[1:29] Thanks for joining us everybody. U I
[1:30] will ask everyone to please silence cell
[1:32] phones and other electronic devices. You
[1:35] really don't want to be that person.
[1:38] You know, you know the one who rings at
[1:39] a funeral. You don't want to be that
[1:40] one. I call this special council meeting
[1:43] to order on Friday, August 28th at 100
[1:46] p.m.
[1:49] As we begin this afternoon's meeting, I
[1:51] wish to formally acknowledge the
[1:52] traditional keepers of this land and in
[1:55] particular our neighbors of the
[1:56] Alderville First Nation. We gather on
[1:58] the gunshot treaty lands of 1788. It was
[2:01] here on these lands and along the shores
[2:04] of the great beautiful lake called
[2:06] Ontario in Wendot or Hiron that the
[2:09] Missaga and Ashabek met with the crown
[2:12] to facilitate the opening of this
[2:13] territory for settlement. Today we meet
[2:16] as treaty people under the Williams
[2:17] treaty settlement of 2018. A modern
[2:19] affirmation of treaty rights and
[2:21] responsibilities that continues to guide
[2:23] our shared stewardship of these lands
[2:26] and waters. And may it offer a reminder
[2:28] that we work together in partnership and
[2:30] friendship with all the people of Turtle
[2:32] Island, which we call North America.
[2:35] I will need a motion. Do we have the
[2:37] motion forms? It's okay. I'll need a
[2:39] motion
[2:41] to approve the agenda for August 28th,
[2:44] 2026 special council meeting as
[2:46] presented. It's moved by councelor
[2:48] McColin. Second, councelor Butwell. Any
[2:51] discussion? All in favor?
[2:54] Any opposed? That motion's carried.
[2:58] Members of council, have you any
[2:59] declarations of interest? And if so,
[3:01] please state the general nature thereof.
[3:04] There are none noted.
[3:08] It is 1:02 p.m. We will recess this
[3:11] special council meeting until the
[3:12] arrival of the town supervisor and Mrs.
[3:14] Mey from from Brighton, New York. It
[3:18] should be about 10 minutes, we hope.
[40:39] Thank you for your patience and good
[40:41] afternoon. A warm welcome to all our
[40:43] residents and of course honored guests
[40:45] for joining us today.
[40:47] Today marks a truly special moment in
[40:49] the history of our municipality as we
[40:50] gather to officially twin the
[40:52] municipality of Brighton with our
[40:53] neighbors to the south, the town of
[40:54] Brighton, New York. I want to extend a
[40:57] special personal welcome to town
[40:58] supervisor Bill Mey and his wife Barbara
[41:01] for making the journey around the big
[41:02] beautiful lake to be here with us today
[41:04] and for helping bring this meaningful
[41:06] partnership to life. While an
[41:08] international border and the waters of
[41:10] Lake Ontario lie between us, our two
[41:12] communities have been connected by much
[41:13] more than just a name on a map. From our
[41:16] shared heritage tracing back to
[41:18] Brighton, England to decades of family
[41:20] histories, sport and crossber trade, the
[41:23] ties between our region and theirs run
[41:25] deep. In the 1800s, William Billinghurst
[41:29] named Brighton, New York after his home
[41:31] in England. And our first postmaster,
[41:34] Joseph Lockwood, named Brighton,
[41:35] Ontario, after his family roots in
[41:37] Britain.
[41:39] Over the generations, family lines
[41:41] crossed back and forth across the lake.
[41:43] Whether through the industrial boom of
[41:45] Rochester, a shared history at Presciel,
[41:48] sometimes involving rum running, or the
[41:50] historic Freeman yacht races that
[41:52] brought our shores together in a
[41:54] friendly competition. When I first
[41:56] reached out to Supervisor Mey in March
[41:58] of 2025 to open a dialogue, my core
[42:01] message was simple. We should build
[42:03] friendships before we need them.
[42:05] Although that letter was sent from a
[42:06] place of anxiety given talks of tariffs
[42:09] and concerning rhetoric, it also grew
[42:10] out of a bit of fun. For years, our
[42:13] libraries have occasionally swapped
[42:14] emails, redirected each other's patrons,
[42:17] shared social media banter, or began uh
[42:20] or or have been tagged by mistake
[42:22] because of very similar identities.
[42:26] It was a light-hearted point of
[42:27] connection, but underneath that shared
[42:29] um but underneath that shared name lay a
[42:32] rich interconnected history. So when we
[42:35] decided to dip our toes in the formal
[42:37] twinning pool, my thought was that in a
[42:39] world that can often feel divided,
[42:41] taking the time to proactively foster
[42:43] international goodwill and neighborly
[42:45] friendship was just good practice. Build
[42:48] the bridge before you need to cross it.
[42:50] Make the friend before you need them.
[42:53] What neither of us fully realized at the
[42:54] time was just how quickly that principle
[42:56] might be tested. On again, off-again
[42:58] trade talks and an increase in the tone
[43:00] of that concerning rhetoric continued.
[43:03] But on Wednesday, I received a phone
[43:05] call from Premier Ford encouraging this
[43:07] twinning. In a way that only our premier
[43:10] can he noted just how much in Ontario we
[43:13] love the American people with maybe one
[43:16] or two exceptions.
[43:18] But the premier was clear. He reminded
[43:20] me that while it is our duty to stand
[43:22] united as team Canada and stand firm as
[43:24] Canadians with Canadian interests, it is
[43:27] also our duty to reach across borders
[43:30] with a friendly hand to build
[43:31] relationships and be good neighbors. You
[43:34] see, my friends, two things can be true
[43:36] at the very same time. We can stand
[43:39] shoulder-to-shoulder as proud Canadians
[43:41] defending our national interests. And at
[43:43] the exact same time, we can welcome our
[43:45] neighbors across the lake with open
[43:47] arms, kindness, and respect. Real
[43:50] leadership at the local level means
[43:52] building the bridges that will allow us
[43:54] to walk forward together when these
[43:56] challenges pass, and they will. Having
[43:59] an open line of communication, and a
[44:01] trusted peer across the lake will prove
[44:03] invaluable. Being able to pick up the
[44:05] phone, share perspectives, and know
[44:07] there is a community directly across the
[44:09] water rooted in the same values of
[44:11] stewardship, pride, and public service
[44:14] reminds us that we don't and can't
[44:16] operate in isolation. Looking ahead,
[44:19] this twinning charter is far more than a
[44:21] ceremonial piece of paper. It is a
[44:23] working commitment for our future. By
[44:26] signing this charter today, we are
[44:27] opening doors for future exchanges
[44:29] between our schools, our cultural
[44:31] groups, our local businesses, and our
[44:33] civic organizations.
[44:35] We are creating opportunities for our
[44:37] youth to learn about crossber history,
[44:39] for our institutions to collaborate on
[44:41] Great Lakes stewardship, and for our
[44:43] residents to celebrate what makes both
[44:45] of our Brightons unique. When we build
[44:48] rel strong strong relationships rooted
[44:50] in goodwill, mutual respect, and
[44:52] neighborly spirit, our communities
[44:54] become more resilient, more connected,
[44:56] and better prepared for whatever our
[44:57] future holds.
[44:59] As the great dearly departed Dolly
[45:01] Parton once said, we can't just hope for
[45:04] a brighter future. We have to work for a
[45:07] brighter future. Today, by signing this
[45:10] charter, we are putting that work
[45:11] together. So again, thank you to town
[45:14] supervisor Bill Mey and to you Barbara,
[45:16] the staff on both sides of the border
[45:18] who helped connect us, in particular
[45:20] Deputy Clerk Burch for your hard work to
[45:22] make this charter and today happen, our
[45:24] council and the Brighton Town Board and
[45:27] everyone here today who believes in the
[45:28] power of community friendship. It is an
[45:31] honor to sign this charter with Bill and
[45:33] with our community support. And now it
[45:35] gives me great pleasure to introduce
[45:36] Brighton, New York Town Supervisor, Bill
[45:39] Mey.
[45:58] I
[46:00] I'm rarely lost for words, but the fact
[46:04] that Premier Ford has been a part of
[46:08] this ceremony brings home and should
[46:12] bring home to all of us on both sides of
[46:15] Lake Ontario.
[46:21] just how important this day is. I have,
[46:25] as I've been speaking about today, I've
[46:28] I've reminded people of the old bumper
[46:30] sticker, and I am old enough to remember
[46:33] the 60s, and I think I first saw this
[46:35] bumper sticker in the 60s.
[46:38] Think globally,
[46:40] act locally.
[46:42] We can't always change things in Ottawa.
[46:46] And trust me, I know I can't change
[46:48] things in Washington DC,
[46:52] but a couple of small towns on Lake
[46:55] Ontario,
[46:57] one in the United States, one in Canada,
[47:01] can by acting locally
[47:05] put into action the thoughts, the global
[47:09] thoughts, the global aspirations
[47:13] that we all have for our communities and
[47:17] for our nation
[47:20] to be able to to come together in this
[47:23] way. And I can't say enough in gratitude
[47:27] uh for Mayor Ostrander's original
[47:30] outreach when he told me he had reached
[47:32] out to all of the Brightons on our side
[47:36] of the border. That that
[47:39] rang home because I have lived along the
[47:42] border my entire life. I grew up in
[47:43] Detroit. hockey town.
[47:47] Um
[47:49] about 20 miles or 30 kilometers to our
[47:55] northwest
[47:56] was Brighton, Michigan.
[48:00] I've been to Brighton, Massachusetts.
[48:04] In fact, in New York, there are two
[48:05] Brightons.
[48:07] And believe me, if you think we get
[48:09] confused with Brighton, Ontario, you
[48:11] ought to see all the emails I get for
[48:12] the Aderondac Protection Commission and
[48:15] everything else. Franklin County,
[48:17] Brighton in the Aderandac somewhere
[48:19] north of Sarin Lake, um is a lovely
[48:22] little rural, beautiful, beautiful
[48:24] community. Uh but today what we have
[48:29] been able to do in this small way when
[48:32] we need it more than ever before
[48:37] ever since I received the mayor's letter
[48:40] what really struck me was the quote from
[48:45] President Kennedy
[48:47] speaking in Ottawa to the Canadian
[48:49] Parliament in 1961
[48:52] about friendship. ship
[48:55] and the how important it is that we be
[48:59] economic friends and allies and how
[49:03] important being an ally was in that
[49:06] world in the world of the cold war and
[49:08] the world that we have today. We can and
[49:12] we will be economic allies. Our nations
[49:15] can must and will be allies in this
[49:20] difficult world.
[49:22] But today,
[49:24] today, more than anything else at the
[49:28] local level,
[49:30] we can be friends. And we will be
[49:32] friends building on this relationship. I
[49:36] wish you could all see the social media
[49:40] from back in Brighton, New York.
[49:44] A lot of it triggered
[49:47] by a CBC radio interview that the mayor
[49:50] and I gave yesterday.
[49:52] which was heard by the mother of one of
[49:57] our TV news anchors who lives in
[50:00] Kingston.
[50:02] and he called me. We did even before we
[50:07] got the press release out, we we did an
[50:09] interview and the reaction was so strong
[50:14] and so positive about the fact that we
[50:17] were coming together and at the same
[50:19] time negative about this whole lake
[50:21] thing. Um, Lake Ontario, uh, Ontario
[50:26] Beach is where Rochesterians have gone
[50:30] for recreation, for fun for so many
[50:33] years. And that's not going to change.
[50:35] Ontario Beach, the legacy, the
[50:39] indigenous name that uh, generated
[50:43] Ontario.
[50:45] Um, but the reaction to it, the feeling
[50:49] of commonality was a beautiful thing to
[50:52] see. And what we're starting today, what
[50:55] what actually Mayor Ostrander started a
[50:57] little over a year ago will grow. We'll
[51:01] build our communities, maybe even
[51:03] another Brighton or two. Who knows?
[51:05] We'll get into the act.
[51:07] But whether it's the two of us,
[51:11] we will as communities and as nations
[51:14] continue to be allies, friends, and come
[51:18] together. And I look forward to the day
[51:22] and the opportunity for you to come
[51:26] visit us in Brighton, New York, because
[51:29] what we are starting today does not end
[51:32] today. It builds. It becomes greater.
[51:35] And I want to thank every single one of
[51:37] you for being here with us today. Mayor
[51:40] Ostrander especially. The gratitude I
[51:43] feel my my cup overflows. Thank you so
[51:46] much.
[51:58] Now, if I'm reading the agenda
[51:59] correctly, I calling on our history guy,
[52:02] Dan Buchanan, to give us a little uh
[52:05] tour around the history of of these two
[52:07] communities and maybe how we we uh or
[52:10] share some history.
[52:19] Well, welcome to our American friends.
[52:22] Welcome to Brighton.
[52:26] I kind of fancy myself a historian and I
[52:29] stay in my lane. So none of that other
[52:33] stuff. I'm going to just mention a few
[52:35] things about the connections
[52:38] historically between our two Brightons.
[52:42] Now the signing of the twinning charter
[52:44] between Brighton, New York and Brighton,
[52:46] Ontario is happening today um to a large
[52:49] for degree because of the commonality of
[52:51] the name. In fact, as I already
[52:54] mentioned, there are many Brightons in
[52:56] North America.
[52:59] And I kind of developed the idea that
[53:01] most of them are named after Brighton,
[53:02] England because for so long, Brighton
[53:05] England was known widely as a very
[53:08] popular um seaside resort where the
[53:11] royals showed up.
[53:14] And in the case of these two Brightons,
[53:17] it's very clear to say both were named
[53:20] after Brighton England. as mentioned by
[53:24] New York was named in 1814 by William
[53:26] Billinghurst who had lived in Brighton
[53:28] England.
[53:30] Brighton Ontario was named by Joseph
[53:32] Lockwood
[53:34] the first postmaster of the village of
[53:36] Brighton which had been created at a
[53:37] public meeting uh earlier in 1831.
[53:41] Now Joseph Lockwood was from Connecticut
[53:45] and the genealogy tells us that his
[53:48] ancestors several generations back were
[53:50] from Connecticut. Um, some would have
[53:53] been from Brighton earlier on, but I've
[53:56] yet to see that in the documents.
[53:58] But it does seem that he chose the name
[54:02] Brighton because of the high file of
[54:06] Brighton, England,
[54:08] and because of the aspirational nature
[54:12] of
[54:14] the thinking of people when we created
[54:16] this new village. because they knew we
[54:19] shared common geographical
[54:22] characteristics.
[54:23] Meaning it was a town that was on the
[54:25] edge of the water, Presciel Bay, Lake
[54:28] Ontario,
[54:30] and they were hoping it would get real
[54:32] powerful and popular.
[54:35] Now
[54:37] this is actually further supported by
[54:39] the next action that happened in the
[54:41] 1840s when the old town of Newcastle
[54:44] that had been impressed was renamed
[54:48] Gasport
[54:50] because that matches the fact that in
[54:53] Newport
[54:55] community was Gossport.
[54:57] So you really can't blame people for
[55:00] having their aspirations.
[55:03] But there's also a geographical
[55:04] connection.
[55:08] You know, Rochester is the largest city
[55:10] in America, closest to Brighton,
[55:11] Ontario, and
[55:15] Brighton, New York is a suburb of
[55:17] Rochester. You just need to look at a
[55:19] map. Look at a map of Lake Ontario.
[55:22] Brighton, Ontario here. Directly south
[55:24] across the Americas, Rochester and
[55:28] Brighton, New York. Now, that may not
[55:31] seem important today, but back in the
[55:34] day of schooner traffic,
[55:37] water connections were really critical.
[55:40] It think they were close together.
[55:45] Or there's another connection
[55:47] between the two Brightons. And this
[55:50] connection
[55:52] actually a lot of small connections
[55:55] that can be called family connections.
[56:00] Over several decades, I've done a lot of
[56:02] genealogy research, family tree research
[56:04] for families that lived around in the
[56:06] Brighton, Ontario area,
[56:09] and time after time, I came up with a
[56:11] common element
[56:14] in that period of from like the 1880s on
[56:17] up into the early decades of the 1900s.
[56:21] Many young people in Brighton, Ontario,
[56:24] when they were of looking for
[56:29] jobs, they would head across the lake to
[56:32] Rochester
[56:35] because
[56:37] they knew that there were jobs there in
[56:39] the industrial base of Rochester.
[56:43] And seeing many examples of this with
[56:46] different families in Brighton,
[56:48] I began to understand the importance of
[56:51] these connections that that created.
[56:54] The families that still lived in
[56:56] Brighton, stayed here, younger
[56:59] generation that moved to Rochester in
[57:02] New York.
[57:06] And also, I'm not going to get into
[57:07] details, but
[57:10] I've seen documents for many young
[57:12] people that moved to Rochester from
[57:14] Brighton, Ontario, and within just a few
[57:16] years of immigrating
[57:19] in the census records, they have jobs
[57:22] that could be called, what is it? One is
[57:25] engineer
[57:29] or film handler.
[57:33] The industrial complex around Rochester
[57:36] developed largely because of the growth,
[57:38] the massive growth of the Kodak company
[57:42] and of course the popularity of those
[57:44] campers that everybody loved.
[57:48] There were thousands of jobs created
[57:50] there and people flocked
[57:54] to that location to take advantage of
[57:56] the prosperity.
[57:59] And so many of those people that came to
[58:01] Rochester for that reason came from
[58:04] Brighton, Ontario.
[58:06] And the younger generation
[58:08] came to the Rochester area, got their
[58:11] jobs, settled down, were prosperous,
[58:15] and eventually were able to afford a
[58:17] house in the suburbs.
[58:19] One of those suburbs being Brighton, New
[58:22] York. So, we're in the connections
[58:24] between our town. Someone that we have
[58:27] to look for, but it's lovely to have
[58:31] our folks from Brighton, New York here
[58:34] today. Thanks very much.
[59:05] I just wanted to make sure Parker had
[1:00:47] Well, as is our as is our want. Is there
[1:00:49] uh anyone present who has a question
[1:00:51] with anything that appeared on this
[1:00:52] afternoon's agenda? I didn't think so.
[1:00:57] I have a motion moved by councelor
[1:00:58] Rowley, seconded by Deputy Mayor
[1:01:00] Anderson that council gives a bylaw its
[1:01:02] first, second, and third reading and
[1:01:04] finally passes on this date being a
[1:01:05] bylaw to confirm the proceedings of the
[1:01:07] Corporation of the Municipality of
[1:01:08] Brighton council meeting held on August
[1:01:10] 28th, 2026. Is there any discussion?
[1:01:12] Those in favor? There being none
[1:01:14] opposed? That motion's carried?
[1:01:19] And a motion moved by councelor Wen,
[1:01:20] seconded by councelor Wright that the
[1:01:21] August 28th, 2026 special council
[1:01:23] meeting adjourn at 2 p.m. Is there any
[1:01:27] discussion? All in favor? There being
[1:01:29] none opposed, that motion's carried.
[1:01:32] Thank you everyone. We are united,
[1:01:34] strong, and free. And may God save the
[1:01:35] king. Thank you.