[0:03] All right, we will call this meeting to
order.
[0:07] And I'll start with the event the land
acknowledgement. We acknowledge that we
[0:11] are in Robinson Treaty territory. The
land on which we are gathered is the
[0:15] traditional territory of Chimnissing and
known as Bowating.
[0:18] Bowating is the home of the Garden River
First Nations, Batchawana First Nations,
[0:23] and the historic Sault Ste. Marie
Council. We honor and respect these
[0:27] indigenous people as the ancestors and
traditional stewards of the land upon
[0:31] which we stand today. May our
relationships with the land continue
[0:35] just to live and work in good
relationship with one another.
[0:41] Moving the agenda, moved by Councillor
Myers and seconded by Councillor Peever.
[0:47] » Be it resolved that Council hereby
accepts the agenda for Tuesday, January
[0:51] 13th, 2026 and any addendums as
presented.
[0:55] » Any questions with the agenda?
On favor?
[0:58] » I.
>> Uh disclosure of pecuniary interest, and
[1:03] none.
Except previous meetings, moved by
[1:07] Councillor Christiansen and seconded by
Councillor Shoemaker.
[1:10] » Be it resolved [clears throat] that
Council hereby accepts the minutes of
[1:13] the regular Council meeting of December
9th, 2025 and any addendums as
[1:17] presented.
>> Any questions about previous meetings?
[1:22] On favor?
>> I.
[1:23] » Thank you.
Questions and information arising out of
[1:27] minutes or otherwise on the agenda.
Suggestions of our delegations, none.
[1:33] And staff reports. Fire report, January
2026 and 2026 fire fire budget, moved by
[1:40] Councillor Shoemaker and seconded by
Councillor Peever.
[1:42] » Be it resolved that Council hereby
accepts the January 2026 fire report
[1:47] and the 2026
fire department operating budget.
[1:54] » That's all in order.
[2:01] » [clears throat]
[2:04] » I just have a quick point there. I just
wanted to bring forth before our
[2:09] distinguished fire chief speaks. I'm
glad that we don't have the situation
[2:14] and the problems that the city is
incurring with their audio visual and
[2:19] their vocals and everything. I'm glad
that ours is all working great.
[2:35] I remember our owl was always on the
fence.
[2:39] » [laughter]
[2:44] » Well, happy new year everyone.
>> Happy new year.
[2:47] » Um so for council report, I just
attached the fire department budget at
[2:50] the end of it. So I'll just start with
that.
[2:57] Treating self-contained self-contained
equipment.
[3:00] » [clears throat]
>> So in 2024, the province passed as part
[3:02] of their budget
they
[3:05] allocated $10 million
each year.
[3:08] » [snorts]
>> Um for fire department grants, fire
[3:10] departments could have they came up with
the parameters and fire departments
[3:14] apply for whatever they needed that was
within
[3:17] So last year we got $8,000.
We bought a set of P fast free turnout
[3:22] gear. We sent I think 10 sets of gear
away to
[3:26] We bought a second set of gloves and a
second set of Nomex hoods for our
[3:29] department. So that was $8,000.
So at
[3:33] the end of the last summer, they came up
and said that
[3:36] doubled it for 2026.
So Sam and I did an application for it
[3:40] and what we have applied for is four
sets of P fast free turnout gear.
[3:45] So just to
kind of go over that.
[3:48] So the number one cause of firefighter
fatalities is cancer.
[3:53] Our gear
uh is what we wear for every call we go
[3:56] on and when we're on the training.
Unfortunately, it has what's called P
[3:59] Fas and that's that's an acronym
[laughter] and I'm not even going to
[4:02] attempt to pronounce it, but it's called
a forever chemical. And it wa- it's a
[4:06] waterproof material.
Uh, unfortunately, they found out that
[4:09] that causes cancer. So, basically, our
firefighters are exposed to cancer
[4:13] whenever they put on their turnout gear
and all that.
[4:15] So, given I kind of made the
[4:20] assumption that
we uh, we're going to switch to the P
[4:23] Fas turnout. The city has already. They
have equipped all of their firefighters
[4:26] with the second set of gear. So, uh, the
first set we got was last year. So, uh,
[4:31] when this grant was doubled, we put in
the application that we're buying four
[4:34] more sets. Uh, they're going to give us
five sets out of 18 total sets. So,
[4:38] we're
So, you're going to see coming up uh, in
[4:41] your agenda, this is bylaw, isn't it?
Yeah, it's bylaw coming up that's going
[4:45] to approve agreement between us and
Tiffin Ontario so that they can give us
[4:50] money and
So, they're going to they approved us
[4:53] for $19,300.
>> Awesome.
[4:57] » Yeah, it is. I I hope they do it next
year and they double it. Um,
[5:00] if that's the, you know, when I say
double, I mean double from the first
[5:04] year. So, then we get another four sets.
It's uh, it's not cheap. It's $4,000 a
[5:09] set.
But, you know, you kind of have to go
[5:11] with
the safety balance probabilities, right?
[5:15] There are different places that have
SCBAs, but
[5:18] we don't wear SCBAs here. All right, we
want to do it here.
[5:23] So, that's where that's going. And then,
uh, fire prevention was uh,
[5:27] basically, keeping up our social media
accounts and uh,
[5:31] Does anybody have any questions about
that?
[5:35] So, I put the numbers in here and I put
in the report after that that kind of
[5:38] goes over all the uh,
everything that we're going to do.
[5:43] So, new apparatus and equipment,
$22,000.
[5:47] Uh, Uh as I said, 19,380 that's going to
be paid for by the province. So, we have
[5:52] five pairs of boots and two helmets that
are coming up on their 10-year lifespan,
[5:56] so they have to be replaced.
And then we kind of kept it thin here
[5:59] for 620 dollars for other equipment, but
uh
[6:02] I think after 6 years I can find the
same or cut up on my personal stuff as
[6:06] well.
[6:08] Okay, training.
[6:12] So, there's been a lot of this bandied
around, especially around this area,
[6:15] about the minimum standard for our
firefighter training. So, um
[6:20] I'll start out with the first thing. Um
in the last Southwest Oxford, my
[6:24] training record was short.
So, according to the province I have no
[6:27] training.
Jim has the training, but he trained
[6:32] under the old Ontario system, which was
changed NFPA in 2013. There's an
[6:36] opportunity for him to be grandfathered.
The chief that was on at that time to
[6:39] sign off his grandfather, anybody. So,
according to the province he has no
[6:42] training.
So, when this came out we said that July
[6:45] 1st, 2026 is going to be the deadline to
have your firefighters trained if they
[6:49] started within the previous 3 years. Jim
and I looked at that and we said that's
[6:53] actually a good time to retire.
So, I said July 1st you're going to have
[6:56] a new chief and a new deputy chief.
So, last year I went to our captains who
[7:00] are all qualified to be the chief, they
all have the training.
[7:03] Uh
and said okay, we we need a chief and a
[7:05] deputy chief and they all said well,
it's not going to be us.
[7:08] So,
went to planning. [clears throat]
[7:10] So, uh
we have our new chief
[7:15] who will start July 1st.
Um
[7:18] he runs a Fortune 500 company here in
Tillsonburg. He has a masters in
[7:21] business.
Uh he was a firefighter down south in
[7:24] West Lincoln Fire Department just
outside Hamilton.
[7:27] He moved up here for work. He joined us.
So, [snorts] he definitely has a good
[7:31] business head on his shoulders.
Uh
[7:34] the person we have picked out for deputy
chief lieutenant town chip, he works
[7:37] from home. He works for Toromont CAT and
he takes care of the technical probably
[7:42] screws us up. The tech technician
service portion of Caterpillar
[7:47] for material assistance.
He's also ex-military. Smart smart
[7:51] people.
So, they're all used to managing people.
[7:55] They're going to be trained I believe
their last weekend of training is
[7:58] actually their weekend of training.
So, we're just going to get them in
[8:01] under the wire for the mandatory minimum
training. And after we report that that
[8:05] is going to bring us up to
level duty
[8:08] we're not going to have any issues
meeting the certification.
[8:11] The reason I have it up here is the
legislation.
[8:14] So, this is I don't know if you want to
write down this little rag and peruse it
[8:17] later it's up to you. So,
just to this is the law. This is not a
[8:22] suggestion. This is not an NFPA
standard. This is the law. You have to
[8:25] meet this. And I don't think I'm going
to be kind of out of line by saying this
[8:29] cuz I've been saying this since today
since today but the fire marshal's
[8:32] office has already gone and shut down
half of our department.
[8:35] So, they're now being run by the fire
department.
[8:38] So, they're being brought on this. In my
opinion rightfully so.
[8:43] So, when you go down here there's three
columns.
[8:45] There's a little bit saying how long the
legislation takes and you know,
[8:50] some people can operate at one level if
they're supervised by a person that has
[8:53] a certain
[8:55] Basically, when you go down here there's
three columns. One is what part fire
[8:58] protection service are you providing?
And then it says what the minimum
[9:01] certification is going to be
and the deadline is. So, we are number
[9:05] eight. As per our fire regulating bylaw,
we do interior attack, auto extrication,
[9:10] hazardous materials response, and fire
suppression, operations under
[9:16] interior building, car rescue, auto
extrication services, and hazardous
[9:20] materials.
So,
[9:22] that means in the middle
uh line there, they have to have their
[9:26] uh
NFPA 1001 firefighter two.
[9:30] We put addition on that that we want
them to have to have some hazardous
[9:33] materials that's NFPA 1071.
And that has to be by July 1st, 2020
[9:37] 2026. So, that meets our prior reg in
the bylaw.
[9:42] If you go down to number 16,
[9:46] to be a team lead on that, Fire Chief,
uh in addition to that, they want you to
[9:50] have uh NFPA 1021, which is a standard
for fire officer professional
[9:54] qualifications.
So,
[9:57] once uh July 1st comes over, our
captains already have that. So, we're
[10:01] waiting to be supervised to chief and
deputy chief in time. So, we're that way
[10:04] through that.
[10:07] Is there any questions about that?
I know a lot of departments are just
[10:10] saying that. We
We've been working on this hard hard
[10:15] for two years.
That was uh
[10:17] a good team. And that's a testament to
the hard fighters that we have. I mean,
[10:20] they just once a person's done, they're
like, "What do we do the next one?"
[10:24] » I just have a couple of points I just
like to clear up.
[10:28] Is it time for you, Steve?
Sorry.
[10:31] » So, I started
I started with Peel Regional Police in
[10:34] 1987.
I'm almost 60. I've got almost 40 years
[10:37] in emergency services. I'm good.
[10:42] » Like you all these years you spent and
built and done and all the above and
[10:46] beyond you've done, is it have to do
with this uh
[10:50] government regulations have you trained
and have you tested or
[10:54] » Well, no, like
I mean, we can have a whole conversation
[10:56] about that.
>> Yeah, I I I like to Is it
[10:59] I think that first and foremost we
discussed this about it being a money
[11:01] grab by the government
thinking and asking and wanting to like
[11:05] everybody like you just I didn't know
what the bachelor of arts was.
[11:08] » Mhm.
>> But like
[11:11] and there are no records there like you
can't find your records anywhere or your
[11:16] » No, they're destroyed. So, Jim and I you
have to understand, Jim and I are
[11:19] getting up there.
And I mean,
[11:21] I've been through a lot of crap in 40
years, to be perfectly honest with you.
[11:25] And even here. So, I I'm quite happy to
let somebody else. I'm a firm believer
[11:28] that every 5 to 8 years you should have
a change of leadership.
[11:31] Brings in new new ideas, new ways of
doing things.
[11:35] And but so just
[11:40] So we have a program called Fire Q
that we run the fire department off of.
[11:44] Captures our pages, our reports go on
there, our pay is run through there. So
[11:48] that's this here.
I've been kind of using it as a basic
[11:51] thing.
Since these two have come on, they've
[11:54] gone through this and and like the stuff
that they're doing with this right now
[11:57] is fantastic.
Okay. Okay, they're they're more tech
[12:00] than younger than me.
They're more tech than me.
[12:03] I guess you could say more
evolved.
[12:05] I mean, I can do basic stuff with this,
but they're going to take this and
[12:08] they're going to run with it.
So as you can see on there, they're
[12:11] putting in uh just from January 1st, the
number of trainings we've gone to. We're
[12:14] going to keep track of all the hours of
training that we do, hours of calls,
[12:17] fire and rescue and orders, calls we've
been to in the last few days.
[12:21] Uh everything is captured on there, the
audio from our calls, everything. Like
[12:24] they're That's just an example that I
would pick that on.
[12:27] And uh I know that Jim will do it.
So
[12:30] uh it's going to be up to the new fire
chief, but
[12:34] uh
we can stay on as pump operators.
[12:36] » I was just going to say, are you going
to stay on?
[12:38] » It That's So that's going to be up to
the new fire chief.
[12:41] Uh I can stay on as a pump operator.
Uh responding to medical emergencies and
[12:45] to do wildfire responses. I can't do
structural firefighting or hazardous
[12:49] material. And I'm really good at that.
[12:52] » Well,
>> What about 50?
[12:54] » I know July's a bit away, but uh
I only have two words, and that's thank
[12:59] you.
I I
[13:01] I've been the liaison to the fire
department since I've been on council,
[13:05] and I've never had to ever worry once
about going over there and making sure
[13:09] everything's done. Because of your
leadership, and I just wanted to say
[13:12] thank you.
>> And I don't think you're going to have
[13:14] any issue with the next two coming in.
>> Well, I just wanted to talk about you
[13:17] cuz that there's another day and another
uh meeting and another
[13:20] » I I tell my firefighters this, and just
quickly listen. I'm an old timer. The
[13:23] only thing about comments is they used
to take the truck out and not sign back
[13:26] in.
[13:28] You know, not football guys.
>> Anyways, from Sault Ste. Marie, I know
[13:32] Mr. Gazzola, [clears throat]
Norm played middle linebacker for the
[13:37] Toronto Argonauts.
>> So, I used They used to have a Bob
[13:39] McCown used to have a sports show on at
4:00 every day. So, when I lived in
[13:43] Barrie, I used to sit and watch it. And
they interviewed him right after he
[13:45] became the president
of the Toronto Argonauts.
[13:49] And uh of course there I was a road
sergeant down there. And uh so, Bob
[13:53] McCown was asking, "Hey, now that you're
here, I'm going to choose your people.
[13:56] Like, are you going to have certain
qualifications?" And he said um
[14:01] He said, "The key to being a successful
supervisor is to never be the smartest
[14:05] person in the room."
And I heard that Jeez, I didn't see.
[14:08] » [laughter]
>> So, I kind of took that on. So, same
[14:10] with the fire department, I am not the
smartest person in the room. There are
[14:13] firefighters here that are much smarter,
much better qualified to lead this
[14:17] place, and to carry it on.
I just happen to be the leader right
[14:20] now.
>> So, that's going on the top of the way
[14:22] side. July 1st, uh we have two guys that
are coming in that are really going to
[14:26] take this on and keep going. If we had
nobody, I would be scared.
[14:29] But, we're planning for it, right? So,
>> Right.
[14:31] » uh the pay that we did in the center,
they were involved in that.
[14:34] They were uh a little bit involved in
this.
[14:37] So, as we go through now, everything
that we come up with uh all of the
[14:40] recertification apparatus equipment,
they're going to be involved in it.
[14:43] May and June, I'm going to step back,
and they're going to act as chief. And
[14:46] then July 1st, we'll pull the switch and
the system matters much less.
[14:51] Got things squared.
>> I know that I am very comfortable with
[14:55] knowing that
you
[14:57] would not step away
not knowing that you'd have someone
[15:00] there to really replace you. So, I
appreciate you taking the time and
[15:04] effort to do that as well. That was huge
for us because
[15:08] we know you know what you're doing.
And I am very similar. Someone once told
[15:12] me,
"Um if you want to be a leader, surround
[15:14] yourself with the best people."
>> Yep.
[15:16] » And I firmly believe that, and I
followed that from my intro of my
[15:20] career. So, I it's similar to what
you're saying. I completely agree.
[15:24] » That's awesome.
>> What happened to Stewart man? So first
[15:28] of all, for the record, I am very much
in favor of this mandatory training.
[15:31] I agree with you Dave record. I think
for too long we kind of just been kind
[15:34] of
what we were doing it
[15:38] We're going
We were doing it here. Like we were
[15:40] doing stuff that we probably shouldn't
have been doing
[15:43] with training that we didn't have.
But I stopped when they came on and we
[15:46] were kind of at the rock bottom.
Uh and there's lots of departments out
[15:49] there that we know that because uh they
haven't been funded
[15:53] and they've been ignored. Santa has been
ignored and treated. So thank you to
[15:55] this council and previous council
because we had to stop start right from
[15:58] the bottom. Start buying getting our
trucks on online so that we have
[16:02] equipment to respond to the fires. Uh
you know, finding out for 200 ft of our
[16:06] hose has been failed
field testing
[16:09] um and then right up until the SCBA's.
We're in a good spot. Thank you.
[16:14] » And sometimes if you don't um
it's like out of place, lots of people
[16:18] get hurt.
Cuz they're not which
[16:20] set up to do the job that we want them
to do, right? So
[16:24] » I would say that all over the department
you think Well, has anybody seen anybody
[16:27] here?
So if I'm sure that you've heard that
[16:29] there's other councils that are passing
biological resolutions to ask the
[16:33] province to extend this or cancel it.
I work for the province. I'm going to
[16:36] cancel it.
There's a reason why I must do it. Feel
[16:39] good is also known as a signal that we
have any funding because Santa's
[16:42] actually a nice dude but I do it for
fun.
[16:44] So
really good.
[16:48] So as part of the training um
So we have two Unfortunately, they
[16:52] haven't had the fire one or two courses
here. So we had to get on board with
[16:55] Huly River Fire but it's a private
company coming in and train them. So
[16:58] those two firefighters went last year,
they did their fire one. They're going
[17:01] to be going this year to do their fire
two. It's expensive but they're they're
[17:05] the last two to get done.
Uh for example, the last firefighter we
[17:08] took on,
uh he did uh two years planning to
[17:11] college for fire services. He just
basically came to us and said, "Here's
[17:14] my certification." We spent $200,000.
The one before that was from she came
[17:19] from uh Bruce Lyons Fire.
She has her Fire 1. So, now we just have
[17:23] to get her Fire 2. The one before that,
same thing. Did 2 years at Atlantic
[17:26] College, was previous summer student
with us. Just came in here, I have all
[17:30] my search captain paid $0.
So,
[17:34] there comes a point when we're just
getting to the end of it, we just got to
[17:36] push her over.
So,
[17:39] they will be training at at Bull River
Fire.
[17:43] We'll be Hershey's Fire emergency
conference in Huntsville. We used to go
[17:47] to that. I personally never been there
because there was never an agenda that I
[17:50] could see the purpose of going over
there.
[17:52] This year they do.
And it's going to be all about the new
[17:54] standards that are coming up with bunker
gear,
[17:56] SCBA's. I think there's something coming
down the pipeline with SCBA's, so I
[18:00] think it's worth watching at this time.
And other things that are coming down
[18:03] the pipeline for the fire department
training.
[18:06] Now, as I said before, we are eligible
for $6,000 in funding from DES because
[18:11] we granted the response medical calls
the same.
[18:15] They just put that in for this year, so
we got 2025 back.
[18:18] So, for 2026,
I put $4,000 from that number into the
[18:24] $15,000 of training. Now, this is not a
grant, this is a reimbursement. We have
[18:28] to spend the money to get it back. At
the end of the year, they make puts it
[18:31] in, they pay us the $6,000. So, we've
got $4,000 to get
[18:36] firefighters trained in medical So,
first responder training
[18:41] » [laughter]
>> is there, that's a 40-hour course.
[18:43] That's a 2-weekend course. Bull River
Regional Fire.
[18:46] So, we will send as many people here to
do that. There's another 40-hour course
[18:50] after that,
which is emergency first responder. The
[18:54] three that went last year to emergency
first responder, they want to go to that
[18:58] and I'm quite happy to let them go to
that one.
[19:01] Like that's basic
pure BC
[19:04] what is a paramedic at that level.
And we'll pay for that. It's all
[19:07] So,
we're going to
[19:10] have them go to
the courses that we get in $4,000 and
[19:14] that's going to be paid for by DC
7. Does anybody have any questions over
[19:18] here?
No? Okay.
[19:21] Uh
recertification of apparatus equipment
[19:23] is what we have to do every year. Both
our pumpers have to get pump tested. The
[19:26] boys have commercial vehicles, so they
have to go and get their commercial
[19:29] vehicle safety.
Uh we also have to do flow testing on
[19:32] our SCBA's and our gas monitors. Usually
once a year has to
[19:39] The new ones are just
>> But I'm sorry, didn't you just drop
[19:41] them?
>> Yeah, every year they have to get flow
[19:42] tested.
>> We just bought them and we get them and
[19:44] now they have to recertify them.
>> Well, not recertify. So, they were flow
[19:47] tested like in the fall. So, we get
to save money, we get our
[19:53] SCBA's flow tested in February when they
come to Steel Tank to do their flow
[19:59] So, we save money on
>> So, every February we get
[20:02] » Yeah, so it's just going to fall on
regular service.
[20:04] » Yeah, February, March, any of that.
>> Save us travel time.
[20:08] Now,
the journal entries are not going to
[20:10] match last year's. So, the year before
was this assistant chief standing
[20:15] Yeah, so when we had a cess last year we
transferred over to Simpson County and
[20:18] it was all new journal entries. So, for
like last year, you'll see repair
[20:22] maintenance of vehicles. We also have
one that was like annual expense or
[20:25] truck expense or something. Said,
"What's the difference?" And I don't
[20:27] know.
So, we've taken out truck expense. We've
[20:30] taken out fire prevention. It was like
$400 a year. There's no point having a
[20:34] journal entry for $400 a year on a $1.6
million budget. We're just going to roll
[20:38] that into the fire station. So, it's not
going to be as neat and clean this year
[20:41] transferring over, but
uh
[20:44] we just kind of brought everything down.
We used to have every truck fuel for
[20:48] every truck. We used to have fuel.
There's no point in
[20:53] So, uh repair maintenance of vehicles,
our two pumpers, there's priming oil on
[20:57] there and they need a service. So, when
they come to do our
[21:00] pump testing, they're going to stick
around for an extra day and they're
[21:02] going to do the service that's required
on our pumpers. That's another 2,000 on
[21:06] that, which hopefully we won't have to
use.
[21:11] Our licenses and permits are the same as
the other years.
[21:14] It includes our radio tower rental from
Spectrum,
[21:17] fire key, which I just showed you.
Payment to the Receiver General for
[21:22] radio authorizations, and DZ renewal of
testing and physical exam. I think we
[21:27] only have one person get through the
license this
[21:30] year.
There shouldn't be too much on that.
[21:33] And then fire stations basically they're
[21:38] So, okay.
[21:43] So, after you get the $19,380
from the grant, 6,000 from DES app, that
[21:47] basically runs us about 89 and change.
Just from experience, we're usually
[21:52] between the 90 and 95 mark. So, we're
not above last year's or
[21:57] we're a little running a little below
what we're trying to provide for the
[21:59] residents.
Any questions on that?
[22:13] » Finance.
All in favor for the airport motion.
[22:18] I.
[22:22] Thank you very much, Steve.
>> You're welcome.
[22:24] » Uh treasure
>> Do you need anything else?
[22:26] » I don't think so. Don't worry about it.
>> [clears throat]
[22:31] » Treasurer's reports, check logs, and
revenues for November 2020. I have
[22:36] a motion and second by Council
Hutchinson.
[22:39] » I move to dissolve the council here and
accept the treasurer's report to the
[22:42] books, check logs, and revenues for
November 2020
[22:47] Any questions about
the treasurer's report?
[22:52] All in favor?
Thank you.
[22:56] There is no planning.
Bylaws. Bylaw 2026-01,
[23:01] naming boards and committees. moved by
Council Weir, seconded by Council
[23:05] Hutchinson.
>> Be it resolved that Council approves
[23:08] Bylaw 2026-01, Naming Boards and
Committees for the Council of Fort Erie,
[23:13] be given a first, second, and third
reading and finally passed this 22nd day
[23:17] of January, 2026.
>> Any questions about the boards and
[23:21] committees?
>> [laughter]
[23:24] » I'm just curious
when and when the strategic planning
[23:29] » Pardon?
>> The strategic planning committee.
[23:32] When
will we be meeting?
[23:36] » That is a good question.
>> That's at the call of the Council.
[23:41] » Okay.
>> Not Not me.
[23:43] » [laughter]
>> And that goes back to the previous
[23:48] mayor.
>> Yes.
[23:49] » Um because
generally speaking, when a committee has
[23:54] not been meeting regularly and you
form it reform it, then you have giving
[24:00] some kind of a mandate or some
parameters, at least.
[24:05] » To be determined.
>> [laughter]
[24:08] » We will uh figure that out and look at
that to you as soon as
[24:12] » Any other questions about that?
All in favor?
[24:16] » I want to make one comment about L and
M. These are both uh not just strategic
[24:22] planning, but the assisted
house committee, which is what it's been
[24:26] called. Um
they're both inactive. And that was the
[24:31] one that was looking into a assisted
10-unit or 12-unit assisted living
[24:37] um thing. So, I it's sort of there
if and when we decide to go that road or
[24:44] something.
>> Yeah.
[24:48] » Anyone else?
All in favor?
[24:52] » I thank you.
>> Bylaw 2026-02,
[24:57] Interim Tax levy moved by Council
Chutskoff, seconded by Council Lauer.
[25:01] » Be it resolved that Council hereby
approves Bylaw 2026-013 interim tax levy
[25:06] for the Township of Brancepeth be given
a first, second, and third reading and
[25:10] finally passed this 13th day of January
2026.
[25:14] » Any questions about the tax levy?
All in favor?
[25:18] » Aye.
>> Thank you.
[25:20] Bylaw 2026-03
borrowing bylaw moved by Council
[25:24] Christiansen, seconded by Council
Couture.
[25:27] » Be it resolved that Council hereby
approves Bylaw 2026-03
[25:31] borrowing bylaw
for the Township of Brancepeth be given
[25:34] a first, second, and third reading and
finally passed this 13th day of January
[25:38] 2026.
>> Any questions about borrowing bylaw?
[25:42] » We do this every year just to keep
track.
[25:44] » [laughter]
>> All in favor?
[25:46] » Aye.
>> Thank you.
[25:48] Bylaw 2026-04
fire protection grant agreement with
[25:52] Transource Utility Management Ontario
moved by Council Christiansen, seconded
[25:55] by Council Couture.
>> Be it resolved that Council hereby
[25:59] approves Bylaw 2026-04 fire protection
agreement with Teck Com be given a
[26:04] first, second, and third reading and
finally passed this 13th day of January
[26:08] 2026.
>> Any questions about the grant agreement?
[26:14] All in favor?
>> Aye.
[26:16] » Thank you.
Bylaw 2026-05
[26:20] user fees and charges and grant
agreement moved by Council Chutskoff,
[26:23] seconded by Council Couture.
>> Be it resolved that Bylaw 2026-05 being
[26:28] a bylaw to establish and require payment
of various fees [snorts] and charges be
[26:32] given a first, second, and third reading
and finally passed this 13th day of
[26:36] January 2026.
>> Any questions [clears throat] about user
[26:39] fees and charges?
All in favor?
[26:41] » Aye.
>> Thank you.
[26:44] Motions and notice of motions. Bonnie
Bridge replacement approval for
[26:48] additional engineering services moved by
Council Christiansen, seconded by
[26:52] Councillor Puddicombe.
Be it resolved that Council
[26:55] [clears throat] receive the request from
Colmac Engineering dated December 25th
[26:59] regarding additional engineering
services required for the Gananoque
[27:02] River Bridge rehabilitation project.
And that Council approve the additional
[27:06] engineering fees in the amount of
$26,950
[27:10] excluding the HST
for pile foundation redesign, additional
[27:14] inspections, extended construction
duration, and related engineering work
[27:18] as outlined in correspondence.
And further that Council authorize staff
[27:22] to allocate the additional cost of the
Gananoque River Bridge
[27:25] capital project budget funded through
existing capital road allocations.
[27:31] » Any questions?
Councillor Puddicombe.
[27:35] » [laughter]
[27:39] » Mhm.
>> Yeah.
[27:42] Anyone else?
[27:45] » [clears throat]
>> Councillor Fabbro.
[27:46] » I I think that
I got to say
[27:49] I think that we should have to challenge
this because um
[27:54] in good faith
we took them at their word and did what
[27:58] they told us. And they gave us some and
we did a lot of work on this. We had a
[28:03] lot of bunch theory thinking and
finalizing maybe human your your
[28:09] expertise went out and
I I just think that
[28:13] I can't understand some of the pricing
for the hourly rate that they get and I
[28:17] want a breakdown of it. I think I'm
entitled to that because of the money
[28:20] they were putting out.
Like I work hard and I know what I make.
[28:24] I don't have a ring on my finger that
says I'm an engineer and I'm not down
[28:29] the engineers. They are very important
in the the process in the life of the
[28:33] way that the world is being built. But
and I maybe I shouldn't even say how
[28:38] much they get an hour but I want to know
what they do for 19 hours and I want to
[28:42] know how it's broken down
cuz I'm sure that if I go into the
[28:47] office and say that Mark, I want you to
do this and type this letter for me. I'm
[28:51] the CEO, I know what I'm getting paid
and I know what you're getting paid and
[28:55] I hope that I'm not
getting out there bad, but I want to
[28:59] know why it cost that much money for two
people for 28 hours and 19 hours.
[29:07] That's all I wanted to ask.
>> I absolutely hear you. Um, we all know
[29:12] that they charge a service fee. They're
not going to put their actual hourly
[29:15] rate on there because there's service
fee that they charge us, of course.
[29:19] Um, we can definitely ask for a
breakdown
[29:23] of those costs. However, we have
challenged it three times.
[29:29] » Oh. I know I know we did it once.
>> But we have challenged it a few times.
[29:34] Um,
[29:37] I feel like this is our bottom line.
They're not going to budget anymore cuz
[29:41] we we've gone at them a few times
already.
[29:44] But uh yeah, we can definitely ask for a
breakdown
[29:48] so that we can understand what those
fees are going towards.
[29:50] » You can put my name in there if you
want. Say Counselor Caputo
[29:54] along with other counselors would like
to know the breakdown, please. And what
[29:58] are our buying for our dollars cuz I
have to answer to somebody else.
[30:03] And they're called the constituents.
And so I don't know if you got calls,
[30:07] but I got two.
[30:11] Was there a funding there, too?
Where the bridge was or was it somewhere
[30:14] else? I'm sorry, that's another topic.
But that's what I wanted to say. I said
[30:19] it.
>> [snorts]
[30:21] [clears throat]
>> Yeah, that for for clarification,
[30:24] Counselor Caputo,
um with regards to Telic
[30:28] and moving forward,
um
[30:31] with contracts, um
[30:38] lessons learned uh with Telic, uh we
probably should have went after, uh um,
[30:45] a stipulated price
from them, which is all encompassing.
[30:50] Uh, at which point when there are
extras,
[30:54] uh, for this, then, um, it needs to come
to be approved. Um, however,
[31:00] that was not the case, um,
and so, uh, un- [clears throat]
[31:06] fortunately,
fortunately, Meg was able to, uh,
[31:10] negotiate with them to get that pricing
down,
[31:13] but that
is where we'll be with that, just in the
[31:18] realm of contracts.
>> And we have a, we're signatory to them.
[31:24] Every so many years our bridges and
everything have to be checked and done
[31:28] by them?
>> No.
[31:30] » Not signatory to them, so another agency
can come in and check and do them?
[31:36] » They do have to be reviewed for
assessment for the church. Federal
[31:40] highway department.
>> Okay.
[31:41] » Yeah.
>> And I'm not thinking out loud.
[31:44] » No, no.
>> I'm just I just I just try to fathom in
[31:47] my humble way of life.
[31:53] » We were in the wrong
>> I think I got the wrong profession.
[31:55] » [laughter]
>> I think we were in the wrong profession.
[31:57] I agree.
>> But I just had to vent. Um, thank you
[31:59] for letting me vent. [laughter]
>> Absolutely. No worries.
[32:01] » I wasn't going to, but I did.
>> No,
[32:04] I it's important. We definitely These
are huge numbers, and we are a small
[32:08] township. It is important.
>> Any other comments, questions?
[32:14] » I want to drive your car.
>> I want to drive your
[32:16] » [laughter]
>> Thank you.
[32:20] I just want to see them on the agenda.
Yeah.
[32:27] Uh, unauthorized motorized vehicle use,
King's Park Road. Moved by Councilwoman
[32:32] Peters, seconded by Councilman Beer.
>> Be it resolved that [clears throat]
[32:35] Council receives the information
regarding residents' complaints
[32:38] regarding unauthorized motorized
vehicles
[32:51] » Um
>> Okay, so um
[32:55] I'm just sitting at home and I'm getting
two well, one pretty much after the
[33:01] other phone calls and one was in
in um
[33:08] in a worrisome state he was because uh
they were tearing up the park and they
[33:14] were just and tried to intervene which I
told don't ever do again.
[33:18] I said leave that for somebody else to
do or call the police. I got advice from
[33:23] I called the mayor and I got advice. I
told them uh the family what to do.
[33:28] But
I should never got out of my truck and
[33:31] drove over there. This park is not
known, but I was flipped off and told
[33:37] things and yelled at. So now I was
worried cuz I they know where I live and
[33:40] that, but they're just they're just kids
and they're just trying to have fun, but
[33:45] go have fun somewhere else is what I
always said. Like I'm not mad cuz you're
[33:48] riding your bike,
>> [laughter]
[33:49] » but look what you've done to the park.
We got families and babies and they lay
[33:54] in the grass and
and it wasn't being heard.
[33:58] So now they're all going to take care of
it and then all of a sudden it started
[34:00] snowing for 20 days in February and
December
[34:03] and I got the call again from another
neighbor on the Dean Drake Road and it
[34:08] was about the skids
and they were just
[34:11] jumping and kids were still playing on
the swings which was another alarming
[34:16] fact to me.
We brought this up before about the
[34:19] parks and what we were going to do and
how we were going to fix it. I know we
[34:24] go in there maybe with uh Mayor through
you to the financial treasure. Then we
[34:28] go in there with our riding lawnmowers
and we service the area. We make it
[34:31] pretty and they
the road crew does a great job and at
[34:36] the behest of two or three bad apples,
we have a township of people that are
[34:41] in
not able to use it and are going. It is
[34:44] a little boggy and muddy, which makes it
better for bikes and spinning, but we
[34:49] have to do something to
stop them from entering.
[34:54] And if that's a a removable pole where
they can move it and then go in at our
[34:59] only knowledge
[35:02] But I don't know what we have to do. We
have to address it and we've done
[35:05] signage
and that doesn't do anything.
[35:09] » Yeah.
>> We have a park specific fund that we can
[35:13] look at leveraging for this as well as
possible grants.
[35:17] » I just
>> See what kind of options are out there
[35:20] to help prevent that.
>> I'd like to put that forward for like
[35:24] the spring as soon as we can
>> Absolutely.
[35:26] » to get it done and looked at, please.
>> Yep.
[35:29] Yep. It's definitely [clears throat] on
our radar. So, when we get information,
[35:33] we'll bring it back to council and see
what that looks like.
[35:37] Yeah.
Any other questions or comments?
[35:41] » Just more of a comment along the same
lines that
[35:45] the new park for early on is also seeing
the same
[35:50] issues with snowmobiles running over the
new equipment.
[35:54] » No. [clears throat]
>> Yeah. So,
[35:57] you know, it's just
um
[36:00] » That's supposed to be on this property,
right? It's private.
[36:03] » It's
it's public
[36:05] property, but however, when we did put
>> Sorry.
[36:08] » No, no, that's okay.
>> When we did put in the park over here,
[36:12] we did agree that we would have a fence
around it. So,
[36:15] » Correct.
>> Yes, that is what we're going to look
[36:17] at.
>> Yeah, we're going to look at that as
[36:18] well. So, it's definitely on our radar.
So, we'll get to that.
[36:23] » Thanks, that helps a lot. You're right,
it's the first I've heard of a problem.
[36:26] I went and examined it. It's beautiful.
>> Yeah, it is. I was very impressed.
[36:30] » For sure.
>> So.
[36:33] » Any other questions or comments?
All in favor?
[36:37] » I.
>> Uh correspondence. Moved by the road
[36:41] bridge contractual clause and timelines.
Moved by Councillor Christiansen,
[36:46] seconded by Councillor Pincott.
>> Be it resolved that Council receives the
[36:50] correspondence regarding the closing of
side road restoration with the expected
[36:54] resumption
>> and completion dates of June 1st, 2026
[36:57] and June 12th, 2026 respectively. And
the gaining of both roads as
[37:01] information.
>> Uh just to confirm, Megan, is that June
[37:05] 1st to June 12th or June 1st and June
12th?
[37:09] » June 1st to
>> to to
[37:13] » Any questions or comments on that?
>> Um did anybody else get any calls about
[37:18] taking flight
going down the road to the bridge?
[37:23] It I went and I didn't go more than 30
km an hour, but you do it a little
[37:28] faster and you can There is a little bit
of a
[37:31] » Yeah.
>> So I thought it I just blamed it on the
[37:33] snow, but apparently this is before the
snow. I don't even know that.
[37:37] » Okay.
>> I'm sure they'll take care of it between
[37:40] June 11th and
[37:44] » Any other questions or comments?
All in favor?
[37:48] » I.
>> Thank you.
[37:50] Minutes of boards and committees. Public
Library Board of Trustees, December
[37:54] 2025. Moved by Councillor Truchenko,
seconded by Councillor Christiansen.
[37:59] » Be it resolved that Council will hereby
accept the Library Board minutes for
[38:03] December 2025 as information.
Any questions about reading minutes for
[38:07] the Library Board?
>> All in
[38:10] All in favor?
>> I.
[38:12] » Thank you.
New business. Emergency Management
[38:16] Services. Moved by Councillor Truchenko,
seconded [laughter] by Councillor
[38:19] Pincott.
>> Be it resolved that Council receives the
[38:22] quotation services by Phoenix Emergency
Management project and commission in
[38:27] full with the actual staff.
>> Questions about the Phoenix Emergency
[38:34] Management. This is a full, right?
>> Yeah.
[38:38] » I checked this for comments.
[38:44] So, I think they provided three options
for
[38:48] service, somewhere in the middle, and
then a basic option.
[38:54] Um and this is being presented purely
because we've gone through a number of
[38:58] CMCs and we don't have a dedicated
person that is qualified to hold that
[39:04] position in the township. Um
I don't
[39:08] personally know how I feel about some
third party doing it. However,
[39:13] um
they are experts in the field and I
[39:16] would trust them to do the right thing.
I don't know how council feels about
[39:21] that. We've put it out there a number of
times to look for someone, but
[39:25] we haven't had any luck in
obtaining and retaining the person for
[39:30] that position.
[39:48] » So,
um
[39:49] Mayor, my question would be um I know
that when we had um
[39:55] someone in that position
um
[39:58] for the township uh they were being paid
>> There's a remuneration, yes, correct.
[40:05] » And just from my just my quick
calculation, I would say that from what
[40:12] we were um
providing had we had someone on
[40:17] full-time
>> [laughter]
[40:18] » that we would be very close to the full
option.
[40:22] » Full service
>> Full service option, correct.
[40:25] » Um, I don't know if this is exactly
>> Is it a significant difference?
[40:29] » Yes.
>> Is it? Okay.
[40:30] » Yeah, it is a significant difference.
So, I don't want to give the exact
[40:35] amounts for the honorarium per year.
But, it's a significant difference.
[40:40] So, let's say if um
I would say less than 50%.
[40:46] » Okay. So, that's
>> last part again, Nick.
[40:48] » Less than 50% of difference.
>> Yeah.
[40:51] If they get paid the honorarium times 12
>> Yeah.
[40:55] » and then an annual rate of the amount
that I got in this year
[41:00] for 2026
at [snorts and clears throat] uh 2500
[41:04] It's almost 42% that I think in my quick
guessing the year's
[41:09] » Yes, yes.
>> That's why I like being in a room with
[41:11] smart people.
>> [laughter]
[41:15] » Then you have to put on the 13%
and just P which I can't figure.
[41:19] » True. True.
>> So, they come here for a course and they
[41:24] teach us.
>> So, they would [clears throat] have to
[41:27] by law provide I I think
Even Fay had mentioned during our
[41:33] training that it's one to two courses
per year
[41:35] » Yeah.
>> um of training just so that like
[41:38] whoever's on that committee
>> Yeah.
[41:40] » would be involved in like knowing all
the safety and the things that we do.
[41:45] Like this year we did training
>> Yeah.
[41:48] » Like then we weren't
This year we did training about um
[41:52] ice drops.
So, every year can be a different theme
[41:56] of some sort of emergency that we can
and they can do table tops of exercises.
[42:02] » I was in a course that we had here at
the past council.
[42:06] And I was on it and uh pretty
enlightening and very knowledgeable and
[42:12] uh preparedness was good because we had
a PMT uh
[42:16] director. Well,
he was uh
[42:18] pretty up and on it for quite a few
years he was doing it.
[42:23] And hopefully never have to use it, but
it's something that we have to
[42:27] have.
>> Yeah, for sure. I agree.
[42:30] Um so, I am the acting CEMC right now.
Um and quite honestly, like it is
[42:35] something I take very seriously. You
have to really be on call 24/7 365.
[42:40] » [laughter]
>> Cuz you don't know when something's
[42:42] going to happen, right? Um so, it's
I I don't want to say it's a lot of
[42:47] pressure, but like again, I take it
seriously. I want to be available should
[42:50] anything happen. Um
if we had a service
[42:55] available to do that for us,
it's probably I don't want to say it's
[43:00] more reliable, but it's they're they're
reliable. They're they're there for us,
[43:03] right?
>> Yeah.
[43:04] » And they will make sure that we are
compliant with the law every year.
[43:09] » So, we have to decide on basic number
one or number two, boss?
[43:15] » So,
yeah, so we don't have to. If you choose
[43:19] If you
as a council if you decide we don't want
[43:23] to go with this company, we don't have
to. It just means that someone needs to
[43:28] remain in that position to keep us
compliant every year.
[43:32] » And that starts at the beginning of
every year, Mayor?
[43:35] Through you to
>> so, so for for compliance, yes.
[43:39] » So, there's a There was a 90-day quote
number on it that's from when they sent
[43:43] us this numbers. We have 90 days to say
yes, we're going to go with uh
[43:48] quote from Phoenix Emergency Management,
or there are other ones that we can put
[43:53] a feeler out to and maybe get a pricing
from.
[43:56] » Well, we can definitely look into that
for you.
[43:58] » I mean, I I know you're busy busy. You
and David are doing a great job. I I
[44:02] I've been listening and hearing, but uh
[44:06] Yeah, we have to we have to get this.
>> So this quote, yes, everybody who puts
[44:11] out a quote is is available for 90 days.
If we choose to to
[44:16] operate [laughter] with them, they can
renew the quote if we don't decide in
[44:19] the next
>> Yeah, we don't have anybody in Cesarean
[44:22] and they're right from
the library already have them.
[44:26] We do have one in Cesarean?
>> No, that's a different one.
[44:30] » Yeah, that is
>> We don't know that's the fair stuff,
[44:33] yeah.
So I don't know that there's one here in
[44:36] town. That's probably the closest one in
town.
[44:40] » So we have from now till March to
decide?
[44:45] » You don't have to decide tonight. Um
I I am in the position for now.
[44:52] I prefer to have someone more qualified
than myself to do it, but again, there's
[44:57] not there's no there's no there's no
actual hold over our head to say you
[45:01] need to decide right now.
I definitely want council to think about
[45:05] it. Again, I I'm not necessarily
convinced that we go with someone who's
[45:10] out of town either cuz they don't know
our place like we do, right?
[45:13] » Right.
>> Um so I completely get it. I would
[45:15] rather have somebody close to us that is
qualified to do this. Um that that would
[45:20] be my preference, but to date we haven't
had any luck
[45:24] » in the library
>> obtaining obtaining somebody that has
[45:27] those qualifications.
>> Okay.
[45:33] So now what happens is it's going to go
on a on a calendar mirror and then
[45:37] a reminder comes up to us in
two months and says, "Okay, six months
[45:41] is up."
>> Okay. The next meeting or whatever.
[45:45] Yeah, we'll bring it back to the next
meeting.
[45:47] » Yeah, well, absolutely. Information more
than we will give input. Okay.
[45:50] » Yeah.
>> Thank you.
[45:51] » Yeah, absolutely. Like I say, it's
something that we should definitely be
[45:54] thinking of and just the longer the year
goes in, we have to consider those
[45:58] trainings to make sure that we're
compliant. Uh we did it really late last
[46:02] year. They have to be in before
November. Just Yeah.
[46:07] They have to be in before November, so.
>> Cool.
[46:10] » So, something to think about.
>> And we might not be here in November.
[46:16] » Fair enough. Fair enough.
>> a Isn't this [laughter] an election
[46:19] year?
>> I was like, "What?" Yeah, fair enough.
[46:21] You're not wrong. Yeah.
>> October is the
[46:23] election year.
>> Yeah, October.
[46:26] October, yeah.
All right. So, to
[46:30] receive So, we will We will update our
resolution to say Well, I guess it's the
[46:37] same. We're not going to update it.
Yeah, it's as information is provided
[46:40] direction to staff. So, our direction to
staff is let's reassess it for next
[46:44] meeting.
And [clears throat] all in favor?
[46:47] » Aye.
>> Thank you.
[46:49] Uh Vulcan Fire Safety moved by
Councillor Weir, seconded by Councillor
[46:53] Christiansen.
>> Be it resolved that Council approves the
[46:56] quotation from Vulcan Fire and Safety
Systems Limited
[47:00] for our fire safety deficiency repairs
and authorizes the staff to proceed.
[47:06] » Any questions about the Vulcan Fire
Safety? So, I
[47:10] have to imagine this is something we
should do every year.
[47:13] » Yes.
>> Uh it's an assessment that's done and
[47:15] then they will do the assessment and
then make any necessary repairs that are
[47:20] » [laughter]
>> Agreed.
[47:22] » So, when we did our annual inspection,
some of the things listed on this quote
[47:26] were absent.
So, we are not in compliance with the
[47:30] code yet, but once we pass this, then we
will be compliant.
[47:34] » Any questions, comments?
All in favor?
[47:37] » Aye.
>> Thank you.
[47:40] And insurance renewal moved by
Councillor Christiansen, seconded by
[47:44] Councillor Weir.
[47:47] » Be it resolved that Council approves the
insurance renewal proposal by Marsh
[47:51] Insurance for the policy term of
February 15th, 2026 to February 15th,
[47:56] 2027 and authorizes the staff to
proceed.
[48:00] » Uh now, my understanding, if you correct
me if I'm wrong, that there are no
[48:04] changes to policy and the rates are the
same. So, it's just a
[48:08] renewal.
Any questions or comments about that?
[48:13] All in favor?
[48:16] I guess we're good. Are you good?
>> Yep. Sorry.
[48:19] » No, no, all good. Thank you.
>> I was just reading what we had in
[48:21] coverage.
>> Yep.
[48:24] » Uh counselor
>> Hello. Confirming bylaw 2026-06
[48:28] moved by counselor Peddle, seconded by
counselor Hutchinson. Be it resolved
[48:32] that bylaw 2026-06 being a bylaw to
confirm the proceedings of the council
[48:37] up to and including January 13th, 2026,
be given a first, second, and third
[48:42] reading and finally passed this 13th day
of January 2026. All in favor?
[48:47] » Aye.
>> And adjournment moved by counselor Weir,
[48:51] seconded by counselor Peddle.
Be it resolved that council here by
[48:55] adjourns at 6:49
p.m. to meet again for the next regular
[49:01] meeting on Tuesday, February 10th, 2026
at 6:00 p.m. or at the call of the
[49:06] mayor. All in favor?
>> Aye.
[49:08] » Thank you.
Thank you very much, council.