Lands at the time of the written treaties. We also
acknowledge the indigenous people who travelled these lands before the
written treaties. Today, Chatham Kent neighbours, The Luna Pell at
Elnapawi - Lait, also called Delaware Nation at Moraviantown, and
the Unseed of Territory of Bykajuang - Wapu Island First
Nation. Chatham Kent continues to be home to diverse First
Nation, May T in Inuit Peoples. Chatham Kent is covered
by treaty two, the Detroit Treaty of 1790. Treaty seven,
Sombra Township Treaty of 1796. And Treaty 25 Longwoods Treaty
of 1822. We also recognise that this region is subject
to earlier Wampum Agreements, like the two Rowanpam and the
dish with One Spoon Wampum. As beneficiaries of these treaties,
we recognise our responsibilities, including our collective responsibilities to the
Land and Water. Please be seated. Mr. Mayor, we do
not have a supplementary agenda this evening. Rules of Declarament
of Council meeting, the Municipality of Chatham Kent supports open
meetings that welcome debate of public policy issues and an
atmosphere of inclusiveness, integrity, civility, fairness, and respect for differing
points of view. Anyone conducting themselves in a way that
disturbs disrupts or impedes the orderly conduct of the meeting,
interrupts her makes derogatory statements or hate speech, defamatory comments
about Counselor's staff, speakers, or fellow members of the public
may result in removal from the premises. This also applies
to Deputations. We ask that you do not approach members
if they are seated in the Council seats. The Public
a less invited is not permitted to come into the
gated horseshoe area. The use of posters signage and literature
is also prohibited. Mr. Mayor, this evening, we have regrets
from Councillor B. McGregor and Councillor Wright, and we have
Councillor Allen participating virtually this evening. Disclosures of Procureanary Interest,
Director Indirect for Open Session Agenda Items. I have not
received any. And Deputations for this evening. One deputation was
received with regards to item 13A, the Clearville Park Review,
received from Wayne Ross, and it was emailed only. There
were no deputations for Zoom or President this evening. We'll
now move on to the consent agenda. We have two
items that have been pulled from the Agenda. The first
one is the Clearville Park Review. It's been pulled by
Councillor Sakacci and Councillor McDonald, and the long - term
financial plan has been pulled as a presentation by Gord
Clinton, the Chief Financial Officer. Therefore, to be voted in
one motion on the consent agenda, our items 13B and
C, and items 14A. Councillor Anderson, Councillor Thompson, can I
get you moved the consent agenda? Actually, Councillor Story. I
am happy to move that. Happy to second, Mr. Chair.
Any questions. Seeing them all put it to vote. Councillor
Allen. Yes. I'm sorry, I'm just trying to open up
one. All votes are in. And motion passes 15 to
zero. I will start the item 13 infrastructure engineering services.
13A, Clearville Park Review. Councillor Sakacci, go ahead. Thank you,
Hannes. I'd like to move that administration, be directed to
refer the report back with options and recommendations that, one,
prioritize critical infrastructure and operational needs of the park. Two,
identify opportunities to improve operational efficiencies and maximize existing assets,
including transient sites. Three, explore revenue generating partnerships and investment
opportunities. And four, provide council with a suitable options to
support the long - term viability of Clearville while maintaining
municipal ownership and operation. If I have a second, I
can just kind of review my comments. Council McDonald? Yep,
happy to second. Well, hey Council Scotchy. Yeah, thank you.
I was able to do a detailed tour with the
folks yesterday, and they had a lot of great questions,
a lot of great comments. And I really think that
we have a potential to look at that asset and
come up with a more creative approach than we currently
have on the floor, talking to staff. I think that
we can find some commonalities in the situation. And, you
know, in watching some of the presentations that we've had
recently regarding our asset management plan, I think that, you
know, Edward's team has really hit the nail on the
head. If you don't invest in an asset, you lose
the asset. So I think it's really important that we
start to look at things differently. I know as a
whole, there's a lot of individuals that feel that investing
in nice to do things. It's not necessarily always the
beneficial thing for our community. But I really think it's
important to do nice to do things, because our community
deserves to be nice and valued. So I'm hoping that
we can look at different options to keep the park,
and that's what this is saying, but also look at
a more creative approach so we can ensure that it
has long - term sustainability. And we can potentially look
at phasing in. You know, the increases over a longer
duration, as well as limiting some of the capital investments
to make it more affordable for the folks out there.
But I really think there's an opportunity for us to
do things a lot better than we currently are. And
I think that, uh, it's not speaking for him. I
think Mr. Soldos team's okay with this deferral as well,
as it's not something that needs to be done immediately.
Thank you. Councillor McDonald. Yeah, I support Councillor Sakachi's motion.
I think a lot of the users of Clearville Park
are glad that we're not going to be divesting it
at this point. And I think it's important to have
a vision for the part, for the future users and
the existing ones too. Um, and glad to see that
we're considering the phase - in approach as well, because
I know there were some concerns over, um, phasing it
in over five years versus 10 or something different. So
that's all. Thanks. No other question. I just want a
quick comment as well. No, I very much agree with
this approach. I think there's a huge opportunity out there.
It's a, it's a wonderful park. And I think that
with the right investment and the right to everybody looking
at it in a creative way, I think we can
make it even better, even better. Thank you. With that,
we'll put it to vote. Councillor Allen. Yes. I'll vote
to rent motion passes 15 to zero. Item 15, finance
budget information technology and transformation. 15A, long - term financial
plan. We have a presentation by Gord Quinton, the Chief
Financial Officer, and his team.
Mr. Mayor, members of Council. Before we begin, I'd like
to introduce the team that will be updating Chatham Kent's
long - term financial plan. Gord Quinton, CFO and Treasure.
Matt Torrance, Director of Financial Services. Brock Priddle, Major of
Corporate Accounting. Sean Hilderly, Manager of Asset and Quality Management.
And myself, Steve Brown, Director of Budget Reformance Services. Gord,
Brock, and myself will be introduced in this strategies, principles
and components of long - term financial plan. Financial planning
is critical to ensuring the ongoing sustainability of our community.
It provides a roadmap that helps us balance today's needs.
With tomorrow's responsibilities. To long - term planning, we can
proactively maintain and replace essential infrastructure, such as roads, water
systems, facilities, and other community assets before they become costly
issues. It also helps ensure that we can continue delivering
the service's residents rely on while adapting to changing needs
and expectations. As our community grows, long - term financial
planning allows us to identify future services and infrastructure requirements.
Understand the associated costs and develop strategies to fund them
responsibly. Most importantly, it supports financial sustainability by helping us
manage risk. Make informed decisions. And avoid placing an unfair
financial burden on future generations. In short, it helps ensure
that our community remains resilient. Well - serviced, and financially
healthy for years to come. A strategic financial framework is
the first step toward a disciplined long - term financial
plan. It establishes a clear foundation for decision - making,
aligning priorities and ensuring that short - term actions support
sustainable outcomes. Especially in a complex organisation this early structure
brings consistently and transparency across budgeting cycles. Management, and council
changes. The framework is built on three elements. Financial policies.
Financial plans. And financial practices. Policies define the guardrails, plans
translate those policies into forward - looking strategies. And practices
drive day - to - day execution. In essence, policies
informed plans and plans direct practices creating a connected system
that reinforces sound financial management over time. Our Core Financial
Principals formed a foundation of how we make financial decisions
and guided long - term financial plan. For the community,
these principles translate into predictability. Trust, and resilience. Compliance ensures
that public funds are protected and managed responsibly. While accountability
and transparency allow residents to see how financial decisions support
services. Infrastructure, and Council's priorities. Sustainability helps stabilize tax rates
and user fees by avoiding deferred costs and financial surprises.
And flexibility ensures the municipality can respond to them both
opportunities and challenges as they arise. Collectively, these principles support
a community where infrastructure is maintained. Services are reliable. And
financial decisions are made with both current and future residents
in mind. Practical example of these principles in action is
Chatham Kent's budget and asset management processes. Multier operating in
capital budgets are prepared in compliance with legislative requirements and
Council of the Proof Financial Policies. Supported by long -
term forecasts and the asset management plan. These budgets are
presented publicly with reports, summaries, and council deliberations available to
residents, providing transparency into funding priorities. Tax impacts, and financial
risks. Public consultation opportunities through Council meetings, budget discussions, and
published materials allow residents to understand and comment on financial
decisions before they are finalised. At the same time, autofinancial
statements prepared accordants with PSAP standards and reviewed by external
augers provide independent assurance of compliance and financial accountability. Reinforcing
the Public Confidence in how Chatham Kent manages its financial
resources. The purpose of the Missible Budget isn't just an
annual financial exercise. It really is the primary tool we
use to deliver on Council's long - term priorities and
shape the future of our community. That means our approach
has to go beyond a single year. We focus on
multi - year planning and long - range forecasting so
that we can balance two competing needs, maintaining the services,
residents rely on today while also making room for new
investments. And in some cases, difficult decisions on where to
scale back. At the core of this approach, our three
guiding principles. Affordability. Accountability. And value for money. These principles
ensure that every decision we make is grounded in a
full understanding of the cause, not just the immediate impact,
but also the ongoing operating implications. Cashflow requirements, and long
- term sustainability. We do this scrutinizing additions to the
budget. For any new initiative or major change, we require
a robust business case. This includes not only the financial
implications, but also the expected community benefit. Associated risk. And
how success will be measured. Importantly, we also violate the
risk of not proceeding. Not just the risk of moving
forward. This ensures we are making balanced, informed decisions, rather
than reactive ones. Ultimately, this entire framework is about ensuring
that we direct our limited resources towards initiatives that deliver
the greatest value to the community. While maintaining long -
term financial sustainability. In short, it's about being deliberate. Transparent,
and strategic in how we align funding with priorities. Chatham
Kent's revenue strategy is grounded in the principal that sustainable
service requires stable, diversified, and predictable sources of income. The
guiding principle of revenue framework emphasizes fairness. Transparency, and alignment
with service delivery. The Mississippia Chatham Kent, including the Public
Utilities Commission, generated total revenue of approximately 538 million in
2025. With the primary source of that revenue being property
taxes, which support core municipal services that benefit the entire
community. At the same time, Chatham Kent deploys a user
- pay principle for appropriate user fees, rates, and charges
to recover the cost of the services that provide a
direct or uneven benefit to specific users. This includes the
Public Utilia's Commission, where water and wastewater rates fund their
own respective divisions. Development charges are structured to ensure that
growth pays its appropriate share of growth. Protecting existing taxpayers
from subsidizing Development. Senior government funding should be treated as
important, but unpredictable supplement in the municipalities long - term
financial plan, primarily supporting major capital projects and subsidizing specific
services. A prudent requires conservative assumptions. Alignment with funding priorities.
And readiness to leverage opportunities without over - reliance on
these uncertain grants. The revenue framework is supported by strong
governance and long - term planning. Revenue decisions are integrated
into the mall to your budget process. Informed by economic
trends, assessment growth, demographic change, and legislative constraints. The Revenue
Strategy helps deliver predictable taxes. Fair fees, and reliable services.
Bylining revenue with benefits received, residents and businesses can better
understand what they are paying for and why. Diversifying revenue
sources reduces pressure on property taxes and approves the municipality's
ability to maintain infrastructure. Respond to emerging needs, and invest
in community priorities. The third
core financial principle tonight is growth management. Which is aligning
the community growth with infrastructure capacity and long - term
financial planning. Growth management is about ensuring that occurs in
a sustainable and financially responsible way. It helps align the
pace and the location of community growth with a capacity
of the municipalities infrastructure services and available resources. By coordinating
land use planning infrastructure investments and long - term financial
forecasting, growth management allows the municipality to anticipate future needs.
And make it formed decisions about roads, water and wastewater
systems, transit. Community facilities, and other public services. This approach
supports orderly development helps avoid costly infrastructure shortfalls and ensures
that growth contributes to the community's long - term financial
sustainability. While maintaining the quality of life, uh, for residents
and businesses. Strong infrastructure builds a strong future. Uh,
smart capital investments. Today. Protect services, strength and communities, and
prepare the next generation. Prefer Chatham Kent for the next
generation. Uh, growth management decisions shape how communities evolve and
how municipal services are delivered over time. By coordinating growth,
planning with financial capacity, child seeks to support community vitality
while protecting affordability and service sustainability. As you know, after,
uh, period of decline, uh, recent years show strong population
growth. As of July, 2025, Chatham population was estimated at
just over 113, 000 residents. Reflecting continued growth across the
municipality. In fact, since 2016, uh, Chatham Connect Experience population
increase of over eight percent. Or over 8, 500 additional
residents. This growth is significant, particularly when you'd in the
context of the previous decade where population levels remain relatively
stable or experienced periods of decline. This recent increase demonstrates
the Chown Kent is an increasingly attractive place to live,
work, and invest. Growth has been supported by a combination
of factors, including Housing Development. Economic Opportunities, Immigration, and Communities
Quality of Life. While population growth brings many benefits, including
a larger labour force increased economic activity and a broader
municipal tax base. It also creates additional demands for infrastructure,
municipal services, housing, transportation networks. And community amenities. Some of
the recent growth was accomplished by infilling a company. Without
major infrastructure investments or capacity, uh, improvements. That room's no
longer really available. And that infrastructure infrastructure improvements and expansion
is of capacity are needed to sustain this growth. Understanding
the population trends is critical to growth management. Accurate population
forecasting helps ensure that infrastructure investments and financial planning are
aligned with future needs. Allowing the municipality to proactively plan
for growth rather than react to it after the capacity
challenges that submerge. Ultimately, uh, these population increases reinforced importance
of coordining land use planning infrastructure delivery and long -
term financial strategies to ensure challenges to grow in a
sustainable and physically responsible manner. Here, uh, you've seen this
before. This is showing percent growth in communities in 2025.
Chatham Kent grew 1. 2 percent, over 1. 2 percent
representing the highest single year growth rate recorded in more
than 20 years since consistent population tracking began. This is
a notable milestone and reflects increasing appeal of Chatham as
a place to live, work, and raise the family. Shown
on the map, Chatham's growth rate, exceeded that of many
surrounding municipalities, as well as exceeded the provincial average during
that period. The strong performance highlights that municipality is not,
is not only participating in Ontario's broader growth trends, but
growing out of pace is outstripping, men can paradies in
the region. A key driver of this growth is in
migration from elsewhere in on Ontario. More individuals and families
are choosing to relocate to Chatham Kent. Attracted by factors
such as Housing Affordability. Lower property taxes, our immunity investment
plan incentives, employment opportunities, quality of life, and access to
amenities. This trend is contributing to both population growth. And
increased it demand for housing infrastructure and municipal services. These
growth patterns reinforce the importance of proactive growth management. As
more people choose to make Chatham Kent their home, the
municipality must continue to align planning, infrastructure investments, and financial
strategies to support sustainable growth and maintain the high quality
services residents expect.
Them, growth management. Uh, Chattamut's growth management approach is guided
by integrated set of Council proved policy documents, including the
official plan. The Council Growth Strategy Provincial Planning Statements, the
Community Improvement Plans, and specific master plans. The long -
term financial plan serves as a financial framework that aligns
these policies with municipal capacity. Affordable ability, and long -
term sustainability. The official plan establishes where and how growth
should occur with an emphasis on directing Development to designated
settlement areas, supporting efficient infrastructure use, and protecting agricultural and
environmental resources. The Council Girl Strategy builds on this foundation
by prioritizing population growth, economic development, and community vitality, and
then provincial planning statement requires municipality to build more housing
where it's needed, make land available for development, create opportunities
for economic development and job creation. And plan for our
appropriate transportation, water, sewer, and other infrastructure. Needs necessary to
accommodate current and future needs. The Community Improvement Plan, one
of our huge successes in John provides targeted financial tools
to support Reikvestment, redevelopment, and intensification within existing communities. And
master plans translate growth policy into actional infrastructure and service
delivery requirements. Plan such as the water and wastewater master
plan, transportation mobility, master plan, stormwater master plan, parks and
recreation master plan, Fire Master Plan and Housing Strategy identified
the infrastructure investments, service levels, and capital priorities required to
support the anticipated population and unemployment growth.
Chap, can I experience a significant increase and residential development
activity over the past decade? With housing annual housing units
approved through building permits, increasing from approximately 100 to 200
units between 2011 and 2018. To sustain levels exceeding 400
units, and only since 2020. The municipality reached a record
high of 690 units in 2021. This upper trend reflects
growing demand of her housing in Chatham Kent and aligns
with broader municipal objectives. To attract residents, workforce growth, and
strength and economic development. The increase in housing development also
signals a corresponding need for municipal infrastructure, and services to
ensure new growth is supported in a sustainable and financially
responsible manner. As new residential units are added, demand increases
for water and wastewater capacity, transportation infrastructure, stormwater management systems,
parks and recreation facilities, emergency services, and other municipal assets.
Growth - related investments are therefore required not only to
accommodate new residents. But also to maintain service levels for
existing communities. The sustained increase in. That growth is no
longer a future planning assumption, but an active trend occurring
across the municipality. Accordingly, gross - related infrastructure investments must
be planned. And implemented proactively to ensure development opportunities are
not constrained by servicing limitations. In growth infrastructure will support
housing supply objectives, facilitate economic development opportunities, and position Chatham
Kent to accommodate forecasted population growth all maintaining its long
- term sustainability.
Chairman Kent's asset management approach focuses on building effective, robust,
and data - driven asset management systems. Or AMS. Uh,
this system supports responsible decision - making regarding the services
provided to the public and the assets required to deliver
those services. The AMS is guided by Chatham Ken strategic
asset management policy, provincial O - Reg - 588 -
17. In the annual detailed asset management plans. A practical
example of asset management planning and Chatham Kent is the
improvement of asset data to support informed evidence - based
decision - making. Through the Development of Detailed Asset Management
Plans for Community Parks, the municipality completed a comprehensive inventory
of park assets that did not previously existed following amalgamation.
This work could provide a clear understanding of the assets
available to residents, their condition, and the resources required to
maintain them. The enhanced data benefits both residents and the
municipality. It improves public awareness of available amenities such as
playgrounds and baseball diamonds, while also helping administration align service
levels with available staffing and funding. By understanding what assets
exist. And what it takes to maintain them, Council can
make more informed decisions that support sustainable service delivery and
long - term financial planning. The life cycle of an
asset requires ongoing capital investment to ensure the asset continues
to deliver the intended level of service to the community.
While the initial acquisition of an asset often represents the
largest investment, additional funding is required throughout its life for
rehabilitation renewal and eventually replacement. Regular capital investments such as
replacing major components, rehabilitating aging infrastructure, or upgrading equipment, help
extend asset life, reduce operating risks, and avoid more costly
failures in the future. By planning for these investments over
the entire life cycle of an asset. Municipalities can maintain
service levels, maximize the value of public assets, and manage
long - term financial sustainability. Over the next four years,
the number on this slide will be adjusted. Based on
master plans, budget allocations, disposal projections, and changes to levels
of service. It bears mentioning that the financial accountability office
of Ontario indicates that the vast majority and potentially all
of Ontario is 444 municipalities face an infrastructure funding gap.
According to the association of municipalities of Ontario, or AMO,
roughly 45 percent of Ontario's municipal infrastructure assets are in
a state of disrepair. Because Owned Source Revenues cannot fully
meet these demands. Municipalities are heavily lobbying the province for
a consistent and predictable funding source to address this issue.
Asset management planning provides the foundation for a long -
term financial plan by identifying the future costs required to
maintain, renew, and replace municipal assets. It helps Council understand
upcoming infrastructure investment needs, prioritize projects based on risk and
service impacts, and make informed decisions about funding strategies. By
integrating asset management planning with long - term financial planning,
Dominicipality can proactively manage assets, avoid unexpected financial pressures, and
ensure the sustainable delivery of services for residents both now
and in the future. Two critical components of Chatham Kent's
financial strategy is our approach to cash investment and reserve
fund management. Together, these practices ensure we protect public funds,
maintain liquidity to meet our obligations and generate stable non
- taxation revenue. Our cash investment strategy is built on
a strong foundation of policy, legislation, and disciplined financial management.
All investment activities are governed by Council's Investment Policy and
comply with the municipal Act 2001, Ontario Regulation 438 -
97. These frameworks ensure that everything we do prioritizes security
and transparency. Our objectives follow a clear hierarchy. First, we
comply with all statutory requirements. Second, we preserve capital. Third,
we maintain sufficient liquidity. And finally, we aim to earn
a competitive rate of return. Turning to reserve fund management.
This is the long - term foundation of our financial
health. Reserves are established for a specific purposes and funded
based on asset lifecycle needs, capital forecasts, and long -
term planning assumptions. This ensures we're prepared for known future
costs while remaining flexible for changing priorities. Importantly, reserves are
fully integrated into our financial framework. They support the annual
budget, capital planning, asset management planned, and long - term
financial strategy. This disciplined approach ensures we maintain adequate funding
for infrastructure renewal. Replacement and contingencies while minimizing reliance on
debt. Effective reserve management has direct visible benefits for the
community. It allows us to plan and deliver infrastructure investment
like roads, water systems, and municipal facilities in a stable
and predictable way. This reduces service disruptions, avoids sharp tax
increases, and lowers borrowing costs. It also ensures we can
respond to unexpected events without significant financial strain. For taxpayers,
it means smoother financial impacts over time. Sustained service levels,
and confidence that municipal finances are being managed responsibly. In
2025, Chatham Ken generated 22. 1 million dollars in investment
income through discipline cash management, strategic fixed income investments, and
the realization of gains on principally protected notes. Despite a
declining interest rate environment, we locked in higher yields and
generated 8 million dollars in gains while fully protecting capital.
This performance strengthened reserves reduced reliance on borrowing and created
meaningful, non - tax revenue, helping to moderate future property
tax pressures for residents.
The last of our core financial principles to talk about
tonight is debt management. Debt management ensures major community investments,
our finance responsibly, balancing today is infrastructure needs with long
- term financial sustainability. Chatham strategy, it grounded in a
discipline, long - term approach that emphasizes financial sustainability, affordability,
intergenerational fairness, recognising that while infrastructure investment is critical to
growth and service delivery, financial decisions are equally important. Guided
by the Municipal Act and aligned with the asset management
plan. Priority ties as pay as you go funding for
lysucal maintenance. Through dedicated levies and reserves, ensuring users, fund
current services, well, minimizing interest cost and pressures on future
budgets. We used debt for major investments that provide long
- term benefits to the community. So choosing the right
funding approach. Funding decisions are based on the type of
investment. And who benefits from it. So important slide. It's
Council of the Doris Pay as you go. Um, for
things like road rehabilitation, life cycle renewal and routine infrastructure.
And the use of debt, which shares cost over a
period of time. For things like new affordable housing, new
major facilities and growth - related infrastructure. That is used
sparring and only where it delivers clear value, such as
a growth - related infrastructure and major strategic investment. This
approach is supported by strong project prior titulation, defining criteria
for debt use, and prudent financial metrics to maintain sustainability
and affordable debt levels. So, so, uh, you know, recent
examples of various and examples, you know, rotary voltation, as
you know, shaven paving and all the normal maintenance are
done by as you go system. Well, I made your
facility like the 72 unit Affordable Housing Build at 199
West Cort in Wallsberg. It was a perfect example of
using both upper funding. And municipal debt to spread the
cost over the generations that will benefit. Ongoing maintenance, both
those projects, they're still funded annually within the operating budget,
reforcing the principle of a lining costs with use and
preventing future financial pressures. Using the great funding tool. For
the right investment helps keeps taxes stable. Provide financial flexibility.
And certificate ensures today's decisions remained fair for future generations.
The strategy supports stable taxes and rates. Protects essential services.
And ensures infrastructure investment remain affordable and timely. By prioritizing
pay as you go funding and strong reserves, it reduces
long - term costs, preserves financial flexibility, and builds trust
through transparent, responsible, fiscal management. Our financial
efficiency, particularly over the last decade, gives us the power
to invest into our future. Um. Uh. Tons available tomorrow
for investments in Chatham Kent. Are up to 900 million
based on provincial government policy, and that's based on 2024
financial results. As a result of Council of Prudent Decision
- making and responsible financial stewardship, Chatham Count has maintained
very low debt levels. Of debt. While preserving this financial
flexibility. These discipline - ered. Of course, we don't suggest
that we're going up to this limit. Uh, often there
are other sources of revenues to fund debt payments. Uh,
such as upper levels of governments. And the example of
that was when we built River Gardens, we're two -
thirds of the debt was paid by the province over
the last 20 years. And Development Choice charges that are
when a assets developed, and then the Housing fills in
over the next decade debt is perfect for those cases
to align the debt charges with the funds coming in.
So in Collusion. The updated long - term financial plan
will be presented to Council in the first quarter of
2027. It's being updated, because now it's our asset management
plan exercise. And remember this presentation was meant to follow
Sean's presentation, uh, at your last council and sort of
tie together. Um. We now have real data. Uh, as
Brock said, uh, infrastructure gaps are across the province. It's
in every municipality. Sounds like a scary number, but that's
not to be a scary number, the infrastructure gap. It's
what do you do moving forward. Uh, lobbing upper level
as a government. We finally have real data to do
that lobbying rather than guesses. And consistent data across the
province, uh, through the asset management plan regulations. Um, so,
so, so this will be a great foundation for the
next council to build on. This will be delivered to
them as part of their, uh, uh, orientation. Uh, and
in Q1 of 2027. Really have all the options on
the table for them as they develop the next council's
term strategic priorities. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Any questions? Any
questions Councillor Story followed by Councillor Bondi. Thank you, Mr.
Chair. Thanks to all of you for that great presentation.
I was going to ask, can you please do this
at the beginning of next term for the next council?
It's I'm glad to hear you're going to do that
because this was very informative. I have a couple of
quick questions. The reserve piece, that's always a question that
we talk about all term and often one that I
know I have challenged. I've had challenges describing to constituents
because it's not always an obvious direct line to each
one. Is there a legal or legislative amount for how
much we must have in our reserves? Thank you. Thank
you, Mr. Barrett. No, there is, there is no legislative.
As Chatham Kent, we started with 6 million in reserves.
Um, and our working reserve because, uh, amalgamation, the rest
was given back, uh, to any municipality how to surplus.
We've been a Cecil and now building up these reserves
to give financial flexibility. And. I would say one of
the things that you always need to look at is
your reserves to vet ratio. Yes. Or that's very, we
worked on paying offer debt for the last decade. Now,
now we're in that have that ability because we did
that. We now have the ability to invest in Chatham
to deal with summer for aging assets and plan for
the future. Uh, so those reserved debt ratios will get
more to that one into one ratio over the next
term. Okay. So you would, in your opinion, it would
make sense if we had, so how many, how much
do we have in reserves right now? Do you have
a general idea? Approximately 300 million. 300 million. Then she,
if I'm understanding what you just said correctly, then 30
million in reserves and 300 million in. That, that, that
would be the, we're better than ideal now, being that
we have almost no debt. That would be the, uh,
chart of sweet spot as far as auditors or anyone
looking. There's lots of municipalities that have twice amount of
debt as they do in reserves. Uh. But, but that
means, but one to one ratio is I guess what
you would say is the ideal point. And remember this,
this also includes the POC. Um, so we're looking at,
uh, some, some major projects over the next few years
on the PVC side as well. Okay. Thank you. And
those reserves, it's not just 300 million and spread out.
There's different uses for different, uh, departments, different projects. And
we aren't necessarily, we can't necessarily use a reserve for
one account into another CASON one hand. You're like, okay,
we have 300 reserve. Why don't we take, uh, 20
million in Chip away at the asset management. Uh, gap
that we have, but it's not quite that simple, correct?
It's not as simple. And a couple things to keep
in mind, one, uh, we talked about investment income on,
on those reserves. If we're making a return that's greater
than the construction, inflation costs, we're doing well. And that's
what we've been doing the last few years with our
investment strategy. So, so we're able to, to provide more
funding and to annual budgets. There are substantial part additions
in the last multi - year budgets. It'll be much,
we'll be able to do much more in the next
multi - year budget and invest more. Have those, uh,
annual returns that pay dividends to every resident. Sean Mc
not having to raise taxes as much as otherwise. So,
so when we start next term, when there is a
new council in place. Will you be reviewing all of
that with them? Cause I know it's. I know a
question I've gotten throughout this term has been, well, you've
got that much in reserves. Why aren't we spending it.
And it's not, again, it's not quite that simple, is
it, but I often have struggled to answer that effectively
because it does seem like a large amount. And we
do have roads we want paved and bridges we want
repaired and that kind of thing. So I think it
maybe there's. An easier explanation to share why we wouldn't
just automatically. Use some of that to find that type
of work. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. While the
number has grown, um, you always have to look at
it in comparison to what type of municipality we are
and all the services that we supply as a single
tier with the geography that we have about half of
that old funds are reserves that are building up so
that we can afford some of those pay as you
go items. Good example of the third street bridge and
Chatham, you know, I don't 12 million dollar project, whatever
it was. That's the whole year of, of, of, of
bridge funding almost, just in that one bridge. So we
had, you know, so some of it's building up for
that large mass of bridge. Um, we get, and we
have several more of those mastered bridge. She was crossing
the, uh, either tons or sitting ham river that are
upcoming in the next few years that will need that
10, 20 million dollar spend in one shot. So that's,
you know, and that's for parks and everything arenas, they
save up for our floor replacement every few years and
on and on. So that's, like I say, about half
the infrastructure. The other half, there's a, there's a couple
mandated reserves, but the majority of it is, uh, Council
Director Reserves for various, uh, items. You review it annually
as part of the budget process. Provided the targets of
where they'll be at the end of a multi -
year budget. And our ultimate up to Council, whether. That's
still a priority, what the money was set aside for
or whether there's changes to be made to the plan.
Thanks, Courtz. So maybe I'll ask them some more questions.
The reasonable way to maybe explain it for a personal
that I'm, I like to buy a new vehicle. I
don't have the money I need quite yet. So I'm
going to save up essentially for a certain number of
years till I have enough money to buy the new
current that I'm going to use that money in that
account to buy that new car or replace my old
car, what have you. So just in a relatable example
in our own. It's relatable, but often that decision would
be a combination of some of reserves that you think
that you have in your bank account and perhaps some
debt as well. Reasonable debt. You don't put 20 year
debt on a car that's only going to last 10
years, for example. And those payments need to be affordable.
In your budget. So, so it's that balance. And really
to a car example. Are you buying a 70, 000
dollar car or 40, 000 car because of you basing
what you're buying based on between your reserve balances, what's
in your bank yet and other costs that you have
and your ability to whirl, uh, where you're at. So
and that's what council's decisions are, you know, what is
reasonable. And in light of growth as well. Thank you.
Are you almost done? I just have one quick one.
Sorry. Thank you Mr. Mayor for the, uh, flexibility. The
22. 1 million in non - tax revenue. Where does
that go? And that's it. Thank you. Yeah. Uh, so
we have a budget, interesting income. That's one of the
things that Lord, the tax increase over this term. Uh,
there was a substantial increase. In that now that we
further developed. This financing strategy. There'll be, uh, further, uh.
Addition to revenues non tax revenues, which is about every
way he wants. In the upcoming budgets, uh, that'll again,
uh, Laura, the tax increase that we need. Councillor Bondi
followed by Councillor Harrigan. Uh, thank you, Mary Candiff. Um,
well, gentlemen, that's a very rosy economic picture you've painted.
So I'm just one of the people at home. I
just wonder why their taxes keep going up year after
year, but that's that. Now my question is you talk
a lot about growth and population growth in the municipality.
So how do we know this? Like you have a
very specific number of 1. 23 percent in 2025, but
we just completed the national census like six months ago.
So for instance, I have three kids the last couple
of years. They've gone off to school and they didn't
report that to anybody. And nobody asked. So how do
you have such a specific without a census? Like who's
County. So, uh, turn over to Bruce for a better
answer, but that census is once every five years, right?
And so there are interim estimates, uh, done. So this
is an estimate, not fact. Yes. But I'll let Bruce
talk to, cause those populations came from one of versus
staff report. Yeah. So each year annually in July stats
can does release a, uh, a projection of what the
growth and population is. But, um, you're right. The census
happens every five years. Um, the first tranches of that
data will come out early next year in terms of
the next census. But they're pretty accurate projections that they
do on an annual basis. Well, pretty accurate. 1. 23
percent in 2025. I'm just stating what the report were
you guys just told us. Like I'm just curious, that's,
that's not a real number then. That's a projection. It's
a guess. That can, well, they're guessing. Not you. There
it is. Okay. So it's a guest. Okay. Thanks. Councillor
Harrigan followed by Councillor Anderson. Uh, thank you through the
mayor. Some of Councillor stories questions touched on what I
had written down, but I guess I will just ask
the question, uh, Gord, how would you respond to what
sometimes we commonly hear from residents or constituents when they
say don't take on more debt, pay off your debt
as quick as possible and try to have no debt
is that similar to when people say, you know, don't
rush to pay off your mortgage if you're not saving
for your retirement or like what kind of more local
analogy can we give and what's the risk to us
if we choose not to take on any debt. I
guess analogy. Perfect people can relate to as a house,
house purchased. Young family just into the workforce, maybe have
saved up. Enough or down payment. You could continue to
save and pay cash for that house, but it might
take you 20 years before you're able to afford to
afford that house. Is it better for inner, you know,
part of the international equity. To have that larger house
when you have the growing family and actually need the
space. Rather than save money all your life to have.
To have the full payment and fall when you're about
to retire. And, uh. You know, in a personal example,
of course, the limited lifespan. You know, scholars don't have
that limited lifespan. We're always going to be here. One
shaper or another. We're always here and we're always growing.
So, so we have to. Or that sort of example
for people to understand. This council has made lots of
decisions on issue debt. It just hasn't happened yet, uh,
because it is issued when the project is completed. So
the wall sparked housing project, for example, it'll be late
2028 before the next council actually issues the debt and
starts clock on a 2025, 30 year diventure on that
project. And is that like lifespan of the asset? What
helps guide staff as to whether or not we should
be pulling something from reserves or taking, we use the
term like using DeVentures for it, right? Which really means
we're going to borrow to get the projects done. Is
there guidelines that staff have internally when they present to
Council on that. Yeah. Yes. Mainly, mainly matching lifespan, but
of course, you know, Barbarna, we're also not issuing 75
year debt on that housing unit. You know, that saved
life span 75 to 100 years. At some point it
has to be reasonable. And there's maximums that were even
allowed to borrow 40 year off the top of my
head. It's a maximum length of the time that we
even could borrow. Um, and you just have to weigh
the cost of borrowing. We have some, uh, it's now
been paid off, but we had some debt on our
books that was at. 10 percent interests. That we inherited
an amalgamation. And we have some debts that we issued
back 20 years ago that had now paid off that
were only at two and a half percent. So you
got to compare that cost, that carrying cost of debt
versus what, what's the cost of waiting. For example. I
know life at chat, we talked about arenas about four
or five times. You know, you can go from, we
cut up our old 25 million in 2001 and how
to arena. Now we're talking the 160 million for the
whole complex in the Recoration Master Plan. So things change
over time. And you need to weigh that cost of
debt versus the cost of not building and not, uh,
and, uh, I guess the other part that's proven in
the asset management, our assets are aging. And we can't
let them all. Get old at the same time or
how, how could you possibly, you know, we do have
limits on what we can borrow and the, uh, payments
on debt that we can make. So you got to
keep up on your assets. Um. We're, our balance sheet
is telling us now's the time to invest in Chad
of Kent and, and invest in many of our aging
assets. To Council to cite hell. Great. And I will
just, um, put a plug in for the capital project
explorer that's in our life budget tool, which is a
really great way for residents to see all of the
different projects that we're investing in all at once. Um,
last question. Thank you, Markannef. Um, you mentioned, uh, generating
revenue from non tax sources. So can you talk about,
uh, what you mean by that. And if there are
other non tax revenue generating sources that could be in
our future without it being user fees, because I think
outside of our taxes are a concern user fees is
another concern that we hear as, um, council. Yeah. Crack.
User fees are the next largest group. And that includes
the PUC water and wastewater eights. User fees are of
course are in the next highest one. Of course, ideally,
uh, back downper level government grants, um, having predictable, uh,
long - term permanent funding in place. You know, we
talked at this Council many times about the OCIF cap,
for example. You know, we're messing out with on 19.
3 million dollars a year. What a change that would
make and reinvesting into Chattanoogan if we knew for the
next decade, we had that money coming in. Um, but
then the other non sourced. So the, uh, our Vespa
portfolio is one of them. Um, that we talked about,
but, but then there's, uh, that was the whole idea
of the, uh, waste energy plant was to even increase
more. Uh, on those returns above what we're making on
our current investment portfolio to have new revenues, uh, to
displace the need for increased access. Uh, we need to
keep on exploring. Any of those possibilities. Naming rights, uh,
all, all those types of non tax sources. Great. Thank
you for the presentation and for your responses to my
questions. Councillor Anderson followed by Councillor Zakatchi. Thank you, Mr.
Mayor and through you. Um, thank you for that. I
just want to kind of piggyback off of Councillor Harrigan
quickly to better understand. So our healthy reserve versus debt
gives us better borrowing power to get up to that
900 million dollars should we ever need it. Is that
correct? Cracked. Uh, we get most of our boring through
infrastructure on trail, but, but to do that, it's not
only that municipal debt limit that we flashed on the
screen. But it's also the credit worthiness of a municipality.
And, you know, do those that are lending us the
money feel that we're confident. Are they confident that we
can repay those debts? Um. So the credit worthiness is
very important and with no debt or almost no doubt
on your balance sheet. You're really in the ideal spot
to get the best rates you can. Thank you. Um,
and then just so I can best understand when we
talk about not using the reserves and kind of going
into debt. Would that be like not pulling out of
your RRSPs to buy a car at zero percent interest?
Do you know what I mean when you could finance
it over seven years at zero percent? Is that kind
of what we're talking about the debt we take on.
So we have a monthly payment rather than pulling out
of our reserve. That's absolutely correct. Uh, you know, we're
not just here one time. You know, you can take
300 million, spend it on one project. Gone forever. It's
producing a annual income greater than the, uh, costs of
inflation. And, uh, but, but ultimately, you know, some of
those, I do want to say it's not that we
want to keep. 300 in reserves either. Some of that
is building up for specific projects that are on the
horizon. POC reserves, for example, they've been building the reserves
for the last five years. To get ready for some
massive construction projects that they're in capacity issues at their
face with. So, so some of that reserve balances actually
will be. At least allies and that decision made. Going
back to the PUC. Do they draw down half of
the reserves and the rest goes to debt? You know,
they got, they'll have to make those decisions on, on
what, what's the best trade - off between having money
in the bank versus, uh, the size of the debt
that they're issued. Thank you. And, and is it, is
it fair to say that some of those reserves are
similar to an RSP? Well, others you can pull from
quite easily like a tax resaving. Is that fair to
say? And that's why we have it invested that way.
Yeah. Yes. Uh, independent of the amount reserves, we take
an investment strategy. We know we're not pulling all the
money out. In one year. Um, so some of our
investments are a five year investment. Or so. So, so
we're strategically making sure we have enough money available for
that cash flow for the projected spending, you know, if
there's a major PUC plant in 2028 or something like
we got to be able to predict in advance, when
will we need those funds more like your tax re
- savings account. You draw it out really quick. And,
but, but we do have liquidity in our investments, uh,
anything could be cashed out if there was a reason.
To do that. All right. Uh, thank you very much
for this presentation. I know I have endless conversations with
all three of you trying to wrap my brain around
this, uh, I definitely appreciate the work that you guys
do and in how you invest our money and utilise,
uh, taxpayer dollars in any funding that we get. So
thank you for the presentation Councillor Sakacci. Thank you, Mayor
Kenneth, through you. Um, Gordon, in preparation for your presentation,
I read through the BMA study a little bit, talking
about like our debt load, just some copy and paste
here that. So it's significantly, both the average is 686
per person. Ours is around 181. So one thing that
I've always had a hard time with, and I'm always,
you know, open to asking questions that I don't understand.
And there's two of them. So when we're looking at,
um. Inflation, a lot of people look at their taxes
and they say the inflation. So the Inflation this year
is let's say three percent. A lot of people don't
discuss the pressures of, you know, construction, inflation as well
as, uh, raw materials, roads, you know, those types of
things that we're paying equipment and all that. So I
know that when we're borrowing money, generally speaking, you know,
less than 101 from you, you know, my first term
was, it's supposed to be used for like a capital
projects. Um, but when do we from, from, uh, like,
you know, debenture standpoint look at if the Inflation of
roads, for instance, I'll give you an example, Mayor Canef's
motion to, uh, for the gravel road conversion. So we're
actually borrowing money. So for borrowing money, let's say you
were boring at four percent because we have an excellent
credit rating. But the Inflation over the next 10 years
of, of those, that gravel, you know, the cement, the
asphalt, the bridges are actually like 10, 12, 13, 14
percent. That's actually compounding. Wouldn't it make more sense if
we gauge the economy better to say, you know, I
know it might be for operational or life cycle. Do
you ever take that to scale? Because I know generally
when we're having budget discussions, it's all about capital expenditures
one time funding. Those types of things. And I've never
really understood that with knowing that how much, especially through
COVID how much our materials and work went through, went
up, sorry. Yeah. Thank you very much for the question.
So for operating costs, you definitely never want to borrow
because you have the operating costs next year too. And
so now you've added that, that charges on top of
that operating cost if you paid for this year's operating
costs with that. So, but, but for the lifecycle replacement
of, you know, replacing a bridge down a certain road
with the vaccine bridge, um, we, we did have to
borrow as Chatham Kenton early years because we didn't have
anything in reserves. And we had bridges at the Brinker
failure. So that's why the Councils of the day targeted
getting to the stage, which we've been in the last
decade where we're on a pay as you go on
replacing an asset with axiom asset. Um, just, just a
new replacing out all bridge with a new bridge. Um.
But if you're replacing that old Tulane bridge with the
four lane bridge because you're expanding the highway because of
the growth in the new subdivisions happening, that's a different
type of asset. You might have a quarter to half
the cost put aside in reserves that were building in
your lifecycle reserves. To replace the narrow road. But now
you're building something for the next generation for all those
houses that are going to be built in that certain
area when you're winding the road. So that, so that's
the idea of, um. Real Estrategically using your debt at
the right time. Um, basically saving your capacity to use
it when in times like right now, when growth is
happening all over Chatham and our capacities, uh, running out
quickly. So, so if you use that on, if we
had to already hide 400 million dollars of debt on
our books. Just to spread those pay as you go
things that we have over 10 years, you're basically just
adding interest on top of those costs. And it keeps
on spiraling out of control. And you wouldn't have the
capacity. To grow as a community, which we do now.
Thanks just too quick questions. The second one would be,
um, looking at the numbers now, if, if we decided
not to take on any more debt, we would essentially,
I'm just paraphrasing around two years be debt - free,
essentially. We have a vote for tax - based debt.
We have about four million dollars of debt at the
end of this Council term on the books. It scheduled
payments over a four - year period, but in the
grand scheme of things, uh, comparing in the BMA study,
we were basically. You know, we're pretty well debt -
free right now. There's just a few moments. You can
just say that one more time, though, if you don't
mind. We're basically debt - free. Okay, just wanted just
because of some of the narrative that it's out there
right now is the exact opposite of that. So I
think it's important for that sediment to be said, yeah.
And then this last question for me is that where
I do have a little bit of a hard time
understanding is, we don't have to go back to the
discussion about the governance regarding the PUC. But when we're
doing Laker asset management plan, when we're doing the infrastructure
gap, we're including, um, PUC infrastructure in there, where it
gets really confusing when you see this massive number, um,
when a lot of that, that, that money and that
monetary aspects isn't actually tax - based funded. It's user
rate funded. And I'm just trying to, you know, I
don't want to CFO, but just, just a calm and
answer in regards to like, why are we including an
asset that's not technically ours in these because it does
balloon the number and it's not related to actual tax
task asks in the future. A couple of reasons. Um,
only municipal PUC can't borough. It can only immunicipality can
whirl and then lend that money. To the POC for
modern wastewater projects. Um, so it's on our balance sheet.
It's on, um, that provincial, uh, deployment of the 900
million that's calculated. With PUC rates in that calculation and
PUC debt levels. So, so, but, so the province is
looking at us as a whole, um, they're not dividing
it up. Now things like the BMA studies, slice and
dice and split out debt between water wastewater debt and
the municipal debt to get that dollar, um, cause present
in each of those, but that it's basically due to
legislations where we have to, uh, combining it. It's all
one of our financial statements. But there's also legislation on
the PUC first, for example, that water rates need to
pay for a hundred percent of water costs. Prior to
lockerton. There was the opportunity for taxes to subsidize rates
or rates of socialized taxes. It was sort of a
free for all. That's no longer the case since Walkerton
and the lack of investments that were made in water
systems prior to that. Um, uh, so since a walkthroughed
tragedy, it's legislated that those water rates pay for all
water costs, including the debt. Seeing all the questions, one
quick comment as well. I think Council should be very
proud of themselves collectively. That the strong balance sheet we're
passing to the next Council. Does it allow them a
lot of opportunities for strategic investment and strategic direction? So,
so thanks for Council for the network the last four
years for us putting together such a strong balance sheet.
Queen Ford. With that, we'll move on to notice of
motion. I've got five of them, uh, Councillor McDonald's Councillor
Scotchy, Councillor Hall, Councillor Harrigan and Councillor Seagars. I'll go
in that order. Council, Sir McDonald, go ahead. Great. Thank
you. Um, aye Councillor McDonald here by provide notice that
I will bring forward the following motion at the August
10th, 2026 Council meeting for discussion and voting. Whereas administration
has undertaking a review of user fees and the consistent
application of Council proved fee policies. And whereas the First
Ridgetown Scout group and the IODE Ridgetown Confederation chapter have
historically used the Ridgetown Rotary Youth Centre at no cost
for their programs and community activities. Therefore, be it resolved
that administration be directed to negotiate agreements with the First
Ridgetown Scout group and the IODE Ridgetown Confederation chapter to
formalize their continued use of the Ridgetown Rotary Youth Centre
at no cost consistent with their historic use of the
facility and that such agreements be executed by the general
manager, Infrastructure and Engineering Services subject to the satisfaction of
the director legal services. Councillor Scott Chief, Holver Council Hall.
Thank you. Councillor Anthony Sigacci here provide notice that I'd
be bearing into following motion for voting discussion on the
August 10th meeting of Council. That Council discuss areas of
concern for potential placements of additional CCTV cameras and direct
administration to investigate areas of concern by Council and Residence
a report back on potential locations where the installation of
CCTV cameras may provide significant public, uh, benefit, including but
not limited to Areo and Mitchell's Bay in areas that
experience a large influx of people in continued vandalism for
discussion. Be it resolved that administration's last CK Police present
available options estimated costs, funding opportunities, and any privacy or
operational considerations for Council Review and Discussion. Councillor Hall followed
by Councillor Harrigan. Thank you. I Councillor Aaron Hall here
by providing notice at all. I'll bring forward the following
motion at the August 10th, 2026 Council Meaning for Discussion
and Voting. Whereas a priority for this term of Council
is to improve sustainable mobility and to integrate a complete
streets design into all right - of - way projects.
And whereas a sustainable mobility master plan focused on cycling,
transit, pedestrian accessibility, and roadway infrastructure is underway. And whereas
several rail crossings exist in the community of Wallaceburg and
have not been used for rail in several years. And
whereas a rail crossing on Defran Avenue was paved over
during a recent rehabilitation project. And whereas community members and
Wallace were have expressed concern about the condition and usefulness
of rail crossings across the community. Therefore, be it resolved
that administration be directed to present an open session report
to Council on the number of rail crossings in Walsburg.
Their condition and the cost to remove them. Furthermore, a
status and property standards update on the rail bridge over
the Suddenhand River in Wall Street B included in the
report. And furthermore, administration be directed to prepare a presentation
in closed session to the new Council about the history
and current status of the rail system throughout the community
of Wellsburg. Councillor Harrigan followed by Councillor Seymour Gregor. Thank
you Mayor Kenneth. I Councillor Harrigan hereby give notice that
I will bring forward the following motion for debate and
discussion and voting at the August 10 Council meeting. Whereas
across the province renovations to existing rental properties can result
in the loss of necessary forms of attainable rental housing
for families, particularly the reduction of multi - bedroom rental
units. And whereas as part of Council's decision to pass
a rental renovation license bylaw Council directed administration to pursue
advocacy efforts with the province, recommending a province - wide
approach to reducing Renovictions. And whereas not all renovations that
could result in displacement of families from multi - bedroom
rental units would be an inappropriate renoviction, but may still
result in the loss of attainable housing options for Chatham
Kent citizens. And whereas Chatham Kent Municipal Council is not
fully in control of decisions related to conversion or renovation
of rental units due to the powers conferred by the
province on the Landlord Tenant Board and the Ontario Lands
Tribunal. Now therefore Council Direct Administration to pursue Advocacy to
the province, seeking a provincial wide strategy to avoid the
loss of multi - bedroom rental properties to help ensure
ongoing availability of these attainable rental housing forms. Councillor C.
McGregor. Um, I hereby bring notice of motion to come
to the August 10th meeting for discussion and voting. Whereas
the Aloe Stonehouse or Lou Stonehouse, pedestrian bridge in the
Community of Walsburg has been vandalized for the second time
this year, resulting in significant damage to the electrical infrastructure
that operates the bridge and renders the Lyft Span in
ARProl. And whereas repeated acts of vandalism against critical municipal
infrastructure result in increased costs to taxpayers, disruption to public
access and impact to community events and services. Now therefore
be it resolved that administration be directed to prepare a
report outlining options, costs, and recommendations for enhanced security measures
at the Lou Stonehouse pedestrian bridge following the repeated incidents
of vandalism, including but not limited to improve surveillance, access
controls, lighting, intrusion detection, physical security enhancement, and any other
measures deemed appropriate to protect the critical municipal infrastructure and
further that the report include estimated costs associated with the
recent vandalism, anticipated repair timelines, potential funding sources for both
repairs and any recommended security enhancements and any operational impacts
resulting from the bridge being out of service and an
estimated timeline for returning the report to Council for consideration.
And I hope when it comes back for discussion that
I can pull a couple of those things because it's
been repaired by the time I get back here in
August. So thank you. Hey, we'll go to close session
reports. Councillor Hall and the Councillor McDonald, can I get
you the second? Thank you Mayor Kat. If confidentiality and
close session meetings, close session meetings of Councillor held to
discuss sensitive matters such as legal issues, personnel matters or
property negotiations. These sessions are governed by strict companiantiality to
protect the interests of the municipality and individuals involved. Council
members and staff are legally and ethically bound to maintain
discretion and any disclosure information discussed in close session may
result in penalties or legal consequences. I have three reports.
Mayor Caneff, closed session report for from Monday June 22nd
Council received information on labour relations or contract negotiations with
regard to EMS contract adjustment section 2392D of the Municipal
Act Labour Relations or Contract Negotiations with regard to fire
response in Wallaceburg Section 239 2D of the Municipal Act.
Council directed administration on proposed disposition of land by the
Municipality with regard to offered a purchase PIN - 00938
1076 Second Street Irio. Section 239 to sea of the
Municipal Act. Litigation and advice that a subject is solicitor
client privilege with regard to OLT Appeal 49 Taylor Av
Chatham, section 239 to E and F of Myst Black.
Close session report from Monday, July 13th, 2026. Council direct
administration on proposed disposition of land by the Municipality with
regard to offer to purchase PIN - 00938 - 1079
5th Street Community of Irio Section 239 2C of the
Municipal Act proposed disposition of land by the Municipality with
regard to offered a purchase. PIN 00938 1080 Samson Street
Community of Irio Section 239 2C of the Municipal Act.
Proposed disposition of land by the Municipality and advice that
is subject to solicitor client privilege with regard to properties
in Bothwell Section 239 2C of the Municipal Act. Proposed
acquisition of land by the Municipality and a position planned
procedure or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried
on by or on behalf of the municipality with regard
to strategic future land needs Section 239 to see and
K of the Municipal Act. And finally close session report
from today Monday, July 27th, 2026. Council directed administration on
litigation and advice that is subject to solicitor client privilege
with regard to OLT appeal nine Sarah Crescent Chatham section
239 2D of the Municipal Act and Section 239 2ENF
of the MISCLACT. And I so move, Mr. Kenneth. And
I'll second. Any questions seeing non - product vote. Councillor
Allen. Although you're in motion passes 15 to 0.
Communication items Councillor Doyle and Council Juvenile. Going to get
you to move those please. I move those. And so
seconded. Any questions. Anyone opposed motion carries non - agenda
business. Councillor Story. Thank you Mr. Chair. I know we
ran out of time at our last meeting. So the
timeframe's a little shorter for this, but I wanted just
to flag for folks that the ERO, the Environmental Restrict
of Ontario posting for the anaerobic digester, uh, waste disposal
project with municipality of Chatham Kent and Greenfield Global has
been reopened. For an additional 30 days because there was
discrepancy in the ERO posting. Which was brought to their
attention. So just as a quick recap for that, the
facility is now proposed to operate 24 hours a day,
seven days a week while receiving waste and truck traffic
between 8 a. m. and 7 p. m. seven days
per week. So it's been open for, it was open,
an additional reopened, sorry, reopened for an additional 30 days
start in June 29th. Unfortunately, we weren't at Council for
me to flag that. So it closes July 29th, which
is in two days. So hopefully if you have any
other comments that you are, you may not have been
able to share the first time it is back open
for public comment until July 29th on the Environmental Registry
of Ontario website. Thank you very much. Mr. Taylor, is
there anything you want to clarify with the ERO. Or
this title. Uh, thank you Mr. Chair. Yeah. Uh, Dave
Taylor, Deputy CAO, one of the staff working on this
project. Yeah. So I think the wording in the ERO
posting does describe it as reopen, but it's really an
extension of time is what's happened here. So there is
that opportunity as Councillor Story summarized for, uh, citizens to
provide their comments. Uh, through that posting. And, um, there
was, you know, I think the way that it's described
on the, on the posting is that there were, um,
clarification of the hours of operation and the type of
waste disposal site. And so the ministry made the determination
that they wanted to, uh, leave that period of time
open for further comment from, uh, from the public. So,
um, certainly that, that period is open as Councillor story
indicated until July 29th. Thank you. I'm literally reading what
the MEC sent me. So I'm just not, I'm not
trying to editorialize. I'm just reading what was sent to
me. Thank you. Councillor Seymour Gregor. Thank you. And, uh,
I just wanted to send out an invitation to all
of Council and all of the communities that the weekend
before our next Council meeting is Wambo in Wallaceburg. So
the Wolfsburg Antique Boat Motor celebration that we have had,
I think we're heading into and Councillor Hall can correct
me. I think we're heading into year 31 in our
community. It's the biggest event that happens within our community
in the summer. And it's always great. There's so much
entertainment things to do. And I do hear, if you
have children or whatever, we do have a, it's an
animated, it's a raffi experience that is going to be
happening in, in the park early on Saturday morning, which
should be a really neat and different addition to WAMBO
this year. But, um, so if you're out and about
and around, great time to come to Wallaceburg. Thanks. Councillor
Juvenville. Thank you Mayor Canif. I just have, um, two
questions or issues that I just, just seeking further information
or clarification on. I've been contacted by residents of Dresden
on two separate issues. Uh, the first one is just,
um, there are homeless individuals living in Dresden. So a
lot of people have been reaching out with concerns. Um,
so just wondering if we can get an update on
how the homeless issue is, is being addressed in Dresden
and confirmation that, um, there are no suitable locations in
Dresden for any type of encampment. So that's the first
question I have. I think.
Okay. Thanks, Judy. Uh, sorry, Jodi. One more question for
people, if, if the situation presents itself again, what is
the best, what should people do if they have questions
or concerns? What's their best method of communicating what their
concerns are. You're pleased direct any concerned residents to contact
311 so that we can log the information. We can
track the information and the information gets sent directly to
the staff so that we can, um, appropriately action that
information. So if we could ask people to contact 311,
that would be wonderful. Thank you. Thank you, Judy. Oh
my goodness. Sorry. Jodi. Sorry. It's not even a long
meeting. Okay. Thank you, Jodi. Uh, my second question, um,
I have been contacted by, uh, different individuals from Dresden
who indicated that, uh, trucks as in like tractor trailers
with a cube trailer and tanker trucks were driving through
Dresden. Again, this is all secondary information coming to me.
Um, they potentially were York One trucks. I don't know
if that is, I don't know if that's been confirmed
or anything. Um, and they were speeding. So again, I
guess their questions and concerns are maybe wrapping around. The
knowledge previously that we were informed that there were proposed
truck routes from York 1. And none of those truck
routes had indicated that they would be coming through Dresden
proper. So people are just reaching out asking, are these
trucks going to be going through Dresden? Were they York
one trucks. Um, and I didn't really have any answers.
So. Mr. Duben, go ahead. Yeah. Perhaps I can address
that. So, um, the report that there were some trucks
in Dresden was brought to my attention. We sent out
folks from our Bila or our building enforcement group. And
they didn't see any trucking activity happening on the York
one side at all. Uh, they will be heading out
there again tomorrow. Just make sure. Um, so it's hard
to speculate. We also checked with CK Police and they
didn't have any other complaints of from anyone that the
traffic concerns in Dresden was speeding trucks or stuff. I'm
not saying it didn't happen. It's just unfortunately we don't
have enough information to be able to, uh, identify it.
So I would just encourage anyone, if he sees, uh,
vehicle speeding through any community, not just Dresden and not
related to, uh, to York One. Please call the police.
Or at the very least, take note of, of what
kind of vehicles and what time, um, because we do
have the ability in some cases with CCTV cameras to
at least try to track that down. So, uh, I
can tell you there doesn't seem to be any evidence
that anything was heading to York One. I also saw
one of the reports which indicated that the trucks were
on marked. So that doesn't help either because then we
have no, that's not the person's problem, but we have
no way of telling for sure. So I would just
urge the public, uh, you know, if somebody's breaking the
law, call 911. If you're looking for information, uh, that
is not sort of, uh, urgent in nature that the
municipality will have, then certainly call 311. Uh, we are
continuing to monitor, uh, the Orc One site for any
activity that's contrary to any uses that they're not allowed
to perform. And if that happens, certainly council will be
made aware. And then we'll be seeking direction from Council
as to what, what steps to take. So, uh, I
agree with the Councillor. It may very well be that
I believe last week there was a newspaper article that
talked about how many trucks may be seen through Dresden.
So perhaps when somebody saw some trucks, they thought, geez,
this has already started. So it's possible. Uh, but if
any more information is out there, our CK Police says,
has confirmed they're happy to look into it further. Okay.
Thank you very much. Councillor Anderson. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
Um, just two things. First, we're very excited that the
Hogs for Hospice has decided to, uh, put Wheatley back
on their route, uh, for this weekend. Um, we're looking
forward to welcoming about 2000 motorcycles into the town square.
Um, on Saturday, they'll be there between 12 and four.
Uh, so please come on out. You'll never see anything
like it in your life. It's amazing. And I want
to thank all the volunteers that have put that together
and that cross collaboration between, uh, the municipality of Leamington,
uh, and Chatham Kent that has made this possible for
us. Secondly, a good friend of mine, the grandchief of
the Initiative Agnesian, um, Linda Debosque, I was having conversations
with her about the fires that they had experienced. Um,
the devastation that they had in one of their towns
called Nami, um, and, and through our conversation and not
in my, uh, Council role, but in my nurses's role,
um, I took a flight there and, uh, was able
to go, uh, with the community, uh, back into their
town for the first time, um, and I just want
to bring to light the yes devastation, but also the
amazing resilience, um, and the spirit of those people and
the strength that they give. And their outlook on their
future and on their past and wanting to preserve both
of those things. So, um, Scodin, uh, Meg Reach. Okay,
we'll move on to reading the bylaws. Councillor C. McGregor
and Councillor Krug and he do the first and second,
please. Happy to move. Second. Any questions anyone opposed motion
carried third and final reading Council McGrayland Councillor Finn, please.
I will put forth. Second name. Any questions seeing none.
Motion carries. We'll move to the Resolution of Council. And
we're going to have someone who's the birthday boy today.
He will wrap it up. And this is in lieu
of us singing happy birthday to you. So moved. To
the not singing to you. Is that. Councillor Hall. Thank
you. Um, I moved the Chano Council Council adjourned to
its next meeting to be held on Monday, August 10th,
2026. And that Chatham Council authorized itself to me in
closed session on that day to discuss any matters permitted
by the Municipal Act. Second, we're happy to make it
a special meeting just for you. Anyone opposed to wrapping
it up. Seeing none. Have a great evening, everyone.
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In providing safe, clean homes for families and tenants. We
balance tenants rights with owner rights. Often acting as mediators
to ensure fairness while holding ourselves to landlords and our
landlords to a heir standard. But beyond housing, we also
contribute to the local economy by creating steady work, for
tradespeople, contractors and service providers, and then helping keeping those
dollars in Chatham Kent circulating. Um, as our municipality phases,
housing shortfall up by thousands of units, by 2031, uh,
every property that gets brought up to code and brought
up to housing standards is making a meaningful difference. And
we're investing in housing quality. And we're also supporting the
workforce attraction and retention, um, because stable and safe housing
is the foundation for economic growth. Yeah, it is very
important when we talk to, you know, our network of
Chambers throughout Ontario and even Canada, you know, those are,
you know, members who are employing people, uh, locally and
from abroad. And new immigrants. Um, to candidate and housing
is a critical issue for businesses to focus on in
terms of being able to attract a workforce. Do you,
are you talking with our local businesses.