[0:00] 25th meeting of the 146th Council of the

[0:03] Corporation of the City of St. Thomas uh

[0:06] is tonight and thank you to for all

[0:08] being here for our August meeting. It

[0:10] seems like a whole month since I've seen

[0:11] you because it's been a whole month

[0:13] since I've seen you. Um disclosures of

[0:15] interest from any of the members.

[0:18] Seeing none, we'll move on to minutes.

[0:21] Thank the minutes of the meeting held on

[0:24] July 13th, 2026 be confirmed. Moved by

[0:27] councelor Herbert, seconded by councelor

[0:28] Bvin Sans. questions or comments on the

[0:30] minutes? Seeing none, all those in

[0:33] favor? Are there any opposed? That's

[0:35] carried. Now, we're going to do a little

[0:36] bit of a change in our agenda. Um, we

[0:39] have uh our auditor here tonight rather

[0:41] than make Christine sit around for

[0:43] hours. Um, that's not true here at St.

[0:46] Thomas, but we're going to let you go

[0:47] first tonight.

[0:49] John, do we have to change do a change

[0:51] of the agenda that way?

[0:52] >> Yes, your worship. Just if council

[0:54] supports, I just have a motion that

[0:55] council suspend section 4.2 to the

[0:57] procedural bylaw on August 10, 2026 and

[0:59] adjust the order of business on the

[1:01] agenda to consider the 2025 audited

[1:03] financial statements first followed by

[1:05] the letter related to the minor baseball

[1:07] and the Mleyfield grandstand. If I can

[1:10] just get a mover move by councelor Riml,

[1:12] seconded by councelor Gibson.

[1:14] >> All right, questions or comments on the

[1:16] change of the procedural bylaw? Seeing

[1:19] none, all those in favor? Any opposed?

[1:21] Carried. Take it away.

[1:23] >> All right. Thank you. All right. Right.

[1:25] I'll go through the financial statements

[1:27] uh page by page as I normally do. Please

[1:29] don't hesitate to ask me any questions

[1:30] if you have them. Um it uh they are

[1:34] dated. Uh the Canadian auditing

[1:35] standards require council to approve

[1:37] them those charged with governance. And

[1:39] so once they are approved, we will

[1:41] finalize them. There's also an FIR that

[1:43] will get filed to the ministry which is

[1:45] a requirement of the ministry um based

[1:48] on these financial statements and so

[1:49] they uh will follow uh closely. So they

[1:52] are dated as of today's date. It is

[1:54] what's called a clean audit opinion,

[1:56] which means that we did not find

[1:58] anything materially incorrect.

[2:00] Materiality for the city of St. Thomas

[2:02] is 2.7 million. However, that does not

[2:04] mean we only look at transactions over

[2:06] that amount. Every revenue and

[2:09] expenditure that flows through,

[2:10] including payroll is eligible for

[2:12] statistical sampling that we uh perform

[2:16] and test the controls within the city.

[2:18] based on those tests and those results,

[2:20] we can then clarify that we are issuing

[2:23] a clean opinion. So all of that

[2:26] preamble, I'll start through uh the

[2:28] financial statements. So the first

[2:29] statement that I'm going to go through

[2:30] is a consolidated statement of financial

[2:32] position, better known as your balance

[2:34] sheet. And those of you who have heard

[2:37] this spiel before, I'll just I'll I'll

[2:39] continue on that. So I come down to the

[2:41] net financial asset number. So about

[2:44] threequarters of the way down the page.

[2:45] So you'll see last year it was 1.4 4

[2:47] million. And again, I'm running my

[2:49] numbers. And this year, it's 24 uh

[2:52] 24.1.2

[2:54] million this year. So, that's an

[2:56] increase. That would be the amount of

[2:57] money that you would have in the bank if

[2:59] everybody paid you what they owe you and

[3:01] you paid off all of your liabilities,

[3:02] which obviously wouldn't happen at any

[3:04] one point in time, but it just allows

[3:05] you to see where you're at at the time.

[3:09] Everything below that line are assets

[3:11] that you need to have in place to

[3:13] continue providing the services the city

[3:15] provides. And obviously you're not able

[3:17] to sell those assets and still provide

[3:19] those services. So they're down below

[3:21] the line obviously not a liquid asset

[3:23] what we would call. And so some

[3:26] indicators I look at when I looking at

[3:28] these financial statements. One is where

[3:30] your debt levels are at which you're

[3:32] decreasing in that area. Um your net

[3:35] financial assets have increased and then

[3:37] you've also reinvested in your capital

[3:39] assets above your amortization. The

[3:41] amortization being the using up of your

[3:44] assets. And so you can see there we do

[3:46] have significant uh increase in the

[3:49] assets but that also um obviously

[3:51] requires significant investment going

[3:54] forward. And so although these are all

[3:56] good news stories uh just keep in mind

[3:58] we'll get to a note 20 which is a year

[4:00] commitments going forward.

[4:03] coming down to an overall surplus of 945

[4:08] million. And as we see when we get to

[4:09] the note on this uh surplus, the

[4:12] majority of that is invested in those

[4:14] tangible capital assets.

[4:16] Any questions on the balance sheet

[4:18] specific numbers?

[4:22] » Seeing none.

[4:23] >> All right. We'll now go to the revenue

[4:26] and expenditure. This statement of

[4:27] operations. So again, this is the

[4:29] operations of the town of the city. And

[4:31] so I just uh make a couple comments

[4:34] here. So the budget does not include

[4:36] your investment in um both the health

[4:39] unit and the Elgenary water primary

[4:42] water system. Uh and so those numbers uh

[4:45] are in the actuals for both 2025 and

[4:48] 2024.

[4:49] And as well within the expenditures as

[4:51] you'll remember we have amortization and

[4:54] in 2020 the amortization costs for the

[4:57] total city were just over 20 million. So

[5:00] when I look at the budgeted expenditures

[5:02] of 175 million and I get to the 207

[5:06] actual spend, that does not mean the

[5:08] city over spent by that amount. 20

[5:10] million of that is amortization as I

[5:12] mentioned as well as the pickup of the

[5:15] health unit costs, your share of those

[5:17] costs, uh, which is 19.78%

[5:20] and then your pickup of the water system

[5:23] as well. And so those numbers are in

[5:25] there. The other increase that's both in

[5:27] the government grants and in the social

[5:31] and family services is the increase in

[5:33] the what I call the quelk. So that's the

[5:35] child care funding that changed if uh

[5:38] you're familiar with that that the um

[5:40] total funding formula changed in 2025

[5:44] and so the cost and the revenue

[5:45] proportionately increased for those

[5:47] changes.

[5:49] So coming down to the excess of revenue

[5:51] over expenditures again 7.2 2 million uh

[5:54] in 2025 and a negative number. So about

[5:56] a $10 million swing there. And the

[5:59] majority of that is uh some hookups

[6:02] charges that we had that again uh flow

[6:05] through to the reserve fund. So they're

[6:07] not for operating um purposes.

[6:11] Everything below that line relates to

[6:13] either capital or other investments that

[6:14] you have and so not consistent from year

[6:17] to year. You can see that we uh the city

[6:20] only budgets three of those numbers.

[6:22] Obviously the pickup in the Integris

[6:24] that we own, the shares that we own in

[6:26] Integris and the um pickup in the uh

[6:30] east or sorry uh Elgen area water system

[6:33] uh are not not budgeted for because we

[6:36] simply don't know those amounts

[6:40] coming down. So that other revenue and

[6:42] expenditures again deals with capital or

[6:45] other investments not for operations

[6:48] coming down to your total surplus at the

[6:49] end of the year again of the 945

[6:51] million.

[6:54] Any questions on that statement at all?

[6:55] Again I know I'm doing at a high level

[6:57] so I'm happy to answer anything

[6:59] specifically.

[7:03] » Councelor Herbert. Thank you worship.

[7:05] under the uh revenue when we have

[7:07] government grants. I see we budgeted 68

[7:10] million and actual 77. Is that because

[7:12] some grants come in later and we right

[7:15] up front?

[7:15] >> The big piece of that is because the

[7:17] health unit is almost 100% funded

[7:19] outside of your municipal shares that

[7:21] fund it by government grants. We pick up

[7:24] our proportionate share of those. So

[7:27] about $7 million of that was was the

[7:29] health units grants. You're welcome.

[7:33] Anything

[7:35] else? Again, these are operating grants.

[7:37] These would not be the capital grants

[7:40] in that number. The next statement is

[7:42] required because of the health unit

[7:44] investing in a derivative towards their

[7:46] debt. And so that's the next statement.

[7:49] It's just your share of that derivative.

[7:51] So they are hedging uh their interest

[7:53] rates on their debt.

[7:56] So then we get to the consolidated

[7:57] statement of cash flows. A lot of these

[7:59] numbers I've talked about, but I'm going

[8:00] to just uh uh indicate a couple that

[8:04] I've already uh talked about. Obviously,

[8:05] the first one, the second line down is

[8:07] amortization. That's the 20 million that

[8:09] I've um referred to already. And then

[8:12] the acquisition of capital assets plus

[8:15] the increase in capital work in

[8:17] progress. So capital work in progress,

[8:18] it just means that it's projects,

[8:20] capital projects that are in progress at

[8:22] the end of the year, not yet uh

[8:25] completed and so not yet amortized. And

[8:27] so you can see there the significant

[8:29] increase there of 132 million almost 133

[8:32] million of new assets.

[8:35] And then again the net repayment of

[8:37] debt. So last year if you recall we

[8:39] issued new debt for about 10 mill we did

[8:41] issue debt for $10 million. And so this

[8:44] year we don't have that new debt and we

[8:46] just have the repayment of the debt.

[8:49] coming down to your cash and cash

[8:50] equivalents at the end of the year. And

[8:51] again, there's a decrease there, but if

[8:53] you remember on the uh statement or the

[8:55] balance sheet, there was an increase in

[8:57] accounts receivable. So, it's just a

[8:59] timing of uh organizations owing you

[9:01] money and then your um having it in your

[9:04] bank account. And again, the majority of

[9:07] those accounts receivable if you notice

[9:08] the increase on the balance sheet uh

[9:10] have been received subsequent to your

[9:12] end. So we do do testing on that to

[9:13] ensure that uh those receivables are uh

[9:17] received in a reasonable amount of time.

[9:20] The next statement is your statement of

[9:21] c changing net financial assets. So this

[9:24] really drills down into your capital and

[9:26] again I've already talked about all

[9:27] these numbers and as you can see this flows through to that net financial

[9:32] assets number on the balance sheet that

[9:33] I would um was discussing already.

[9:37] We then get to the notes to the

[9:38] financial statements. I'm just going to

[9:40] highlight a couple of them uh for you.

[9:42] Note number 1 C is where we talk about

[9:44] what's consolidated in these financial

[9:46] statements. So again, the health unit

[9:48] which the percentage did not change. We

[9:51] did pick up uh 1.25% on the Elgenary

[9:54] water system and then the uh shares that

[9:57] you have in Integris. So those are all

[9:59] consolidated into these financial

[10:01] statements.

[10:02] The rest of the notes are account note

[10:04] one is accounting policies. Note number

[10:06] two, um if you didn't understand these

[10:09] financial statements before, we now are

[10:10] having uh significant changes again in

[10:12] 2027. So that's something to look

[10:15] forward to. Uh note number three is your

[10:18] trust funds, excuse me, [clears throat]

[10:19] which are included in your package as

[10:22] well and not a much big change there. Um

[10:27] note number seven are employee benefits

[10:29] payable. So these are benefits that are

[10:31] uh present valued into today's dollar of

[10:34] uh postretirement benefits that you will

[10:36] be paying out on certain of your

[10:40] employees.

[10:41] Note number eight is a breakdown of

[10:43] deferred revenue. So your various um

[10:47] obligatory reserve funds uh which have

[10:50] to be spent according to what they were

[10:52] raised for, not at council's discretion.

[10:55] Note number five, note number nine,

[10:57] sorry, is your long-term debt note,

[11:01] which shows that you're a decrease of

[11:03] debt there. And then note number 11 is

[11:06] the note that I wanted to discuss the

[11:08] most. So this is the breakdown of your

[11:10] accumulated surplus. Um, you can see

[11:13] there that there only operating surplus

[11:15] is the $51,000

[11:17] of the uh DDB. I know there is a part of

[11:21] this motion of a deficit for uh the city

[11:24] for 2025 which will come from the um

[11:27] which has been reflected here and come

[11:29] from the um reserve

[11:32] and then reserve fund balances, reserve

[11:35] and reserve fund balances as well as we

[11:37] broke out the reserve and reserve funds

[11:38] that belong to those consolidated

[11:40] entities which would be the health unit

[11:42] and the water system. Um just to show

[11:44] you where the city sits and again um

[11:48] most of this reserve that's there

[11:50] reserve funds most of that is uh water

[11:53] wastewater which is required to be

[11:54] retained separately and then the um

[11:57] reserve increase is uh a lot of that is

[12:00] already spoken for for funding future

[12:04] projects.

[12:07] Next notes uh just deal with the

[12:09] integris investment. Um and then I'm

[12:12] just going to flip forward to note

[12:13] number 20

[12:17] which is the uh note commitment which

[12:20] I've kind of referred to throughout this

[12:22] presentation on u making sure that we

[12:24] keep this in in mind as we're going

[12:26] forward that even though this is a good

[12:28] news story, we still have lots lots of

[12:30] things ahead of us to that we are

[12:32] committed to.

[12:36] And that's my presentation. The last two

[12:38] schedules, one is the first one is the

[12:41] breakdown of the capital assets by uh

[12:43] type of asset. Um and so as you can see

[12:46] there, the infrastructure uh assets are

[12:49] your the majority of your assets as you

[12:51] would expect. And then the last schedule

[12:54] is it's on a angle [clears throat] but

[12:57] uh the last schedule is the breakdown of

[12:59] the revenues and expenditures on the FIR

[13:02] functions. Uh to break this down. So

[13:05] this is the segue between these

[13:06] financial statements and what we file

[13:08] with the uh the ministry.

[13:12] And then we come to the trust fund

[13:14] financial statements. And I don't have a

[13:16] lot to say on this. The one trust fund

[13:18] that was within uh the library board has

[13:21] been moved over to their operations to

[13:23] help fund the project that they're

[13:24] currently undergoing. Uh so you can see

[13:26] that that is now gone. So the only fun

[13:28] trust fund that you will have left going

[13:30] forward is the value view which is the

[13:32] really the what I call their pocket

[13:34] money. Residents are allowed certain

[13:36] percentage of their funds to go into an

[13:39] account where they pay for things like

[13:41] hairdressing and and and things like

[13:43] that. So at the end of the year there's

[13:45] $22,774

[13:48] in trust fund monies.

[13:52] And that's my presentation on the

[13:54] statements. I did have a couple of other

[13:56] comments I wanted to make if that's all

[13:58] right.

[13:58] >> Please do.

[13:59] >> Okay. First of all, I want to thank the

[14:01] treasurer and his staff uh for all their

[14:03] help uh getting this done. Uh there's a

[14:05] lot of activity going on in the city and

[14:07] so I really appreciate all of their

[14:09] help. Um it's been it's been a really

[14:12] smooth audit and I appreciate as I said

[14:15] that both of them both of them being the

[14:18] treasur and the deputy treasure. Uh the

[14:20] second thing I wanted to say, I know um

[14:22] your treasurer [clears throat] has

[14:23] reports coming uh after me on just uh

[14:27] setting up reserve fund policies,

[14:28] investment policies. So I know you're

[14:30] headed in that direction. So that's I

[14:32] just want to uh reiterate that that's

[14:33] great as well that Great Plains is uh

[14:37] going to be archaic in the next three

[14:40] four years. Uh so just keeping that in

[14:42] mind that we will need a new operating

[14:44] system uh for the G of General Ledger.

[14:47] And then the last thing was uh and I've

[14:49] mentioned this at several of my clients

[14:51] uh the province is behind in reconciling

[14:54] yearly uh child care reporting and

[14:57] valley view your home for the agent

[14:59] reporting and so uh we've acred what we

[15:02] believe to be the right amounts but the

[15:04] province has the final say and so those

[15:06] numbers may change and adjust be

[15:09] adjusted in the in the future years. uh

[15:12] they are just finishing up 22 right now

[15:14] and so we're still uh we've got a few

[15:17] years to get done yet.

[15:23] » And that's my report.

[15:25] Happy to answer any questions.

[15:29] >> Pastor WKY.

[15:30] >> Thanks your worship. Um, so thank you

[15:34] very much for that. And and in the end,

[15:36] what I'm looking for from you is just in

[15:39] kind of kitchen English, non-accounting

[15:41] English. Um,

[15:42] >> I could do that. You know, you you deal

[15:44] with a lot of municipalities and of

[15:46] course we're just our own municipality.

[15:47] So we don't see things from the same

[15:48] lens that you see things and you've

[15:51] mentioned a few of these in your closing

[15:52] remarks but for our benefit and the

[15:56] benefit of the public when you look at

[15:58] different municipalities and you look at

[15:59] us like what would be an example of say

[16:01] one thing you think is going

[16:03] particularly well relative to our our

[16:06] you know neighbors say or your other

[16:08] clients I should say and one thing say

[16:11] that you think you look at us and say

[16:13] like you know this isn't in my

[16:15] presentation but you know if some

[16:16] counselor asks me I might want to tell

[16:17] them blank. Um, if you're comfortable

[16:21] doing that, I'd love to hear just a

[16:23] really general thoughts on how you see

[16:27] us doing relative to other

[16:28] municipalities that are clients of

[16:30] yours. Thank you.

[16:31] >> Sure. Well, you have an unusual problem

[16:33] in the in the note number 20, which I

[16:35] I've talked about. So, you you've got a

[16:37] lot of upcoming capital expenditures

[16:40] that are going to be made and so just

[16:42] making sure you keep your eye on that

[16:43] ball um would be the thing that I would

[16:45] caution you about. the the thing that I

[16:47] think you do well um your treasurer and

[16:49] his staff all understand the importance

[16:51] of internal controls and so that's in

[16:54] place and and they understand the

[16:56] importance of reporting to council on a

[16:58] regular basis. So I think that's like a big benefit and just also keeping in

[17:03] mind that you have other um capital

[17:07] assets that need to be replenished and

[17:09] maintained outside of what uh the large

[17:11] project is. And so just making sure that

[17:14] uh you don't forget about those capital

[17:16] projects that need to be re um repaired,

[17:18] re redone, um torn up, taken down. Um

[17:23] those all still have to be maintained.

[17:25] And so just keeping your eye on that as

[17:27] well and and and in order to do all of

[17:29] that, obviously making sure your

[17:31] reserves are healthy.

[17:35] » Further questions?

[17:39] Christina, thank you. I think in my

[17:41] whole time here, this is as early as

[17:44] we've had the final statements. So,

[17:46] >> it is. And I I'll just say too, I I know

[17:48] there may be some of the counselors

[17:50] sitting around this table that may not

[17:52] be here. Just want to thank uh

[17:54] especially the mayor for all their

[17:55] support over these uh last few years.

[17:57] So, thank you.

[17:59] >> Uh council Riml, I'm sorry I missed your

[18:01] hand. You have to wave more viciously.

[18:03] Okay. Yeah,

[18:04] >> that's great. Anyway, thank you. And and

[18:06] thank you, Christine. I really find I I

[18:08] really like your presentation how you go

[18:10] through everything. It's very clear and

[18:12] I I really appreciate that. And I just

[18:14] wanted to ask a question on page 18. It

[18:17] might be more for the treasure. Uh the

[18:19] integris it said that there was the um

[18:23] uh the extra 500,000. Did we decide to

[18:27] put that on our internal debt or what

[18:28] did we decide to do with that? So the

[18:31] 2025 budget had you not make not making

[18:35] that reduction in this year because of

[18:36] other commitments that you had on the

[18:38] tax rate. Okay.

[18:40] >> Thank you.

[18:43] >> Further questions?

[18:48] Seeing none. Is there a motion that we

[18:50] Yes. Okay. Councelor got balls and fans.

[18:53] Then we'll go to the motion.

[18:56] I was moving the report and then I have

[18:58] a

[19:00] question if I could.

[19:01] >> Go ahead. Go ahead with your question.

[19:03] My question is going back to the

[19:04] original and it's more of a statement

[19:06] and it's the sixth bullet that was put

[19:08] forward and I would like to thank the

[19:10] treasurer for ensuring that the um for

[19:13] the people at home and for the people

[19:15] around the table that council approve

[19:18] 100,27

[19:21] for community center reserve and I'm

[19:23] very pleased to see that in this report

[19:26] and look forward to engagement in the

[19:29] future of this council meeting. Thank

[19:31] you.

[19:34] Thanks worship. I'll just read the

[19:36] motion here. So I've got a mover in

[19:37] councelor Bobin Sans, but the motion

[19:38] reads that report TR2126 relating to the

[19:41] 2025 audited financial statements be

[19:43] received for information. And further

[19:45] that council approved the draft

[19:47] consolidated financial statements for

[19:48] the year ended December 31st, 2025. And

[19:51] further that council approved the draft

[19:53] financial statements for the city of St.

[19:54] Thomas trust funds for the year ended

[19:56] December 31st, 2025. And further that

[19:59] council authorized the mayor and clerk

[20:00] to carry out any administrative acts

[20:02] necessary to complete the audit. And

[20:04] further that council approve the

[20:06] transfer of 748,675

[20:09] from the infrastructure reserve to

[20:11] offset the 2025 deficit. And further

[20:14] that council approved the transfer of

[20:15] $1,217

[20:17] related to bingo revenues in excess of

[20:19] 300,000 to the community center reserve.

[20:21] And further that council approved the

[20:23] transfer of $540,484

[20:26] relating to the 2025 water operating

[20:28] deficit from the water reserve. And

[20:30] further that council approved the

[20:31] transfer of 1,227,437

[20:35] from the 2025 wastewater operating

[20:37] surplus to the wastewater reserve. And

[20:40] further, the council approved the

[20:41] transfer of 26,759,245

[20:45] from the 2025 operating surplus to the

[20:47] industrial servicing reserve for the

[20:49] purpose of contributing towards the

[20:50] Dalewood water reclamation facility. So,

[20:53] I've got a move by councelor Bobin Sans,

[20:56] seconded by councelor Herbert.

[20:58] >> Further questions or comments?

[21:00] Seeing none, all those in favor? Are

[21:02] there any opposed? That's carried.

[21:09] Thank you.

[21:13] » Thanks, worship. And just in keeping

[21:14] with our a little bit of out of order

[21:15] here, we're going to move to the under

[21:17] communications the St. Thomas Minor

[21:19] baseball field grandstand. Uh, a letter

[21:22] has been received by Derek Brooks, St.

[21:24] Thomas Minor baseball, regarding the

[21:25] Emily Field Grandstand. Uh, I have a

[21:28] motion that the letter received from

[21:29] Derek Brooks, St. Thomas Minor baseball,

[21:31] regarding the Emily Field Grandstand, be

[21:32] referred to the parks and recreation

[21:34] department for a report. Moved by

[21:36] councelor Clark, seconded by councelor

[21:38] Riml.

[21:40] >> Questions or comments? Councelor G or

[21:42] Baldwin Sans.

[21:43] >> Thank you. When this report comes back,

[21:45] because of the conversations that I've

[21:47] been having with people involved with

[21:49] this, I want to see some clarity in

[21:51] there that there is no demolition

[21:53] scheduled to take place. That also the

[21:56] loyalty that we've had for Bob Emley. um

[21:59] not just as a baseball player and an

[22:01] umpire in our community, but how he has

[22:04] used that area especially for

[22:07] encouraging not just youth baseball, but

[22:09] also golf in that area and archery in

[22:12] that area. And that is why we named the

[22:15] grandstand in his honor. And I'm hoping

[22:17] that uh whatever how this moves forward

[22:21] is that we still respect that and the

[22:23] memory of Bob Emley and what he did for

[22:26] the youth of this community and the

[22:28] integrity of that is maintained.

[22:32] >> Councelor Herbert then councelor Clark.

[22:34] >> Thank you worship. Welcome to everybody

[22:37] from minor baseball up there. It's great

[22:39] to see so many people. I I recognize

[22:41] some of the ones up there. I see Phil

[22:43] Ambrose. I see Neil. Neil used to pitch

[22:46] for the pretty good pitcher in his day.

[22:49] I probably he didn't probably like my

[22:50] umpire as much, but I knew he was a good

[22:52] pitcher. So, thank you everybody. This

[22:55] is a great report for us. I mean, even

[22:57] my myself when I I played there, coached

[23:00] there, ired there, and I go back to

[23:02] probably one of your first presidents,

[23:04] Ron Baldwin. He was one of our coaches,

[23:06] Ron and Jack Armstrong. And uh so that's

[23:10] how far back I go with minor baseball.

[23:12] But when this first came to us, I I I

[23:15] don't I don't think we we realize just

[23:17] how important that to keep the uh the

[23:20] grandstand there. And you people are

[23:22] telling us how important it is to keep

[23:23] the grand stand there. So we really have

[23:26] to take a good look at this. I

[23:28] understand there was a meeting a few

[23:29] weeks ago with a group of people and

[23:31] this is the end of the report and and I

[23:34] don't have a problem with your uh uh

[23:37] recommendation of trying to renovate it

[23:40] at a cost. uh you people are obviously

[23:42] going to work to try to do it and I I

[23:45] don't know what council if we can do in

[23:48] the end with budgeting or something or

[23:49] maybe a grant but whatever uh I think

[23:52] it's a great thing

[23:54] and of course we talk about Emily he was

[23:57] an umpire too back in way back before my

[23:59] time but uh

[24:01] >> oh I know you're worship [laughter]

[24:04] >> but anyway it's great to see the support

[24:06] I mean this is what it's all about you

[24:08] say council doesn't listen we're

[24:10] listening

[24:12] and and I I I'm going to support the the

[24:14] second one when it comes to a vote if it

[24:16] comes to a vote and we'll try and make

[24:18] it work out. So anyway, congratulations

[24:21] on your support up there. Thank you very

[24:22] much. So and I see Neil sit or Phil

[24:25] sitting up there. We were Japan buddies

[24:27] for a week.

[24:29] Anyway, thank you very much. That's my

[24:31] comment. I'm happy for this. So thank

[24:33] you. Just wanted to note Council Herbert

[24:35] doesn't have very many friends, so when

[24:36] a bunch of them show up, he's quite

[24:38] pleased. Uh, councelor Clark.

[24:40] >> Uh, before I make my remarks about the letter, I'd like to congratulate

[24:45] Councelor Herbert on the improvement of

[24:46] his eyes for

[24:48] >> Yeah. No,

[24:49] >> as an umpire, at least he could

[24:51] recognize Phil and Neil, and I'm not

[24:53] sure he knows which is which from that

[24:54] distance, but uh,

[24:57] >> you've been talking to Neil, haven't

[24:58] you?

[24:59] >> Yeah. Um uh the letter is uh

[25:02] wellreceived and and it's it's sparked a

[25:05] lot of interest over the last few weeks

[25:07] of the debate about Emily Field and

[25:09] that's great because it's generating um

[25:12] it's generating community interest and

[25:14] that's what we want to hear as

[25:15] counselors and I I would just like to uh

[25:18] ask u staff as they review the letter

[25:22] and report back to us that they might

[25:24] have a conversation with minor baseball

[25:26] on their feelings about bringing back um

[25:29] an inner county team or now uh it's

[25:32] called you know the Canadian Baseball

[25:33] League and while they're starting to

[25:36] canvas or or look at interest in

[25:38] fundraising if we were to refurbish the

[25:42] uh the grand stand and that was the the

[25:44] decision that was made perhaps through

[25:47] their research we could find out what

[25:48] kind of interest there would be in

[25:50] through um individuals through industry

[25:55] whether or not there would be any kind

[25:56] of support for bringing back inter

[25:58] county baseball. If we're going to have

[26:00] a large grand stand, it'd be nice to see

[26:01] it full of baseball fans. So, perhaps

[26:04] that could be incorporated in the

[26:05] report.

[26:06] >> Great.

[26:07] >> Councelor Kohler,

[26:09] >> thanks worship. I I want to echo the

[26:10] comments by my colleagues, but also

[26:12] mention uh that I appreciate the

[26:14] dialogue that had taken place prior to

[26:17] this and I certainly support this motion

[26:19] and look forward to it. But the what I

[26:21] thought was really positive is that it

[26:24] wasn't the dialogue wasn't criticism.

[26:26] was how we can find and help find a

[26:28] solution and from what I understand

[26:29] minor baseball has committed money and

[26:31] actually showed up with a check today

[26:33] too. So that's uh definitely showing

[26:35] commitment towards this and I think

[26:37] that's what uh makes St. Thomas such a

[26:39] great community is that when people are

[26:41] looking to uh move something forward is

[26:44] that they come forward with a solution

[26:45] rather than just criticize about it.

[26:48] >> Great. Councelor Wy did I see your hand

[26:50] too? Yes.

[26:51] >> Thank your worship. I just want to say

[26:52] that, you know, we get a lot of requests

[26:55] from a lot of groups, right? And there's

[26:57] a lot of people that say they're going

[26:59] to fundra and and provide money, but my experience over the over a decade

[27:04] I've been around here is that baseball

[27:06] is one of the groups that actually shows

[27:07] up with the money.

[27:08] >> Y

[27:09] >> and and so there's some people I might

[27:12] have some doubts with, but I think this

[27:13] group up here, they they do it. And uh

[27:15] that helps that's helps us support you

[27:19] knowing that you guys in the past have

[27:21] come through and did what you said you

[27:24] were going to do. So that's kudos to

[27:26] your group because that helps us help

[27:29] you. Thank you.

[27:31] >> Further questions or comments? John, is

[27:35] there a motion?

[27:37] >> Yeah, the motion was just that the

[27:38] letter be referred to for a report.

[27:41] >> Okay. And we have a mover and seconder

[27:43] on it. Okay. Great. Further questions?

[27:45] Councelor Blandstead?

[27:46] >> Mine is just a further comment. Back in

[27:48] when this was originally discussed back

[27:50] in November and December, I also

[27:51] requested that the parks and rec

[27:53] department look at other ways to bring

[27:56] people to that band stand, right?

[27:58] >> Whether it be events, whether it be um

[28:01] some of the programming that we do

[28:02] there, but also looking for

[28:04] sponsorships. Now, we've got a great

[28:05] group up there that has come forward,

[28:07] but there are also groups in the

[28:09] community that I've discussed with some

[28:11] of the members of this organization that

[28:13] they would like to see others step up

[28:15] and step forward as they have done to

[28:18] look at sponsoring and looking at

[28:20] partnering and looking at creating

[28:22] something amazing at once again at that

[28:26] park and it goes back to what councelor

[28:28] Herbert was saying that many years ago

[28:30] there were so many things there and I'm

[28:33] very proud of what my family has

[28:35] contributed in the past to that and

[28:37] would like to see it to continue. Thank

[28:40] you very much.

[28:40] >> Great. Thank you, counselor. Further qu

[28:43] further questions or comments? I've got

[28:45] a new set of lips today, so we're

[28:47] working them in. Seeing none on the

[28:51] motion, all in favor? Are there any

[28:53] opposed? That is carried unanimously and

[28:55] we thank you for your help moving us

[28:57] forward on this.

[29:00] John, find out where we are in the

[29:02] agenda and get us back there, please.

[29:04] >> Thanks, your worship. We'll return to

[29:05] sort of the regular agenda here. So, uh,

[29:07] council will now resolve itself into

[29:09] committee the whole to deal with the

[29:10] following business. Uh, the first

[29:12] committee is strategic direction and

[29:13] development and the first item is, uh,

[29:15] residential lands, land needs 2021 to

[29:18] 201.

[29:20] I have a motion that report PD4526

[29:23] relating to residential land needs 2021

[29:25] to 201 be received for information and

[29:28] further that council accept the report

[29:30] residential lands needs to accommodate

[29:32] the 30-year housing forecast 2021 to 201

[29:36] by Dylan Consulting Limited. Moved by

[29:39] councelor Gibson, seconded by councelor

[29:40] Kohler.

[29:42] >> All right, questions or comments?

[29:46] Michelor Taylor, you're up.

[29:50] Thank you, your worship. Um, just a

[29:52] quick question. I know this is a a huge

[29:55] major report. Took a bit of reading to [clears throat] try to understand it,

[29:59] but I'm just curious as to I had to

[30:02] convert this.

[30:06] Maybe I'll just wait a second.

[30:18] Okay,

[30:20] >> thank you. I just had to convert this

[30:21] into acres because as an old farmer

[30:23] that's better than I understand more

[30:25] than hectare hectars, but uh we're

[30:28] talking about 700 gross acres that we

[30:30] might need for future development. I'm

[30:32] just curious uh in the report whether it

[30:35] actually took into consideration other

[30:37] development that's happening in our

[30:39] neighboring municipalities or is this on

[30:42] top of does St. Thomas needs 700 acres

[30:46] by I forget the year now. Uh 20 is it

[30:49] 201 or is the 700 acres also um let's

[30:55] say the neighboring municipalities pull

[30:57] in 350,000

[30:59] 350 acres is that on top of the 700 that

[31:03] St. Thomas needs or is that part of the

[31:05] St. 700 that we're talking about here? I

[31:07] think we're not an island. I'm just

[31:10] wondering what our other municipalities

[31:11] are doing to to help uh our development.

[31:15] Thank you. Does that make sense?

[31:18] >> Sure. Uh so through your worship uh to

[31:20] councelor Taylor. So this is just us uh

[31:24] the growth analysis forecast did look at

[31:26] the growth of those adjacent

[31:28] municipalities and looked at um their

[31:31] and uh indicated you know that looked at

[31:33] our growth um relative to that growth.

[31:37] um those municipalities have undertaken

[31:39] their own growth analysis, determined

[31:41] locations for their growth, but this is

[31:43] what St. Thomas needs um for St. Thomas,

[31:47] separate from Central Alga and separate

[31:49] from South Bold.

[31:53] » Further questions or comments? Council

[31:55] Herbert, thank you. worship through the

[31:58] um under the policy number 2.1.3

[32:03] it states sufficient land shall be made

[32:05] available accommodating an appropriate

[32:07] range and mix of land uses. So when you

[32:10] say mix of land are you saying there's a

[32:12] certain percentage has to be set aside

[32:14] for commercial or that type of thing. Uh

[32:18] so through your worship um that means uh

[32:22] yeah a set amount of land needs to be

[32:24] set aside for employment commercial

[32:26] residential the city's undertaken um

[32:28] studies to look at how much employment

[32:30] land we needed um and it ended up being

[32:32] about 19 hectares commercial land was 24

[32:35] hectares in addition to the land we

[32:37] already have. Um so when the province

[32:39] looks at an official plan when it comes

[32:41] to the province for approval they look

[32:43] to make sure that we're accommodating

[32:44] all of those growth needs. So um they

[32:47] look at the studies we've done and they

[32:48] look to make sure that all that land is

[32:50] being accommodated um and that uh well

[32:53] all that population and employment

[32:56] projections are being accommodated. And

[32:57] what Watson um or sorry what Dylan has

[33:00] done is they've taken that population

[33:03] and housing needs and looked at

[33:05] realistically how much land do we need

[33:08] to accommodate it in a realistic way and

[33:10] that's what's in the residential land

[33:11] needs report.

[33:12] >> Carry on through worship. So is there

[33:15] any ever discussion with schools like a

[33:17] school being built on some of this land

[33:19] that we're taking or is that something

[33:21] that we don't do they would approach us?

[33:24] Temps Valley would approach us.

[33:26] >> Yeah. So through your worship Temp's

[33:27] Valley and London Catholic District

[33:29] School Board they undertake their own um

[33:31] analysis about where schools are needed.

[33:33] Um they're apprised of all of our work.

[33:36] They're very aware of it. Um and then uh

[33:38] you know as development and development

[33:40] applications move forward um they're

[33:42] constantly planning and determining

[33:43] where they need various school

[33:45] locations.

[33:48] » Councelor Clark,

[33:50] >> thank you. In their methodology, do they uh discount certain areas in

[33:55] terms of our potential to provide

[33:58] services to an area? So, for example, if

[34:00] there's an area where um you know, we

[34:03] would incur increased costs because we

[34:06] can't get the sewage to run uphill and

[34:09] we've got to put an extra pumping

[34:10] station or um you know, it's isolated or

[34:15] I guess even um you know, any of those

[34:18] types of factors or or and and that's

[34:21] the first one. The number the number two

[34:23] is whether or not um they rely on

[34:26] probably a lot of your figures as u

[34:29] inputs. Did was there any uh

[34:33] disagreements in terms of how certain

[34:36] things got discounted in terms of land

[34:39] being available for use um through your

[34:41] methodology as opposed to what they

[34:43] thought and how did [clears throat] you

[34:45] resolve any of that?

[34:47] >> Yes. So through your worship um under

[34:49] the provincial policy statement and the

[34:51] provincial planning framework which we

[34:53] have to abide by um the cost and

[34:56] feasibility of development if it's de if

[34:58] it's land within our boundary that could

[35:00] accommodate development that would be

[35:02] appropriate for that type of

[35:04] development. It's something that we

[35:05] would need to look at. um we couldn't

[35:08] just uh discount it because it's um

[35:12] challenging to service because this is

[35:14] supposed to be for um you know a matter

[35:16] of 30 years, right? So it's a much

[35:18] longer term plan and longer term

[35:20] horizon. You know, ideally we want to

[35:22] make sure that we have land that's

[35:23] feasible um can feasibly and cost

[35:25] effectively be serviced and it's

[35:27] something that we'd want to take into

[35:29] account um you know when making

[35:31] decisions about uh sort about servicing

[35:34] and about where where and how we grow.

[35:36] But from a provincial planning

[35:38] perspective, um the ministry when they

[35:40] look at a document uh coming from the

[35:42] city, if we were to say um you know that

[35:45] we have uh land but it's really

[35:48] challenging to service, there's no

[35:49] provincial policies that would make it

[35:51] so that um we would just be able to just

[35:54] exclude that land when we don't have any

[35:55] other land available.

[35:58] So um yeah I mean we have worked with

[36:00] this consultant extensively had a number

[36:02] of um discussions about that and about

[36:05] um just this provincial policies and

[36:08] it's not a matter of um you know there

[36:11] are definitely certain areas that are

[36:12] preferable for growth and we would be

[36:14] looking to grow first but um over that

[36:16] longer term horizon uh there's nothing

[36:18] in provincial policy that allows us to

[36:20] exclude land um that's suitable for

[36:22] development. you know, if it was natural

[36:23] heritage or something of that nature, we

[36:25] could. But, um, if it's feasible for

[36:27] development, um, even very at a very

[36:30] expensive cost, uh, we're not able to

[36:31] exclude it.

[36:34] >> Okay. More go.

[36:36] >> Just part two is, um, you know, the the,

[36:40] uh, the 700 acres, I guess, right?

[36:43] [clears throat] Old school. Um, is do

[36:46] you concur with that? Was there any

[36:48] discussion whether it was too high, too

[36:50] low in terms of where you thought we

[36:52] might end up, where the department

[36:54] thought we might end up or are we pretty

[36:56] well on and and accepting the report as

[36:58] it's written?

[37:00] >> Uh so through your worship, Councelor

[37:02] Clark, uh we have had some back and

[37:04] forth with the developer and we're

[37:05] comfortable with uh the number that

[37:06] they've arrived at. U we've run our own

[37:08] calculations and uh we're comfortable

[37:11] with the figure um that it uh it

[37:14] represents what we would need.

[37:19] Mr. Pompilly. No, I'll just add through

[37:22] your No, I'll just add to that Michelle

[37:24] is is is accurate every every comment

[37:26] made. This was a long process with um

[37:29] with with the consulting company. Some

[37:30] we we had a lot of back and forth

[37:32] particularly it does get a little

[37:33] difficult to kind of determine within

[37:35] our own boundaries like what what we can

[37:38] anticipate from intensification that that can be sometimes a bit of a

[37:42] wild card. So, there was a lot of back

[37:43] and forth and analyzing that, but but

[37:45] otherwise, um, we're in agreement with

[37:47] the recommendation here and and and the

[37:49] number that we landed on.

[37:51] Okay. Further questions or comments?

[37:56] Seeing none, all those in favor? Any

[37:58] opposed? Carried.

[38:01] Thanks, Shisha. The next item is

[38:03] requested zoning bylaw amendment for 417

[38:05] Wellington Street and 275 Hy Drive. I

[38:08] have a motion that report PD 4626

[38:11] related to requested zoning bylaw

[38:13] amendment 417 Wellington Street and 275

[38:15] High View Drive be received for

[38:17] information and further that a public

[38:19] meeting be scheduled for Monday,

[38:20] September 14th, 2026 in accordance with

[38:23] Ontario regulation 54506 as amended.

[38:27] Moved by councelor Rimol, seconded by

[38:29] councelor Gibson. Questions or comments

[38:32] on the report?

[38:34] Councelor Herbert.

[38:36] >> Thank you worship. I I I found it

[38:38] interesting when I read that there was a

[38:41] concern about the airport being involved

[38:43] here that um I I'm just say and

[38:48] obviously you've done the planning uh

[38:50] and it right now it's not going to be an

[38:51] issue but say what happens in 15 20

[38:53] years the airport decides to grow their

[38:55] runway and bigger planes come in would

[38:58] they would that have an effect on this

[39:00] project that's

[39:02] would there be an issue with it at any

[39:04] time?

[39:06] Uh so through your worship uh the city

[39:09] um including the airport have developed

[39:11] the airport zoning bylaw which talks

[39:14] about uh the permitted heights um how

[39:17] they inter or how they uh work with the

[39:20] flight path to make sure that we do have

[39:22] that safe travel to and from the

[39:24] airport. um you know should there be

[39:25] some changes operationally to the

[39:27] airport in the future they would need to

[39:29] you know account for um various

[39:31] developments um but uh that um and

[39:36] that's something that it would happen in

[39:37] any municipality.

[39:39] >> Very good. Thank you.

[39:42] >> Quest further questions or comments? I I could maybe clarify for those at home

[39:46] and those in the gallery. This is an

[39:48] application uh uh pertaining to the

[39:51] Elgen Center and the this council a

[39:54] number of years ago gave them approval

[39:56] of about two apartment buildings on on

[39:59] the pad there and this is the now moving

[40:02] forward of that process.

[40:06] Further questions

[40:09] seeing none all those in favor? Any

[40:11] opposed? Carried.

[40:13] Thanks for worship. Next item relates to

[40:14] an application by Shawside Development

[40:16] Limited for temporary removal of

[40:18] partlock control on townhouse dwellings

[40:20] block 38 on plan 11m274.

[40:24] I have a motion that report PD-5226

[40:26] relating to the application by Shawside

[40:28] Development Limited for temporary

[40:30] removal of partlock control townhouse

[40:32] dwellings block 38 plan 11M274 be

[40:35] received for information and further

[40:37] that the application by Shawside

[40:39] Development Limited relating to the

[40:40] passing of a bylaw to temporarily remove

[40:42] part control for townhouse dwellings

[40:44] block 38 plan 11m274 be approved and

[40:48] further that council authorize staff to

[40:49] prepare a bylaw pursuant to section 57

[40:52] of the planning act which provides that

[40:54] subsection 505 of the planning act part

[40:57] lock control does not apply to block 38

[40:59] on plan 11 M274.

[41:03] Moved by councelor Riml, seconded by

[41:04] councelor Taylor.

[41:06] >> Questions or comments?

[41:08] Seeing none, all those in favor? Any

[41:10] opposed? Carried.

[41:12] Thank item relates to an applications

[41:15] for draft plan of subdivision and draft

[41:17] plan of condominium approval for 96, 98,

[41:19] and 100 more street. I have a motion

[41:22] that report PD 4726 relating to

[41:24] applications for draft plan of

[41:26] subdivision and draft plan of

[41:27] condominium approval 9698 and 100 more

[41:30] street be received for information.

[41:33] Moved by councelor Clark, seconded by

[41:35] councelor Riml.

[41:36] >> Questions or comments on the report?

[41:39] Councelor Riml.

[41:41] >> Just a question as to um what does this

[41:44] mean for tenants? you know that someone

[41:46] that's uh got into the building and is

[41:49] renting and now they plan to change it

[41:51] to a common condominium status. Just

[41:53] what does that mean?

[41:55] >> If if I'm not correct, but I'll I'll try

[41:58] first. We have a number of buildings

[42:00] that now are condominium in the sense of

[42:03] how it works with their mortgage and

[42:05] stuff, but they're not individually

[42:06] owned by the tenants or offered for sale

[42:09] to the tenants. So, am I correct in this

[42:11] case that that's still the same

[42:13] >> through your worship? Yes. In our

[42:15] discussions with the applicant, nothing materially is going to change

[42:18] with this in terms of the approvals that

[42:20] have been given the the structures that

[42:22] have that that have been uh built or

[42:24] planned to be built. This is strictly um

[42:26] a mechanism for assisting the developer

[42:28] with financing the project so that they

[42:30] can move forward with their their third

[42:32] building hopefully soon.

[42:34] >> Yeah.

[42:36] >> Further questions or comments on the

[42:39] report?

[42:41] Seeing none, all in favor? Any opposed?

[42:43] Carried.

[42:45] Next item relates to a community

[42:46] improvement plan project at 180 118

[42:50] center street grants. I have a motion

[42:52] that report PD 4926 relating to

[42:54] community improvement program grants for

[42:56] 118 center street be received for

[42:58] information and further council directed

[43:00] a bylaw be prepared to enter into a

[43:02] community improvement program grant

[43:03] agreement with fresh start support

[43:05] services relating to CIP application

[43:07] 2023-17.

[43:10] Move by councelor Balvin Sand second by

[43:12] councelor Kohler. questions or comments?

[43:16] Seeing none, all in favor? Any opposed?

[43:18] Carried.

[43:20] >> Next item, uh, community improvement

[43:22] plan project, Heiho Rentals Limited, uh,

[43:25] for 43954 Southdale Line. I have a

[43:28] motion that report PD50-26

[43:30] relating to a community improvement

[43:31] project by Heiho Rentals Limited for

[43:34] 43954 Southdale Line be received for

[43:36] information and further that council

[43:38] approve a residential grant and loan for

[43:40] application 20268

[43:43] as submitted by Heiho Rentals Limited

[43:45] for 43954 South Dale Line and further

[43:48] that council directed by be prepared to

[43:50] entered into a residential loan

[43:51] agreement with Heiho Rentals Limited

[43:53] relating to a CIP project at 43954

[43:56] Southdale Line.

[43:58] moved by councelor Wookie, seconded by

[43:59] councelor Taylor.

[44:00] >> Questions or comments? Councelor Rhiml,

[44:03] >> I have a question and it um I have no

[44:06] concern with the application or or um

[44:08] that at all. Just a general question

[44:10] about CIP and I recognize it's a great

[44:14] uh program and the different incentives

[44:16] that are there, but I just is there a

[44:19] concern with the city becoming uh

[44:22] lending loans that you know we have to

[44:24] track the payments? they have, I think,

[44:26] seven years in order to pay. What if

[44:28] someone defaults? Um, does the program

[44:31] do we need to look at different other

[44:34] types of incentives or is the loan piece

[44:36] still working?

[44:39] >> Mr. Pompilly, please go ahead.

[44:40] >> Yeah, through your worship. No, that's

[44:42] that that's a great question. Um, the

[44:44] experience that we've had to date with loans has been has has has been

[44:48] very effective. that there's been a lot

[44:49] of uptake on. It's been a positive

[44:51] result to help um u to help give that um

[44:56] you know last bit of incentive for um a

[44:58] proponent to go forward. That being said

[45:01] um we are in the process of looking at

[45:04] our CIP program um and and looking at

[45:08] its effectiveness and maybe some

[45:09] amendments that we can make to it. And

[45:11] during the course of that review, we

[45:14] we'll look at all the incentives that we

[45:16] offer and just ensure that they are

[45:18] functioning appropriately and providing

[45:19] the incentives that they're intending to provide.

[45:23] >> Go ahead.

[45:24] >> And so that's another uh as far as the

[45:26] loan the um looking after the the

[45:29] repayment that's another uh task for

[45:32] Treasury. Then the Treasury has to look

[45:34] after that. So it's just you know just you know they got a lot on their

[45:38] plate you know right now is that become

[45:40] you don't want things to become too

[45:42] ownorous. So yeah thanks

[45:45] >> further questions or comments

[45:48] >> seeing none all those in favor any

[45:50] opposed carried

[45:52] worshipership. Next item relates to

[45:54] community improvement plan project uh by

[45:56] 101523556

[45:58] Ontario Inc. for 52 more street. I have

[46:01] a motion that report PD 5126 relating to

[46:04] a community improvement project by

[46:05] 10001523556

[46:08] Ontario, Inc. for 52 Mor Street be

[46:10] received for information. And further

[46:12] that council approve a heritage facade

[46:14] and building improvement grant and loan

[46:16] heritage design grant and building and

[46:18] PL planning and building fees grant for

[46:21] application 2026 167 as submitted by

[46:24] 101523556

[46:26] Ontario, Inc. for 52 More Street. And

[46:29] further that council directed by be

[46:31] prepared to enter into a heritage facade

[46:32] and building improvement loan agreement

[46:34] with 101523556

[46:37] Ontario Inc. related to a CIP project at

[46:40] 52 more street. Moved by councelor

[46:42] Taylor, seconded by councelor Herbert.

[46:45] >> Questions or comments?

[46:48] Seeing none, all those in favor? Any

[46:50] opposed? Carried.

[46:53] >> The next four items are notices from the

[46:54] committee of adjustment. Uh first up we

[46:57] have a notice relating to 56 to 62 and

[47:00] 64 to 70 Sandy Mount Parkway. Notice of

[47:02] a public meeting to take place by Zoom

[47:04] on August 13th, 2026 at 10 a.m. has been

[47:07] received from the committee of

[47:08] adjustment regarding an application for

[47:10] minor variance by landrise developments

[47:12] to permit driveway widths and areas of

[47:14] 68.5% for interior and 53.5% for

[47:18] exterior townhouse dwellings. Whereas

[47:20] the maximum permitted width and area

[47:21] coverage is 50% for two town houses

[47:24] including eight units at 56 to 62 and 64

[47:27] to 70 Sandy Mount Parkway. Uh, next

[47:31] notice, uh, notice for a public meeting

[47:32] to take place by Zoom on August 27th,

[47:35] 2026 at 10 a.m. has been received from

[47:37] the committee of adjustment regarding an

[47:39] application for minor variance by Jolie

[47:41] Newfeld to permit an additional

[47:43] residential unit on private services,

[47:46] convert an existing detached garage into

[47:48] an additional residential unit, and

[47:50] construction of a new detached garage in

[47:52] the front yard with a height of 4.28 28

[47:54] m and a floor area of 112 m. Whereas the

[47:58] maximum height shall not exceed 4 m and

[48:00] maximum floor area shall not exceed 67

[48:03] square m. And this is for a property at

[48:05] 40979 major line.

[48:08] Remaining notices notice of a decision

[48:10] has been received from the committee of

[48:11] adjustment to permit lot coverage of

[48:14] 37.4% 4% whereas the maximum is 35% and

[48:17] to permit a threeseason sun room 5.76

[48:20] mters from the rear lot line whereas the

[48:22] minimum rear yard depth is 7 m and this

[48:25] is for a property at 85 Benjamin Parkway

[48:28] and finally notice of a decision has

[48:30] been received from the committee

[48:31] adjustment to sever two lots for the

[48:33] purposes of facil facilitating separate

[48:36] mortgage financing for the threetory and

[48:38] five-story apartment dwellings at 57 and

[48:40] 65 Walnut Street.

[48:43] Unless there are any items from the

[48:44] members under this committee.

[48:48] >> Councelor Riml,

[48:50] >> I just wondered given the committee of

[48:52] adjustment if if we could perhaps have a

[48:54] future report about the committee of

[48:56] adjustment. Like my concern is or not

[48:58] concern is just to be aware of um how

[49:02] much the planning you know participates

[49:04] in those to make sure that we're not

[49:06] setting precedent you know because when

[49:08] someone's asking for something that's

[49:09] more and then once that's done then you

[49:12] know someone else comes in and says well

[49:13] that's a precedent so maybe just a

[49:16] future report as to what the committee

[49:18] adjustment does and how the process uh

[49:20] works would be helpful. I know at some

[49:23] point through this term of council we

[49:25] did look at committee of adjustment even

[49:27] looking at whether a member of council

[49:28] would sit on it too but I think if if

[49:32] that's not too ownorous for us to answer

[49:34] councelor Rhymer's questions can we put

[49:37] that under unfinished business and and

[49:39] you know how the CEO is about making

[49:42] sure all that stuff gets done so

[49:45] John

[49:47] >> worship just if to direct report if I

[49:49] can just get a a motion that that staffy

[49:51] director to prepare that report. I have

[49:53] a I have a mover and councelor Riml if I

[49:55] could just get a seconder.

[49:57] Councelor Clark.

[49:59] >> All right. Discussion on it. Seeing

[50:01] none. All in favor? Any opposed?

[50:03] Carried.

[50:04] See how fast we can do that if we

[50:08] worship. Unless there any further items

[50:10] under this committee, we will move into

[50:12] community engagement and services. Uh

[50:14] first item this evening is the 2026

[50:16] Elgen St. Thomas age friendly community

[50:18] strategy. I have a motion that report

[50:20] CMO 5626 relating to the 2026 Elgen St.

[50:24] Thomas age friendly community strategy

[50:26] be received for information and further

[50:28] that council reaffirm the city's

[50:30] commitment to maintaining its

[50:31] designation as an agefriendly community

[50:33] and supporting initiatives that enhance

[50:35] the quality of life inclusion and

[50:37] participation of older adults and

[50:39] further that the Elgen St. Thomas Age

[50:41] Friendly Strategy 2026 update be

[50:43] recognized as a resource where

[50:44] appropriate to inform municipal planning

[50:46] programs and service delivery. And

[50:49] further that an annual contribution of

[50:50] $2,000 to support the activities of the

[50:53] Algen St. Thomas Age Friendly Committee

[50:54] be included as part of the city

[50:56] manager's office operating budget

[50:57] beginning in 2027.

[51:00] Moved by councelor Gibson, seconded by

[51:02] councelor Baldwin Sanss.

[51:04] >> Questions or comments?

[51:06] Wow, a group a group question and

[51:09] comment. Councelor Baldwin Sands, you're

[51:10] first.

[51:11] >> Thank you very much and I would like to

[51:13] thank very much for this report to

[51:15] Taylor. I like to keep that conversation

[51:18] going that we have with our seniors in

[51:20] our community, not just at Valley View,

[51:23] but also at the library and the senior

[51:25] center. So, I was hoping that Taylor

[51:27] could provide a little bit of a verbal

[51:29] update on what's happening and what sort

[51:31] of engagement is happening in our city

[51:34] facilities in regards to keeping seniors

[51:36] engaged in this community. And that's my

[51:38] first question. Thank you.

[51:39] >> Great. Hey Taylor, about 15 or 20

[51:41] minutes worth of [laughter]

[51:43] >> not quite but thank you worship through

[51:45] you to councelor Baldwin Sans. Um yeah

[51:47] so as you explained in the report and

[51:49] through the strategy um many city staff

[51:51] members sit on this committee. Um and

[51:54] through that process we were able to

[51:55] develop this um strategy using those

[51:58] members as expertise and also getting

[52:00] them to bring um the information and

[52:03] data collection back to their groups um

[52:06] at Valley View, at the library um at

[52:08] social services based on the community

[52:10] members that they're serving. Um so

[52:12] there's a lot of engagement that way and

[52:14] then also just through their individual

[52:15] programs and services that the city

[52:17] participates in and provides to seniors

[52:20] and older adults in the community. Um,

[52:23] so we're very thankful for those

[52:25] different groups to come together and

[52:27] um, hopefully with this strategy we

[52:29] we'll continue that momentum going

[52:31] forward and be able to come back uh,

[52:33] with some solid updates to council on

[52:35] what that work looks like.

[52:38] >> Carry on councelor Baldwin Sans.

[52:40] >> Thank you. And that goes to sorry

[52:42] councelor wiki to steal your thunder

[52:43] about having a report and letting it see

[52:45] and collect dust on a shelf which this

[52:48] report is obviously not doing and it is

[52:51] still engaging and it has a level of

[52:53] engagement with members of our

[52:54] community. So my next question is what

[52:56] levels are you using to track um and see

[53:00] how the progress is going and is there

[53:03] an attendance model that is doing it or

[53:06] an increase of engagement on a social

[53:08] media? What sort of

[53:11] uh templates do you use in order to keep

[53:13] track? Thank you. Then I have a last

[53:15] question.

[53:16] >> Yes, thank you. Um so the initial first

[53:18] step here is to get council's

[53:20] endorsement of the strategy. This also

[53:21] went to Algen County Council for

[53:23] endorsement and we'll go to Southwestern

[53:24] Public Health's board for endorsement as

[53:26] well. Um so once we have those

[53:29] endorsements in place, the next steps of

[53:31] this process um after completing the

[53:33] strategy are to develop those monitoring

[53:35] and performance metrics. So I will say

[53:37] at the current time I don't have

[53:38] anything um currently to bring forward

[53:40] but that's the next steps for the

[53:42] committee is to develop those. Um it's a new strategy um for the

[53:46] committee. So that work needs to still

[53:48] take place. Um but we will be coming

[53:51] back to council I would expect on an

[53:53] annual basis to report on what metrics

[53:56] um we've evaluated in the past year and

[53:59] probably set some performance targets

[54:01] that way as well similar to what we do

[54:03] for our own strategic plan. Um, and

[54:06] especially with the requests for the

[54:08] financials, I think it's important that

[54:10] we do have those reports come forward if

[54:12] we're not only council but for the

[54:14] community to see what work is being done

[54:16] um through this committee.

[54:18] >> Go ahead.

[54:19] >> Thank you. My last questions are about

[54:21] Southwest Public Health, their level of

[54:23] engagement, the conduits they use to

[54:25] educate and communicate out because one

[54:27] thing that really um stood out for me in

[54:29] this report was how caregivers were

[54:32] involved and how caregivers are feeling

[54:35] some of the stress. So, it's not just

[54:37] the active healthy seniors etc., but

[54:40] you've also done a focus on caregivers

[54:42] etc. that are companions to a lot of the

[54:45] programming that goes on. So if you can

[54:47] provide some comment on that and again

[54:49] thank you for the report.

[54:52] >> Yes, thank you. Um so yeah it's outlined

[54:54] in the strategy quite well um the stress

[54:56] and the burden on caregivers in the

[54:58] community. So we feel that through the

[55:00] recommendations of this report if a lot

[55:02] of these things are implemented it will

[55:03] not only support seniors and older

[55:05] adults in the community but the people

[55:07] that are caring for them as well

[55:08] alleviate some of those stress and

[55:10] pressures.

[55:13] >> Okay. Thank you. Um, I have councelor

[55:15] Gibson, then councelor Clark, then

[55:17] councelor Taylor, councelor Riml's on

[55:20] there, too. Okay.

[55:22] >> Thank you, Taylor, for the uh for the

[55:24] report. Uh, I'm on three or four I'm on

[55:28] actually three committees that really um

[55:32] really represent in this age group. And

[55:34] I just and to include the parks and

[55:37] recreation for being very inclusive with

[55:39] some uh activities that have just come

[55:41] out. the walking soccer. I love that

[55:43] idea. And the pickle ball and a few

[55:46] other sports that are geared to our

[55:47] seniors.

[55:49] This is wonderful news because this just

[55:51] indicates it's going to be another

[55:52] fabulous place to live. Like wow, this

[55:55] is very the the inclusiveness of seniors

[55:58] in the past I would say 12 years has

[56:01] grown so much and I'm really pleased at

[56:03] seeing this. You go to the sen, you go

[56:06] to the senior center, you go to their

[56:08] parks, you go to our swimming pool, JC's

[56:11] pool, they have um aquatic there,

[56:14] exercise program. I mean, we never had

[56:16] that until last year. I think was our

[56:17] first year. And I mean, kudos to our

[56:19] parks and racks. This is really a good

[56:21] report. And um I just have one question.

[56:24] The 2000 contribution, what account does

[56:27] that come from? Thank you. And again,

[56:30] thank you, Taylor.

[56:32] Um if approved, it will be put in the

[56:34] city manager's ongoing operating budget

[56:36] annually. Um and that contribution from

[56:39] the county and public health will also

[56:42] um be put into that uh budget line as

[56:44] well.

[56:47] >> Councelor Clark,

[56:49] >> thank you. Worship. Uh it was

[56:51] interesting to see the number of

[56:52] different community partners that were

[56:54] involved in the um in the study and I'm

[56:56] just wondering if part of the process

[56:58] will be to to identify who's going to

[57:01] take the leadership on on the

[57:03] recommendations. I think it goes back to

[57:04] kind of what councelor Baldwin Sans was

[57:07] u was getting at is um to make it a

[57:10] living document um and to move it

[57:12] forward, somebody's got to um take the

[57:15] bull by the horns and and run with it.

[57:17] And so I'm just hoping as um as you

[57:20] report back to us, you could let us know

[57:23] which of these different groups are

[57:25] going to take the lead and and who in

[57:27] that organization is taking the lead so

[57:29] that when people come to us with direct

[57:31] questions, uh we'll be able to steer

[57:33] them in the right direction as to who's

[57:36] working on what. And my second comment

[57:38] would just be uh it's interesting to see

[57:42] um and not surprising that caregivers

[57:44] are highlighted again. So again, the

[57:46] need for the adult day program at Valley

[57:49] View to expand, I think, is is again

[57:51] being highlighted. Thank you.

[57:54] >> Yes. Thank you, councelor clerk. We'll

[57:55] definitely um as part of the performance

[57:58] metrics and the action plan going

[58:00] forward, make sure that there's

[58:01] responsibilities assigned to the um

[58:03] recommendations in the report and make

[58:05] sure that those come back to council.

[58:07] And I'm in agreement with the um

[58:09] expansion and support of the adult day

[58:11] program and we're looking forward to

[58:12] bringing that to AMO next week.

[58:16] Councelor Taylor,

[58:18] you okay? I think you are too. Councelor

[58:22] Ry,

[58:24] >> just a comment that um it's great

[58:26] information. It's great for future

[58:28] planning and just going forward, I

[58:30] guess, with your plan is to uh to have

[58:33] an effective communication strategy. You

[58:35] know, how are you going to communicate

[58:37] all these things? you know, people

[58:39] there's reduced vision, reduced hearing,

[58:41] and not everybody has a cell phone, so

[58:43] you can't text someone or give them a QR

[58:45] code to get information. So, um I guess

[58:48] that'll be part of the next step is to

[58:50] um you know, your communication plan is

[58:52] how you're going to get these this

[58:54] information out there.

[58:56] >> Yeah. Thank you, Councelor Riml. And

[58:57] that um $2,000 contribution from the

[59:00] three partners will especially help with

[59:02] communications. um part of the strategy

[59:04] and the engagement that we heard from

[59:06] people. Like you said, people aren't a

[59:08] lot of people aren't online as part of

[59:09] this demographic. So having printed

[59:10] materials is very important to um

[59:13] provide information out. So um that

[59:17] $6,000 total will definitely contribute

[59:19] to printed materials and promotions,

[59:21] etc.

[59:24] >> Council Herbert, thank you, Worship. Uh,

[59:28] if I might make a suggestion, and I

[59:30] don't know if it would qualify, could we

[59:32] take the 2,000 out of grant? We give

[59:34] grants every year out and not have to

[59:36] put it into the budget.

[59:38] >> If someone put forward a grant request,

[59:40] that would be a way.

[59:41] >> Oh, I would put it forward if I had to.

[59:43] >> Then I put it forward. Then we take it

[59:45] out a grant.

[59:45] >> Well, there's some forms that you'll

[59:47] need to get to the treasurer on the

[59:48] grant request, but is that possible?

[59:51] >> Yeah. Would that just a suggestion?

[59:54] >> I'd make that motion.

[59:55] >> Not against your suggestion. Just

[59:57] looking for your paperwork and maybe the

[59:58] signature on a checks. No.

[1:00:02] [clears throat] I'm just trying to be

[1:00:03] age friendly, Jim.

[1:00:06] >> You are. [laughter]

[1:00:08] Further questions or comments? But I I

[1:00:10] see that as another natural thing that

[1:00:12] could happen. It'd be a place where the

[1:00:14] grant process could work.

[1:00:17] No further questions. All in favor? Any

[1:00:19] opposed? Carried.

[1:00:23] » Thanks, worship. Next item relates to

[1:00:25] the 2026 Orange Shirt Day flag raising

[1:00:28] road closure request. I have a motion

[1:00:30] that report ES4526 relating to the 2026

[1:00:33] Orange Shirt Day flag raising road

[1:00:34] closure request be received for

[1:00:36] information. And further that council

[1:00:38] approve the temporary closure of Talbert

[1:00:39] Street from White Street to St.

[1:00:41] Catherine Street and Mondaman Street

[1:00:42] from Talbet Street to Curtis Street from

[1:00:44] 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and Curtis

[1:00:47] Street from Mandaman Street to St.

[1:00:48] Catherine Street from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00

[1:00:50] p.m. on Wednesday, September 30th, 2026

[1:00:53] to allow for the Orange Shirt Day flag

[1:00:56] raising. Moved by Councelor Baldwin

[1:00:58] Sans, seconded by Councelor Gibson.

[1:01:00] Questions or comments? Seeing none, all

[1:01:03] in favor? Any opposed? Carried.

[1:01:07] >> Next item relates to the 2026 railway

[1:01:09] city road race uh 2026 road closure

[1:01:11] request. I have a motion that report

[1:01:13] ES4626 relating to the railway city road

[1:01:16] race 2026 road closure request be

[1:01:18] received for information and further

[1:01:20] that council authorize the road closures

[1:01:22] as outlined in report ES4626

[1:01:26] moved by councelor Wookie second by

[1:01:28] councelor Riml.

[1:01:30] >> Questions or comments? Seeing none. All

[1:01:32] in favor? Any opposed? Carried.

[1:01:36] >> Next item relates to the accessibility

[1:01:38] 2026 openhouse free transit request. I

[1:01:41] have a motion that report ES4826

[1:01:43] relating to the accessibility 2026

[1:01:45] openhouse free transit request be

[1:01:47] received for information and further

[1:01:49] that council wave the transit fair for

[1:01:51] riders traveling to and from the

[1:01:52] accessibility openhouse at the Joe

[1:01:54] Thornton Community Center on Tuesday

[1:01:56] September 26 22nd 2026

[1:02:00] moved by councelor Gibson seconded by

[1:02:02] councelor Taylor

[1:02:03] >> questions or comments seeing none all in

[1:02:06] favor any opposed carried

[1:02:10] >> unless there are Any further items from

[1:02:11] the members under this committee? We

[1:02:13] will now move into infrastructure and

[1:02:15] civic operations.

[1:02:17] Uh first item this evening in this

[1:02:19] committee relates to the transit master

[1:02:21] servicing plan public engagement

[1:02:23] summary. Uh we have Dennis Carr here

[1:02:25] from Dylan Consulting in attendance to

[1:02:27] present the transit master servicing

[1:02:28] plan round one engagement summary. Uh

[1:02:31] then following the presentation I have a

[1:02:32] motion.

[1:02:50] Welcome. Did they tell you how to set it

[1:02:52] all up?

[1:03:00] Look at that.

[1:03:08] » Okay, just testing. You can hear me.

[1:03:09] Perfect.

[1:03:10] >> You're all right.

[1:03:11] >> Okay. Um, thank you everybody for having

[1:03:13] me here today. Uh, once again, my name

[1:03:15] is Dennis Carr with Dylan Consulting.

[1:03:17] I'm the project manager um for the

[1:03:20] transit study that we're conducting for

[1:03:21] the city of St. Thomas. So, thank you

[1:03:23] for having me here today. Uh so today

[1:03:26] I'm just here to present uh an initial

[1:03:28] part of the study that we're working on

[1:03:30] which is uh the round one of engagement

[1:03:32] that we conducted and the engagement

[1:03:34] that we conducted was very

[1:03:35] comprehensive. It involved posting the

[1:03:38] study on the city website providing

[1:03:40] multiple opportunities for uh residents

[1:03:43] and stakeholders to participate. and

[1:03:45] involved a number of in-person

[1:03:47] activities, you know, focusing on both

[1:03:49] communitywide engagement and online

[1:03:51] survey uh with paper versions available

[1:03:54] along with a number of focused

[1:03:55] engagement with key sort of stakeholders

[1:03:58] within the community. Uh so I'm here

[1:04:00] today to present some of the outcomes of

[1:04:03] this engagement and some of the key

[1:04:04] themes that we heard about, you know,

[1:04:07] what's working well uh with the existing

[1:04:09] transit service and what are the key

[1:04:11] areas for improvement that we're seeing.

[1:04:14] Uh so the first part of the engagement

[1:04:16] uh that I want to talk about is really

[1:04:18] the focus engagement and and this talks

[1:04:20] about um a lot of you know a number of

[1:04:23] the key stakeholders that we uh talk to

[1:04:26] and again you'll hear some very

[1:04:28] different uh perspectives on what's

[1:04:30] working well and what are some of the

[1:04:31] priorities for transit that individual

[1:04:34] stakeholders want to see based on their

[1:04:35] perspective and how they use the system

[1:04:38] or how their constituents use the system

[1:04:40] as well. And some of the key overarching

[1:04:43] themes that we've heard uh throughout

[1:04:45] this process uh that you'll hear me talk

[1:04:47] about is one the need for, you know,

[1:04:50] what's working well is, you know,

[1:04:52] friendly drivers. You know, um some some

[1:04:56] in many cases a reliable service. Uh but

[1:04:59] one of the things that people want to

[1:05:00] hear more of and see more of is extended

[1:05:03] service hours. So, and that was a

[1:05:05] consistent theme that we heard

[1:05:07] throughout uh improving the reliability

[1:05:09] of the service. uh and also extending

[1:05:12] the service particularly within the

[1:05:14] city. So extending the coverage in the

[1:05:16] areas in which the service provides

[1:05:18] particularly with a growing city. So uh

[1:05:22] I'll go through some of these and I'll

[1:05:24] you know there's a lot of detail that

[1:05:26] has been identified in this slide and

[1:05:28] again I'll just identify some of the key

[1:05:30] themes that we heard from each of the

[1:05:32] focus areas. Uh so when we when we spoke

[1:05:34] to senior care workers through a focus

[1:05:37] groups uh a lot of the key themes that

[1:05:39] we heard uh was you know the

[1:05:42] affordability of the system was good but

[1:05:45] there's some reliability issues the need

[1:05:47] to extend hours and again a key theme of

[1:05:50] what we heard uh and you know making

[1:05:52] sure bus stops are close to uh key

[1:05:55] important uh destinations uh

[1:05:57] particularly uh key shopping areas. Um

[1:06:01] when we spoke to Fanshaw College again

[1:06:05] you'll you'll see some consistency in

[1:06:07] some of the themes that we've heard and

[1:06:09] some new systems as well. Uh you know

[1:06:12] based on the existing classes and the

[1:06:14] hours of service the services typically

[1:06:17] unable to meet um a lot of the demand

[1:06:20] for student trips particularly in the

[1:06:22] later evenings. Um the on demand system

[1:06:25] doesn't always adhere to scheduled

[1:06:28] pickup times. Uh and there was some

[1:06:30] discussion about the benefit of a a

[1:06:32] universal transit pass to increase the

[1:06:34] affordability for students. Uh again

[1:06:36] some of the key themes that we heard uh

[1:06:39] for power co um ma major employer moving

[1:06:44] more frequent service more nighttime

[1:06:45] service and connections to London. So

[1:06:48] that idea of more regional connection uh

[1:06:52] particularly to to draw from an employer

[1:06:55] draw from a larger array of employees as

[1:06:58] well as new jobs are coming into uh the

[1:07:00] city were some of the key themes that we

[1:07:02] heard. Uh we also talked to the

[1:07:06] supervisors and the drivers that

[1:07:08] currently operate the service and again

[1:07:10] just reiterated some of what we saw

[1:07:12] looking through the data identifying

[1:07:14] some of the busiest routes in the system

[1:07:16] with Talbot you know being the busiest

[1:07:18] uh some of the challenges of night

[1:07:20] operations uh and the challenges of

[1:07:23] continuing to operate the on demand with

[1:07:24] demand uh being uh uh demand growing for

[1:07:30] the ondemand service for other major

[1:07:33] employees. employers that we spoke to.

[1:07:35] Again, transit schedule and frequency

[1:07:37] not always aligning with shift times and

[1:07:39] when you're operating at hour at hourly

[1:07:41] service, that can be a challenge to

[1:07:44] align an hourly service with various

[1:07:45] different shift times throughout the

[1:07:47] city. Uh routes that don't connect to

[1:07:50] different points of the city uh and the

[1:07:52] need to, you know, ensure some of those

[1:07:54] connections uh and improve frequency as

[1:07:57] well. Uh in terms of connecting

[1:07:59] agencies, we had a sort of a group of

[1:08:02] other connecting agencies including

[1:08:04] London, Middle Sex, Elgen uh uh and

[1:08:07] again just providing some feedback into

[1:08:09] the overall study. The need for improved

[1:08:11] industrial coverage uh the need for

[1:08:14] weekend service uh improved improved

[1:08:17] payment options were some of the key

[1:08:18] themes that we heard uh from from this

[1:08:21] group as well

[1:08:23] uh in terms of planning and economic

[1:08:25] development. So speaking with staff

[1:08:28] again that kind of theme of providing

[1:08:30] more access to new areas particularly uh

[1:08:33] new industrial developments that

[1:08:35] necessitate transit expanding some of

[1:08:37] the transit including the on demand and supporting intensification along uh

[1:08:42] of transit or or supporting uh expanded

[1:08:46] transit along intensification corridor.

[1:08:48] So where there is new development,

[1:08:49] making sure we're pro providing transit

[1:08:51] there to provide those connections uh as

[1:08:54] well as uh transit to uh other regional

[1:08:56] destinations such as Londy and London

[1:08:59] and Port Stanley. Uh our conversations

[1:09:02] with the accessibility advisory

[1:09:04] committee uh talked more about the

[1:09:06] parallel transit service uh and with

[1:09:09] weight times getting worse uh and what

[1:09:12] are some of the potential ways we can

[1:09:14] improve uh that. um some of the

[1:09:17] challenges passengers are having in

[1:09:19] terms of booking trips ahead and getting

[1:09:21] the ride that they need. uh and also

[1:09:24] when using the conventional service uh

[1:09:27] ensuring that there's accessible ways to

[1:09:29] pay for fair uh and also looking at uh

[1:09:32] stops as well

[1:09:35] uh in terms of social services again uh

[1:09:38] some key themes around providing uh

[1:09:41] enhanced travel options to places like

[1:09:43] London where there's specialized needs

[1:09:46] uh that may not be available in St.

[1:09:48] Thomas. So having those connections

[1:09:49] available and linking transit to

[1:09:51] recreational youth programming and the

[1:09:54] need to align transit schedules uh with

[1:09:56] that which which can be difficult uh

[1:09:59] when operating hourly service.

[1:10:03] Uh in terms of high school students, we

[1:10:05] did make our way into a couple of high

[1:10:06] schools and did had some engagement

[1:10:08] directly with students uh where they

[1:10:11] were able to um you know identify how

[1:10:14] the existing transit system is working

[1:10:16] and draw some maps about what they would

[1:10:17] like the service to look like. So uh

[1:10:20] that was sort of a really good

[1:10:21] connection and with students uh again

[1:10:23] interest in regional destinations uh and

[1:10:26] establishing direct connections and

[1:10:28] dedicated loops between high schools,

[1:10:30] Fchaw College and other key retail or

[1:10:33] other destinations in the city uh was

[1:10:35] something that was prioritized.

[1:10:38] And then of course uh in early counselor

[1:10:40] workshops that we had uh with members of

[1:10:42] council uh some of the key themes that

[1:10:45] we heard was um more efficient service

[1:10:48] frequent and reliable transportation uh

[1:10:51] particularly recognizing that growth

[1:10:53] that's happening in the city including

[1:10:54] growth in employment investing more into

[1:10:57] our service while also thinking about

[1:11:00] how we increase our overall cost

[1:11:01] recovery with that investment. So it's

[1:11:04] about effective investment in our

[1:11:05] service. Uh improving the reliability or reliability reliably servicing shift

[1:11:12] workers um was identified as a key pri

[1:11:15] priority. Identifying more capacity for

[1:11:18] our parat transit uh customers as well.

[1:11:21] Exploring regional partnerships. So as

[1:11:23] we're exploring these sort of trips

[1:11:25] outside of St. Thomas and and those

[1:11:28] connections, what do those regional

[1:11:29] partnerships look like? and ensuring

[1:11:31] that we have that integration with

[1:11:32] active transportation as well. So it's

[1:11:34] not just about the service but how do

[1:11:36] people get to and from our bus stops.

[1:11:40] So when it come when it came to sort of

[1:11:42] overall community and what we heard uh

[1:11:45] through both the popups and the

[1:11:47] community survey again a lot of the key

[1:11:50] themes came out through the two popup

[1:11:52] sessions that we had both at the St.

[1:11:54] Thomas home show and and a library

[1:11:56] drop-in session. Uh we heard a lot of

[1:11:59] strengths about you know uh highlighting

[1:12:02] about the um the positive feedback

[1:12:04] regarding the drivers and schedules

[1:12:07] uh and uh them specifically liking

[1:12:10] routes three and four in terms of the

[1:12:12] convenience and and the connection to

[1:12:14] the Walmart. But those opportunities for

[1:12:17] improvement focus on expansion uh both

[1:12:20] with regional transit expanded service

[1:12:23] within St. Thomas as well including uh

[1:12:26] and and sort of adjacent areas uh and to

[1:12:29] industrial areas as well. Uh again key

[1:12:33] theme that we heard was later evening

[1:12:35] service uh particularly as we start to

[1:12:37] see more of these sort of shift work uh

[1:12:41] opportunities. If we can accommodate a

[1:12:42] daytime shift but not an evening shift

[1:12:44] that limits the opportunity to use

[1:12:46] transit uh and more frequent service uh

[1:12:49] what were all sort of identified as sort

[1:12:52] of key areas and and of course you'll

[1:12:54] see here a lot of sort of detailed

[1:12:56] things about the use of smart cards,

[1:12:58] fairs, shelters. These are all things

[1:13:00] that we take into consideration sort of

[1:13:02] when developing uh when we're going to

[1:13:04] develop a plan in the future. And again,

[1:13:07] just to re reiterate from the online

[1:13:09] survey, a lot of similar themes that we

[1:13:11] heard. We had over 200 responses back

[1:13:14] from our online survey. Again, the key

[1:13:17] themes around extending service hours.

[1:13:18] That was sort of a major theme that we

[1:13:20] heard as a priority for transit. uh

[1:13:23] followed by the reliability of service,

[1:13:25] increased frequency and and and ease of

[1:13:28] use were sort of the major themes that

[1:13:31] came out in terms of what's important

[1:13:33] when looking at overall um transit. So

[1:13:37] again, I'm not going to get into each of

[1:13:39] these uh specific points. I'm just

[1:13:41] recognizing uh the time that I have, but

[1:13:44] I hope this provides a good summary of a

[1:13:46] lot of the key themes that we heard. I'm

[1:13:48] happy to answer any questions that you

[1:13:49] may have.

[1:13:52] questions. Councelor Wookie then

[1:13:54] councelor Herbert.

[1:13:55] >> Thanks your worship. Uh just one quick

[1:13:58] one. I saw that on one of the slides

[1:14:00] issues of co-mingling between on demand

[1:14:02] and parallel. What was the expression of

[1:14:05] the concern with that one if you could

[1:14:07] just uh let us know. Thank you.

[1:14:12] » Uh through your worship uh some of the

[1:14:14] issues that we hear around comingling uh

[1:14:17] really have to do with um not

[1:14:19] understanding what co-mingling is. Uh so

[1:14:23] uh someone that's a parallel transit

[1:14:24] registrant may be on board a vehicle and

[1:14:27] someone who is not a registrant may get

[1:14:30] on that vehicle at the same time and

[1:14:31] there's sort of that misunderstanding of

[1:14:34] why why are they on that same vehicle.

[1:14:36] Uh so that's sort of the major concern

[1:14:39] and and sometimes when it adds to if

[1:14:41] there's not enough service uh it may add

[1:14:44] to the number of trips that may be

[1:14:47] denied in the service. But that was

[1:14:49] there was a couple comments on it. It

[1:14:51] wasn't too significant from what we

[1:14:53] heard. Council

[1:14:55] >> Herbert

[1:14:57] worship. Well, thank you very much. This

[1:14:59] is something this has been a priority

[1:15:00] for council for the last six months to we know transportation has to be

[1:15:05] improved in in the city and um it's it's

[1:15:10] you had so much information in this I

[1:15:12] had I had to get printed copy because I

[1:15:14] wanted to make some notes on it. So, but

[1:15:16] we know a lot of these things it's it's

[1:15:19] going to be budget time. Uh do we need

[1:15:22] more buses? We had an opportunity to

[1:15:24] meet the minister of transportation out

[1:15:26] on Highway 3. Uh and he talked about

[1:15:29] transportation joining the cities. In

[1:15:31] fact, council Taylor and Council Riml

[1:15:33] and Council Core was the acting mayor

[1:15:36] that day and we had a good discussion

[1:15:38] with them about transportation and they

[1:15:40] all they're very excited about how we're

[1:15:42] going to improve transportation. But for

[1:15:43] inside the city, uh this is good for us.

[1:15:47] Uh I know someone had talked to me about

[1:15:50] sometimes routes change and they don't

[1:15:52] tell anybody. They go to the bus and

[1:15:54] know all of a sudden the bus stop's been

[1:15:55] moved. So stuff like that we we need to

[1:15:58] be we need to improve on. So no, this is good. We we know these are all

[1:16:02] budget items. Do we need three more

[1:16:05] buses? Do we need 10 more operators?

[1:16:08] This is something we have to sit down

[1:16:09] discuss because implement a lot of these

[1:16:12] suggestions is difficult. I mean you

[1:16:14] want to increase time lengths and 101

[1:16:17] which we agree like power co is going to

[1:16:20] want people running bus out there 10

[1:16:21] maybe 11 12 at night but we need staff

[1:16:23] to do it. So that's the other side of

[1:16:25] the coin. Great suggestions but we have

[1:16:28] to make it work with within our existing

[1:16:30] budget. So but anyway thank you very

[1:16:32] much. I I you really did a good job

[1:16:34] touching bases with almost everybody

[1:16:36] that I can see. So, thank you, Councer.

[1:16:41] >> Thanks to your worship. It's great to

[1:16:42] see how uh we're progressing through

[1:16:44] here and the public feedback that is

[1:16:46] coming coming back with this too. Now,

[1:16:49] like just a couple comments too with the

[1:16:52] from what I see, especially with the

[1:16:54] question that councelor Wookie talked

[1:16:55] about with the on demand and and that

[1:16:57] being mixed is that there's a lot of

[1:16:58] confusion. And I think some of it's

[1:17:00] being portrayed by the provider because

[1:17:03] they're telling people that their rides

[1:17:05] are being cancelled because of the on

[1:17:07] demand. So somebody on paratransits

[1:17:09] booked something and then they're being

[1:17:11] told by the provider that their route

[1:17:12] was canceled because on demand came on,

[1:17:14] which I've been assured by staff that does not happen. So somehow we got

[1:17:18] to get that communication out that

[1:17:20] that's not happening because that's a

[1:17:21] consistent complaint that I keep getting

[1:17:24] from this and and it's it's a

[1:17:27] misconception. And then I don't know if

[1:17:29] we we how much we delve into policy here

[1:17:32] because lately what's been I've been

[1:17:34] getting especially with the paratransit

[1:17:35] is that they're telling me that there's

[1:17:37] a policy which I haven't had a chance

[1:17:39] yet to talk to staff that they're not

[1:17:41] allowed to bring their grocery carts on

[1:17:44] the paratransit bus. They got to take it

[1:17:46] apart but meanwhile it's full of

[1:17:47] groceries and people are going there.

[1:17:49] So, I found that quite strange and I'm

[1:17:51] hoping that that actually isn't a policy

[1:17:53] because uh it's I've been getting a few

[1:17:56] calls with that and I I just haven't had

[1:17:58] a chance to talk to Scott, but I didn't

[1:17:59] know if those type of comments are

[1:18:01] coming through these surveys or not.

[1:18:06] » Kevin,

[1:18:08] uh through the mayor to councelor

[1:18:10] Kohler, thanks for for raising those.

[1:18:11] We'll I'll take that back about the

[1:18:13] grocery carts on buses.

[1:18:16] >> Councelor Baldwin Sans, will you finish?

[1:18:18] Councelor Kohler and councelor Balden

[1:18:20] Shans and councelor Ry.

[1:18:22] >> Thank you. Just a couple of brief

[1:18:23] questions on the level of engagement

[1:18:25] that you introduced to us. Were you

[1:18:27] pleased as a consultant with the number

[1:18:30] of engagement pieces that you've been

[1:18:32] able to do? You had several public

[1:18:35] consultations. You've had the 200 that

[1:18:37] you mentioned online. So, were you uh

[1:18:40] pleased with the outcome with the number

[1:18:42] of people that we have in our community?

[1:18:44] Does it give you a good snapshot

[1:18:47] and what you presented back to us? Thank

[1:18:49] you.

[1:18:50] >> Yeah. Uh through through your worship as

[1:18:52] with sort of any engagement uh you know

[1:18:55] the level engagement we receive is

[1:18:56] always going to vary depending on what's

[1:18:58] going on and how people prioritize it.

[1:19:01] You know what I am pleased about is the

[1:19:04] amount of different tactics that we use

[1:19:06] to engage uh with the public through the

[1:19:08] various different focus groups going

[1:19:09] right into the high schools uh through

[1:19:12] the the the two inperson sessions as

[1:19:14] well as the uh the in-person surveys.

[1:19:17] So, you know, combined with with

[1:19:19] everything, I think we got a fairly good

[1:19:20] snapshot of what the community is is

[1:19:22] thinking. Um, you know, always open to

[1:19:25] hear more from from individuals, but I I

[1:19:27] think we got a decent snapshot of sort

[1:19:29] of what's going on and and what we're

[1:19:31] what people like and and would like to

[1:19:33] prioritize seeing improved.

[1:19:37] » Any further questions or comments?

[1:19:41] Seeing none all those in oh Joan

[1:19:43] councelor Riml

[1:19:46] >> sorry just um I thought it was wonderful

[1:19:49] information and you really did capture a

[1:19:51] lot of detail just and so and and so one

[1:19:53] of my questions will be like what are

[1:19:55] your next steps you know as for the in

[1:19:57] the plan and then in the next steps will

[1:20:00] you then also give us some ideas um

[1:20:03] looking at dollars and cents you know

[1:20:04] comparing um St. Thomas to other like

[1:20:08] size cities you know as to what um you

[1:20:12] know how do we rank you know are we are

[1:20:15] we funding enough you know for the for

[1:20:17] the thing and the other thing is too I I

[1:20:20] think it's really critical and it's in

[1:20:22] there too as far as looking at the

[1:20:24] payment option for all groups no matter

[1:20:26] what age you know when you're trying to

[1:20:27] get on the bus parallel transits may be

[1:20:30] booked and so you're trying to use the

[1:20:31] regular service and you're older and

[1:20:34] you're trying to maintain your balance

[1:20:35] you don't want to become a false

[1:20:37] statistics in the age friendly uh

[1:20:39] report. So uh I think looking at the uh

[1:20:42] a payment you know some kind of and

[1:20:46] without having an iris scan for

[1:20:47] everybody you know is there with all the

[1:20:49] agent technology there must be something

[1:20:51] we could simplify that with but

[1:20:54] >> uh through through your worship. So yes

[1:20:56] there there's a number of next steps uh

[1:20:58] this engagement process provides sort of

[1:21:00] one level of input of what we're going

[1:21:02] to look at uh we we also looked at sort

[1:21:05] of the existing performance how it's

[1:21:07] operating. We we looking at uh your

[1:21:10] peers and and the level of investment

[1:21:12] and the level of writership compared. So

[1:21:14] we're going to take all of that

[1:21:14] information uh and start to develop uh

[1:21:18] some strategies and sort of recommended

[1:21:20] options. Some of those will be around

[1:21:22] roots. Some of those will be around uh

[1:21:25] the extent of service, the frequency,

[1:21:28] fair payment, fair technology is

[1:21:29] something that we're going to look at.

[1:21:30] Are there different technology options

[1:21:32] that should be prioritized? And again

[1:21:34] thinking about you know uh you know

[1:21:37] given the level of investment that you

[1:21:39] have what should you prioritize to help

[1:21:42] you achieve your goals around around

[1:21:44] transit. Uh so we're going to sort of

[1:21:46] take all of that information and and

[1:21:48] present it back to you at a future date.

[1:21:50] >> Okay. Just

[1:21:53] >> I didn't turn this off. Sorry. One just

[1:21:55] one last thing. I'm not sure whether

[1:21:56] it's for you or will we be looking at

[1:21:59] the current transit station? you know,

[1:22:02] is that the best use of um that

[1:22:05] building, you know, to house the buses,

[1:22:07] you know, is that could they be at a

[1:22:09] different location and and repurpose

[1:22:11] some of that space? Anyway, it's just I

[1:22:13] didn't know whether that would be part

[1:22:14] of the whole transit package.

[1:22:25] Further questions or comments?

[1:22:28] Seeing none, thank you for your help

[1:22:30] tonight. All in favor? Any opposed?

[1:22:33] Carried. Mr. Clerk,

[1:22:36] >> I just have

[1:22:36] >> Is there even a motion?

[1:22:37] >> There wasn't a motion yet. I just have

[1:22:39] to read the motion here. So,

[1:22:40] >> just apply what we just did.

[1:22:42] >> So, I have a motion that report ES5026

[1:22:45] relating to the transit master servicing

[1:22:47] plan public engagement summary be

[1:22:48] received for information and further

[1:22:50] that council acknowledge the key themes

[1:22:52] and findings outlined in the what we

[1:22:53] heard engagement summary as

[1:22:55] representative of the feedback received

[1:22:56] during phase one of the public

[1:22:58] consultation process. and further that

[1:23:00] the what we heard engagement summary

[1:23:02] together with the comments and direction

[1:23:03] provided by council during consideration

[1:23:05] of report ES-5026 be incorporated into

[1:23:08] the preparation of preliminary service

[1:23:09] concepts and potential system changes

[1:23:12] and further that staff report back to

[1:23:13] council following the second phase of

[1:23:15] public consultation summarizing the

[1:23:17] development and components of the draft

[1:23:18] transit master servicing plan for

[1:23:20] further consideration.

[1:23:22] Moved by councelor Wookie, seconded by

[1:23:24] councelor Taylor.

[1:23:26] questions or comments further?

[1:23:29] Seeing none, all in favor? Any opposed?

[1:23:31] Carried.

[1:23:33] >> Thanks, worship. We'll next move on to

[1:23:34] the school crossing guard location

[1:23:36] review. I have a motion that report

[1:23:38] ES4726

[1:23:40] relating to the school crossing guard

[1:23:41] location review be received for

[1:23:42] information and further that council

[1:23:44] authorize the deployment of a school

[1:23:46] crossing guard at the intersection of

[1:23:47] Edward Street and Balaclava Street

[1:23:49] relating starting in September 2026.

[1:23:53] Move by councelor Baldwin Sand, second

[1:23:54] by councelor Gibson. questions or

[1:23:56] comments on this? Councelor Balden Sans.

[1:23:58] >> Thank you. As someone who uses this

[1:24:01] intersection frequently, I strongly

[1:24:04] support what is recommended by staff and

[1:24:06] thank them for this report.

[1:24:08] >> Okay,

[1:24:10] further questions or comments? All those

[1:24:13] in favor? Any opposed? Carried.

[1:24:17] >> Next item relates to the fingle line

[1:24:19] servicing RFP 202621 award. I have a

[1:24:22] motion that report ES4926 relating to

[1:24:25] the fingle line servicing RFP 202621

[1:24:28] award be received for information and

[1:24:30] further that council award RFP 202621

[1:24:34] to CIMA plus in the amount of 437,500

[1:24:38] excluding HST

[1:24:41] move by councelor Riml second by

[1:24:42] councelor Gibson

[1:24:44] questions or comments

[1:24:48] seeing none all those in favor any

[1:24:49] opposed carried

[1:24:54] Last item under this committee is

[1:24:55] relates to the Yarmouth Yards Earthworks

[1:24:57] and servicing phase 5 tender award. I

[1:25:00] have a motion that report ID0626

[1:25:02] relating to Yarmouth Yard earthworks and

[1:25:04] servicing phase 5 tender award be

[1:25:06] received for information and further

[1:25:08] that the tender submitted by network

[1:25:10] sewer and water main limited in the

[1:25:11] amount of 3,524,334

[1:25:15] and30 excluding HST be accepted.

[1:25:20] Move by councelor Riml, seconded by

[1:25:22] councelor Clark.

[1:25:23] >> Questions or comments.

[1:25:27] Seeing none, all those in favor? Any

[1:25:29] opposed? Carrie?

[1:25:32] >> Unless there any further items from the

[1:25:34] members under this committee.

[1:25:39] » Oh, sorry. Councelor Kohler.

[1:25:41] >> Thanks, your worship. uh the harvest

[1:25:44] court parking strategy has been

[1:25:47] implemented and uh I think 98% of the

[1:25:51] people are extremely happy. Uh I had the

[1:25:53] opportunity to talk to a couple people

[1:25:55] that aren't upset. It's just they were

[1:25:58] hoping that we would go a little bit f

[1:25:59] further and they have addressed this

[1:26:01] through the customer service uh program

[1:26:04] and um they followed through the process

[1:26:07] and it's been closed off and uh it's

[1:26:10] just um kind of been left at where it's

[1:26:12] going to where it's going to stay

[1:26:15] because of council's um direction for

[1:26:17] the the report. So, what I'm hoping for,

[1:26:19] and I'd like to actually uh move a

[1:26:22] motion, hopefully there's a seconder

[1:26:23] that we include parking, no parking

[1:26:26] signs in front of 19 and 21 Harvest

[1:26:28] Court. So, when we've come around the um culde-sac there, there's those

[1:26:34] two houses there, and we don't have

[1:26:36] signs, but the way their frontage is, if

[1:26:40] you try to park in those areas, they're

[1:26:42] too small and they extend over the

[1:26:45] driveways. Like, they're illegal parking

[1:26:47] spots anyways. you would be ticketed

[1:26:48] based on our bylaw is you have to have 3

[1:26:50] ft on either side. So, but what's

[1:26:53] happening because we've gone no parking

[1:26:55] on that side, people are now just

[1:26:57] parking there and it's actually blocking

[1:26:58] them into their their laneways. I know

[1:27:00] they've talked to some other counselors

[1:27:02] too, but I've had the opportunity to go

[1:27:03] over there and actually park there and

[1:27:05] seeing what's happened. And my fear is

[1:27:07] if we don't do something uh with this

[1:27:10] because he was actually trapped inside

[1:27:12] his lane. We trying to get to his

[1:27:13] afternoon shift and couldn't get out

[1:27:15] because somebody was parked there. Once

[1:27:16] school starts, if people do that and

[1:27:19] they're going to be forced to that side,

[1:27:20] I think they're going to be these people

[1:27:22] at 19 and 21 will be hampered with that

[1:27:25] the whole school season. So, I was

[1:27:27] hoping that we could uh have a motion or

[1:27:30] accepted motion that we install two

[1:27:32] signs, one in front of 19 and 21 Harvest

[1:27:35] Court. And I I'm sure that can be taken

[1:27:38] care of in the operating budget. But

[1:27:39] thank you.

[1:27:44] Are you looking for a seconder?

[1:27:46] Councelor Gibson. Good. Now we can have

[1:27:49] discussion.

[1:27:51] >> I'm thinking Kevin's going to take care

[1:27:52] of it by the look on his

[1:27:54] >> I was thinking I saw him writing

[1:27:55] feverishly, but you know,

[1:27:59] >> Kevin want input.

[1:28:00] >> Yeah. Through the mayor to councelor

[1:28:02] Kohler. Um that's something uh I can

[1:28:04] easily take away and have installed.

[1:28:08] >> Okay. Then we do we do not need to vote

[1:28:11] on the motion then

[1:28:13] staff has already picked it up. Clerk

[1:28:15] >> you are sure. We can still have a motion

[1:28:17] just that staff be directed to install

[1:28:18] no parking signs in front of 19 and 21

[1:28:20] Harvest Court. I have moved by councelor

[1:28:22] Kohler. Second by councelor Gibson.

[1:28:24] >> Great. Just as easy to say. No further

[1:28:26] comment. All those in favor? Any

[1:28:28] opposed? Carried. Great. All right.

[1:28:30] Councelor Clark, did you have more?

[1:28:33] >> Yes. Um I had a couple calls with regard

[1:28:36] to um Shawside and um when the roads are

[1:28:40] going to be assumed by the city and I

[1:28:42] was just wondering I know we're going

[1:28:44] through that process with a number of

[1:28:46] subdivisions and just wondering if we

[1:28:47] could get an update on the timelines for

[1:28:50] the Shaw Valley one.

[1:28:54] Kevin, you got some help or you you want

[1:28:57] to get back to us on this one or

[1:28:58] >> No, I I can give you an update uh

[1:29:00] through the mayor to councelor Clark.

[1:29:03] our our dev development uh um team has

[1:29:07] been working on going back in history,

[1:29:09] going back in time to find out, making

[1:29:11] sure that we are crossing our tees and

[1:29:13] dotting our eyes on all of our

[1:29:15] subdivisions and discovered that we need

[1:29:17] to go a little bit further back than

[1:29:18] 2017 uh in order to make sure that uh we

[1:29:21] assume those properly. So, it's taking

[1:29:23] us a little bit longer. Uh we're hoping

[1:29:25] to bring a a report into council in

[1:29:27] September. Uh we were targeting this

[1:29:29] council meeting uh to do that but it's

[1:29:32] just taking us a little bit more time.

[1:29:33] Uh so um that's our status update.

[1:29:38] >> Okay.

[1:29:40] Anything else under this topic or this

[1:29:43] committee? I mean

[1:29:46] >> seeing none.

[1:29:47] >> Thanks for worship. We'll move into

[1:29:48] corporate governance and administration.

[1:29:51] Having already dealt with the financial

[1:29:52] statements, we'll move on to Yarmouth

[1:29:54] Yard's financial plan. I have a motion

[1:29:56] that report TR 2026 relating to the

[1:29:58] Yarmouth Yards financial plan be

[1:30:00] received for information.

[1:30:02] Moved by councelor Wookie, seconded by

[1:30:04] councelor Rhiml.

[1:30:05] >> Questions or comments or Mr. Treasur?

[1:30:08] Would you like to go first?

[1:30:14] » Uh certainly I can introduce the report

[1:30:16] at least. Uh so we've been speaking

[1:30:17] about the Yarmmouth Yards uh development

[1:30:19] for some time but mostly in generalities

[1:30:21] right we all understand that uh we have

[1:30:24] this large upfront investment and it's

[1:30:26] going to pay off in a significant way in

[1:30:28] the future but how do we manage the

[1:30:30] interim so the purpose of this report is

[1:30:32] to get a bit more specific in that

[1:30:34] regard and outline a kind of like a

[1:30:36] budgeting context uh for how we're going

[1:30:38] to handle this moving forward. And so

[1:30:41] the report goes through uh a number of

[1:30:43] items. It it specifies what our unfunded

[1:30:46] portion of Yarmouth Yards is. That'd be

[1:30:48] 167 million, but also highlights the

[1:30:50] opportunity that we have received over

[1:30:52] $800 million in in grants and subsidies

[1:30:54] and private u private agreements.

[1:30:58] Uh it then tests um you know, can can

[1:31:01] the city afford that 167 million if we

[1:31:04] were to debt finance it? And so the

[1:31:06] report goes through a number of

[1:31:07] assumptions that leads us to the opinion

[1:31:09] that yes yes we can um without kind of

[1:31:14] uh doing things like deferring capital

[1:31:15] or increasing taxes any of those

[1:31:18] extraneous measures that would apply

[1:31:19] pressure to the the tax base. Uh then we

[1:31:23] took that set of assumptions and we kind

[1:31:24] of tested it uh with some different

[1:31:26] adverse scenarios to see you know to

[1:31:28] just stress test the model to see if

[1:31:30] things don't go quite as as we intend

[1:31:32] them to uh do we then have to increase

[1:31:35] taxes or defer capital or take on take

[1:31:39] extraneous measures. And generally the

[1:31:42] answer is no. But we do we do um specify

[1:31:46] in the report that this is all based on

[1:31:48] a set of assumptions that could change

[1:31:50] as we move forward. It's also uh it also

[1:31:53] notes that if several adverse u

[1:31:55] conditions stack upon one another then

[1:31:57] the city could be in some trouble in

[1:32:00] that situation. So it does recommend a

[1:32:02] set of uh risk management uh initiatives

[1:32:05] that we can take at most being no cost

[1:32:08] at all to the to the taxpayer and those

[1:32:10] are recommended through that this report

[1:32:12] uh for council's consideration in future

[1:32:15] budgets.

[1:32:16] >> Great. having the report attached and

[1:32:19] that summary to begin with. Are there

[1:32:23] questions or comments of the treasure?

[1:32:24] Councelor Wiki.

[1:32:26] >> Thanks, your worship. Um, comprehensive

[1:32:29] reports like this uh help lower our

[1:32:32] blood pressure because I think for both

[1:32:35] us currently and the next council and

[1:32:37] the next council after that, this

[1:32:38] provides us with a really good road map

[1:32:41] of what is both uh possible, reasonable,

[1:32:45] and prudent to do. And that's what we

[1:32:47] need. That's what we as elected

[1:32:49] officials need is we need a road map

[1:32:51] like this. So for me, when I take a look

[1:32:53] at some of the the um the charts, thank

[1:32:56] you. Uh graphs, counselors love graphs,

[1:32:58] and um and see that the debt repayment

[1:33:01] is reasonable. and seeing that the

[1:33:04] available cash flow what the what the

[1:33:06] kind of uh road ahead looks like for

[1:33:09] that it provides us with a framework

[1:33:12] where we can frame our own expectations

[1:33:15] about what's going to happen over the

[1:33:16] next 8 years. Um, this is one of those

[1:33:19] ones where it's sort of like a few of

[1:33:21] these graphs I'd like to have up in the

[1:33:23] counselor's lounge like really large uh

[1:33:26] and uh you know framed and you know make

[1:33:28] sure we can see those every week when we

[1:33:30] walk in kind of thing because documents

[1:33:32] like this are great guiding documents

[1:33:35] for us uh Adam. So thank you. when I

[1:33:38] read this, I uh um you just you just

[1:33:41] feel like you have a better grip on

[1:33:42] what's what's going on and what's ahead

[1:33:44] and so there's no question just a uh

[1:33:46] appreciation of how this guides us going

[1:33:48] forward. Thank you.

[1:33:49] >> Thanks,

[1:33:51] >> Council Riml. Then councelor Kohler.

[1:33:53] [clears throat]

[1:33:53] >> Okay,

[1:33:53] >> I have a couple of questions, but uh I

[1:33:57] appreciate this very much.

[1:33:59] and and uh response to councelor Wookie,

[1:34:02] I think we should have one of Justin's

[1:34:04] charts, you know, on the wall, you know,

[1:34:06] with all the timelines and the great big

[1:34:08] thing because um to me um this project

[1:34:12] is I would think it's the city's number

[1:34:14] one project. It's it's it's the one we

[1:34:17] need to really keep focused and I am

[1:34:19] concerned that we don't have a currently

[1:34:22] we don't have a a um a re not a revenue

[1:34:26] a reserve fund set up not I know we're

[1:34:30] trying to do the development charge um

[1:34:32] project and that will come but we could

[1:34:34] set aside right today uh a I don't know

[1:34:38] how to call it DWRF anyway reserve fund

[1:34:41] where we start to you know we have to be

[1:34:43] mindful that we have the sock money away

[1:34:46] in there for this this project. We can't

[1:34:48] wait till all of a sudden it's it's done

[1:34:51] and then say, "Oh, we didn't save any

[1:34:53] money." So, I you know, I'd like to see

[1:34:55] some visible

[1:34:57] markers that we've got something set

[1:34:59] aside. And with all the things that the

[1:35:01] treasurer has written about the um

[1:35:04] mitigation things like he's recommending

[1:35:06] these things, well, how do we make them

[1:35:08] actually happen? You know, how can we

[1:35:10] make all these Yes. Okay. you know, um,

[1:35:14] all the things that he's suggested, we

[1:35:17] should say yes, you know, we want them

[1:35:19] all to happen. Uh, and including the

[1:35:22] reserve fund, you know, something today.

[1:35:24] I'm I'm concerned about the um the

[1:35:27] ARIRL, the um the funding, you know,

[1:35:31] like we're planning, I think it's 9.7

[1:35:33] million, you know, that we're going to

[1:35:35] be able to um incur every year. But just

[1:35:39] for instance, like we just recently

[1:35:41] increased our reserve last council or

[1:35:43] last meeting 7.4 million because we had

[1:35:47] um depleted our reserves like what would

[1:35:50] a 7.4 million um hit like that due to

[1:35:54] that ARIRL and is that effective like

[1:35:57] for one year or does that effect does

[1:36:00] that effect go on you know for

[1:36:02] subsequent years?

[1:36:05] >> Mr. Treasur,

[1:36:07] thank you. Yeah. um it it would affect

[1:36:09] us as long as the debt is active. So our

[1:36:12] airl is based on our annual repayments.

[1:36:15] So once our annual repayments against a

[1:36:17] dementure stops are we re recapture some

[1:36:20] of our debt capacity. So you're right uh

[1:36:22] the debenture we just decided to issue

[1:36:24] will take up um additional debt capacity

[1:36:27] space. That being said, you can see from

[1:36:29] the graph that there is ample space

[1:36:31] available. We just have to be a little

[1:36:32] cautious going forward that um we

[1:36:35] exercise discretion when we're going to

[1:36:37] issue debt and we also have to be aware

[1:36:39] of the fact that our debt capacity can

[1:36:40] also be proportionately used by uh

[1:36:43] entities that we proportionately own

[1:36:45] such as the water board.

[1:36:49] So I think we just have to be really careful and really mindful when

[1:36:53] people you know and and three years some

[1:36:57] point it seems like a long time but

[1:36:59] everyone wants a project you know but we

[1:37:01] have to be very careful that we have to

[1:37:03] start saving up and and having some uh

[1:37:06] funding. We don't want to uh um get in

[1:37:10] big trouble with this because we're

[1:37:11] trying to look at operational, you know,

[1:37:14] we've got staff and we're trying to grow

[1:37:15] the city and everybody wants their

[1:37:17] streets plowed early and their garbage

[1:37:19] picked up. So, we've got so many

[1:37:21] pressures on there, but this uh uh fund

[1:37:24] um this project is is critical. It's

[1:37:29] critical to the growth, but it's it's an

[1:37:30] expensive project. Um, how did we make

[1:37:34] out with the grant request that we did

[1:37:36] back in April? Was it 172 million? Did

[1:37:39] were we successful in that?

[1:37:41] >> Well, sorry, city manager. Go ahead.

[1:37:43] >> Sure. Thank you. Rush three to council

[1:37:45] Ryal. We have not heard the results of

[1:37:47] that grant funding. However, we have

[1:37:48] been in contact with the federal

[1:37:50] ministry that's administering that grant

[1:37:52] and we are continued to be uh up for

[1:37:54] consideration of receiving that funding.

[1:37:56] So, we're quite hopeful. However, we

[1:37:58] know there is a lot of competing capital

[1:38:00] infrastructure projects across the

[1:38:02] country and we are just one of many

[1:38:04] applications.

[1:38:06] >> Okay. So, just back I' I'd like to, you

[1:38:08] know, suggest that we set up some kind

[1:38:09] of reserve fund like at least get some

[1:38:11] kind of marker on the wall and say,

[1:38:14] okay, you know, we're going to start

[1:38:15] putting money in this pot so at least

[1:38:17] it's visible.

[1:38:20] And I would expect that the budget

[1:38:23] season coming up upon you. Um is a great

[1:38:26] time to really analyze all of that. Mr.

[1:38:29] Treasur, um should can we do it now or

[1:38:32] is it a part of our fiscal

[1:38:35] responsibility over the next little

[1:38:36] while?

[1:38:38] >> We'll have to establish uh a reporting

[1:38:40] framework that is number seven in those

[1:38:42] risk mitigation uh items I recommend in

[1:38:44] the report is to establish an ongoing

[1:38:46] financial monitor monitoring framework.

[1:38:48] We'll have to decide exactly how that

[1:38:50] looks. I'm certainly open to council's

[1:38:52] opinion or preferences on on what that

[1:38:53] may look like. Uh we can include as part

[1:38:56] of our quarterly budget monitoring

[1:38:58] process or we could do a standalone uh

[1:39:00] item. I think we'll take that item back

[1:39:02] as staff and kind of develop it and

[1:39:03] bring it back for council's

[1:39:04] consideration.

[1:39:06] >> Okay, great. And and I agree, Mr.

[1:39:09] treasur. The addition of our quarter

[1:39:12] quarterly reports to council now have

[1:39:15] given us a far greater piece of

[1:39:17] knowledge on

[1:39:20] some of these larger projects we have

[1:39:22] going on too. Uh what you don't I'm

[1:39:26] going to councelor Kohler then councelor

[1:39:28] Clark.

[1:39:30] >> Thanks your worship. Uh I uh told the

[1:39:33] treasurer this already that in my short

[1:39:35] time on council, this is probably one of

[1:39:37] the most important reports that I've

[1:39:39] ever dealt with. And uh I think when we

[1:39:42] look at this and it shows the the

[1:39:44] planning, I think it proves to the

[1:39:46] people that we can

[1:39:49] focus on

[1:39:51] industrial and commercial growth without

[1:39:53] forgetting the long-term residents here.

[1:39:55] And I think this this report should give

[1:39:57] them uh some comfort in that. And I I I

[1:40:00] just want to point out the the the one

[1:40:02] paragraph that's in here that should

[1:40:04] reassure everybody. It's a based the

[1:40:06] based on the assumptions adopted by

[1:40:08] staff. The forecast indicates that the

[1:40:09] city is not expected to exceed cash

[1:40:11] flows constraints that would require

[1:40:13] interimm capital project deferrals or

[1:40:16] increases to property taxes or utility

[1:40:18] rates to meet annual debt servicing

[1:40:20] obligations. Rather, the annual projects accumulated surplus and cash

[1:40:27] flows in the forecasted period. So, I

[1:40:28] think we should all we all know that the

[1:40:31] next four years are going to be tough in

[1:40:35] the fact that we're not going to have

[1:40:36] that money to throw throw around, but

[1:40:38] this should give everybody the the

[1:40:40] comfort that if we if we continue to go

[1:40:43] through the financial plan and we make

[1:40:45] sure that we're prudent, we don't

[1:40:46] increase spending or on unbudgeted items

[1:40:49] that we can make it through here and get

[1:40:51] to the point where we start realizing

[1:40:53] that tax uh repayment from the projects

[1:40:56] that we're investing in. So, I I really

[1:40:58] appreciate this this report, how it's

[1:41:00] laid out. It's nice and simple, but it

[1:41:02] should give everybody comfort that if we

[1:41:04] maintain what we're doing and we

[1:41:05] consistently continue to go through and

[1:41:07] monitor what we're doing that we can get

[1:41:09] through it without impacting the

[1:41:11] long-term residents.

[1:41:14] >> Dr. Clark,

[1:41:16] >> thank you. The um the report mentions

[1:41:19] that uh part of the funding will be land

[1:41:22] sales from the Armouth Yards um complex.

[1:41:26] I'm just wondering um whether the 167

[1:41:30] million of debt uh has taken all the

[1:41:34] sales of that land in into the

[1:41:38] calculations or or what percentage of

[1:41:41] the lands you know we've sold some we

[1:41:43] haven't sold the others. Just wondering

[1:41:46] whether the 167 could be less um if more

[1:41:50] land is sold or where how you've used

[1:41:53] that um future land sales in this

[1:41:57] report.

[1:42:00] >> Yeah. So part of the 800 million um that

[1:42:03] is funded for the project includes uh

[1:42:06] some land sales that have already

[1:42:07] transpired. Um if we were to generate

[1:42:11] additional land sales, those could be

[1:42:13] applied similarly against that uh

[1:42:16] unfunded portion which is slated to be

[1:42:17] debt funded right now. That would be an

[1:42:19] option council has. you you could either

[1:42:22] apply it against the the project to to

[1:42:26] avoid debt or you can hold it for some

[1:42:28] of those high risk years to just make

[1:42:30] sure that um we're going to be able to

[1:42:32] make those debenture payments without

[1:42:34] increasing taxes or utility rates if you

[1:42:36] wanted a little bit bit of extra

[1:42:38] assurance. Uh that's something that we

[1:42:40] could discuss uh as a council as those

[1:42:42] land sales uh transpire in the future.

[1:42:48] » Please go ahead. So just for

[1:42:50] clarification then the the land sales if

[1:42:53] we were to apply if we decide to take

[1:42:56] the land sales and apply it against the

[1:42:58] short-term debt the 167

[1:43:01] could is not taking into account future

[1:43:04] land sales

[1:43:06] or sorry it yeah

[1:43:08] >> that's correct we value the land that's

[1:43:12] unsold out at Yarmmouth Yard somewhere

[1:43:14] around a quarter billion dollars. So,

[1:43:16] it's it's possible that if we had a

[1:43:17] bunch of land sales, you could apply it

[1:43:19] against the the unfunded portion of the

[1:43:21] project to significantly avoid debt,

[1:43:24] >> but it'd be reliant on those land sales

[1:43:26] happening.

[1:43:27] >> Sure. But the good news is we have the

[1:43:29] land. It's not going away. And so, it's it's not as scary as the 167, you

[1:43:36] know, may appear to be.

[1:43:41] » Councelor Taylor, then councelor Wiki.

[1:43:44] >> Thank you, your worship. I had a similar

[1:43:46] uh question in regards to the um annual

[1:43:49] repayment limit that we've set at 80%.

[1:43:52] Um I'm just maybe thinking that maybe

[1:43:55] and that's a maximum. Is there a way to

[1:43:58] limit that? Because when the world

[1:44:01] pandemic hit in 2020, no one in their

[1:44:04] financial plans or in their strategic

[1:44:06] plans had any idea that a world pandemic

[1:44:10] is something we should think about.

[1:44:11] Believe me, I don't want to even see

[1:44:13] something like that happen. But let's

[1:44:14] just say that there's some sort of a

[1:44:15] world catastrophe that happens. I'm just

[1:44:18] wondering uh if Treasury has uh reviewed

[1:44:22] the fact is that a a maximum or should

[1:44:25] we be looking at other numbers like 70%

[1:44:29] or 60% as being our annual uh repayment

[1:44:32] limit rather than setting Yeah, that's

[1:44:34] our max. But is that where we really

[1:44:36] want to go or should should we be

[1:44:38] looking just in case because the sky is

[1:44:41] falling? I'm never going to say that,

[1:44:43] but I don't want to be in that position

[1:44:45] when it does, if it ever does. But

[1:44:48] anyway, just wondering about that 80%.

[1:44:50] Is that really the number we want to set

[1:44:53] today? Thank you,

[1:44:56] >> Mr. Treasurer.

[1:44:59] So, uh, it is best practice for council

[1:45:01] to adopt what's called a debt management

[1:45:03] policy where you define that level. I

[1:45:06] would suggest you don't want to use your

[1:45:07] whole ARIRL. If you've done that, you've

[1:45:09] done something wrong. I've suggested in

[1:45:11] the report that we use up to 80% of it

[1:45:13] to leave some room for the unknown as as

[1:45:16] suggested by the counselor, but it is

[1:45:18] completely within council's ability and

[1:45:20] right to determine where that line uh

[1:45:23] may be.

[1:45:28] » So, we have councelor Taylor down for

[1:45:31] less.

[1:45:34] » Yes, councelor Wiki.

[1:45:36] >> Thank you. This is a a question for the

[1:45:39] city manager and the communications

[1:45:41] team. And the challenge here is going to

[1:45:43] be as councelor Cer said, this is one of

[1:45:45] the most important reports we've had in

[1:45:47] many, many years. And how do we how does

[1:45:50] this get condensed, simplified, so it

[1:45:53] can be digestible for the public because

[1:45:55] I want to be able to when we talk to the

[1:45:57] public to say, "Hey, on Speak Up St.

[1:45:59] Thomas, there's an article on this. You

[1:46:01] can read it. It's right there. It'll

[1:46:03] take you five minutes and you'll have an

[1:46:04] idea of what we're going through and

[1:46:06] what we're talking about. Um, so to the

[1:46:10] city manager, I think you've got a

[1:46:12] challenge because this is not going to

[1:46:13] be a real simple one, but it's a very

[1:46:16] important one to be able to point out to

[1:46:18] people what's going on. I I just I guess

[1:46:20] what's the how do you see this getting

[1:46:23] out to the public and on in on what

[1:46:25] avenue? Because it's it's not uh having

[1:46:28] it as a social media post is kind of

[1:46:29] doesn't do it justice. Um but it that

[1:46:32] might be the start of it. So just a

[1:46:34] question for you. Thanks.

[1:46:35] >> Go ahead, city manager.

[1:46:37] >> Uh thank you councelor Wiki and through

[1:46:38] to or through the mayor to council. Um

[1:46:41] our communications and public relations

[1:46:43] coordinator has been working on a robust

[1:46:45] communications strategy. Uh the first

[1:46:47] step in this process was this council

[1:46:50] report. So making sure we get that out.

[1:46:52] The mayor did some media work today with

[1:46:54] CTV to try to kind of elaborate more on

[1:46:55] these concepts. Uh a lot of the work

[1:46:58] involves utilizing our beehive. So kind

[1:47:00] of breaking down various aspects of this

[1:47:02] into kind of nice consumable videos. So

[1:47:04] we appreciate the partnership of the EDC

[1:47:07] in putting that out. It's also doing

[1:47:09] some social media work using our new

[1:47:11] engagement platform and making sure that

[1:47:12] we communicate this in all of the

[1:47:14] different ways. So there is a a strategy

[1:47:16] and a plan, but it it works kind of on

[1:47:19] uh because it is so complex and a lot of

[1:47:21] people don't want to read a 12-page

[1:47:23] council report. It's making sure that

[1:47:24] it's consumable to the average citizen.

[1:47:26] So there there is a plan and it's

[1:47:28] rolling out this fall.

[1:47:31] Don't 11

[1:47:34] council Herbert. No. Did I have any? No.

[1:47:36] Council Herbert. Thank you, worship. Um,

[1:47:40] thank you for the report, Adam. I mean,

[1:47:42] this really helps me understand what's

[1:47:44] going on. And yet I I was a little bit

[1:47:47] confused when I was reading through it

[1:47:48] where under your consolidated statements

[1:47:50] of operations accumulate surplus income

[1:47:53] statement you say that we have reflect

[1:47:56] an operating deficit of 748,000

[1:47:59] and then in the next statement you say

[1:48:01] however we have an surplus of 134,000

[1:48:05] and then you list a bunch of uh uh

[1:48:08] budget line items. Are those if you

[1:48:11] total those budget line items, would

[1:48:13] that make the difference between the we

[1:48:15] go from a deficit to a surplus? That's

[1:48:17] how we get to the surplus by adding up

[1:48:21] what you're suggesting there like

[1:48:22] industrial development activities and

[1:48:24] non-cash accounting adjustments.

[1:48:28] » Yeah. So that um that question is in

[1:48:31] reference to the audited financial

[1:48:33] statements. Um

[1:48:36] yes we we with respect to that we

[1:48:39] incurred a budget deficit uh that we

[1:48:42] required to draw from the uh a taxf

[1:48:45] funded reserve to resolve we but on the

[1:48:47] financial statements we had a large

[1:48:49] surplus that was in relation to Yarmouth

[1:48:51] Yards as I just mentioned we secured

[1:48:53] over $800 million in uh grants and

[1:48:56] private sector agreements and so that's

[1:48:58] why the financial statements both show a

[1:49:01] budget deficit and a very large surplus

[1:49:04] plus for the city simultaneously.

[1:49:06] >> So they offset each other. Is that what

[1:49:08] you're saying?

[1:49:09] >> Uh they're just used for different

[1:49:11] purposes. The the money for Yarmouth

[1:49:12] Yards is for Yarmouth Yards. It's not to build a road or pay staff.

[1:49:16] It's just very specific purpose. Um the money that is used for general city

[1:49:21] operations, we did have a modest deficit

[1:49:23] as reported in Q4.

[1:49:24] >> Okay. Thank you.

[1:49:27] Our questions, comments,

[1:49:31] Mr. Treasur, again I'll I'll say it

[1:49:33] again. The information flowing from your

[1:49:35] department has been exceptional on big

[1:49:37] things like this and even where what we

[1:49:40] need to do next. And there's a lot of

[1:49:42] large large amount of gap between last

[1:49:45] message to this message which makes it a

[1:49:47] little easier for us to as counselor

[1:49:49] Wiki says um answer the the questions of

[1:49:52] the of the taxpayers of the city and

[1:49:55] what is it you're doing. I think this

[1:49:56] was a excellent document. It got out

[1:49:58] there with the agenda this this week and people read it. people had great

[1:50:03] questions on it and there'll be more

[1:50:05] following up and the as you say the

[1:50:07] communication uh plan on it is to be as

[1:50:10] straightforward as we can against the

[1:50:12] information that we now know to be and

[1:50:14] the risks that are in the report.

[1:50:17] So thank you.

[1:50:22] Any further questions or comments?

[1:50:24] Seeing none all those in favor? Are

[1:50:26] there any opposed? Carried.

[1:50:30] >> Thanks worish. Next item relates to

[1:50:31] community grant requests intake 4. I

[1:50:34] have a motion that report TR226

[1:50:36] relating to community grant requests

[1:50:37] intake 4 be received for information and

[1:50:40] further that council decline all

[1:50:41] applications under the 2026 community

[1:50:43] grants program intake 4.

[1:50:46] Move by councelor Riml

[1:50:50] seconded by councelor Gibson.

[1:50:52] >> Questions or comments?

[1:50:54] Seeing none all those in favor? Any

[1:50:57] opposed? Carried.

[1:51:00] >> Membership. The next item relates to the

[1:51:01] 2026 municipal election accessibility

[1:51:03] plan. I have a motion that report CC

[1:51:05] 1526 relating to the 2026 municipal

[1:51:08] election accessibility plan be received

[1:51:10] for information and further that council

[1:51:12] adopt the 2026 municipal election

[1:51:14] accessibility plan for the 2026

[1:51:16] municipal election.

[1:51:18] Move by councelor Gibson, second by

[1:51:19] councelor Riml. Questions or comments on

[1:51:22] the uh election accessibility plan?

[1:51:27] Mr. Deputy Clerk, is there you you want

[1:51:30] to share any of the information on this

[1:51:32] or you

[1:51:35] » worship? Similar plans to previous

[1:51:37] years. Again, with council supporting

[1:51:39] the uh online and telephone voting,

[1:51:41] anyone can vote from anywhere. Um all

[1:51:44] the technology is is available for

[1:51:46] assistive u screen readers. Lots of

[1:51:49] accessible technologies can utilize the

[1:51:51] online voting. Um, and we're just

[1:51:53] finalizing voter assistance centers

[1:51:55] right now within that two-eek window

[1:51:57] that you can vote. Um, and they'll all

[1:51:59] be fully accessible as well.

[1:52:01] >> Super. Councelor Herbert,

[1:52:04] >> question to John through the mayor. Uh,

[1:52:07] are you having more than two sites or

[1:52:10] because people have asked me I know we

[1:52:12] had I think two last year's library and

[1:52:15] Mo Arena, but they're asking me other sites.

[1:52:19] >> Thanks. And through the council. So,

[1:52:21] right now we will likely be uh two dates

[1:52:23] at the Elgen Center, uh the senior

[1:52:25] center, and the library. So, three

[1:52:27] different locations across four dates.

[1:52:29] Uh we're looking to include a Saturday,

[1:52:32] evening hours, uh and daytime as well.

[1:52:37] >> Further questions or comments? Councelor

[1:52:39] Taylor,

[1:52:40] >> I'm not sure if this is the right Thank

[1:52:41] you. worship spot to say thank you to

[1:52:44] city staff. have been out at the Horton

[1:52:47] Market a number of weekends, a number of

[1:52:49] Saturdays promoting get out and vote.

[1:52:51] So, congratulations to that work that

[1:52:53] they've done. Thank you.

[1:52:55] >> Have Have you all checked that you're on

[1:52:58] the that you're eligible to vote? I

[1:53:01] spent some great time fighting with it

[1:53:03] one night, but I got it, so it works. I

[1:53:05] can vote this week or this year. Further

[1:53:08] questions or comments? Seeing none, all

[1:53:11] those in favor? Any opposed? Carried.

[1:53:15] Thanks worship. Next item relates to the

[1:53:17] council staff relations policy. I have a

[1:53:19] motion that report CC 1326 relating to

[1:53:22] the council staff relations policy be

[1:53:23] received for information and further

[1:53:25] that council adopt council staff

[1:53:27] relations policy GAO4 as presented and

[1:53:30] further that a bylaw authorizing the

[1:53:31] adoption of council staff relations

[1:53:33] policy GA4 be presented to council for

[1:53:35] enactment.

[1:53:37] Moved by councelor Gibson or sorry

[1:53:39] councelor Herbert, seconded by councelor

[1:53:40] Taylor.

[1:53:42] >> Questions or comments?

[1:53:45] Seeing none, all those in favor? Any

[1:53:47] opposed? That's carried.

[1:53:50] >> Last item under this committee relates

[1:53:52] to the St. Thomas Municipal

[1:53:53] Accessibility Advisory Committee terms

[1:53:54] of reference. I have a motion that

[1:53:56] report CC1 1426 relating to the St.

[1:53:59] Thomas Municipal Accessibility Advisory

[1:54:00] Committee terms of reference be received

[1:54:02] for information. And further that

[1:54:04] council authorized the preparation of a

[1:54:05] bylaw establishing the St. Thomas

[1:54:07] Municipal Accessibility Advisory

[1:54:08] Committee in accordance with the

[1:54:10] Accessibility Frontarians with

[1:54:11] Disabilities Act 2005 as amended. No by

[1:54:15] councelor Gibson, second by Councelor

[1:54:16] Rhyme.

[1:54:17] >> Questions or comments?

[1:54:20] Seeing none, all those in favor? Any

[1:54:22] opposed? Carried

[1:54:25] your worship. Unless there are any

[1:54:26] further items from this committee from

[1:54:27] the members.

[1:54:30] Uh council will now reconvene into

[1:54:31] regular session. I have a motion that

[1:54:33] the recommendations, directions, and

[1:54:34] actions of council and committee of the

[1:54:36] whole as recorded in the minutes of this

[1:54:37] date be confirmed, ratified, and

[1:54:39] adopted. Moved by councelor Bowwin Sans,

[1:54:43] seconded by councelor Wookie.

[1:54:44] >> Questions or comments? Seeing none, all

[1:54:47] those in favor? Any opposed? Carried.

[1:54:50] >> Uh, next we move into reports of

[1:54:52] committees. Uh, a couple items this

[1:54:54] evening. Uh, we have report chief 2026

[1:54:57] 24 of the police chief to the St. House

[1:54:59] police services board relating to the

[1:55:00] crime severity index values for 2025. Uh

[1:55:04] this is included for the members

[1:55:05] information.

[1:55:08] >> Councelor Wiki.

[1:55:09] >> Thanks your worship. I just like to ask

[1:55:11] Chief because he's here just to talk a

[1:55:12] little bit about the highlights of of

[1:55:14] that and what it means for the citizens

[1:55:15] of St. Thomas. Thank you,

[1:55:18] >> Chief. Great to have you here tonight.

[1:55:20] >> Thank you for having me. Well, good

[1:55:22] evening uh council. I'm pleased to be

[1:55:24] here this evening to uh to report to you

[1:55:26] and provide information on purposes of

[1:55:28] the 2025 crime severity index results um

[1:55:32] which demonstrates that St. Thomas uh

[1:55:34] remains a safe city and that the

[1:55:37] strategic investments by the city and

[1:55:39] the police services board are producing

[1:55:41] measurable results. As you all know,

[1:55:44] I've attended here the last three years

[1:55:46] as the chief of police to report on the

[1:55:48] crime severity index.

[1:55:50] Crime severity is separated into three

[1:55:52] primary uh measures. Overall crime

[1:55:54] severity index, non-violent crime

[1:55:56] severity index and the violent crime

[1:55:58] severity index. We saw reductions in all

[1:56:02] three measures. This is a significant

[1:56:04] notation

[1:56:06] uh and provides a clear evidence that

[1:56:08] the strategic investments made are

[1:56:09] producing tangible and measurable public

[1:56:12] safety outcomes. Of note, overall crime

[1:56:15] severity decreased 6.1% in 2025 and by

[1:56:19] 10% since 23, while violent crime

[1:56:23] severity fell by a significant 17% over

[1:56:26] the past year and is averaging a 6%

[1:56:29] reduction since 2023.

[1:56:33] Notably, we saw homicides decline 50%,

[1:56:36] robberies decline 33%, and elicit drug

[1:56:39] offenses decline 6%. The nonviolent CSI

[1:56:44] held steady at a reduction of2%

[1:56:48] representing 12% average reduction since

[1:56:51] 2023.

[1:56:52] I would be remiss not to mention the

[1:56:54] very promising results from our

[1:56:56] downtown. Social and health related

[1:56:58] disorder issues in the downtown core

[1:57:01] have been a primary focus of our police

[1:57:03] service. As you know, since 2021,

[1:57:06] unwanted persons in the downtown core

[1:57:08] have decreased by 75%.

[1:57:11] Complaints involving drug use, behavior,

[1:57:13] or activities in the downtown core have

[1:57:15] decreased by 84% since 2021.

[1:57:20] These are major reductions, and I

[1:57:22] commend the police services board and

[1:57:23] the city council for providing the

[1:57:25] financial resourcing to provide a safe

[1:57:27] city.

[1:57:29] This council and the police services

[1:57:30] board made deliberate investments over

[1:57:32] the last couple of years to address

[1:57:34] emerging risks and strengthen

[1:57:36] organizational police capacity. These

[1:57:39] investments were wise and necessary and

[1:57:42] they are working.

[1:57:44] What they have done is increased

[1:57:45] frontline capacity. They've targeted

[1:57:48] intelligenceled enforcement.

[1:57:51] They provided a community resource team

[1:57:53] which is now comprised of 10 special

[1:57:55] constables. Strengthened street crime

[1:57:57] and our property crime units.

[1:58:00] It has provided the creation of a crime

[1:58:02] analysis unit. It has provided a second

[1:58:05] police services dog team. It enhanced

[1:58:08] forensic identification and digital

[1:58:09] forensics capacity and it has uh

[1:58:14] provided the strategic deployment of

[1:58:16] uniform resources where we need them

[1:58:18] most and the creation of a of a of a

[1:58:21] deployment uh and deployment of a

[1:58:23] critical incident response team.

[1:58:28] While these results are encouraging, I

[1:58:30] do want to note, and it's important for

[1:58:31] me to note, that there are rising

[1:58:34] incident volumes this year.

[1:58:37] We are at 1,000 incidents over where we

[1:58:41] were last time this year. Uh so we're

[1:58:44] looking at what is causing the community

[1:58:45] to need the police 1,000 more times in

[1:58:49] 26, more than 25. Is that what growth

[1:58:52] looks like? Is this our new normal? uh

[1:58:55] and you know we can manage these

[1:58:57] incident volumes. It's just the

[1:58:59] complexities we have to look at. And

[1:59:01] that by complexities I'm referring to

[1:59:04] violent and non-violent recidivism,

[1:59:06] intimate partner violence, which notably

[1:59:08] rose 30% in 2025, community disorder and

[1:59:12] calls for service, high-risisk and

[1:59:14] prolific offending, investigative and

[1:59:16] frontload frontline workload, population

[1:59:19] and municipal growth, and member uh and

[1:59:22] organizational resilience and wellness.

[1:59:26] So, those are the areas we're looking

[1:59:27] at. I do want to take this opportunity

[1:59:29] to thank council for your continued

[1:59:30] prioritization of public safety uh and

[1:59:33] for the men and women of the police

[1:59:35] service that serve this community every

[1:59:36] day. Um the results and the work we're

[1:59:40] doing together are working. So subject

[1:59:42] to any questions, I I yield back.

[1:59:44] >> Okay, Council Herbert on the crime

[1:59:47] severity.

[1:59:48] >> Thank you, Worship. I don't really have

[1:59:49] a question for you. It's just going to

[1:59:51] be a couple good positive comments. Uh,

[1:59:54] I know when I when I ran for election my

[1:59:57] first term, one of the things I had

[2:00:00] highlighted was a satellite office

[2:00:02] downtown for the police department.

[2:00:04] Well, look where we are now. Your

[2:00:06] special constables. I'm going to brag

[2:00:08] about them. They know everybody on that

[2:00:10] street. They take care of everybody and

[2:00:12] it gives your officers an opportunity to

[2:00:15] do police work around the city and not

[2:00:17] be dragged down to Jenny. So, kudos to

[2:00:19] you in that. Your key findings. We want

[2:00:22] to promote St. Thomas, a safe place to

[2:00:24] live. Read this. You know, I mean, it

[2:00:26] never going to be perfect, but we're in

[2:00:28] the downward stuff and that's great. So, you have a a great staff and team and

[2:00:33] so I always get excited. I always follow

[2:00:35] these reports along pretty good. So, you

[2:00:37] did it. Who if you did the report?

[2:00:39] Perfect. You did a great job in putting

[2:00:41] it all together, especially the diagrams

[2:00:42] and stuff. Very good. Thank you very

[2:00:44] much. Appreciate it. [snorts]

[2:00:46] >> If I did the report, councelor Herbert,

[2:00:48] I I did the report.

[2:00:49] >> Yeah.

[2:00:52] Further questions or comments? Councelor

[2:00:54] Riml,

[2:00:55] >> just I I appreciate the report as well

[2:00:58] and uh it's one thing, you know, when

[2:01:00] you get the funding, it's how to

[2:01:02] strategically manage it and to be

[2:01:05] flexible and to constantly uh maneuver,

[2:01:07] you know, strategies and, you know,

[2:01:09] you're looking at um the national rate

[2:01:12] is 75. London's up to 65.95.

[2:01:16] So, you know, you're you're doing a

[2:01:18] tremendous uh tremendous job, a very

[2:01:21] progressive um department, and we're

[2:01:23] very fortunate in the city.

[2:01:25] >> Yeah. Councelor Clark,

[2:01:28] >> just wondering about the domest domestic

[2:01:30] violence and whether or not that um is

[2:01:33] triggered by anything that you're seeing

[2:01:36] locally or is it a nationwide trend

[2:01:39] after the pandemic or whether it's a

[2:01:41] reflection of the economy? and just

[2:01:43] wondering why in one year we're seeing

[2:01:46] such a change

[2:01:51] » through your worship to c to council

[2:01:53] counselor Clark. Um it is these

[2:01:55] statistics for intimate partner violence

[2:01:58] are up nationally. Um so we're looking

[2:02:01] at ways that we can address that. We

[2:02:04] have received provincial funding to come

[2:02:06] up with proactive, not just the reactive

[2:02:09] pieces, but the proactive ways to

[2:02:12] identify uh problematic family disputes

[2:02:16] um uh gender-based

[2:02:19] violence before it occurs. Um, if we

[2:02:22] have an argument, we now send a social

[2:02:23] worker who's embedded in our police

[2:02:24] service to the to the residents or if we

[2:02:27] make an arrest, we have the social

[2:02:29] worker meet with the accused and the

[2:02:31] victims so that uh we can we can stop

[2:02:34] the cycle of of violence and knock down

[2:02:36] this 30% rise. But we are still

[2:02:39] analyzing why it's happening, but it is

[2:02:41] happening nationally. There will be some

[2:02:44] relation to the second order effects to

[2:02:48] the pandemic, the government's

[2:02:50] responses, all of our responses to uh to

[2:02:53] the to the pandemic in terms of

[2:02:56] resources. Are they not available any

[2:02:58] longer? Um have we closed doors to some some important social resources

[2:03:04] that once were there to to prevent this?

[2:03:07] We're looking at uh all of that, but uh

[2:03:09] the 30% is a real number. Um, and it's

[2:03:12] uh it's concerning.

[2:03:16] >> Wiki,

[2:03:17] >> thanks. Your worship. I have a couple

[2:03:19] questions. One comment about what you

[2:03:21] just talked about in partner violence.

[2:03:24] I'm hoping that part of it is that we as

[2:03:27] a society are getting more comfortable

[2:03:29] talking about it. So perhaps it is that

[2:03:32] more is being reported, you know, that

[2:03:35] might not have been reported. And I

[2:03:36] don't so I'm not trying to phrase this

[2:03:37] as a positive thing but if if people are

[2:03:39] more comfortable talking about it and

[2:03:41] reporting it you know we are helping to

[2:03:43] deal with the problem. Um two questions

[2:03:45] and they're both I don't want to get

[2:03:47] your blood pressure up chief but I know

[2:03:48] these are both hot topics because I've

[2:03:50] heard you talk about them many times in

[2:03:53] terms of arson and how it fits into the

[2:03:56] crime severity index. How does the the whole topic of arson fit into this

[2:04:02] um into these into the graphics here?

[2:04:05] That's my first one. Thank you,

[2:04:10] » Councelor Wookie. Um, the arson would

[2:04:12] fit into the nonviolent

[2:04:15] um crime severity measure. We've tal

[2:04:18] we've spoken about this in the past. Um,

[2:04:20] I would submit to you that arson. Um,

[2:04:23] they've used they've used fire as the

[2:04:26] weapon and it can have devastating

[2:04:28] effects. We all know uh the results are

[2:04:31] in recently and we put a statement out

[2:04:33] on on the sentencing of the individual

[2:04:35] that uh dropped the historical building

[2:04:37] in our downtown core. Um and that was a

[2:04:40] significant

[2:04:42] um uh sentence. Keep in mind that

[2:04:45] sentence issued in 2025 will have a

[2:04:48] direct impact on 26's crime severity for

[2:04:52] the nonviolent because crime severity is weighted on the sentences that are

[2:04:57] issued in the year that that they occur.

[2:04:59] So we will see um the arson sentence of

[2:05:04] five years uh for that individual

[2:05:06] reflected in 26 is crime severity. again

[2:05:10] uh and I didn't get into this but we

[2:05:11] can't take the crime severity results uh

[2:05:14] alone. They have to be uh looked at on a

[2:05:17] whole host of of of things that are

[2:05:20] affecting our community public safety.

[2:05:22] But they these results coupled with um

[2:05:25] other quantitative results are showing

[2:05:27] that we have a very safe city and it is

[2:05:30] uh it can be attributed to the the uh

[2:05:32] the resources the financial resources

[2:05:34] that this council has provided me.

[2:05:37] >> Next question. Uh, the second one,

[2:05:40] reoffenders.

[2:05:42] Now, I I'm wondering if there's been

[2:05:44] analysis done, not asking for it to be

[2:05:46] done, but I'm going to guess your

[2:05:47] analytics people can take a look at and

[2:05:49] say if you [snorts] know x% of these

[2:05:53] serious offenders who are let out on

[2:05:55] recgnissance or whatever conditions were

[2:05:57] not let out and we can take a look at

[2:05:59] the uh crimes they committed when they

[2:06:02] were let out, what would the crime

[2:06:04] severity index kind of look like for us?

[2:06:07] Um, just some general comments. I'm not

[2:06:10] asking for that to be done if it's not

[2:06:11] been done, but I'm guessing that it

[2:06:13] would be a very interesting set of

[2:06:14] statistics

[2:06:16] if you took a look at who's doing the

[2:06:18] offending, you know, because we have a

[2:06:20] crime severity index, but it'd be

[2:06:22] interesting and take a look at like, you

[2:06:24] know, are there eight individuals who

[2:06:26] are responsible for 30% of this index,

[2:06:29] things like that. So, just a few

[2:06:30] comments from that would be uh great I'd

[2:06:32] be grateful for that.

[2:06:34] >> Great

[2:06:35] chief. Certainly um

[2:06:40] recetiv recetivism is a is a real thing.

[2:06:42] Um we work on the premise that repeated

[2:06:45] mistakes or choices. Um and so uh the

[2:06:49] federal government as you know just

[2:06:50] released um Bill C14 which is an act to

[2:06:55] amend um bail. Uh specifically uh I'll

[2:06:59] speak to the reverse onus and repeat

[2:07:01] violent offending uh failure to failure

[2:07:04] to appear um and just um shity uh it's

[2:07:11] strengthening uh who becomes a shity and

[2:07:14] who doesn't. Um

[2:07:17] councelor Wookie uh recidivan has has

[2:07:19] been a big issue for for us in in uh

[2:07:22] recent years. fail to comply offenses

[2:07:25] are committed by a disproportionate few.

[2:07:29] Um, and so, uh, we're working to reduce

[2:07:33] those those numbers considerably.

[2:07:37] In answer to your point about the

[2:07:39] reporting up read the gender-based, uh,

[2:07:42] gender- based intimate partner violence,

[2:07:44] you are correct. We have been advocating

[2:07:47] and campaigning publicly about reporting

[2:07:50] and trying to reach victims and

[2:07:52] survivors of of IPV and gender- based

[2:07:55] violence. And I think that that also has

[2:07:57] a result, Councelor Clark, as well on

[2:08:00] why our numbers nationally have been up.

[2:08:02] There's been an enhanced focus na uh

[2:08:04] proincially and nationally on on trying

[2:08:06] to end that. It's become an epidemic and

[2:08:09] we're trying to end that. So the

[2:08:11] increased resources put towards that

[2:08:14] specific crime complexity

[2:08:17] um

[2:08:19] results in some u increased numbers in

[2:08:22] those areas. So

[2:08:25] >> further questions or comments on the

[2:08:26] crime severity index. Seeing none, all

[2:08:29] those in favor? Any opposed? Carried.

[2:08:33] Chief, you have a second report.

[2:08:35] >> Thanks. Yeah, another report under

[2:08:37] reports of committee report. Chief

[2:08:38] 202628 of the police chief to the St.

[2:08:40] Thomas Police Services Board. This one

[2:08:42] relates to tactical readiness vehicles.

[2:08:44] As there's a financial component, I do

[2:08:46] have a motion ready that council support

[2:08:47] the proposed acquisition of two tactical

[2:08:49] response vehicles at a cost of 159,900

[2:08:53] plus applicable taxes and necessary

[2:08:55] transfer costs funded from available

[2:08:56] police services development charge

[2:08:59] reserves.

[2:09:00] Moved by councelor Wilkey, second by

[2:09:02] councelor Gibson.

[2:09:04] >> Questions or comments? Councelor Rhymel

[2:09:07] >> just the um development charge reserve

[2:09:10] fund report is a very handy report there

[2:09:12] to have so anyway but I I know that you

[2:09:15] do

[2:09:17] not try you do uh contain any vehicle

[2:09:20] costs in your operating which I don't

[2:09:22] know how you do it so um this is a seems

[2:09:26] to be very reasonable amount and we've

[2:09:28] got the you you know you have the

[2:09:30] reserve fund and we can't use it for

[2:09:32] anything else like we can't take it and

[2:09:34] give it to planning so Um, it's there to

[2:09:36] be used and this seems like a good uh a

[2:09:39] good use of it.

[2:09:41] >> Councelor Herbert,

[2:09:43] >> thank you. Worship. Well, you know,

[2:09:45] Mark, this was my first term board. This

[2:09:48] was a discussion at that time with you

[2:09:49] and Chris and your worship was on the

[2:09:51] board. We'll get this and it just wasn't

[2:09:54] in the cards at that time. Uh, your plan

[2:09:57] was, I believe, was to contact London if

[2:09:59] you needed uh that type of service. But

[2:10:01] now, so this is this is great here. I

[2:10:03] mean, I'm I'm happily supporting it and

[2:10:06] uh I don't know what uh uh when you

[2:10:08] finally get them if you're going to be

[2:10:10] able to offer your service maybe to

[2:10:11] Elmer. I don't know how that works, if

[2:10:13] that's a possibility. But my question is

[2:10:15] not capital. I mean, your reserve fund,

[2:10:18] your worship will remember we had a big

[2:10:19] debate about the reserve fund for the

[2:10:21] police services board and we ended up

[2:10:23] letting you keep your money in police

[2:10:25] services board. So, my question is

[2:10:27] operational.

[2:10:28] Do you have to hire more officers now to man these? You have to train officers

[2:10:33] for this special. Do you have to buy

[2:10:35] special equipment? Bigger gun? I don't

[2:10:38] know. I say bigger guns, but is is that

[2:10:40] something that would come out of a

[2:10:42] reserve hunt or is that not necessary?

[2:10:44] You just have certain you just take two

[2:10:46] officers on a shift and put them in the tank and away you go. Is that the

[2:10:51] way it works? I'm just not sure. I'm

[2:10:52] just wondering if there's any more

[2:10:53] operational costs that are going to pop

[2:10:56] up here. So, that's my question. Thank

[2:10:58] you,

[2:10:59] >> Chief.

[2:11:01] through your worship worship to

[2:11:02] councelor Herbert. Um the police service

[2:11:04] has been transitioning from a

[2:11:06] containment team that we developed two

[2:11:08] years ago to a tactical team in 2027.

[2:11:11] What these vehicles will do is they will

[2:11:13] provide further readiness. We're not

[2:11:15] quite there but we are getting ourselves

[2:11:17] there for the arrival of Power Cole

[2:11:19] which is a requirement. Um,

[2:11:23] in terms of the upscaled uh

[2:11:26] qualifications of this team, they are 12

[2:11:28] individuals that are highly trained to

[2:11:30] deal with very serious violent crisis um

[2:11:35] matters. Uh, front line has some of this

[2:11:38] training, but not near what these

[2:11:40] individual officers have. Uh, yes, it

[2:11:44] is. is these vehicles are equipped with

[2:11:45] vaults for rifles uh for all of those um

[2:11:51] critical incidents that we are

[2:11:53] legislated to uh to be ready for and to

[2:11:56] provide.

[2:12:01] Counc.

[2:12:03] >> Thanks, Worship. Uh, typically

[2:12:06] police budget items don't come to us.

[2:12:08] And so I just wanted clarification on

[2:12:11] the the development charge reserve fund

[2:12:14] is our fund, right? It's not the part of

[2:12:17] the police budget as you described,

[2:12:20] Council Herbert.

[2:12:23] So, so this is an ask outside of the

[2:12:27] budget that we've we've established that

[2:12:31] we're asking to be approved tonight.

[2:12:33] Just clarification.

[2:12:34] >> I think I'd like our treasurer to give

[2:12:36] us just a little further explanation on

[2:12:39] where this came from.

[2:12:40] >> Thank [clears throat] you.

[2:12:41] >> Thank you, your worship. That was an

[2:12:43] accurate description. Um, we see this as

[2:12:46] a a ask extraneous to the budget process

[2:12:49] between the police services board and

[2:12:51] the city. Um the use of the development

[2:12:53] charge uh police police development

[2:12:55] charge reserve fund is at the city's

[2:12:57] discretion. It's not an area that the

[2:12:59] police board could um forcibly transfer

[2:13:03] out of. Uh but that being said, we did

[2:13:05] encourage the chief to come to the

[2:13:06] meeting tonight. We're supportive of the

[2:13:08] request and ultimately these DC funds

[2:13:10] were set aside for the purposes of what

[2:13:13] is being proposed uh through his report.

[2:13:15] So we are supportive of uh him coming

[2:13:17] here tonight and um approval of the

[2:13:19] request.

[2:13:23] Okay.

[2:13:26] Right. I just um

[2:13:29] we had a a large increase in our in our

[2:13:33] budget this year driven by the fact that

[2:13:36] the province didn't give the police the

[2:13:38] grants that they typically get and now

[2:13:41] bec now we're uh transitioning from

[2:13:45] um to a tactical unit. Is there

[2:13:50] is is is all this on the taxpayers's

[2:13:53] back or does the province when you move

[2:13:55] from a containment unit to a tactical

[2:13:58] unit is there new provincial dollars

[2:14:01] that we didn't get recently that could

[2:14:04] be applied to this situation

[2:14:09] » councelor clerk we're always looking for

[2:14:11] ways to offset uh expenses through

[2:14:14] provincial revenues um I don't know of

[2:14:16] any stream that would offset that uh

[2:14:20] this this fits into the community safety

[2:14:22] and policing act. It's a regulation that

[2:14:25] if the the city needs a tactical unit,

[2:14:28] they are uh financially uh responsible

[2:14:32] to to operationally fund that. Um and so

[2:14:37] again, this is as a result of growth uh

[2:14:40] where we're going with crime severity um

[2:14:44] uh with the arrival of Power Co. There's

[2:14:46] a number of reasons why we need to move

[2:14:49] ourselves to a tactical response team

[2:14:51] that is working. We reported out in the

[2:14:54] annual annual report in June. We have um

[2:14:58] involved this team 94% more than we did

[2:15:02] in uh 2025.

[2:15:05] We didn't have a team in uh completely

[2:15:08] formed in 2024. So, it's relatively a

[2:15:11] new team. Uh there are operational

[2:15:13] expenses that we've been chipping away

[2:15:15] at trying to get there over about a

[2:15:17] three-year period for the arrival of

[2:15:19] Power Co next September. And this team

[2:15:21] is required uh as a level two legislated

[2:15:26] team. Um and it it does fit the growth.

[2:15:30] It is a requirement of growth. Hope that

[2:15:32] answers your question.

[2:15:35] Further questions?

[2:15:39] Thanks, Chief. Um, there was a motion on

[2:15:42] the floor. So, I'll say all in favor.

[2:15:45] Any opposed? Carried. Chief, thank you

[2:15:48] for coming, sharing with us on both of

[2:15:49] those topics tonight.

[2:15:53] >> Thanks, worship. We'll now move into

[2:15:54] communications. First item relates to

[2:15:56] the fetal alcohol spectrums disorder

[2:15:58] awareness. Uh, it's a September 9th,

[2:16:00] 2026 proclamation, jumbo lighting, and

[2:16:02] bell ringing. I have a motion that the

[2:16:04] council of the city of St. Thomas

[2:16:05] proclaimed September 9th, 2026 as fetal

[2:16:08] alcohol spectrum disorder awareness day

[2:16:10] in the city of St. Thomas. And further

[2:16:12] that the jumbo monument be lit in red

[2:16:14] from September 5th to 9th, 2026. And

[2:16:17] further that the bells at city hall be

[2:16:19] rung nine times at 9:09 a.m. on

[2:16:21] September 9th, 2026.

[2:16:24] Moved by councelor Kohler, seconded by

[2:16:26] councelor Herbert.

[2:16:27] >> Questions or comments? Seeing none, all

[2:16:29] those in favor? Any opposed? Carried.

[2:16:33] Next item relates to the international

[2:16:35] day for the eradication of poverty,

[2:16:36] October 17th, 2026 proclamation and

[2:16:39] plague raising. I have a motion that the

[2:16:41] council of the city of St. Thomas

[2:16:42] proclaim October 17th, 2026 as

[2:16:44] international day for the eradication of

[2:16:46] poverty in the city of St. Thomas. And

[2:16:48] further that the coalition to end

[2:16:50] poverty flag be flown on October 17th,

[2:16:52] 2026.

[2:16:54] By councelor Bobin Sand, seconded by

[2:16:55] councelor Gibson.

[2:16:57] >> Questions or comments? Seeing none, all

[2:16:59] those in favor? Any opposed? Carried.

[2:17:02] Next item relates to Ontario Public

[2:17:04] Library Week October 18th to 24th, 2026

[2:17:07] proclamation and flag raising. I have a

[2:17:09] motion that the council of the city of

[2:17:11] St. Thomas proclaim October 18th to

[2:17:13] 24th, 2026 as Ontario Public Library

[2:17:16] week in the city of St. Thomas and

[2:17:18] further that the green libraries for

[2:17:19] life flag be flown for the week. Moved

[2:17:22] by councelor Riml, seconded by councelor

[2:17:24] Gibson.

[2:17:25] >> Questions or comments? Seeing none, all

[2:17:28] those in favor? Any opposed? Carried.

[2:17:31] Next item relates to the foster family

[2:17:33] appreciation week October 19th to 25th

[2:17:36] 2026 proclamation flag raising. I have a

[2:17:39] motion that council of the city of St.

[2:17:40] Thomas proclaim October 19th to 25th

[2:17:43] 2026 as foster family appreciation week

[2:17:46] in the city of St. Thomas and further

[2:17:48] that the family and children services

[2:17:49] flag be flown for the week. Moved by

[2:17:52] councelor Taylor, seconded by councelor

[2:17:53] Clark.

[2:17:54] >> Questions or comments? Seeing none, all

[2:17:56] those in favor? Any opposed? Carried.

[2:17:59] Uh, next item relates to a request to

[2:18:01] permit the keeping of backyard hens. A

[2:18:03] letter has been received from Daniel

[2:18:04] Zeniga, 26 Welch Court regarding the

[2:18:07] keeping of backyard hens in the city.

[2:18:09] Uh, as noted on council's agenda, a

[2:18:11] motion was lost to permit the keeping of

[2:18:12] backyard hens in 2025. Should council

[2:18:15] wish to change that direction, a motion

[2:18:16] to reconsider would be required.

[2:18:19] >> Councelor Kohler,

[2:18:21] >> thanks your worship. I I thought that

[2:18:23] report actually had something in it that

[2:18:25] they would

[2:18:26] keep monitoring this and then report

[2:18:28] back later because I know that most of

[2:18:30] council had a serious um concerns with I

[2:18:34] think aviation like the bird bird bird

[2:18:36] flu at that time and they were looking

[2:18:38] at different ways for for doing that. So

[2:18:40] I wasn't sure if that was built into

[2:18:42] that but um

[2:18:45] >> obviously

[2:18:45] >> still require a rec reconsideration

[2:18:47] vote.

[2:18:48] >> Okay. So I guess that's where I was

[2:18:50] mistaken. I thought it was just left on

[2:18:51] there that it was uh put for further

[2:18:54] review, but okay. So, I guess um we'll

[2:18:57] let that individual know that that has

[2:19:00] to take place prior to that, but okay.

[2:19:05] >> Thanks, Worship. Uh we already dealt

[2:19:07] with the Emily Field Grandstand. So,

[2:19:09] next item under communications, the

[2:19:10] Catfish Creek Conservation Authority

[2:19:12] 2027 draft budget and municipal levy

[2:19:14] aortionment. A letter has been received

[2:19:16] from Dusty Underh Hill, general manager,

[2:19:18] secretary treasurer for the Catfish

[2:19:20] Creek Conservation Authority regarding

[2:19:21] the authority's 2027 draft budget and

[2:19:23] municipal levy uh portionment.

[2:19:27] That's for council's information. Uh

[2:19:29] next item relates to the Eastern Lake

[2:19:31] Erie Regional Conservation Authority

[2:19:33] amalgamation. A joint statement has been

[2:19:35] received from Morgan Griffin, chair

[2:19:38] Catfish Creek Conservation Authority,

[2:19:40] John Chalinor, II, chair, Grand River

[2:19:43] Conservation Authority, Todd Noble,

[2:19:45] chair, Kettle Creek Conservation

[2:19:46] Authority, and Doug Brunton, chair

[2:19:49] Longpoint Region Conservation Authority,

[2:19:51] regarding the appointment of Samantha

[2:19:52] Lawson as project executive to chair the

[2:19:55] regional transition committee and

[2:19:56] inaugural CEO for the Eastern Lake Erie

[2:19:58] Regional Conservation Authority. again

[2:20:01] for council information. Next item

[2:20:03] relates to the Ontario Provincial

[2:20:05] Conservation Agency Regional Transition

[2:20:07] Committees. A letter has been received

[2:20:09] from Hassan Basset, CEO, Ontario

[2:20:12] Provincial Conservation Agency,

[2:20:14] regarding members appointed to

[2:20:15] transition committees to support the

[2:20:17] implementation of regional conservation

[2:20:19] authority consolidation.

[2:20:21] And the last item on the agenda under

[2:20:23] communications from the Obudsman Ontario

[2:20:26] uh relating to the 2025 annual report. A

[2:20:29] letter has been received from Barbara

[2:20:30] Finlay, acting OMBbudsman of Ontario

[2:20:32] regarding the 2025 2026 annual report.

[2:20:35] The report is available electronically

[2:20:37] on the OMBbudsman's website.

[2:20:40] Uh unless there are any items under

[2:20:42] communications or unfinished business or

[2:20:45] new business of council.

[2:20:47] >> Council Herbert. Thank you, worship. Uh,

[2:20:51] I'm glad the fire chief is in attendance

[2:20:53] tonight because I have a question for

[2:20:55] him. If you notice in the paper a few

[2:20:57] weeks ago, there was a big fire in

[2:20:59] Strathroy and when the fire department

[2:21:01] got there, it was magnesium on fire and

[2:21:04] I don't know uh if they had they had to

[2:21:08] get some special

[2:21:10] stuff to put on it. I don't know if they

[2:21:12] had it on and I don't know is it

[2:21:15] dangerous for the firefighters to to

[2:21:17] come on a site with magnesium. And the

[2:21:19] third part, do we have magnesium in the

[2:21:22] city? So those three questions for you

[2:21:23] there, Mr. Gregory. Thank you,

[2:21:26] >> Chief. How's your magnesium knowledge?

[2:21:31] >> Your worship is great.

[2:21:32] >> All right. So you your worship to

[2:21:35] councelor Herbert. So a great question.

[2:21:38] Um I read about that and I saw some of

[2:21:40] the um media stuff over that. Yes, we

[2:21:43] have magnesium in the city. Um, a lot of

[2:21:46] the, uh, shops that do, um, tool and die

[2:21:49] work and, uh, specialty shops like that,

[2:21:52] they do carry magnesium. We are prepared

[2:21:55] for any of those fires. Um, we carry a

[2:21:58] special extinguisher on our trucks

[2:22:00] that's designed just for that. You can't

[2:22:02] put water on it. Water intensifies

[2:22:05] magnesium fires. Um, it just creates

[2:22:07] heat. Magnesium fires burn around

[2:22:09] anywhere between 3,000 and 5,000

[2:22:11] degrees. it is dangerous to the

[2:22:13] firefighters but during initial um you

[2:22:17] know indications through alarms and

[2:22:19] whatever and I think through the

[2:22:20] building code and the fire code if

[2:22:22] anybody has magnesium in there is they

[2:22:23] have to put in specialty systems that

[2:22:25] are integrated into their sprinkler

[2:22:27] systems or whatever they have it would

[2:22:28] be a chemical uh area where it's stored.

[2:22:31] Um and also one of the other things if

[2:22:34] you don't have enough uh agent applied

[2:22:36] you can put sand on it and we carry

[2:22:38] abundant amount of sand will put it out

[2:22:40] too. So it's a matter of smothering the magnesium to put it out and we have

[2:22:45] that all day long and our training

[2:22:46] officers here too. So that's some of the

[2:22:48] thing that uh we train our firefighters

[2:22:50] in different aspects to mitigate.

[2:22:54] >> Great council Riml say Chief Gregor just

[2:22:58] stay there.

[2:23:00] So when you're talking about uh um

[2:23:03] Stroth anyway I have a fire question.

[2:23:05] And I just wondered if you could give an

[2:23:07] update on the vacant um building um

[2:23:10] registry that we're going to do. Just,

[2:23:12] you know, there was a house that blew up

[2:23:14] in London. You know, it was vacant and I

[2:23:17] just wondered where we are in that

[2:23:19] process because that's a concern. And

[2:23:21] just another piece of that, do we need

[2:23:23] some type of listing of new businesses

[2:23:25] because um I don't think we have a not

[2:23:28] to have a building permit or whatever,

[2:23:31] but just some listing that uh fire

[2:23:34] police, everyone's aware that here's

[2:23:35] this new building and maybe they're

[2:23:37] holding propane tanks, maybe it's full

[2:23:38] of magnesium, who knows? But and then we

[2:23:42] could also give them a little welcome

[2:23:43] wagon, you know, with uh stuff about the

[2:23:46] city. But just as two pieces, do we need

[2:23:48] a a listing of building and where are we

[2:23:50] at with the vacant uh building

[2:23:53] >> through your worship to council Raml? So

[2:23:55] Kim and I uh fire prevention officer

[2:23:58] Destin and I are working uh towards

[2:24:00] that. We have to set up a meeting with

[2:24:02] uh Lou and his team to put it all

[2:24:04] together. We don't like and like we said

[2:24:05] before uh we don't want to do this, you

[2:24:08] know, piece it together. We want to make

[2:24:10] this spectacular. Uh there's some other

[2:24:11] ones out there. uh other municipalities

[2:24:13] have reached out to us and said you know

[2:24:15] great idea how can we you know look at

[2:24:18] this and what can we do to help you so

[2:24:20] this will be big um the second part of

[2:24:23] your question as uh indication of new

[2:24:26] businesses I know our fire prevention

[2:24:28] team meets with new businesses go in and

[2:24:30] uh say it's a restaurant or whatever it

[2:24:32] is they go through the fire safety plans

[2:24:34] they look what they have they uh

[2:24:36] register they're in our crisis system at

[2:24:38] work uh through our dispatch u they have

[2:24:41] a list of the owners, what the contents

[2:24:44] are, and what their fire safety plans

[2:24:46] are, too. So, anything that's new, our

[2:24:48] fire prevention team go into those

[2:24:50] buildings, check out those buildings,

[2:24:51] and do all the means of egress, whether

[2:24:53] they have the right amount of uh

[2:24:55] extinguishers, lighting, and all those

[2:24:57] processes are done before that they're given access to open as a a new

[2:25:02] building.

[2:25:03] >> Just just a qu So, do we have a formal

[2:25:05] listing where where new businesses

[2:25:07] register somewhere? like how do you know

[2:25:09] that a new business has has come to the

[2:25:11] city?

[2:25:13] >> So they reach out to usually through I

[2:25:14] think it's through planning that we get

[2:25:16] it and other departments that we get an

[2:25:18] idea that something. So if somebody's

[2:25:19] building a new restaurant, they have to

[2:25:21] go through us. So we'll get a building

[2:25:22] permit. It'll come to us first and

[2:25:25] building permit and then we do the

[2:25:26] followup of of stuff like that.

[2:25:29] >> Okay. So it just might be a thought if

[2:25:30] we know that new businesses are coming

[2:25:32] just is that a way we could communicate

[2:25:34] things you know a little package about

[2:25:36] the city is you know things to help them

[2:25:38] with their their you know planning

[2:25:41] around the city. But anyway thank you

[2:25:43] very much. I just

[2:25:43] >> back to the old days like welcome wagon

[2:25:45] where we used to get a little basket.

[2:25:47] >> Yeah we're just worried about that

[2:25:48] building blowing up you know.

[2:25:51] >> Thank you.

[2:25:52] >> Great. Other new business or unfinished

[2:25:55] business questions? It's been a very

[2:25:58] busy summer for a lot of people in our

[2:26:00] community, but um looking forward to the

[2:26:03] rest of August and into Labor Day before

[2:26:06] we're back together as a team. So,

[2:26:08] perfect. Councelor Herbert, I'm just I'd

[2:26:12] like to thank the our customer service

[2:26:14] department there. I've had three people

[2:26:16] call me and I've said I'll forward me

[2:26:20] the information. I'll send it on to

[2:26:21] customer service. That's what's

[2:26:22] happened. Two of the people got back to

[2:26:25] me and said that they had a response

[2:26:26] from customer server who with a detailed

[2:26:29] thing. I thought that was pretty

[2:26:31] impressive. So anyway, thank you to the

[2:26:33] customer service.

[2:26:34] >> It is the right route and I I hear from

[2:26:36] almost all of the council now that

[2:26:38] that's the referral. So it's perfect and

[2:26:42] lots of good result because of it.

[2:26:46] Nothing else under unfinished or new.

[2:26:48] Moving on.

[2:26:50] >> Thanks worship. No public notices or

[2:26:52] notice uh no public notices this

[2:26:54] evening. We do have a notice of motion

[2:26:56] previously from councelor Baldwin Sans.

[2:26:58] I have a motion that's moved by

[2:26:59] councelor Baldwin Sans. Whereas the city

[2:27:01] of St. Thomas is positioned to

[2:27:03] experience and capitalize on significant

[2:27:05] regional growth. And whereas the city

[2:27:07] provides a breadth of services to its

[2:27:09] growing community including parks and

[2:27:11] recreation. And whereas at its March

[2:27:13] 9th, 2026 regular meeting, council

[2:27:15] received report PR726 from the director

[2:27:18] of parks and recreation relating to the

[2:27:20] community and aquatic center feasibility

[2:27:22] study final report. And whereas report

[2:27:24] PR726

[2:27:26] noted in part that the appended

[2:27:28] consultant report does not provide the

[2:27:29] depth of analysis that staff would

[2:27:31] regard as sufficient to support

[2:27:32] implementation at this stage. and

[2:27:35] further that until a broader growth

[2:27:36] related financial framework is

[2:27:38] established, staff are not in a position

[2:27:39] to appropriately assess the financial

[2:27:41] feasibility of the proposed aquatics

[2:27:43] center. And whereas council passed the

[2:27:45] resolution associated with report pro

[2:27:47] 726 that council shall have the ability

[2:27:49] to provide direction on further action

[2:27:51] relating to the study. And whereas the

[2:27:54] town of Axbridge has proceeded with a

[2:27:55] similar project and associated

[2:27:57] guidelines that appear to align with the

[2:27:58] intent of a future city related

[2:28:00] community and aquatic center project.

[2:28:03] Now therefore, be it resolved that staff

[2:28:04] be directed to investigate and report

[2:28:06] back on alternatives to the community

[2:28:07] and aquatic center project that consider

[2:28:09] and integrate where possible the

[2:28:11] formulas, methodology, and objectives

[2:28:13] associated with Bridg's project

[2:28:16] approach. Again, I have move as

[2:28:18] councelor Baldwin Sans seconded by

[2:28:21] councelor Gibson.

[2:28:23] >> Questions or comments? Councelor Riml

[2:28:26] then councelor Baldwin Sands, it's

[2:28:28] yours. I'll let you go first and then

[2:28:29] I'll go to councelor Raml.

[2:28:31] >> Thank you. Just to add a little more

[2:28:32] context is that what Oxbridge is in

[2:28:36] currently building and the process is 13

[2:28:39] months rather than years away is an

[2:28:42] eight lane 25 meter pool with a full

[2:28:45] community center which is three gyms and

[2:28:47] in one of the gyms is also a performance

[2:28:50] stage. All of that is being done

[2:28:52] underneath an umbrella of $16 million

[2:28:55] and those are current numbers and they

[2:28:58] received 50% provincial funding in order

[2:29:02] to move this forward. So the community

[2:29:04] of Axbridge is a population of just over

[2:29:08] 22,000

[2:29:10] and they are putting this program

[2:29:12] together and it is um to be completed

[2:29:16] very very soon. So that is what I'm

[2:29:18] hoping for today and I am grateful that

[2:29:20] someone seconded that we do develop more

[2:29:23] of the framework rather than that what

[2:29:26] was in the consultant report about 6

[2:29:28] months ago and have the city investigate

[2:29:31] freely this type of option and bring a

[2:29:34] full community center to this community.

[2:29:40] » Councelor Riml questions or comments? I

[2:29:43] just had a comment that um the expert

[2:29:46] just the concern that the actual pool is

[2:29:49] not built yet. It hasn't, you know, I

[2:29:51] know it's in the process. They've

[2:29:53] started some site preparation, but it

[2:29:55] hasn't been built and it hasn't been

[2:29:57] tested as far as how is the dome uh

[2:30:00] going to work with the humidity because

[2:30:02] humidity and pools are a big uh issue

[2:30:04] and especially with the uh cold weather.

[2:30:07] So, it's just a concern that to try and

[2:30:10] um

[2:30:12] investigate a project that hasn't

[2:30:13] actually been established is a concern.

[2:30:19] I think the question and during my

[2:30:21] investigation of this and attending

[2:30:23] several workshops on what was available

[2:30:27] uh over the last few months is that

[2:30:29] there is a 25year warranty that comes

[2:30:33] available with this type of program and

[2:30:35] there is uh extended warranties that are

[2:30:38] also available. So, there is a 25-year

[2:30:41] warranty on the that dome. And when it

[2:30:44] comes to what it can accommodate,

[2:30:46] usually a lifespan of a pool of this

[2:30:48] sort is about 25 years, but you do hope

[2:30:51] that there is a longer lifespan for it

[2:30:53] as some pools have been in existence for

[2:30:56] longer. But I do appreciate the question

[2:30:58] because yes, there um that is something

[2:31:00] that people do bring up, but it comes

[2:31:03] with a very extensive warranty. And

[2:31:05] that's why I want the city to

[2:31:06] investigate, city staff to investigate

[2:31:08] and bring a report back.

[2:31:11] >> If if I can just ask that of you're

[2:31:14] asking our parks and recck department to

[2:31:16] do this research. Is that what the

[2:31:18] motion reads? Okay. Councelor Wiki.

[2:31:21] >> Thanks, your worship. Um I'm okay with this certainly happening,

[2:31:27] but for me it's a it's a matter of staff

[2:31:29] capacity. And then I have one other

[2:31:31] comment. So, if this is like I guess I

[2:31:33] mean there's lots of councelor Balden

[2:31:34] Sans says has an amount of information

[2:31:35] available and if this is a a say I'm and

[2:31:39] I'm just I don't have any idea like if

[2:31:41] this is a 20-hour project for staff

[2:31:43] that's one thing. If it's a 100 hour

[2:31:45] project for staff that's a whole other

[2:31:47] thing. So, if this can be done in a a

[2:31:49] reasonable amount of time, um I'd be

[2:31:52] pleased to hear from this because the

[2:31:54] challenge is like and I and councelor

[2:31:57] Baldin stands and I talked about this is

[2:31:58] not a secret like um if we had the

[2:32:02] sprung and mirth of people come here,

[2:32:03] it's not it's less information. It's

[2:32:05] informationational but it's an

[2:32:06] infomercial. If we have our staff doing

[2:32:08] it, I think we're getting a more of a

[2:32:11] third party look at this, which I'm all

[2:32:13] in favor of. Right. Um, so I guess that

[2:32:16] is um I've satisfied my second part

[2:32:19] about the it not being an infomercial

[2:32:21] and I just I'm looking for information

[2:32:24] uh perhaps from um the parks director in

[2:32:28] how much time she thinks something like

[2:32:30] this would take to do properly for us.

[2:32:35] Thank you.

[2:32:37] >> Go ahead. But I'm going to go to the to

[2:32:39] the people are going to have to do the

[2:32:40] work. So go ahead.

[2:32:41] >> Absolutely. there is templates that are

[2:32:44] there and that's one of the things that

[2:32:46] I have done with the XBridge project and

[2:32:48] what I've been looking at um the best

[2:32:51] way to describe it is it's a program in

[2:32:53] a box so here it is here it is this is

[2:32:55] what you need this is what you have to

[2:32:57] do etc all of the materials are provided

[2:33:02] has just gone through it the Oxbridge

[2:33:04] staff have just gone through it the city

[2:33:07] council has just gone through it and the

[2:33:09] local MPP was very actively involved as

[2:33:12] well. So, all of the pieces are there.

[2:33:14] is I understand that there is no

[2:33:18] um

[2:33:20] hiccups that could happen with having to

[2:33:23] use something else that is already there

[2:33:25] because those templates do exist and

[2:33:27] they're ready to go. And I thank

[2:33:29] Oxbridge if we can able to do this. And

[2:33:32] then I actually do want to hear from the

[2:33:34] staff how long they think this um

[2:33:37] investigation would last. Thank you.

[2:33:38] >> Okay. I have a couple of questions. If

[2:33:40] you don't, can I jump in, Gary? Cuz

[2:33:42] first off,

[2:33:44] Oxbridge is under construction, so we

[2:33:46] certainly could get them from them, and

[2:33:47] we certainly probably have friends we

[2:33:49] could probably do that with, but we're

[2:33:51] talking about a a structure that I don't

[2:33:55] need to see a new one. I need to see a

[2:33:57] 25-year-old one. Who's got one? The

[2:34:01] motion only asks us to go look at a new

[2:34:03] one under construction.

[2:34:06] Do you know where else Sprung has built

[2:34:08] say in the last 10, 15 or 20 years that

[2:34:10] we could go ask them how is it holding

[2:34:12] up? How did it do? How do how were they

[2:34:14] to work with? Because I don't want to

[2:34:16] expand your motion, but I don't want to

[2:34:18] make I'm not sure going and looking at

[2:34:20] another brand new project gives us much.

[2:34:22] But go ahead.

[2:34:24] >> It is a very good question and I

[2:34:26] appreciate it. There has been some

[2:34:28] others that have been done and one of

[2:34:30] the things that I have been

[2:34:31] investigating is one particular one that

[2:34:34] was put in a few years ago was not

[2:34:36] maintained properly during the COVID

[2:34:37] years. You uh drain the pool. If you

[2:34:41] have a backyard pool, you don't drain

[2:34:42] your pool unless you're going to

[2:34:44] completely replace the liner. Um, I've

[2:34:46] been working on pools for especially

[2:34:49] backyard pools for a very long time and

[2:34:52] do appreciate that there is some

[2:34:56] questions that need to be investigated

[2:34:57] by staff and I strongly support staff to

[2:35:00] do that type of investigation, but I do

[2:35:03] have a strong feeling that it's going to

[2:35:05] come back in a very positive manner.

[2:35:07] >> Super

[2:35:09] Adrian [laughter]

[2:35:11] and then I'll go back to you council

[2:35:13] clerk. Thank you, your worship. Uh

[2:35:15] through to council, we'll do our best to

[2:35:18] bring back a report that is, you know,

[2:35:21] sourced from consultants and um I do

[2:35:24] know of another municipality that has

[2:35:25] used this product so we can reach out to

[2:35:27] them as well um and and make sure that

[2:35:30] we're cognizant of time. So just

[2:35:32] bringing back some facts um for council

[2:35:34] to decide if that's a further

[2:35:37] exploration that we want to do

[2:35:39] >> to look into that product.

[2:35:41] >> Mr. Mr. Baldin sense I'm considering

[2:35:42] this an addition to the pool report we

[2:35:45] already have the community center report

[2:35:47] we already have. You want this as an

[2:35:48] addendum to it or an addition to it

[2:35:51] >> as an addition because that's what we

[2:35:54] want to see is not just the expansion of

[2:35:58] what we were given in that report. the

[2:36:00] framework that we were given was not

[2:36:02] enough to include this type of

[2:36:03] investigation and to have those pieces

[2:36:06] to investigate I think will be to

[2:36:09] benefit not just to the department but

[2:36:11] to the citizens of this community.

[2:36:13] >> Yeah. So what I just suggested that's

[2:36:15] what you're thinking too. Okay.

[2:36:17] Councelor Clark you had a question.

[2:36:19] >> Thanks. Yeah, Mike, you have raised the

[2:36:21] my issue was the looking at not just

[2:36:24] Oxbridge, but I'm sure the company has

[2:36:26] dealt with other other municipalities in

[2:36:29] Ontario with our weather and our u

[2:36:32] similar factors and so I'd like to hear

[2:36:34] from some of those as well. Thank you.

[2:36:37] >> Go ahead.

[2:36:38] >> I do [clears throat] understand that

[2:36:39] there are two other municipalities that

[2:36:41] are currently doing the same Oxford

[2:36:43] project as part of theirs and they're

[2:36:45] very quick and they are also almost to

[2:36:48] completion as well. Yeah, but but again,

[2:36:50] as I suggested, I'm not looking for one

[2:36:52] that's happening right now, brand new.

[2:36:54] I'd like to know what it looks like 10

[2:36:55] years down the road or 15 years down the

[2:36:57] road because I understand what they're

[2:36:58] saying to us. So, let's uh let's let uh

[2:37:02] you have a fairly good indication of the

[2:37:04] direction you're being given if this

[2:37:07] motion was to pass. Okay. Further

[2:37:09] questions or comments on the motion?

[2:37:13] Seeing none, all those in favor?

[2:37:16] Passes. carries. Great. Did Did I'm

[2:37:20] sorry, Lori. Sorry. [snorts] Councelor

[2:37:23] Baldwin says, did we have a a kind of

[2:37:25] requested back date in your motion

[2:37:28] as soon as possible or by certain dates?

[2:37:32] >> I believe that would be up to staff, but

[2:37:34] we would want to see it during this term

[2:37:36] of council.

[2:37:37] >> Yep. Okay. Perfect.

[2:37:42] » Thanks, your worship. At this time,

[2:37:43] there is a need to go into close

[2:37:45] session. I have a motion that this

[2:37:47] meeting be closed to deal with proposed

[2:37:48] or pending acquisition of land queso

[2:37:50] corridor. A proposed or pending

[2:37:52] disposition of land, sale of land,

[2:37:54] Yarmouth Yards. A position, plan,

[2:37:56] procedure, criteria, or instruction to

[2:37:58] be applied to any negotiations carried

[2:38:00] on or to be carried on by or on behalf

[2:38:02] of the municipality, municipal facility

[2:38:04] planning, and a trade secret or

[2:38:06] scientific, technical, commercial,

[2:38:08] financial, or labor relations

[2:38:09] information supplied in confidence to

[2:38:11] the municipality or local board, which

[2:38:13] if disclosed could reasonably be

[2:38:15] expected to prejudice significantly the

[2:38:17] competitive position or interfere

[2:38:19] significantly with the contractual or

[2:38:21] other negotiations of a person, group of

[2:38:23] persons, or organization relating to

[2:38:25] Southwestern Public Health at 7:38 p.m.

[2:38:31] >> Questions or comments? Um, no, we need a

[2:38:34] >> Sorry, I get a mover. Move by move by

[2:38:36] councelor Herbert, seconded by councelor

[2:38:38] Riml.

[2:38:39] >> Okay, for all of you here before I call

[2:38:41] the vote, I'll let you know we're going

[2:38:43] to go into close session. when we rise

[2:38:46] from close session to come back, we'll

[2:38:47] vote on

[2:38:49] um certainly the bylaws from today's

[2:38:51] meeting and anything that might come out

[2:38:53] of the close session meeting. So, I want

[2:38:56] to thank all of those that joined us

[2:38:57] tonight in the gallery and for all of

[2:38:59] you following us at home uh for a fairly

[2:39:02] long, but it's a one one month meeting

[2:39:05] or one meeting month. So, uh all those

[2:39:08] in favor of going to close. Any opposed?

[2:39:10] That's carried. See you in a bit.

[2:39:14] Uh, at this time I have a motion to rise

[2:39:15] from close session. So I have a motion

[2:39:17] that council now rise from close session

[2:39:19] at

[2:39:21] time here sorry 9:08 p.m. And further

[2:39:23] that staff proceed as directed on the

[2:39:25] close session items dealing with the

[2:39:26] queso corridor sale of land Yarmouth

[2:39:28] yards municipal facility planning and

[2:39:30] southwestern public health. Moved by

[2:39:32] councelor Herbert.

[2:39:34] Seconded by councelor Taylor. Questions

[2:39:36] or comments? Seeing none. All in favor?

[2:39:40] We're rising.

[2:39:43] Thank you worship. We'll now move into

[2:39:44] bylaws. I have a motion that lead be

[2:39:45] granted to bring in the bylaws. Moved by

[2:39:48] councelor Baldwin Sans.

[2:39:50] Second by councelor Herbert.

[2:39:52] >> Questions or comments? Hearing none. All

[2:39:55] in favor? Any opposed? Carried.

[2:39:59] >> I have a motion moved by councelor

[2:40:00] Bobman, second by councelor Herbert that

[2:40:02] the bylaws be now read a first time,

[2:40:04] referred to council and committee the

[2:40:05] whole and read a second time.

[2:40:07] >> Questions or comments?

[2:40:10] Hearing none. All those in favor? Any

[2:40:13] opposed? Carried.

[2:40:16] >> Okay. First bylaw.

[2:40:18] >> First by this even this evening is a

[2:40:19] ballot to confirm the proceedings of the

[2:40:21] council meeting held on the 10th day of

[2:40:22] August 2026.

[2:40:24] >> Questions or comments? Seeing none, all

[2:40:26] in favor? Next bylaw.

[2:40:30] >> Sorry. Second bylaw is a bylaw to

[2:40:32] temporarily remove certain lands from

[2:40:34] partlock control. This relates to block

[2:40:36] 38 on registered plan 11m274

[2:40:39] of the McGregor farm phase 2A.

[2:40:41] >> Questions or comments? Seeing none, all

[2:40:43] in favor? That's passed. Next by

[2:40:46] >> third bylaw is a bylaw to appoint a

[2:40:48] property standards uh bylaw officer and

[2:40:50] noise control officer. Uh and this

[2:40:52] individual is Shira Wiggins.

[2:40:54] >> Questions or comments?

[2:40:56] >> Yes.

[2:40:58] >> Sorry. Are these full-time positions or

[2:40:59] part-time?

[2:41:04] two new staff or

[2:41:06] >> uh through your worship to council. This

[2:41:08] is a full-time property standards

[2:41:09] officer position.

[2:41:12] >> Any other questions or comments? Seeing

[2:41:15] none, all in favor? That's passed. Next

[2:41:17] bylaw.

[2:41:19] >> Next by a bylaw to adopt official plan

[2:41:21] amendment number 118 to the city of St.

[2:41:22] Thomas official plan. This is to permit

[2:41:25] clinic, business office, and residential

[2:41:26] uses at four Morrison Drive and 358 Elm

[2:41:29] Street relating to file number 30226.

[2:41:33] Questions or comments? Seeing none, all

[2:41:35] in favor? That's pass.

[2:41:38] >> Fifth bylaw is a bylaw to amend bylaw

[2:41:40] 50-88 being the zoning bylaw for the

[2:41:42] city of St. Thomas. This is to permit

[2:41:43] clinic, business office, and residential

[2:41:45] uses at For Morrison Drive and 358 Elm

[2:41:47] Street relating to file number 2-08-26.

[2:41:51] >> Questions or comments? Seeing none, all

[2:41:53] in favor? That's passed. Next,

[2:41:56] >> six bylaws. a billet authorized the

[2:41:57] submission of an application to Ontario

[2:41:59] Infrastructure and Lands Corporation for

[2:42:01] financing of certain capital works of

[2:42:03] the corporation of the city of St.

[2:42:04] Thomas and authorized the long-term

[2:42:06] borrowing for such capital costs uh

[2:42:08] through the issue of debentures to

[2:42:10] Ontario Infrastructure and Lands

[2:42:11] Corporation.

[2:42:12] >> Questions or comments? Seeing none, all

[2:42:15] in favor? That's passed. Next,

[2:42:17] >> the seventh bylaw is a bylaw to

[2:42:18] authorize the mayor and clerk to execute

[2:42:19] and fix the seal of the corporation to a

[2:42:21] certain agreement between the

[2:42:22] corporation of the city of St. Thomas

[2:42:24] and the trustees of the Central

[2:42:25] Congregation of the United Church of

[2:42:27] Canada. This relates to the affordable

[2:42:29] housing grant program at 135 Wellington

[2:42:31] Street.

[2:42:32] >> Questions or comments? Seeing none, all

[2:42:34] in favor? That's passed. Next.

[2:42:37] >> Eighth bylaw is a ballot to authorize

[2:42:38] the mayor and clerk to execute and fix

[2:42:39] the seal of the corporation to a certain

[2:42:41] agreement between the corporation of the

[2:42:42] city of St. Thomas and the YW.CA St.

[2:42:45] Thomas Elgen. This relates to the

[2:42:46] affordable housing grant program for 53

[2:42:49] Hayawa Street.

[2:42:50] >> Questions or comments? Seeing none, all

[2:42:52] in favor? That's passed. Next.

[2:42:55] >> Ninth bylaw is a bylaw authorized the

[2:42:56] mayor and clerk to execute and fix the

[2:42:58] seal of the corporation to a certain

[2:42:59] agreement between the corporation of the

[2:43:00] city of St. Thomas and Eastwood Housing

[2:43:02] Corporation. This relates to the

[2:43:04] affordable housing grant program at 200

[2:43:06] Burwell Road.

[2:43:07] >> Questions or comments? Seeing none, all

[2:43:09] in favor? That's passed.

[2:43:12] >> 10th bylaw is a bylaw to establish the

[2:43:14] St. Thomas Municipal Accessibility

[2:43:15] Advisory Committee.

[2:43:17] >> Questions or comments? Seeing none, all

[2:43:19] in favor? That's passed. Next

[2:43:21] >> and the 11th and final bylaw is a bylaw

[2:43:23] to authorize the adoption of a council

[2:43:24] staff relations policy policy GAO4.

[2:43:28] >> Questions or comments? Seeing none, all

[2:43:30] in favor? That's passed. I rise and

[2:43:33] report the successful passing of 11

[2:43:35] bylaws.

[2:43:38] >> Your worship, I have a motion that the

[2:43:40] report of council and committee of the

[2:43:41] whole on the following bylaws be

[2:43:42] received and adopted. The same be read a

[2:43:44] third time and grow signed by the mayor

[2:43:45] and clerk, sealed and numbered. It's

[2:43:47] been moved by councelor Baldwin Sand,

[2:43:49] seconded by councelor Herbert.

[2:43:51] >> Questions or comments? Seeing none, all

[2:43:53] those in favor? Any opposed? That's

[2:43:55] carried.

[2:43:56] >> And finally, I have a motion for

[2:43:58] adjournment that we do now adjourn at

[2:44:00] 9:13 p.m. Moved by councelor Kohler,

[2:44:03] seconded by councelor Baldwin Sans.

[2:44:05] >> Questions or comments? Seeing none, all

[2:44:07] those in favor? Any opposed? That's

[2:44:09] carried.

Council Meeting

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