Heute. Morning everyone.
Thanks Dan. Now that I have your attention. Yes.
Thanks, Lucas. Yes. Of course I always have something to
say. But anyway. I just want to say thank you
for the support. Of the staff. North Emmeriden County staff
and the Council members. It truly did make a difference
in terms of some of the dark times. And I
had a few. I really appreciated. It does matter when
we support one another. Thank you. Thank you.
Well, good morning and welcome. I'm warden Bob Crate. Before
we call this meeting to order, I ask that everyone
please ensure your cell phones and other devices are on
silent mode. Please keep them away from the microphones to
avoid interference. For those attending today's meeting, please note that
a video recording is in progress. Please note that live
auto captioning is enabled on the live stream committee council
meetings. Please speak clearly and directly into the microphones. I
call this Council Meeting of the Northumberland County Council to
order at 938 AM on August the 12th. And when
I call the name of the councillor, let me know
that confirm you were here, Councillor Lucas Cleveland. Present, sir.
Deputy Warden, Olena Nkiske will be arriving late. Should be.
Councillor. Thank you. Councillor. Oh yeah. Scott Councillor Scott
Jibb. John Logo. Present. Deputy Ward and Mandy Martin. How
soon they forget. Present. I just read what's on the
page, Mandy. And Councillor Brian Ostrich. I am here. Thank
you. Are there any questions from members of the Council
before we begin? Seeing none. I'd like to formerly recognise
a traditional keepers of this land and specifically our neighbours
of the Alderville First Nation with a formal territorial acknowledgement.
We respectfully acknowledge that Northumberland County is located on the
Mississauga initiative territory and is the traditional territory of the
Mississauga Nishnabek. Northumberland County Spectrally acknowledges that the Mississauginations are
the collective stewards and caretakers of these lands and waters
and perpetuity and that they continue to maintain this responsibility
to ensure their health and integrity for generations to come.
We have the approval of the agenda. That the County
Council agenda for Wednesday, August of 12, 2026 be approved
as amended to include the following time - sensitive matter.
Item 13C, a bylaw to a point that clerked for
the Corporation of the County of Northumberland. A mover in
secondary, please Council Regime. Council Logo, all in favor. That's
Carrie, thank you. Is there any disclosure of interest. Seeing
none.
I would ask that we acknowledge a moment of silence
for Northumberland Paramedic. Dan Dalmage. Before we begin to address
this item on today's agenda, I'd like to take a
moment on behalf of County Council to acknowledge the recent
passing of Northumberland Paramedic Superintendent Dan Dalmage. Dan serve as
a primary care paramedic with Northumbinum Paramedics for more than
25 years, work in primarily out of our Colburn base
before joining the superintendent team in recent years. Throughout his
career, he touched Countless Lives through his steady, compassionate care,
and influenced the careers of many of his colleagues. Whether
responding to a 911 call or supporting members of his
team, Dan was known for his calm and solid presence.
He attentively assessed every situation and delivered skilled, thoughtful care
that instilled confidence in patience and their families during some
of life's most difficult moments. His paramedic colleagues often speak
of his kind and approachable nature. He was sincere, dependable,
and made everyone feel welcome and valued. Dan's passing is
a tremendous loss for an autumnal imparamedics and for the
broader county team. On behalf of County Council, I extend
our heart fault condolences to Dan's family, friends and colleagues,
and loved ones. They remain in our thoughts during this
difficult time. I now invite members of council, County staff,
and everyone President to join an observing a moment of
silence in honour of Dan Dolmage.
Thank you.
So you're going to. Go to the podium. That's already.
There as well.
Thank you. On behalf of Northumbrind County Council, I'd like
to welcome our staff celebrating the service milestones today. This
morning, we have the pleasure of recognising 49 employees who
have achieved service milestones of between 5 and 25 years
with our organisation. We also recognise the retirement of two
members of our county team with years of service -
ranging from two years to 22 years. Days like today
give us an opportunity to pause and reflect on something
that is easy to overlook in the business of day
- to - day operations. The people behind the services,
programs, and supports that our residents rely on. Across Northumberland,
our staff are present in so many meaningful ways. You
will help maintain essential infrastructure, you support vulnerable residents. You
deliver programs and improve quality of life. You plan for
growth. Protect public resources, respond to community needs, and help
ensure that County Services are delivered with care, professionalism, and
accountability. Much of this work happens quietly. It's not always
made headlines, and it may not always be visible to
the public, but it matters deeply. The strength and retumberling
county as an organisation is built on skill and dedication
and commitment of its staff. Today's recipients have contributed not
only their time, but their experience, their judgment, and their
steady commitment to serving the people of Northumland County. As
Warden, I have the privilege of seeing the impact of
this work from County White Prospective. And I can say
with confidence that our residents are better served because the
people we are honouring today. To each recipient, thank you
for your role. You have played and strengthening this organisation
and supporting the Communities that make up Northumberland County. We
are grateful for your contributions, proud to recognise your achievements,
and fortunate to have you as part of the County
team. And I would now ask our CAO Dan Borower
to say a few words. Thank you. Paul. If I
could ask all members of council to take their place
in the horseshoe. That would be grand.
Of event planning in this role, let's see. Anyway. Good
morning, everyone. It's my privilege to welcome you to Council
Chambers as we recognise the employees making important service milestones.
To each of our service award, recipients. Congratulations. This recognition
is well - earned. And it's an important opportunity for
us as an organisation to say thank you. I think
this marks about five months that I've been here. Thank
you. I think one of the most important thing we
can say to all of you in terms of the
amount of effort and activity that's being generated by Northumberland
County. As you know, the work of municipal government is
broad, complex, and deeply connected to people's daily lives. Our
residents may not always see the full scope of what
happens behind the scenes, but they experience the results every
day. Through the roads they travel, the services they access,
the programs they depend on, the planning the Chiefs are
future and the sports that help individuals and families across
our county. That worked does not happen on its own.
It happens because of you. It happens because of employees
who bring expertise, compassion, problem solving, and professionalism to their
roles. It happens because teams work together across departments, often
under tight timelines, changing circumstances, and increasing expectations. It happens
because people care about doing the work well. We do
not seek perfection, we seek excellence. Today we recognise the
knowledge that you have built the relationships you have strengthened
and the leadership you demonstrate in your respective roles. Your
contributions help create continuity and stability within the organisation and
the CAO. I see every day how much your success
depends upon your commitment. Strategic plans, council priorities, and community
initiatives only become real through your hard work and dedication.
You know, it's how we achieve our mission vision of
bringing together people partnerships and possibilities for strong and vibrant
Northumberland. And that only happens because of the talent that
constitutes this organisation. So thank you for the years you
have invested in this organisation for your resilience, adaptability, and
dedication to public service. I will now invite forward those
employees being recognised for their service milestones. Uh, each recipient
will receive a commemorative gift as a small token of
appreciation from County Council and your colleagues. We have a
number of individuals who are present today. We also have
a number of individuals who are not present. I'll call
those forward who are present today and those who are
not all acknowledged their names. So first we begin with
the five - year recognition period. And if I could
ask Matthew Sturgis to come forward, please.
Thank you. Oh, is this a joint photo? You should
all know right from the top. I hate photos. You
know, this group loves photos, but. Michaela Paul, please.
Con. Three views? Uh, Terry Lee's.
Con. All right. It's impossible to stage me, so. Rebecca
Jacob. If you're here, Rebecca. Thank you. Who's our friend?
This is Atlas. He smiles. All right. Uh, Charmaine Roberts.
So much to. Remember. Thank you so much. For all.
Alan Smith. Con. Thank
you. There we go.
Kristen Avilar. I guess we smile for the occasion.
Nick Barber.
And. We're up to photo. And finally, John Rumble.
That's true. Thank you. Thank you. Next are the 10
- year. I'll run through the fives. We're not here.
Yeah. And is it pronounced. So to those who are
not here, I'd just like to read you their list
of names. There is Madison Stange. Lise and Davidson. John
Marquez, Tori Martin, Cheryl Tobin. Stephanie Atkinson. And our young
friend. Um, Christine Broom, Sarah Buckle, Alexandria Clark. Jason Kerlette.
Stephanie Foster. Sarah Gate. Lindsey Halico. Kijun,
Molly Mattaway, Lindsay called through? Cultural. Thank you. And Amber
Paige. Those are a remaining five year recipients today. So
for the 10 - year contingent, we have two individuals
with us today. First is Rebecca Snellgrove.
And secondly, we have Amy Graydanis.
Here we go. Got away. All right. Uh, the remaining
10 - year recipients include Jillian Blaine. Gina McLintel, Brian
Brock Bank, Austin Grieve, Christian O'Neill, Megan Oshaunese, James Sanzik,
Airsee - Enzworth Christian Brauer. Wayne Curnahan and Grant Wanacot.
So to all of those individuals, thank you for your
service. Uh, we have one person here of the four
for the 15 - year certificate, and that is Christopherson.
15 years. Thank you. The Remaining 15 - year recipients,
our Laura Clary, Stephen Phillips. And Jacqueline Sebarth. We also
have 20 - 25 year and retirees. We have nobody
here from the 20 - year group, but we would
like to recognise Leah Kelloe, Kimberly O'Leary, and Nicole Kelly.
From the 25 - year group, we also have no
one representing that. Grouping. But we are recognising Mary Smith,
Heidi Brown and Bob Cranley. We also have retirees, Dave
Rogers, and Carol Coleman. And I know doing this for
the first time I haven't identified which department they're from,
but I'm not going to backtrack and identify the miss
again. Um, just a quick aside. I worked for Durham,
and I was also their board chair. So convocations involved,
you know, three or four thousand people. The ones who
are always the most excited were the crane operators. And
they also had the best grip. And you had to
lean in and whisper to them. Let go. So at
any rate, that is our recognition ceremony for today once
again. Thank you very much for your service. And thank
you.
Who's. Already in. Here.
All right. We will carry on. We are at 5C.
Keep the County clean challenge. We have a presentation from
Adam McHugh, the Associate Director of Operations. Adam. Uh -
huh. Good morning, Warden. Come on. Yes. Okay, good. I
grabbed the right button. Good morning, Warden and members of
council. It's my esteemed privilege today to present the findings
of the 2026 mayor Keep the County Clean Challenge. I
do have the trophies in the house here. Ready to
be awarded with the white gloves. Uh, but I'll give
you a bit of a preview as to how this
year's challenge went. So this marked the 16th anniversary of
the challenge. Um, it's actually been in place for 18
years, but we did have to shut it down for
two years during COVID. That's the last time I'll bring
that up. Um, the week - long challenge this year
happened between April 19th and the 25th. And we had
great representation again from all of our member municipalities and
volunteers. Um, I'd be remiss if I didn't thank all
of the member municipality staff who helped to make this
a reality. They're the ones who sign up the volunteers,
give them the packages with the bags, the vests, the
flags, the information package and make sure that the cleanup
actually happens. Um, this year we had just under 1900
volunteers register and just over 15 tons of litter collected
throughout Northumberland County over the 16 years that this program
has run. We've had over 35, 000 volunteers contribute their
time to the collection of litter and illegal dumping. And
we've collected over 250 tons or over half a million
pounds of litter throughout the county. Uh, so it's great
to see the efforts. It's unfortunate that we're finding this
litter. Um, but as you'll see on this slide here,
over the 16 years, when we first started off, the
green line represents the amount of litter that we're finding,
the residents are picking up year over year. And the
blue, um, the blue graph basically shows the blue bars
are how many, um, volunteers we have year over year.
Uh, I did put a couple of trend lines in
there just to show that we're seeing on a yearly
basis over the last 16 years that we've done this.
There's a slight upward trend of the number of volunteers
that are coming out each year, which is fantastic. And
their finding slightly less litter each year as well. So
we're having on average more volunteers, finding a little bit
less litter every year. So that's, that's good news. Um,
the 2025 result of 2026, I should say 26. My
apologies. That slipped through. Um, so overall, um, we had,
uh, basically roughly two percent of our population in Northumbal
County went out and registered and collected litter. There are
probably others that go out that don't register, but at
least two percent of our population in Northumberland Registered, went
out collected litter and on average, they collected eight kilograms
or about 18 pounds of litter per volunteer, the registered.
So that's, that's fantastic. And this year, um, as always,
we have two categories for winners. The first one is
the highest Proportional representation. And this year, the winner is
Alma Caldeman with just under six percent of their population
registering to volunteer to do the cleanup. The first runner
up is the township of Hamilton with 3. 5 percent
of the population registered and the town of Colberg is
the second runner up with 2. 3 percent of the
population registered to clean up. In the hardest working volunteer
category. We basically figure out how much tonnage was collected
by each municipality divided by the number of volunteers that
registered. And municipality of Brighton was the winner this year
with 28 kilograms per volunteer or about 62 pounds per
volunteer of litur collected. So congratulations to Brighton. The first
runner up was the municipality of Trent Hill with just
under 20 kilograms per volunteer. And Hamilton Township won the
second runner up with 8. 2 kilograms per volunteer as
well. So that concludes my presentation. Uh, I'd love to
have Councillor Logel and Councillor Austrainer come up to have
a photo with your trophies that you carry on for
a year.
So the motion reads that County Council receive the PowerPoint
Presentation regarding Keep the County County Clean Challenge for Information.
Mover in Secondar, please. I'm from Austrander. Council Logo. All
in favor. That's carried. And at this time, we have
a second. Presentation. And, um, it is my pleasure today
to recognise Neila Fleury, Miss Northumberland Cowdy 2026. As she
prepares to represent our Community at the outcoming Mist World
Canada Competition. As part of her Miss World Candidat Journey,
Neila is championing of beauty with a purpose platform focused
on cultural reconnection. Her goal is to help individuals who
may feel disconnected from their cultural heritage, find meaning ways
to learn about their traditions, connect with their communities. And
strengthen their sense of identity and belonging. Through this work,
Neila is developing an online resource hub that will connect
people with educational resources. Cultural organisations, community opportunities, and practical
tools to support their journey of cultural reconnection. Neila, we
were incredibly proud to have you representing Northumberland County on
the national stage. Your desire to use this opportunity to
create a positive impact is wonderful reflection of the Community
You Represent. On behalf of the town of Coburg, Northumberland
County and your entire community, I want to wish you
the very best of luck at best world Canada. We
know you represent Northumberland with pride, and we will all
be cheering you on.
Okay, are there any other announcement from Councillors. Councillor Cleveland?
Thank you, Chair, through you to my fellow Councillors and
the Public. Um, first of all, I just, Miss Fury
is actually competing today in Toronto on behalf of Northumland.
So let's make sure, yeah, hopefully, uh, we win that
one for all of County. Um, but I'm here just
very briefly. I'd like to provide a brief update to
this level of government, uh, on the recent 10 for
10 campaign. Um, I'm having to adjust the total because,
uh, the word in himself just contributed the hundred dollars
to get us to a certain limit. So I have
to change that. But basically this was a campaign that
was launched, um, 10 for 10, uh, to support the
people of Armstrong and white sand First Nation. Uh, I
had heard a report on the CBC about the chief
the night they were evacuated. We launched the very next
day. This campaign was built around a simple idea. Uh,
it's something we did on the oil rigs when one
of the towns we lived in, uh, would unfortunately suffer.
We'd pass a hat around the rig. Everyone would throw
in money and we'd send a check to the town.
Uh, we kept it at simple. So 10 calls over
10 days asking 10 dollars each 150 canned raise 5,
000. Um, I'm very pleased to announce that thanks to
the generosity of our community members across the county. This
was not just Coburg stepping up. Businesses, service clubs and
community organisations, the 10 for 10 campaign raised a total
of 10, 500 dollars in just 10 days. On behalf
of the town of Coburg, I would like to extend
a sincere thank you to every single individual who donated,
even the ones who showed up just to hand in
that 10 dollars You shared this campaign and you encouraged
others to participate and the people of white sand and
arm strong are thankful. We've already heard from the chief,
uh, white sand. He's reached out to say how unbelievably
gracious and appreciative it is and how, uh, thankful he
is that this community on the Northern shores of Lake
Ontario along with partnership of the Alderville nation are stepping
up. Uh, this campaign is another wonderful example. The Compassion
in generosity of both Coburg, Northumberland and Alderville residents. And
I want to thank everyone who else just extend the
spirit of community and generosity well beyond our borders to
their northern neighbours. Thank you very much. Thank you for
that, Councillor Cleveland. Uh, we are now at the delegation
for Blue Dot Northumberland. The Wesleyville New Nuclear Project. And
we have Ralph Tari from blue dot Northumberland. We're off,
you're on. I'm Ralph Tory. I'm speaking this
morning on behalf of Blue Dart Northumberland, which is a
group of local residents and citizens who are advocating for
the preservation of farmland and for the Promotion of Sustainable
Economic Development Throughout the County. The Ontario government and OPG
are seeking permission. To build what would be the world's
largest nuclear power station. At Wesleyville. There's no confirmed reactor
design. There's no publicly released cost estimate, but we know
based on recent Projects and conservative International benchmarks, the plant
will cost or would cost between 200 and 250 billion
dollars. Maybe more. With every dollar of overrun delay and
debt, ultimately landing on taxpayers and rape payers. And yet,
the assessment process is being rushed forward for expedited approval.
With Northumberland County as the proposed host. This council has
already made a strong, credible submission to the impact assessment
agency, insisting the Project be assessed regionally. That upper tier
responsibilities be formally recognised. And that housing workforce, transportation, emergency
management, and municipal finances all be modelled and funded at
the County Scale. We fully support that submission. This morning,
I want to add one further point. Because this is
a nuclear project, potentially the largest on Earth. The consequences
of error, delay, and overbuilding are more serious than for
any ordinary industrial development. First, let's talk about the boom
and bust economy. This Project could bring. A megaproject of
this magnitude is the economic equivalent of a hurricane. Thousands
of highly paid mobile construction workers can overwhelm our labour
market. Pulling people away from farms. Care providers, and municipal
services while absorbing scarce rental housing and pushing up rents
and home prices for everyone else. The county's own data
makes the stakes very clear. Our regional roads carry a
replacement value of over 936 million dollars, and we face
a 9. 8 million annual maintenance shortfall. Barely half of
our arterials are rated adequate. Our last landfill is projected
to run out by 2034. And our paramedic system handles
29, 000 calls a year with off - road delays
and thin rural coverage. A Project like this. Would strain
every one of those systems for tens of kilometers in
every direction. And if the plant is delayed, downsized or
never finishes, we are still left holding the bill for
the where, the pressure, and the expansion we undertake to
meet a demand that turned out not to be real.
Second, this is not an ordinary development. It's a nuclear
project, and that changes the risk calculus. A 10, 000
megawatt station at Wesleyville would eject on the order of
50, 000 spent fuel bundles every year. Making Northumberland host
to the largest long - lived inventory of intensely radioactive
waste in Canada. And eventually the world. For decades, until
any repository exists. And then the material has to be
moved again through our region. Of the roughly 450 large
power reactors operating worldwide 4 have suffered serious fuel melting
accidents that released radioactive contamination. The probability in any given
year is low, but the consequences are large. Irreversible. And
uninsurable. And they would fall hardest on the farms, the
orchards, and the communities downwind. Port Hope, Coburg. And out
toward Brighton. Based on typical regional wind patterns. Earlier this
year, a group of leading public health researchers at the
Harvard School of Public Health published after nearly a year
of rigorous peer review, a study that found that U.
S. Communities closer to nuclear plants had higher cancer mortality
rates than those farther away. Roughly 115, 000 deaths over
the study period, about 6, 400 a year. Statistically linked
to proximity and strongest among adults. And it's worth remembering
in that context that 29 percent of Northumberlands Residents are
65 or older. Nearly double the Provincial Average. So the
burden of that uncertainty falls disproportionately here. Add to that
a design that dumps 70 percent of its heat is
warm water into lake Ontario. That requires a security footprint
requiring permanent, heavily armed on - site response teams and
armed convoys for moving the nuclear fuel and radioactive waste
through our region. And the reality that concentrating this much
capacity at one lakeshore site, as we've seen with nuclear
facilities in Ukraine, creates a geopolitical and cyber target that
ordinary infrastructure simply does not. Third, there's the question of
the need for and the alternatives to this plant. We've
been here before in Ontario. In the 1970s and again
in the late 1980s, planners forecast dramatic demand growth and
pushed major nuclear build - outs that never materialized. By
2014 peak demand was actually lower than it had been
25 years earlier. And those errors left rape payers carrying
stranded assets and debt for decades. The impact assessment Act
requires that the need for an alternatives to the Project
be identified and analysed. But the OPG Project Description does
neither. The burden should be on OPG to prove transparently
that efficiency distributed renewables storage and grid upgrades couldn't meet
the same need. At a lower cost and lower risk.
And finally, here's why this matters to you. Even if
the Province is paying for it. It may be tempting
to think that this is the Province's Financial Problem, not
the counties. But Northumberland is responsible for regional roads. Paramedics.
Planning. Housing. And emergency management. If this megaproject overloads those
systems as it surely will, this council either secures Protection
now or absorbs the consequences later. This is not a
windfall. This is a transfer of risk. Unto you and
onto every resident of this county. So our asset this
morning is straightforward. Support what your own submission already argues
for. And go one step further. Insist that need be
demonstrated through transparent evidence - based analysis with real alternatives
on the table. Insist that Northumberland be formerly recognised as
a required partner in every stage of assessment and planning.
Insist the regional study cover housing, labour, transportation, waste, emergency
management, and paramedic capacity at the full county scale, and
that it explicitly address spent fuel storage accident consequences and
long - term health uncertainty. And above all, no municipal
support without enforceable funding commitments. So this county is never
left paying for roads, services, or emergency readiness that this
Project would create. Insist on proof of need. Serious analysis
of alternatives and full protection against paying for someone else's
mistake. Thank you for your attention. Thank you, Mr. Troy.
Is any member of council have any questions. Council of
Jib. Thank you, Warden. Mr. Torrey, as you know and
for the audience here and those listening, I've heard several
of your presentations attended several meetings. And as a member
of Hamilton Council, we too have submitted our concerns and
our questions. To the assessment board. I don't want you
to leave here thinking that our absence of questions or
comments. In fact, reflect on our lack of interest. Because
that is not the case. Um, we have, in fact,
had Presentations here by Representatives OPG. We have received several
comments from our planning staff. And I just want to
state openly that what you have said quite effectively this
morning is in fact the position of many lower tiers,
and as well as the county. Thank you. Thank you
Council. Council Oster Under and then Councillor Cleveland. Thank you,
Warden, and through you. Um, I'm not going to echo
Councillor Gibbs comments. I appreciate them. I understand them. I
too have received your comments at Brighton Council or your
blue dots comments at Brighton Council and have received OPG's
comments, um, in my office and through Brenton Council. And
I would echo that my comments to OPG have been
Northumberland needs to be a part of this from a
partnership perspective, but that there needs to be significantly more
work done from a partnering or an infrastructure view. It
can't just be one lower term municipality. It has to
be a regional view, whether it is paramedicine or waste
or transportation. But in particular, in the, in terms of
transit and housing, uh, was, was where I was coming
from at that point, but you raised important, uh, you
raise important points around waste and paramedicine as well. So
I thank you for that. Thank you, Gordon. Council Cleveland.
Thank you. I'm wonderful presentation. I've heard it a few
times. Nice to, in your office from your wife firsthand
and now here again, I echo the comments. Your concerns
are justified and valid. Um, the only one I would
suggest that maybe could also add a lot of weight
to this is of course the economic consequences of our
manufacturing sector, uh, to the public. I know this council
understands. Cobra tax based heavily depends on the contribution of
our manufacturing sector. Uh, a lot of people in the
community who complain of high tax rates, uh, would be
shocked to find out what our tax rates would look
like without our very vibrant manufacturing community in Coburg. And,
um, a year ago we did the manufacturing report where
we actually went around and talked to every single manufacturer
and finding out that we're already in a crisis of
skilled labour in Coburg. We are already in a position
with our manufacturers where they cannot recruit enough staff. That
they are contemplating complete relocations based around a lack of,
uh, skilled trades. And the highly competitive market in the
region for skill trades. And so I heard you mention
some of the workforce concerns. I would just point Blue
dot to look at the manufacturing report that was put
out last year by the town of Coburg. Because I
think it's going to also add to your concerns around
the skilled labour. You talked about the hurricane of a
bombshell. Well, we're already in a drought, so to speak,
of skilled trades in the region. And so, uh, the
problem with droughts is oftentimes when a storm like that
comes, you get the flash flooding. So just sticking with
your metaphors here, sir, but I just think that that
could add to the presentation. I know the Ontario government,
uh, is very focused. On job creation. And so when
you want to get someone's attention oftentimes talking about the
things that really matter to them, we'll, will cause that.
So just a friendly recommendation. And thank you for the
presentation. Thank you. Thank you. Deputy Warden.
I think. This area has had a relationship with the
nuclear industry. For decades now. And I think that, uh,
your presentation is, uh, I think there are two issues.
One, you're talking environmental and you're questioning nuclear power. And
the other is the adjunct effects of the development of
this size, be it nuclear or whatever. And so I
think that is where the split is. And I think
this county has recognised the second category quite well already.
And has been negotiating and insisting. On a place at
the table to talk about these tertiary and beyond effects,
housing and so on and so forth. Transportation services. I
think with the nuclear, I think we have to, that's,
that's a whole other ball of wax in terms of
how you present it and how you go to the
public with it. There needs to be an informed debate
in terms of our future energy needs. Uh, and how
we're going to expand and as, as Canada, be capable
of sustaining ourselves. Um, and frankly, Lucas, I don't think
we're going to have oil rigs at Wesleyville. Right. So
we have to look at this. And we have to
consider it. And I think we have in place federally.
As well as provincially agencies that do hold public hearings
and debate and so on. This isn't going to happen
overnight. It's probably going to be 30 to 40 years
out. And it will go through those processes. Do we
need to keep track of it and ensure that they
are in place and heard. Yes. But I don't panic
about this. I think that there are, there are systems
in place that can accommodate. A learned and a responsible
debate and consideration. So. In terms of this county, I
think that we are there at the table and we've
made it very clear. That we want to be at
the table. And we will be. Thank you. Thank you
all. And thank you for your presentation, Mr. Tory. I'll
read the resolution. That County Council received the delegation from
blue dot Northumberland regarding Wesleyville New Nuclear Project and supporting
documentation entitled Understanding Rusleyville for information, a mover and secondary,
please. Deputy Warden, Councillor Cleveland, all in favor. That is
carried. Thank you. We're at item 6A, which is the
County Council minutes. That the minutes of the County Council
Session of June 17th, 2026 be approved as distributed in
the determinations contained their NB deemed those of Council, a
mover in Sector, please. Councillor Jib Councillor Cleveland, all in
favor. That is carried. Thank you. Oops, got. These.
We have item 6B, which is 310 Division Street Community
liaison Community Committee minutes. That County Council received the May
5th, 2026. Meeting minutes of the 310 Division Street Community
Liaison Committee for Information. Mover in Secondar, please. Council Austrander,
Councillor Logo. All in favor. That is Carrie. Thank you.
Uh, business arising from the minutes. Seeing none, we are
at Communications. 8A is correspondence, the Missipal Finance Officers, Association
of Ontario, Permanent doubling of Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund, OCIF.
Matthew Nitsch. Do you have anything to add. Are there
any questions of Matthew. None. I will read the resolution.
Whereas recent municipal infrastructure funding programs by the government of
Canada and Province of Ontario have tended to priorize growth
- related or housing, enabling, infrastructure projects over infrastructure renewal
needs. And whereas the governmental has regulated municipal infrastructure asset
management through O. Reg 588 - 17 asset management planning
for municipal infrastructure under the infrastructure for jobs and prosperity
act of 2015. And whereas municipal asset management plans and
the financial accountability off cementerio have identified that municipalities have
significant state of good repair backlogs and renewal needs for
infrastructure. And whereas the government of Ontario double the Ontario
Community Infrastructure Fund, OCIF from 200 million per year to
400 million per year for 21, 2021 through 2026, but
is not publicly committed to maintaining this level of funding
beyond 2026. And whereas the OCIF has become a vital
and indispensable resource for municipalities, assisting them with improving their
asset management programs and meeting community preserving infrastructure renewal needs.
And whereas increased geopolitical uncertainty is threatening the economic prosperity
of Canada, Ontario, and every municipality. Whereas municipal infrastructure is
a key enabler of end preserver of economic prosperity. Whereas
municipal financial is association of material. Has heard from its
members and their municipality concerns regarding the potential erosion of
existing municipal infrastructure, and thus service levels in light of
ongoing focus on housing, enabling, infrastructure by grant funding programs.
Now therefore be resolved in Northumberland County Council support the
MFOA's letter to the minister of infrastructure requesting that the
doubling of the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund be made permanent
advance in advance of allocation for the 2027 calendar year
helping municipalities to continue building housing, enabling infrastructure while preserving
the economic value provided by existing infrastructure. Further be resolved
at a copy of this resolution be sent to the
Honourable Todd McCarthy, acting Minister of Infrastructure, the Honourable Road
Fleck, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Honourable Peter
Bethan Valley, Minister of Finance, the Honourable David Paccini, Minister
of Labour Immigration Training and Skills Development and MPP for
Northumberland Peter South. The Municipal Office Finance Officers Association Ontario
and Northumberland County, seven member municipalities. A mover in Secondar
Councillor Logo and the Deputy Warden Martin. Any questions, Deputy
Warden. I just note that the length of this, I'm
surprised Matthew, you couldn't get a word in edge. Why
is there anyway? So well done. Obviously you didn't draft
this. Thank you. Thank you. Call the question on fever.
That is carried. Thank you. Item 9. Determination of
items requiring separate discussion. The County Standing Committee's met on
July 27, 28 and 29, 2026. The standing committee recommendations
are summarized in chart former on pages 59 to 65
of today's agenda package, full committee minutes are also included
in the agenda package. Committee recommendations will be adopted by
resolution with the exception of many items to be held
for further discussion. Prior to today's meeting, members of council
were asked to notify their clerk of any standing committee
items that would be what they would like to hold
for separate discussion for the following reasons, to question staff
or seek clarification for Council Discussion to offer comments and
or to alter a committee recommendation. This requires a mover
in secondary for the motion. No items were identified by
members of council for further discussion. Item 9V was the
Community Health Committee, which was cancelled. The Community Support Committee
was cancelled, economic development, tourism and planning committee. There was
no items to identified finance and audit was cancelled. Public
Works Committee, no items were identified and social services was
cancelled. Um. So I will read the adoption of items
not Requiring separate discussion. The resolution reads that County Council
adopt all recommendations from the 6th Standing Committee as contained
within the committee minutes. Meetings to held July 27 and
29, 2026. The movement secondary, please. Councillor Ostrander Council Cleveland.
Any questions. All in favor, that is Carrie. Thank you.
Item 11, there are no items for separate discussion. So
there are no motions to be held. Um, new business.
We're at 12A Financial Update, summer of 2026. His presentation
from Matthew Nitsch, our Director of Finance Treasurer. Matthew, thank
you, Warden, through you. Good morning everyone. So this is
a look at our financial performance up to the end
of June. So for the first half of the year.
Uh, you'll notice a few changes to this presentation. I've
added some more information that we'll go through. The first
slide here, just as a reminder of what our budget
was for the year. And as of the end of
June, the county is on budget with a total favorable
variance of 5. 3 million. I will note, though, that
there are a number of favorable timing variances. If we
adjust for those, we would be in an unfavorable position.
So I'll get to that later on. The Presentation. This
slide looks at our operating statements. Our revenue is 3.
4 million above what was budgeted. But our expenditures are
6. 2 million above what was budgeted. Our investments, which
is mostly money spent on capital is under budget by
8 million. Those are all really just timing issues with
the various projects. Financing is on budget. That gets us
to our total favorable variance of 5. 3 million. So
looking at our significant variances, the first here you'll note
is the GPL operations. So not the construction of the
new building, but the actual operations of the existing GPL.
So I'm going to briefly go over the rest of
the items here, and then we have a slide just
to discuss that. Large variance for the GPL. Very quickly,
we have our regular time and variances for capital, the
various projects, the bulk of which are in transportation. The
GPL capital construction project, again, just a timing variance. 3.
85 million for the work on that project. External services.
So this is in multiple projects across the organisation. That's
also a timing variance there of the 1. 2 million.
Our paramedic revenue. We had an increase in the subsidy
there that was higher than what we anticipated in the
budget. So that's a favorable variance there. Uh, that I
expect to continue 550, 000. And transportation supplies and unfavorable
variants there of 480, 000. So this is something to
watch. Uh, this is a result of the beginning of
the year, the end of the harsh winter that we
had money spent on supplies, um, salt and sand, et
cetera. So it will be interesting to see what happens
at the end of the year in terms of the
beginning of the next winter. And the rest of these
are really just timing variances. The only one I will
point out is the bottom one interest revenue. Is 158,
000 unfavorable. So you'll recall during the budget discussions, we
talked a lot about this. And we increase our interest
revenue knowing that there was a risk in doing so.
So where things continue, it looks like we'll be slightly
under budget on the interest revenue at the end of
the year. So this is the slide that I had
committed to bringing forward to Council. So this is a
breakdown. Of the variances. So the difference between the actuals
and the budget figures. For the GPL operations, which is
being impacted by the fact that we're not in the
new building yet. So this, I wanted to give Council
some more detail on this. Um, so I'll go through
it starting. Well, before I do that, the first column
is the actual year to date June variance. So the
difference between budget and actual positive numbers are unfavorable. Negative
numbers are favorable. The column on the right. We've made
a number of assumptions here and try to forecast based
on what we know now what these variances will be
after the full year. So this isn't going to be
perfect. It's our best estimate of what we think will
happen. And all of this assumes that we move into
the new building at the end of August, which looks
like we're on track for. So starting with the revenue,
the first rebuild funding. So this is funding that municipalities
get when they undertake a reconstruction. Because we, the budget
had the us in the new building at the end
of last year. We've missed out on that funding in
the first half of the year to the tune of
750, 000. If we move in at the end of
August, uh, there'll be a couple more months of that.
So we're projecting about a million under budget for that
funding in particular. A regular, the next line, the regular
operating funding. So this is our regular funding, but for
180 beds instead of 151, we've also missed out on
that because we're not in the new building. So that's
1. 4 million as of the end of June. It
will be 1. 8 million if we move in at
the end of August. I would note those two lines.
The million and the 1. 8 million. That's 2 million,
sorry, 2. 8 million dollars. That were projecting to be
under budget on the revenue at the end of the
year. But the operations team, the folks at the Colden
Plough Lodge don't have any control over that. The next
line is high intensity needs. So we talked a lot
about high intensity needs. So this is extra care to
residents that require additional level of care. It's special funding
that we get that's application based. So based on our
costs and activity, we have to apply for this funding.
So we have to look at that variance, the 400,
000 favorable in relation to the costs, which are about
in the middle of the expenditures, which are 800, 000
unfavorable. So net for high intensity needs, we're 400, 000
unfavorable. The ministry has been changed the way these applications
are made and processed. And we're finding there's a backlog
where we haven't received responses to some of our applications.
So one of the associate directors of care at the
home has been working with our contact at the ministry
and believes that we can work through most of these
issues. So that's why I'm projecting a higher. Revenue for
the full year or a higher favorable variance for the
full year. So we are hopeful that that will be
mostly resolved. Which is the 1. 2 million you see
in the right - hand column. There's some other revenue.
So total revenue is 1. 6 under budget as of
the middle of the year. And we're projecting to be
1. 5 million under come the end of the year.
So that improves a little bit based on what I
said about the high intensity needs. Looking at expenditures, salaries,
wages, and benefits. Are 850, 000 unfavorable as of the
end of June. We've talked in other meetings about how
the home is now staffed for 180 beds. We thought
we were going to be in the new building. We
hired folks. We got them trained. We've staffed the new
building consciously at 180 beds. Because we were preparing to
move into the new building. We wanted to be able
to retain staff. For the most part, the salary lines
are on budget. This is being driven by over time.
So the payroll department, HR has looked at these numbers
and dug into the data. It looks like a combination.
It's not one single thing, but it is over time.
So the team is working now, looking at our scheduling
practices, looking to try to reduce the impact. But because
I've been conservative and I've, I've kept the trend the
same for the full year forecast. So we're hopeful that
we can get that number down. But again, I've been
conservative on that number and left it sort of at
the same sort of trend line as we're seeing. Come
the middle of the year. Existing GPL carrying costs. So
that's the existing building, mostly utilities and insurance. That we're
paying that were not in the budget because we have
not moved into the new building around 240, 000. I'm
estimating about 300, 000 full year. New building variances. So
this is mostly electricity. So these are costs that are
coming in higher than we were expecting. And electricity is
the one that stands out. It's about a hundred thousand
over budget. Projecting about 150, 000 for the full year.
Additional operating supplies, these are mostly additional costs that were
estimating that we needed in order to be ready to
get the license for the new building. So the ministry
wanted us to have the new building stocked as if
the folks were about to move in. Regardless of the
fact that we might, that we have supplies in the
old building that we will be moving over. Um, high
intensity needs costs. We talked about security is 500, 000
over budget. So we have areas of the existing home
that are not sprinklered. We're required now to have a
fire watch. For those areas, which is done by security
guard. We have security also at the new building. So
these are some costs that were not in the budget.
I expect that to continue once we move into the
new building because the plan is to have full -
time security at the new building. And we need security
at the old site until the demolition is finalised. So
that's why projecting that at a million dollars. And TCA's
under threshold again is cost. We've estimated for things that
were needed for the license for the new building that
we're not expected. So overall, the total variants at the
end of June is the 4. 8 million and Projected
based on our assumptions to be 6. 9 million at
the end of the year. Again, these are our best
estimates at the time. Um, the one thing I will
add that helps us is we've received notification that we
will be getting funding from the ministry. 4. 3 million.
There's a note at the bottom of the slide. So
this is a development grant. Now this is not found
money. This is not a windfall. It was factored into
the total budget for the project. So it was always
considered as part of the funding for the Project. But
it relates to costs that we've already incurred and prior
years. So I've discussed it with our auditor. He's recommending
that we recognise it as revenue in 20206. That will
give us additional revenue in 2026. Which will offset other
negative variances. Like the one that you see here on
the column. So again, not a windfall of money, but
something when we look at 2026 in isolation, this will
help us with the overall surplus or deficit for that
year. Moving on, the discussion of
the June meeting about this project. And I wanted to
just provide a bit of additional clarifying information. So I
just wanted to remind for the folks that may be
listening. The County was mandated undertake this project. So it's,
it's in the Act. It was not a, it was
on an optional choice that County Council decided to make.
Also the actual amount of debt that this term of
Council finalised in 96. 77 million. That was the original
amount that was applied for from infrastructure, Ontario. So the
situation that we're currently in with our debt was not
made worse by the cost overruns on the project. So
that, that amount of debt, that number has stayed the
same. We will be using additional funds from reserves, but
the debt situation in particular has not changed. We've talked
about our debt limits at the last Council meeting. I
wanted to clarify that over time those limits will increase.
Um, so as long as our revenues increase, which historically
they have, our debt, the amount of depth of the
county can take on. We'll also increase over time. We
talked about our estimated internal limit for this year to
be roughly 12 million dollars. And the payments that we
will make in 2026 are 9 million dollars. If you
do the math, that leaves 3 million dollars worth of
room. That we could, in theory, use in 2026 before
we reached our internal limit. To give you a sense
of what that means because those numbers are the amount
that we spend on our principal and interest payments. But
to convert that to something more meaningful, that represents about
a 43 million dollar loan at day's rates. So if
we were to take out a 43 million dollar loan
today or in 2026, we would hit our own internal
debt limit. The other thing that I wanted to point
out was this chart. This shows all of the debt,
which happens to be with infrastructure Ontario that we have.
So you see the description, the maturity date, the balance
as of the end of 2025. And then the column
that matters most to this discussion are the annual payments.
You'll know that the top five lines all mature within
the next three and a half years or so. So
if you look at the amounts and the right -
hand column, those total about a million dollars. So as
that debt is paid off, that also creates room in
our debt. Limit that we have. So I just wanted
to sort of set in the last meaning. I just
wanted to emphasize that over time our debt limit should
increase. And we will also be paying off debt, which
will also open up some room to take on more
debt if that's what council chose to do. I wanted
to clarify that the situation that we're in with our
debt, it's not a surprise or unexpected. So we've known
that we were going to be in this position for
several years since we got the first estimates for the
Project. And we've talked about this in included it in
finance reports, in our budget presentation, et cetera. Um, I
wouldn't characterize this as a type of crisis because it
doesn't impact the county's ability to carry on with operations.
So from an operational standpoint, this issue with the debt,
it doesn't impact our ongoing operations. So we can carry
on, we can continue to provide the services that we've
been mandated to provide. With no issue. So
all departments have equipment, replacement, strategies in place. So departments
that have large equipment or fleet, et cetera, they have
equipment strategies in place. So every year we put a
certain amount of site and reserve. So we can carry
on meeting those obligations, replacing that equipment and fleet, et
cetera. And we have many set aside in reserves for
some specific projects in our long - term plan. So
where this does matter though is when it comes to
large capital projects. So in the absence of outside funding
in the future, County Council will need to decide, number
one, are they comfortable taking on more debt. And number
two, if so, or if we have no choice but
to take on more debt. Which projects become a priority
because we, we won't be able to do everything that
is in our long - term plan at the current
moment. So that was the point. Those are the points
that I was hoping to cover with this information. I
will note we have kicked off our 2027 budget process.
We'll have a better idea of what the pressures are
facing us. In the next couple of months. Um, and
I'd also be happy to invite Richard our auditor back
to talk about this if Council would like that. And
just finally quickly, some of the numbers we normally include
with the update. Canadian. And this is based on the
Bank of Canada website, economy has been weak, but is
showing signs of improvement. We still have the uncertainty that
we've talked about and is in the news every day.
Bank of Canada's overnight lending right as means state steady
at 2. 25 percent with a next announcement in the
beginning of September. And the Bank of Canada is predicting
growth of two and a half percent in Q2. Inflation
also has gone up a little bit because of what
we've seen with gas prices. And with that, I'd be
happy to try to answer any questions if there are
any. Thank you very much, Matthew. Much appreciated. Um, Council
of Jib. Thank you and through you, Gordon. Appreciate the
manner in which you present Matthew. I must admit, though,
that I probably have a little different thought in what
I hear and what I react to in your presentation.
And I accept the fact of ever increasing debt will
directly impact our carrying costs. Which directly impact our rate
payers and our taxpayers in this county. And from what
I hear from the public. They're saturated. With. Political debt.
And we have to be very careful as you have
indicated Matt. We'll have to be very careful in our
capital projects. We certainly cannot afford any other capital projects
like Golden Plough Lodge to get away from us and
escalate in prices. I know everyone around this horseshoe's frustrated
with that. And, uh, it's a project in itself, one
that we would like to all have a do -
over on. But as we look forward to capital Project,
whether it be roads or the bridge in Camiford and
those major capital items, we have to be very, very
cautious and cognizant of the fact that our rate pairs
can't handle much more of an increase. And I want
to leave that as a comment rather than actually ask
any questions, because I know that you, your staff, County
staff, our cognizant of that and worked diligently on trying
to keep cost down. And we just have to stay
focused. Even more diligently than we have been on those
overruns in those capital projects. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone
else. Councillor Cleveland. I know as we wrap up this
term, it's not necessarily the time to consider this. And
I say that very knowingly it's a comment, not a
question. But I perhaps the next term of council would
also consider the strategy of, uh, accelerated payments to free
up that opportunity. I know when I used to own
a house, I took on advanced mortgage payments, not because
I was looking to sacrifice or not go out to
dinner, but because I understood that by making a short
- term sacrifice of accelerated mortgage payments, I ended up
saving close to hundreds of thousands of dollars on my
mortgage. Well, here we're sitting on 105 million dollar mortgage,
so to speak. And what we're not seeing is the
interest payments that would be calculated over the next 10
to 15 to 20 years. To repay that. And so
I think as a council that the next term of
council, whoever sits around this horseshoe may want to consider
the strategy of short - term pain for long -
term gain. And instead of having to debate taking on
debt for the next 10 or 15 years and understanding
that some will come down, that perhaps a short period
of sacrifice of three or four years to speed up
the payment of debt thereby creating room is also an
alternative. And I accept that the staff have one perspective.
And I just suggest that we also perhaps reflect on
some of how we handle our own finances when handling
the finances of the county. Thank you. Thank you. And
I should acknowledge that we have been joined by Councillor
Henkski. Thank you. Anyone else. Deputy Martin. I think there's
a report coming up which details, I think what I
find is a very responsible investment strategy that has been
used in terms of bonds in the short term. And
the cash that we have on hand, we always have
to balance that because there can be disasters strike. And
I think that's all part of this equation too that
we haven't factored in quite the same way mentally, as
say BC or, you know, out west with the natural
disasters going on. We too are quite, quite subject to
some of these disasters, but we don't yet factor them
in. So we have to have a certain amount of
capital on hand to meet those emergencies as well. I
would also just like to flag not only is the
Campbell for Bridge, but I also would like to flag
the Brighton. Emergency services centre is also overdue and on
the books. So we have some capital projects that we're
going to have to make decisions on. Um, but I
think Matthew for your presentation. And I think the explanation
in terms of the liquidity that you've built into the
system, uh, is actually a safety guard. Matthew. If I
could warn through you, Councillor Cleveland brings up a good
point. And I would, just for mine, that this council
did actually, in fact, shorten the term on this loan
for that reason to try to bring down the interest
costs, the debt service and costs over the life of
this loan. Um, which I believe saved us around 14
million, uh, interests over the life of the loan. There
is obviously a trade off to that. It means higher
debt service and costs. Um, during the life of that
loan so that when you're looking at levy increases, that
would be something that would need to be considered for
that. Um, and I, to Councillor Martin's comment, we do
have still a significant amount of money in reserve for
certain projects in the longter plan. So some money for
the campleforge, some money in DC accounts for transportation. There
is money set aside for certain projects, maybe not all
of it, um, yes. Thank you, Matthew. Anyone else we're
all in. I'll read the resolution. The County Council received
the presentation regarding financial update summer 2026 for information. A
mover in secondary, please. Council Cleveland. Councillor Logo on Favor
that is carried. Thank you. We're not letting Matthew off
the hook yet. We're at item 12B, which is the
2025 investment report. And I'll turn it over to you,
Matthew. Thank you, Warden. So this is the report that
we're required to bring before Council each year. That looks
at our investments. Um, I won't go through the whole
thing. I think the important points are the fact that,
um, we earned four point three million in interests. Over
the year. That's a combination of our money invested in
several different bonds. Which had a weighted average yield to
maturity of four and a half percent and also cash
that we had in our high interest savings account. If
I were to do a rough estimate of the total
return, it's not a precise science, but it's around four
and a half percent return on all of our money
and cash and investments. Um, and we returned about 3.
2 million to reserves, which can be used for future
projects. Thank you, Warren. Thank you, Matthew. Any questions. Seeing
none. I'll read the resolution. The County Council received report
2026 - 110, the 2025 investment report for information. Mover
in secondary, please. Deputy Martin. Councillor Ostrander, all in favor.
Thank you. You're a popular fellow today, Matthew. We're report
2026 - 11, the 2025 development charges treasures annual statement.
And, uh, anything to add to that, Matthew. No, we're
not. These are all coming because the committee meeting was
cancelled. I'm happy to go through it or just answer
questions if there are any Council. I have any questions.
No, but I always just like asking them lots to
put them on the spot chair. So since you're the
chair of this meeting and not the finance committee, I'm
happy to let you ask them questions nonstop. I can.
I have no question. Okay. Well, then I guess we're
letting them off the hook today, sir. Thank you. I'll
read the resolution. The County Council receive report 2026 -
11 2025 development charges. The treasurer's annual statement for information.
Mover in Secondar, please. Councillor Ostrander and Councillor Cleveland. All
in favor. That is carried. Thank you. And again, under
new business, Report 2026 - 112 Procurement Activity Quarterly Report.
2, 2026. And again, Director of Finance Matthew Nitsch. Thank
you, Horton. Um, this would normally go to committee first,
so we don't normally discuss it here at the full
Council, but this is our quarterly report for Procurement purchases
between 100, 000 and a million. That fall into that
range are included in this report. And I'll just note
that there were three that meet the requirements. Two were
under budget, the tune of about 90, 000 dollars, and
one was just slightly over budget tractor mower about 6,
700 dollars. So I'm happy to take questions if there
are any. Thank you. Questions. Seeing none, I'll read the
resolution. That County Council receive report 2026 - 112 Procurement
Activity Quarterly Report, quarter - two 2026 for information, noting
that the Procurement Bylau 21 - 2022 under Section 4.
2. 2 requires the purchasing manager to provide a quarterly
report to County Council that includes itemization of all portraitures
between 100, 000 and a million and include any overbut
did approvals up to 10 percent 6. 2. And move
over in secondary, please. Councillor Logoun. All in favor. That
is carried. Thank you. We are report 2026 - 113.
The Hunger Action Month 2026. And we have Jennifer Glover,
client services manager. Not here? Council Everny questions on this
report. In that case, I will read the resolution. The
County Council having considered report 2026 - 113 Hunger Action
Month, 2026. Received the report for information acknowledge the efforts
of Community Partners and Organisations working to address food insecurity
in Northumberland County. A mover in Secondar, please. Deputy Martin.
Council Ostrander, any questions. All in favor, that is carried.
Thank you. We're at Report 2026 - 114 - 310
Division Street Cobra 2 data update. We have Rebecca Snellgrove,
the Associate Director of Housing and Homelessness, and Bill Smith,
manager of Homeless Services. Are there anything to add to
the report. No. There are any questions. Seeing none. Resolution
reads, a County Council received Report 2026 - 114 -
310 Division Street Court or two data update for information.
A mover in Secondar, please. Councillor Logo and Councillor Jib,
all in favor. That is Carrie. Thank you. We have
Report 2026 - 18. The Public Works cost sharing agreements
for various infrastructure projects. And we have Peter DeShane, the
Associate Director of Engineering. Anything to add. Here, but Denise's
IV. But Denis. Is happy to answer you. Oh, yeah,
okay. I'm sorry. And Peter's absent, but we have Denise.
If you have any questions. Seeing none. I'll read the
resolution. That County Council, having considered Report 2026 - 18
cost - sharing agreements for various infrastructure projects authorized Achief
Administrative Officer. And the Director of Finance Treasure to execute
a cost sharing agreement with the town of Coburg for
the Elgin Street County Road 20 and Darcy Street Intersection
Improvements Project on Terms Satisfactory to the Minister of Solicitor
and for the County Council authorized the Chief Administrative Officer
and the Director of Finance Treasurer to execute a cost
sharing agreement, the town of Coburg for the Elgin Street
East County Road 20 widening EA and Design Project on
terms satisfactory to the Misral Solicitor and further authorize the
Chief Administrative Officer, Director of Finance Treasurer to execute a
cost sharing agreement with a town of Coburg. And JCMCD
North Holdings Enc. For the Brook Road North County Road
20, great separation EA Project on Terms Satisfactory to the
Municipal Solicitor. A mover in Secondary, please. Councillor Local Councillor
Jib. Any questions? Councillor Logo. Just on. County Book 20.
Your microphone? Please, thank you. County Road 20 and great
separation. What is that? I think I know what that
is, but what does that involve. Good morning through you,
Chair. So this is on Brooke Road North in Goberg,
and this is at this CN and CP Rail Crossing.
So it's an environmental assessment going through the Process to
look at, again, putting another, an overpass or an underpass
rather than the at great crossing. So this is part
of the development charge study in our background study that
it's been identified. And it's also in our capital plan
as well. And so, uh, in collaboration with the town
of Coburg, as well as the local developer, since there's
also an extension of one of the town roads through
that, uh, location as well. Thank you, Warden. Councillor Cleveland?
Just a quick question. Is this the first step? I
just don't recall seeing this at the Coburg level, so
I'm assuming we're passing it here, and then it goes
to the Cobra glove. I'm just trying to understand this.
Thank you through you, Chair. Yes, this is just to
get authorization so that we can start to move forward
with that agreement and working with Coburg Staff, and then
come to Cobra Council as well. Thank you. All in.
Call a question all in favor. That's carried. Thank you.
We're at Report 2026 - 189, Public Works Award of
RFP - 26 - 15 County Road 45 County Road
18 Class Environmental Assessment. Are there any questions on that
one. Seeing none. Anything you'd add to that, Denise. No?
Okay. The resolution reads the County Council having considered report
2026 - 119 Award of RFP - 26 - 15
County Road 45 in Conroad 18 class environmental assessment award
RFP - 26 - 15 to StanTech Consulting Limited in
the amount of 627, 631 dollars and 20 cents plus
HST. A mover and secondary, please. Councillor Logounstrander. All in
favor. That is carried. Thank you. Report 2026 - 120
Public Works RFQ - 26 - 31 supply and delivery
of pre - treated highway bulk course salt. Brooke Tackaberry
is booked with us. Oh there. Any questions of work
on this. Councillor Logo. Um, hi. Brooke. Last year we
had used up an Apollon of salt, I believe, and
there was a supply. Issue as well. First of all,
are you expecting supply issue for 2026 - 27 season?
I'm not anticipating any supply issues this year. Okay. I
guess it depends on the winner that we have. But
this contract is for a larger amount than what we
have used in the past if we need it. Thank
you. And, um, and if I can follow up with
that, was there a big price increase in over last
year. Last year we were paying 113 dollars per tonight
135 - 28. So that is an increase of about
13 percent. It was competitive though. I believe that the
next bid price was over 200 dollars a ton. So
we did well. And that includes delivery. Yes Okay, thank
you. Thank you Councillor Logo Urcots with gym, sorry. Thank
you Warden. Book. What percentage maybe the easiest way of
answering What percentage of salt space do we have in
our domes right now? And, uh, of the residual assault
that we have there What was the price per ton
on that. Okay, so we don't have a ton right
now Um, we do have some sand salt mix But
we will need to fill the domes And we will
need to fill the sheds So in the report I
have given what we estimate, we will use by the
end of this year. Just to follow up When you
say we don't have a ton We don't have a
ton physically, or we don't have a ton as in
general sense. Okay, I don't have the tonnage amount, and
in a general sense We don't have a lot So
we will need to fill in September. Okay, and what
was the price that we were having to pay in
the spring when there was a shortage. So throughout January,
February, March, when we were trucking from Montreal, we were
paying 2003 dollars a tonage here in Ontario, so we
were trucking from Montreal. Thank you I wanted to get
that number out for the information of where we were
at in an emergency situation Thank you. Anyone else. Call
the question, all in favor. That is carried. Secondary Oh,
first we need to move to do that Council Henk
Councillor Ostrander, all in favor. Let's carry, thank you. Putting
the cart before the horse. His mother used to say.
We are at an enactment bylaws, item 13A Bylaw, for
the regulation of parking on roadways within the jurisdiction of
the County of Northumberland, and to appeal all previous related
bylaws. If any questions on that. I'll read the resolution,
the Bylau number 2026 - 2026, being a bylaw for
the regulation of parking on roadways within the jurisdiction of
the County Northumberland, and to repeal all previous related bylaws
be introduced Dean B. Red, a first, second, third time
passed, signed and sealed 12th day of August 2026. Movern
Secretary, please Council Meki. Council Ostrander. Questions Councillor Logo. Thank
you, Warden This is a general question Uh... Stop, I
guess, who actually handles the bylaw enforcement. Do we have
a stopperson that handles that, or how does that go.
Denise, please. Thank you through you Chair. For gently for
the parking bylaw, we work with the municipalities, and their
bylineforcement can enforce it, as well as the police. Um,
we're also looking internally Um, again, within public works, uh,
for a staff member to be trained to be able
to enforce bylaw, but currently it's done through the municipalities
and police. Anyone else. Do I have a mover in
secondary. All in favor. That's Carrie, thank you.
A bialot, it designate part of County Rodes as Community
Safety Zones into repeal previous related bylaws. They don't have
any questions on this by - law. The resolution reads
that a bylaw number 27 - 2026 being a biloted
designate that part of County Rodes as Community Safety Zones,
and to repeal all previous related bylaws be introduced Dean
to be read a first, second, third time past sign
and sealed. On this trout day of August 2026, and
mover in secondary, please. Councillor Jib. See no questions, all
in favor. That is Carrie, thank you. A bylaw to
appoint a clerk for the Corporation of the County Northumberland
to repeal bylaw number 33 - 2025, and Bylow number
41 - 2022. Anyone have questions on this one? This
was added. To the revised agenda. I'll read the resolution.
That Bible number 28 - 2026, being a bylaw to
appoint a clerk for the Corporation, the County Northumberland Andrew
Peel bylaw number 33 - 2025, and Byleth number 41
- 2022, be introduced Dean to be read of 1,
2, 3rd time past sign and sealed on the 12th
day of August 2026 A mover in secondary, please Council
Head Councillor Ostrander. I see no questions, all in favor.
That is carried, thank you. We have Proclamations, we have...
The International Overdose Awareness Day is August 31st, 2026 Hunger
Action Month is September 2026, and rail safety week. Is
September 21st to the 27th, 2026. Any questions. Read the
resolution at County Council will proclaim the following Proclamations at
the August 12, 2026 County Council meeting International Overdose Awareness
Day, August 31st 2026 Hunger Action Month September 2026, and
Real Safety Week September 21st to 27, 2026, mover in
Secondary, please. Councillor Logoun Councillor Jib, see no questions, all
in favor. That is carried Thank you. We are at
media questions Do we have any media with us? I
don't see any cool forward. Probably.
Break for lunch. Because... Council's requested.
Oh, we are now going into a closed session. We
have... Half an hour before we take a lunch break,
because we have some commitments during lunch. So we will
start now, and we'll reconvene after lunch. So members of
the media are on Zoom will be moved to the
virtual waiting room, while Closed Session takes place. Staff, media,
and the Public attending in person will be asked to
leave Council Chambers during the closed Session, the Resolution Reeds.
A County Council Procedure The Next Partion, the meeting being
close to the Public Act 11. 14 AM. And further
the meeting is close to the Public as permitted under
the Municipal Act Sections 2. 39 - 2E 2F, and
2K in order to address matters pertaining to litigation, or
potential litigation, and advice that is subject Solicitor - Client
Privilege. Including Communications Necessary For that Purpose. And confidential negotiations.
And that Dan Borowek Denise Marshall Adam McHugh Darryl Mast
Bobby Arbuckle Tanya Bennett, and Cheryl Sanders Remain Present, and
further, the meeting is close to the Public as permitted
under the Municipal Act Section 2. 39... 2B - 2D,
2E, and 2K, in order to address matters pertaining to
personal matters about identifiable individuals, labour relations, or employee negotiations,
litigation, or potential litigation including matters before Administrative Tribunals affecting
the municipality. Or local board and confidential negotiations, and that
Dan Borowek and Cheryl Sanders remain present. And we will
have some time to transition... Mover in Secondar, please. Councillor
Janky Ostrander, all in favor. That is carried So we'll
give staff a moment or two to transition.
We were at 17A. Do I need a motion to
rise? No. The resolution reads that the confidential resolution moved
in the closed session regarding matters pertaining to litigation and
potential litigation and advice that is subject to solicitor client
privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose and confidential negotiations,
public works, the Eagles, and landfill is hereby referred to
the open session of Council for Adoption. Mover and Secretary
Council Martin, Councillor Logo, sorry, Deputy Martin. Get you two
straight note. All in favor. That is carried. 17 B,
the resolution is that the confidential resolution moved closed session
regarding matters pertaining to personal matters about identifiable individuals, labour
relations, or employing negotiations, litigation, or potential litigation, including matters
before administrative tribunals affecting the municipality or local board and
confidential negotiations, the organisation reviewers hereby referred to the open
session of Council for Adoption. Mover in secondary, please. Councillor
Deputy Martin and Councillor Jim. All in favor. That is
carried. So we don't have anything there. We're at the
confirmation bylaw. That by the number 28 - 2026 being
a bala to confirm the proceedings of a meeting of
County Council held August the 12th, 2026, be introduced, redeemed
to be read a first, second, third time, be passed,
signed, and sealed. Moving secondary, please. Councillor Henkski, Councillor, all
in favor. And resolution that we adjourned at 2. 35
p. m. Moving Secondary Councillor Jeb, all in favor. Thank
you very much. Much appreciated. Everybody staying on track and
getting their done.