: It's about 220 square kilometres in size.

00:18:39 Speaker 10: I would note that we no longer have Thunder Bay as part of our region, so that's a win.

00:18:49 Speaker 10: This is what it looks like closer up, and what you'll notice here is it's not showing lower-tier municipalities, but rather upper-tier municipalities.

00:18:57 Speaker 10: So the governance structure of the new regional conservation authorities is going to change.

00:19:02 Speaker 10: Currently, the participating municipalities are lower-tier, so the City of Owen Sound and our seven other lower-tier municipalities within Grey-Sable.

00:19:10 Speaker 10: The new governance structure is going to be appointed by the upper-tier municipalities, so it's upper-tier, single-tier, regional municipalities, and city municipalities.

00:19:20 Speaker 10: So within our jurisdiction, that will be Grey County and Bruce County will become the participating municipalities.

00:19:26 Speaker 10: They will appoint members to the board, and they will have the levy apportionment go to them.

00:19:32 Speaker 10: The province has recently proposed a model by which they would apportion, or rather, by which they would establish how many members each municipality gets on the board of directors.

00:19:47 Speaker 10: It's a four-tiered system based on the percentage of the population within the regional conservation authority.

00:19:55 Speaker 10: So, if a municipality has less than five percent of the population with five percent of the population within the regional conservation authority, they get one member.

00:20:00 Speaker 10: So one member is guaranteed.

00:20:02 Speaker 10: If they have greater than thirty percent, they get four members, and you can see the breakdown for those in between.

00:20:09 Speaker 10: So what that means within the Lake Huron Regional Conservation Authority is something that looks like this.

00:20:16 Speaker 10: So this is information that was provided by the province through a recent Environmental Registry of Ontario posting that was open until this past Friday for 45 days.

00:20:27 Speaker 10: So in this iteration, Grey County would have two members appointed to the board.

00:20:32 Speaker 10: Bruce County would have one member appointed to the board.

00:20:35 Speaker 10: The region of York would have four members, because there's obviously a much more dense population in the eastern portion of this watershed than in the remainder, which is rural.

00:20:47 Speaker 10: Now, we have Grey-Sable has provided comments to the province on the ERO posting, and what we're recommending to the province is that the calculation.

00:20:54 Speaker 10: The calculations for population use the lower-tier municipal populations within the jurisdiction, and then roll up.

00:21:02 Speaker 10: And the reason for that is when we look at York Region and Durham Region, the heaviest portions of the population are actually in the south, so Ajax, Pickering, places like that.

00:21:11 Speaker 10: Those areas don't geographically fall within the Lake Huron Region Conservation Authority.

00:21:17 Speaker 10: So if we can get the province to split those hairs out, it'll better represent the population that actually lives in this region.

00:21:29 Speaker 10: So, over the next couple of months, we're going to be moving through the transition period.

00:21:34 Speaker 10: Over the next couple of years, we're going to be working through the transformation period.

00:21:39 Speaker 10: So, the transition period is essentially that period from when the legislation was approved in the spring until February 1, 2027, when the existing conservation authorities cease to exist as individual entities,

00:21:51 Speaker 10: and we become the regional conservation authority.

00:21:54 Speaker 10: So again, for our area, that's the Lake Huron Regional Conservation Authority, and this entity needs to be stood up as a functioning corporation by February 1st.

00:22:05 Speaker 10: A lot of the other background things that are going to be required, like integrating HR, finance, IT, those types of things are going to take several years to work out.

00:22:15 Speaker 10: In terms of getting from point A to point B, a transition committee has been established.

00:22:19 Speaker 10: It consists of the CAO and one board member from each of the existing conservation authorities, plus a project executive.

00:22:25 Speaker 10: So myself and Deputy Mayor Shaw from Erin Elderslie sit on this transition committee.

00:22:31 Speaker 10: We have five pairs of counterparts from each of the other five conservation authorities in our region.

00:22:37 Speaker 10: A project executive has been appointed by the province.

00:22:40 Speaker 10: His name is Don Goodyear.

00:22:41 Speaker 10: He comes to us from Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority, and so Don will see this project over the finish line, and then effective February 1,

00:22:49 Speaker 10: Don will become the inaugural CAO of the new Lake Huron Region Conservation Authority.

00:22:56 Speaker 10: So, in terms of timeline, this is where we are roughly right now.

00:23:00 Speaker 10: The red you are here icon.

00:23:03 Speaker 10: We've been through the passing of the legislation.

00:23:08 Speaker 10: The minister has issued directions to us, which are very much like the lame-duck guardrails that you just read to us, Mr. Mayor.

00:23:17 Speaker 10: Body.

00:23:19 Speaker 10: We form the transition committees.

00:23:21 Speaker 10: The project executive has been appointed.

00:23:22 Speaker 10: Budgets will be approved soon.

00:23:24 Speaker 10: We'll create a transition plan, and that plan will be used to guide the transformation of the organisations over the next couple of years.

00:23:34 Speaker 10: So, at a very high level, that's the substantial change that's coming to the conservation authority world over the next couple of months.

00:23:41 Speaker 10: And through you, Mr. Mayor, I'd be happy to answer any questions that Council may have.

00:23:45 Speaker 10: Good.

00:23:46 Speaker 10: Thank you very much.

00:23:46 Speaker 10: Questions?

00:23:46 Speaker 10: Questions?

00:23:48 Speaker 10: Questions, John?

00:23:50 Speaker 10: Yeah.

00:23:51 Speaker 10: Thank you.

00:23:51 Speaker 10: Yeah.

00:23:51 Speaker 10: Go ahead.

00:23:52 Speaker 08: Thank you, through the mayor.

00:23:53 Speaker 08: First, I appreciate Tim coming in to tell the story.

00:23:58 Speaker 08: It's on the budget side.

00:24:00 Speaker 08: It's great that the conservation authorities are doing so much work to find creative ways to fund the important work that is done.

00:24:09 Speaker 08: And I think that's a great story to be able to tell.

00:24:12 Speaker 08: On the amalgamation side, I think I continue to be baffled by the logic behind this, and I couldn't help but thinking that if we took that representation chart and put that into a heat map,

00:24:24 Speaker 08: that that would shock people to see where the weighting of those voices are.

00:24:30 Speaker 08: So, I'm also very grateful for that advocacy through the ERO posting, and I hope that some of the comments that they receive are made public for this one.

00:24:39 Speaker 08: Thank you.

00:24:42 Speaker 08: Anyone else?

00:24:43 Speaker 08: Go ahead.

00:24:43 Speaker 12: Through you, Mayor.

00:24:48 Speaker 12: I just I'm confused on why they would choose to do it by population.

00:24:51 Speaker 12: Like, conservation authorities aren't managing people; you're managing geographical areas and the land.

00:24:58 Speaker 12: So why wouldn't it be based off of geographical size as far as how much weight they give to who gets to sit on this board?

00:25:08 Speaker 12: Like, it doesn't make sense to me that York Region, which sure has millions of people, but I can't imagine what they would be managing other than pavement in their area.

00:25:19 Speaker 12: Whereas we have you know so much more to manage.

00:25:21 Speaker 12: So is that the comments that you would have submitted in your to the?

00:25:29 Speaker 10: Thank you.

00:25:30 Speaker 10: That's an excellent question.

00:25:31 Speaker 10: Through you, Mr. Mayor, it's currently the way that the board member representation is distributed is also by population.

00:25:38 Speaker 10: So Owen Sound...

00:25:39 Speaker 10: So, Bone Sound has two members because you exceed ten thousand people in your community.

00:25:44 Speaker 10: You get up to three members when you exceed one hundred thousand, which is a non-issue in our watershed area.

00:25:49 Speaker 10: So, it's trying to keep it very similar to the current system.

00:25:53 Speaker 10: We have heard the comment about, like you say, about geographic areas.

00:25:57 Speaker 10: The thing that we have to be very careful about is currently apportionment is also by assessed value of property.

00:26:03 Speaker 10: Typically, you're going to have a higher assessed value of property in areas that have a denser population because there's going to be, you know, more of those residential properties,

00:26:11 Speaker 10: and then more of the commercial and industrial to go along with it.

00:26:16 Speaker 10: So we're trying to figure out ways in our comments back to the province to say how do we address this in a way that doesn't come back to bite us essentially, right?

00:26:24 Speaker 10: Because to be fair, you can't have your cake and eat it too.

00:26:28 Speaker 10: It's one or the other.

00:26:29 Speaker 10: So if York Region, for instance, is paying the lion's share of the bill, they're certainly going to want the lion's share of the representation.

00:26:35 Speaker 10: So some of the other comments we made are for the province to consider things like can we make sure that there's a balance struck between urban and rural representation on the board.

00:26:46 Speaker 10: So you know if you had 10 and 10, at least it's even.

00:26:50 Speaker 10: Or could the province consider members at large that sit on the board?

00:26:54 Speaker 10: So maybe when it comes to budget, the member at large doesn't have a vote on budget, but they do have a vote on everything else about the organisation.

00:27:01 Speaker 10: So those are some workarounds that we're trying to get the ear of the province with, and so we'll see what they come back with.

00:27:11 Speaker 10: Anyone else?

00:27:12 Speaker 11: Not seeing any hands.

00:27:13 Speaker 11: We're good.

00:27:14 Speaker 11: Thank you very much for coming in and sharing your budget at this time of the year.

00:27:18 Speaker 11: As things move forward, and from here to the end of the year is going to move quickly.

00:27:23 Speaker 11: I think there was a predecessor of yours named Kirk.

00:27:27 Speaker 11: Something.

00:27:27 Speaker 11: If I got the right name, that acquired a lot of property for the conservation authority back then.

00:27:33 Speaker 11: Yeah, back in the probably in the sixties.

00:27:36 Speaker 11: That I can remember being on the board years ago, and there was a regional tour that everybody was up here,

00:27:43 Speaker 11: and we were certainly the envy in this area of a lot of others because of the amount of land and holdings and wet spaces, and you know all that stuff.

00:27:57 Speaker 11: It's unfortunate to see it potentially being managed by others that don't have, don't understand the region, don't understand the area.

00:28:08 Speaker 11: But here we are.

00:28:09 Speaker 11: Anyway, thank you very much for coming in, presenting that to us, and presenting the budget.

00:28:13 Speaker 11: And we wish you much success.

00:28:18 Speaker 11: So thanks.

00:28:25 Speaker 11: Next at 7B, we have a presentation from Ms. Bloomfield, Ms. Landry, I think for 2026 municipal and school board election.

00:28:39 Speaker 13: Thank you through you, Your Worship, to City Council.

00:28:41 Speaker 13: This presentation is an opportunity to learn about the voting process in the City of Owen Sound.

00:28:48 Speaker 13: The city's website is an excellent resource for all election-related questions.

00:28:53 Speaker 13: The website will have a link to the voting site, which is a different address.

00:28:57 Speaker 13: This email address reaches all members of our election team.

00:29:00 Speaker 13: So the elections at Owen Sound.ca address, and the number up on the screen is for the help desk, not the number to vote.

00:29:08 Speaker 13: All voting information will be on the letter that voters will receive in the mail, and we will talk about that in a few minutes.

00:29:15 Speaker 13: We have election pamphlets that are available at City Hall and various locations around the city that contain key election information.

00:29:22 Speaker 13: They've also been provided to candidates to distribute.

00:29:26 Speaker 13: The voting period is ten days long and starts on October 16th at 10 a.m. and runs through until October 26th at 8 p.m.

00:29:35 Speaker 13: Voting is available twenty-four hours a day during that time period on both the internet and telephone platform.

00:29:44 Speaker 13: There's no paper ballot in the City of Owen Sound election.

00:29:47 Speaker 13: The city will be using the internet or telephone voting method.

00:29:51 Speaker 13: Individuals can cast their vote from the comfort of their home or anywhere they can access the internet or touchtone telephone.

00:29:58 Speaker 13: Computers, tablets, and smartphones can all be used, and rotary phones cannot be used.

00:30:06 Speaker 13: Every person needs to be on the voters list to vote.

00:30:09 Speaker 13: Individuals can check the city's website to see if they are on the list.

00:30:12 Speaker 13: If they aren't, they can visit City Hall during office hours now until the end of the voting period, or attend an election centre during the voting period.

00:30:22 Speaker 13: Where possible, ID should be brought to be added to the voters list.

00:30:25 Speaker 13: A photo and signature are not required on the identification.

00:30:30 Speaker 13: If a person has no home address or no ID, there are affidavits that can be used.

00:30:37 Speaker 13: At election centres, election officials will be available to assist voters during the voting period.

00:30:42 Speaker 13: Up on the screen is information on our two main locations, which is at City Hall or Heritage Place Mall.

00:30:49 Speaker 13: At election centres, voters can get added to the list, amend their information, vote, and receive voting assistance.

00:30:57 Speaker 13: Tablets will be used, and there will be no telephones.

00:31:00 Speaker 13: We will also be attending retirement homes, long-term care homes, the hospice, and the hospital.

00:31:09 Speaker 13: Voters need to have a voter information letter or VIL in order to vote.

00:31:13 Speaker 13: The VILs are mailed at the end of September and include instructions, the web address, and telephone number for the voting platform, the PIN, and the list of candidates.

00:31:24 Speaker 13: Up on the screen here, you'll see what the voter information letter will look like.

00:31:30 Speaker 13: You can see the election logo on the top corner of the page, and all of the candidates are listed on the back.

00:31:40 Speaker 13: If a voter information letter is not received by October 8th, individuals can visit City Hall or an election centre with ID to be added to the list and receive their letter.

00:31:49 Speaker 13: For those without a permanent residence or identification, there are declarations that can be signed to be added to the voter's list.

00:31:57 Speaker 13: And with that, I will turn it over to Stacey to complete the presentation.

00:32:05 Speaker 03: A person is eligible to vote if, on election day, they are a Canadian citizen or at least eighteen years of age, reside within the city,

00:32:13 Speaker 03: or are the owner or tenant of land in the city, or the spouse of such a person, and are not prohibited by law from voting.

00:32:19 Speaker 03: You are prohibited by law from voting if you are a person who is serving a sentence of imprisonment in a penal or correctional institution, a corporation, an estate trustee,

00:32:28 Speaker 03: or have been convicted of a corrupt practice.

00:32:32 Speaker 03: Electors will be voting for one mayor, seven councillors, and one school board trustee.

00:32:36 Speaker 03: The deputy mayor position has been acclaimed, and two school board trustees have also been acclaimed: the Bruce Gray Catholic District School Board and Conseil Scolaire Catholique Provenance.

00:32:45 Speaker 03: A list of certified candidates is available on the election web.

00:32:46 Speaker 03: It is available on the election website at owen soundvotes.ca.

00:32:51 Speaker 03: For internet voting, the link to the voting site will be included on the voter information letter, which electors should receive by October 8th.

00:32:57 Speaker 03: There will also be a link directly from the city's website.

00:33:00 Speaker 03: The internet voting platform includes clear prompts and does not allow over-voting.

00:33:04 Speaker 03: It does allow electors to under-vote, and electors can abstain from a race or decline their ballot altogether.

00:33:11 Speaker 03: For telephone voting, the number to call will be included on the voter information letter.

00:33:15 Speaker 03: Electors will need to input their PIN from their voter information letter as well as their date of birth to access their ballot.

00:33:21 Speaker 03: Please be sure to listen to and follow all the commands and use the touchpad to make your selections.

00:33:26 Speaker 03: The telephone voting platform is like the internet voting platform in that it includes clear prompts and does not allow over-voting.

00:33:32 Speaker 03: It does allow electors to under-vote, and electors can abstain from a race or decline their ballot altogether.

00:33:37 Speaker 03: The order of the candidates on the telephone will match the order on the voter information letter.

00:33:42 Speaker 03: Once an elector has made all their selections, they will be given an opportunity to review their selections and make changes if necessary.

00:33:48 Speaker 03: It is important that electors remain on the line until they hear the message that their vote has been cast successfully.

00:33:55 Speaker 03: And this is just a short video from Simply Voting that demonstrates the internet and telephone voting processes.

00:34:02 Speaker 03: Simply Voting provides web-based and phone-based voting systems for municipal elections.

00:34:08 Speaker 03: We'll help you cast your ballot conveniently and securely.

00:34:13 Speaker 14: Before the election, you'll receive a voter information letter with a web address where you can vote online, a phone number so you can vote by phone, and other important information.

00:34:24 Speaker 14: Your letter will also contain your personal identification number or PIN.

00:34:29 Speaker 14: Keep this letter safe; you'll need it to cast your ballot.

00:34:33 Speaker 14: Whether you choose to vote online or vote by phone, this video will help you to cast your ballot.

00:34:38 Speaker 14: Voting online.

00:34:40 Speaker 14: To vote online, just go to the web address listed in your letter.

00:34:46 Speaker 14: Enter your complete date of birth (year, month, and day) and your PIN, and then click Log In.

00:34:53 Speaker 14: If you made a mistake, you'll be prompted to try again.

00:34:57 Speaker 14: Step one: fill out your ballot.

00:35:00 Speaker 14: Once you log in, you'll see your ballot, including all of the races in which you're eligible to vote, as well as an option to decline to vote.

00:35:09 Speaker 14: If you decline to vote, you will be prompted to click Continue and then Confirm to verify that you do not wish to submit any votes in any of the races on the ballot.

00:35:20 Speaker 14: If you would like to vote, just work your way down the ballot, one race at a time.

00:35:26 Speaker 14: In this example, I can choose a mayor for my town, a councillor for my ward, and so on.

00:35:32 Speaker 14: For each race, read the instructions carefully and then make your selection, or you may select no one and abstain from this race.

00:35:42 Speaker 14: In some cases, you may be prompted to select more than one option.

00:35:47 Speaker 14: In this example, I can pick up to two candidates.

00:35:50 Speaker 14: I can uncheck a candidate and make a different selection, but I can only pick up to two candidates for this race.

00:35:58 Speaker 14: Overvoting is not allowed.

00:36:01 Speaker 14: Your ballot may include one race or several races.

00:36:04 Speaker 14: Simply work your way down to the bottom.

00:36:07 Speaker 14: When you're finished, click Continue.

00:36:11 Speaker 14: Step two: review your ballot.

00:36:13 Speaker 14: You'll see a summary of your selections.

00:36:16 Speaker 14: Review them carefully.

00:36:17 Speaker 14: If you like, you can click Change to go back and make different selections, and then click Continue to return to the summary.

00:36:26 Speaker 14: When you're ready, click Confirm.

00:36:29 Speaker 14: Clicking Confirm is like dropping a paper ballot into the ballot box.

00:36:33 Speaker 14: Your vote is final and cannot be changed.

00:36:38 Speaker 14: Step three, you're done.

00:36:40 Speaker 14: Once you have cast your ballot, you will be logged out automatically.

00:36:45 Speaker 14: Voting by phone.

00:36:47 Speaker 14: To instead vote by phone, simply call the toll-free number listed in your letter from any touchtone phone or from your cell phone.

00:36:56 Speaker 14: Welcome to the telephone voting system for the municipality of Owen Sound.

00:37:01 Speaker 14: You will be asked to enter your complete date of birth, year, month, and day, and then your PIN.

00:37:08 Speaker 14: Please enter your PIN followed by the number sign.

00:37:11 Speaker 14: Enter your PIN and press the number key.

00:37:17 Speaker 14: If you made a mistake, you'll be prompted to try again.

00:37:21 Speaker 14: Once you log in, you will have the option to proceed to vote or to decline to vote.

00:37:26 Speaker 14: Two thousand and twenty-six municipal and school board elections.

00:37:31 Speaker 14: To proceed to vote, press one.

00:37:33 Speaker 14: To decline to vote, press two.

00:37:35 Speaker 14: If you decline to vote, you will be asked to confirm that you do not wish to submit any votes in any of the races on the ballot.

00:37:44 Speaker 14: If you would like to vote, you will hear the first race in which you're eligible to vote.

00:37:50 Speaker 14: Mayor, be sure to listen closely.

00:37:53 Speaker 14: Please select one of the following candidates.

00:37:56 Speaker 14: To select Jane Doe, press one.

00:37:59 Speaker 15: To select Sam Jones, press two.

00:38:01 Speaker 15: To select John Smith, press three.

00:38:04 Speaker 15: After listening to the candidates, you will hear to abstain, press zero.

00:38:09 Speaker 14: You may choose a candidate, or you may choose abstain to leave this answer blank.

00:38:16 Speaker 14: In some races, you can choose more than one candidate.

00:38:20 Speaker 14: Please select up to two of the following candidates.

00:38:22 Speaker 14: Choose a candidate just like before, and then listen for more options.

00:38:27 Speaker 14: You may select an additional candidate.

00:38:30 Speaker 14: If you are finished, press zero.

00:38:32 Speaker 14: Choose a second candidate, or press zero to move on without making another selection.

00:38:39 Speaker 14: Your ballot may include one race or many races.

00:38:43 Speaker 14: Simply work your way through one by one.

00:38:46 Speaker 14: When you're finished, you'll hear a summary of your selections.

00:38:50 Speaker 14: Please confirm your choices.

00:38:52 Speaker 14: Mayor Jane Doe.

00:38:54 Speaker 14: Listen carefully to the summary.

00:38:56 Speaker 14: When it's complete, you can confirm your choices or go back and make any changes.

00:39:02 Speaker 14: To submit your choices, press one.

00:39:04 Speaker 14: To change your choices, press two.

00:39:06 Speaker 14: To repeat your choices, press three.

00:39:08 Speaker 14: Pressing one to confirm your choices is like dropping a paper ballot into the ballot box.

00:39:14 Speaker 14: Your vote is final and cannot be changed.

00:39:18 Speaker 14: Once you confirm your choices, you will be automatically disconnected.

00:39:23 Speaker 14: Your vote has been recorded.

00:39:25 Speaker 14: Thank you.

00:39:25 Speaker 14: Goodbye.

00:39:27 Speaker 14: Election results.

00:39:29 Speaker 14: When the election is complete, the municipality will publish the results, including who won each race, how many votes they received, what percentage of the vote they received, and so on.

00:39:42 Speaker 14: Thank you for voting.

00:39:51 Speaker 03: The unofficial results will be available on Monday, October twenty-sixth, at approximately eight fifty.

00:39:54 Speaker 03: At approximately 8:15 p.m. at ownsoundvotes.ca, the official results will be posted on Tuesday, October 27th, on the election website and at City Hall.

00:40:04 Speaker 03: A media release will be issued after the unofficial results have been posted and on the day that the official results are posted.

00:40:13 Speaker 03: Some tips for making the voting process smoother are that the internet platform is faster than the telephone platform, and to use the back of your voter information letter to organise your voting choices.

00:40:23 Speaker 03: This is especially important for the telephone voting with the number of candidates we have.

00:40:27 Speaker 03: For mayor, the candidates will be listed on the telephone as one through six in alphabetical order.

00:40:32 Speaker 03: For councillor, the candidates will be listed as zero one through twenty one in alphabetical order.

00:40:38 Speaker 03: And for school board trustee, the candidates will be listed as one through two in alphabetical order.

00:40:42 Speaker 03: If you have your choices organised in advance, you won't have to listen to the order of candidates for every single selection for councillor, because it does repeat it every single time,

00:40:51 Speaker 03: zero like zero one through twenty one.

00:40:54 Speaker 03: All appointed election officials have taken an oath of secrecy.

00:40:57 Speaker 03: If an elector requires any assistance with voting, electors also have the option to have the assistance of a friend or interpreter while voting.

00:41:07 Speaker 03: Electors can find out if they are on the voters list by going to ownsoundvotes.ca and selecting the voters list lookup button.

00:41:14 Speaker 03: If you are on the list, it will show your school support, the list of election centres, as well as the list of candidates.

00:41:19 Speaker 03: If you are not on the list, or your school support is incorrect,

00:41:22 Speaker 03: you can come to City Hall during business hours or go to an election centre to be added to the list or have your information amended.

00:41:29 Speaker 03: And with that, Mayor Boddy, we'd be happy to take any questions.

00:41:32 Speaker 03: Great, thank you.

00:41:33 Speaker 03: Anyone have any questions?

00:41:34 Speaker 03: John, go ahead.

00:41:37 Speaker 08: Through the mayor, while we're promoting engagement with the election, it is a time when people are paying more attention to the municipality generally,

00:41:45 Speaker 08: and not everyone might have been totally detailed in their following of the last four years' worth of municipal work and projects.

00:41:56 Speaker 08: What should folks know if they're watching this to figure out how to vote, and are maybe also interested in getting back up to speed with what the municipality's been up to?

00:42:05 Speaker 08: Do staff want to highlight any of the places where folks can get information so that they have a reliable source or know where those reliable sources are?

00:42:14 Speaker 08: Given the number of conversations that might be happening around an election.

00:42:23 Speaker 13: Through your worship, to Councillor Farmer, thank you for the question.

00:42:26 Speaker 13: I would encourage the public to check out the city's website.

00:42:29 Speaker 13: It has all kinds of information on different areas of the city, and also on our own Sound Votes website.

00:42:37 Speaker 13: We do have links to information about the candidates that they've provided us.

00:42:42 Speaker 13: Those links, so that's a way for them to get in touch with their candidates.

00:42:50 Speaker 13: Good, good.

00:42:52 Speaker 13: Other Scott, go ahead.

00:42:55 Speaker 09: I'd just like to, since we're talking elections, point out that I find it very troubling when I hear experiences or stories where candidates are denied access to particularly condominiums,

00:43:06 Speaker 09: which seems to be escalating more so in recent elections.

00:43:09 Speaker 09: So, from a property management resource in Ontario, Section 89.1 of the Ontario Election Act states, in part,

00:43:19 Speaker 09: that no condominium corporation may prevent a candidate or their representative from having access to the common areas to distribute materials and request residents to open their doors for election-related activities.

00:43:33 Speaker 09: There's time of day requirements and so forth.

00:43:37 Speaker 09: Valid idea if requested.

00:43:40 Speaker 09: I'd like just to state the rights to access and penalties for denial.

00:43:45 Speaker 09: Section 118 of the Condominium Act further ensures that candidates and their representatives have reasonable access to the property for canvassing or distributing election materials.

00:43:55 Speaker 09: Condominium corporations that unlawfully deny access under the Ontario Elections Act may face fines ranging from five hundred dollars to two thousand dollars,

00:44:05 Speaker 09: with additional penalties for intentional violations under section 137 of the Condominium Act up to one hundred thousand dollars.

00:44:14 Speaker 09: I say that because I believe in democracy and I believe in all candidates having a fair opportunity to access places of residence equally and to reduce any possible chances of candidates being prejudiced in any

00:44:30 Speaker 09: way,

00:44:30 Speaker 09: shape, or form.

00:44:31 Speaker 09: That is the law, and I'm not sure if the clerks would like to just comment on that or not.

00:44:36 Speaker 09: But hopefully, every property owner and manager abides by the law.

00:44:43 Speaker 09: Anthony, you need to add no, indicating no. Anyone else?

00:44:46 Speaker 11: Okay.

00:44:47 Speaker 11: Thanks to both of you for your presentation, Stacy.

00:44:50 Speaker 11: That video that you just played—it's available on the city's website for anybody to go and find easily on the face of Owen Sound.ca.

00:44:57 Speaker 11: Sorry, owen soundvotes.ca.

00:44:58 Speaker 11: So owen soundvotes.ca is the source of that information, and I'll perhaps help a lot of people.

00:45:06 Speaker 11: Thank you.

00:45:07 Speaker 11: Number eight in our agenda is public forum.

00:45:11 Speaker 11: If there's anyone that wishes to state something, we'll get you to state your name, what municipality you reside in, and you've got three minutes.

00:45:23 Speaker 11: Okay, so I'm not seeing anyone going to the microphone right now.

00:45:27 Speaker 11: At number nine A, we have correspondence from the Association, the Ontario Roads Supervisors, AORS, with regard to requests for waiving of rental fees for an AORS Provincial Safety Truck Rodeo,

00:45:47 Speaker 11: and really the next one is much the same correspondence.

00:45:50 Speaker 11: Alzheimer's Society of Greater Bruce request for waiving of rental fees for the fifth annual Soup on Silent Auction.

00:45:57 Speaker 11: So that's there.

00:46:00 Speaker 11: It's correspondence for which we need to give direction.

00:46:07 Speaker 11: Anybody need any presentations from staff or got any comments, Councillor Farmer?

00:46:13 Speaker 16: Through the mayor, I'm to the AORS letter.

00:46:18 Speaker 16: I don't think that I'm comfortable waiving all of the fees for this.

00:46:21 Speaker 16: The organisation is known certainly within the industry,

00:46:23 Speaker 16: but I don't think that folks outside of municipal public works or councils would know what we were talking about if we told them that AORS was coming to town with an event.

00:46:33 Speaker 16: I note that they do have revenue streams as an organisation, and I don't think that Owen Sound residents should be covering their costs for them.

00:46:41 Speaker 16: That said, I am under the impression that public works employees sometimes pay to attend training or workshops through or provided by AOR—is it AORS or AORS?

00:46:53 Speaker 16: And I would support that kind of bartering for in-kind services if that helps them with the cash flow of their event, to an equivalent value.

00:47:02 Speaker 16: But I wouldn't personally support the waiving of all the fees for this particular one.

00:47:09 Speaker 16: Anyone else comments thoughts?

00:47:11 Speaker 09: Councillor Deputy MacGregor, sorry.

00:47:13 Speaker 09: I guess I'll tie my comments together for both of them at this time.

00:47:19 Speaker 09: Do we have a policy under which we can look to here from some guidance from staff before we make any firm decisions?

00:47:27 Speaker 09: I know, as an organiser, I would be looking at being aware of the costs for rental and for facilities, as I'm looking at hosting.

00:47:39 Speaker 09: So I guess I'm wondering: Is there any policies we have?

00:47:41 Speaker 09: And the second item does refer to a bit of a surprise in the escalation of costs, which caused me to raise an eyebrow for sure.

00:47:54 Speaker 17: Thank you for the question.

00:47:55 Speaker 17: Attached to this evening's agenda are two policies.

00:47:59 Speaker 17: So the first request for the provincial truck rodeo is should be considered under policy CS 77, which is waiving of fees for provincial, national, or international events.

00:48:12 Speaker 17: Under that policy, staff believe that the event qualifies for a twenty-five percent reduction to a maximum of one thousand dollars for their fee.

00:48:21 Speaker 17: So on their rental of approximately three thousand five hundred, their reduction would be eight seventy-five.

00:48:27 Speaker 17: Anything more than that, council would need to provide direction on that.

00:48:32 Speaker 17: The second request by the Alzheimer Society is under a different policy.

00:48:36 Speaker 17: It's not a provincial or national event.

00:48:39 Speaker 17: It's just considered under CS 37, waiving of rental fees, and that policy applies where the group or organisation is contributing 100% of the net proceeds to a city service programmemememememememememe or facility.

00:48:55 Speaker 17: And while they're certainly providing excellent programmemememememememememes, in this case, it doesn't apply to a city service programmemememememememememe or facility.

00:49:04 Speaker 17: So staff don't believe that this event qualifies.

00:49:07 Speaker 17: So any reduction would be required through a motion of council.

00:49:16 Speaker 18: Well, how about I make a motion to the first one, and then I will ask a further question to the second one.

00:49:22 Speaker 18: I'll make a motion, or is a motion needed?

00:49:25 Speaker 18: The staff have okay.

00:49:26 Speaker 18: I'll make a motion that the twenty-five percent reduction, as in accordance with our policy, be executed in the request for waiving for AORS, and not more.

00:49:41 Speaker 02: And not more.

00:49:45 Speaker 02: I think that's clear.

00:49:46 Speaker 02: Everyone understands that motion.

00:49:48 Speaker 02: Comments to it, Marian?

00:49:49 Speaker 19: Just a question, Your Worship.

00:49:51 Speaker 19: Is it automatically applied when they go to pay for this, or do they have to ask for that waiver?

00:50:00 Speaker 17: Staff will apply that policy because it meets the criteria.

00:50:03 Speaker 17: Yep.

00:50:06 Speaker 17: Do I need a motion then, through your worship?

00:50:13 Speaker 17: I think this motion is clear.

00:50:16 Speaker 20: It explains to the public what's happening, so I think we'll leave it as is.

00:50:21 Speaker 20: Okay.

00:50:22 Speaker 20: Any other questions about the motion?

00:50:23 Speaker 20: Then can I call the question?

00:50:25 Speaker 20: All in favour?

00:50:26 Speaker 20: That is carried.

00:50:27 Speaker 20: Going back to you.

00:50:30 Speaker 09: The second one is in brackets from the request letter.

00:50:34 Speaker 09: Is noting that rental rates have gone up forty percent from our two thousand and twenty-six rental.

00:50:42 Speaker 09: Is this the first event where we have seen this feedback, or what type of outreach communications did we do to service groups before implementing?

00:50:55 Speaker 09: Like when we do fees and charges, it's multiple pages when we read through.

00:51:00 Speaker 09: So, if any other councillors recall that particular line item and going up so much, kudos.

00:51:06 Speaker 09: But I don't.

00:51:08 Speaker 09: Forty percent seems like a lot.

00:51:09 Speaker 09: I'm just wondering, have we been approached by other groups yet to this point?

00:51:18 Speaker 17: Through the mayor, not that I'm aware of, we haven't had other complaints about facility rental costs.

00:51:25 Speaker 17: Council may recall at the time that we did fees and charges.

00:51:29 Speaker 17: We went to an hourly rental, so there's a minimum of four hours.

00:51:34 Speaker 17: So, the Alzheimer's Society does set up one day, so they have a certain number of hours, and then they have the event and they start, you know,

00:51:43 Speaker 17: early in the morning and run later in the day.

00:51:45 Speaker 17: So, in this case, their fees.

00:51:49 Speaker 17: I didn't look at last year's, but I take them at their word that their fees went up in that amount.

00:51:57 Speaker 17: But as per council's policy, the changes in fees and charges are advertised on the city's website.

00:52:05 Speaker 17: We certainly don't reach out in a direct way to every user.

00:52:11 Speaker 05: Just before you go, Scott, I will note that I did receive we did receive another email from a cultural group that was looking for.

00:52:17 Speaker 05: They didn't complain about the price; just they were looking for their fees to be waived and staff dealt with it in accordance with the policy.

00:52:24 Speaker 05: Just so you know.

00:52:27 Speaker 18: Yeah.

00:52:27 Speaker 18: So just to be clear, it's the way that we are applying the fees has changed.

00:52:34 Speaker 18: When you mentioned the four-hour minimum and it's over two days, that's what really precipitates the increase.

00:52:39 Speaker 18: As opposed to in the past, it was a hundred dollars an hour, and now it's a hundred and forty dollars an hour.

00:52:43 Speaker 18: Through the mayor, previously the fee was more for a day rental, whereas this has a minimum charge of four hours, and then there's an hourly rate.

00:53:01 Speaker 17: So over there's a minimum for four, and then an hourly rate.

00:53:04 Speaker 17: So we can certainly explore that again when the fees and charges comes forward.

00:53:10 Speaker 17: Councillor Cupp.

00:53:12 Speaker 19: Thank you, Your Worship.

00:53:13 Speaker 19: Through you.

00:53:13 Speaker 19: to the Director, if it's an hourly rate and they're setting up the day before, do they pay for the whole after four hours, the whole night long, and until their event starts?

00:53:27 Speaker 17: Through the Mayor, I believe the facility rental agreement is attached to the request.

00:53:36 Speaker 17: Just looking, Friday they are paying for the whole day, starting at 8 a.m. till 11 p.m., because the room is tied up and not generating revenue for another group,

00:53:52 Speaker 17: to allow their volunteers to set up that day.

00:54:04 Speaker 17: Anyone else, Councillor Farmer?

00:54:08 Speaker 08: Through the Mayor, I don't think any of us would disagree with the fact that many of us would disagree with the fact that the Alzheimer's Society does really important work,

00:54:13 Speaker 08: and that this event in particular does a beautiful job of tying together the support of local small businesses and restaurants,

00:54:20 Speaker 08: with bringing the public together for something that's delicious and raises money for that important cause.

00:54:26 Speaker 08: Generally, I think that we're in a situation where we're setting up a losing precedent if we are responding to requests on a one-off basis,

00:54:33 Speaker 08: because there are so many worthwhile groups doing worthwhile things who we would all say deserve the most support we can give them,

00:54:40 Speaker 08: but I think that we set up those fees and charges because it costs money to provide the service, and as a staff member likes to say, clarity is kindness.

00:54:52 Speaker 08: And I think that having a clear policy that we apply consistently is the best thing that we can do in the long run.

00:55:01 Speaker 08: So, yeah, it pains me to say I would not support the total waiving of fees for the OSHaRE event.

00:55:10 Speaker 08: So I would, yeah, I'll move for discussion.

00:55:13 Speaker 08: I'll move that we receive the request for information.

00:55:18 Speaker 08: Okay.

00:55:18 Speaker 11: Any other questions or comments?

00:55:20 Speaker 11: Seeing no hands go up, we'll call the question.

00:55:22 Speaker 11: All in favour?

00:55:23 Speaker 11: That is carried.

00:55:24 Speaker 11: Thanks.

00:55:28 Speaker 11: So that takes us to reports of City staff.

00:55:31 Speaker 11: At 10 a.m., we have a report from Mr. Simmonds with regard to fostering a vibrant River District, Report Number Four.

00:55:45 Speaker 21: Thank you, Mayor, members of Council.

00:55:48 Speaker 21: So the report before you tonight is the fourth in a series of reports concerning the River District.

00:55:53 Speaker 21: It builds directly on the previous three reports and on the discussions Council staff, Owen Sound Police Services, community organisations, property owners, businesses, and residents have had about how we foster a cleaner, safer,

00:56:07 Speaker 21: and more vibrant downtown.

00:56:10 Speaker 21: And the recommendations one through five tonight are intended to take a practical and what we believe is a balanced next step.

00:56:17 Speaker 21: So the River District continues to experience issues related to cleanliness, improper waste disposal, homelessness, and perceptions of safety.

00:56:25 Speaker 21: The City has already adjusted garbage and recycling services, increased communication about garbage services, conducted daily foot patrols, and we've also conducted and carried out waste audits.

00:56:37 Speaker 21: Despite those efforts, garbage continues to be left outside on the wrong days, without the required bag tags, or in forms that cannot be collected through regular service,

00:56:46 Speaker 21: such as furniture and other oversized items left at the curb, being left on and on public property.

00:56:54 Speaker 21: So it's not simply an appearance issue.

00:56:56 Speaker 21: When City crews must repeatedly return to collect improperly placed waste, staff are diverted from planned work elsewhere in the City.

00:57:05 Speaker 21: This year, direct River District costs were approximately $62,000, with most of those costs related to waste collection.

00:57:13 Speaker 21: Bylaw enforcement is also spending approximately eight hours each week investigating noncompliance, so it's a significant amount of taxpayer-funded time being redirected from other community priorities.

00:57:25 Speaker 21: The current bylaw for waste largely places responsibility on the person who put the waste out.

00:57:32 Speaker 21: During two waste audits, more than 86% of the bags contained no information that could support an investigation.

00:57:38 Speaker 21: In buildings with commercial space at a street level and several apartments above, staff may know which property the garbage came from, but may not be able to identify the individual who placed it there.

00:57:49 Speaker 21: In plain language, the result is that the waste remains in a public space, and the general taxpayer often pays for that cleanup.

00:57:56 Speaker 21: So, what's being proposed?

00:57:58 Speaker 21: The proposed approach establishes a more clear point of responsibility.

00:58:02 Speaker 21: In our opinion, property owners would be required to provide tenants with current waste collection information.

00:58:08 Speaker 21: Property owners would also be responsible for ensuring that waste from their properties is put out correctly.

00:58:14 Speaker 21: This is not intended to raise revenue or punish responsible property owners.

00:58:19 Speaker 21: It is intended to reduce improperly placed waste, encourage better communication between the property owner and tenants, and recover part of the cost when taxpayers must fund additional cleanup.

00:58:30 Speaker 21: The second half of the report deals with another bylaw, the licensing question.

00:58:36 Speaker 21: The City report says whether the City should create a licensing programmemememememememememe for emergency shelters and social support services,

00:58:43 Speaker 21: and whether licensing these organisations could provide the City with additional tools to address those concerns in the River District.

00:58:49 Speaker 21: In discussion with Owen Sound Police Services, they encouraged the City to look at a relatively recent bylaw that was passed in Cobourg, specifically designed for emergency care premises.

00:59:02 Speaker 21: A legal review confirmed that certain emergency shelters and social support services are not included under the current definition of a business.

00:59:10 Speaker 21: The City therefore cannot simply add conditions to their existing operations.

00:59:14 Speaker 21: Council would first need to change the definition of a business and establish a new licensing framework.

00:59:20 Speaker 21: In general terms, a licensing bylaw can establish operating requirements, impose conditions, require compliance with municipal regulations, and allow a licence to be suspended or revoked.

00:59:32 Speaker 21: Licensing can be useful when the problem is clearly connected to how a business operates and when the conditions are practical, measurable, and enforceable.

00:59:41 Speaker 21: However, licensing is not a general solution to homelessness, addiction, mental health challenges, loitering, or other forms of social disorder.

00:59:51 Speaker 21: That distinction is important.

00:59:52 Speaker 21: The question is not simply, can the City create a licensing programmemememememememememe.

00:59:56 Speaker 21: The more important question is, would the licensing programmemememememememememe actually solve the problems Council and the community are asking us to solve.

01:00:04 Speaker 21: Staff looked closely at the experience of Cobourg, which is the only Ontario municipality we know of that staff identified as having created this type of licensing programmemememememememememe.

01:00:14 Speaker 21: We reached out and contacted Cobourg several times, seeking information about how its programmemememememememememe was working to date, and whether it had actually reduced the nuisance or disturbance behaviours it was intended to address.

01:00:25 Speaker 21: However, through those communications, including myself, we did not receive any responses from the City of Cobourg.

01:00:32 Speaker 21: We therefore, quite honestly, don't have enough information showing the licensing programmemememememememememe has achieved its intended results there.

01:00:40 Speaker 21: Staff also reviewed Cobourg's bylaw, considered correspondence from the Ontario Human Rights Commission, we've sought legal advice, consulted with Grey County.

01:00:48 Speaker 21: With Grey County, spoke directly was Safe and Sound, and prepared a draft bylaw, which is attached to this report, so Council could see what a local licensing system might look like.

01:00:58 Speaker 21: The recommendation not to proceed is not based on a lack of work or an unwillingness to consider the option;

01:01:03 Speaker 21: it is based on the work that was completed to date and the information that's currently available.

01:01:10 Speaker 21: When we did reach out, we heard from Grey County they raised several practical concerns.

01:01:14 Speaker 21: The County advised that licensing could increase operating costs, create barriers for vulnerable people trying to access services, and introduce conditions that may be difficult to enforce.

01:01:25 Speaker 21: The County also raised a fundamental concern about what would happen if an organisation failed to meet a licensing condition.

01:01:33 Speaker 21: Normally, the ultimate enforcement tool under a licensing bylaw is the suspension or revocation of a licence, but in this situation,

01:01:41 Speaker 21: revoking a licence could result in the closure of a service that vulnerable people may rely on, so that again, for Council's consideration, creates a difficult position.

01:01:52 Speaker 21: In addition, Safe and Sound also advised that the licence fee itself would not be a primary concern.

01:01:59 Speaker 21: The more significant issue would be the cost and operational effect of the conditions attached to the licence.

01:02:04 Speaker 21: At the same time, Safe and Sound advised when we spoke to them that they are already taking or planning several steps that respond directly to local concerns.

01:02:12 Speaker 21: They assured us that those include cleaning adjacent boulevards, creating and using a code of conduct, temporarily restricting service users who do not follow that code,

01:02:22 Speaker 21: considering the use of rear entrances where there is more private space, and working toward a longer-term storage solution for personal belongings.

01:02:30 Speaker 21: So, why are staff recommending perhaps not proceeding with licensing at this time?

01:02:36 Speaker 21: Staff are also not suggesting that emergency shelters, a social service organisation, should be exempt from the rules that apply to everybody else; it's really just being about being a good corporate citizen.

01:02:47 Speaker 21: These organisations and their properties must comply with applicable municipal bylaws.

01:02:52 Speaker 21: Where violations occur, the City should respond using the appropriate enforcement tools.

01:02:58 Speaker 21: But licensing should only be introduced where there is a clear problem that licensing can realistically address, where the conditions can be effectively enforced, and where the likely benefits outweigh the risks and unintended consequences.

01:03:10 Speaker 21: At this point, we just don't have the evidence that a licensing programmemememememememememe would reduce the behaviours of concern in the River District.

01:03:17 Speaker 21: Creating a licensing system simply because it is available to us would not, on its own, make the River District cleaner or safer.

01:03:24 Speaker 21: It is important to emphasize the words "at this time."

01:03:28 Speaker 21: Council is not giving up its ability to consider licensing in the future.

01:03:32 Speaker 21: If evidence becomes available showing that this type of programmemememememememememe is effective, if circumstances change, or if practical and enforceable licensing conditions are identified, Council could have staff revisit this matter.

01:03:44 Speaker 21: The recommendations before Council are all about clear rules, reasonable accountability, education first, and enforcement where necessary.

01:03:54 Speaker 21: If approved, there would be a 45-day grace period, direct communication with affected property owners, public information through the City's website and social media channels, and additional staffing during the initial implementation period.

01:04:06 Speaker 21: And really, that relates back to the Waste Management Bylaw.

01:04:10 Speaker 21: This is a measured response we believe to a problem that the current waste management system has not been able to resolve as of yet.

01:04:17 Speaker 21: So, with that, I'm going to conclude my presentation.

01:04:19 Speaker 21: We do have our Supervisor of Bylaw Enforcement with us tonight to take any questions.

01:04:25 Speaker 21: Thank you.

01:04:30 Speaker 21: And a thing to add, or just waiting for questions?

01:04:33 Speaker 21: Okay.

01:04:35 Speaker 21: Go to Carol first.

01:04:36 Speaker 21: Go ahead.

01:04:38 Speaker 22: Through you, Mayor.

01:04:39 Speaker 22: First of all, I want to thank you for investigating as far as you could for the information on this report.

01:04:47 Speaker 22: There is a couple of things that I heard, and that is that there's an expectation across all of our businesses and our corporations to be good corporate citizens.

01:04:59 Speaker 22: So, we're applying the same standards for everyone, the same information, the same education, and I think that that sets a playing field equal and measurable for all.

01:05:12 Speaker 22: So I think that that also engages our shelters within our community to meet those expectations.

01:05:22 Speaker 22: Rather than being other than, they are part of, and I think that's a really important message to send.

01:05:29 Speaker 22: I have a question regarding how the $80 charge was developed, and then I'll let you answer that.

01:05:43 Speaker 22: Thank you, through you, Mayor.

01:05:46 Speaker 23: So, as the City Manager said earlier, the City incurred quite a substantial cost related to cleanup and investigation of illegal dumping, not only in direct labour costs,

01:05:57 Speaker 23: but also in the loss of staff time for other work.

01:06:01 Speaker 23: The fee is not expected to provide total cost recovery.

01:06:04 Speaker 23: It is, however, along with substantial communication, expected to improve education to tenants and reduce the amount of illegal dumping over time.

01:06:13 Speaker 23: But at this point, if Council wishes to alter that proposed fee, a motion to amend the fee would be required.

01:06:26 Speaker 23: Done.

01:06:26 Speaker 23: Thanks, John.

01:06:27 Speaker 23: I think your hand was next.

01:06:29 Speaker 08: I. Thank you, through the Mayor.

01:06:30 Speaker 08: I'd like to move items one through four.

01:06:35 Speaker 08: Depending on where the conversation goes in responding to recommendation five, I may need to declare an interest.

01:06:41 Speaker 08: So just to split those items, I'd like to move one to four.

01:06:46 Speaker 08: I think clearly the status quo is not working in addressing the problem, and it's also generating unforeseen or unintended consequences in the implementation.

01:06:54 Speaker 08: I think we need to do something differently,

01:06:56 Speaker 08: and it makes sense to me that we should bring our policies and expectations in line with the provincial policies that set expectations for the basic services like waste management facilities that are provided by landlords

01:07:08 Speaker 08: in multi-residential units or sorry,

01:07:11 Speaker 08: landlords in multi-unit residential buildings.

01:07:14 Speaker 08: So I'm happy to see that staff have put this time in, and I think it's time that we fully bring those landlords into the conversation as we talk about how to address a shared challenge.

01:07:28 Speaker 11: Thank you.

01:07:29 Speaker 11: So, Councillor Farmer has moved the recommendations, so one to four, which are in front of us.

01:07:33 Speaker 11: Discussion.

01:07:34 Speaker 11: Further discussion.

01:07:36 Speaker 09: Deputy Mayor Greig.

01:07:39 Speaker 09: I effectively totally agree with all your comments, Councillor Farmer.

01:07:44 Speaker 09: Just two questions, or perhaps a third.

01:07:49 Speaker 09: Before I get there, thank you very much for the work that you've done over the last several months.

01:07:55 Speaker 09: Council puts bylaws in place and provides direction for staff, and staff are executing on that.

01:08:03 Speaker 09: And we are not getting involved.

01:08:05 Speaker 09: We do not have any insight, any information to the level that you are subject to.

01:08:13 Speaker 09: Nor should we get involved.

01:08:15 Speaker 09: And I know there's been a lot of conjecture or commentary out in the public, but we're not doing your job, and we appreciate the work that you are doing.

01:08:26 Speaker 09: Because even as recently as last week, at the bottom of Moore's Hill, there was a garbage bag just disposed of, and the City comes along and picks it up.

01:08:35 Speaker 09: And I see someone in the audience who has, over her time over last years, been like myself and picked up waste in the side of the hill that's disposed of,

01:08:45 Speaker 09: and it's pervasive everywhere in the City.

01:08:46 Speaker 09: So it is a problem.

01:08:48 Speaker 09: The report notes it's a $62,000 issue, I think, for the taxpayers to absorb just from March to May.

01:08:54 Speaker 09: From memory, so I'm certainly supportive of the work that your team has done over the last several months.

01:09:01 Speaker 09: That said, there are some buildings which may have residences that are not so much above the main street-facing stores.

01:09:10 Speaker 09: How do you respond to some of those instances when you know we can talk about cameras and so forth?

01:09:20 Speaker 09: But there are some idiosyncrasies.

01:09:20 Speaker 09: Are there some idiosyncrasies that may exist out there?

01:09:24 Speaker 09: Could you comment on how you've worked through those?

01:09:29 Speaker 09: Through you, Mayor.

01:09:31 Speaker 23: Thank you for the comment.

01:09:32 Speaker 23: First of all, so I want to say that the proposed amendments are not intended to be punitive towards the owners.

01:09:39 Speaker 23: They are intended to encourage greater owner involvement in waste education, monitoring, and compliance efforts.

01:09:45 Speaker 23: Staff have provided five recommendations, which were on page six of the report, to property owners who may have concerns about garbage coming from other properties, anything like that.

01:09:57 Speaker 23: These recommendations will also be included in all of the communications during that grace period that was discussed.

01:10:02 Speaker 23: Property owners are encouraged to implement some or all of those recommendations so that they have the evidence available to them to support an appeal if garbage did come from somewhere other than their tenants or

01:10:14 Speaker 23: guests of the property.

01:10:16 Speaker 23: If a person does illegally dispose of waste in front of their property, additionally, in addition to rescinding an invoice,

01:10:23 Speaker 23: a property owner who brings forward evidence of illegal dumping also supports us in prosecuting those charges.

01:10:28 Speaker 24: So, okay, thanks for that.

01:10:33 Speaker 24: Next question is: Due to changes from the province, we did incorporate some changes.

01:10:39 Speaker 24: We were forced to have some changes in our waste management, but particularly the recycling.

01:10:44 Speaker 24: So, downtown commercial tenants now have their own schedules for pickup that the City would not be aware of.

01:10:53 Speaker 24: I guess the question is: Should the City be aware of that?

01:10:56 Speaker 24: Should the City somehow try to reach out through our Downtown River Precinct coordinator and gather some of that?

01:11:04 Speaker 24: Would that be helpful to you to avoid issues in the future?

01:11:09 Speaker 24: Have we communicated perhaps adequately with the businesses?

01:11:13 Speaker 24: Because you certainly wouldn't be aware of the contract that I have, or Councillor Miller would have, for example.

01:11:23 Speaker 21: Thank you, Mayor.

01:11:23 Speaker 21: To the Deputy Mayor, it's a good point.

01:11:25 Speaker 21: We will have our Supervisor of Environmental Services, who handles waste management, connect with Miller on recycling and recycling schedules.

01:11:35 Speaker 21: And I think Miller's pretty good about identifying who has contracts, not the value of the contract, of course, but they'll be able to say these business addresses.

01:11:44 Speaker 21: Here's the recycling day, etc., and we can coordinate that internally between our Environmental Services and our Bylaw group as this moves forward.

01:11:52 Speaker 21: If Council so wishes, it to move forward.

01:11:55 Speaker 24: Okay.

01:11:56 Speaker 24: And thirdly, I guess as we're going into winter and we're thinking about addressing this, and we recognize that you know, right there's—I won't name the civic address, but I can see it from here.

01:12:10 Speaker 24: We have garbage pickup Wednesday mornings, and at 11:30 a.m., there's more bags of garbage put out.

01:12:17 Speaker 24: This is what we're trying to respond to, and it's unfortunate.

01:12:21 Speaker 24: There are costs that we have to assume at times.

01:12:27 Speaker 24: I only think of Committee of Adjustment meetings where occasionally there are appeals and the city has to incur additional costs to achieve compliance and ensure there is a deterrent there that is effective.

01:12:37 Speaker 24: I see there has been a lot of likeness with waste management.

01:12:42 Speaker 24: To that, with some additional, you foresee some issues.

01:12:49 Speaker 24: We're going into winter.

01:12:50 Speaker 24: If we get a lot of heavy snow, for instance, you know where I'm going here.

01:12:55 Speaker 24: Garbage gets embedded in the snowbanks and so forth.

01:12:59 Speaker 24: How have you considered that in constructing this bylaw, and what you could have to work with over the next few months?

01:13:09 Speaker 24: Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

01:13:09 Speaker 23: Thank you, Mayor.

01:13:11 Speaker 23: So, first of all, I want to just make sure that everyone's got the same picture.

01:13:16 Speaker 23: So, with this new programmemememememememememe, Garbage Day continues in the downtown.

01:13:23 Speaker 23: You can put your garbage out at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

01:13:27 Speaker 23: Garbage gets picked up Wednesday morning, and if it does not get collected by staff by waste collection staff, the property owner or the tenant needs to remove that from the city's land.

01:13:38 Speaker 23: From the city's laneway by 8 p.m. that night.

01:13:41 Speaker 23: Any other time outside of that period, any garbage that is in the downtown can get picked up without notice.

01:13:49 Speaker 23: So that shouldn't affect winter control.

01:13:52 Speaker 23: The only period where winter control could be affected is that Tuesday from 4 until Wednesday at 8 p.m. in the downtown.

01:13:59 Speaker 23: For the most part, the boulevard is sufficiently large enough that it shouldn't affect plowing of the sidewalks or the road.

01:14:08 Speaker 23: The only situation that I could see a potential impact, and I think potentially there would be some other staff that might be able to speak on this more,

01:14:17 Speaker 23: is those periods where we're doing the excess snow removal, where we remove the snow mounds in the downtown.

01:14:28 Speaker 23: Historically, that has happened starting at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays, so after that period, where garbage should be in the downtown.

01:14:36 Speaker 23: So I don't expect any impact on winter control.

01:14:40 Speaker 23: But there's always a potential that we need to come back with some amendments to that.

01:14:47 Speaker 23: Keep looking that way.

01:14:48 Speaker 23: Anyone else?

01:14:48 Speaker 23: Go ahead.

01:14:50 Speaker 12: Thank you, through you, Mayor.

01:14:52 Speaker 12: With regard to the 8 p.m. timeline, how are you going to police it for bags that are still there at 8 p.m.?

01:15:00 Speaker 12: Who is working at that time in the city that will be policing that?

01:15:05 Speaker 23: Thank you for the question, through you, Mayor.

01:15:07 Speaker 23: So during the initial implementation, the first approximately four weeks,

01:15:14 Speaker 23: our division as well as Public Works are going to discuss who will be out there for extended shifts to make sure that we are getting those bags right at 8 p.m.

01:15:27 Speaker 23: So there will be some sort of staffing there for those first four weeks.

01:15:31 Speaker 23: Beyond that period, there might come a point where the bags end up staying out later, but that will be a discussion as we get this implemented.

01:15:41 Speaker 23: Is it who will be out there and when will this get picked up?

01:15:49 Speaker 11: Good.

01:15:50 Speaker 11: Okay, so I'm thinking, call the question.

01:15:52 Speaker 11: Which John's motion was moving recommendations one to four.

01:15:57 Speaker 11: All in favour.

01:15:58 Speaker 11: That is carried.

01:16:00 Speaker 11: Now I think if we're well, I think if we're going to go to five, I think John's probably going to vacate.

01:16:04 Speaker 11: No problem, as long as it stays to this end.

01:16:06 Speaker 11: Okay, so he's good with it.

01:16:08 Speaker 11: Do you want to move five?

01:16:09 Speaker 16: Okay, I'll go back to you.

01:16:11 Speaker 16: Through the Mayor, happy to speed us along and say I'll move number five as well.

01:16:15 Speaker 16: I support the recommendation to stop work on the development of that separate licensing plan for emergency shelters and social support services.

01:16:26 Speaker 16: I think there are already so many barriers that are facing folks like Safe and Sound who are trying to prevent and reduce the suffering in our community, and as the report says,

01:16:35 Speaker 16: the current city rules and, in the case of Safe and Sound, their own internal practices, are already setting appropriate frameworks for regulating nuisance or responding to that.

01:16:44 Speaker 16: And I don't see a benefit in adding more administrative work either to our staff or the staff of the nonprofits who are working to support the community.

01:16:53 Speaker 16: So I'm happy to move that recommendation that we stop work on something that might not make things better, but create a lot more work.

01:17:02 Speaker 16: Thank you.

01:17:03 Speaker 16: Discussion.

01:17:03 Speaker 16: Go ahead.

01:17:05 Speaker 06: Can I ask maybe Tim to, or maybe even Pam, to go through some of the things that these organisations do have to go through?

01:17:13 Speaker 06: Because I think there is some public perception that it is a little bit of the wild west, and you can just open up on any street corner.

01:17:21 Speaker 06: And I think you know that needs to be cleared up.

01:17:37 Speaker 17: Through the Mayor, just in terms of the city's zoning bylaw, so a crisis residence or that type of use would be something that is permitted through zoning.

01:17:47 Speaker 17: So when we do our comprehensive zoning bylaw, just like the process we just finished, so those uses are permitted in certain areas.

01:17:57 Speaker 17: Like any business, there's all sorts of bylaws that would apply.

01:18:02 Speaker 17: You know, the preservation of order and Riley would be well positioned to speak to those.

01:18:08 Speaker 17: But I guess it starts with zoning, and then as we drill down into just being a good corporate citizen, there's lots of bylaws that we have that could apply to any use,

01:18:19 Speaker 17: whether it's in the River District or in other commercial area.

01:18:22 Speaker 17: Thanks, ma'am.

01:18:23 Speaker 17: Riley.

01:18:24 Speaker 17: Want to head to that?

01:18:26 Speaker 23: Sure.

01:18:26 Speaker 23: Yeah.

01:18:26 Speaker 23: So, through you, Mayor, we do have plenty of bylaws that already cover personal behaviours in general.

01:18:35 Speaker 23: We have the Nuisance Bylaw that speaks to loitering, littering, obstructing sidewalks.

01:18:44 Speaker 23: We have the Preservation of Order on Streets Bylaw, which speaks to carts and things like that on the sidewalks.

01:18:52 Speaker 23: When it comes to the organisations themselves and thinking about safe operations, they have to deal.

01:19:00 Speaker 23: They have to comply with the same property standards bylaws that everyone else does.

01:19:07 Speaker 23: The issue really comes down to when you're talking about those personal behaviours, those disturbing behaviours.

01:19:17 Speaker 23: It's something that has to be seen to be able to be enforced.

01:19:21 Speaker 23: So it's all about the visibility in the downtown.

01:19:28 Speaker 23: Okay.

01:19:28 Speaker 23: Anyone else?

01:19:29 Speaker 23: Go ahead.

01:19:31 Speaker 12: Thank you.

01:19:31 Speaker 12: I understand why you're recommending to not move forward with this at this time, seeing as you didn't get the feedback that you were looking for from Coburg.

01:19:42 Speaker 12: But I trust that staff are always looking for new tools in the toolbox.

01:19:47 Speaker 12: Clearly, we don't have everything that we need currently to deal with what we are dealing with, and I trust that staff and Council and citizens at large,

01:19:56 Speaker 12: if there are good ideas out there and tools that we don't have in our toolbox that we can add, that we will certainly bring those forward as we go.

01:20:08 Speaker 12: Thank you, Mayor.

01:20:09 Speaker 21: That's an excellent point.

01:20:10 Speaker 21: Thank you, Councillor Middlebro'.

01:20:11 Speaker 21: Yes, staff are constantly at various levels within the City.

01:20:15 Speaker 21: You know, we spoke a little bit earlier about our Supervisor of Environmental Services dealing with waste.

01:20:20 Speaker 21: She belongs to groups and talks to other municipalities about waste services bylaws.

01:20:24 Speaker 21: Speaks to other bylaw departments as a City Manager.

01:20:27 Speaker 21: I speak to other City Managers, planners with other planners, etc. And we're always trying to glean what is there a solution and maybe not a full solution, but is there a partial solution?

01:20:40 Speaker 21: What can we?

01:20:40 Speaker 21: How can we move a little bit more toward?

01:20:43 Speaker 21: You know, a lot of the times it's visibility issue.

01:20:46 Speaker 21: We still seek assistance from the Province and the County on mental health supports and addictions, etc. But when it comes to visibility issues and other issues about safety and stuff, you know,

01:20:58 Speaker 21: working with on-site police services.

01:21:00 Speaker 21: But we're always looking for new ideas.

01:21:04 Speaker 05: I can confirm the Social Services Department at Grey County is a member of a social services network.

01:21:10 Speaker 05: I forget what it's called, where there's a sharing of ideas across the Province, a sharing of best practices, and we're not finding anything that is being done anywhere else that, from support side of things,

01:21:25 Speaker 05: that Grey County is not doing.

01:21:27 Speaker 05: So, what's going on, John?

01:21:30 Speaker 08: Through the Mayor, I would say to that if it's what people are experiencing and not the fact of the people themselves that are the issue,

01:21:38 Speaker 08: it was years ago that this Council lent support to those calls to increase ODSP and OW rates to something that would actually keep people housed and well,

01:21:47 Speaker 08: and we still haven't seen Provincial action on that.

01:21:50 Speaker 08: Someone did recently send me an article about a programmemememememememememe that Saint Thomas and Elgin I think was doing, where they were moving to,

01:21:57 Speaker 08: they developed a number of strategies to move to a functional zero for homelessness, and including the construction of things like a cart corral, so a walled-off area on a designated property where,

01:22:07 Speaker 08: if people are moving, all of their belongings in carts, that they have a safe place to leave those that that's not invisible to the public,

01:22:15 Speaker 08: and there are small actions like that that I think the City and community partners could be exploring.

01:22:20 Speaker 08: So I'm happy to forward that email that a resident forwarded to me along, because there, it could just be the cost of a fence, but those are expensive now too.

01:22:31 Speaker 08: Oh, sorry, Kara.

01:22:32 Speaker 08: Go ahead.

01:22:33 Speaker 08: Through you, Mayor.

01:22:36 Speaker 22: Research tells us that Housing First approach with wraparound services is the most successful approach of many that have been tried, and certainly as we move forward,

01:22:47 Speaker 22: additional tools that we can be looking at are opportunities to increase our affordable housing supply, and work with the County to augment the services they're already providing through their social services.

01:23:02 Speaker 22: Research is telling us what works.

01:23:04 Speaker 22: We just need the resource capability and the funding and the housing to move it forward, and that certainly is something we can all work on.

01:23:12 Speaker 22: Thank you.

01:23:14 Speaker 11: Okay, so call the question.

01:23:15 Speaker 11: Not seeing any other hands going up.

01:23:17 Speaker 11: All in favour?

01:23:18 Speaker 11: That is carried.

01:23:19 Speaker 11: Thank you very much.

01:23:24 Speaker 11: So I think we're back to Mr. Simmonds again.

01:23:26 Speaker 11: Update information requirements related to NPP costing request.

01:23:31 Speaker 21: Okay.

01:23:31 Speaker 21: Thank you, Mayor, and through you, I'd like to begin by clarifying the purpose of this report.

01:23:38 Speaker 21: In July, Council directed staff to bring back information on the steps required to obtain an OPP costing estimate.

01:23:46 Speaker 21: Council did not direct staff to obtain an OPP costing, undertake a policing review, or evaluate a change in policing service delivery.

01:23:56 Speaker 21: The direction was simply to better understand the process, requirements, timelines, and considerations associated with a costing request.

01:24:03 Speaker 21: Should a future Council ever wish to explore that option, and to fulfil that direction,

01:24:07 Speaker 21: the City had the opportunity to meet with representatives from the Ministry of the Solicitor General during the most recent Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference that was in Ottawa,

01:24:17 Speaker 21: and the purpose of that meeting was to explain Council's request and seek guidance from the Ministry on several key questions that staff considered would help Council understand what would be involved before deciding whether any

01:24:30 Speaker 21: future action is warranted.

01:24:32 Speaker 21: Specifically, the City asked: "What formal steps are required for a municipality currently served by a municipal police service to obtain an OPP costing assessment?

01:24:43 Speaker 21: What data, documentation, Council resolutions, Police Service Board engagement, or background studies are typically required before such a review would be undertaken?

01:24:54 Speaker 21: What consultation opportunities exist with Council, the Police Service Board, police leadership, and community stakeholders?

01:24:59 Speaker 21: What timelines and key decisions?

01:25:01 Speaker 21: What timelines and key decision points should Council understand from initial inquiry through completion of a costing estimate?

01:25:09 Speaker 21: And lastly, are there any examples or best practices from other Ontario municipalities that have explored or completed a similar review?"

01:25:17 Speaker 21: So the meeting itself was positive; it was respectful and constructive.

01:25:22 Speaker 21: The Solicitor General thanked the City for bringing forward thoughtful questions.

01:25:26 Speaker 21: However, because the Ministry had only recently received the City's briefing materials, representatives advised that they would require time for internal review and consultation.

01:25:37 Speaker 21: As a result, a formal response is not anticipated for several months and may not be received until early in the new year.

01:25:45 Speaker 21: The Solicitor General also noted that Council should ultimately, if Council should ultimately wish to pursue an OPP costing in the future, that request could be advanced through the appropriate Provincial process.

01:25:57 Speaker 21: At the same time, though, he also emphasized that before any municipality considers alternative policing models,

01:26:04 Speaker 21: Council needs to ensure it has a thorough understanding of both the costs and the revenues associated with its current policing model.

01:26:12 Speaker 21: In particular,

01:26:13 Speaker 21: the Solicitor General encouraged the City to engage further with the Owen Sound Police Service Board to better understand the financial contribution of dispatch operations and review opportunities for contractual service agreements with neighbouring municipalities.

01:26:29 Speaker 21: His view was that understanding those opportunities is essential because these would not exist under an OPP model.

01:26:37 Speaker 21: He stressed that a complete understanding of the financial picture is important before any future decisions are made.

01:26:44 Speaker 21: Finally, because the Province's formal response to our posed questions is unlikely to be received until early next year, staff are recommending that this report, along with any future correspondence received from the Ministry,

01:26:56 Speaker 21: be referred to the Resilient Community Advisory Committee in 2027.

01:27:01 Speaker 21: This will provide an opportunity for future discussion and allow the Committee sufficient time to view, to review the Ministry's response, consider the broader sustainability implications,

01:27:12 Speaker 21: and provide Council with informed recommendations once complete information is available.

01:27:17 Speaker 21: In closing, the report is simply an update on the work Council requested.

01:27:21 Speaker 21: No OPP costing has been requested.

01:27:23 Speaker 21: No analysis has been undertaken, and no recommendation is being made regarding policing models.

01:27:29 Speaker 21: Staff are reporting back on the information gathered to date, and we will continue to update Council as additional information becomes available from the Ministry.

01:27:38 Speaker 21: Thank you, Councillor Minterborough.

01:27:41 Speaker 12: Thank you, through you, Mayor.

01:27:42 Speaker 12: Thank you for the report and all the work that you and the Mayor and Councillor Kukreja did with the Solicitor General at AMO.

01:27:52 Speaker 12: This is just one piece of the puzzle.

01:27:54 Speaker 12: We need information in order to make good decisions, and until we have that information, no decisions will be made.

01:28:04 Speaker 12: I met with the Chief of Police, Ambrose, last week, along with John Thompson, the head of the police board.

01:28:14 Speaker 12: Deputy Mayor Greig came with me, and we sat down with them for a couple of hours and had a good chat and received a lot of information, asked a lot of questions,

01:28:26 Speaker 12: and I think it was clear from both sides that we have a lot of work to do as far as repairing the relationship between the police board and council, the sharing of information,

01:28:37 Speaker 12: getting on the same page as to how policing in the city can move forward with a shared agenda.

01:28:45 Speaker 12: So I think pushing this to 2027 with the new committee structure is the right thing to do.

01:28:52 Speaker 12: Then the new council can have its say.

01:28:54 Speaker 12: But thank you for all the work that you've done, and we continue to look forward to more information on this.

01:29:01 Speaker 12: Further comments, Councillor?

01:29:04 Speaker 12: Yep, you, Carol.

01:29:08 Speaker 12: Through you, Mayor.

01:29:11 Speaker 22: I agree that information helps make informed decisions, and we need information.

01:29:17 Speaker 22: I also agree that our public is served best when relationships are strong between the Police Services Board and Council, and that's something that would be a positive for everyone.

01:29:31 Speaker 22: In this report, it came forward because of a request and the concern about the costing relating to policing.

01:29:41 Speaker 22: Within this report, you've referenced moving it to a committee where there'll be public representatives on the committee; is that correct?

01:29:49 Speaker 22: No public on those.

01:29:50 Speaker 22: Yes, no, no public, which is a concern that the agency that serves the public, the committee that will be reviewing it, doesn't have public representation.

01:30:04 Speaker 22: I encourage a mechanism to obtain public input around this so that we get a flavour from the public within the report as well.

01:30:16 Speaker 22: There is encouragement to look at options for cost sharing, or you know many opportunities, shared resources, opportunities to develop a different model of service delivery, even if it's for administrative functions.

01:30:36 Speaker 22: In addition to what you're recommending for this report, is there a way that we can encourage that consideration by a committee, not just dollars for dollars, or are you assuming?

01:30:49 Speaker 22: And I'm looking to the City Manager that the committee will understand to look at models for service delivery as based on a suggestion by the Solicitor General.

01:31:02 Speaker 22: So that's a question.

01:31:05 Speaker 21: Through you, Mayor to Councillor Merton, I think at the time with this report referring in any information that comes in from the Solicitor General,

01:31:12 Speaker 21: the committee will take that as a whole and look at the entire picture, and then direct staff to whether it's specifically look at items that the Solicitor General mentioned in our conversations.

01:31:25 Speaker 21: But again, a full review of like a service review of the police service model.

01:31:32 Speaker 21: I assume the committee would ask for such and look at the different revenue sources that Owen Sound Police Services had and what they'd be giving up, et cetera,

01:31:41 Speaker 21: and then also from a public participation perspective, if this moves forward, that committee would also then initiate that type of process.

01:31:48 Speaker 21: Also, okay.

01:31:50 Speaker 21: So I can call the question.

01:31:59 Speaker 21: It wasn't even moved.

01:32:00 Speaker 21: Maybe I'll move it.

01:32:02 Speaker 06: And but I do want to say, and I do think it is a question for the next council.

01:32:08 Speaker 06: But you know, Council has an obligation to make sure taxpayers are receiving good value for every service that they pay for, and policing is one of the largest items in the city budget,

01:32:21 Speaker 06: so it should not be exempt from that.

01:32:24 Speaker 06: You know, getting an OPP costing commits the city to absolutely nothing.

01:32:30 Speaker 06: Asking what an alternative would cost is not the same thing as deciding to pursue that alternative.

01:32:36 Speaker 06: So we should know the numbers before making any long-term decisions, and I think this is just proper due diligence.

01:32:43 Speaker 06: At the end of the day, sorry.

01:32:46 Speaker 06: I thought Councillor Middlebro had moved it, so you've moved it.

01:32:50 Speaker 06: Okay.

01:32:51 Speaker 06: So, anyone else?

01:32:54 Speaker 02: Okay.

01:32:54 Speaker 02: Now it's on the table.

01:32:55 Speaker 02: Going to call the question.

01:32:56 Speaker 02: All in favour?

01:32:58 Speaker 02: That's carried.

01:32:58 Speaker 02: Good.

01:32:59 Speaker 02: Thank you.

01:33:04 Speaker 02: Who's next?

01:33:05 Speaker 02: Maybe Pam, Manager of Planning and Heritage, with regard to Zoning Bylaw 59.

01:33:12 Speaker 17: Thank you, Your Worship.

01:33:13 Speaker 17: A complete application for a zoning bylaw amendment was submitted by Barry's Construction and Insulation for lands on the west side of Sixth Avenue West, about forty metres north of the intersection with Tenth Street West.

01:33:27 Speaker 17: So the property is best described, I think, as kind of being between 1010 and 1038, and it has about 22.6 metres of frontage and a depth of 20.6 metres.

01:33:38 Speaker 17: So the property is located at the edge of a commercial area with predominantly commercial uses west along Tenth Street West, and then more residential-type uses located north and east.

01:33:53 Speaker 17: The lands are designated West City Commercial in the city's Official Plan and zoned C2 or Retail Commercial.

01:34:01 Speaker 17: So the property on the screen: two of the lots were created by consent, and then they're proposed to have a semi-detached dwelling.

01:34:10 Speaker 17: That they're the more southerly ones, and then 1038 contains the existing single-family home.

01:34:16 Speaker 17: So the zoning amendment proposes to add a semi-detached dwelling as a permitted use and establish site-specific regulations related to maximum lot coverage and minimum front and rear yards,

01:34:29 Speaker 17: as well as recognize that existing house at 1038.

01:34:31 Speaker 17: Ten thirty-eight.

01:34:33 Speaker 17: The complete application was made on June 12.

01:34:35 Speaker 17: Council, the application was circulated to our agency partners, and Council gave notice and held a public meeting on July 27.

01:34:44 Speaker 17: I would note that we didn't receive any public feedback in person or in writing.

01:34:49 Speaker 17: Agency comments received have been considered and included in the recommendations within the report.

01:34:56 Speaker 17: The Planning Act provides how Councils are to consider amendments within the report.

01:34:59 Speaker 17: Consider amendments to the zoning bylaw.

01:35:02 Speaker 17: They're to be consistent with provincial policies, including the Provincial Planning Statement.

01:35:10 Speaker 17: Amendments must also conform with the goals, objectives, and policies of the Official Plan, and consider land use compatibility as well as servicing.

01:35:18 Speaker 17: The PPS emphasizes supporting growth in fully serviced settlement areas and permitting and facilitating all housing options, as well as residential intensification.

01:35:30 Speaker 17: The subject lands within a fully serviced settlement area.

01:35:34 Speaker 17: The proposed zoning amendment to permit a semi-detached dwelling with access to services, public transit, parks, and amenities supports the type of efficient, cost-effective development envisioned by the PPS.

01:35:46 Speaker 17: The proposal is consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, City's Official Plan.

01:35:52 Speaker 17: The property is designated West City Commercial.

01:35:56 Speaker 17: Within that area, medium-density forms of housing are among the uses that are permitted.

01:36:01 Speaker 17: The four lots, when you take them together, beginning at 1010, which has a single-family home being converted to include an ARU plus the other two, has a density of 45.5 units per hectare,

01:36:16 Speaker 17: which is considered medium-density, and this really provides an appropriate transition from that commercial area along Tenth Street to the lower-density residential area to the north and east.

01:36:27 Speaker 17: The size setbacks and proposed for the semi-detached dwelling provide appropriate amenity area, provide for parking and access, and can be appropriately serviced, and provide a consistent streetscape along Sixth Avenue.

01:36:43 Speaker 17: The recommendation then is, in considering staff reports, the recommendations, the technical reports, oral and written submissions, including agency comments, Council would find that the application is consistent with the PPS,

01:36:57 Speaker 17: conforms to the goals and objectives of the City's Official Plan, and represents good planning.

01:37:02 Speaker 17: And you would direct staff to bring forward two bylaws.

01:37:06 Speaker 17: And as the report notes, we're passing amendments at this time to both our existing and our soon-to-be, hopefully, future zoning bylaw.

01:37:17 Speaker 17: Happy to take any questions.

01:37:19 Speaker 04: Councillor Farmer, through the Mayor, I'm happy to move the recommendations.

01:37:23 Speaker 04: I think housing is important and density is good, and that this checks a bunch of those boxes.

01:37:30 Speaker 04: Exactly.

01:37:30 Speaker 04: Good.

01:37:30 Speaker 04: Any?

01:37:30 Speaker 04: Yep.

01:37:32 Speaker 24: Just a question to staff.

01:37:33 Speaker 24: And when we did the zoning bylaw, my approach is fairly high-level, and you're looking top-down, or maybe heights or various studies.

01:37:44 Speaker 24: In retrospect, I looked at this report, and there's a house already existing on the corner.

01:37:50 Speaker 24: This is a continuous ribbon of residential.

01:37:54 Speaker 24: When we do that with a new zoning bylaw, is there an opportunity there that you can get to such site-specific,

01:38:02 Speaker 24: looking at it so an applicant wouldn't have to go through this process in the future?

01:38:06 Speaker 24: Because this would seem to be the perfect example where there shouldn't be a process like this to have to go through to build a house in between other houses, just because.

01:38:19 Speaker 24: That's the way we've had it.

01:38:20 Speaker 24: And it's commercial.

01:38:25 Speaker 24: It's an interesting dilemma.

01:38:26 Speaker 17: It is in a commercial designation.

01:38:30 Speaker 17: If the lot to the north had already been changed to a commercial use, maybe it's a different discussion.

01:38:37 Speaker 17: But at some point there has to be a line drawn somewhere.

01:38:41 Speaker 17: So this gives Council the opportunity to consider on a site-specific basis whether those tests are met.

01:38:49 Speaker 17: The West City Commercial designation still permits medium-density forms of residential.

01:38:55 Speaker 17: It's just the semi-detached type.

01:38:58 Speaker 17: So if you tore down all those existing houses and were to build an apartment, that would be different than this test, because it's a different form of housing.

01:39:07 Speaker 17: So, you know, there is sort of that balance between making the zoning bylaw so broad and general that anything's permitted everywhere, and I think that would lend to its own set of problems.

01:39:23 Speaker 11: So, I'm not seeing any other hands going up.

01:39:30 Speaker 11: John moved it.

01:39:32 Speaker 11: Call the question.

01:39:32 Speaker 11: All in favour?

01:39:33 Speaker 11: That's carried, and thank you.

01:39:38 Speaker 11: Ten D, I think, is Miss Bloomfield with regard to Chain of Office.

01:39:41 Speaker 11: This thing, through Your Worship.

01:39:46 Speaker 13: On June 23, Council requested that staff bring forward a report on options respecting the chain of office.

01:39:52 Speaker 13: This report provides three options.

01:39:54 Speaker 13: Option one is status quo.

01:39:56 Speaker 13: Option two is the creation of a working group.

01:39:59 Speaker 13: Option three A is preservation of the existing support and restore the original metalwork, and option three B is to redesign fabric support and restore the original metalwork.

01:40:09 Speaker 13: Details and costs associated with each option are outlined in the report.

01:40:14 Speaker 13: Staff are looking for Council direction on the preferred option.

01:40:17 Speaker 13: With that, I'm happy to take any questions you might have.

01:40:22 Speaker 02: You're supposed to talk longer.

01:40:23 Speaker 02: I didn't get it passed all the way down.

01:40:24 Speaker 02: Discussion.

01:40:26 Speaker 02: What do you guys want to do with this?

01:40:28 Speaker 02: I'll maybe ask a question while everyone's thinking.

01:40:30 Speaker 02: There was a letter that came in from somebody.

01:40:33 Speaker 02: Do you want to give us some detail on that, or just a bit of background?

01:40:40 Speaker 13: Through your Worship, I did receive a letter from the wife of an individual who was part of the creation and restoration of the original chain of office,

01:40:50 Speaker 13: so she was certainly supportive of trying to refurbish the chain of office.

01:40:57 Speaker 13: And should a working group be created, she would also be interested in being part of that as well.

01:41:04 Speaker 13: Okay, thank you, John.

01:41:09 Speaker 13: Through the Mayor on that building on that point, was it?

01:41:13 Speaker 08: Is it the understanding of staff that, when this work was done originally, that those individuals referenced in the letter from the person who's interested in participating again,

01:41:22 Speaker 08: that that was paid work or that that was a voluntary public art creation project at that point?

01:41:38 Speaker 13: Through you, Your Worship.

01:41:38 Speaker 13: My understanding is that it was voluntary.

01:41:39 Speaker 13: My understanding is that it was volunteer.

01:41:43 Speaker 25: I'll pass.

01:41:44 Speaker 25: I'll keep trying to pass the chain.

01:41:47 Speaker 25: Bad luck if you break the chain, letter.

01:41:49 Speaker 08: I'm curious whether staff considered the possibility of a working group that would also be composed of folks who had the skills and ability to refurbish or recreate aspects of that as well.

01:42:05 Speaker 08: We live in a community that's full of artisans and creative folks, and obviously, if we've already got one letter with someone volunteering, there may be others in the 22,000 people who live in Owen Sound.

01:42:17 Speaker 08: Is that something that staff considered?

01:42:22 Speaker 13: Through you, Your Worship, when we were putting this report together, we did have a lot of difficulty finding someone with the expertise who had the ability to refurbish this chain of office.

01:42:35 Speaker 13: The individual who I did speak with, she while she was interested, she would like the work; the chain of office to be refurbished.

01:42:48 Speaker 13: She certainly wasn't offering to do the refurbishment herself.

01:42:52 Speaker 13: When I told her who had helped us put this quote together that was attached to the report,

01:42:59 Speaker 13: she was knowledgeable of that individual and was very supportive of that individual as they are known in the industry and would do an excellent job.

01:43:11 Speaker 13: And practically speaking, I'm not sure how a working group could share the task of refurbishment.

01:43:22 Speaker 13: Marion, then I'll go to Scott.

01:43:24 Speaker 13: Thank you, Worship.

01:43:26 Speaker 19: If my memory serves me correct, the individual items were sewn on in a voluntary basis.

01:43:32 Speaker 19: However, I think the refurbishment at a very minimal cost was paid to the individual, the jeweler who did do some of the refurbishment.

01:43:45 Speaker 19: But it was certainly not up to what actual cost of full refurbishment would be.

01:43:51 Speaker 19: So it was a very small stipend paid.

01:43:55 Speaker 19: Thank you, Scott.

01:43:58 Speaker 24: At this time, I'll move Option Three A, which is refurbishment and that's the preservation of existing support and restore original metalwork.

01:44:07 Speaker 24: I think it preserves the history of the piece, and I think Council will be, particularly the Mayor, that's who will be wearing it, will be, and the community will be very proud of,

01:44:20 Speaker 24: and it's being done in a fiscally responsible manner.

01:44:22 Speaker 24: The quote is between $3,500 to $5,500.

01:44:27 Speaker 24: The motion would be to add $5,500 to the Draft 26/27 operating budget for consideration.

01:44:34 Speaker 24: That's what I would support, and that's why I moved.

01:44:37 Speaker 24: Okay, discussion.

01:44:37 Speaker 24: Go ahead, Broughton.

01:44:39 Speaker 24: Sorry, so just for clarity, Three A is not restoring the backing.

01:44:54 Speaker 13: They, through your Worship, to the Councillor.

01:44:57 Speaker 13: Yes, they will be preserving the existing support and restoring the original metalwork.

01:45:04 Speaker 06: So, I think we should probably replace the backing because I always thought the backing was brown, but it actually turns out that it was black at one point.

01:45:15 Speaker 06: So, I think that probably needs some TLC as well.

01:45:22 Speaker 06: So, I don't know if I support Three A. Go back to you.

01:45:29 Speaker 06: Do you want to respond to that, or?

01:45:31 Speaker 09: Sure, I'll respond to that.

01:45:34 Speaker 09: Option Three B is $6,500 to $8,500, and I think there's a lot of people in the public might start to raise an eyebrow at $8,500 of tax money being spent on the chain of office.

01:45:47 Speaker 09: So I think it's more fiscally prudent to move in support Three A. Okay, so Three A remains the motion.

01:45:56 Speaker 09: I just, if you broke that down per year, would be how much?

01:45:59 Speaker 09: But what we're getting paid per hour?

01:46:01 Speaker 09: Anyway, go ahead.

01:46:05 Speaker 26: Quick question, through your Worship.

01:46:07 Speaker 26: When was the last time this was refurbished or anything done with this?

01:46:14 Speaker 26: Through your Worship, it was 2005.

01:46:20 Speaker 26: So I think it was twenty years ago, and I agree with Councillor Hamley.

01:46:26 Speaker 26: I think it was black at the point, and now it's brown, and I think it's pretty much done.

01:46:31 Speaker 26: Done.

01:46:31 Speaker 26: If we can, I'm in support of B because yeah.

01:46:36 Speaker 26: I haven't been wearing it in the sun.

01:46:38 Speaker 26: It takes that vacation, Marion.

01:46:44 Speaker 19: Thank you, Your Worship.

01:46:45 Speaker 19: I think if we're going to do it, we need to do it properly, and I believe that a new backing is certainly to me that the backing is the worst.

01:46:52 Speaker 19: Backing is the worst-looking part of it, as opposed to the emblems that are put on it.

01:46:59 Speaker 19: There's a few that need some repair, but I really think that we do need to do a proper job of it, and I would support B. Okay,

01:47:07 Speaker 02: so maybe what we'll do is I will call Scott's motion that he's sticking to his guns, which is A, and if it gets turned down, I'm coming back to you, Councillor Capkey.

01:47:16 Speaker 02: So we could call the question on favour of Scott's motion, which was Three A.

01:47:22 Speaker 02: one, two, three opposed; one, two, three, four.

01:47:26 Speaker 02: So that's defeated.

01:47:27 Speaker 02: Coming back to you, thank you, Worship.

01:47:30 Speaker 02: I'll move option three B, which is a full refurbishment, up to eight thousand five hundred dollars.

01:47:39 Speaker 02: Thank you.

01:47:39 Speaker 02: Do we need to discuss further?

01:47:41 Speaker 13: I doubt it.

01:47:42 Speaker 13: Call the question.

01:47:43 Speaker 13: No. Sorry, through your Worship, with three B, we are looking for direction on whether you want to continue with the antique gold rope or a simple black finished edge,

01:47:54 Speaker 13: and I can show you a picture if that helps.

01:48:04 Speaker 13: There's the picture of the two options.

01:48:10 Speaker 13: Is there a dollar difference?

01:48:13 Speaker 19: My option would be with the gold edge.

01:48:19 Speaker 02: So you're including that in your motion.

01:48:21 Speaker 02: She is okay, Carol.

01:48:26 Speaker 22: Through you, Mayor, I would be very interested in hearing your perspective.

01:48:30 Speaker 22: You have worn this for many, many years.

01:48:37 Speaker 22: Sorry, I'm just asking if you'd mind sharing your thoughts since you've worn it; I'm going to wear it once more.

01:48:57 Speaker 02: That's it.

01:48:57 Speaker 02: So it doesn't really matter.

01:49:00 Speaker 02: I think it's a pretty neat piece of art.

01:49:04 Speaker 02: It's got great history to it.

01:49:06 Speaker 02: Each item around the edge is pretty neat.

01:49:08 Speaker 02: It's pretty neat to present it to a Grade Two class or a Grade Three class or a Grade Five class.

01:49:14 Speaker 02: Class of Grade Ten, not so much.

01:49:16 Speaker 02: They don't really care, but it's a neat piece.

01:49:21 Speaker 02: Whether it's gold or whether it's black, it doesn't really matter.

01:49:24 Speaker 02: But we'll see how the motion goes.

01:49:27 Speaker 02: I think I'm going to like the result.

01:49:30 Speaker 02: So can I call the question?

01:49:32 Speaker 02: Yeah.

01:49:32 Speaker 02: All in favour?

01:49:34 Speaker 02: It's carried.

01:49:35 Speaker 02: Two opposed.

01:49:41 Speaker 02: So what's next, Ms. Landry, Committee of Adjustments, Member Remuneration Committee Adjustments Member Remuneration Review.

01:49:48 Speaker 03: Through you, Mayor Boddy, the purpose of this report is to seek Council's approval to increase the remuneration paid to Committee of Adjustment members from thirty dollars per meeting to one hundred dollars per meeting,

01:49:58 Speaker 03: effective January 1, 2027, and correct an administrative error in the Committee of Adjustment bylaw.

01:50:03 Speaker 03: The current thirty dollar rate has been unchanged since 1996, despite the committee's responsibilities and the complexity of the matters before it increasing significantly.

01:50:12 Speaker 03: Members do more than attend meetings.

01:50:13 Speaker 03: They review detailed planning materials, consider public and technical evidence, familiarize themselves with legislation and municipal bylaws, and may conduct site visits.

01:50:22 Speaker 03: The committee also has several statutory and appeal functions beyond minor variances and consents, including serving as the court of revision, fence viewers, property standards hearing committee, dog bylaw appeal board, and short-term rental appeals committee.

01:50:36 Speaker 03: The proposed one hundred dollar rate recognizes the time and responsibility involved and will help the City recruit and retain qualified and diverse members for the next four-year term.

01:50:43 Speaker 03: The proposed rate is also reasonable compared with neighbouring municipalities, where compensation ranges from approximately $80 to over $160 per meeting.

01:50:52 Speaker 03: Staff are recommending a $5,000 budget for 2027, an increase of $3,200 over the current $1,800 budget.

01:50:59 Speaker 03: A portion of these costs is recovered through application and appeal fees.

01:51:03 Speaker 03: Finally, the proposed bylaw amendment will correct an administrative omission and formally identify the committee's role as the court of revision under the Drainage Act.

01:51:11 Speaker 03: With that, Mayor Boddy, I'll be happy to take any questions.

01:51:13 Speaker 03: Thank you.

01:51:14 Speaker 03: Questions first, Councillor Farmer.

01:51:17 Speaker 08: Thank you, through the Mayor.

01:51:18 Speaker 08: If I think if it hasn't changed in thirty years, it makes sense to change that.

01:51:22 Speaker 08: So then the question: by how much?

01:51:25 Speaker 08: And I'm curious.

01:51:26 Speaker 08: The report lists retention as an issue for this committee.

01:51:30 Speaker 08: I am a little confused because every committee has a bunch of work and big agendas and responsibility, and I'm curious about retention for this committee in particular.

01:51:42 Speaker 08: Whether there has been turnover in the current term of Council and how much, and whether, yeah, I guess what the difference between applications and resignations has been.

01:51:53 Speaker 08: If we could have more detail that way.

01:51:56 Speaker 03: Through Mayor Boddy to Councillor Farmer, and thank you for letting me know these questions in advance so I could get that information.

01:52:03 Speaker 03: So for the 2022 to 2026 term, there were seven applications for the five positions, and four of those applicants did not indicate the Committee of Adjustment as their first choice.

01:52:13 Speaker 03: And then all five of those members have remained for the entire term.

01:52:16 Speaker 03: For the 2018 to 2022 term, there were nine applications for five positions, and two of those applicants did not indicate the committee as their first choice.

01:52:25 Speaker 03: Five members resigned during their term, and five new members were appointed to fill those vacancies.

01:52:33 Speaker 11: Just hold on for a second.

01:52:34 Speaker 11: I'm going to go to Pam.

01:52:36 Speaker 11: Do you want to explain why this committee is different than just any committee?

01:52:41 Speaker 11: I'm thinking about legal requirements and sort of it.

01:52:44 Speaker 11: It's not just an advisory committee.

01:52:47 Speaker 11: Just to fill in the information, I think the Deputy Clerk could too.

01:52:54 Speaker 17: But the Committee of Adjustment, as the Deputy Clerk has described, does have quasi-judicial authority, and they stand separate from Council.

01:53:05 Speaker 17: So, as one of the regular committees provides advice to Council or recommendations, Council ultimately has the final say.

01:53:13 Speaker 17: With this committee, they have the final say, and their decisions can be appealed to the OLT or Superior Court, etc. So, that would be the primary difference.

01:53:24 Speaker 17: I don't know if the Deputy Clerk wants to add anything else.

01:53:28 Speaker 17: I want that information.

01:53:29 Speaker 17: I'm going back to you, John.

01:53:30 Speaker 17: So, hearing from the clerk: not an issue this term of Council was an issue the previous term, anticipating that it may be an issue again.

01:53:39 Speaker 17: So, staff are recommending that update.

01:53:42 Speaker 08: I'm curious why staff chose one hundred as a recommendation.

01:53:45 Speaker 08: My quick use of the Bank of Canada's inflation calculator, available on the World Wide Web, suggests that if we haven't changed it since 1996, then inflation would bring that up to sixty-six.

01:53:57 Speaker 08: Why one hundred rather than adjusting for inflation?

01:53:59 Speaker 08: Then adjusting for inflation, matching Southgate at 80, or those other options.

01:54:07 Speaker 03: Through you, Mayor Boddy to Councillor Farmer.

01:54:09 Speaker 03: So it is ultimately Council's decision on what the rate is, but I can advise that the Township of Southgate has provided that $80 per meeting rate for at least 10 years.

01:54:18 Speaker 03: Their current clerk has been there for 10 years, and she said it's been $80 since she's been there.

01:54:22 Speaker 03: And then the $100 per meeting rate just seemed like a good middle ground among our neighbouring municipalities and a good reflection of what's required of the members.

01:54:31 Speaker 03: Okay, Scott.

01:54:36 Speaker 24: It's an interesting report.

01:54:37 Speaker 24: Certainly, we have to increase.

01:54:39 Speaker 24: Don't disagree with that for one moment.

01:54:41 Speaker 24: I'm just wondering about the composition, and I think about this year, where I think their last meeting had four members, and I think the three, if not four,

01:54:50 Speaker 24: meetings prior to that had three of the five in attendance.

01:54:54 Speaker 24: So then I think of Grey Highlands, which the note in the report notes, and Grey Highlands goes with two citizen members and three Council members.

01:55:05 Speaker 24: If we're working with three out of five or four out of five so frequently, should we consider putting two Councillors onto the Committee of Adjustment, like other municipalities do?

01:55:19 Speaker 24: Like Chatsworth is the Chatsworth Council.

01:55:22 Speaker 24: Grey Highlands is a blend.

01:55:24 Speaker 24: West Grey, so there's lots of examples out there that demonstrate that you can blend it, and our attendance this year might indicate that it's something that maybe we should consider blending it.

01:55:39 Speaker 03: Through you, Mayor Boddy, to Deputy Mayor Greig.

01:55:41 Speaker 03: A few years ago, I attended an OCA conference, which is the Ontario Association of Committees of Adjustment and Consent Authorities, and one of the presentations I went to,

01:55:51 Speaker 03: they suggested that having a committee of adjustment made up of either all council members or some council members is not the best idea, because it's good to keep them separate from those types of decisions,

01:56:04 Speaker 03: so that you're not kind of conflicted as you're representing the Committee of Adjustment, not Council.

01:56:10 Speaker 03: So that presentation, that kind of struck me that they said it's not always a good idea to have council members.

01:56:16 Speaker 03: It should be all public members that are appointed by Council.

01:56:23 Speaker 02: So we have.

01:56:23 Speaker 02: So we approve the policy, and then it's supposed to be carried out by the committee or reviewed or used by the committee.

01:56:30 Speaker 02: Would be difficult.

01:56:32 Speaker 02: Okay, what do we want to do with it?

01:56:33 Speaker 02: Looking left, looking right, looking left, looking right, looking left, looking right.

01:56:40 Speaker 19: Marion, I'll move the recommendation to increase it to a hundred, and all the other items that are contained in there.

01:56:51 Speaker 19: Thank you.

01:56:53 Speaker 02: Call the question.

01:56:54 Speaker 02: I think all in favour.

01:56:56 Speaker 02: That's carried.

01:56:57 Speaker 02: Good thanks.

01:57:01 Speaker 02: And Deputy Mayor Greig, Grey County Council last week and August.

01:57:09 Speaker 09: Since our last council meeting, County Council has met twice.

01:57:11 Speaker 09: In the August meeting, Council approved a three-year collective agreement with the Transportation Employees Department ending May 2028.

01:57:18 Speaker 09: Council endorsed the county's participation in the 30 by 30 target, administered through Ontario Nature.

01:57:25 Speaker 09: Council endorsed the Community Services Committee, which included a report outlining planned investments using provincial funds to support housing renewal, expansion, and affordability.

01:57:35 Speaker 09: The National Housing Strategy will be concluding its nine years in March of 2028.

01:57:39 Speaker 09: The federal and provincial agreement provides the funding for Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative, which is the COCHI funding, and Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative, which is the OPHI funding, to meet provincial funding requirements.

01:57:59 Speaker 09: The county must add fifteen new units this year.

01:58:02 Speaker 09: Three units will be funded under the COCHI funding stream in the Dundalk housing build project, and twelve new rental supplements will be added.

01:58:12 Speaker 09: Part of that is all part of one point well one million four hundred four thousand two hundred dollars in programmemememememememememe allocation, and three hundred twenty-two thousand nine hundred dollars in OPHI funds,

01:58:27 Speaker 09: which is largely directed to forty-three returning rental supplements.

01:58:32 Speaker 09: Council received the paramedic response times and forwarded to the ministry the targets for 2027.

01:58:40 Speaker 09: This is important to listen to. 2026 continued to see excellent response times.

01:58:45 Speaker 09: Excellent response time performance, but of note, during the first half of 2026, there was an increase of three percent over the same period in 2025,

01:58:57 Speaker 09: and 2025 saw an eight point nine six percent increase over 2024, and paramedic services has seen an increase of forty-three point one percent over the last five years.

01:59:10 Speaker 09: Council directed to add to the county, sorry, Council.

01:59:14 Speaker 09: Sorry, County Council directed to add the County CIP as a project within the ten-year capital budget and to include it in the current development charges update.

01:59:25 Speaker 09: And last week, during a late agenda, Council received a Folsom deputation regarding aggregate resources and consumption in Grey County, and Council, similar to Owen Sound,

01:59:35 Speaker 09: provided a letter of support to the neighbourhood response team request for funding.

01:59:40 Speaker 09: I welcome questions and ask for Council's endorsement of the.

01:59:42 Speaker 09: Announces endorsement of the verbal report.

01:59:45 Speaker 09: Thank you.

01:59:45 Speaker 09: Questions?

01:59:46 Speaker 02: Seeing none.

01:59:47 Speaker 02: Call the question then to receive all favour that is carried.

01:59:52 Speaker 02: Seconds is through section ten.

01:59:54 Speaker 02: We're down to number eleven.

01:59:55 Speaker 02: I'm going to hand the gavel for 11A of the consent agenda to Deputy Mayor Greig.

02:00:07 Speaker 24: And at this time, over to Councillor Hamley.

02:00:10 Speaker 24: Just a motion, please.

02:00:12 Speaker 24: Oh, no!

02:00:13 Speaker 24: Sorry.

02:00:13 Speaker 24: Before we go to Councillor Hamley, let's tell the public what might be on the consent agenda first.

02:00:18 Speaker 24: Do you, Briana?

02:00:20 Speaker 13: Through you, Deputy Mayor Greig.

02:00:21 Speaker 13: I'll just list the first item, which Mayor Boddy's left for, which is a report respecting a housekeeping amendment to change the name on a lease for a parking area on 11th Street West.

02:00:34 Speaker 13: Thank you, former clerk, Councillor Koepke.

02:00:38 Speaker 13: Over to you, Councillor Hamlin, are you sure?

02:00:44 Speaker 13: Moved by myself.

02:00:45 Speaker 13: No, not seconded by anybody.

02:00:47 Speaker 06: Moved by myself that, in consideration of the items listed on the September Fourteenth, 2026 Consent Agenda, City Council approves the recommendation contained in Item Eleven A, being Staff Report CS 26-09-00,

02:01:01 Speaker 06: respecting a housekeeping amendment to Bylaw Number 26-09-08.

02:01:06 Speaker 06: And are there any questions?

02:01:08 Speaker 06: Not seeing any.

02:01:09 Speaker 06: All those in favour?

02:01:10 Speaker 06: That is carried.

02:01:11 Speaker 06: Thank you, and we await the mayor to return.

02:01:23 Speaker 11: Thanks.

02:01:23 Speaker 11: Thanks for doing that.

02:01:25 Speaker 11: Is there anything else on the consent agenda that anyone?

02:01:27 Speaker 11: Oh, you're going to go through them first.

02:01:29 Speaker 11: Sorry.

02:01:29 Speaker 11: Go ahead.

02:01:33 Speaker 11: Through you, Your Worship.

02:01:35 Speaker 13: On the consent agenda this evening, our reports respecting delegation of powers and duties, site plan control and facility use agreements, preliminary 2027 budget information and process, memorandum of understanding respecting housing for medical students,

02:01:49 Speaker 13: a limiting distance agreement for Saint Clair Place, the Municipal Innovation Internship Programmemememememememememe Privacy Intern for 2027, and a Grey County Transit bus stop agreement.

02:01:59 Speaker 13: There are minutes for receipt from the Grey-Sawbel Conservation Authority Board and the River District Board.

02:02:04 Speaker 13: Business licences were issued for the ice box located at the Julie MacArthur Regional Rec Centre, and J.M. Schubach's bookkeeping has relocated to a home-based business at 253 11th Street East.

02:02:16 Speaker 13: Hawker and Pedler licences were issued for the dog show at Harrison Park, Summerfolk at Kelso Beach at Naewash Park, and the Zonta Club fashion show at the Bayshore Community Centre.

02:02:25 Speaker 13: A flag flying request was approved for the Grand Simcoe Forsters 160th anniversary, and an illumination request was approved for lighted up for National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

02:02:38 Speaker 13: The last item on the consent agenda is the information package.

02:02:41 Speaker 13: A full listing is available at 11 M. Thank you.

02:02:45 Speaker 13: Now, is there any items there that anyone wants to poll and vote on separately, Deputy Mayor Greig?

02:02:52 Speaker 24: I only have a question on 11C, but it doesn't impact how I would vote on it.

02:02:58 Speaker 24: So I'll come back here after.

02:02:59 Speaker 24: Anyone else?

02:03:00 Speaker 24: Seeing none.

02:03:01 Speaker 24: Okay.

02:03:01 Speaker 24: So your motion.

02:03:04 Speaker 24: Moved by myself, Deputy Mayor Greig, that in consideration of the items listed on the September Fourteenth, 2026 Consent Agenda, City Council receives items 11B to 11M,

02:03:14 Speaker 24: and two approves the recommendations contained in items 11B to 11G.

02:03:18 Speaker 24: And all in favour?

02:03:21 Speaker 11: That is carried.

02:03:22 Speaker 11: So go back to you at 11C.

02:03:26 Speaker 09: One question I had in reading the 11C, the report, which is the budget, 2027 budget information and process.

02:03:31 Speaker 09: In reading it, it seemed to indicate that there was perhaps no desire or less favour in bringing forward the 2027 capital plan.

02:03:44 Speaker 09: But being that there's a new council, which will be in effect middle of November, I just wanted to see if I'm reading that right.

02:03:53 Speaker 09: And my guidance to staff, or my position, would be to be ready to provide the 2027 capital budget to a new council because it's Council's budget.

02:04:07 Speaker 09: Ultimately, it could be the Mayor's budget or Council's, but I would think they'd want to see it.

02:04:19 Speaker 27: Through your Worship, the intent of the report was to highlight that the capital plan falls outside of the scope of the Mayor's budget.

02:04:28 Speaker 27: However, we do still plan to bring forward a capital update in the winter.

02:04:32 Speaker 27: But it wasn't captured under here as it didn't fall under the specifically the Mayor's budget process.

02:04:38 Speaker 27: Good, thank you.

02:04:39 Speaker 27: Good, good.

02:04:40 Speaker 27: Okay.

02:04:40 Speaker 28: I'm going to 12 next.

02:04:48 Speaker 28: 12A.

02:04:49 Speaker 28: That's mine.

02:04:49 Speaker 28: I'll pass the gavel back to Deputy Mayor Greig.

02:04:55 Speaker 24: This time I will look to Mayor Boddy to report on the minutes of the Service Review Committee.

02:05:05 Speaker 24: Thank you.

02:05:07 Speaker 05: This is the Service Review Implementation Ad Hoc Committee on September nine, 2026.

02:05:11 Speaker 05: This was our final ad hoc committee meeting, and we received one report, which was a summary and next steps of the Service Review Project.

02:05:20 Speaker 05: The minutes of the meeting included a link to this report.

02:05:23 Speaker 05: So, if you were looking online, or Council is reading it, the actual report was right in there in the minutes of the meeting, so you could easily find it.

02:05:35 Speaker 05: Service review evolved from 49 actions into a broad corporate modernization initiative that strengthened how the City of Owen Sound plans, delivers, and evaluates services.

02:05:44 Speaker 05: The ad hoc committee received approximately 60 reports covering project updates, operational reviews, technological modernization initiatives, service level studies, governance improvements, organisational planning efforts, and financial reviews.

02:06:03 Speaker 05: The initiative generated more than two million dollars in savings, revenue efficiencies, and cost absences, while improving service delivery.

02:06:12 Speaker 05: New systems, technology, and data-driven tools have improved accountability, service planning, and long-term decision-making across the organisation.

02:06:22 Speaker 05: The success of the service review happened because employees across the organisation embraced the challenges of improving how the City works.

02:06:30 Speaker 05: Staff participated in project teams, process reviews, technology implementation, policy development, asset inventories, financial analysis, and service level reviews.

02:06:44 Speaker 05: This work was completed while staff continued to deliver core municipal services and more than 100 operating and capital projects to the community.

02:06:53 Speaker 05: I note that we had it wasn't just directors that were coming in front of us.

02:06:58 Speaker 05: It wasn't just senior managers.

02:06:59 Speaker 05: It was different people, different levels that were presenting to us over the last couple of years.

02:07:06 Speaker 05: The work touched virtually every area of the corporation, including Public Works, Parks, Engineering, Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology, Corporate Services, Bylaw Enforcement, Building Services, Tourism, Fleet Operations, Cemetreies, Record Management, and Corporate Planning.

02:07:25 Speaker 05: Not every financial benefit appears as a line item budget reduction.

02:07:30 Speaker 05: Many improvements create soft savings by reducing manual work, improving accuracy, shortening turnaround times, avoiding future remediation costs, or allowing staff to focus on high-value work.

02:07:45 Speaker 05: While these savings may be less visible than a direct budget reduction, they matter because they improve the City's capacity to deliver services.

02:07:55 Speaker 05: Service review work itself is not ending.

02:07:58 Speaker 05: The systems, tools, practices, and mindset developed through service review are now more embedded within the organisation.

02:08:08 Speaker 05: The City is managing 157 projects through its organisational work plan, supported by enhanced project management tools, stronger planning practices, service level reviews, performance measurement initiatives, and continuous improvement efforts.

02:08:26 Speaker 05: While much of the service review focused on internal improvements, the ultimate goal has always been to improve service delivery for residents, businesses, and visitors.

02:08:38 Speaker 05: One of the most significant organisational improvement initiatives undertaken by the City in many years.

02:08:52 Speaker 05: What started as a review of municipal services evolved into a broad effort to build a stronger, more responsive, more sustainable organisation.

02:09:02 Speaker 05: It's sort of like we went from the 1950s to the 2020s in the last couple of years.

02:09:09 Speaker 05: The financial story is therefore more practical and positive.

02:09:13 Speaker 05: The service review generated measurable financial benefits, creating new revenue opportunities, improved cost recovery, and built better systems for understanding the true cost of municipal services.

02:09:25 Speaker 05: With that, the ad hoc committee recommends that City Council receive this report for information purposes.

02:09:31 Speaker 05: I want to take this opportunity to thank staff from across the corporation, Michelle Palmer, the Senior Manager of Strategic Initiatives and Operational Effectiveness, for managing this project and keeping it going;

02:09:44 Speaker 05: to City Manager Tim Simmonds for picking up where we were all pretty disappointed with the consultant's report, which kind of left off a lot of questions.

02:09:53 Speaker 05: And staff have pulled this together.

02:09:55 Speaker 05: Tim has pulled it together, and thank him for having the vision to modernize City operations.

02:10:02 Speaker 05: All this work will benefit the City for years to come.

02:10:07 Speaker 05: So thanks also to committee members who provided a dedicated forum for this work to be reviewed, challenged, refined, and advanced.

02:10:15 Speaker 05: So, with that, I move approval of the recommendation contained in the minutes.

02:10:19 Speaker 05: The Service Review Implementation Ad Hoc Committee held November 9th.

02:10:23 Speaker 05: Sorry, September 9th.

02:10:25 Speaker 05: Geez, I'm in a hurry to get out of here.

02:10:27 Speaker 05: 2026.

02:10:30 Speaker 09: And are there any questions from Council?

02:10:35 Speaker 09: Going the second and the third time.

02:10:36 Speaker 09: And all those in favour?

02:10:39 Speaker 09: And that's carried.

02:10:40 Speaker 09: Thank you.

02:10:40 Speaker 09: And back to Mayor Boddy.

02:10:42 Speaker 05: Thank you very much.

02:10:43 Speaker 05: Oh, look, and I handed it back to you.

02:10:46 Speaker 05: Minutes of the Tom Thomson Art Gallery Advisory Committee meeting held on September 2nd, 2026.

02:10:54 Speaker 09: Thank you.

02:10:54 Speaker 09: The update resulting from the Tom Thomson Committee meeting was a September update, which highlighted the gallery opening, three new exhibitions on July 11th, a recap of the summer art camp programmemememememememememing, and continuing initiatives.

02:11:07 Speaker 09: Year-to-date visitor attendance showed growth in manual counts as well as laser counts to exhibitions and the facility.

02:11:14 Speaker 09: Continuing into fall and early winter are exhibitions from Michelle Paraza, who approaches art-making as a process of rewilding, extending personal healing into a broader consideration of how individuals, communities, and the natural world might heal,

02:11:30 Speaker 09: reconnect, and flourish together.