[0:12] Test one. Test two. Test three. Test four, test five.

[1:13] Test one. Test two, test three.

[3:56] I'd like to call our meeting to order. Roll call.

[4:00] Members of council present minus councillor. Jobin and councillor donor

[4:09] who are off on personal leave. We'll move on to

[4:14] the landed dollars. We acknowledge that we are in the

[4:18] land surrounded by water originally inhabited by indigenous people who

[4:22] have travelled this area since time immemorial. This territory is

[4:26] within the lands honoured by the Wampum Treaties agreements between

[4:29] the Onishnavi, the Shanilandapi, allied nations to peacefully share and

[4:35] care for the resources around the Great Lakes. Specifically, we

[4:38] would like to acknowledge the presence of three fires Confederacy,

[4:41] the Ajivi, Ottawa, Badawatomi, Your and Juan. in call up

[4:45] First Nation. We are dedicated to honouring Indigenous history, culture,

[4:49] while remaining committed to moving forward respectfully with all First

[4:54] Nations and within May T. For the members present any

[4:58] disclosure beginning interests on the agenda as presented to you

[5:01] this evening. Every number to have that duly noted. Mr.

[5:16] Just a reminder to those in attendance of the rules

[5:18] of decorum and council chambers. We ask that all people

[5:21] at this meeting refrained from speaking out using inappropriate language

[5:28] or otherwise disturbing the meeting. If we do have any

[5:33] delegations this evening, we ask that those delegations be limited

[5:37] to five minutes that those delegations speak only through the

[5:41] chair, and that the delegation speak only to the matter

[5:45] for which they delegated upon. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Great,

[5:49] thank you. No delegations this evening. West, we do. The

[5:56] emergency management. Our director of community safety fire chief, Wade

[6:02] Bondi, and our deputy fire chief, Nicole Fields. And talked

[6:06] about CS 2026 - 04 emergency management plan August 26.

[6:12] Chief. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, and good evening, Mayor McMaire,

[6:17] members of council. I'm here tonight to present the new

[6:21] revised emergency management plan for the town. It's been a

[6:25] long time coming, and I'm glad to see it at

[6:28] this point. What I'll do tonight is briefly walk you

[6:33] through the management plan. I'll get into the report and

[6:38] the recommendations that are attached there. If you could bring

[6:40] up attachment one, please. The page one of 19.

[6:58] So the plan, as you may know, the emergency management

[7:03] in civil production act requires that all municipalities in Ontario

[7:06] have an emergency management plan. The authority for the plan,

[7:12] once it's approved by council, comes through that act. An

[7:16] overview of the plan is that the plan's purpose is

[7:19] to have a consistent approach to managing emergencies that happen

[7:24] within the town. It assigns responsibilities to roles of staff

[7:29] members within the town, as well as how we would

[7:32] work with our assisting departments such as OPP, EMS Red

[7:39] Cross, that type of thing. If you scroll down a

[7:44] little bit. The plan maintenance, plan maintenance, it has to

[7:49] be reviewed annually under the emergency management silver protection act

[7:56] that review would fall to myself primarily. With consultation of

[8:01] our emergency management committee, which is also defined later in

[8:05] the plan. We see actually the next page. Part of

[8:09] the act requires that the town assign an emergency management

[8:13] program committee to approve all things emergency management within the

[8:16] town. It was previously approved as a bylaw in 2025.

[8:24] However, tonight later, one of the recommendations will be that

[8:27] a comprehensive bylaw approve the committee, our emergency control group,

[8:33] as well as the emergency management plan, all - in

[8:35] - one bylaw, just to keep things consistent and to

[8:37] keep things easier to update in the future. So under

[8:41] that bylaw, which is proposed as 20 by - law

[8:43] 2026 - 081, our committee would be comprised of the

[8:48] mayor, the CAO, our CEMC. Nope, back up a little

[8:52] bit, please. The director of community and record services and

[8:56] our director of public works and engineering services. Similarly, the

[9:01] act requires that we have an emergency control group to

[9:03] oversee things during an emergency. That would be the list

[9:08] of essentially all our directors, along with the mayor and

[9:11] CAO. As well as assigning a manager, the manager of

[9:17] customer service as an emergency information officer, which is a

[9:21] required position under the Act. The big change for this

[9:30] plan is over the previous plan is this plan now

[9:34] falls in line with the province's emergency management structure in

[9:38] incident management system, or IMS, as it's called. This is

[9:43] a system that's used in Ontario. It's very similar to

[9:47] the incident command system that's used worldwide, and it makes

[9:50] it very easy for other emergency organisations to walk in

[9:54] and immediately know who does what within our emergency operation

[9:58] system. Excuse me, centre. And it makes it makes coordination

[10:02] between neighbouring municipalities, other organisations very easy. And the system

[10:09] is also very adaptable to various emergencies. Within our plan

[10:13] this time, we have a notification procedures for how that

[10:18] emergency management group emergency control group. That was identified on

[10:22] the previous page would be notified in the event of

[10:25] an emergency. Um, I can, if you can make that

[10:28] a little bit smaller, the page. I know it's very

[10:31] hard to read, but I can tell you what it

[10:33] says. So in the top left is an incident happens,

[10:36] basically. The box to the right of that is the

[10:40] normal response would happen. So if it was a flooding

[10:45] incident, somebody from public works who was on call would

[10:49] get the call. They would go out, assess the situation,

[10:52] um, and then report back to, uh, the director of

[10:56] public works. Um, who would also assess the situation for

[11:01] the things that are in that large tall box there?

[11:04] Um, if it's a serious, say in the example of

[11:09] a flooding situation, if it is a flooding, a severe

[11:11] flood, or it looks like it's going to be a

[11:13] severe flied director Bartnik would contact the CEMC myself, and

[11:18] we would discuss the questions that are in that box.

[11:21] Basically, uh, is a normal response adequate. Could the incident

[11:26] rapidly expand and affect a wide portion of the community?

[11:31] Is a sport and coordination of the response required? And

[11:35] as it is significant information management for the incident required,

[11:39] if the yes to any of those questions, um, that

[11:43] would mean that we should be opening up our emergency

[11:46] operation centre, which would be handled by myself with the

[11:50] assistance of directed furth through our mass notification system. If

[11:56] you scroll down a little bit there. So with our

[12:00] emergency operations centre, our EOC, uh, there's levels of activation.

[12:04] Um, those of you that were involved in COVID times,

[12:10] uh, we started out with, you can change the activation

[12:14] level based on the emergency. Level one activation is just

[12:18] basically the something going on. It's not big yet. But

[12:22] we kind of keep an eye on it. That's kind

[12:24] of the basics of how to think about it. Um,

[12:27] it's generally myself, the CAO, keeping with, uh, whatever affected

[12:32] departmental director. Um, flooding in the event would be public

[12:36] works obviously. And then keeping the mayor and council apprised

[12:41] of the situation as it unfolds or it resolves itself.

[12:45] Um, communications are done through normal business communications. You don't,

[12:49] um, you typically do not stand up your emergency operation

[12:52] centre. So we're still working from our own offices, uh,

[12:55] through normal business practices. Uh, level two activation is a

[13:00] little bit higher level, um, what it is, is there's

[13:05] an incident, but it's specifically targets one area of the

[13:10] business of the town. So, um, something like. Oh, it's

[13:15] hard to think of an example without going too big.

[13:17] Um, so it's basically like, uh, COVID times. That was

[13:22] a good example. Uh, we had myself the CAO and

[13:25] we had the director of the community and recreation services

[13:29] at the time dealing with facilities as well as OPP.

[13:35] Um, so we were keeping tabs on the developing the

[13:38] ever - changing situation and keeping the mayor and council

[13:43] apprised of what we were doing as far as town

[13:44] services as far as how we were taking care of

[13:46] our employees and responding to the changing pandemic. And then

[13:53] level three activation is a full activation. That is the

[13:57] exercise that we do every year. Uh, that is to

[14:00] practice that. We would come together in the emergency operations

[14:03] centre. The entire emergency control group would be notified to

[14:07] attend. We would all be in attendance, uh, for command

[14:11] and coordination of the event of the incident as it

[14:14] went along. Um. And obviously the mayor would be as

[14:22] part of the community control group would be in attendance

[14:25] or as alternate, which is the deputy mayor. One of

[14:28] them would be in the tenants at all times. Uh,

[14:30] in between the CAO, the mayor and myself, we would

[14:34] keep the rest of Council of Prize to the situation

[14:36] as an unfolded. Uh, if you can flop to the

[14:42] next. So, uh, as I said, the emergency operation centre,

[14:46] uh, is where we would, um, coordinate the control of

[14:51] everything incident related. Um, activation, I went through. There are

[14:57] people are activated through our mass notification system, activation levels

[15:01] would be what is required at the time. Set up

[15:09] procedures for the emergency operation centre. Uh, that's one of

[15:13] the appendices. That is appended to the plan. Appendix one.

[15:19] And that, uh, the location of our primary emergency operations

[15:24] centre, our secondary emergency operation centre. Their setup is actually,

[15:29] um, confidential information. Um, as you can imagine, uh, if

[15:35] someone was to perform a malicious act and they wanted

[15:39] to do more damage if they knew where we were.

[15:43] And where we were controlling operations from they could impact

[15:46] that emergency even more. So we, we keep things a

[15:50] certain aspects of the emergency plan confidential. There's set up

[15:55] procedures for the physical locations. Um, there's deactivation procedures that

[16:00] are in another appendix. Um, very step - by -

[16:02] step. You know, here's the resources we need. The physical

[16:07] things we need, pen, pencils, that kind of thing. Um,

[16:10] deactivation, same thing, a step - by - step. What

[16:14] needs to happen as far as documentation, where the documentation

[16:16] goes, uh, who closes down the emergency operations centre, um,

[16:21] all those lovely type of things. It's very straightforward. For

[16:25] that. Um, in the event of an emergency, a true

[16:30] emergency, the head of council has the authority to declare

[16:32] an emergency. Um, that declaration of an emergency can happen

[16:37] independently of EOC operations. Um, they don't have to be

[16:41] one in the same. Typically, if you have a declared

[16:45] emergency, here you'll see is going to be operational. Um,

[16:48] but it doesn't necessarily happen, have to happen that way.

[16:52] Um, as an example of COVID, we only had a

[16:54] partial activation of the AOC, but it was a declared

[16:57] emergency. The mayor declared that emergency. So, um, and of

[17:02] course when we declare an emergency, there's certain things that

[17:04] have to happen. Uh, you have to notify, obviously town

[17:08] council, the rest of town council, uh, the provincial emergency

[17:11] operations centre by telephone and copy by facts, if you

[17:18] can still believe they have a fax machine. And we

[17:21] also notify the warden of the county of Essex and

[17:23] the CEMC for the county of Essex. That's more of

[17:26] a coordination piece. Um, the CEMC is when we have

[17:29] an emergency, uh, as a group, we notify each other

[17:33] just because there are neighbours and our emergency may affect

[17:36] them. They're amazing. There's may affect us. So we keep

[17:39] tight coordination, uh, during an emergency, um, but if the

[17:43] formal declaration, you have to notify them for coordination. As

[17:50] far as termination of an emergency, the plan is laid

[17:54] out essentially as, uh, required by the act, uh, the

[17:59] mayor can terminate an emergency. And also the premier of

[18:03] Ontario contaminated emergency. Uh, in the event and emergency is

[18:07] terminated. Basically, you have to notify the same people that

[18:10] you notified when you were declaring the emergency. It just

[18:14] makes sense. Um, another appendix to the emergency plan is

[18:21] request for assistance. So any requests for outside assistance, that

[18:25] is request from the provincial or federal governments. Um, those

[18:30] requests have to come through this EEMC to the provincial

[18:33] emergency operations centre. And there can be a significant delay

[18:39] in getting either provincial or federal assistance. Depending on what

[18:44] else is going on in the province and where the

[18:46] federal resources are at the time, uh, obviously it's, it's

[18:51] easy to imagine wildfire season. If we've got a hundred

[18:54] and some wildfires going in Ontario and we ask for

[18:57] something that they're using up there. It's already been deployed.

[19:01] There could be a significant delay. Um, essentially, uh, we,

[19:06] to make it a little bit easier as one of

[19:08] the appendices to the plan, uh, we've drafted a request

[19:13] for assistance based on a flooding example. Um, but it

[19:16] can be easily tailored to any emergency. Um, that speeds

[19:19] it up a little bit and that will make the

[19:20] request quicker. But again, there could be a delay in

[19:23] receiving those resources. And the way our emergency plans are

[19:26] set up, uh, we count on being on our own,

[19:30] uh, for a while along with our, um, mutually partners

[19:36] and EMS OPP Red Cross like the typical partners that

[19:39] we have locally. Additional plans I had mentioned a few

[19:46] of them there. Um. The appendices and the annex plans.

[19:52] Some of the plans, a council has previous approved. Um,

[19:55] such as the information security incident, uh, developed by our

[20:00] director of technology and client services. Some of the plans

[20:04] are operational plans that are developed by the departments themselves

[20:08] and approved at the director level, uh, within, within those

[20:12] departments. Um. Training for all of this is done, uh,

[20:18] annually. Uh, there is an actual, because this is a

[20:22] new plan. It's now following the IMS system in Ontario.

[20:25] Uh, there will be a significant training for all of

[20:27] the emergency control group as well as their alternates in

[20:31] September. I believe it's September 22nd, but don't quote me

[20:34] on that. Um, and then as well for this, this

[20:37] year's exercise, uh, we are going to have, uh, consultant

[20:41] walk us through, uh, and exercise using this plan just

[20:45] to make sure that everybody is very clear on the

[20:47] roles. Um, and that you can easily see how each

[20:51] of the sections, which I'll go through in a minute,

[20:54] uh, how each of the sections work together, uh, who's

[20:57] responsible for what and go from there. So this section

[21:02] here, rolls and responsibilities. If you go to the page

[21:06] up, please. Oh, no, sorry down. A little bit. Right

[21:14] there. So this is basically the IMS layout. Like I

[21:18] said, this is a very, it's a common thing throughout

[21:21] Ontario. Um. The colour coding is an IMS colour coding.

[21:28] So you'll see in our exercise this year, uh, we

[21:31] have colour coded nameplates for each section. Uh, as well

[21:35] as I have some chair covers to identify where the

[21:39] command section is sitting, where are the operation section is

[21:42] sitting. And that's the ease external agencies that come into

[21:45] assist us. Um, they can easily identify, okay, I need

[21:49] the commander. So they know where the green section is.

[21:52] They can go over there and find it very easily.

[21:54] Um, in the plan here, uh, we've identified primary positions

[21:59] for each primary staff positions for each of the IMS

[22:03] positions. So you can see the policy group is the

[22:05] mayor and director of legislative and cleric services. The EOC

[22:09] director is our CAO. The emergency information officers, our manager

[22:14] of customer service that was declared earlier. Safety officer is

[22:18] our director PNC liaison is myself, the CEMC. And the

[22:25] operations planning logistics administration, emergency social services and continuity of

[22:29] operations. You can see identified as the remaining directors within.

[22:35] So, um, that's this section. And we'll go through in

[22:38] too much detail, uh, there's a lot of information here.

[22:41] There is common responsibilities that every position is responsible for,

[22:46] um, listing the IMS forms that everybody should use such

[22:51] as, you know, the check - in, the personal log,

[22:54] uh, that kind of thing. And then if you go

[22:56] down to the page below, the specific responsibilities for each

[23:00] of those positions in that chart. Uh, if you scroll

[23:03] down to the operations one and the next page, or

[23:05] it's a few pages down. It's probably the easier one

[23:07] to look at. Right there. So, uh, the operations section

[23:16] chief. This one, this position, although, uh, director of public

[23:20] works and engineering services is the primary assignment to this

[23:23] one. This one really depends on what the emergency is.

[23:28] If it's an ITA security issue, uh, director first would

[23:31] be in this position. Um, if it's a fire emergency

[23:35] myself, I would or Deputy Chief Kavanaugh would be in

[23:39] this position. Um, if it's a police matter, OPP would

[23:42] take operations lead. So that's the kind of the beauty

[23:45] of IMS is that it can swap and move and

[23:49] morph based on what the conditions are and what the

[23:51] situation is. You can expand positions. So if you scroll

[23:56] down a little bit. There's a bunch of functional units

[23:59] that report to this section chief. Each of those units,

[24:05] you may not, you may not need. You might need

[24:07] them for the situation. Um, you know, you might not

[24:10] need a public works person. You might not need a

[24:12] health unit person. So any of the minor works that

[24:16] would need say you didn't need a health unit person

[24:19] in the EOC. Anything that was health unit related, that

[24:24] section chief would take care of. So it's almost like

[24:27] a supervisor of workers, any of your workers that aren't

[24:30] there, the supervisor takes care of those duties. Um, so,

[24:35] and if you need to, you can expand it and

[24:36] you can add additional units under that section chief. So

[24:40] it's, it's, it's hard to explain in the 15 minutes

[24:45] that I have, but, um, it is, it is easily

[24:48] expandable and easily contractable depending on the situation. So don't

[24:53] want to go through all of the positions. Um, I

[24:57] just want to hit on a couple of them. Page

[25:02] 15. It's the emergency social service. There are no next

[25:08] one. There we go. Emergency social services section chief. Not

[25:14] typically an IMS position. But, uh, crucial position, obviously. This

[25:21] position is responsible for any evacuees. Uh, they're responsible for

[25:26] coordination with Red Cross and emergency social services provided by

[25:30] the city of Windsor through the county. It's just, um,

[25:35] there's a lot to this position. Um, but it won't

[25:38] always, it's one of those positions that won't always be

[25:40] required if we're not evacuating people. May or may not

[25:45] require full activation of this position. Um, certainly would be

[25:48] notified as part of the emergency control group. But if

[25:52] you scroll down a little bit. You can see the

[25:55] functional units, the reception and transfer centre may not be

[25:57] open, right? Um, registration in reunification is required only if

[26:01] you have people evacuate. Uh, emergency resources require all sorts

[26:08] of resources, whether it's transportation, whether it's housing, whether it's

[26:11] mental health supports, um, any, any and all emergency resources

[26:16] that people affected by the emergency could possibly need. So.

[26:22] Um, and then the other one that is not typically

[26:25] in IMS position is the next page. The continuity of

[26:29] operations. Obviously recognise that as a municipal government, we have

[26:37] to maintain some level of service. The people of the

[26:39] town of Tecumseh need certain things to happen at certain

[26:43] times. And, um, this position is geared towards seeing what

[26:49] resources are required to keep those primary services going. Um,

[26:54] so, uh. This one typically not in a separate IMS

[26:59] position, but we feel it was important enough to be

[27:02] on its own section, uh, to be activated pretty much

[27:08] with every emergency. So, um, if you remember during COVID,

[27:12] we had certain services that were not available, uh, just

[27:17] due to a number of things. But this position would

[27:21] be responsible for maintaining public information regarding what is available,

[27:25] what's not available when things that are not available would

[27:28] be available again. And where to go where residents can

[27:31] go to get resources that they're looking for from the

[27:33] town and services. I think that's all of my presentation.

[27:41] So just quickly walk, like I said, as a lot

[27:44] of information, um. Let me just go through the recommendations

[27:49] of the report. Uh, so it is recommended that report

[27:53] CS 202604 emergency management plan, August, 2026 be received. And

[27:59] that the emergency management plan, August 2026 for the town

[28:02] of the company presented at his attachment one. Through report

[28:06] CS 2026 04 be approved. And further that bylaw 2026,

[28:11] 081 being a bylaw to adopt an emergency management plan

[28:15] August of 2026 for the town of the come see

[28:17] be considered for first, second, third and final readings tonight.

[28:21] And with that, I'm available for questions, if there are

[28:24] any. Thank you very much, Chief, for the presentation. Um,

[28:27] any questions or comments. And go ahead. Uh, thank you.

[28:32] Worship. I do see in the report that, um, it

[28:35] will be available online and also printed in our two

[28:39] fire halls. And, um, I've received some inquiries regarding the

[28:45] battery plant, right? And just with its development. And I

[28:48] realised that that falls under Windsor because it is in

[28:51] winter. Um, does it make sense for us to link

[28:55] or post Windsors or lectures? Just our neighbouring communities, emergency

[29:00] plans at all. If residents have questions regarding any of

[29:04] that, or, or would they just know they can go

[29:08] to city wins or look for it. And pull it

[29:10] off. Yeah. Um, thanks for the question. And through the

[29:14] mayor, uh, Councillor Houston. Obviously it is actually a requirement

[29:19] for municipalities to make their emergency plans available to the

[29:22] public. Um, so that's why ours will be posted and

[29:25] printed in various copies. Um, each municipality does typically have

[29:30] theirs on their website. However, uh, the county of Essex,

[29:34] I believe keeps one page that has the county plan

[29:37] and then all of the lower tiers, including the city

[29:40] of Windsor, I believe, um, but I can certainly talk

[29:42] to Director of Verth and see what we can do

[29:44] for that to make them more available. Go ahead, Council.

[29:53] Thanks very much and through you. Um, thanks to the

[29:57] report and also the context, um, provided here. And I

[30:00] appreciate it because there was some other questions that I

[30:01] had that were maybe about the operational plans. And I'm

[30:06] just wondering if I can kind of touch on maybe

[30:08] a few of those and you can answer or, or,

[30:11] uh, or defer and have a look at those later.

[30:15] But, um, it's my two questions. And we talked a

[30:19] little bit about the, um. What was the. Person responsible

[30:26] for director and community, uh, recreation services their title. There

[30:34] is a very, have a, um, in the evacuation plan.

[30:39] Is there an accounting in there for things like accessibility?

[30:41] I notice we have a lot of things in there

[30:43] for like translation services and dietary requirements and things. But

[30:48] accessibility and the needs for, um, for citizens who require,

[30:55] um, assisted devices and those sorts of things. Are those

[30:58] considered in that annex plan and that, that operational plan.

[31:03] Uh, thank you. And through the mayor, yes, they are.

[31:06] Um, actually our GIS technician maintains a list of people

[31:10] that know they're going to need assistance. Um, he keeps

[31:13] a database. So I would encourage anyone listening or anyone

[31:17] you talk to that does need assistance. Please call the

[31:20] town and register yourself as such. Um, so we can

[31:23] concentrate. If you're in the affected area, we know you're

[31:26] there and we know you've got to come get you.

[31:28] That's really great. Um, and good for maybe an education,

[31:33] um, out to the community because, um, pretty passionate about

[31:37] accessibility because we'll all need it eventually in some form

[31:41] or another. So it's always good to have that, um,

[31:44] that forethought to, um, to put yourself on the list.

[31:47] Um, and a lot of the coordination and the components

[31:54] of the entire team really reliant on, and this will

[31:58] be a question for director of earth maybe. A really

[32:02] reliant on a robust communication structure. And so if the

[32:05] disaster happens to affect like telecommunications or the internet or

[32:08] any of those things, how does our emergency response adjust

[32:13] to that, um, reduction in capabilities. Yeah. Um, through the

[32:21] mayor, I'll start to answer. And I'm sure Dr. Perth

[32:24] want to add some more into it. So, uh, one

[32:27] of the requirements of the act is that emergency operations

[32:30] centre have backups and backups to backups. So for everything,

[32:34] uh, technology and communication related. So we do have multiple

[32:38] systems in place. Um, backup things like this, you know,

[32:42] backup generators at communication cell tower sites and that kind

[32:46] of thing. Um, we do actually have copper phone lines

[32:49] still, um, for a backups. Um, uh, I guess if

[32:54] you wanted to add a little more to that, Sean?

[32:59] Sure. Thank you, chief. And through you your worship, uh,

[33:01] to Councillor Higgison. Yeah. Not only in an emergency situation,

[33:06] but just day - to - day operations of several

[33:08] of our municipal sites. There are redundancies built in for

[33:11] communications, say internet. Our main sites that are identified as

[33:15] EOCs has have at least three redundant internet connections. In

[33:20] addition to the chief mentioning not only voiceover IP phone

[33:24] lines, but the traditional copper lines, uh, which we still

[33:27] rely on in an emergency. Um, many of our facilities

[33:31] do have backup generators. We do have secondary and tertiary

[33:35] sites for NEOC. Uh, we just celebrated the anniversary of

[33:39] the 03 blackout last week. And I remember that and

[33:42] firing up generators to run photocopiers to hand out flyers

[33:46] to our residents. So fast forward 23 years. We've come

[33:51] a long way with communications with the mass notification. Um,

[33:55] again, to your, your, your point about, uh, registering for

[33:57] accessibility. We also encourage residents to register for notification and

[34:02] emergencies through, uh, to come see alerts. ca. Where we

[34:07] can, uh, I think the byline is, uh, help us

[34:10] help you. If we need to reach you in an

[34:13] emergency, make sure we have your up - to -

[34:15] date contact information. So again, not only in an emergency,

[34:19] but day - to - day, we strive to build

[34:21] in redundancies for the areas that you've mentioned. Thanks for

[34:26] that. And so as far as kind of a blast

[34:28] out to those who would be affected by something, if

[34:31] there was registering through that service, is there an all

[34:36] that goes down? And the worst case of scenarios. Is

[34:39] there a, like, is it kind of a physical, we

[34:42] know where you physically are and we deliver something to

[34:44] you or go knock on your door. How does that

[34:45] actually, how do they get notified. Yeah. That's a good

[34:53] question. Um, we do, one thing I didn't mention is

[34:55] we do have, uh, access to the provincial alert system

[34:59] as well. Um, now again, that, that depends on you

[35:03] having power on your cell phone, right? Um, but worst

[35:07] case scenario. We have 42 volunteer firefighters. That'll go door

[35:12] to door and either tell you what's going on or

[35:15] get you out of your house. So we do have,

[35:18] you know, obviously that's not the best situation, but if

[35:20] we need to, we will do that. Thanks for that.

[35:24] I'm ever cognizant of how connected we are and how,

[35:28] uh, vulnerable that is. Um, so I can appreciate that

[35:31] there's, uh, that's really labour and resource intensive, but I

[35:34] appreciate that there is that, um, ability to respond in

[35:37] that way. So thanks. Anything further? Deprimir. Just a quick

[35:44] question in regards to the chief through you chair. One

[35:49] of the points of the common responsibilities they talk about

[35:52] here in page seven is that all members need to

[35:55] complete required training. Can you say that we have a

[35:59] hundred percent compliance that those members have the required train

[36:04] at this point? Are there still some that still need

[36:07] to complete the training? Um, uh, the requirement under the

[36:12] act is for the primary members to be trained, uh,

[36:14] which we have done every year. Um, so that is

[36:17] completed. The alternate, we have, it's been not as robust

[36:23] as I would like. Um, but again, as I mentioned,

[36:26] this is as format of this plan is vastly different

[36:30] from the old one, uh, we're going to run everybody

[36:33] primary members and their alternates to the same training. So

[36:36] everybody has the same understanding. Yeah, I just want to

[36:39] make sure that, uh, you do have the compliance in

[36:42] that regard before adopting this. So thank you. Any further

[36:47] questions or comments on, on the chief. And there is

[36:50] a recommendation that's being put on floor. Council You said

[36:53] moves and then Councillor Tony support. On a motion on

[36:57] in favor. Pose, that motion carries. Thank you. Our next

[37:05] delegation from our, uh, clerk. We'll see number 145 chases.

[37:13] Frivolous and unreasonable complaints policy. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um,

[37:20] report LCS 2026 13 first came to the regular council

[37:24] meeting back on July 28th. At that time council asked

[37:28] that that, um, report and proposed policy return to a

[37:33] later council meeting in order to allow some additional time

[37:36] for, um, for council and the public to review. Um,

[37:39] and so that's what is before council this evening. Um,

[37:44] in order to hopefully assist, I've prepared a presentation that

[37:47] I'm hoping to walk through, uh, for council's benefit. If

[37:51] we can pull that up and next page. So town

[37:56] staff is receiving increasingly repetitive frivolous fixatious and or unreasonable

[38:02] complaints. Um, while the overall vast majority of interactions between

[38:08] town staff and the public are positive and the vast

[38:11] majority of complaints that are filed, whether they're, um, bylaw,

[38:17] you know, town bylaw complaints or complaints concerning town services.

[38:23] The vast majority of those are typical complaints and are

[38:27] resolved, um, with, with resort to the town's complaint policy

[38:33] and utilising the city works reporting system. However, town staff

[38:39] have reported to legal, uh, that instances of misuse or

[38:45] abuse of the town's complaint procedures has increased. And has

[38:49] done so to the point where, um, town staff and

[38:53] including by law enforcement are now spending a disproportionate amount

[38:56] of time, um, on, on what is truly a small

[39:01] number of frivolous fixatious or unreasonable complaints. Next slide. There's

[39:10] currently no formal process for addressing these unique situations where

[39:15] what is truly a small number of members of the

[39:18] public. Again, misuse or abuse the towns complaint system by

[39:25] making and sometimes continuing the make repetitive frivolous fixatious or

[39:30] unreasonable complaints. The proposed policy is not about silencing critics

[39:35] of the town or shutting down legitimate complaints or agreements.

[39:40] It's about providing town staff with additional tools to use

[39:45] in truly exceptional cases where the complaint system viewed objectively

[39:50] is being misused or is being intentionally used for retaliation

[39:55] and or harassment. Next slide. I want to disproportionate amount

[40:01] of staff time is being monopolized by a small number

[40:04] of those repeating frivolous or vexatious complaints. This leads to

[40:09] a draining of staff time. And in some cases has

[40:12] led to harassment of town staff. When this happens, time

[40:17] and resources that otherwise could be used to resolve legitimate

[40:20] complaints is now wasted or delayed. The result of this

[40:25] is a disservice to the rest of our town residents

[40:27] who have a right to expect complaints to be reviewed

[40:30] and addressed in a timely manner. And more importantly, this

[40:36] raises the need to balance the town's legal obligation to

[40:41] protect our staff's mental and emotional well - being. Well,

[40:45] at the same time, optimizing how the town is going

[40:48] to allocate what are truly limited resources. Next slide. Some

[40:56] of the goals. Of the policy is to protect the

[41:00] complaint process for misuse. Create a fair and consistent process

[41:04] for identifying and managing inappropriate complaint behaviour. Protect staff time

[41:12] and town resources by reducing unnecessary and or repeat investigations.

[41:18] And provide enforcement options. When other restrictive measures have not

[41:25] worked. Next slide. Next slide again, please. So just briefly,

[41:33] um, complaints that could be captured by the policy generally

[41:37] fall into one of three different categories. So I've mentioned

[41:40] frivolous. So that's a complaint when viewed objectively is trivial

[41:44] in nature or does not merit further town action. Vexatious

[41:48] complaints. That is one again that when viewed has been

[41:52] submitted without merit and in bad faith, either intended to

[41:56] cause harm or made solely to cause an annoyance or

[42:00] unduly burden town resources. And then the last category which

[42:05] captures the majority of these types of complaints are what

[42:09] I call targeted repetitive and or unreasonable. So this is

[42:13] a complaint submitted about the same address or the same

[42:17] individual, the same subject matter. Where no new information or

[42:21] change of circumstances exist. And there appears to be, or

[42:26] what develops is a pattern of targeting or it appears

[42:29] that the complaint could be viewed as being retaliatory in

[42:33] nature. Next slide. Just quickly, and the policy, one thing

[42:40] that's, I think, of benefits of the policy is there's

[42:43] some guidance as far as, uh, examples, uh, that can

[42:47] assist staff when they're facing a potential situation, uh, where

[42:52] there's a frivolous complaint. Um, so the policy provides a

[42:56] number of examples. I just took a few here. For

[42:59] example. So, um, you know, when the complaint concerns an

[43:04] issue with staff that has already been investigated and determined

[43:07] to be groundless and those complaints continue on the same

[43:11] exact issue that's already been investigated and determined to be

[43:15] groundless. Um, it could be situations where the complaint makes

[43:20] unreasonable or aggressive or harassing demands on staff. Um, by

[43:24] insisting on responses within an unreasonable timeline. Uh, it could

[43:29] be refusing to accept when they're advised that the issue

[43:32] falls outside the scope of the town's jurisdiction. Or would

[43:38] sometimes happens is where the complaint is unhappy with the

[43:42] report or the results of the investigation. And that complaint

[43:46] continues and repeatedly challenges the findings of that investigation, either

[43:51] complaining about the outcome or denying that an adequate response

[43:55] has been given. Next slide. Um, one section, uh, that

[44:02] I wanted to quote from the policy is 5. 5

[44:05] and it concerns, how do we go about identifying these

[44:08] unreasonable complaints? Um, so deciding whether complaint conduct is frivolous

[44:14] fixations are unreasonable requires a flexible approach considering all circumstances.

[44:19] There's no rigid tests for determining whether conduct is along

[44:24] frivolous fixations or unreasonable. The key question is whether there

[44:28] is conduct or a pattern of conduct that is likely

[44:31] caused distress, disruption or irritation without a proper or justified

[44:36] cause. So town employees must, if, if they are faced

[44:41] with a potential situation like this, they must seek to

[44:44] establish through the documented words and actions of the complaint

[44:49] in themselves. So that would be copies of emails, letters,

[44:53] social media posts, voicemails, notes, coming from the complaint themselves

[44:59] that established that the conduct is frivolous vexatious or unreasonable.

[45:05] The town staff needs to prove that and establish that

[45:10] before applying any further restrictions that are outlined in the

[45:14] policy. Next slide. So as far as the process, um,

[45:20] documentation is going to be key in those unfortunate rare

[45:25] situations where we need to consider, um, designated, complaints or

[45:31] a complaint as being frivolous or vexatious. So decisions must

[45:35] rely entirely on verifiable, documented interactions, documentation should never contain

[45:42] vague assumptions or personal feelings. And it's critically important that

[45:46] staff log precise records of every letter, email, phone call

[45:50] or in - person interaction. Once a pattern of unreasonable

[45:56] behaviour appears to be clear and documented, staff would report

[46:00] that to their department director for review. So it's now

[46:03] at a first level of review. Where the direct, where

[46:08] that department director reviews and determines that a complaint may

[46:11] qualify for designation. Then the matter is then revert for

[46:16] a secondary legal review, uh, with the director of legislative

[46:20] services. Legislative services would then conduct a Folsom legal review

[46:27] of the matter. Reviewing all relevant contexts, historical data. Uh,

[46:32] they'll look at such things as the number of similar

[46:34] complaints. By the same resident, the tone and manner of

[46:38] communications, the circumstances, and the sensitivity of the subject matter.

[46:43] Based on that secondary review, the director of legislative services

[46:48] shall decide whether or not designation is warranted and obtain

[46:52] authorization from the chief administrative officer. Once that decision has

[46:58] been made, that a complaint follows within the scope of

[47:01] the policy. Notification is made to the resident. And relevant

[47:06] staff as appropriate. Um, the director at that time may

[47:11] either issue to the resident, to the complaint, either a

[47:15] written morning letter or a written designation letter. And that

[47:19] letter will outline, um, a summary of the director's findings

[47:24] and reasoning and the decision that's been made. And whether

[47:28] it's a warning letter or a designation letter, uh, that

[47:31] letter may include restrictions to be applied and the duration

[47:35] of those restrictions. So let's talk about that next restrictions

[47:39] and enforcement. Typically when it comes to restrictions, so once

[47:46] a decision, as reviewed multi - leveled, um, decision to

[47:51] designate that complaint or complainant as frivolous or vexatious, then

[47:57] the restrictions are typically one of three types, generally speaking.

[48:02] Uh, the single contact restriction. So we're, where the individual

[48:06] is directed to, um, going forward. And for a specified

[48:09] time period to communicate with only one specific assigned staff

[48:14] member, um, the channel blocking restriction. So the individual is

[48:19] directed to restrict their interactions, uh, to a particular form,

[48:23] maybe strictly to writing or to a secure online portal.

[48:28] And then the non - response restriction, um, and so

[48:33] that relates to individuals who send repeated identical messages after

[48:38] a case is closed. Staff will be directed to file

[48:42] further communications that they receive to continue to keep a

[48:45] record. But they would be in this instructed not to

[48:50] reply. Um, and then the variation of other restrictions that

[48:55] can be applied. Those are the three general categories. Sometimes

[48:58] if physical meetings are required, then the town may mandate

[49:02] that a third party witness. Always be present at those

[49:04] meetings. Um, but typically those are the main restrictions. So

[49:11] what happens when those restrictions are imposed and they do

[49:15] not serve to deter that frivolous fixatious or unreasonable behaviour

[49:20] or conduct. Uh, then the policy has proposed to counsel

[49:25] this evening, contemplates the possibility of using administrative monetary penalties,

[49:30] uh, to further deter the behaviour. Um, the imposing those

[49:35] penalties would be considered only as a last resort after

[49:39] it's demonstrated that these other restrictive actions are not resulting

[49:43] in compliance. And then going further, other last resort measures,

[49:49] um, in order of increasing severity would include, uh, possibly

[49:55] serving a no trespass order. Um, based on the town's

[49:59] visitor conduct policy, uh, there could be a possible referral

[50:03] to the Ontario provincial police or other authorities as appropriate.

[50:07] And there may be the taking of further legal action

[50:10] as maybe appropriate. For a policy like this to remain

[50:17] legally sound, the policy must heavily, uh, protect due process

[50:22] and the complaints rights. So the individual who's had this

[50:27] designation imposed in restrictions imposed against them. We'll have a

[50:31] right to appeal the decision the designate. They'll have 14

[50:34] days to do that. And furthermore, these restrictions, um. Would

[50:39] not normally be permit. They would permanent. They would carry

[50:43] a review dates in order to assess if the behaviour

[50:46] is improved and the restrictions can then be removed. Um,

[50:50] and then finally one point on the policy is that

[50:54] the policy will enforce what is typically called a blank

[50:57] slate rule. So just because that individual has been designated,

[51:03] um, as having filed or engaged in behaviour, that's frivolous

[51:08] or vexatious. If not in the same individual, brings forward

[51:12] a completely new, unrelated complaint in the future. It will

[51:17] have to be evaluated independently on its own merits. Some

[51:23] best practices. Consistency across all departments is going to be

[51:28] vital. Again, we talked, I talked about the importance of

[51:30] documenting interactions and keeping precise objective notes. Um, you know,

[51:36] during some of those difficult interactions, it's, it's absolutely crucial

[51:40] that town staff remain completely professional. And deescalate, um, do

[51:45] not match any hostile energy that may come from those

[51:48] complaints. Um, it's critically important that, you know, individual town

[51:54] staff does not decide independently to take action. So do

[51:58] not ghost an individual or stop replying on your own

[52:00] initiative because you feel it's frivolous or vexatious. You must

[52:04] continue normal service and normal protocols until management formerly authorizes

[52:10] that restriction. Um, and then sharing data across departments, um,

[52:16] will be important. Um, so that we can track if

[52:18] a complaint is trying to perhaps bypass one department by

[52:22] targeting, uh, another. I would anticipate that directors, managers and

[52:28] other staff as appropriate would, would receive, um, training on

[52:32] this, on this new policy to work out some of

[52:36] the steps that would be required in order to go

[52:39] through, um, in cases where there needs to be potentially

[52:43] a designation. Uh, and then lastly, um, there's a number

[52:47] of municipalities that have similar policies in place. I've just

[52:51] named a few. And then going back to, uh, I

[52:55] believe it was July of 2025, uh, town of LaSalle

[52:59] council gave direction to their administration, um, to look to

[53:03] draft and implement a similar policy in order to curb

[53:07] the misuse of municipal bylaws and municipal services. I don't

[53:10] believe that policy's been finalised. Um, but, but they did

[53:14] receive, um, direction, uh, from the talent La Sommers are

[53:21] that the report be received and supported. And if so,

[53:25] that a bylaw be prepared and returned for consideration to

[53:29] adopt this policy, adopt a vexatious frivolous and unreasonable complaints

[53:34] policy number 145 and to provide for administrative monetary penalties

[53:39] for further enforcement when required. Um, happy to answer any

[53:43] questions that the councillors may have this evening. Questions or

[53:48] comments. Go ahead. Uh, just a comment.

[53:59] Normally I say, you know, thank you for this report

[54:01] and whatever. I'm sad that we're here. Um, it's disappointing

[54:04] that we have to have a policy like this. But,

[54:07] um, the alternative is, is to watch capable and well

[54:13] - intentioned people opt out of serving their community. Um,

[54:16] and this job is supposed to be hard, but it's

[54:18] supposed to be hard because the work is demanding and

[54:21] not because, uh, people make it unbearable to do the

[54:24] job. Um, that goes for staff here for council members.

[54:31] Um, for people serving the public. And. I appreciate that

[54:39] the process here and the determination, it's all transparent. Um,

[54:45] because I think situations like this, uh, we don't like

[54:48] to talk about them. We don't like to reveal them

[54:50] because as you said, they are few and far between.

[54:54] But the escalation of them is, um, borders on dangerous.

[54:58] And it's our obligation. To protect people that work here

[55:02] and to enforce the type of, of community, um, and

[55:07] protection for community members. Um, that is afforded. And that's

[55:12] just not just physical, but it's also the protection of

[55:15] the rights that you have to access services. And if

[55:20] staff time is taken up doing these things, then it

[55:23] prevents those from being able to happen. So, um, I'm

[55:27] sad that we're here, but supportive of the policy and

[55:30] happy to move the, um, the recommendations. Any further questions

[55:38] or comments, go ahead. Thank you, Worship. I support the

[55:42] policy and I believe we've got, we've got an obligation

[55:45] and take care of our employees. Um, take care of,

[55:48] uh, the residents, uh, and when our time and effort

[55:51] is being, uh, drained on, on, uh, some of the

[55:57] examples, you know, that we heard here, um, we're not

[56:00] getting to those legitimate complaints or we're taking time away

[56:05] from, uh, activities that, you know, should be happening elsewhere.

[56:11] So, um, supportive of the policy and, uh, happy to

[56:15] second it. Go ahead, councillor. Theory you, Mr. Mayor, just

[56:24] a quick comment. Um, no way this is telling our

[56:27] citizens are not allowed to talk to us. They're not

[56:29] allowed to complain. This is not at all. Some people

[56:32] put it on Facebook as misinformation. This is about the

[56:35] people that one percent of the people that just don't

[56:38] want to listen, they don't want the answer that we

[56:40] have given them. And they want us to change everything

[56:43] just for them. Uh, and I agree. Our staff should

[56:46] not have to be harassed. Council should not have to

[56:48] be harassed. Uh, nobody wants to be harassed that way

[56:51] in your own workplace. You don't want to be harassed

[56:53] by citizens or customers or things like that. We all

[56:56] have an obligation to talk to each other. And a

[56:58] professional nice manner. And if you can't do that, then

[57:01] don't call us. Thank you. Go ahead. Hey, thank you,

[57:09] Chair. Uh, just a couple items. I know the members

[57:12] of council missing tonight. That's unfortunate. One is legitimately on,

[57:16] on personal leave and well - deserved. So again, we

[57:19] can't, uh, fault members for that. Um, just a couple

[57:25] points and maybe questions. I know we've always been stressed

[57:30] as elected officials that our job is to develop policy

[57:33] and administration is to implement it. And so this policy

[57:37] again to me, it came out of nowhere. It came

[57:40] out of me at a council meeting. And you know,

[57:43] that the concerning point of that is it bypass. We

[57:46] usually have mayor CO meeting where these are vetted. Obviously

[57:50] this is a policy. It should have went to the

[57:51] policy priorities meeting that what didn't happen. So it seemed

[57:55] like it's being rushed. And I know we've had time

[57:58] to review. But I'd like to have wholesome discussion. I

[58:01] know there's a lot of things in here that, that

[58:03] makes sense. That's important to put as policy. But there

[58:08] are a lot of questions that I have in terms

[58:09] of comments. So I'll just state a few here. You

[58:13] know, in terms of, you know, the report, it recommends

[58:16] three or more complaints over 12 months. And that to

[58:19] me is artificials objective. You know, why three, not two,

[58:22] not four, not five. Uh, I don't like to put

[58:25] a number to it because things can happen in a

[58:28] year. That these completes happen. I know there's parameters in

[58:34] there that talk about, you know, who decides interprets that

[58:37] a complaint is frivolous. So I would like to see,

[58:41] you know, council being a prize or included in this

[58:43] process. And we're not there at all. And we're the

[58:46] elected officials. So when we do get to complaints, they

[58:49] call us. And sometimes it doesn't make sense. And so,

[58:55] uh, you know, in terms of the clerk's office making

[58:57] decisions, in terms of being the judge and the jury

[59:00] and all that aspect, uh, there may be times that,

[59:04] you know, as an elected official, I don't think it

[59:06] is unreasonable complaint. So that, that's the issue I have

[59:09] is that, you know, the number, the limit. And that

[59:14] council's not included as part of this, where it does

[59:17] get to those high end where we should be apprised

[59:22] because we are the voice. And if residents are frustrated

[59:25] and they're complaining, they're obviously not getting an answer. And

[59:28] when they talk to us and they call us, you

[59:31] know, then I feel like I'm in the middle where

[59:34] I have to go to administration. And get the circle

[59:37] where it starts spitting. So, you know, page four has

[59:41] a list of unreasonable conduct. Again, who decides what is

[59:45] unreasonable? You know, we have policies, instruments at place right

[59:49] now that deal with fixatious comments and complaints. And so

[59:53] to leave the decision, uh, solely on the clerk, you

[59:57] know, I can't support that. So I would like more

[59:59] wholesome discussion on to see if we can include that,

[1:00:03] eliminate the limit so that people can complain. Cause that's

[1:00:08] part of our job is to listen and be the

[1:00:10] voice of the residence when they do have that. And

[1:00:13] again, I don't want, I'm not comfortable delegating that, you

[1:00:18] know, to that authority to, to solely the clerk's office.

[1:00:22] So I don't, also the other part that, that has

[1:00:26] bothersome as the indirect, implied intimidation factor, where people will

[1:00:31] see this as I'm only allowed three complaints. And if

[1:00:36] I'm deemed, you know, frivolous now, they could possibly, and

[1:00:42] again, it's extreme situation where they can charge me now.

[1:00:46] So, you know, where is that. I call it appeal

[1:00:51] right of our residence if they're in these situations. So

[1:00:54] I can't support it as written. If there's amendments to

[1:00:57] it or if, uh, you know, when it comes back

[1:00:59] for bylaw, uh, the amendments for that, I would consider

[1:01:03] that. But as written right now, those are the concerns

[1:01:05] I have. Go ahead through your, Mr. Mayor, just a

[1:01:13] couple of comments. The reference to the three complaint within

[1:01:18] a year. That's really just a threshold for which could

[1:01:23] possibly engage or review. And that provision is, is referenced

[1:01:29] that it's only in circumstances where by law enforcement has

[1:01:32] already investigated and rendered a decision. And so if three

[1:01:36] complaints continue. So if a second complaint, a third complaint

[1:01:41] regarding a matter, uh, by law enforcement's already made a

[1:01:45] decision. And the new facts, no new circumstances introduced, then

[1:01:50] that, that could form the basis. So three was, was

[1:01:54] chosen as, as a threshold, um, you know, is the

[1:01:58] appropriate threshold five? Is it six? Is it seven? I

[1:02:01] don't know. But that was the rationale behind that provision.

[1:02:06] Um. Some of the other comments. The policy, I think

[1:02:16] is closest for appropriate review. Um, by administration, because it

[1:02:23] relates to operations. It truly appears to be an operational.

[1:02:28] And when, you know, whether it's by law enforcement or

[1:02:30] other town staff are engaging with the public as part

[1:02:34] of their normal daily operations. And again, it's just, um,

[1:02:41] you know, the last comment, um, and I tried to

[1:02:46] reiterate that in the presentation is the goal here is

[1:02:49] not to create a chilling effect so that residents think

[1:02:53] if they file a complaint, they're going to be hit

[1:02:55] with a sanction or, or restriction. The policy is, I

[1:03:01] think thoroughly designed with multi - levels of review by

[1:03:06] different individuals. So it's, it's, you know, it's not just

[1:03:11] clerks. Um, the CAO could be involved. Another department director

[1:03:15] could be involved. Outside legal in some cases could be

[1:03:19] involved. Were they come in for a review? So it

[1:03:23] purposely has that multi - level review. And then, um,

[1:03:28] as I, as I referenced, there's definitely appeal rights that

[1:03:30] go with that. So we tried to create that proper

[1:03:33] balance with the, um, with the policy. And so this

[1:03:37] is my comments through you, Mr. Mayor. And I'll leave

[1:03:40] it at that. I think one thing we've got to

[1:03:46] remember as well. Under the occupation of held safety act

[1:03:49] Bill 168. Where the border governors. And we have the

[1:03:53] responsibility. To provide a safe working environment for each and

[1:03:57] every one, regardless if it's our public work. Folks out

[1:04:00] there on the street. Or our CSRs who are here.

[1:04:06] We've seen it. We've seen it where they've been threatened.

[1:04:11] And so forth. The beauty of the whole thing is

[1:04:13] yes, it's less than one percent. But it only takes

[1:04:18] one. And I think that's what we, the whole issue

[1:04:22] is here. And we've heard it. I mean, we've, we've

[1:04:24] had some over a two year period, put 26 complaints

[1:04:27] on the same thing. It's been dealt with the staff

[1:04:33] time itself and that entered departmental work that has to

[1:04:37] be done. Um, it costs money. Big money taxpayers money.

[1:04:44] And so I think there has to be an understanding.

[1:04:47] And yes, there's going to have to be an educational

[1:04:48] piece. We don't, we're not basically putting up a roadblock

[1:04:53] and telling people they can't, you know, make a complaint.

[1:04:56] I mean, obviously, uh, they can make a complaint. I

[1:04:59] mean, that's what we're here for. I mean, uh, and,

[1:05:03] uh, and done through the proper channels and so forth.

[1:05:08] But my, my biggest piece is providing a safe working

[1:05:13] environment for our citizens as well as our own employees.

[1:05:21] It's critical that we do that. Because at the end

[1:05:25] of the day, the buck stops here. On us. And

[1:05:29] we're the ones that are responsible. And even though sometimes

[1:05:35] look at council and really don't understand the full responsibility

[1:05:40] that we have, we're part of the border governors. Just

[1:05:43] like any of the corporation. And so, uh, a lot

[1:05:47] of work has gone into, uh, this policy development by,

[1:05:53] uh, the clerk's office. And, uh, it's basically protecting against

[1:06:02] issues that could confront. I mean, I just remember, um,

[1:06:09] October, not October, April 6th, 2023 when 400 people went

[1:06:13] into a Civic Centre. And at the county. And we

[1:06:19] heard the threats. We had folks that came in there

[1:06:24] with fatigues and Bowie knives. And threatening counsel and administration

[1:06:30] in particular. The whole security piece has been changed at

[1:06:36] the county level, that unfortunate thing. This is the House

[1:06:39] of Democracy. It's the ability for people to come in.

[1:06:45] And serve the public. But I do tend to agree

[1:06:53] in terms of some of the things. Maybe the development

[1:06:56] of it. Maybe council wasn't in. At the forefront in

[1:07:02] the full delivery. But we'd be naive to say that.

[1:07:06] We haven't seen what's transpired in the last few years.

[1:07:09] We know it. And I can tell you just recently

[1:07:14] without adding names to it, but there was an individual

[1:07:19] that came into this building and threatened one of our

[1:07:22] employees. And the comments were made. I know where you

[1:07:26] live. And so this is why it's important for us

[1:07:30] to, uh, to establish guardrails to protect our. Our integrity,

[1:07:39] but also protect our employees as we move forward. So

[1:07:43] I think the policy has been well developed. And, uh,

[1:07:48] and I fully support, uh, administrations bringing forward because they

[1:07:53] are the front lines. They are our face. They're here.

[1:07:59] Every day, uh, on our behalf, you know, delivering services

[1:08:05] and certainty policies. So I think it's, it's important for

[1:08:07] us to, uh, make sure that we remember what our

[1:08:12] responsibilities are to our employees. Go ahead. Thank you through

[1:08:20] you. It's really frustrating to hear. The suggestions

[1:08:30] of council being more involved. We either trust our staff

[1:08:33] where we don't. Our staff are the ones who are

[1:08:39] on the front lines of this. We are, as council

[1:08:42] members, um, putting our own names out there to take

[1:08:46] these calls and to take these complaints. And we take

[1:08:49] that seriously. Um, and our, our staff are the ones

[1:08:54] who not only have to experience it, but do have

[1:08:56] to deal with it as a part of their regular

[1:08:58] job. And to me, this policy and it's rationale. It's,

[1:09:08] it's execution. Uh, I trust staff to do right by

[1:09:12] our citizens. I trust that if there is a process

[1:09:17] that they have questions of members of council that they'll

[1:09:21] ask us. And ultimately the discussion about this policy happens

[1:09:28] here in this room. Um, it's happening now. So I

[1:09:34] don't need further time to look at this. And, and

[1:09:39] decide whether this is something that, uh, is necessary. This

[1:09:44] is the place that we decide. Um, this is the

[1:09:47] place where we have those discussions. It's been now in

[1:09:50] front of us twice. Deferred once and is now in

[1:09:52] front of us again. So it's time to, uh, decide

[1:09:56] on whether we're moving forward with, forward with this. It's

[1:09:58] been moved and seconded. And I think we're in the

[1:10:01] position now where we say this is something that we're

[1:10:05] looking forward to coming back. Um, as a bylaw. And

[1:10:10] I just think that's where we're at. And it's frustrating

[1:10:12] to hear the opposite because I think that's, uh, it's

[1:10:15] our job here to deal with stuff like this. And

[1:10:18] I think we're there. Go ahead. Yeah. Just to provide

[1:10:25] further clarification in terms of occupational health. Obviously the good

[1:10:31] policy in here that addresses that. And to go back

[1:10:34] to the county vessex, I didn't see up there. The

[1:10:36] county of Essex implementing a Vixatious frivolous complaint policy, even

[1:10:40] though they did have that issue back in April a

[1:10:43] few years ago. So again, you know, our region, we'd

[1:10:46] be the first implementing, which is good. But obviously for

[1:10:50] those, you know, sensitive, um, abusive occupational health type, of

[1:10:59] protection. That's important. So what I'm saying again, I go

[1:11:02] back to, I like in the policy, but there's parts

[1:11:05] of it. And, you know, if we come up with

[1:11:07] examples is the clerk's office will be deciding if a

[1:11:12] call that comes in a regular complaint of down the

[1:11:16] street. And they get an answer. And they don't like

[1:11:19] the answer and they feel that they didn't get the

[1:11:22] answer. And they call again within that 12 month that

[1:11:25] they're going to be shut down. And I want council

[1:11:27] to be able to bring those forward. And if not,

[1:11:31] you're eliminating my role as a representative, a voice of

[1:11:33] those individuals. So I'm talking about the low to mid

[1:11:37] type of complaints. Not the health and safety components. So

[1:11:41] that's the part I have issues with. And that's why,

[1:11:44] you know, unless it's addressed it here, I can't support

[1:11:45] it as written. But in fact, uh, Deputy Mayor, if

[1:11:51] somebody, um, doesn't like obviously, um, decision, you know, from

[1:11:56] the policy, from, from administration, they can call us. There's

[1:12:01] nothing in policy. They can't call us. And, uh, and

[1:12:06] have a discussion and so forth. I think it's not

[1:12:11] saying that all of a sudden we're just slamming a

[1:12:13] door shut and nobody can tall us. It's still there.

[1:12:17] And I would expect that that's not going to change

[1:12:19] because, uh, elected officials, you know, everybody's got our number.

[1:12:25] Uh, and they will call. It. If nothing

[1:12:35] further, then are you prepared to move. No, I support.

[1:12:40] And it's supported by a council Houston on the motion.

[1:13:06] Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I recorded vote has been requested

[1:13:10] on the motion as moved by Councillor Higginson, seconded by

[1:13:14] Councillor Houston. Uh, the motion states that report LCS 2026

[1:13:19] 17, vexatious and privileged complaints policy number 145 be received.

[1:13:24] And that a bylaw be prepared to adopt the Vexus

[1:13:27] vectus frivolous and unreasonable complaints policy number 45. And they

[1:13:32] provide for administrative monetary penalties for further enforcement when required.

[1:13:37] Uh, the recorded vote was requested by the deputy mayor.

[1:13:42] Deputy Mayor Buchetti, how do you vote on the question

[1:13:45] opposed. Mayor McNamara, how do you vote? Sport.

[1:13:55] Councillor Tonio, how do you vote? Support. Councillor Higginson, how

[1:14:03] do you vote? Support. Houston, how do you vote? Support.

[1:14:13] With a recorded vote of foreign support and one opposed,

[1:14:17] the motion has stated carries. All right. Thank you. Thank

[1:14:23] you. We have

[1:14:33] no communication pieces to deal with. I don't believe. Madam

[1:14:37] Deputy clerk. And so we'll move on to reports. We

[1:14:40] have PWES 2026 44. Sylvester and Deso Drive trunk stone

[1:14:46] sort of project tender award. Mr. Bartney. Thank you, your

[1:14:53] worship. Uh, so this trunk storm sewer is a component

[1:14:57] of the East Town line drain and manning road secondary

[1:14:59] plan area stormwater management facility solution. Uh, it will provide

[1:15:05] stormwater management controls, uh, for the east online drain watershed

[1:15:09] south of county road 22. Uh, provides, uh, stormwater outlet

[1:15:14] for the Westlake drive in the north area of the

[1:15:16] Manning Roads that canary plan area, including Petreta lands. That

[1:15:19] include the recently constructed hotel, uh, and the ongoing fuse

[1:15:25] apartments. The town put out a request for tenders, uh,

[1:15:31] posted on the bids and tenders, uh, website, the tender

[1:15:35] closed August 17th. And we did receive eight submissions. Uh,

[1:15:40] you can see them there up on the screen ranging

[1:15:42] from about four million down to 5. 2 million. Major

[1:15:47] construction was low tenderer. Uh, it is anticipated construction. We'll

[1:15:52] commence by October 5th. The project as a whole is

[1:15:56] over budget specifically in the storm store life cycle reserve.

[1:16:01] This is mainly due to a number of reasons. One

[1:16:05] significant increase in the storms who resize, um, this, uh,

[1:16:09] this kind of evolved during the detailed design and the

[1:16:12] stormwater modelling that was completed. Additional relocation work, uh, needed

[1:16:18] to actually install the storm sewer, which included relocation of,

[1:16:23] uh, parts of the sanitary sewer and also, uh, parts

[1:16:26] of the waterme to actually physically get the storm sewer

[1:16:29] into the ground. Um, and then obviously inflation, uh, the

[1:16:33] budget was set back, uh, in October of 2025. And

[1:16:37] since then, we've seen, uh, raising oil and gas prices,

[1:16:41] tariffs, uh, and the, uh, the ongoing conflict in the

[1:16:44] Middle East, uh, which have some impacts on costs and

[1:16:51] construction costs. So while the project is over budget, uh,

[1:16:54] it is very unusual to receive this amount of interest

[1:16:57] from contractors at this time of year. So administration is

[1:17:00] glad to see that there were eight submissions. And it

[1:17:05] was a very competitive process. If council may recall, we

[1:17:09] have had in recent years tendered projects where we have

[1:17:13] received, uh, one tender and in one case, we did

[1:17:16] receive zero tenders where we had to re - tender.

[1:17:19] So seeing this amount of interest, um, it's very good.

[1:17:25] I would also like to note that there are anticipated

[1:17:27] recoveries of approximately 450, 000, uh, for the trunk storms

[1:17:32] tour, uh, and that's as part of the, uh, MERSPA

[1:17:35] cost sharing agreement. Uh, the recommendations, it is recommended that

[1:17:42] the report be received. And that the tender for the

[1:17:45] Sylvester and Desert drive trunk storms who were project in

[1:17:48] the amount of four million fifty, be awarded to major

[1:17:55] construction, 2010 limited. And further, that bylaw 2026 - 83

[1:18:02] be considered for first, second, third, and final readings. To

[1:18:05] authorize a mayor in clerk to execute an agreement with

[1:18:08] major construction. 2010 limited and that the clerk be authorized

[1:18:13] to do so to do other such further and other

[1:18:16] acts which may be necessary to implement and give effect

[1:18:18] to the set agreement satisfactory informed to the town solicitor.

[1:18:23] And furthermore, that council authorize an increase in funding allocation

[1:18:27] of 823, 400 dollars for a total budget requirement of

[1:18:34] 4, 803, 400 as follows. And on the screen there,

[1:18:39] you'll see that the allocation from the road lifecycle reserve

[1:18:43] did decrease. From about 2. 7 million down to 1.

[1:18:48] 8 million with the storm sewer life cycle reserve, uh,

[1:18:52] increasing from, uh, 1. 2 million to about 2. 9

[1:18:57] million. If there are any questions, I would be happy

[1:19:02] to take them. Thank you. I notice while major concern,

[1:19:08] are they local? I've never, never heard of them. Uh,

[1:19:11] yep. They are local. They did a project for the

[1:19:15] town. I want to say 2017. We did some various

[1:19:20] water main works along Counter Road 42 and allowing intersection

[1:19:24] road. Uh, so they have done work in the town.

[1:19:27] Um, but it has been a while since they have

[1:19:29] submitted. So. Okay. Any question for any questions or comments

[1:19:35] and recommendations before us, members of the council, council Houston

[1:19:38] move, Councillor Sport. On the motion on favors of any

[1:19:43] that's carried. Bye bye loss, uh, Mr. Clark.

[1:20:00] Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh, by lust of this evening

[1:20:03] for first and second reading, by the 2026 081 emergency

[1:20:07] management plan, August, 2026. And by law 2026 083, tender

[1:20:12] award for Sylvester and Desreled Drive. And if it's also

[1:20:15] council swished this evening, those two referenced bylaws also be

[1:20:19] read a third and final time. All right. Thank you.

[1:20:23] Move by Councillor Houston, two readings. And Councillor Higginson. Any

[1:20:27] questions or comments. Hearing none of favor? What was offending

[1:20:31] that's carry. And three readings now. Rereading is now in

[1:20:35] order. Deputy Merritt McGhetty and councillor Tony. On emotional in

[1:20:39] favor. Pose, if any, that is carried. That's it for

[1:20:48] business. And, uh, nothing further than the German is in

[1:20:53] order. Counciltonio, Councillor Higginson on a motion. All in favor.

[1:20:58] Bowser Fenny that's carried this meeting is now adjourned.

Special Council Meeting

Agenda

Transcript