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Check, check.

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Marie, do you just want to give me confirmation that

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you're hearing and seeing me? Okay? And then give me

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the same back. Yes, I can hear you. Can you

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hear me okay? Yeah, I'm hearing you fine. And now

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I'm seeing you. Okay, thanks, Marie. You can turn both

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off and we'll queue you back in. Sounds good. Thanks.

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I will now call this meeting to order. I have

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an announcement I wish to note for council. And the

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public that item 8.4, the transportation master plan, will be

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considered prior to item 8.3 regarding the budget. I have

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a motion moved by Councilor Ryan, seconded by Councilor Cheney,

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that the agenda be approved as amended. All in favor?

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That motion is carried. Any declarations of pecuniary? Interest seeing

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none, we'll move on to community announcements. Who would like

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to start councilor? Brennan. Thank you. Through you. It's a

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short list. I guess. Everybody's anticipating Christmas. Anyway. East well

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Family Health Team is continuing its series of virtual workshops

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on a variety of different topics and you can consult

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their website for more information. And you can enjoy breakfast

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with sand at the Aaron Legion on Saturday, December the

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14th. In a couple of days from 08:00 a.m. to

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11:00 a.m. adults $10 children under nine $8 and should

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be a good time had there and of course, the

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money goes to a good cause. And that's all I

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have. Thank you. Very much. Looking around. Nobody's got anything

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else. I guess we're going to have a quiet weekend.

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We'll move on to then adoptions of the previous meeting

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minutes. I have a motion. Moved by Councilor Brennan. Seconded

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by Councilor Ehlerd. The council hereby adopts. The following meeting

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minutes as circulated November 27 regular council meeting December 1

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education and training session all in favor? That motion is

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carried. Councils or any business arising from the minutes. I

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don't see any eyes. So we have. No delegations today,

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so we'll start with first report, item 8.1. I have

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a motion moved by Councilor Cheney, seconded by Councilor Ryan.

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The council hereby receives. Report Pd 20 25 33 proposed

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amendment to heritage. Designation bylaw 23 56 92 Trafalga Road.

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For information and that notice of the proposed amendment be

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given to the property owner in accordance with the Ontario

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Heritage act. I'll now invite David Waters, manager of planning

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and development, to please proceed with your report. Thank you,

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Mr. Mayor report PD 20 25 33 before you recommend.

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Council support amending the legal description of heritage designation bylaw

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00:11:49,076 --> 00:11:53,196
23 56 that applies to the building located at 92

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Trafalga Road in Hillsburg. In November 2023, council passed bylaw

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23. 56 to designate the building at 92 Trafalgar Road

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under part four of Ontario Heritage Act. The property owner

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appealed the bylaw to the Ontario Land Tribunal, and prior

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to the hearing the town's lawyer discovered that the legal

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description was incorrect. And advised to await the outcome of

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the hearing before amending the bylaw. A hearing was held

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earlier this year, in which the appeal against the bylaw

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was dismissed by the tribunal after the OLt decision was

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issued, staff initiated the process to amend bylaw 23 56

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as prescribed. By section 30.1 of the Ontario hair. Jack.

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The town's heritage committee was consulted on November 24 and

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supported the staff recommendation to amend the legal description of

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the bylaw and to issue notice to the property owner.

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Substitute council approval. Amending the legal description of a herdsh

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by law is considered a minor. Amendment. Under the act,

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only issuing notice to the property owner is required. The

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steps for implementing a minor amendment are listed on the

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top of page two of your staff. Report. Following the

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30 day objection period, staff will report back to council

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in the new year with a bylaw for adoption. The

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amending bylaw is subject to appeal following counsel passing it.

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In conclusion, it is recommended that council issued notice to

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amend the legal description of bylaw 23. 56 for the

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building at 92 Trafalga Road. This concludes my presentation, Mr.

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Mayor, and welcome questions from council. Thank you. Council, do

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you have any questions for Mr. Waters? No. Any sage

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leewards, Councilor Cheney are all good. Okay. Well, as the

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motion has already been read, I will now call the

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vote. All in favor? That motion is carried. Moving on

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to item 8.2. Thank you, David. I have a motion

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moved by Councilor Brennan, seconded by Councilor Ryan. That council

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receives report number f 2025 24 draft 2024 financial statements

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for information and that council approves the draft financial statement

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sending December 31, 2024, as presented in Appendix A, and

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that council direct staff to circulate and post copies of

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the 2020. Four financial statements as required by the Municipal

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Act 2001. I'll now invite Rob Adams, the CIO to

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please introduce this item. Thank you very much, your worship,

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members of council. Before you today are the draft 2024

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financial statements. For information. Once the approved draft has been

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finalized and circulated and posted as required under the Municipal

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act, the financial information returns. FIRs will then be completed

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and filed with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. RlB LLP

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completed the 2024 audit of the town's financial accounts and

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records. Part of the delay this year. Was in not

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having a tax supervisor to respond to a number of

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tax inquiries as well as some challenges we had with

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the portal for transmitting files. These items will be rectified

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in 2025, as we now have a tax supervisor in

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place. And. We as well will be sending files. In

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an email format to ensure that they're received in timely

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fashion. Murray short, partner. RLB LLP is here virtually. And

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today we'll present the 2024 town of Air and draft

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financial statements. If there are any questions, Murray will be

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more than happy to respond. At the end of the

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presentation. And good afternoon to Murray. And thank you for

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presenting the draft financial statements. So if you want to

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take it away. Murray, over to you. Sure. Thank you

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very much. And thank you for the opportunity to present

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the draft financial statements. As I did last year. What

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I would propose to do is walk through the presentation.

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That is now up on screen, or at least the

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cover pages up on screen. This presentation does show the

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primary statements for the town for the year ended December

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31, 2024. I would propose not to then walk through

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the full set of financial statements. That's also included in

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the council package. Doing so would kind of duplicate efforts,

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but happy to answer any questions. On the rest of

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the financial statements that I don't cover in the presentation.

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Should there be any. So with that, if we could

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jump to the next slide, please. This is just an

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agenda so we can jump right on to the next

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slide. Still. This is just a bit of an overview

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of our audit. So the primary thing to communicate here

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is that there was no significant changes to our audit

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plan. From what was communicated to council around this time

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last year leading up to the 2024 year. End, we

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did send a free audit communication letter to council for

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information. Just highlighting some of the details. Of our audit

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plan for that year. And no significant changes in terms

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of the auto plan? No. Significant internal control deficiencies to

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communicate. And no independence issues, meaning that. We are able

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to satisfy our obligations as augers to issue our independent

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auditors report. Down to the bottom of the slide here.

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You'll see we just list kind of some. Highlights of

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some of the entries that we did make to complete

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our audit. These are pretty standard. Entries that we would

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have made in the prior year as well, so nothing

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too significant from that. Standpoint. Moving on to the next

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slide. It is a clean audit opinion, so. In the

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audited financial statements themselves. The draft all refinancial statements you'll

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see the two page audit report. These two bullets cover

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the primary message, though, from that which is that the

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financial statements are presented fairly in accordance with canadian public

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sector accounting standards, and that our audit was conducted in

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accordance with the applicable. Auditing standards relative to our audit

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of the financial statement. So that is the clean audit

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opinion. You're looking for. Us to provide. We have done

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the work and analysis and planning and procedures that we

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needed to do in order to satisfy ourselves. If that

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is the case. Next slide. Just gives kind of a

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bit of information on the statement of financial positions. So

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this is the balance sheet for the municipality at the

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December 31 year end, with comparative numbers from the prior

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year end being December 31, 2023. Some of the key

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items to look at are cash. And investments, taxes, receivable

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long term debt and then ultimately the tangible capital assets

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and accumulated surplus. And if we jump to the next

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slide. You will see that statement here. I'll just point

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out. A few numbers on this page, we will get

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to some of the graphs that highlight some of. The

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changes over time. If you combine cash and portfolio investments,

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the top two lines in financial assets. Those totaled about

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00:19:15,734 --> 00:19:20,734
27.9 million at the end of 2024 versus 39.3. The

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00:19:20,734 --> 00:19:24,930
year before, so that's a fairly significant decrease. And largely

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related to. The wastewater project and the timing of money

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coming in. Related to that versus the money going out.

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So more spent in the year on that project then.

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Came in during the year. Taxes receivable, you can see

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is up by about a million dollars. That number has

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crept up. And when we see the graph, you'll see

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that that number is higher. Than we'd like to see

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generally. I think that probably relates to the comments about

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being without a tax supervisor. For a chunk of period

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of time. And so less, maybe lesser focus on collections.

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Trade and other receivables you can see are down. That

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is largely because of HST. Rebates that the municipality is

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entitled to less outstanding on those HST rebates. At the

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end of this year, offset in part by higher grants

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receivable at this year and the last year related to

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the earring community center and. The grant funding received for

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some of the work there. In the liability section, you

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can see the deferred revenue line, the middle of the

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three. Liabilities line is down. That includes your development charges

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as well as. The charges for the wastewater project in

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particular, and that's the reason that it's down by about

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00:20:45,675 --> 00:20:49,395
twelve or $13 million. That corresponds pretty closely with the

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decrease in cash that you see up above. So again,

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the wastewater project, net of an increase in other development

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charges, is the reason for. The decrease in deferred revenue

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and then long term debt, you can see, has decreased

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that's just because the existing loans that the town has

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had for the last several years have continued to be

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paid down based on their repayment schedules. The net financial

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asset line you can see is up. So overall, despite

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the decrease in cash and investments. The financial position of

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00:21:19,399 --> 00:21:25,680
the municipality has increased. So, basically. The decreases in liabilities,

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exceeding the decreases in cash. And so the municipality actually

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is. In a better financial standpoint. From the case of

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its kind of liquidity, if I can put it that

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way. Just at the bottom of the page, we have

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the tangible capital assets. So with all of the wastewater

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project activities going on and the continued expenditures on that

200
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in the year. You can see the tangible capital assets

201
00:21:49,687 --> 00:21:55,167
have increased by over $70 million, up to 226,000,000 and

202
00:21:55,167 --> 00:21:58,856
correspondingly, the accumulated surplus on the year has increased. As

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well. Next slide. Shows the graph regarding the cash position

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00:22:05,027 --> 00:22:07,507
of the municipality. So what we're looking at here. Is

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a comparison of the cash. Being the green bar versus

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00:22:12,911 --> 00:22:16,071
the annual cash outflows being the yellow. And so, in

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00:22:16,071 --> 00:22:19,537
each of the past five years. Your cash position or

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00:22:19,537 --> 00:22:23,377
cash and investments combined, in this case, have exceeded the

209
00:22:23,377 --> 00:22:25,177
amount of cash that you spend in the year so

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00:22:25,177 --> 00:22:28,817
you have enough to cover a full year's cash outflows.

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Based on. The cash on hand. This excludes. The Wastewater

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00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:39,240
project as a kind of self financing project. So we

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00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:43,120
kind of back that out when I presented the financial

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statements in these graphs last year. It became apparent that

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having the wastewater project in some of these graphs really

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kind of skewed the results and made it hard to

217
00:22:52,268 --> 00:22:55,870
kind of draw any inferences from them. So I will

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00:22:55,870 --> 00:22:59,226
try to point out. Where we've removed the wastewater project

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00:22:59,226 --> 00:23:01,346
from these graphs and kind of looking at the rest.

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Of the municipality isolated from that project. The green line

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00:23:07,173 --> 00:23:11,180
in this case. Is the trend line for the town

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00:23:11,180 --> 00:23:15,211
of Urine as a percentage. Of the cash outflows that

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00:23:15,211 --> 00:23:18,411
are held in cash and cash equivalents. The blue line

224
00:23:18,411 --> 00:23:22,571
being the average of early municipalities. So this shows that,

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00:23:22,571 --> 00:23:26,451
on average, the town holds a fair amount more in

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00:23:26,451 --> 00:23:31,531
cash and investments relative to its expenditures than other municipalities

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00:23:31,531 --> 00:23:35,218
would tend to do. So again. Strong financial position from

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that standpoint. The next slide is the one I mentioned

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in terms of taxes receivable. We have seen a trend

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from 2021 to now across all of our municipalities where

231
00:23:49,164 --> 00:23:52,404
taxes receivable have tended to creep up. You can see

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00:23:52,404 --> 00:23:55,444
that the town of Uran has had a similar experience,

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00:23:55,444 --> 00:23:58,924
but more pronounced than what we're seeing across our other

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municipalities. Over to the right of the screen, you'll see.

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What the ministry considers to be low, moderate and high

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risk, although. It's probably very small on people's screens, so

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I apologize about that, but anything above 15% would be

238
00:24:14,607 --> 00:24:17,247
considered high risk. The town of Urine is in that

239
00:24:17,247 --> 00:24:21,527
category at about 19.6 but hopefully with the additional staffing

240
00:24:21,527 --> 00:24:25,535
as mentioned. More of an increase in collections going into.

241
00:24:27,717 --> 00:24:31,037
2025 and 2026, which hopefully will make a difference from

242
00:24:31,037 --> 00:24:34,655
that standpoint. This is looking at taxes receivable as a

243
00:24:34,655 --> 00:24:38,015
percentage of total tax levied. So of course, Miss validity

244
00:24:38,015 --> 00:24:41,255
collects taxes to distribute to the county and school boards

245
00:24:41,255 --> 00:24:45,455
as well. Looking at all of those taxes collected and

246
00:24:45,455 --> 00:24:48,655
the taxes receivable portion that the municipality is on the

247
00:24:48,655 --> 00:24:53,202
hook. For collecting relative to all three levels. That are

248
00:24:53,202 --> 00:24:59,431
being collected for there. Next slide. Is the long term

249
00:24:59,431 --> 00:25:02,831
debt position. So the green line being the town of

250
00:25:02,831 --> 00:25:04,791
Erin, the blue line. Being the average row of the

251
00:25:04,791 --> 00:25:08,791
municipal clients. And you can see that, on average, over

252
00:25:08,791 --> 00:25:11,711
each of the last five years, your debt position has

253
00:25:11,711 --> 00:25:15,911
been better, meaning you've had less debt relative. To your

254
00:25:15,911 --> 00:25:19,630
tax base compared to our other clients. So that is

255
00:25:19,630 --> 00:25:23,670
certainly a positive and speaks to again the stronger cash

256
00:25:23,670 --> 00:25:28,661
position that you do have. Next slide, please. So this

257
00:25:28,661 --> 00:25:33,141
is your expenditures on capital asset additions again, backing out

258
00:25:33,141 --> 00:25:37,834
the wastewater project. Once we include that, then the Green

259
00:25:37,834 --> 00:25:41,354
line is well in excess of, and it's really not

260
00:25:41,354 --> 00:25:43,714
kind of looking at what you're funding yourself in terms

261
00:25:43,714 --> 00:25:48,372
of tax and other revenue. Sources. And so backing that

262
00:25:48,372 --> 00:25:50,852
out, then this is kind of giving a better comparison

263
00:25:50,852 --> 00:25:54,928
to our other clients. And you can see that. With

264
00:25:54,928 --> 00:25:58,768
some variability that your expenditures relative to your tax revenue,

265
00:25:58,768 --> 00:26:03,752
pretty consistent across. The five years. Sometimes higher, sometimes lower,

266
00:26:03,752 --> 00:26:08,192
but generally following the same ballpark in terms of trending.

267
00:26:10,042 --> 00:26:16,269
Next slide. This shows capital asset additions relative to budget

268
00:26:16,269 --> 00:26:22,210
and relative to amortization. And again, excluding the wastewater project,

269
00:26:22,210 --> 00:26:27,167
which would skew the results. And I think what I

270
00:26:27,167 --> 00:26:30,127
would draw from this, comparing the blue versus the yellow

271
00:26:30,127 --> 00:26:33,007
lines, the blue is your capital asset addition. So the

272
00:26:33,007 --> 00:26:36,887
purchases of new capital assets and construction of capital assets.

273
00:26:38,389 --> 00:26:41,829
Relative to the yellow, which is amortization. And in each

274
00:26:41,829 --> 00:26:47,136
of the five years. Your capital asset additions exceed amortization.

275
00:26:47,136 --> 00:26:49,856
Once the wastewater project does come on stream and has

276
00:26:49,856 --> 00:26:53,136
completed, your amortization will jump up and so we'll kind

277
00:26:53,136 --> 00:26:56,129
of see. What the impacts will be there, although obviously

278
00:26:56,129 --> 00:26:59,735
we'll have. A long, useful life. And so it'll be

279
00:26:59,735 --> 00:27:03,095
amortized slowly, over time. But we'd. Expect to see an

280
00:27:03,095 --> 00:27:07,775
increase there, but generally excluding that project, you can see

281
00:27:07,775 --> 00:27:12,669
that the municipality is. Spending relatively well compared to its

282
00:27:12,669 --> 00:27:19,420
amortization on capital asset additions. Next slide just gives some

283
00:27:19,420 --> 00:27:21,740
information on the statement of operations. So this is the

284
00:27:21,740 --> 00:27:24,820
income statement. If you will for the township, showing the

285
00:27:24,820 --> 00:27:29,759
revenues and expenses relative to budget. Showing the expenditures by

286
00:27:29,759 --> 00:27:33,279
department and then the annual surplus and the change in

287
00:27:33,279 --> 00:27:36,839
the accumulated surplus on the air. And so if we

288
00:27:36,839 --> 00:27:41,707
jump to the next slide. This is that statement. And

289
00:27:41,707 --> 00:27:45,787
so just again, to highlight a few numbers, taxation, revenue

290
00:27:45,787 --> 00:27:51,019
up. About 5% year over year, but about 3% on

291
00:27:51,019 --> 00:27:57,072
your base tax. The additional increase coming from higher supplemental

292
00:27:57,072 --> 00:28:02,195
taxes in the year. Fees and user charges. Fairly consistent

293
00:28:02,195 --> 00:28:05,915
grants, you can see, are up fairly significantly for two

294
00:28:05,915 --> 00:28:09,353
reasons. One of them being. More money drawn from your

295
00:28:09,353 --> 00:28:12,513
Canada Community building fund or your gas tax funding is

296
00:28:12,513 --> 00:28:16,153
what we still tend to call it. To the tune

297
00:28:16,153 --> 00:28:20,393
of about $1.5 million, as well as the ISIP grant

298
00:28:20,393 --> 00:28:22,473
for the Air and community center that I have referred

299
00:28:22,473 --> 00:28:26,393
to earlier, that was about $1.7. Million. So those two

300
00:28:26,393 --> 00:28:29,913
things leading to the increase in grant revenue and then

301
00:28:29,913 --> 00:28:34,720
other income is just. The. Money? Well, 67 million. Of

302
00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:38,080
that, 73 million is coming from the wastewater project. So

303
00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:42,039
the funding for the wastewater project. Is recognized as revenue.

304
00:28:43,230 --> 00:28:46,670
Tends to kind of ski revenues fairly significantly relative to.

305
00:28:48,084 --> 00:28:53,198
Budget. When you compare the expenses, but it is revenue

306
00:28:53,198 --> 00:28:56,398
under public sector accounting standards, and so that is the

307
00:28:56,398 --> 00:28:58,638
reason for that number being as high as it is.

308
00:29:00,530 --> 00:29:03,170
We look at expenses. I'll just highlight a few changes.

309
00:29:04,506 --> 00:29:07,983
General government. Expenses, you can see, are up by about

310
00:29:07,983 --> 00:29:17,041
700,000. That's a combination. Of. Staffing it and consulting costs

311
00:29:17,041 --> 00:29:20,736
in particular. Environmental services, you can see, is up by

312
00:29:20,736 --> 00:29:26,102
about 470,000. A lot of that related to water main

313
00:29:26,102 --> 00:29:29,342
repairs incurred in the year and then recreation services up.

314
00:29:31,172 --> 00:29:35,355
Largely because of staffing. So with increased services, Increased hours

315
00:29:35,355 --> 00:29:39,595
of activity and so on, that recreation services increase so

316
00:29:39,595 --> 00:29:42,995
overall expenses higher than prior year. And higher than budget.

317
00:29:44,346 --> 00:29:47,346
But offset by the increases in revenue, so you wind

318
00:29:47,346 --> 00:29:51,426
up with a comparable surplus on the year. Again largely

319
00:29:51,426 --> 00:29:59,170
being because of the wastewater project. Next slide. Shows. The

320
00:29:59,170 --> 00:30:06,234
expenditures by department. So looking at. The various departments and

321
00:30:06,234 --> 00:30:09,154
how they contribute to the total expenditures for the municipality.

322
00:30:11,048 --> 00:30:16,648
And not surprisingly, transportation, environmental and general government being the

323
00:30:16,648 --> 00:30:19,288
three largest. And if we jump to the next slide.

324
00:30:20,596 --> 00:30:25,340
This will show the change over time. But generally. Pretty

325
00:30:25,340 --> 00:30:29,212
consistent makeup of your expenditures. By department over the last

326
00:30:29,212 --> 00:30:35,701
five years. Next slide just gives information. The changes statement

327
00:30:35,701 --> 00:30:37,501
of changes in net assets and if we jump to

328
00:30:37,501 --> 00:30:41,294
the next slide again, This is that statement. So it

329
00:30:41,294 --> 00:30:44,974
takes the annual surplus back, so all of the tangible

330
00:30:44,974 --> 00:30:49,413
capital asset activity towards the top. And so once you

331
00:30:49,413 --> 00:30:53,013
kind of take that into account in terms of acquisition

332
00:30:53,013 --> 00:30:57,499
and amortization, of capital assets. It really kind of winds

333
00:30:57,499 --> 00:30:59,979
up showing the change in that financial position that I

334
00:30:59,979 --> 00:31:03,259
mentioned. So the increase in your net financial assets from

335
00:31:03,259 --> 00:31:07,909
8.4 million to just under 10 million. Again, a strengthening

336
00:31:07,909 --> 00:31:12,029
of your financial position outside of your capital asset activity,

337
00:31:12,029 --> 00:31:15,867
and that certainly is positive. And then the next slide.

338
00:31:17,217 --> 00:31:20,657
Just breaks down the changes in cash that the organization

339
00:31:20,657 --> 00:31:24,417
has from various sources, and if we jump to the

340
00:31:24,417 --> 00:31:28,444
next slide again. Just a lot of information on this

341
00:31:28,444 --> 00:31:33,843
page. I will just mention a few numbers. So about.

342
00:31:35,590 --> 00:31:37,550
40% of the way down. From the top you see

343
00:31:37,550 --> 00:31:43,830
a 63,000,755. That's your cash flow from operations, including the

344
00:31:43,830 --> 00:31:47,830
collection of monies for the wastewater project. Just below that,

345
00:31:47,830 --> 00:31:53,430
you have 74,000,074.8 million in capital asset additions. So that's

346
00:31:53,430 --> 00:31:56,170
a decrease in your cash on the cap. Capital activities

347
00:31:56,170 --> 00:32:00,572
front. And so those two things netting out to about

348
00:32:00,572 --> 00:32:06,037
an $11 million decrease in cash. Further decrease because of

349
00:32:06,037 --> 00:32:08,877
purchases and investments. So your investments increased by about three

350
00:32:08,877 --> 00:32:11,757
and a half million. And so overall, your cash position

351
00:32:11,757 --> 00:32:16,677
decreased by about 14.8 million. But still in a strong

352
00:32:16,677 --> 00:32:22,451
position at about 16.7 million overall. So despite all of

353
00:32:22,451 --> 00:32:28,018
the activity in the capital asset additions, Exceeding the amount

354
00:32:28,018 --> 00:32:30,738
of cash collected for that wastewater project just because of

355
00:32:30,738 --> 00:32:34,620
timing. The financial position for the municipality still continues to

356
00:32:34,620 --> 00:32:42,972
be strong. Next slide, please. So. This is the description

357
00:32:42,972 --> 00:32:46,172
of the schedule of accumulated surplus. So it takes the

358
00:32:46,172 --> 00:32:51,011
total accumulated surplus and breaks it out by. Various components.

359
00:32:51,011 --> 00:32:54,254
And so if we go to that next slide, You

360
00:32:54,254 --> 00:33:00,814
can see that amount here. So $236,000,000 total accumulated surplus,

361
00:33:00,814 --> 00:33:05,174
of which 226,000,000 is your investment in tangible capital assets.

362
00:33:05,174 --> 00:33:08,614
And so that's obviously the greatest component of the total.

363
00:33:11,289 --> 00:33:13,929
There is a general fund deficit of about a million

364
00:33:13,929 --> 00:33:16,489
dollars. But that's a million dollars. Better than the year

365
00:33:16,489 --> 00:33:20,218
before. As it was 2 million in the prior year.

366
00:33:20,218 --> 00:33:23,178
And then down towards the bottom, we have the reserves

367
00:33:23,178 --> 00:33:28,761
or reserve funds. This excludes. Obligatory reserve funds that we'll

368
00:33:28,761 --> 00:33:31,121
see on a future slide. So these are the discretionary

369
00:33:31,121 --> 00:33:34,481
reserve funds set aside by council and you can see

370
00:33:34,481 --> 00:33:40,361
that the reserves are up by about 430,000. Reserve funds

371
00:33:40,361 --> 00:33:45,652
down by about 200,000. But in total, strengthening of your

372
00:33:45,652 --> 00:33:49,562
reserves and reserve funds overall. And then if we go

373
00:33:49,562 --> 00:33:56,368
to the next slide. So deferred revenue represents obligatory reserve

374
00:33:56,368 --> 00:33:59,528
funds and other revenues received in advance. So these are

375
00:33:59,528 --> 00:34:03,168
monies that you've received as an organization but haven't yet

376
00:34:03,168 --> 00:34:07,808
spent the reason that they are excluded from the reserve

377
00:34:07,808 --> 00:34:13,296
funds on the previous pages. They are mandatorily held in

378
00:34:13,296 --> 00:34:18,670
reserve funds based on agreements or legislation. So your gas

379
00:34:18,670 --> 00:34:21,670
tax agreement, the development charges act and so on. And

380
00:34:21,670 --> 00:34:26,107
if we go to the next slide. This shows those

381
00:34:26,107 --> 00:34:29,747
obligatory reserve funds. You can see they are down by

382
00:34:29,747 --> 00:34:34,638
about 12 million. Dollars again because of the wastewater plant

383
00:34:34,638 --> 00:34:38,048
project. So at the end of the year, the municipality

384
00:34:38,048 --> 00:34:40,688
had actually spent more than it collected on the project

385
00:34:40,688 --> 00:34:45,208
just because of the timing of receipt of contributions to

386
00:34:45,208 --> 00:34:49,002
the tune of about $8.6 million. The development charge is

387
00:34:49,002 --> 00:34:50,562
on the top line or all the rest of your

388
00:34:50,562 --> 00:34:54,602
development charges and those have increased very substantially because of

389
00:34:54,602 --> 00:34:59,948
development in the municipality. Totaling about $22 million of contributions,

390
00:34:59,948 --> 00:35:04,508
coming in net of about $1.6 million spent so your

391
00:35:04,508 --> 00:35:08,468
development charges outside of the wastewater plan have strengthened pretty

392
00:35:08,468 --> 00:35:12,388
significantly. The wastewater plant contributions in a bit of a

393
00:35:12,388 --> 00:35:14,668
deficit at the end of the year, and so these

394
00:35:14,668 --> 00:35:19,778
deferred revenues down by. About 16 million or. Sorry, 13

395
00:35:19,778 --> 00:35:24,042
million. And that corresponds largely to the decrease in cash

396
00:35:24,042 --> 00:35:28,700
that I had mentioned earlier. So the next slide is

397
00:35:28,700 --> 00:35:32,460
the last graph that I'll present today. This is combining

398
00:35:32,460 --> 00:35:34,980
all of the reserves and reserve funds. So the ones

399
00:35:34,980 --> 00:35:37,980
that are included in your accumulated surplus as well. As

400
00:35:37,980 --> 00:35:41,820
the obligatory reserve funds that are included in deferred revenue.

401
00:35:41,820 --> 00:35:43,980
So this is taking all of those reserve funds that

402
00:35:43,980 --> 00:35:47,894
are set aside for future expenditures. And comparing them to

403
00:35:47,894 --> 00:35:51,294
your total tax revenue. And when you look at the

404
00:35:51,294 --> 00:35:53,814
green line, which is the Tanavir and hos that you

405
00:35:53,814 --> 00:35:58,734
have significantly more set aside in those reserve funds. Than

406
00:35:58,734 --> 00:36:03,329
the average or other municipalities. And so that certainly speaks

407
00:36:03,329 --> 00:36:07,649
to the forethought and planning by the municipality in terms

408
00:36:07,649 --> 00:36:11,209
of setting those funds aside as well as the growth

409
00:36:11,209 --> 00:36:14,609
in the municipality, that's kind of leading to those development

410
00:36:14,609 --> 00:36:21,178
charge increases and so on. So the last slide. I

411
00:36:21,178 --> 00:36:23,778
have is just kind of a next step. So subject

412
00:36:23,778 --> 00:36:28,978
to council's approval of the draft financial statements today, then

413
00:36:28,978 --> 00:36:31,698
that will allow us to finalize our audit report and

414
00:36:31,698 --> 00:36:38,281
issue our final financial statements. For the municipality. And then,

415
00:36:38,281 --> 00:36:42,943
as mentioned, In the introductory comments. That will also allow

416
00:36:42,943 --> 00:36:45,623
us then to file the financial information return on your

417
00:36:45,623 --> 00:36:49,623
behalf to the Ministry of Municipal affairs and Housing. And

418
00:36:49,623 --> 00:36:51,783
so with that, I am happy to answer. Any questions?

419
00:36:53,278 --> 00:36:54,958
Thank you very much, Murray. Council, do you have any

420
00:36:54,958 --> 00:36:59,898
questions? Councilor Brennan? Thank you. Through you. Thank you, Marie.

421
00:36:59,898 --> 00:37:05,166
Comprehensive presentation, as always. Just from an auditing point of

422
00:37:05,166 --> 00:37:10,913
view. With the exception, I guess. Of outstanding taxes, that

423
00:37:10,913 --> 00:37:14,566
being at that 19% level. Is there anything else that

424
00:37:14,566 --> 00:37:18,486
you think we need to worry about in particular or

425
00:37:18,486 --> 00:37:22,683
to be cautious? About. No, I think the municipality is

426
00:37:22,683 --> 00:37:25,643
in a strong financial position. Obviously, the kind of magnitude

427
00:37:25,643 --> 00:37:31,808
of the wastewater project. Is just massive and it's kind

428
00:37:31,808 --> 00:37:35,598
of beyond what we would see. In most any of

429
00:37:35,598 --> 00:37:40,490
our other reusable clients. Is there some risk there, just

430
00:37:40,490 --> 00:37:42,890
in terms of timing of cash flows and so on?

431
00:37:42,890 --> 00:37:45,130
That would be the one thing I would kind of

432
00:37:45,130 --> 00:37:47,490
look into. Not that there's kind of a. Risk from

433
00:37:47,490 --> 00:37:51,965
the standpoint. Of collectability or anything along those lines, but.

434
00:37:54,012 --> 00:37:58,221
It's just such a massive project. That kind of dwarfs

435
00:37:58,221 --> 00:38:00,661
the rest of your financial operation. So that would be

436
00:38:00,661 --> 00:38:03,821
one to kind of keep a very close eye on

437
00:38:03,821 --> 00:38:06,381
from a cash flow standpoint. Otherwise, no, I mean the

438
00:38:06,381 --> 00:38:09,861
taxes. Receivable are high. They've crept up. As I said,

439
00:38:09,861 --> 00:38:13,861
that's consistent with. What we've seen with other municipal governments.

440
00:38:13,861 --> 00:38:17,445
I think a bit of a focus going forward. And

441
00:38:17,445 --> 00:38:21,005
the right staff. Thinking your tax department will make a

442
00:38:21,005 --> 00:38:29,425
difference there. Thank you. Councilor Ryan. Thank you. Murray on

443
00:38:29,425 --> 00:38:34,188
page 53 of your report. Can you further explain the

444
00:38:34,188 --> 00:38:38,357
statement of changes in net financial assets? That differ from

445
00:38:38,357 --> 00:38:47,426
our budget in 24 to our 24 actual. Yes. I'm

446
00:38:47,426 --> 00:38:52,346
assuming you're referring to the tangible capital assets. The acquisition

447
00:38:52,346 --> 00:38:55,026
of tangible capital. Assets and the difference in the annual

448
00:38:55,026 --> 00:39:03,408
surplus. Yes. I think. The capital budget for the town

449
00:39:03,408 --> 00:39:05,968
and staff may need to jump in, and I know

450
00:39:05,968 --> 00:39:09,808
the director. Of finances is unavailable to be here today.

451
00:39:11,251 --> 00:39:19,797
But. The capital budget. Showed. A relatively small amount. For

452
00:39:19,797 --> 00:39:23,717
the wastewater project in there. So that difference is basically

453
00:39:23,717 --> 00:39:26,917
largely because of the wastewater project. The net of the

454
00:39:26,917 --> 00:39:32,437
acquisitions and. The surplus is pretty comparable, which shows that

455
00:39:32,437 --> 00:39:38,157
kind of whatever. You're spending on the project. Is ultimately

456
00:39:38,157 --> 00:39:42,860
covered. By the contributions towards it. So it's not that

457
00:39:42,860 --> 00:39:44,500
the municipality is on the hook, but. It's just that

458
00:39:44,500 --> 00:39:49,380
the capital budget showed kind of a relatively small. Amount

459
00:39:49,380 --> 00:39:52,140
going towards that project relative to what was actually spent.

460
00:39:53,852 --> 00:39:57,770
Okay. Thank you. And then looking forward. Like, into, like,

461
00:39:57,770 --> 00:40:02,463
25, 26. Would we expect that to be altered, or

462
00:40:02,463 --> 00:40:05,908
would we be waiting until that came on board? The

463
00:40:05,908 --> 00:40:10,519
large asset being the wastewater plant. In terms of the

464
00:40:10,519 --> 00:40:16,080
expenditures. I believe that the budget would be created with

465
00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:19,520
the anticipation of what the amounts that are expected. To

466
00:40:19,520 --> 00:40:22,120
be collected and then ultimately spent on the project. So

467
00:40:22,120 --> 00:40:24,960
the last couple of years that's. Been in the $65

468
00:40:24,960 --> 00:40:31,644
to $70 million range. To be honest. Because we're auditors

469
00:40:31,644 --> 00:40:36,231
and we look backwards at historical financial statements. I haven't

470
00:40:36,231 --> 00:40:38,791
looked at your 2025 capital budget to know what was

471
00:40:38,791 --> 00:40:42,551
in there and we haven't obviously audited 2025 yet. Since

472
00:40:42,551 --> 00:40:44,551
we aren't quite to the end of the year to

473
00:40:44,551 --> 00:40:47,403
be able to do so. But I'm not sure that

474
00:40:47,403 --> 00:40:51,043
I could answer what's in your capital budget, but. It

475
00:40:51,043 --> 00:40:54,323
should be based on what's anticipated to be spent, but

476
00:40:54,323 --> 00:40:58,123
that would then be offset. By the funding collected for

477
00:40:58,123 --> 00:41:02,443
going towards that project. So that part should be soft

478
00:41:02,443 --> 00:41:06,805
in terms of funds in versus funds out anyway. Thank

479
00:41:06,805 --> 00:41:10,279
you. I have one little question. I think about the

480
00:41:10,279 --> 00:41:13,039
taxes receivable as a percentage of the total tax levied.

481
00:41:17,280 --> 00:41:22,251
And the actual 2024 penalties and interest on taxation. So

482
00:41:22,251 --> 00:41:26,211
I would assume if our taxes receivable goes up that

483
00:41:26,211 --> 00:41:29,091
our penalties and interest should go up as well, and

484
00:41:29,091 --> 00:41:32,531
it actually went down. Is that because it's not accrued?

485
00:41:32,531 --> 00:41:35,571
And it's only what's actually paid in the year and

486
00:41:35,571 --> 00:41:37,931
anyone who hadn't. Paid by the year end of 2024,

487
00:41:37,931 --> 00:41:44,455
would actually be recovered in 2025. Financials. It should be

488
00:41:44,455 --> 00:41:52,840
accrued by your system. What might. Be. Part of. The

489
00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:56,760
change versus prior year. Maybe the timing of supplemental taxes

490
00:41:56,760 --> 00:42:02,015
as part of the explanation. I would have to defer.

491
00:42:02,015 --> 00:42:05,095
I don't have this at my fingertips, but I know.

492
00:42:05,095 --> 00:42:11,931
That some municipalities. Have. Waived interest in penalties for periods

493
00:42:11,931 --> 00:42:14,731
of time, particularly kind of post co, during and post

494
00:42:14,731 --> 00:42:17,371
Covid. So I'm not sure if that has some bearing

495
00:42:17,371 --> 00:42:19,931
on it, but anything that has been accrued in your

496
00:42:19,931 --> 00:42:24,914
system should be recorded. In the revenues. So unfortunately, I

497
00:42:24,914 --> 00:42:26,474
can't give you more of an answer than that. But

498
00:42:26,474 --> 00:42:29,514
it is something. We could look into with your finance

499
00:42:29,514 --> 00:42:33,732
team and report back, if that would be. I'm just

500
00:42:33,732 --> 00:42:37,372
curious if the amount receivable is higher. I would have

501
00:42:37,372 --> 00:42:41,212
expected the interest to be higher as well. Yeah, it's

502
00:42:41,212 --> 00:42:44,228
a good point. I'm sorry. It's not one directly at

503
00:42:44,228 --> 00:42:47,278
this point in time. But we can mention to your

504
00:42:47,278 --> 00:42:50,358
director of finance. So that's something that council may want.

505
00:42:50,358 --> 00:42:54,638
More information on. Okay, thank you. Last chance for questions

506
00:42:54,638 --> 00:42:58,278
from the horseshoe. Seeing no more questions. Thank you very

507
00:42:58,278 --> 00:43:02,038
much, Murray. Sure. Thank you. Rob, did you want to.

508
00:43:02,038 --> 00:43:05,398
Yes. I just wanted to thank. Murray on behalf of

509
00:43:05,398 --> 00:43:07,646
staff for. All the good work. You and your team

510
00:43:07,646 --> 00:43:11,886
at RlB Ado. Thank you for helping us. With the

511
00:43:11,886 --> 00:43:16,733
audit. And as well, thank you for your very positive

512
00:43:16,733 --> 00:43:20,053
presentation. It's good to know our finances. Are in good

513
00:43:20,053 --> 00:43:23,475
shape and the municipality is doing well. Despite the fact

514
00:43:23,475 --> 00:43:27,275
we have some very significant projects going on, we continue

515
00:43:27,275 --> 00:43:30,515
to be healthy and we do have our eye on

516
00:43:30,515 --> 00:43:34,435
our taxes receivable. It is a priority and we've got

517
00:43:34,435 --> 00:43:37,555
a great new staff hire in place that I'm sure.

518
00:43:39,252 --> 00:43:41,172
Is already starting to tackle that and moving in the

519
00:43:41,172 --> 00:43:46,061
right direction, so thank you. Great. Thanks. All right. As

520
00:43:46,061 --> 00:43:48,261
the motion has already been read, I will now call

521
00:43:48,261 --> 00:43:52,998
the vote. All in favor. That motion is carried. Next,

522
00:43:52,998 --> 00:43:55,958
we're moving on to item 8.4. So this is the

523
00:43:55,958 --> 00:43:58,758
change in the agenda we approved at the beginning. I

524
00:43:58,758 --> 00:44:01,278
have a motion moved by councilor alard, seconded. By Councilor

525
00:44:01,278 --> 00:44:05,718
Cheney. That report number 2025. Two transportation Master Plan B

526
00:44:05,718 --> 00:44:09,838
received for information and that council endorses the transportation master

527
00:44:09,838 --> 00:44:13,322
plan and directs staff to report to council. In the

528
00:44:13,322 --> 00:44:15,962
second quarter of 2026 with an implementation plan to address

529
00:44:15,962 --> 00:44:20,389
the recommendations provided in the report. I'll now invite Brian

530
00:44:20,389 --> 00:44:23,749
Kavanaugh, director of infrastructure services, to please proceed with your

531
00:44:23,749 --> 00:44:28,868
report. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. We're very pleased to present

532
00:44:28,868 --> 00:44:33,108
the town's first transportation master. Plan. This has been a

533
00:44:33,108 --> 00:44:36,468
major effort in undertaking that's been underway for about a

534
00:44:36,468 --> 00:44:39,028
year, and it marks an important milestone for the community.

535
00:44:40,500 --> 00:44:42,260
I want to start by acknowledging the people who helped

536
00:44:42,260 --> 00:44:47,112
make this possible. Daniel Tunio has been instrumental. His commitment

537
00:44:47,112 --> 00:44:51,160
and steady project management have kept this work moving. And

538
00:44:51,160 --> 00:44:53,800
a sincere thank you as well to Mohammed and his

539
00:44:53,800 --> 00:44:57,680
team at 30 forensics for bringing their expertise and thoughtful

540
00:44:57,680 --> 00:45:02,135
analysis to the table. As you'll have seen, the master

541
00:45:02,135 --> 00:45:05,815
plan, or master plans in general, really tend to be

542
00:45:05,815 --> 00:45:09,415
detailed and ambitious by nature, and this TMP is no

543
00:45:09,415 --> 00:45:14,446
exception. In my experience, the biggest challenge with plans like

544
00:45:14,446 --> 00:45:18,198
this isn't so much the content, but rather. The risk

545
00:45:18,198 --> 00:45:21,758
that they become so large and complex that they're difficult

546
00:45:21,758 --> 00:45:24,558
to keep front and center as we move forward with

547
00:45:24,558 --> 00:45:27,918
our day to day activities. And I think that the

548
00:45:27,918 --> 00:45:33,158
key to avoiding that issue is a strong, practical implementation

549
00:45:33,158 --> 00:45:37,118
plan to carry the work forward. That means taking the

550
00:45:37,118 --> 00:45:42,481
recommendations and. Layering in a few critical elements. A realistic

551
00:45:42,481 --> 00:45:47,063
look at funding and how to sequence the investments. Clear

552
00:45:47,063 --> 00:45:49,943
project prioritization so that we know what needs to happen

553
00:45:49,943 --> 00:45:56,536
first. Alignment with the county's direction and initiatives. Opportunities to

554
00:45:56,536 --> 00:45:59,616
tie this work into other works, such as the Hughes

555
00:45:59,616 --> 00:46:06,182
grant that presents important synergies. And finally. A need to

556
00:46:06,182 --> 00:46:09,342
look at strategy for some of the more complex items,

557
00:46:09,342 --> 00:46:12,062
such as the truck detour. Route, which is in and

558
00:46:12,062 --> 00:46:15,612
of itself a significant project. I don't want to get

559
00:46:15,612 --> 00:46:17,572
ahead of the presentation, so with that, I'll turn. It

560
00:46:17,572 --> 00:46:21,612
over to Mohammed to cover the TMP process and the

561
00:46:21,612 --> 00:46:22,132
key findings.

562
00:46:35,062 --> 00:46:38,742
Thank you, Brian, for introducing me. And I would like

563
00:46:38,742 --> 00:46:41,742
to thank you, everyone, for inviting me today. And through.

564
00:46:41,742 --> 00:46:45,222
Mayor very happy and glad and proud to be here

565
00:46:45,222 --> 00:46:50,083
to present. Your as brand said, it's historic first transportation

566
00:46:50,083 --> 00:46:54,331
master plan and it's very important. And over time you

567
00:46:54,331 --> 00:46:57,331
will see the importance of this document, and we are

568
00:46:57,331 --> 00:46:59,971
happy to present here. I would like to thank you

569
00:46:59,971 --> 00:47:04,257
in addition to Bran and Daniel. To number of counselors

570
00:47:04,257 --> 00:47:07,857
and mayor who were heavily involved in participating through the

571
00:47:07,857 --> 00:47:13,017
process and all the residents that really were attending two

572
00:47:13,017 --> 00:47:16,297
public meetings, which is amazing to see for such a

573
00:47:16,297 --> 00:47:20,688
relatively small community. And well, attending these public meetings. It's

574
00:47:20,688 --> 00:47:23,491
good to see that. I do this type of work,

575
00:47:23,491 --> 00:47:27,251
and to see, like, 50, 60 residents attending public meetings.

576
00:47:28,835 --> 00:47:30,075
You should be proud of this. So I would like

577
00:47:30,075 --> 00:47:32,715
to thank you residents for providing inputs through the process.

578
00:47:34,130 --> 00:47:43,843
So. We'll jump to the early present. I mentioned. Introduction

579
00:47:43,843 --> 00:47:48,123
here in addition to me, and I will go through

580
00:47:48,123 --> 00:47:51,483
what we did through this process, a little bit about

581
00:47:51,483 --> 00:47:55,443
policy, how this transportation master plan align with your other.

582
00:47:57,075 --> 00:48:01,329
Planning policy documents. What is really the next steps and

583
00:48:01,329 --> 00:48:06,245
strategic framework, as Brian said, How to get there from

584
00:48:06,245 --> 00:48:10,610
here. It is the plan. But how to go to

585
00:48:10,610 --> 00:48:14,290
the implementation and keep going. This is just plan that

586
00:48:14,290 --> 00:48:18,495
will go for many, many years ahead. In addition, my

587
00:48:18,495 --> 00:48:23,507
name is Mohammed Dalibarcichen as brand. Consulting project manager on

588
00:48:23,507 --> 00:48:27,387
the project, and I really thank you to get through

589
00:48:27,387 --> 00:48:32,656
this year working with you. And to produce this report

590
00:48:32,656 --> 00:48:38,423
together. With town. A little bit about transportation. Master plan,

591
00:48:38,423 --> 00:48:43,511
what it means and what it is. It is generally

592
00:48:43,511 --> 00:48:50,621
like blueprint planning document for municipality. To work with other

593
00:48:50,621 --> 00:48:54,541
planning documents. It is vision, it's long term plan. So

594
00:48:54,541 --> 00:49:01,068
typically transportation master plans like. Other master plans. They should

595
00:49:01,068 --> 00:49:06,738
be updated in general, like. Five to six years, seven

596
00:49:06,738 --> 00:49:11,330
years. To really revisit and see what is implemented and

597
00:49:11,330 --> 00:49:15,756
what can be moved forward with the next phases. It

598
00:49:15,756 --> 00:49:18,876
looks for in general, what is the plan for long

599
00:49:18,876 --> 00:49:23,196
horizon? In our case, we look here up to 2051.

600
00:49:23,196 --> 00:49:26,236
So typically, these master plan documents, they always look as

601
00:49:26,236 --> 00:49:30,916
you probably realize it's. 2131-4151 that's how we look in

602
00:49:30,916 --> 00:49:33,916
Canada for any planning. So that we are all aligned

603
00:49:33,916 --> 00:49:38,577
with taking. Those inflation growth, employment growth. So these planning

604
00:49:38,577 --> 00:49:41,457
documents are always goes those ten years, that's why we

605
00:49:41,457 --> 00:49:47,027
presented. This through the transportation master plans. It is again

606
00:49:47,027 --> 00:49:51,246
we follow as a transportation master plan. It is regulated.

607
00:49:52,605 --> 00:49:58,045
The processes prescribed by provincial municipal class caster plan process.

608
00:49:58,045 --> 00:50:02,451
So in this case we did follow. That process. What

609
00:50:02,451 --> 00:50:04,211
does it mean? Most important, as I mentioned at the

610
00:50:04,211 --> 00:50:10,644
beginning, Is that consultation and stakeholder involvement in addition to

611
00:50:10,644 --> 00:50:16,915
the public meetings. We had key stakeholders. There are conservation

612
00:50:16,915 --> 00:50:22,140
areas. They were participating in public health. Definitely county is

613
00:50:22,140 --> 00:50:26,422
the key stakeholder who. Were meeting with us and providing

614
00:50:26,422 --> 00:50:31,201
inputs, and we presented. Stages of the projects and coordinated

615
00:50:31,201 --> 00:50:37,187
with them. Then. Definitely. Council and the town staff. So

616
00:50:37,187 --> 00:50:42,238
that's what means. That transportation master plan process. Meet first

617
00:50:42,238 --> 00:50:48,412
two phases of that planning process. So if town decide

618
00:50:48,412 --> 00:50:53,492
to take some projects identified from master plan process master

619
00:50:53,492 --> 00:50:59,752
plan document. Then. Some of these requirements or some of

620
00:50:59,752 --> 00:51:02,232
these steps that we took through the transportation master plans,

621
00:51:02,232 --> 00:51:05,992
they're already satisfied. Like particularly consultations, if you end up

622
00:51:05,992 --> 00:51:10,432
doing the environmental class process starts changing a little bit

623
00:51:10,432 --> 00:51:15,856
now in Ontario, but that public consultation stakeholder. Is already

624
00:51:15,856 --> 00:51:18,856
kind of met some of these criteria, so that's why

625
00:51:18,856 --> 00:51:22,189
I would like to highlight. That. We follow the process.

626
00:51:23,757 --> 00:51:30,121
There are those notices. Identified with Ministry of Environment. And

627
00:51:30,121 --> 00:51:33,561
they are all already aware that you are undertaking this

628
00:51:33,561 --> 00:51:36,481
project, and when everything is done, there will be notice

629
00:51:36,481 --> 00:51:39,841
of completion, and they will get noticed that projects is

630
00:51:39,841 --> 00:51:43,961
completed. So that's the process. We met that process and

631
00:51:43,961 --> 00:51:46,961
I mentioned other master plans, so it's pretty much if

632
00:51:46,961 --> 00:51:50,448
you decide to go for water master plan or. Sewage

633
00:51:50,448 --> 00:51:54,968
master plan. It's the same process. It is really beneficial

634
00:51:54,968 --> 00:51:58,673
for the town to have documents like this. You will

635
00:51:58,673 --> 00:52:03,338
see. Many through my presentation and in document key as

636
00:52:03,338 --> 00:52:07,338
the strategic planning. It's the vision. It's the sustainable development,

637
00:52:07,338 --> 00:52:12,120
it's growth. It's consultation and engagement, and it's really the

638
00:52:12,120 --> 00:52:15,200
vision for the town to take. Next step. And, yes,

639
00:52:15,200 --> 00:52:19,494
identify some opportunities here and how you can work. With

640
00:52:19,494 --> 00:52:24,539
other stakeholders. It's important to work with provincial, in this

641
00:52:24,539 --> 00:52:29,059
case county and neighboring municipalities because number of your roads

642
00:52:29,059 --> 00:52:33,624
you are sharing with other municipalities. There is all major

643
00:52:33,624 --> 00:52:36,944
roads are county roads. So this document is well needed

644
00:52:36,944 --> 00:52:41,064
for the town to be kind of equal player with.

645
00:52:42,824 --> 00:52:45,784
Other municipalities, county and as well as a province, and

646
00:52:45,784 --> 00:52:52,363
to have. Including developers. So developers. Are really looking for

647
00:52:52,363 --> 00:52:55,883
this type. In addition to official plan, they always look

648
00:52:55,883 --> 00:52:59,003
for transportation master plans. As well as other master plans.

649
00:52:59,003 --> 00:53:01,443
What do you have? What you have identified so that

650
00:53:01,443 --> 00:53:04,723
they can really see what to expect and what to

651
00:53:04,723 --> 00:53:08,090
meet. When they come to really invest in the town.

652
00:53:11,089 --> 00:53:13,929
So, transportation master plan. I'm just trying to tell again

653
00:53:13,929 --> 00:53:16,889
how it's important and. What we went through. Those are

654
00:53:16,889 --> 00:53:20,589
three phases that we went through the process. First phase

655
00:53:20,589 --> 00:53:23,829
was really when we started looking what is within the

656
00:53:23,829 --> 00:53:31,683
town, existing condition, opportunities. Then we met with key stakeholders,

657
00:53:31,683 --> 00:53:36,563
including county, and we met with public in February. That

658
00:53:36,563 --> 00:53:40,686
was first round of public meetings. Was really great turnout,

659
00:53:40,686 --> 00:53:44,206
as I mentioned. Second phase was when we learn everything

660
00:53:44,206 --> 00:53:49,873
from. Water challenges and needs. We started really looking what

661
00:53:49,873 --> 00:53:55,538
are areas for improvements? We look? For what population and

662
00:53:55,538 --> 00:53:59,487
current situation. Then we look. What is planning for the

663
00:53:59,487 --> 00:54:03,490
growth? As you know, town is planning to grow more

664
00:54:03,490 --> 00:54:07,970
than double in next 2030 years. So how to accommodate

665
00:54:07,970 --> 00:54:14,608
that in regard to transportation network. Active transportation is critical

666
00:54:14,608 --> 00:54:18,408
and important component which means everything. What is now not

667
00:54:18,408 --> 00:54:22,310
car. It is related to the walking, biking and so

668
00:54:22,310 --> 00:54:27,170
on. All those nice what town already has. And opportunities

669
00:54:27,170 --> 00:54:29,970
for work with county and other municipalities to get to

670
00:54:29,970 --> 00:54:34,712
the next level. Then. We had. After that, we have

671
00:54:34,712 --> 00:54:37,352
the second round of the public meeting when we presented

672
00:54:37,352 --> 00:54:40,472
a little bit more water opportunities. And what are the

673
00:54:40,472 --> 00:54:43,752
plans for the town? We met the second public meeting.

674
00:54:43,752 --> 00:54:46,552
In October was again well attended. And here we are

675
00:54:46,552 --> 00:54:52,474
now. With pretty much the full document. Challenges are, as

676
00:54:52,474 --> 00:54:55,634
I mentioned, urban growth for the town. Town is growing.

677
00:54:55,634 --> 00:54:59,194
There is number of four significant number of new subdivisions.

678
00:55:01,132 --> 00:55:04,932
And town has to accommodate that and to keep growing,

679
00:55:04,932 --> 00:55:09,692
working together with developers, working together with province. With county

680
00:55:09,692 --> 00:55:14,890
and so on. As I said. How people travel. We

681
00:55:14,890 --> 00:55:18,530
look how people travel within the town and area. So

682
00:55:18,530 --> 00:55:22,704
it is still. Car driven community. So it's most of

683
00:55:22,704 --> 00:55:26,464
trips in county, in the county and town hour. By

684
00:55:26,464 --> 00:55:32,942
car. So going forward, back to that active transportation, transit,

685
00:55:32,942 --> 00:55:36,822
you probably hear those everywhere around. It's just about transit

686
00:55:36,822 --> 00:55:39,902
and active transportation. So it's good, actually, that we are

687
00:55:39,902 --> 00:55:43,825
talking here. In first transportation master plan for the town.

688
00:55:43,825 --> 00:55:48,942
That multimodal component. Which keep talking about that multimodal for

689
00:55:48,942 --> 00:55:52,662
everything. What you going through, the planning that it's really

690
00:55:52,662 --> 00:55:55,582
focused not only on the car. So that's. That terminology

691
00:55:55,582 --> 00:56:00,382
is important. Multimodal multimodal that you invest in the people

692
00:56:00,382 --> 00:56:06,102
walking, connecting communities by trails, by active transportation, sidewalks, pipelines,

693
00:56:06,102 --> 00:56:09,784
everything. That you can really focus more on healthy side

694
00:56:09,784 --> 00:56:15,632
of moving around. So it's active transportation. And. From this

695
00:56:15,632 --> 00:56:19,472
document get into more funding on these type of projects.

696
00:56:22,055 --> 00:56:24,661
So. There is definitely a Villuk transit. What is there?

697
00:56:24,661 --> 00:56:27,917
What can be? There? Yes. Town has to work more

698
00:56:27,917 --> 00:56:31,757
with county and county has to work with province. How

699
00:56:31,757 --> 00:56:35,557
to get more connection, more transit opportunities to the account.

700
00:56:37,469 --> 00:56:40,349
Through the county. And as we see around not far

701
00:56:40,349 --> 00:56:43,949
from here, everything is about transit. Is it? Go. Transit

702
00:56:43,949 --> 00:56:48,549
expansion. Is it the other modes of transportation or transit?

703
00:56:48,549 --> 00:56:52,069
So I work a number of these more rural transportation

704
00:56:52,069 --> 00:56:56,469
master plans these days, and everyone is actually trying to

705
00:56:56,469 --> 00:56:59,498
get connection. To the transit at least if you don't

706
00:56:59,498 --> 00:57:02,498
have it, so at least to have some. Connection from

707
00:57:02,498 --> 00:57:06,178
your community to first transit hubs. So you should work

708
00:57:06,178 --> 00:57:11,058
with county and other local municipalities around you with promise

709
00:57:11,058 --> 00:57:14,458
how you can get something so transportation master plan, touch

710
00:57:14,458 --> 00:57:18,440
a little bit. About everything, so. This is collect trial

711
00:57:18,440 --> 00:57:21,120
and but it's also opportunity from here to take it

712
00:57:21,120 --> 00:57:24,051
to the next step. So that's why we kept that

713
00:57:24,051 --> 00:57:28,411
taxi transportation and transit and hopefully next one or next.

714
00:57:28,411 --> 00:57:31,651
One, you will really have to have some sort of.

715
00:57:33,545 --> 00:57:35,625
Transit in your community? Is it going to be on

716
00:57:35,625 --> 00:57:40,876
county level or something? But. It should be next step.

717
00:57:40,876 --> 00:57:43,356
Vision is good to have vision, and I recommend we

718
00:57:43,356 --> 00:57:48,036
establish typically transportation mushrooms plan. They establish some vision. So.

719
00:57:49,861 --> 00:57:52,601
We work with town to have something. This really again,

720
00:57:52,601 --> 00:57:57,001
back to that multimodal. It's healthy community connecting people, connecting.

721
00:57:59,055 --> 00:58:04,321
Airing with other municipalities, with surrounding areas. So. It is

722
00:58:04,321 --> 00:58:09,778
blueprint that you will carry forward. It's important part of

723
00:58:09,778 --> 00:58:13,978
official plant so transportation master plan. Typically there is one

724
00:58:13,978 --> 00:58:17,858
section in official plan that includes some components from the

725
00:58:17,858 --> 00:58:23,053
transportation master plan. So that vision. Is kind of established,

726
00:58:23,053 --> 00:58:26,872
so it's good to have it and. It's to work

727
00:58:26,872 --> 00:58:30,671
around that and. We came with one that fit for

728
00:58:30,671 --> 00:58:35,434
town of Arin, for this community. I did mention a

729
00:58:35,434 --> 00:58:38,754
number of these other planning documents. One of the key

730
00:58:38,754 --> 00:58:43,993
is definitely official plan. The other one is growth management

731
00:58:43,993 --> 00:58:47,871
strategy that you already have. And the town of Varian

732
00:58:47,871 --> 00:58:52,330
parks, recreation, culture, master plan. There are also other important.

733
00:58:53,938 --> 00:58:58,201
Like county Transportation Master Plan, county official plan. Through this

734
00:58:58,201 --> 00:59:03,633
process. We did work closely and look into their transportation

735
00:59:03,633 --> 00:59:07,875
master plan because it's. Its key actually starting points that

736
00:59:07,875 --> 00:59:11,475
we start what county is planning, how they planning into

737
00:59:11,475 --> 00:59:16,115
those same like we said, 31 41. Their transportation master

738
00:59:16,115 --> 00:59:19,675
plan was done a couple of years few years ago.

739
00:59:19,675 --> 00:59:23,755
And their plan went up to 41. So those thresholds

740
00:59:23,755 --> 00:59:29,691
are moving fast. So we did look. And collaborated that,

741
00:59:29,691 --> 00:59:33,876
let's say, whatever we are proposing as a town. Let's

742
00:59:33,876 --> 00:59:37,436
say road network improvements or sidewalk improvement, how it fit

743
00:59:37,436 --> 00:59:42,556
with county plan so that. Whatever they're planning on their

744
00:59:42,556 --> 00:59:47,336
county roads, that there is some sort of. Link or

745
00:59:47,336 --> 00:59:51,576
connection or that they work to each other so that

746
00:59:51,576 --> 00:59:53,936
you just end with sidewalk on one part. You don't

747
00:59:53,936 --> 00:59:59,138
have connections because county didn't plan or. View the plan

748
00:59:59,138 --> 01:00:03,338
and county didn't. So it's always collaboration and we always

749
01:00:03,338 --> 01:00:08,058
look. What county or region or other municipalities with regard

750
01:00:08,058 --> 01:00:13,342
to their plans, how it fits together. And those are

751
01:00:13,342 --> 01:00:19,727
key. Planning policy documents that we look. And definitely official

752
01:00:19,727 --> 01:00:23,490
plan that they have. Through the transportation master plan, there

753
01:00:23,490 --> 01:00:28,170
was opportunity to look really the road classifications. What town

754
01:00:28,170 --> 01:00:32,010
has it's? One of the key, particularly for rural municipalities

755
01:00:32,010 --> 01:00:34,770
to have to revisit when we go back and look

756
01:00:34,770 --> 01:00:38,690
what is the industry standards and what county has and

757
01:00:38,690 --> 01:00:42,050
that you can take. Because transportation master plan should be.

758
01:00:42,595 --> 01:00:48,025
Documented with your other, let's say, projects and studies. That.

759
01:00:48,915 --> 01:00:51,075
Has meet industry standards and that they also talk to

760
01:00:51,075 --> 01:00:57,658
the. Road classification. In this case in Canada, or mostly

761
01:00:57,658 --> 01:01:02,498
in area around Erin, most roads are classified as arterials.

762
01:01:02,498 --> 01:01:07,658
Collectors and locals. Some municipalities have a little bit sub

763
01:01:07,658 --> 01:01:10,538
additional to this one, rural urban, which is all good,

764
01:01:10,538 --> 01:01:13,378
but we were trying to see what is by transportation

765
01:01:13,378 --> 01:01:17,677
associations of Canada. What town has so, what county has

766
01:01:17,677 --> 01:01:21,450
so that really, that. Road, if it's collect a road

767
01:01:21,450 --> 01:01:25,050
that on the other municipality is also the same terminology.

768
01:01:25,050 --> 01:01:29,543
It's kind of like industry trying to align it. So

769
01:01:29,543 --> 01:01:33,783
arterial roads within the town are currently all under county,

770
01:01:33,783 --> 01:01:36,852
and they are identified here. On the map as a

771
01:01:36,852 --> 01:01:40,999
blue color, as you can see. It's significant number of

772
01:01:40,999 --> 01:01:46,751
roads or significant road network is actually county. So. They

773
01:01:46,751 --> 01:01:50,397
are key stakeholders. And working with you going forward. And

774
01:01:50,397 --> 01:01:56,790
collector roads and local roads are under town jurisdiction. So

775
01:01:56,790 --> 01:02:00,310
why this is important town is undertaking every few years.

776
01:02:01,688 --> 01:02:04,408
That road needs study how that fit for your, let's

777
01:02:04,408 --> 01:02:10,403
say. Road improvements, salting maintenance and so on, so. These

778
01:02:10,403 --> 01:02:13,603
classifications is extremely important to carry forward. It's, let's say,

779
01:02:13,603 --> 01:02:17,708
adjust it to the industry that. When you go and

780
01:02:17,708 --> 01:02:21,148
update your road needs study that follow this road classification

781
01:02:21,148 --> 01:02:26,362
so that there is. You'll have these roads just classified

782
01:02:26,362 --> 01:02:30,042
as a local collector or arterial so that other studies.

783
01:02:30,042 --> 01:02:35,620
Follow that, so. There is no kind of overlapping. Road

784
01:02:35,620 --> 01:02:38,940
classification, we identify what we think that should be based

785
01:02:38,940 --> 01:02:42,380
on the road classification is based on. Right of way

786
01:02:42,380 --> 01:02:48,958
volumes. Type of road connectivity and so on. Typically, arterials

787
01:02:48,958 --> 01:02:52,398
are the highest. They connect major communities with highways, freeways,

788
01:02:52,398 --> 01:02:57,618
freeways and so on. Collectors connect local areas. With arterial

789
01:02:57,618 --> 01:03:00,378
roads and so on. So we identify few of these

790
01:03:00,378 --> 01:03:07,285
roads that town can consider to work, maybe with. County

791
01:03:07,285 --> 01:03:10,125
through the meetings with county, there is the process how

792
01:03:10,125 --> 01:03:13,765
you, for example, one collector road is transferred to county.

793
01:03:15,632 --> 01:03:18,712
So there is needs to be work with that. In

794
01:03:18,712 --> 01:03:22,432
some cases it happened over years. Sometimes it can be

795
01:03:22,432 --> 01:03:26,192
worked together, how to expedite or ensumble these roads that

796
01:03:26,192 --> 01:03:29,672
we identified. For this bypass may be good opportunity for

797
01:03:29,672 --> 01:03:35,552
county. To. Take some of town roads if it makes

798
01:03:35,552 --> 01:03:40,108
sense and how the town and county agree. So we

799
01:03:40,108 --> 01:03:44,399
look for these couple of these roads that. Can be

800
01:03:44,399 --> 01:03:48,639
conversation with county about that and also some maybe local

801
01:03:48,639 --> 01:03:52,159
road that can be converted to them what it means

802
01:03:52,159 --> 01:03:55,119
once you upgrade road from lower to higher, there is

803
01:03:55,119 --> 01:03:57,799
some investment required because you have to make it up

804
01:03:57,799 --> 01:04:02,692
to next standard. A little bit, maybe to work on

805
01:04:02,692 --> 01:04:05,572
the sidewalks on the one road, on the one side

806
01:04:05,572 --> 01:04:09,132
of the road or the look and the drainage improvements

807
01:04:09,132 --> 01:04:11,892
and so on, so that's typically involved. And there is

808
01:04:11,892 --> 01:04:17,408
always cost involved. We identified a couple of these. And.

809
01:04:19,237 --> 01:04:23,037
Through the study transportation master plan together with project team

810
01:04:23,037 --> 01:04:26,994
from the town, we look for. A few. Or in

811
01:04:26,994 --> 01:04:32,463
this case, it was. Eleven major intersections. That town said

812
01:04:32,463 --> 01:04:35,823
there may be some operational issues, so we did additional

813
01:04:35,823 --> 01:04:39,863
study on them operationally, we'd call it. Level of services.

814
01:04:39,863 --> 01:04:44,408
Is there need for maybe the signals? Stop signs, improvement

815
01:04:44,408 --> 01:04:46,688
for left turns and so on. So we did study.

816
01:04:48,243 --> 01:04:50,443
A few of these intersections. And there is that additional

817
01:04:50,443 --> 01:04:55,689
attached report. As part of transportation master plan, and we

818
01:04:55,689 --> 01:04:59,809
identify some potential improvements. In some cases, we identify that

819
01:04:59,809 --> 01:05:05,751
it should be monitored and so on. So. Definitely. Again,

820
01:05:05,751 --> 01:05:10,289
as you can see. It is what it is. Some

821
01:05:10,289 --> 01:05:15,209
of these intersections are also. On. Maybe one leg is

822
01:05:15,209 --> 01:05:18,929
a county road, one leg is town road. So it's

823
01:05:18,929 --> 01:05:23,126
constantly in your case. You will need to work with

824
01:05:23,126 --> 01:05:25,886
county for a number of things, which is also a

825
01:05:25,886 --> 01:05:30,566
good thing. They can help you. And they also recognize

826
01:05:30,566 --> 01:05:33,831
and maybe. They will probably go to their update of

827
01:05:33,831 --> 01:05:37,231
their transportation master plan so they will take your transportation.

828
01:05:37,231 --> 01:05:40,911
Master plan and see what you already identified from your

829
01:05:40,911 --> 01:05:44,311
site for improvements. So, same like we did. Took their

830
01:05:44,311 --> 01:05:51,507
transportation. Master plan. With regard to the there is. A

831
01:05:51,507 --> 01:05:54,907
lot of unpaved or gravel roads within the town, and

832
01:05:54,907 --> 01:05:59,507
there is always with more rural communities. I wouldn't call

833
01:05:59,507 --> 01:06:02,787
it challenge, but it's reality, so it's always good to

834
01:06:02,787 --> 01:06:08,098
see. Sometimes. You have a high level of traffic even

835
01:06:08,098 --> 01:06:12,309
on these gravel roads, because. In some areas you have

836
01:06:12,309 --> 01:06:15,829
paved road that's really continue. The next section is unpaved.

837
01:06:15,829 --> 01:06:20,586
Road and people just. Continue traveling through Dun paved Road

838
01:06:20,586 --> 01:06:24,194
just to reach from point a to point b. Which

839
01:06:24,194 --> 01:06:28,874
again, unpaved road can be safety issue. People continue traveling

840
01:06:28,874 --> 01:06:31,474
with higher speed than they supposed to be. So we

841
01:06:31,474 --> 01:06:34,877
identify a couple of these that. The town. Maybe look

842
01:06:34,877 --> 01:06:40,737
again to work. With. County. Is there opportunity to maybe

843
01:06:40,737 --> 01:06:45,097
look in the future to paved some of these roads?

844
01:06:45,097 --> 01:06:48,337
Some of them really make sense that will connect. As

845
01:06:48,337 --> 01:06:50,937
you can see, if there is, for example, arterial and

846
01:06:50,937 --> 01:06:55,057
a collector and ended from paved road that it's quite,

847
01:06:55,057 --> 01:06:59,820
let's say, busy and. There is unpaved road and connecting

848
01:06:59,820 --> 01:07:03,220
again two 3 km or five as again paved road.

849
01:07:03,220 --> 01:07:06,380
So that section almost makes sense that it's candidate for

850
01:07:06,380 --> 01:07:09,340
the first to get and to be paved because, as

851
01:07:09,340 --> 01:07:14,441
I said, it's continued traffic through these areas. The very

852
01:07:14,441 --> 01:07:19,321
was number of conversation about these truck bypass. We did

853
01:07:19,321 --> 01:07:22,841
a first public meeting, I remember. First residents who came

854
01:07:22,841 --> 01:07:29,857
started asking about. Arin village and heavy trucks or commercial

855
01:07:29,857 --> 01:07:36,562
vehicles going through the village. Yes. Just like there is

856
01:07:36,562 --> 01:07:39,602
a number of developments in the area, but there is

857
01:07:39,602 --> 01:07:42,642
also a number of developments that is not related to

858
01:07:42,642 --> 01:07:45,722
town of Farin. But as I said, this is the

859
01:07:45,722 --> 01:07:52,989
major. Collector. I'm major arterial, major county road that. These

860
01:07:52,989 --> 01:07:54,949
heavy vehicles, they don't have other opportunities to go anywhere

861
01:07:54,949 --> 01:07:58,429
else at the moment, and that road is designated as

862
01:07:58,429 --> 01:08:03,472
arterial road to take more heavy vehicles rather than. Collector

863
01:08:03,472 --> 01:08:09,006
rows. So. Then we met with mayor and have a

864
01:08:09,006 --> 01:08:14,045
number of meetings with. County. Try to really look some

865
01:08:14,045 --> 01:08:21,434
feasibility. What would be. Potential bypass of. This interesting through

866
01:08:21,434 --> 01:08:25,197
my work. Every community has bypass, and then once you

867
01:08:25,197 --> 01:08:29,496
have it, Let's say this year you study it, it

868
01:08:29,496 --> 01:08:35,014
will stay for another 20 years. Everyone's. Talking. Bypass. So

869
01:08:35,014 --> 01:08:38,014
then we did additional studies in order really to see.

870
01:08:39,853 --> 01:08:44,293
How really percentage of these heavy trucks or commercial vehicles

871
01:08:44,293 --> 01:08:51,955
is through the town. And Hillsburg. Fortunately or unfortunately. There

872
01:08:51,955 --> 01:08:57,128
is based on industry more than 10% trucks. Through these

873
01:08:57,128 --> 01:09:00,132
village. In Hillsburg, which really, based on my work in

874
01:09:00,132 --> 01:09:04,494
the industry, It means something needs to be done, because

875
01:09:04,494 --> 01:09:09,094
those urban cores have over 10% of heavy vehicles. So

876
01:09:09,094 --> 01:09:12,014
it needs to be regulated to the sum. So then.

877
01:09:14,049 --> 01:09:20,097
We work for potential bypass. At these two villages. What

878
01:09:20,097 --> 01:09:25,177
we did. Our study included just traffic operational. We didn't

879
01:09:25,177 --> 01:09:31,956
look for really the design. Of intersections. And improvement of

880
01:09:31,956 --> 01:09:35,316
roads. So that will be next. But in general, based

881
01:09:35,316 --> 01:09:39,279
on the volumes, there is need. For improve and detour

882
01:09:39,279 --> 01:09:42,959
this heavy vehicles. We identify a couple of corridors and

883
01:09:42,959 --> 01:09:48,869
we identified. These roads will need additional work or studies

884
01:09:48,869 --> 01:09:53,589
together with county, including intersections, in order now to accommodate

885
01:09:53,589 --> 01:09:58,650
these vehicles because, as I said, these trucks. They stay

886
01:09:58,650 --> 01:10:01,610
on arterial road. Who suppose that road is supposed to

887
01:10:01,610 --> 01:10:05,187
take? These vehicles. Now, if we detour them on the

888
01:10:05,187 --> 01:10:11,092
lower. Classification road. They need. These roads need some improvement.

889
01:10:11,092 --> 01:10:15,292
So will intersections needs to be improved or surface of

890
01:10:15,292 --> 01:10:17,492
the road in order to take a more heavy load.

891
01:10:19,319 --> 01:10:23,487
Of the trucks. There is a lot of details. In

892
01:10:23,487 --> 01:10:28,007
the report about detours. Sorry. I jump here talking about

893
01:10:28,007 --> 01:10:33,697
taxi transportation. But I will go back. Active transportation. There

894
01:10:33,697 --> 01:10:37,137
is another actually, from the public meeting we learn a

895
01:10:37,137 --> 01:10:42,729
lot of. Good. I like when people residence particularly talking

896
01:10:42,729 --> 01:10:46,049
about not only about cars, how we can go from.

897
01:10:46,049 --> 01:10:49,289
Our street to walk on our road to the main

898
01:10:49,289 --> 01:10:52,969
street. Because the main street or the village. Has already

899
01:10:52,969 --> 01:10:56,209
sidewalk. But from our side street, we don't have sidewalks

900
01:10:56,209 --> 01:11:00,722
together. So it's good to hear that. So we identified

901
01:11:00,722 --> 01:11:10,347
particularly couple of. These. Site local. Areas. Where already developed

902
01:11:10,347 --> 01:11:16,147
streets for potential sidewalk. Improvements, or in many cases, to

903
01:11:16,147 --> 01:11:20,227
build them, as well as how these new sidewalks will

904
01:11:20,227 --> 01:11:23,987
fit into proposed subdivisions in many cases or in all

905
01:11:23,987 --> 01:11:28,170
cases. New proposed subdivisions they already have developed and proposed

906
01:11:28,170 --> 01:11:32,490
their sidewalk. So that, again, as I said, if they

907
01:11:32,490 --> 01:11:39,269
build sidewalk to. Already. Down street that. There is sidewalk

908
01:11:39,269 --> 01:11:43,469
connections from their subdivisions to another street or to the

909
01:11:43,469 --> 01:11:46,709
Arin village. And so on. So we identify a number

910
01:11:46,709 --> 01:11:53,363
of these active transportation improvements, including trails and sidewalks. I

911
01:11:53,363 --> 01:11:58,900
think. We carry them and talk about. That through our

912
01:11:58,900 --> 01:12:04,413
report. I jump here. But those are 2d tools. Yes.

913
01:12:06,414 --> 01:12:11,637
There was just back to Hillsburg. We look for that.

914
01:12:11,637 --> 01:12:16,037
We know that you received. The town received that new

915
01:12:16,037 --> 01:12:24,361
applications for that. Pit. That. Will have additional daily 150

916
01:12:24,361 --> 01:12:27,001
trucks, as you know, so we'll look and include it

917
01:12:27,001 --> 01:12:30,981
here. It's also kind of like. Came in right time

918
01:12:30,981 --> 01:12:36,301
to justify more need for this bypass or need improvements

919
01:12:36,301 --> 01:12:43,091
to move heavy vehicles. From the. Core of the Hillsborg.

920
01:12:43,818 --> 01:12:48,788
So that will help. Our feasibility study. Look for ten

921
01:12:48,788 --> 01:12:55,874
years and that will help. Actually. To really keep. More

922
01:12:55,874 --> 01:13:01,217
commercial vehicles on the. 8th road rather than going through.

923
01:13:03,744 --> 01:13:07,871
The Trafalgar road through the Hillsburg, so. There is also

924
01:13:07,871 --> 01:13:10,591
conversation in report about that one, but we did include

925
01:13:10,591 --> 01:13:17,070
and look for that proposed. Pit in the Hellsburg. Number

926
01:13:17,070 --> 01:13:19,670
of policies that we look as a part of transportation

927
01:13:19,670 --> 01:13:27,874
plan. We did. And talk with county about parking, active

928
01:13:27,874 --> 01:13:32,339
transportation. Definitely. There was a number of comments from residents

929
01:13:32,339 --> 01:13:37,619
about speeding and concerns with new subdivisions. Many municipalities across

930
01:13:37,619 --> 01:13:43,405
Ontario and in general. Are incorporating or trying to address

931
01:13:43,405 --> 01:13:49,875
speeding through different type of measures. It could. Be used

932
01:13:49,875 --> 01:13:53,675
to have. Until recently, those municipalities were working on that

933
01:13:53,675 --> 01:13:57,915
speed camera programs. Now it's, a little bit different story,

934
01:13:57,915 --> 01:14:01,359
but everyone is looking. For the mayor. Also mentioned at

935
01:14:01,359 --> 01:14:04,199
one meeting that was with us, road safety action plan.

936
01:14:06,469 --> 01:14:09,785
What is now communities are looking. They developed that plan

937
01:14:09,785 --> 01:14:15,509
that include traffic calming policies that include. Speeding policies to

938
01:14:15,509 --> 01:14:21,547
the some level, even these detours. Yes, the speed around

939
01:14:21,547 --> 01:14:26,123
school zones. So that road safety action plan. Plans should.

940
01:14:28,668 --> 01:14:31,548
In the past, it used to be you look individually.

941
01:14:31,548 --> 01:14:34,508
Now it's part of road safety. Action plan that you

942
01:14:34,508 --> 01:14:37,908
can work on. All of those around schooled traffic calming

943
01:14:37,908 --> 01:14:43,180
policy. Speed enforcement and so on, so. We have that

944
01:14:43,180 --> 01:14:48,220
recommendations in our transportation master plan, and town will need

945
01:14:48,220 --> 01:14:51,780
some smaller study about that. One to develop it in

946
01:14:51,780 --> 01:14:58,432
more details. So that. Municipality never will stop receiving speeding

947
01:14:58,432 --> 01:15:02,152
concerns. But once you have some programs, you can always.

948
01:15:03,960 --> 01:15:07,920
Follow them and how? Together. Roundabouts. There was some roundabouts.

949
01:15:09,845 --> 01:15:13,730
They are coming through new subdivisions. Many municipalities are in

950
01:15:13,730 --> 01:15:16,650
favor and to move forward with them. And they are

951
01:15:16,650 --> 01:15:19,010
nice and they are good to have in communities. They're

952
01:15:19,010 --> 01:15:25,976
more safe and. We also develop. Some. Small. Section there.

953
01:15:25,976 --> 01:15:30,696
What town can work together also with developers, particularly how

954
01:15:30,696 --> 01:15:35,025
to have them in the community. So, yes, they take

955
01:15:35,025 --> 01:15:37,585
a little bit more land for developers to build, but.

956
01:15:38,985 --> 01:15:41,345
It is from our transportation traffic perspective, they are more

957
01:15:41,345 --> 01:15:45,295
safe. They can be really nice. Entry feature to the

958
01:15:45,295 --> 01:15:49,455
community, and they slow traffic. Also, the reduced pollution and.

959
01:15:50,943 --> 01:15:54,143
It's really proved that they are more safe than other.

960
01:15:54,876 --> 01:15:59,437
Traffic control. Their station mass plan is planning documented. It's

961
01:15:59,437 --> 01:16:02,077
really high level. When we look to the cost. So

962
01:16:02,077 --> 01:16:06,077
we didn't go there. And look now into details. What.

963
01:16:08,592 --> 01:16:12,600
This will be overall cost for everything. So that typically,

964
01:16:12,600 --> 01:16:20,018
what, transportation? Looks. But. It gives some high level cost

965
01:16:20,018 --> 01:16:23,578
for municipality to take the next steps to plan for

966
01:16:23,578 --> 01:16:29,338
some of these programs or improvements for their capital projects,

967
01:16:29,338 --> 01:16:33,098
take one by one. But again, when identify what to

968
01:16:33,098 --> 01:16:37,543
move forward. It needs to be. Look on the broader

969
01:16:37,543 --> 01:16:43,640
case. From here. Where we are going, this is pretty

970
01:16:43,640 --> 01:16:49,303
much almost final step of the transportation master plan. It's

971
01:16:49,303 --> 01:16:55,132
presenting here. After this. Once everything is pretty much approved,

972
01:16:55,132 --> 01:17:00,540
there will be additional notice. Of completion there is. 30

973
01:17:00,540 --> 01:17:04,907
day review for the Public. And if any changes, update

974
01:17:04,907 --> 01:17:11,544
and implementation program resist was identified. And by the time

975
01:17:11,544 --> 01:17:15,809
you turn around, it's another five years, and. You will

976
01:17:15,809 --> 01:17:19,769
see what is addressed from previous one and incorporated your

977
01:17:19,769 --> 01:17:23,809
official plan and work with county and that's typically how

978
01:17:23,809 --> 01:17:28,732
transportation master plan. Fit from here. And definitely, as I

979
01:17:28,732 --> 01:17:32,879
said, Developers will work with you on a little bit

980
01:17:32,879 --> 01:17:36,359
more streamlined, and when they see what you already have

981
01:17:36,359 --> 01:17:40,860
identified in this document. If I went or. That's all

982
01:17:40,860 --> 01:17:43,180
for me. I'm happy here to answer questions. Thank you

983
01:17:43,180 --> 01:17:51,064
so much. Thank you very much. Council, any questions? Councilor

984
01:17:51,064 --> 01:17:54,294
Ryan. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you very much for

985
01:17:54,294 --> 01:17:56,974
the presentation. Daniel and Brian, thank you for your work.

986
01:17:59,323 --> 01:18:02,283
I have a few questions, but they may be overarching,

987
01:18:02,283 --> 01:18:03,923
so I'll just try. To touch on them, if that's

988
01:18:03,923 --> 01:18:08,153
all right. Really like that. We started on this, that

989
01:18:08,153 --> 01:18:13,474
truck bypass. Getting trucks out of Iran village. I'm sure

990
01:18:13,474 --> 01:18:16,474
we'll save a life sooner than later. I think it's

991
01:18:16,474 --> 01:18:19,314
worth the cost of this study. You can go down

992
01:18:19,314 --> 01:18:21,234
there in. Any given day and watch the trucks go

993
01:18:21,234 --> 01:18:23,434
through and you just cringe, and I think you saw

994
01:18:23,434 --> 01:18:26,834
that with your studies. County of Wellington probably is ready.

995
01:18:26,834 --> 01:18:30,132
Agreed on that. So I know this may not be

996
01:18:30,132 --> 01:18:32,372
able to be answered right now, but that portion of

997
01:18:32,372 --> 01:18:35,892
the transportation master plan may have to be segmented out,

998
01:18:35,892 --> 01:18:38,052
possibly as a separate project, so that it can go

999
01:18:38,052 --> 01:18:45,356
ahead with separate granting. In terms of. The different roads

1000
01:18:45,356 --> 01:18:48,955
and how the interface. Will we get before this goes

1001
01:18:48,955 --> 01:18:51,475
out to the general public for review like an executive

1002
01:18:51,475 --> 01:18:58,273
summary? By dates or by priority. Will this look different?

1003
01:18:58,273 --> 01:19:02,802
Because while it is wonderful, It's a really big study,

1004
01:19:02,802 --> 01:19:04,722
and I don't know that we'll get the engagement we

1005
01:19:04,722 --> 01:19:07,682
want from the public unless we can simplify it down

1006
01:19:07,682 --> 01:19:11,122
with a few more. Graphics or somehow simplify it. A

1007
01:19:11,122 --> 01:19:16,382
very complicated document. So can I answer now, please? Yeah.

1008
01:19:16,382 --> 01:19:18,902
With regard to the. I agree. There is already kind

1009
01:19:18,902 --> 01:19:22,582
of separate report about detours, but it's just traffic part.

1010
01:19:24,474 --> 01:19:26,714
Yes. The town will need to work with county on

1011
01:19:26,714 --> 01:19:30,179
the next step. But that it's good to have that

1012
01:19:30,179 --> 01:19:35,172
detour or truck detour as a separate traffic study. With

1013
01:19:35,172 --> 01:19:40,179
regard to the identifying. Yes, we can work with. Town.

1014
01:19:41,395 --> 01:19:44,275
Whatever kind of what we put in phases this implementation.

1015
01:19:46,685 --> 01:19:50,485
Our recommendation is to really be realistic in what you

1016
01:19:50,485 --> 01:19:53,325
can achieve in first phase and kind of like one

1017
01:19:53,325 --> 01:19:59,239
to five years. You can go ten years. But we

1018
01:19:59,239 --> 01:20:02,359
can do those kind of some graphic or list of

1019
01:20:02,359 --> 01:20:06,922
these improvements. Thank you. That's great. Thank you, Brian. Did

1020
01:20:06,922 --> 01:20:09,762
you want to comment on that, Siri? Mr. Mayor? I

1021
01:20:09,762 --> 01:20:13,242
would certainly agree that this is a large, cumbersome document,

1022
01:20:13,242 --> 01:20:17,042
and as part of the implementation plan that we're recommending

1023
01:20:17,042 --> 01:20:20,922
completing. We would certainly put something together that is digestible

1024
01:20:20,922 --> 01:20:26,749
for the public. And. Is clear, concise and relatively brief.

1025
01:20:28,156 --> 01:20:32,129
In its form. So that the community can fully understand

1026
01:20:32,129 --> 01:20:36,489
it and can read a relatively short document. Okay, that's.

1027
01:20:36,489 --> 01:20:39,528
Wonderful. Through you. Mr. Mayor, if I may. And then

1028
01:20:39,528 --> 01:20:43,248
the developers that are doing new housing developments, they each

1029
01:20:43,248 --> 01:20:47,583
have their own independent traffic study. How did those interface

1030
01:20:47,583 --> 01:20:52,601
with this document? Through mayor it's the graphic impact studies.

1031
01:20:52,601 --> 01:20:56,401
Those are called what developers are doing when they submitting.

1032
01:20:58,277 --> 01:21:03,490
Site plan applications. Transportation master plan doesn't go into these

1033
01:21:03,490 --> 01:21:08,233
details intersection by intersection. What developers are doing. Block, block,

1034
01:21:08,233 --> 01:21:12,113
block, street by streets. The translation master plan in general.

1035
01:21:12,113 --> 01:21:14,593
Look, let's say this is the area of subdivision, and

1036
01:21:14,593 --> 01:21:18,844
it's going to be residential, commercial and. We just generate

1037
01:21:18,844 --> 01:21:25,263
number of trips overall. But once town received those applications,

1038
01:21:25,263 --> 01:21:31,340
there are all details for every single intersections. So that's.

1039
01:21:33,585 --> 01:21:37,749
How? They are a little bit ahead. With this, but

1040
01:21:37,749 --> 01:21:41,829
we look for the size of proposed development and for

1041
01:21:41,829 --> 01:21:45,735
the future. How that in ten or 20 years, some

1042
01:21:45,735 --> 01:21:49,055
of them already will be built. So we already included.

1043
01:21:49,055 --> 01:21:53,768
That growth factor that these subdivisions. Will be already like

1044
01:21:53,768 --> 01:21:57,688
existing subdivisions. So that's. I think we use 2.3 growth.

1045
01:21:57,688 --> 01:22:05,046
Factor. Very conservative for every ten years. Thank you. Councilor

1046
01:22:05,046 --> 01:22:07,966
a lord. And then Councilor Rennon, thank you. Through Mr.

1047
01:22:07,966 --> 01:22:12,751
Mayor. Brian and Daniel, thank you so much for your

1048
01:22:12,751 --> 01:22:17,916
commitment to this project. I know it was incredibly onerous

1049
01:22:17,916 --> 01:22:23,630
because. Of our antiquated or completely nonexistent systems. So to

1050
01:22:23,630 --> 01:22:26,670
get to this point, and have actual data is quite

1051
01:22:26,670 --> 01:22:29,550
an accomplishment. So thank you very much. And Mohammed, thank

1052
01:22:29,550 --> 01:22:32,710
you to your team for working with the team here.

1053
01:22:34,279 --> 01:22:37,417
It's a bit of a beast. So it's kind of

1054
01:22:37,417 --> 01:22:40,257
hard to know how to break it down and comment

1055
01:22:40,257 --> 01:22:44,431
on it. But I'd have to say that the timing

1056
01:22:44,431 --> 01:22:47,391
of this, it should have been done 20. Years ago,

1057
01:22:47,391 --> 01:22:51,805
but anyway. It couldn't be better right now, as Brian

1058
01:22:51,805 --> 01:22:56,365
and his team tackle how to connect the existing residents

1059
01:22:56,365 --> 01:22:59,365
to the sewer connection. And with all that construction, how

1060
01:22:59,365 --> 01:23:02,085
do we make the town a better place with sidewalks

1061
01:23:02,085 --> 01:23:08,394
and proper stop signs. And safety measures. So it's a

1062
01:23:08,394 --> 01:23:10,514
lot of work. It's a lot of moving pieces to

1063
01:23:10,514 --> 01:23:16,326
put together to build a community. Another point besides getting

1064
01:23:16,326 --> 01:23:23,775
into specifics, is. Managing the sensitivity around these issues.

1065
01:23:25,187 --> 01:23:30,198
So some of these changes. Will positively impact some residents

1066
01:23:30,198 --> 01:23:33,734
and their quality of life, and in some cases, In

1067
01:23:33,734 --> 01:23:39,168
a very negative way. So how do we become sensitive

1068
01:23:39,168 --> 01:23:44,209
to that and manage these changes and explain it? And

1069
01:23:44,209 --> 01:23:49,367
environmental assessment studies and all that. So that's a huge

1070
01:23:49,367 --> 01:23:55,981
nut to crack. And I guess the goal of today

1071
01:23:55,981 --> 01:24:00,381
is just to accept this report. Besides getting into real

1072
01:24:00,381 --> 01:24:03,501
specifics right about the road widening and how we would

1073
01:24:03,501 --> 01:24:08,773
possibly do a road widening on Main Street. And truck

1074
01:24:08,773 --> 01:24:12,453
detours. I think the goal today is. Am I correct

1075
01:24:12,453 --> 01:24:20,220
just to accept this? Yes. Study. And then. I think

1076
01:24:20,220 --> 01:24:24,584
to inform the residents about what happens next. And so

1077
01:24:24,584 --> 01:24:27,944
we endorse the report, and then there's a 30 day

1078
01:24:27,944 --> 01:24:32,514
review when does that 30 day review start? Once we

1079
01:24:32,514 --> 01:24:39,018
issue the notice of completion, it starts from there. And.

1080
01:24:40,349 --> 01:24:43,069
At their holidays time, so it can go even 40.

1081
01:24:43,069 --> 01:24:46,429
It's not really that has to be, but typically it's

1082
01:24:46,429 --> 01:24:50,455
not first time that this happened through the holidays. You

1083
01:24:50,455 --> 01:24:52,535
just give those extra days. But it starts with notice

1084
01:24:52,535 --> 01:24:58,064
of completion is issued, notice goes to. The Ministry of

1085
01:24:58,064 --> 01:25:01,024
Environment. And typically it starts from the day we say,

1086
01:25:01,024 --> 01:25:05,144
let's say December. 17, its notice is out. It's published.

1087
01:25:05,144 --> 01:25:08,584
Social media goes to ministry stakeholders, and from 17 to

1088
01:25:08,584 --> 01:25:12,352
30 days. Thanks for the clarification. I'd like to see

1089
01:25:12,352 --> 01:25:18,404
it delayed the start of. The public input period start

1090
01:25:18,404 --> 01:25:21,804
middle of January so people have a time to get

1091
01:25:21,804 --> 01:25:24,844
back in the swing of thing, so we don't impede

1092
01:25:24,844 --> 01:25:30,300
that. And then what happens? I understand in Q two.

1093
01:25:31,878 --> 01:25:36,862
There's an implementation plan that comes back to council. How

1094
01:25:36,862 --> 01:25:44,252
do residents provide input between. The 30 day period and

1095
01:25:44,252 --> 01:25:48,769
when the report comes back to council. So technically, how

1096
01:25:48,769 --> 01:25:53,449
the study is, scope is after 30 days, and once

1097
01:25:53,449 --> 01:25:57,489
it's connected, we see what our comments and everything implementation

1098
01:25:57,489 --> 01:26:00,169
plan will be. It's kind of out of scope. Of

1099
01:26:00,169 --> 01:26:04,371
the study, so you take it. For the next steps.

1100
01:26:04,371 --> 01:26:06,771
How are you going to implement and work on the

1101
01:26:06,771 --> 01:26:10,651
front, but pretty much transportation master plan. Based on the

1102
01:26:10,651 --> 01:26:16,625
scope, it's ending after 30 days. And we revisit comments

1103
01:26:16,625 --> 01:26:20,905
from here, get input with comments from the public, stakeholders,

1104
01:26:20,905 --> 01:26:24,865
everything. What we received through 30 days. And see what

1105
01:26:24,865 --> 01:26:29,761
our updates or trainers needed. As it is now. Then

1106
01:26:29,761 --> 01:26:34,359
after that. It's pretty much study is done. And then

1107
01:26:34,359 --> 01:26:38,319
that 30 day period is when council comments also. Yeah,

1108
01:26:38,319 --> 01:26:43,648
okay. So it's all together. And when the implementation plan

1109
01:26:43,648 --> 01:26:49,415
comes back, then. It's sort of divided more into digestible

1110
01:26:49,415 --> 01:26:53,907
chunks that we can really comment on. Exactly where we

1111
01:26:53,907 --> 01:26:58,884
want the sidewalk. And look at connections. So breaking it

1112
01:26:58,884 --> 01:27:04,047
down. Into more digestible chunks at that point. Yeah. Through

1113
01:27:04,047 --> 01:27:07,087
mayor. Yes. We can work with Brian and Daniel and

1114
01:27:07,087 --> 01:27:12,165
team. However. We would like to present. It those in

1115
01:27:12,165 --> 01:27:15,685
whatever, in stages and phases for implementation. Okay. Because I'm

1116
01:27:15,685 --> 01:27:21,542
finding it just so huge to digest. And looking into

1117
01:27:21,542 --> 01:27:23,462
our crystal ball and seeing what's going to happen in

1118
01:27:23,462 --> 01:27:26,396
the future. So I don't know how we can manage

1119
01:27:26,396 --> 01:27:31,654
that. And then what other studies need to be initiated

1120
01:27:31,654 --> 01:27:34,894
after that? You were talking about the road safety. Action

1121
01:27:34,894 --> 01:27:37,654
plan. I've got lots of feedback from a group of

1122
01:27:37,654 --> 01:27:42,934
concerned citizens in Pine Ridge. Area, and they're impacted by

1123
01:27:42,934 --> 01:27:48,554
850 new homes in their backyard now. And seeing the

1124
01:27:48,554 --> 01:27:56,794
impact. Of that traffic. Which really. Wasn't studied during the

1125
01:27:56,794 --> 01:28:02,049
November intersection studies. So is there smaller studies as a

1126
01:28:02,049 --> 01:28:07,439
result of this big study? So. Some of. These. What

1127
01:28:07,439 --> 01:28:11,857
is identified here? That town will need to undertake another

1128
01:28:11,857 --> 01:28:14,937
study. Let's say, plan it for next year or. Year

1129
01:28:14,937 --> 01:28:22,036
after. When to undertake road safety study. So it is

1130
01:28:22,036 --> 01:28:26,864
identified here that. The town can take as a separate

1131
01:28:26,864 --> 01:28:31,306
study. It's up to. Town. Will they put it to

1132
01:28:31,306 --> 01:28:34,890
do it next year or year after? But that's pretty

1133
01:28:34,890 --> 01:28:40,246
much. How it is recommended. Okay. Thank you. It's just

1134
01:28:40,246 --> 01:28:44,046
trying to break it down into digestible. Chunks without losing.

1135
01:28:45,343 --> 01:28:50,303
View of the bigger plan, but make it more understandable.

1136
01:28:51,562 --> 01:28:55,480
So we can again. Typically because we see number of

1137
01:28:55,480 --> 01:29:03,667
these similar road. Safety studies that municipalities. Are undertaking. It

1138
01:29:03,667 --> 01:29:08,999
used to be until almost until. Yesterday's number of these

1139
01:29:08,999 --> 01:29:14,359
studies were supported by. These funds. From speed cameras. It's

1140
01:29:14,359 --> 01:29:16,959
kind of a lot of misunderstanding that they were used

1141
01:29:16,959 --> 01:29:23,386
for good. Reason to improve speeding and address it. So

1142
01:29:23,386 --> 01:29:26,986
they arranged what we've seen from other neighboring municipalities between

1143
01:29:26,986 --> 01:29:31,383
50 and 100,000. What some other responses were taking, like

1144
01:29:31,383 --> 01:29:35,383
50,000 from funds that they get it from the speed

1145
01:29:35,383 --> 01:29:39,427
cameras program. So that depends how you would like, how

1146
01:29:39,427 --> 01:29:42,827
town would like to scope, to look. Traffic calming policy.

1147
01:29:42,827 --> 01:29:47,942
To look, school zones to look. Speeding through on any

1148
01:29:47,942 --> 01:29:53,017
streets, so. You can go to town, can go work

1149
01:29:53,017 --> 01:29:57,365
independently through these, but. Also, it's recommended these days to

1150
01:29:57,365 --> 01:29:59,365
put it as a package and really look as a

1151
01:29:59,365 --> 01:30:02,405
one study. Road safety study. Thank you. That's a great

1152
01:30:02,405 --> 01:30:04,965
segue. As we go into budget discussions right after this.

1153
01:30:06,768 --> 01:30:09,528
So what do we have to actually implement next year?

1154
01:30:10,705 --> 01:30:14,378
Thank you for. All your work on this, and I

1155
01:30:14,378 --> 01:30:18,458
think it's just an understanding that by endorsing this study.

1156
01:30:19,689 --> 01:30:24,999
We're not endorsing. Every single suggestion in this plan. Thank

1157
01:30:24,999 --> 01:30:28,915
you. And through your mayor, it is important. That's why

1158
01:30:28,915 --> 01:30:31,235
I mentioned a number of times it is planning study.

1159
01:30:32,964 --> 01:30:37,084
In communication with residents. That what is identified here, it

1160
01:30:37,084 --> 01:30:40,991
doesn't mean it will be tomorrow. In five years. You

1161
01:30:40,991 --> 01:30:46,129
have our town. It's planning study. Undertake number of independent,

1162
01:30:46,129 --> 01:30:51,469
separate projects together. And now it's just implementation how to

1163
01:30:51,469 --> 01:30:54,989
get there and look for fundings and capital. Projects and

1164
01:30:54,989 --> 01:30:59,941
so on. I think Mr. Kavanaugh had some comment. If

1165
01:30:59,941 --> 01:31:03,101
I may add, for clarity, the implementation plan is intended

1166
01:31:03,101 --> 01:31:07,763
to be completed by staff. In Q two, and it

1167
01:31:07,763 --> 01:31:11,203
would essentially serve as a roadmap of where we're going

1168
01:31:11,203 --> 01:31:14,683
with this huge document, and, as you say, break that

1169
01:31:14,683 --> 01:31:19,443
into digestible pieces and give clarity. As to what additional

1170
01:31:19,443 --> 01:31:23,243
studies are required, what can be implemented as relatively low

1171
01:31:23,243 --> 01:31:26,323
hanging fruit, and what will take significantly more time and

1172
01:31:26,323 --> 01:31:31,797
effort. To invest in. Councilor Brennan. Thank you. Through you.

1173
01:31:31,797 --> 01:31:36,647
Thank you for the presentation. Having lived through the birth

1174
01:31:36,647 --> 01:31:39,758
of one of these things before. Which hopefully will come

1175
01:31:39,758 --> 01:31:42,850
to fruition in the new year. There's a long road

1176
01:31:42,850 --> 01:31:45,873
ahead of us. The only thing you really know is

1177
01:31:45,873 --> 01:31:51,405
that. Reality has a way of unwinding in unexpected directions.

1178
01:31:53,033 --> 01:31:55,713
And doesn't really care about what we planned. But there

1179
01:31:55,713 --> 01:31:58,033
was one thing that just caught my eye, and I

1180
01:31:58,033 --> 01:32:01,073
was curious about, and you may not be able to

1181
01:32:01,073 --> 01:32:03,633
comment on it, but the truck detours that we were

1182
01:32:03,633 --> 01:32:07,629
looking at for the village of Aaron. Obviously 9th line

1183
01:32:07,629 --> 01:32:12,069
and 52 is a real bottleneck there with that convoluted

1184
01:32:12,069 --> 01:32:14,589
intersection. That we have. And there is plans in here.

1185
01:32:14,589 --> 01:32:19,512
I see. To repair that. Hopefully soon. I think it

1186
01:32:19,512 --> 01:32:21,952
said 120 26. The county was looking at doing that,

1187
01:32:21,952 --> 01:32:25,681
which is great. But what I noticed on the other

1188
01:32:25,681 --> 01:32:29,041
end of as you go out 52, you're going to

1189
01:32:29,041 --> 01:32:32,761
have to intersect with Winston Churchill. And I see something

1190
01:32:32,761 --> 01:32:35,961
for Winston Churchill in 124. I see. Something for 52

1191
01:32:35,961 --> 01:32:39,931
and 9th line. I don't see anything. For 52 and

1192
01:32:39,931 --> 01:32:45,193
Winston Churchill. Which I would think logically. If we're going

1193
01:32:45,193 --> 01:32:48,513
to have a directing truck traffic through there making that

1194
01:32:48,513 --> 01:32:50,913
left turn on. To Winston church was going to be

1195
01:32:50,913 --> 01:32:55,348
require some sort of modification of that intersection. I wanted

1196
01:32:55,348 --> 01:33:00,561
to add. Any comment? Yes. What we identified there is

1197
01:33:00,561 --> 01:33:04,041
kind of operational based on number of trucks detouring, but.

1198
01:33:05,870 --> 01:33:08,990
Definitely the next step. Or maybe through the environmental assessment.

1199
01:33:10,426 --> 01:33:13,346
It needs to be. Look. Geometry of each of these

1200
01:33:13,346 --> 01:33:18,537
intersections. And. In most cases, almost all of them will

1201
01:33:18,537 --> 01:33:25,916
need some sort of widening and improvements. Because. They are

1202
01:33:25,916 --> 01:33:28,796
not arterial roads. Some of them are meeting with arterial

1203
01:33:28,796 --> 01:33:34,073
road. Like you said, Winston Churchill. But. The additional study.

1204
01:33:34,073 --> 01:33:40,452
When they will look, geometry will identify more. And. The

1205
01:33:40,452 --> 01:33:43,813
important is again to work with county on that. Thank

1206
01:33:43,813 --> 01:33:46,493
you. And I guess peel to it, in that case.

1207
01:33:46,493 --> 01:33:50,093
Yeah. And I think just to bring council up to

1208
01:33:50,093 --> 01:33:53,493
speed. The county was working with Peele Region to work

1209
01:33:53,493 --> 01:33:56,973
on Winston Churchill at that specific intersection, but they have

1210
01:33:56,973 --> 01:34:01,253
not made any recommendations to change that intersection yet. And

1211
01:34:01,253 --> 01:34:04,204
on 9th line where it hits Bush Street. They're planning

1212
01:34:04,204 --> 01:34:08,371
to put in a three way. Signal or four way

1213
01:34:08,371 --> 01:34:11,971
signal and remove the slip lane. So there is some

1214
01:34:11,971 --> 01:34:14,852
work already being done. So having. This in front of

1215
01:34:14,852 --> 01:34:19,368
county. Now is a really good time, so that. They

1216
01:34:19,368 --> 01:34:22,427
can see the big plans. Anyway, I just thought I'd

1217
01:34:22,427 --> 01:34:26,971
comment on that since you brought that. Councilor Cheney. Thank

1218
01:34:26,971 --> 01:34:30,451
you through Mr. Mayor. Thank you Mohammed and staff for

1219
01:34:30,451 --> 01:34:37,498
this. Late reading. And further on to what council Ehler

1220
01:34:37,498 --> 01:34:40,018
said about timing. I mean, the best time to plant.

1221
01:34:40,018 --> 01:34:42,418
A tree was 40 years ago. The next best time

1222
01:34:42,418 --> 01:34:44,738
to plant a tree is today, so here. We are.

1223
01:34:46,831 --> 01:34:50,631
And it's a fluid document, and we're growing till 2051.

1224
01:34:52,115 --> 01:34:55,435
So it's good to know that there'll be segments and

1225
01:34:55,435 --> 01:34:58,435
planning, and this isn't all going to happen at once.

1226
01:34:58,435 --> 01:35:02,802
It can't afford anything, let alone some of it. But

1227
01:35:02,802 --> 01:35:08,435
thank you. It gives us a place to start. And

1228
01:35:08,435 --> 01:35:11,155
something name for it because we don't plan. Nothing happens.

1229
01:35:11,155 --> 01:35:13,715
So thank you. And we look forward to all the

1230
01:35:13,715 --> 01:35:16,635
other little clusters of improvements as we move through this.

1231
01:35:18,584 --> 01:35:21,224
And I have just a few comments, too, with respect

1232
01:35:21,224 --> 01:35:23,184
to the growth plan. I mean, we're looking at, I

1233
01:35:23,184 --> 01:35:26,504
think it's 2.3% is what's in the report, but if

1234
01:35:26,504 --> 01:35:28,504
we look at just this year, I think we're up

1235
01:35:28,504 --> 01:35:32,678
10%. So I don't know if you can spread that

1236
01:35:32,678 --> 01:35:36,478
number evenly over the period from 2021. To 2051. I

1237
01:35:36,478 --> 01:35:39,118
think you're going to see it front loaded. And how

1238
01:35:39,118 --> 01:35:42,038
does that. Affect this sort of a plan, because right

1239
01:35:42,038 --> 01:35:44,118
now, when you're looking at long term, well, your long

1240
01:35:44,118 --> 01:35:46,958
term might actually be your midterm, and your midterm might

1241
01:35:46,958 --> 01:35:49,078
be part of your short term, so I don't know

1242
01:35:49,078 --> 01:35:52,353
how we address. The growth that we're seeing, maybe the

1243
01:35:52,353 --> 01:35:54,713
houses are going to stop for a while, but. We

1244
01:35:54,713 --> 01:35:58,273
just had two more subdivision approvals come from county today.

1245
01:35:59,588 --> 01:36:02,754
So. I'm a little worried that our timelines that we're

1246
01:36:02,754 --> 01:36:10,022
predicting here might be. Lagging. The actual growth. Yeah. We

1247
01:36:10,022 --> 01:36:13,062
did look, actually, and I wanted to mention the development

1248
01:36:13,062 --> 01:36:18,141
charges report. And. They go very important. Back to the

1249
01:36:18,141 --> 01:36:22,122
importance of TMP. With next development charges report they will

1250
01:36:22,122 --> 01:36:26,162
really take transportation master plan and look what is identified

1251
01:36:26,162 --> 01:36:29,362
so we look in the development charges and particularly when

1252
01:36:29,362 --> 01:36:32,842
these subdivisions will be pretty much completed and most of

1253
01:36:32,842 --> 01:36:36,504
them will be completed exactly as you said. And that's

1254
01:36:36,504 --> 01:36:40,536
incorporated in that growth factor. Most of this will happen

1255
01:36:40,536 --> 01:36:46,125
in next 1015 years as you said. So. Let's look

1256
01:36:46,125 --> 01:36:50,005
into this growth and plan for the future. Roads and

1257
01:36:50,005 --> 01:36:53,845
most of these would be good. The improvements to happen,

1258
01:36:53,845 --> 01:36:57,525
let's say, in between. 15 years. Yeah. I just think

1259
01:36:57,525 --> 01:37:01,322
we need to have it done. Before that happens. Not.

1260
01:37:02,894 --> 01:37:06,191
Start it that far out? Another concern I had is.

1261
01:37:07,773 --> 01:37:10,213
I understand the intersections and why they're on the list,

1262
01:37:10,213 --> 01:37:13,613
but I don't think topography was taken into consideration for

1263
01:37:13,613 --> 01:37:16,773
some of these intersections because if you're on a bus

1264
01:37:16,773 --> 01:37:19,013
or a piece of farm equipment, or you're racing down

1265
01:37:19,013 --> 01:37:21,453
one of these hills like Trafalgar Road. I don't think

1266
01:37:21,453 --> 01:37:23,813
you can stop halfway down the hill or go. Up

1267
01:37:23,813 --> 01:37:27,704
halfway up the hill, so. I don't know how much

1268
01:37:27,704 --> 01:37:30,464
topography was looked at for some of these. Did you

1269
01:37:30,464 --> 01:37:33,624
want. To comment, Brian, if I may, I think that

1270
01:37:33,624 --> 01:37:37,064
to an extent, some of these recommendations are somewhat conceptual

1271
01:37:37,064 --> 01:37:40,744
at their level of development. Nothing in this plan would

1272
01:37:40,744 --> 01:37:47,023
be implemented without further review and detailed additional investigation. So.

1273
01:37:47,023 --> 01:37:50,143
Absolutely. I take your comment to heart. I think another

1274
01:37:50,143 --> 01:37:55,183
round of review to finalize recommendations. And plans, if that's

1275
01:37:55,183 --> 01:37:59,303
fair. Mohammed, I think that this is the initial step

1276
01:37:59,303 --> 01:38:04,301
and there's more work to be done. Thank you. Looking

1277
01:38:04,301 --> 01:38:07,741
also at collector roads being upgraded to arterial. Most of

1278
01:38:07,741 --> 01:38:12,421
those are rural roads that you're. Upgrading where there's already

1279
01:38:12,421 --> 01:38:16,881
good arterial roads around. That you could direct traffic to,

1280
01:38:16,881 --> 01:38:19,869
so I was just kind of wondering. What's the thought

1281
01:38:19,869 --> 01:38:22,829
behind increasing a collector to arterial if they're already two

1282
01:38:22,829 --> 01:38:27,314
arterial? Roads that are in the area. Just in some

1283
01:38:27,314 --> 01:38:33,008
cases, you have this. By providing better link or shorter

1284
01:38:33,008 --> 01:38:37,404
links, you help from the other. Roads. So in some

1285
01:38:37,404 --> 01:38:41,653
cases, what you recommend here. In general, there are not

1286
01:38:41,653 --> 01:38:48,356
heavy traffic volumes within town yet. Perception is yes. Residents

1287
01:38:48,356 --> 01:38:51,236
thinks it's a lot of cars, new subdivisions, but they

1288
01:38:51,236 --> 01:38:54,985
are still most of them are within. Criteria for these

1289
01:38:54,985 --> 01:38:58,585
type of roads, arteries and collector. They can take much

1290
01:38:58,585 --> 01:39:02,345
more than what currently it's taking in some cases when

1291
01:39:02,345 --> 01:39:07,437
we look. These, let's say gravel that we said. They

1292
01:39:07,437 --> 01:39:10,317
already have the larger number of vehicles that they shouldn't

1293
01:39:10,317 --> 01:39:12,837
have in these type of roads. So it's back to

1294
01:39:12,837 --> 01:39:16,928
that safety. There are different criteria, different warrants when we

1295
01:39:16,928 --> 01:39:20,929
are looking for that. And through my latest work in

1296
01:39:20,929 --> 01:39:24,449
forensic, we see number of actually incidents happening on the

1297
01:39:24,449 --> 01:39:29,542
gravel roads. Just. It takes one person to speed 80

1298
01:39:29,542 --> 01:39:33,142
or 100 because it's very open, but it's not built

1299
01:39:33,142 --> 01:39:37,842
for 100. So sometimes it's a little bit recommended to

1300
01:39:37,842 --> 01:39:41,454
be proactive in some of these that makes sense. Definitely

1301
01:39:41,454 --> 01:39:44,974
based on the volumes, it's not warranted, but based on

1302
01:39:44,974 --> 01:39:49,814
helping another collector or another road to build this one.

1303
01:39:49,814 --> 01:39:53,438
We identify that one, but again, it will need. To

1304
01:39:53,438 --> 01:39:57,345
be a little bit look into more details. And on

1305
01:39:57,345 --> 01:40:00,859
road surface upgrades. I would assume if you're going from

1306
01:40:00,859 --> 01:40:04,019
gravel to asphalt, you're probably going to get people increasing

1307
01:40:04,019 --> 01:40:08,555
their speeds as well. And how do we manage? That

1308
01:40:08,555 --> 01:40:11,781
sort of enforcement because. We don't have cameras. We don't

1309
01:40:11,781 --> 01:40:15,823
have enough police officers. We can't. Be there. I don't

1310
01:40:15,823 --> 01:40:17,863
think anyone's going to want speed bumps on a back.

1311
01:40:17,863 --> 01:40:20,023
Road either when you're driving a fire truck or a

1312
01:40:20,023 --> 01:40:23,736
snowfluer. A load of hay down the road. I just

1313
01:40:23,736 --> 01:40:27,496
kind of look at. It's a nice convenience for residents,

1314
01:40:27,496 --> 01:40:31,923
but it's a higher maintenance cost. And the speeds increase.

1315
01:40:31,923 --> 01:40:34,403
So to me, it almost looks like it's a safety

1316
01:40:34,403 --> 01:40:37,723
hazard versus a safety benefit. Do you have any comments

1317
01:40:37,723 --> 01:40:41,955
on something like that? Again, there are regulations, there are

1318
01:40:41,955 --> 01:40:45,835
speed limits and those what we have and people supposed

1319
01:40:45,835 --> 01:40:51,715
to follow. Them. Same for the gravel. If it's 60,

1320
01:40:51,715 --> 01:40:55,315
should be 60 and people will speed and gravel road

1321
01:40:55,315 --> 01:41:00,065
over 60 or 80 on the paved road. Back to

1322
01:41:00,065 --> 01:41:05,272
the safety. There is more calic what we see, the

1323
01:41:05,272 --> 01:41:08,712
speeding on these open gravel roads than on the paved

1324
01:41:08,712 --> 01:41:14,001
roads. Based on my latest work, like with King Township

1325
01:41:14,001 --> 01:41:17,481
or seven or city of Kawarta Lakes. Or county of

1326
01:41:17,481 --> 01:41:20,721
Ranfu. All of these automation have a lot of gravel

1327
01:41:20,721 --> 01:41:24,361
roads through their communities. Because they are rural and everyone

1328
01:41:24,361 --> 01:41:27,281
has that challenge with gravel roads. Yes, you have to

1329
01:41:27,281 --> 01:41:31,614
maintain them. But the safety. Is a little bit because

1330
01:41:31,614 --> 01:41:33,894
not only about surface of the road, there are ditches.

1331
01:41:35,527 --> 01:41:37,807
There is more. In addition to Ashwell, there is additional

1332
01:41:37,807 --> 01:41:41,047
cost to improve ditches and widen them and to make

1333
01:41:41,047 --> 01:41:44,567
them up once. You call it collector. But they're more

1334
01:41:44,567 --> 01:41:47,847
saved because they are a little bit wider and more

1335
01:41:47,847 --> 01:41:50,527
once you bring them to the next level, even if

1336
01:41:50,527 --> 01:41:54,133
it's a little bit more. Over that speed. What to

1337
01:41:54,133 --> 01:41:57,613
be mentioned? Because you are not just improving surface, you're

1338
01:41:57,613 --> 01:42:01,788
improving. On the right of way. I don't know how

1339
01:42:01,788 --> 01:42:04,802
you could pay for it all. Brian, did you want

1340
01:42:04,802 --> 01:42:08,282
to. If I may add, aside from the financial considerations,

1341
01:42:08,282 --> 01:42:12,202
there are some benefits. To paving roads, such as the

1342
01:42:12,202 --> 01:42:15,762
opportunity to implement traffic calming measures to get the lane

1343
01:42:15,762 --> 01:42:19,602
width done. Properly to have the right stop controls added

1344
01:42:19,602 --> 01:42:22,882
as needed. And I think another benefit, when we think

1345
01:42:22,882 --> 01:42:26,982
of activ. Active transportation is the opportunity for a paved

1346
01:42:26,982 --> 01:42:31,262
shoulder where possible, where space permits for active transportation facilities.

1347
01:42:32,870 --> 01:42:35,950
Either separated or through traffic markings. But there are certain

1348
01:42:35,950 --> 01:42:38,910
benefits as well to consider. So the potholes in the

1349
01:42:38,910 --> 01:42:42,070
washboard at the stop signs are not natural control methods

1350
01:42:42,070 --> 01:42:44,510
that the roads department puts out every year. It does

1351
01:42:44,510 --> 01:42:50,422
work. Sir. Councilor Ehler. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, just a

1352
01:42:50,422 --> 01:42:55,032
point of clarification. You mentioned that we received. Two applications

1353
01:42:55,032 --> 01:42:59,432
for subdivisions that those are not new subdivisions. It's just

1354
01:42:59,432 --> 01:43:05,131
a continuation in the process. Of subdivisions that. Are on

1355
01:43:05,131 --> 01:43:08,771
the drawing board. So just for clarification, for anybody listening,

1356
01:43:10,306 --> 01:43:11,626
Thank you for that. Yeah. They've just gone through the

1357
01:43:11,626 --> 01:43:15,986
next step and they got approved. At county councilor Ryan.

1358
01:43:15,986 --> 01:43:19,560
Thank you. Through Mr. Mayor. A couple of technical questions.

1359
01:43:21,405 --> 01:43:24,645
If the detour was to go around here in village,

1360
01:43:24,645 --> 01:43:27,325
would that portion of 124 be assumed? By the town.

1361
01:43:29,739 --> 01:43:38,840
Again. It needs significant fortweet county and what county

1362
01:43:38,840 --> 01:43:44,000
will take over from beginning or will town in some

1363
01:43:44,000 --> 01:43:48,327
cases, town needs to take it from the county. So

1364
01:43:48,327 --> 01:43:51,087
it's a process and negotiations. And what two sites agree?

1365
01:43:52,777 --> 01:43:55,283
Okay. But in essence, if we were to do that,

1366
01:43:55,283 --> 01:43:58,283
that's part of the negotiation and the planning studies, and

1367
01:43:58,283 --> 01:44:00,363
then we would have to look at funding for that,

1368
01:44:00,363 --> 01:44:03,523
correct? Yeah. Mr. Kavanaugh do you want to comment on

1369
01:44:03,523 --> 01:44:05,603
that? I can hope on that one, too. Through you,

1370
01:44:05,603 --> 01:44:09,579
Mr. Mayor. I wouldn't necessarily. Assume that roads would be

1371
01:44:09,579 --> 01:44:13,859
downloaded to the local municipality for the purposes of a

1372
01:44:13,859 --> 01:44:17,530
truck route. That may form part of the discussion, but.

1373
01:44:19,229 --> 01:44:21,389
I would not assume that would be so. And for

1374
01:44:21,389 --> 01:44:24,909
the Aaron bypasses everything that's proposed is a county road

1375
01:44:24,909 --> 01:44:29,143
right now. So. There wouldn't necessarily be any changes or

1376
01:44:29,143 --> 01:44:31,903
just be negotiations. Are they prepared to spend some money

1377
01:44:31,903 --> 01:44:35,751
on intersection upgrades or. Any of the turn lanes or

1378
01:44:35,751 --> 01:44:41,529
roundabouts, if required. And for Hillsburg. Anything we're looking at

1379
01:44:41,529 --> 01:44:44,929
right now would be a town owned road. Unless we

1380
01:44:44,929 --> 01:44:47,769
can somehow. Get the county to want to take them

1381
01:44:47,769 --> 01:44:51,369
on, which might be a more difficult conversation because they're

1382
01:44:51,369 --> 01:44:54,665
not part of those right now. Thank you. One more

1383
01:44:54,665 --> 01:44:59,777
question. Yeah, please, Mr. Mayor. Those costs that are identified

1384
01:44:59,777 --> 01:45:05,702
as approximates. They're in 2024 numbers. And it's just really

1385
01:45:05,702 --> 01:45:07,902
to give us an idea of, if you're looking at

1386
01:45:07,902 --> 01:45:12,747
this so much per kilometer. Are they? Very approximate. Yeah,

1387
01:45:12,747 --> 01:45:17,869
they are. Based on another consultant work with them. They

1388
01:45:17,869 --> 01:45:21,229
do detail design and overseas construction, so they are based

1389
01:45:21,229 --> 01:45:27,906
on. Area. Ontario cost per unit. Okay, thank you. And

1390
01:45:27,906 --> 01:45:29,906
just to help you, some costs came down this year

1391
01:45:29,906 --> 01:45:32,466
in roads and bridge construction. Just because there's not as

1392
01:45:32,466 --> 01:45:36,439
much construction going on. And the engineering and construction firms

1393
01:45:36,439 --> 01:45:38,159
are a little hungrier than they were a couple of

1394
01:45:38,159 --> 01:45:43,028
years. Ago. Any other questions? All right, well seeing. Thank

1395
01:45:43,028 --> 01:45:45,748
you very much for your presentation. And thank you, Brian.

1396
01:45:45,748 --> 01:45:48,668
Seeing as the motion's already been read, I will now

1397
01:45:48,668 --> 01:45:51,668
call the vote. All in favor? That motion is carried.

1398
01:45:52,998 --> 01:45:57,461
Now the big report. Sorry. I'm laughing here too much

1399
01:45:57,461 --> 01:46:06,248
right now. I have a motion moved by Councilor Brennan,

1400
01:46:06,248 --> 01:46:09,808
seconded by Councilor Cheney. The council hereby? Receives report number

1401
01:46:09,808 --> 01:46:14,688
f 2025 25. Final draft 2026 budget and 2027 and

1402
01:46:14,688 --> 01:46:22,351
2029. Forecast for information. And the council receives the proposed

1403
01:46:22,351 --> 01:46:26,591
2027 and two 2029 forecast, and that bylaw 25 79

1404
01:46:26,591 --> 01:46:30,831
to adopt the 2026 budget for purposes of the municipality

1405
01:46:30,831 --> 01:46:35,391
as listed on the December 11 2025 agenda be approved.

1406
01:46:35,391 --> 01:46:38,831
I'll now invite our CaO and finance head for the

1407
01:46:38,831 --> 01:46:43,179
day. To please deliver. His presentation. Thank you very much.

1408
01:46:44,214 --> 01:46:47,614
Your worship, members of council, I'm delighted to do my

1409
01:46:47,614 --> 01:46:50,614
very best to fill the shoes. Of our treasure and

1410
01:46:50,614 --> 01:46:54,614
deputy treasurer. I'll do my very best to answer questions.

1411
01:46:56,314 --> 01:47:01,019
With my knowledge, although limited as it is. I wanted

1412
01:47:01,019 --> 01:47:05,473
to start off the budget presentation by. Saying that the

1413
01:47:05,473 --> 01:47:11,165
audit report, which. Followed just before indicated. The municipality is

1414
01:47:11,165 --> 01:47:16,840
in very good financial condition. In great financial shape and

1415
01:47:16,840 --> 01:47:19,400
continues to hold strong, and that's a good way to

1416
01:47:19,400 --> 01:47:24,883
start. The conversation into our budget. Our revenues continue to

1417
01:47:24,883 --> 01:47:30,003
climb through new assessment, although that has started to slow.

1418
01:47:30,003 --> 01:47:33,923
And this budget that council has in front of it

1419
01:47:33,923 --> 01:47:39,100
is an adjustment accordingly in a very measured way. Without

1420
01:47:39,100 --> 01:47:45,166
reducing the quality services our residents count on. Or neglecting

1421
01:47:45,166 --> 01:47:49,947
the management of the huge infrastructure projects. And growth planned

1422
01:47:49,947 --> 01:47:53,067
in the community. And I think our auditor actually spoke

1423
01:47:53,067 --> 01:47:57,027
to the magnitude of the projects that are going on

1424
01:47:57,027 --> 01:48:01,507
in our municipality and the significance of those, so unlike

1425
01:48:01,507 --> 01:48:05,958
many other municipalities the size of the infrastructure. And growth

1426
01:48:05,958 --> 01:48:12,447
projects is significant. So in light of those things, Staff

1427
01:48:12,447 --> 01:48:15,847
have brought forward a budget. It has no new staff

1428
01:48:15,847 --> 01:48:20,854
hires in it. It has no new services. Let's keep

1429
01:48:20,854 --> 01:48:26,999
things going and continue the great service. We'll focusing on

1430
01:48:26,999 --> 01:48:31,487
maintaining those services. That residents have come to depend on

1431
01:48:31,487 --> 01:48:35,920
and count on. Just to maybe take you through a

1432
01:48:35,920 --> 01:48:41,478
little bit. The property assessment. The government has announced the

1433
01:48:41,478 --> 01:48:45,798
continued postponement of provincial wide assessment updates and so property

1434
01:48:45,798 --> 01:48:51,714
assessments for 2025 and 2026. Will continue to be based

1435
01:48:51,714 --> 01:48:57,594
on the full phased in January 1, 2016. Current values.

1436
01:48:59,050 --> 01:49:01,850
As well. It's important to note that the bank of

1437
01:49:01,850 --> 01:49:08,435
Canada. Interest rates. They are working to ease interest rates

1438
01:49:08,435 --> 01:49:12,355
and the financial pressures in Canada. And inflation is starting

1439
01:49:12,355 --> 01:49:15,475
to come down. The bank projects that inflation will stay

1440
01:49:15,475 --> 01:49:19,435
around 2% until the end of 2025. Which is good

1441
01:49:19,435 --> 01:49:24,731
news. Ending line with their preferred. Core inflation measure, so

1442
01:49:24,731 --> 01:49:29,275
that's really positive for the economy. On October 30, the

1443
01:49:29,275 --> 01:49:33,555
bank of Canada reduced its interest rates by 25 basis

1444
01:49:33,555 --> 01:49:39,584
points. And so this lowered the prime rate to 4.45

1445
01:49:39,584 --> 01:49:42,624
as well. Other good news is that inflation is currently

1446
01:49:42,624 --> 01:49:47,104
at 2.2, which is lower by 0.2 from the previous

1447
01:49:47,104 --> 01:49:50,624
month. So it's trending in the right direction, which is

1448
01:49:50,624 --> 01:49:54,464
extremely positive. And we also believe that there may be.

1449
01:49:55,188 --> 01:50:01,303
Further reduction in interest rates in December of 2025. So

1450
01:50:01,303 --> 01:50:06,866
these are positive signals for the economy. Zeroing in on

1451
01:50:06,866 --> 01:50:11,106
this particular area in Wellington county in front of you

1452
01:50:11,106 --> 01:50:14,626
in the presentation, you have the draft tax rates being

1453
01:50:14,626 --> 01:50:20,867
proposed. In some cases, adopted, as you can see. They

1454
01:50:20,867 --> 01:50:24,987
range from about 2.7 up to 4.1. And they're in

1455
01:50:24,987 --> 01:50:31,001
the kind of three, five to 38 category. Our budget,

1456
01:50:31,001 --> 01:50:35,481
proposed at 3.8, is right in line with kind of

1457
01:50:35,481 --> 01:50:41,106
the average. And what does this mean as far as

1458
01:50:41,106 --> 01:50:47,367
impact on residents with recommended 3.8% tax? Increase. Well, what

1459
01:50:47,367 --> 01:50:51,979
this means is. That on an average house valued at

1460
01:50:51,979 --> 01:50:57,777
a million dollars, the taxing pack would be about. $124.20,

1461
01:50:57,777 --> 01:51:03,377
and that equates to about a cup of coffee per

1462
01:51:03,377 --> 01:51:10,623
week. So the incre. Increases. Well, significant. Is very minor

1463
01:51:10,623 --> 01:51:15,463
when spread out across the entire. Year. For an average

1464
01:51:15,463 --> 01:51:23,805
residential. Property. The town's historical assessment. Continues to grow. And

1465
01:51:23,805 --> 01:51:26,445
as you can see, there's an upward trend, a steady

1466
01:51:26,445 --> 01:51:31,055
upward trend. And we expect that to continue. As well.

1467
01:51:31,055 --> 01:51:36,015
The tax rate trend continues to head in an upward

1468
01:51:36,015 --> 01:51:39,975
fashion, almost mirroring the growth and assessment. So a very

1469
01:51:39,975 --> 01:51:46,908
stable and thoughtful adjustment. As far as the distribution of

1470
01:51:46,908 --> 01:51:50,188
assessment, you can see that most of the assessment, in

1471
01:51:50,188 --> 01:51:57,077
fact, 82% is on the residential. Properties. With farmland being

1472
01:51:57,077 --> 01:52:02,778
second with 13.63. One of our focuses is to try

1473
01:52:02,778 --> 01:52:08,498
to develop more industrial, commercial. Obviously growing those assessments will

1474
01:52:08,498 --> 01:52:13,098
impact the municipality positively as they provide lots of tax

1475
01:52:13,098 --> 01:52:18,488
revenue without the corresponding costs. How does all this break

1476
01:52:18,488 --> 01:52:21,528
down? And I think this is a really important slide

1477
01:52:21,528 --> 01:52:25,528
for residents to see and to make note of when

1478
01:52:25,528 --> 01:52:32,104
the town of Aaron collects a tax dollar. 59% goes

1479
01:52:32,104 --> 01:52:36,704
to the county, so 59% of every tax dollars going

1480
01:52:36,704 --> 01:52:41,793
into the county, so. Almost 60%. 13% is going to

1481
01:52:41,793 --> 01:52:45,378
the board of education. Pay for schools and educating our

1482
01:52:45,378 --> 01:52:51,211
young. And only 28% of that tax rate goes to

1483
01:52:51,211 --> 01:52:56,888
the municipality. So despite providing a lot of services to

1484
01:52:56,888 --> 01:53:01,286
the local community and services that people count on, Where

1485
01:53:01,286 --> 01:53:04,957
a very small percentage of the actual. Portion that is

1486
01:53:04,957 --> 01:53:11,145
taxed on residential homes. And other properties. As far as.

1487
01:53:12,520 --> 01:53:17,497
Revenue. We rely primarily on tax revenue, but we also

1488
01:53:17,497 --> 01:53:21,337
have fees and charges, and we've worked diligently to ensure

1489
01:53:21,337 --> 01:53:24,297
that fees and charges are up to date and that

1490
01:53:24,297 --> 01:53:28,297
we're actually collecting from users for the cost of those

1491
01:53:28,297 --> 01:53:32,377
services as best we can. As well we are doing

1492
01:53:32,377 --> 01:53:34,883
everything we can as staff to. Try to look for

1493
01:53:34,883 --> 01:53:39,523
grant opportunities, and we've been very successful, including the infrastructure

1494
01:53:39,523 --> 01:53:42,803
grant funding. We got for new infrastructure in the millions

1495
01:53:42,803 --> 01:53:45,763
of dollars, but there are many other grants that we

1496
01:53:45,763 --> 01:53:49,803
are actively pursuing as staff to try to augment and

1497
01:53:49,803 --> 01:53:54,376
assist. How does all this break down on a property

1498
01:53:54,376 --> 01:53:59,192
tax? Around the different services. As you can see, the

1499
01:53:59,192 --> 01:54:04,192
typical ones of corporate and administrative services collecting the taxes,

1500
01:54:04,192 --> 01:54:09,325
et cetera. Is a portion as well. Community services is

1501
01:54:09,325 --> 01:54:15,896
about 17%. Water and wastewater is about 18%, total roads,

1502
01:54:15,896 --> 01:54:21,259
about 15%, and emergency services. And then some smaller ones

1503
01:54:21,259 --> 01:54:24,339
as identified on the chart here, as you can see.

1504
01:54:25,834 --> 01:54:29,386
A lot of the services being provided. Are directly related

1505
01:54:29,386 --> 01:54:35,106
to the department. Appropriate. If we go to the capital

1506
01:54:35,106 --> 01:54:39,877
project expenditures, you can see that. The vast majority of

1507
01:54:39,877 --> 01:54:48,357
our infrastructure expenditure, 61%. Is on water infrastructure. 28% is

1508
01:54:48,357 --> 01:54:52,277
on roads, infrastructure, and 8% on fire and emergency services.

1509
01:54:53,491 --> 01:54:58,886
With very minor on the other categories. So, in conclusion,

1510
01:55:00,777 --> 01:55:04,838
Staff. Want to thank council, and I certainly want to

1511
01:55:04,838 --> 01:55:08,278
thank all the department heads and our finance staff. For

1512
01:55:08,278 --> 01:55:12,496
their terrific work in putting together this budget. The budget

1513
01:55:12,496 --> 01:55:17,456
at 3.8%, is keeping within the range of similar municipalities

1514
01:55:17,456 --> 01:55:24,718
within the county. It offers. A fiscally responsible budget. While

1515
01:55:24,718 --> 01:55:29,447
still preparing us for the growth. And the infrastructure that

1516
01:55:29,447 --> 01:55:33,139
continues to be built in the community. So with that,

1517
01:55:33,139 --> 01:55:36,339
I'm glad to answer any questions members of council may

1518
01:55:36,339 --> 01:55:39,419
have, and I know, department heads are also available if

1519
01:55:39,419 --> 01:55:43,627
there's anything specific to them. And we look forward to

1520
01:55:43,627 --> 01:55:48,978
your questions and discussion. Thank you, Rob, if you wouldn't

1521
01:55:48,978 --> 01:55:51,956
mind. Well, I got it. Just so there's a new

1522
01:55:51,956 --> 01:55:54,036
slide that's not in our package that you had up

1523
01:55:54,036 --> 01:55:58,043
there, that's just before the capital expenditures. That one there.

1524
01:56:02,263 --> 01:56:03,503
One thing kind of caught my eye here, and I

1525
01:56:03,503 --> 01:56:09,065
just wanted some clarification. So infrastructure. Water, infrastructure, wastewater. That

1526
01:56:09,065 --> 01:56:12,553
usually doesn't come on the tax levy, right? That's usually

1527
01:56:12,553 --> 01:56:15,673
a charge to water and wastewater services. I see Brian's

1528
01:56:15,673 --> 01:56:19,193
nodding with me. So maybe Brian can comment through Mr.

1529
01:56:19,193 --> 01:56:23,793
Mayor, those are rate based expenses. Okay, so it's. Not

1530
01:56:23,793 --> 01:56:27,473
taxed, it's user fees. Thank you. Who would like to

1531
01:56:27,473 --> 01:56:31,245
start? Questions? Councilor, I. And you have a computer full

1532
01:56:31,245 --> 01:56:32,085
of questions today.

1533
01:56:42,474 --> 01:56:45,594
Thank you. Through you, Mr. Mayor. Thanks, Rob. Excellent presentation.

1534
01:56:45,594 --> 01:56:50,837
And Wendy. Our treasurer is obviously in. All of the

1535
01:56:50,837 --> 01:56:53,237
department heads have put in an enormous amount of work.

1536
01:56:54,833 --> 01:56:57,715
I think we built a great base. I think that

1537
01:56:57,715 --> 01:57:00,954
we have excellent staff. I still am concerned with our

1538
01:57:00,954 --> 01:57:08,233
expenses. And. Hearing the report from RLB is very reassuring

1539
01:57:08,233 --> 01:57:13,466
that we have strong financials. I am positive about what

1540
01:57:13,466 --> 01:57:17,593
we're hearing about the econom. Economic or optimistic about the

1541
01:57:17,593 --> 01:57:21,553
economic outlook, but I'm not totally convinced yet, and I

1542
01:57:21,553 --> 01:57:26,638
would like to. See us, look at our departments. And

1543
01:57:26,638 --> 01:57:30,758
I realize everyone's cut back, but looking into this next

1544
01:57:30,758 --> 01:57:34,759
year, I really want to. See some caution. In particular

1545
01:57:34,759 --> 01:57:42,837
areas. Looking. Forward. I guess I'm going to threw you,

1546
01:57:42,837 --> 01:57:46,557
Mr. Mayor, pick on Brian's department. The one thing that

1547
01:57:46,557 --> 01:57:50,960
does concern me particularly is a roads operating budget. And

1548
01:57:50,960 --> 01:57:53,160
I know we've moved our operating budget over and taken

1549
01:57:53,160 --> 01:57:57,348
it out of reserves because we're building our infrastructure. I'm

1550
01:57:57,348 --> 01:57:58,788
just wondering if you could speak to that in terms

1551
01:57:58,788 --> 01:58:04,388
of 2026 27 and. Out and how sustainable that would

1552
01:58:04,388 --> 01:58:09,609
be. As a matter of managing our finances. Through Mr.

1553
01:58:09,609 --> 01:58:15,615
Mayor, I think that the current proposed funding. Meets the

1554
01:58:15,615 --> 01:58:17,855
intention of the reserves that are being utilized. And I

1555
01:58:17,855 --> 01:58:22,068
think that as a staff group, we're always looking. For

1556
01:58:22,068 --> 01:58:26,908
different revenue tools and in managing our expenses. So we've

1557
01:58:26,908 --> 01:58:33,125
talked briefly this afternoon about. The fill pit and other

1558
01:58:33,125 --> 01:58:37,260
revenue sources. That relate to our roads and can provide.

1559
01:58:38,840 --> 01:58:44,575
Additional revenues. We're always looking in addition to. Improving our

1560
01:58:44,575 --> 01:58:48,375
expenditures and decreasing our expenditures. We have a few contracts

1561
01:58:48,375 --> 01:58:52,695
with respect to some material items. And other services that

1562
01:58:52,695 --> 01:58:55,655
will, I think, provide an opportunity to decrease our expenses.

1563
01:58:57,317 --> 01:58:59,837
So I'd say a fluid discussion, that as we move

1564
01:58:59,837 --> 01:59:06,129
forward, We're balancing. Ideally, increased revenues. Small decreases to expenditures.

1565
01:59:07,644 --> 01:59:10,924
And then decreasing the need to access those reserves as

1566
01:59:10,924 --> 01:59:17,725
well. Okay. Thank you, Brian. Through, Mr. Mayor. With looking

1567
01:59:17,725 --> 01:59:23,176
forward. Will we continue? To access our capital reserves for

1568
01:59:23,176 --> 01:59:29,032
transportation to fund our operating side. I think that would

1569
01:59:29,032 --> 01:59:34,400
be explored annually. And the need to access those reserves.

1570
01:59:34,400 --> 01:59:37,040
I think ideally that would not be the case, and

1571
01:59:37,040 --> 01:59:40,400
that would be our goal moving forward. Okay, great. Thank

1572
01:59:40,400 --> 01:59:43,410
you very much. I have some other questions, but I'll

1573
01:59:43,410 --> 01:59:45,450
allow some others to go ahead. I was just. Going

1574
01:59:45,450 --> 01:59:48,711
to ask for a clarification. Were you asking? Operating costs

1575
01:59:48,711 --> 01:59:52,151
from reserves or capital costs from reserves? No, they operating

1576
01:59:52,151 --> 01:59:56,631
the moving from operating into taking it from capital. Okay,

1577
01:59:56,631 --> 01:59:59,191
I thought it was for the capital cost, so maybe

1578
01:59:59,191 --> 02:00:04,837
I. Was confused about that, okay? Thank you. Who would

1579
02:00:04,837 --> 02:00:10,068
like to jump in here? Councilor Brennan. Councilor Hillard thank

1580
02:00:10,068 --> 02:00:17,341
you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, Councilor Brennan. Thanks, Rob and

1581
02:00:17,341 --> 02:00:20,181
the staff for going back at this budget after the

1582
02:00:20,181 --> 02:00:27,582
last meeting. We're making great progress. This year was incredible,

1583
02:00:27,582 --> 02:00:31,542
with the improvement in customer service and the dedication of

1584
02:00:31,542 --> 02:00:36,691
staff at every level. And the construction woes and getting

1585
02:00:36,691 --> 02:00:40,365
through that. And so it really has been incredible year.

1586
02:00:40,365 --> 02:00:43,087
So it's nice to. Wrap the year up in that

1587
02:00:43,087 --> 02:00:47,356
manner, but I'm still not comfortable with this budget. It's

1588
02:00:47,356 --> 02:00:52,534
hard to explain. We're not hiring anybody new, and we're

1589
02:00:52,534 --> 02:00:57,095
not supplying any new services next year. So. It's hard

1590
02:00:57,095 --> 02:01:00,375
to explain a tax increase and then dipping into reserves.

1591
02:01:02,178 --> 02:01:07,134
So I'm still not comfortable with this approach. Using any

1592
02:01:07,134 --> 02:01:11,054
of the tax stabilization reserves really represents that we're overspending.

1593
02:01:12,838 --> 02:01:16,765
So we need extra funding. We don't know what 2026

1594
02:01:16,765 --> 02:01:19,285
is going to be like. It might be really rough.

1595
02:01:19,285 --> 02:01:21,645
And we have to manage our risk, so we have

1596
02:01:21,645 --> 02:01:25,125
to have an extra cushion to fall back. On if

1597
02:01:25,125 --> 02:01:29,664
things get really nasty, which I hope they don't. The

1598
02:01:29,664 --> 02:01:34,184
housing market slowed. That's our revenue stream, is new taxation.

1599
02:01:37,477 --> 02:01:40,819
So if that. Slowed. We have to slow down our

1600
02:01:40,819 --> 02:01:44,713
spending, too. So I'd like to see less of a

1601
02:01:44,713 --> 02:01:53,168
reliance. On our tax stabilization return. Which tax stabilization. Account,

1602
02:01:53,168 --> 02:01:56,940
which I guess. The only solution is to cut back

1603
02:01:56,940 --> 02:02:01,780
on expenses further. But I don't have a specific. Suggestion

1604
02:02:01,780 --> 02:02:06,604
for it. Thank you. Councilor Brennan, you're ready. Thank you.

1605
02:02:06,604 --> 02:02:12,827
Through you. Just a couple of comments I would like

1606
02:02:12,827 --> 02:02:17,447
to go back to. The slide. You don't have to

1607
02:02:17,447 --> 02:02:21,047
go to it. I think I can speak adequately to

1608
02:02:21,047 --> 02:02:29,680
the distribution among the taxpayers. No, not that one. I'm

1609
02:02:29,680 --> 02:02:33,645
talking about. The assessment? That's the one. So if you

1610
02:02:33,645 --> 02:02:41,001
look at this, 82% is residential. And for people who

1611
02:02:41,001 --> 02:02:44,913
don't understand quite how the tax thing works. Residents pay

1612
02:02:44,913 --> 02:02:49,899
the equivalent of one dollars, let's say. Obviously they pay

1613
02:02:49,899 --> 02:02:52,659
more than a dollar, but you take the residential rate

1614
02:02:52,659 --> 02:03:01,460
as one. 82% is residential. 14. Percent. Just over 14%.

1615
02:03:02,950 --> 02:03:08,683
Is farmland and managed forests. Farmland pays 00:25 of the

1616
02:03:08,683 --> 02:03:13,083
tax rate. Manage force pay a diminished rate as well.

1617
02:03:16,332 --> 02:03:18,972
So what we really need to do is to look

1618
02:03:18,972 --> 02:03:22,612
at the industrial and the commercial aspects here. Which are

1619
02:03:22,612 --> 02:03:27,029
about. Just 4%. A little under 4%. That's what we

1620
02:03:27,029 --> 02:03:32,989
got to grow because they pay 1.35 and 2.1 times

1621
02:03:32,989 --> 02:03:36,389
the tax rate, so we need to be looked. At.

1622
02:03:38,008 --> 02:03:40,328
As we're developing these new subdivisions and that sort of

1623
02:03:40,328 --> 02:03:42,728
thing, we need to be looking at? How do we

1624
02:03:42,728 --> 02:03:47,848
get commercial industrial enterprises in there? And how do we

1625
02:03:47,848 --> 02:03:52,783
try and ensure that they are successful. I mean, businesses

1626
02:03:52,783 --> 02:03:56,423
that don't succeed don't pay taxes, so that's of no

1627
02:03:56,423 --> 02:04:00,367
use to us, so. As we're approaching the developments, I

1628
02:04:00,367 --> 02:04:02,687
hope that what we're looking at is to say to

1629
02:04:02,687 --> 02:04:07,610
the developers, we have gaps. You can't buy kids clothes

1630
02:04:07,610 --> 02:04:10,770
here. You can't buy men's clothes here. You can't buy

1631
02:04:10,770 --> 02:04:13,650
shoes. You can't buy jewelry. You got to go somewhere

1632
02:04:13,650 --> 02:04:17,410
else. Those are the kinds of commercial enterprises that are

1633
02:04:17,410 --> 02:04:19,850
the best chance of succeeding because they're going to fill

1634
02:04:19,850 --> 02:04:21,930
a gap, and I hope that as we go forward

1635
02:04:21,930 --> 02:04:26,954
with our economic development programs, We're looking at advising the

1636
02:04:26,954 --> 02:04:30,794
developers along those lines. Obviously, we don't always get what

1637
02:04:30,794 --> 02:04:33,234
we want, but I think the more we push towards.

1638
02:04:34,923 --> 02:04:36,683
That the better off they're going to be, because the

1639
02:04:36,683 --> 02:04:44,902
better chance those businesses will be. Successful. Then. I look

1640
02:04:44,902 --> 02:04:49,862
at the tax stabilization fund and, yeah, we're taking $57,000

1641
02:04:49,862 --> 02:04:53,956
out. Of it on this budget. That's about point a

1642
02:04:53,956 --> 02:04:57,620
little over half a percent. To have the tax rate.

1643
02:04:57,620 --> 02:05:04,624
The tax rate is approximately $100,000. Per percent. So I

1644
02:05:04,624 --> 02:05:11,366
think that leaves us $330,000. And change in that tax

1645
02:05:11,366 --> 02:05:14,326
stabilization fund. And it was put together when we're having

1646
02:05:14,326 --> 02:05:17,957
good years. Specifically for when we would have bad years

1647
02:05:17,957 --> 02:05:20,357
and when we could take that money and do something.

1648
02:05:20,357 --> 02:05:25,318
With it and I hope that 3.8. I would like

1649
02:05:25,318 --> 02:05:28,198
to take $30,000 out of that, bring it down to

1650
02:05:28,198 --> 02:05:33,707
3.5. I think every dollar is important. To families in

1651
02:05:33,707 --> 02:05:38,967
the economy that we're going through now. And the overall

1652
02:05:38,967 --> 02:05:43,210
budget. Am I happy with it? As councilor Elark said,

1653
02:05:43,210 --> 02:05:46,602
no, I'm not happy with it either. I hate to

1654
02:05:46,602 --> 02:05:51,121
see us going over 3%. I would like to see

1655
02:05:51,121 --> 02:05:55,561
us be down much lower than that, but reality is

1656
02:05:55,561 --> 02:05:58,721
what reality is. I think, though, that what we need

1657
02:05:58,721 --> 02:06:02,521
to put in place both staff and council in 2026.

1658
02:06:04,182 --> 02:06:07,805
Is a real strict adherence to our budget. We cannot

1659
02:06:07,805 --> 02:06:13,838
afford to go over in 2026. And so I hope

1660
02:06:13,838 --> 02:06:15,998
that we will look at this and at the first

1661
02:06:15,998 --> 02:06:20,049
sign. We're having difficulty in meeting the budget. Then we

1662
02:06:20,049 --> 02:06:23,329
look and we say, okay, what can we reduce because

1663
02:06:23,329 --> 02:06:25,889
we need to come in absolutely on budget in order

1664
02:06:25,889 --> 02:06:30,462
to get through this year. So that 2027. We can

1665
02:06:30,462 --> 02:06:33,977
have a better year and not a worse year. I

1666
02:06:33,977 --> 02:06:40,603
guess I need to make. An amendment, so, yeah, I

1667
02:06:40,603 --> 02:06:44,762
would move an amendment. That we utilize money from the

1668
02:06:44,762 --> 02:06:48,042
tax stabilization fund to reduce the tax rate to 3.5.

1669
02:06:49,691 --> 02:06:55,352
Okay. Do we have a seconder for that? All right.

1670
02:06:55,352 --> 02:07:02,915
The motion fails. You're seconding it. All right. Should we

1671
02:07:02,915 --> 02:07:05,635
vote on it now? I guess no. First discussion. Any

1672
02:07:05,635 --> 02:07:11,075
discussion? Okay. Any discussion on the motion. Councilor Ryan thank

1673
02:07:11,075 --> 02:07:17,423
you. Councilor Brennan really good points. Appreciate your wisdom and

1674
02:07:17,423 --> 02:07:22,267
your history with the town of Aaron. I agree. We're

1675
02:07:22,267 --> 02:07:28,544
in the residence. Of 3.3% is quite a bit. I

1676
02:07:28,544 --> 02:07:30,704
would prefer to see us wait till the end of

1677
02:07:30,704 --> 02:07:33,624
this year. See where expenses come in. Put this off

1678
02:07:33,624 --> 02:07:35,784
a few weeks and then relook at our budget in

1679
02:07:35,784 --> 02:07:40,626
January. As we have an outturn for coming out. Councilor

1680
02:07:40,626 --> 02:07:47,075
Ehler, did you want to comment? Thank you, sir. You.

1681
02:07:47,075 --> 02:07:50,635
Mr. Mayor, this might not be specifically to that point,

1682
02:07:50,635 --> 02:07:56,960
but can I continue? Okay. So, Councilor Brennan, thank you

1683
02:07:56,960 --> 02:08:00,000
for bringing that forward. About the gap in our overall

1684
02:08:00,000 --> 02:08:04,640
strategy, about industrial and commercial and changing our tax base,

1685
02:08:04,640 --> 02:08:07,200
which is so important as we go forward and grow.

1686
02:08:08,980 --> 02:08:12,300
But I haven't seen a plan and what our goal

1687
02:08:12,300 --> 02:08:15,180
is. So we're looking at a three year. We're sitting

1688
02:08:15,180 --> 02:08:17,340
here looking at the next twelve months, which is pretty

1689
02:08:17,340 --> 02:08:21,641
short sighted. When do we start looking at. A proper

1690
02:08:21,641 --> 02:08:25,281
three, five year, ten year forecast and having exactly how

1691
02:08:25,281 --> 02:08:28,561
we're going to achieve. Industrial and commercial growth and what

1692
02:08:28,561 --> 02:08:31,601
our goals are. So that concerns me. Looking at the

1693
02:08:31,601 --> 02:08:34,441
next twelve months and trying to fill gaps and move

1694
02:08:34,441 --> 02:08:39,580
$10,000 here and there. It's really not achieving much like

1695
02:08:39,580 --> 02:08:42,340
what's going to happen in the next. 3510 years, and

1696
02:08:42,340 --> 02:08:48,224
we don't have that in this documentation to. Make. Wise

1697
02:08:48,224 --> 02:08:56,365
decisions. All right, Councilor Brennan, thank you. I would just

1698
02:08:56,365 --> 02:09:01,908
like to address councilor Ryan's because. Your point? Because the

1699
02:09:01,908 --> 02:09:05,120
treasurer is not here. And I don't know we have

1700
02:09:05,120 --> 02:09:10,003
anybody from the finance department. But I rather suspect that

1701
02:09:10,003 --> 02:09:14,783
in January we won't know. We will not have much

1702
02:09:14,783 --> 02:09:18,986
more knowledge than we have right now. Because year end

1703
02:09:18,986 --> 02:09:22,946
takes time to come together. Maybe Rob has an idea

1704
02:09:22,946 --> 02:09:28,451
on that. Yes. It will certainly be later into the

1705
02:09:28,451 --> 02:09:31,131
year. It may be even at the quarter of the

1706
02:09:31,131 --> 02:09:34,411
year. Before we have all the bills that are in,

1707
02:09:34,411 --> 02:09:36,771
have put them through the financial system and be able

1708
02:09:36,771 --> 02:09:41,485
to provide that kind of information. But a couple of

1709
02:09:41,485 --> 02:09:45,820
things. Number one, municipalities do from time to time have

1710
02:09:45,820 --> 02:09:50,540
a budget deficit. They work that into their existing budget

1711
02:09:50,540 --> 02:09:54,149
or they spread it over a number of years. I

1712
02:09:54,149 --> 02:09:57,789
feel quite confident, having talked to our treasurer, that we

1713
02:09:57,789 --> 02:10:02,163
will be able to manage it. With the rate stabilization

1714
02:10:02,163 --> 02:10:06,679
that's available. And. With possibly spreading it over a couple

1715
02:10:06,679 --> 02:10:12,207
of years. As well as fiscal restraint this year and

1716
02:10:12,207 --> 02:10:16,832
managing very effectively to the budget this coming year. We'll

1717
02:10:16,832 --> 02:10:20,708
be able to manage that. Just maybe on another note.

1718
02:10:22,183 --> 02:10:27,223
We are expecting an upturn in our commercial assessment. We

1719
02:10:27,223 --> 02:10:31,223
have Solmar, who has a very large commercial development. They

1720
02:10:31,223 --> 02:10:36,176
have deadlines and commitments. To retailers. And so we will

1721
02:10:36,176 --> 02:10:40,166
be having commercial. Come online in the not too distant

1722
02:10:40,166 --> 02:10:45,689
future. In fact, today I was actually at a meeting

1723
02:10:45,689 --> 02:10:51,373
with the investor, who's interested. In putting a large manufacturing

1724
02:10:51,373 --> 02:10:55,490
facility. Through a partner in the community, and so he's

1725
02:10:55,490 --> 02:11:00,108
looking for property and as well. I had another individual

1726
02:11:00,108 --> 02:11:06,036
who was interested. In a hotel for the community. And

1727
02:11:06,036 --> 02:11:09,396
has actually been in discussions and has a property of

1728
02:11:09,396 --> 02:11:14,836
interest. So the municipality is actively pursuing the industrial commercial.

1729
02:11:14,836 --> 02:11:17,756
We have some really good leads out there, and I'm

1730
02:11:17,756 --> 02:11:20,556
confident that we will be able to grow that industrial

1731
02:11:20,556 --> 02:11:23,876
commercial. But as councilor Brennan said, that's kind of a

1732
02:11:23,876 --> 02:11:27,168
key secret that we need to continue. To work on.

1733
02:11:27,168 --> 02:11:30,168
We know the residential growth will happen, but we need

1734
02:11:30,168 --> 02:11:33,928
to focus on the industrial commercial and our strategic plan

1735
02:11:33,928 --> 02:11:38,318
for economic development. And our officer are working vigorously to

1736
02:11:38,318 --> 02:11:43,556
achieve those goals. Yes, Councilor Brown. Sorry. One other point

1737
02:11:43,556 --> 02:11:46,756
that I should have made and didn't when I'm talking

1738
02:11:46,756 --> 02:11:52,758
about delaying this. We used to do our budgets in

1739
02:11:52,758 --> 02:11:56,862
February and March. One of the problems we found was

1740
02:11:56,862 --> 02:12:01,022
that by the time we set our budget, people like

1741
02:12:01,022 --> 02:12:06,263
Brian's department. Had to go out and do projects they

1742
02:12:06,263 --> 02:12:12,016
couldn't start until. The tax budget was done. And by

1743
02:12:12,016 --> 02:12:16,372
that time, The contractors were all busy with other ones,

1744
02:12:16,372 --> 02:12:19,780
and we were paying through the nose. To get projects

1745
02:12:19,780 --> 02:12:24,434
done because. It's supply and demand. So that was one

1746
02:12:24,434 --> 02:12:27,714
of the reasons we moved to bringing the budget to

1747
02:12:27,714 --> 02:12:31,965
try and get it done by year end. So that

1748
02:12:31,965 --> 02:12:34,285
we don't encounter that same problem in the new year,

1749
02:12:34,285 --> 02:12:36,325
and I don't. Know if you have any comments on

1750
02:12:36,325 --> 02:12:41,227
that, Brian. Mr. Mayor, I think other municipalities have done

1751
02:12:41,227 --> 02:12:44,467
similarly to move up their budget to November or December.

1752
02:12:44,467 --> 02:12:50,272
For that specific purpose. All right, Councilor Ryan, thank you.

1753
02:12:54,189 --> 02:12:57,429
So the difficulty I have is we had a deficit

1754
02:12:57,429 --> 02:13:01,269
in 2025, and I need more reassurance. That we're going

1755
02:13:01,269 --> 02:13:04,509
to meet that with interim targets before we get to

1756
02:13:04,509 --> 02:13:09,300
Q three, which is three months after the fact. And

1757
02:13:09,300 --> 02:13:14,441
right now, we're still discussing the amendment. So we're not

1758
02:13:14,441 --> 02:13:21,156
to that part yet. Unless there's any other discussion. On

1759
02:13:21,156 --> 02:13:23,796
taking a little bit more out of the tax stabilization

1760
02:13:23,796 --> 02:13:28,408
fund. I will call a vote. All in favor? And

1761
02:13:28,408 --> 02:13:35,079
the motion fails. All right. Sorry. Now, Councilor Ryan. Through

1762
02:13:35,079 --> 02:13:40,159
you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you. Thanks, everyone, for maintaining, like,

1763
02:13:40,159 --> 02:13:43,725
a really open mind. We have a really good base

1764
02:13:43,725 --> 02:13:48,308
to work from. Innovation comes from optimism and creative resourcing.

1765
02:13:49,435 --> 02:13:53,795
I really am connected to Aaron's success, as all of

1766
02:13:53,795 --> 02:13:58,282
you are. I want to see ourselves set ourselves up

1767
02:13:58,282 --> 02:14:03,245
with cautious optimism. I would like to put forward. The

1768
02:14:03,245 --> 02:14:06,245
consideration that we look at year end as we have

1769
02:14:06,245 --> 02:14:10,476
it, our best projection. Then review perhaps even this exact

1770
02:14:10,476 --> 02:14:13,476
same budget. But we know exactly what we're deciding on.

1771
02:14:15,086 --> 02:14:18,166
Okay, so are we making a motion, then, with that?

1772
02:14:21,765 --> 02:14:23,245
Do you mind if I ask councilor if we can

1773
02:14:23,245 --> 02:14:25,325
just walk through that proposed motion one? More time.

1774
02:14:34,876 --> 02:14:37,756
Thank you. Through you, Mr. Mayor. Nina, thanks for your

1775
02:14:37,756 --> 02:14:40,116
help with this earlier. I will just get this up.

1776
02:14:41,530 --> 02:14:44,395
On the. Did you want me to read that one,

1777
02:14:44,395 --> 02:14:46,515
councilor? Sorry. I do have the one handy that. I

1778
02:14:46,515 --> 02:14:54,839
provided earlier today. Yes. Thank you. So the motion.

1779
02:14:56,432 --> 02:15:00,472
Councilor Ryan is alluding to is that report number f

1780
02:15:00,472 --> 02:15:06,232
2025 25. Final draft 2026. Budget and 2027 to 29

1781
02:15:06,232 --> 02:15:12,472
forecast be deferred to the January 22, 2026 council meeting

1782
02:15:12,472 --> 02:15:17,000
pending an update to incorporate any known or anticipated. 2025

1783
02:15:17,000 --> 02:15:22,005
yearend expenses and revenues. Thank you. Do we have a

1784
02:15:22,005 --> 02:15:31,955
seconder for the motion? You can ask for

1785
02:15:31,955 --> 02:15:34,315
a friendly amendment to the mover. So if it's a

1786
02:15:34,315 --> 02:15:38,051
friendly amendment. Is it a minor amendment? Let's chat it

1787
02:15:38,051 --> 02:15:39,691
through. Do you want to maybe suggest and we can

1788
02:15:39,691 --> 02:15:47,729
go from there? Microphone, please. Friendly amendment. To councilor ryan.

1789
02:15:49,235 --> 02:15:59,098
Amended in somehow that. We avoid? Any. Anything taken

1790
02:15:59,098 --> 02:16:05,462
out of the tax stabilization reserve. But somehow account for

1791
02:16:05,462 --> 02:16:11,015
the deficit that we're going into. Taking into 2026 and

1792
02:16:11,015 --> 02:16:14,935
not spreading it over the next few years, as Rob

1793
02:16:14,935 --> 02:16:18,255
suggested, we're just pushing the problem down the road, so

1794
02:16:18,255 --> 02:16:22,548
I don't know how we massage that. Do you accept

1795
02:16:22,548 --> 02:16:32,456
the. Friendly suggestion. Through you, Mr.

1796
02:16:32,456 --> 02:16:38,515
Mayor, my friendly response. Would be. I don't necessarily think

1797
02:16:38,515 --> 02:16:43,998
we need to totally miss the tag stabilization. Because that's

1798
02:16:43,998 --> 02:16:46,918
what that fund is for. But I do want us

1799
02:16:46,918 --> 02:16:50,629
to look at. What our closest, best estimate is on

1800
02:16:50,629 --> 02:16:52,949
your end versus what we're going into the new year.

1801
02:16:54,456 --> 02:16:57,536
And I would like that as to look at that

1802
02:16:57,536 --> 02:17:01,460
in January so that it doesn't impede staff's progress. Yeah.

1803
02:17:01,460 --> 02:17:02,660
And I think part of what you're saying is we

1804
02:17:02,660 --> 02:17:04,460
don't know what. The deficit is going to be at

1805
02:17:04,460 --> 02:17:09,414
year end, probably until march, and we don't know. If

1806
02:17:09,414 --> 02:17:10,694
we're going to come even or if we're going to

1807
02:17:10,694 --> 02:17:13,978
have a little surplus. Where I think we're all thinking

1808
02:17:13,978 --> 02:17:18,542
we're going to have a little hefty. Deficit. I'm hoping

1809
02:17:18,542 --> 02:17:21,582
that we have a real mild winter and Brian just

1810
02:17:21,582 --> 02:17:23,902
keeps all the salt. And sand in the domen. We

1811
02:17:23,902 --> 02:17:27,703
got lots of reserves for next year. So where do

1812
02:17:27,703 --> 02:17:32,263
we sit on this, Madam Clerk? So, Councilor Ryan, as

1813
02:17:32,263 --> 02:17:34,103
the mover of the motion. I kind of lean to

1814
02:17:34,103 --> 02:17:37,623
you to sort of advise we read out loud the

1815
02:17:37,623 --> 02:17:40,623
motion. That you had moved. Councilor Ehler had provided some

1816
02:17:40,623 --> 02:17:42,583
additional wording, and so we look. To you as a

1817
02:17:42,583 --> 02:17:45,183
mover to whether we want to make further amendments to

1818
02:17:45,183 --> 02:17:46,863
that or you would like to keep your motion as

1819
02:17:46,863 --> 02:17:52,199
it was. Originally. And in that consideration, councilor Ehler had

1820
02:17:52,199 --> 02:17:57,279
suggested around avoiding taking anything from tax stabilization reserve and

1821
02:17:57,279 --> 02:18:00,839
to account for deficit as part of that deferral. So,

1822
02:18:00,839 --> 02:18:02,799
looking to you, whether you like to incorporate that or

1823
02:18:02,799 --> 02:18:06,968
keep the motion as you had proposed it. Through you.

1824
02:18:06,968 --> 02:18:08,488
Mr. Mayor, may I look to you as a clerk

1825
02:18:08,488 --> 02:18:14,684
for some direction on this? And I would love a

1826
02:18:14,684 --> 02:18:20,665
piece of clarification, if that's okay. First. Sorry. Councilor Ehrlord,

1827
02:18:20,665 --> 02:18:22,905
were you looking to not take anything out of tax

1828
02:18:22,905 --> 02:18:29,657
stabilization? We're going over 3.8%. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for

1829
02:18:29,657 --> 02:18:33,257
clarification, my main concern is pushing the problems down the

1830
02:18:33,257 --> 02:18:36,758
road. We're going to have the same problem come January

1831
02:18:36,758 --> 02:18:38,878
and we sit around the table and we're discussing the

1832
02:18:38,878 --> 02:18:43,836
same problems. So, do we decide tonight on a solution?

1833
02:18:45,255 --> 02:18:50,622
That. Sort of solves the problem of pushing the problem

1834
02:18:50,622 --> 02:18:55,520
down the road. And. Sort of spreading the costs out

1835
02:18:55,520 --> 02:19:01,636
over many years. Of overspending in 2025 and again overspending

1836
02:19:01,636 --> 02:19:06,624
in 2026. I'm looking to our chief financial officer for

1837
02:19:06,624 --> 02:19:09,748
the day for some guidance here. A couple of things.

1838
02:19:11,405 --> 02:19:15,165
First of all, staff do their very best to identify

1839
02:19:15,165 --> 02:19:21,487
what is required in a budget. Sometimes. There are unanticipated.

1840
02:19:22,523 --> 02:19:26,969
Expenses such as a bad winter. I hate to say

1841
02:19:26,969 --> 02:19:33,550
it, because this one started off early. But. Sometimes. We're

1842
02:19:33,550 --> 02:19:37,190
required to deliver the service so people can be safe

1843
02:19:37,190 --> 02:19:40,670
and drive on safe roads. And sometimes the winter is

1844
02:19:40,670 --> 02:19:44,278
bad and our costs run over. There are a variety

1845
02:19:44,278 --> 02:19:48,897
of different things that happen in a municipality. From a

1846
02:19:48,897 --> 02:19:53,697
budget standpoint, staff have presented a budget to council that

1847
02:19:53,697 --> 02:19:59,611
maintains the existing services. If we're to make any changes

1848
02:19:59,611 --> 02:20:04,986
further. We will be diminishing some level of service. In

1849
02:20:04,986 --> 02:20:09,288
some part of the organization to accomplish. The goal, if

1850
02:20:09,288 --> 02:20:12,688
the goal is to deal with the entire amount of

1851
02:20:12,688 --> 02:20:14,528
the deficit, which we don't know what it will be.

1852
02:20:16,055 --> 02:20:20,255
In this year, it is practiced in many municipalities that

1853
02:20:20,255 --> 02:20:24,335
the deficit will be managed after the budget. Has passed,

1854
02:20:24,335 --> 02:20:27,215
and it sometimes happens over a couple of years to

1855
02:20:27,215 --> 02:20:31,695
make it more manageable, but. Part of this year's budget

1856
02:20:31,695 --> 02:20:35,335
will be the initiative of senior leadership team to help

1857
02:20:35,335 --> 02:20:42,262
manage. That deficit into this year as well. But. Staff

1858
02:20:42,262 --> 02:20:47,027
have gone at this budget multiple times. Cutting an awful

1859
02:20:47,027 --> 02:20:51,724
lot out and being very innovative and creative. In how

1860
02:20:51,724 --> 02:20:57,129
we manage things. To go further. Would. Council needs to

1861
02:20:57,129 --> 02:21:01,089
know that it will affect the level of service. Across

1862
02:21:01,089 --> 02:21:04,987
some part of the organization. All right. That being said,

1863
02:21:04,987 --> 02:21:13,176
Councilor Bennett, please. Thank you. If I may confer with

1864
02:21:13,176 --> 02:21:17,382
the clerk here for a second. The amendment to the

1865
02:21:17,382 --> 02:21:22,850
amendment. The friendly amendment to the friendly response. I'm wondering.

1866
02:21:25,461 --> 02:21:28,301
And you correct me if you feel differently about this.

1867
02:21:28,301 --> 02:21:33,010
I'm wondering if we need that. Friendly amendment. What your

1868
02:21:33,010 --> 02:21:37,730
amendment is, is to defer this until January when we

1869
02:21:37,730 --> 02:21:41,010
would decide on the budget. As a whole, presumably having

1870
02:21:41,010 --> 02:21:47,846
more information. But your amendment to the amendment is basically

1871
02:21:47,846 --> 02:21:51,526
what we would do. On that date.

1872
02:21:58,326 --> 02:22:00,206
Please, Rob. This is a confusing one. I feel like

1873
02:22:00,206 --> 02:22:04,931
I'm playing ping pong. Maybe. Your worship. Just. By vast

1874
02:22:04,931 --> 02:22:08,937
experience having sat in your seats. It doesn't sound to

1875
02:22:08,937 --> 02:22:14,217
me like there is a seconder for the original motion

1876
02:22:14,217 --> 02:22:20,223
and that the amendment? Well, friendly. Is changing. The amendment

1877
02:22:20,223 --> 02:22:25,338
that was put by Councilor Ryan. At this point, I

1878
02:22:25,338 --> 02:22:28,058
would say we don't have anything in the floor unless

1879
02:22:28,058 --> 02:22:31,778
there's. A second or to the motion that was put

1880
02:22:31,778 --> 02:22:35,298
by Councilor Ryan. So is there a secondary to councilor

1881
02:22:35,298 --> 02:22:45,168
Ryan's motion. Okay. So that motion fails.

1882
02:22:46,939 --> 02:22:53,249
And now councilor Ehler. Did you have? A motion. Is

1883
02:22:53,249 --> 02:22:55,489
this going to be a formal motion? The friendly amendment?

1884
02:22:55,489 --> 02:22:59,461
Is it a motion? Has to be an amendment to

1885
02:22:59,461 --> 02:23:06,862
the original. So we are on the main motion that's

1886
02:23:06,862 --> 02:23:08,622
outlined in the report at this point, so we're back

1887
02:23:08,622 --> 02:23:11,222
to the main motion, which is just saying that you

1888
02:23:11,222 --> 02:23:15,382
receive the report that you receive the proposed 2027 to

1889
02:23:15,382 --> 02:23:18,622
29 forecast and they you prove the bylaw would be.

1890
02:23:18,622 --> 02:23:21,382
2026 budget. So we're on the main motion right now.

1891
02:23:25,308 --> 02:23:32,470
Lord adams. Just while everyone's thinking. It's kind of like

1892
02:23:32,470 --> 02:23:39,053
any negotiations. No one's entirely happy with the result, and

1893
02:23:39,053 --> 02:23:43,708
I can see that. There are slightly different views around

1894
02:23:43,708 --> 02:23:48,822
the table. But I can say that staff have worked

1895
02:23:48,822 --> 02:23:51,582
extraordinarily hard to try to bring in the best budget

1896
02:23:51,582 --> 02:23:56,399
we can. This budget is not perfect. No budget is,

1897
02:23:56,399 --> 02:24:00,102
but it does keep the tax rate. To a very

1898
02:24:00,102 --> 02:24:05,588
reasonable amount, certainly in keeping with other municipalities. It does

1899
02:24:05,588 --> 02:24:08,788
do what we can to protect ourselves with some rate

1900
02:24:08,788 --> 02:24:13,508
stabilization to deal with any deficit. And it does allow

1901
02:24:13,508 --> 02:24:17,188
us as staff to continue to provide good, quality service

1902
02:24:17,188 --> 02:24:21,406
to residents that they've come to depend on. Without having

1903
02:24:21,406 --> 02:24:25,949
to make significant changes to the levels of service. It

1904
02:24:25,949 --> 02:24:30,869
also allows us to continue to manage very effectively all

1905
02:24:30,869 --> 02:24:34,109
the infrastructure that will continue to be built, and we're

1906
02:24:34,109 --> 02:24:37,781
building a lot of infrastructure. Despite the fact the economy

1907
02:24:37,781 --> 02:24:41,821
might be slowing, the infrastructure won't be. It will continue

1908
02:24:41,821 --> 02:24:46,987
on. And as well, it helps position us for the

1909
02:24:46,987 --> 02:24:51,667
growth that well may be delayed will inevitably be coming,

1910
02:24:51,667 --> 02:24:56,386
and I think tonight. The transportation master plan is a

1911
02:24:56,386 --> 02:25:01,785
good example of how, if we make these investments. If

1912
02:25:01,785 --> 02:25:04,385
we do the things that we need to do in

1913
02:25:04,385 --> 02:25:08,408
advance. It makes it a lot easier. I heard comments

1914
02:25:08,408 --> 02:25:10,488
that it would have been nice to have that transportation

1915
02:25:10,488 --> 02:25:14,288
master plan sooner. Maybe would have helped with things, and

1916
02:25:14,288 --> 02:25:17,681
I think staff are trying to. Stay steady as she

1917
02:25:17,681 --> 02:25:21,321
goes. This is not a perfect budget, but it's a

1918
02:25:21,321 --> 02:25:25,121
compromise on a number of fronts, and it's a fair

1919
02:25:25,121 --> 02:25:28,361
budget and it provides a lot of value. To taxpayers,

1920
02:25:28,361 --> 02:25:32,855
and it helps maintain the course that we're on. Reflecting,

1921
02:25:32,855 --> 02:25:37,623
however, the environment that we're in. All right. Any comments

1922
02:25:37,623 --> 02:25:44,554
or questions? On the original motion.

1923
02:25:50,323 --> 02:25:57,030
Okay. Then, I guess. Should. Councilor Brennan. I don't think

1924
02:25:57,030 --> 02:26:03,111
we've dealt with your point. If you're going to put

1925
02:26:03,111 --> 02:26:04,431
your motion on, we have to do it before we

1926
02:26:04,431 --> 02:26:12,823
do. This one. I don't have a motion formulated. Okay.

1927
02:26:14,316 --> 02:26:18,594
Would you like to take a quick recess? Okay.

1928
02:26:24,436 --> 02:26:28,072
Let me read it one more time. Here. All right,

1929
02:26:28,072 --> 02:26:31,352
so we all know what we're voting on here. Moved

1930
02:26:31,352 --> 02:26:34,952
by councilor Brennan. Seconded by Councilor Cheney. The council hereby

1931
02:26:34,952 --> 02:26:41,152
receives report number f 2025 25. Final Draft 2026 Budget

1932
02:26:41,152 --> 02:26:48,472
and 2027 to 2029 forecast. For information. And that council

1933
02:26:48,472 --> 02:26:53,672
receives the proposed 2027 to 2029 forecast, and that bylaw

1934
02:26:53,672 --> 02:26:57,592
25 79 to adopt the budget for the purpose of

1935
02:26:57,592 --> 02:27:01,992
the municipality as listed on the December 11, 2025 agenda

1936
02:27:01,992 --> 02:27:06,020
be approved. So. We're saying if we vote for this,

1937
02:27:06,020 --> 02:27:09,840
we're going for what's been presented by staff. Okay, so

1938
02:27:09,840 --> 02:27:12,480
we're all clear, and now we just have to decide.

1939
02:27:15,565 --> 02:27:20,275
If. There's any other motions, I'd suggest we do it

1940
02:27:20,275 --> 02:27:22,435
now. Then, if you think. This motion is going to

1941
02:27:22,435 --> 02:27:26,949
fail. All right? Nobody's jumping with their hands up either

1942
02:27:26,949 --> 02:27:35,198
way. So. As the motion has already been read, I

1943
02:27:35,198 --> 02:27:38,939
will call a vote. All in favor? That motion has

1944
02:27:38,939 --> 02:27:48,364
carried. We are now on to correspondence. Is this going

1945
02:27:48,364 --> 02:27:55,118
to be an amendment? Oh, this one. Sorry. Okay, we

1946
02:27:55,118 --> 02:27:57,158
have the activity list. I have a motion moved by

1947
02:27:57,158 --> 02:28:00,038
councilor. A lard seconded by Councilor Brennan. That council receives

1948
02:28:00,038 --> 02:28:04,497
the activity list for information. Any questions or concerns on

1949
02:28:04,497 --> 02:28:11,083
the activity list. Councilor Ryan. Thank you, sir. Just a

1950
02:28:11,083 --> 02:28:16,643
quick comment that Jennifer McPetry had dressed with me that

1951
02:28:16,643 --> 02:28:19,363
we are looking at. The tree bylaw that they needed

1952
02:28:19,363 --> 02:28:23,283
more time with the Environmental Sustainability Action Committee coming on

1953
02:28:23,283 --> 02:28:25,923
board. And that's why that income forward and that's more

1954
02:28:25,923 --> 02:28:28,643
to bring that forward for the public's attention. Thank you.

1955
02:28:29,781 --> 02:28:33,555
Okay, and thank you very much. Any other comments or

1956
02:28:33,555 --> 02:28:39,837
questions on the activity list. Jumping on to. All those

1957
02:28:39,837 --> 02:28:44,224
in favor? Sorry. Thank you. I'm too keen for the

1958
02:28:44,224 --> 02:28:48,513
next one. We have a correspondence, item 9.29.3 on the

1959
02:28:48,513 --> 02:28:56,968
conservation Authority regional consolidation. We have an original.

1960
02:28:58,765 --> 02:29:04,080
Motion. Just to receive this. But I'm going to ask

1961
02:29:04,080 --> 02:29:08,940
before I read that motion. That if council would consider

1962
02:29:08,940 --> 02:29:14,020
receiving for information and that the conservation that a Conservation

1963
02:29:14,020 --> 02:29:18,860
Authority Regional Consolidation Task Force be established, comprised of two

1964
02:29:18,860 --> 02:29:22,220
members of council and three staff members, to review and

1965
02:29:22,220 --> 02:29:27,900
provide recommendations regarding the regional consolidation matters. Just to give

1966
02:29:27,900 --> 02:29:31,266
you some context. I didn't feel I was in a

1967
02:29:31,266 --> 02:29:33,386
position to do that for everyone. I think everyone. Should

1968
02:29:33,386 --> 02:29:36,346
have some input. And if we get two counselors, and

1969
02:29:36,346 --> 02:29:39,787
I'm flexible on who. It would be. That it would

1970
02:29:39,787 --> 02:29:42,027
be good that there is a formulated answer that goes

1971
02:29:42,027 --> 02:29:45,947
back that's truly our answer, not something concocted by someone

1972
02:29:45,947 --> 02:29:49,747
else. So if everyone's okay with that. The original movers

1973
02:29:49,747 --> 02:29:54,507
and seconders were councilor Ryan, seconded by councilor Cheney. Would

1974
02:29:54,507 --> 02:29:59,512
you take that amended motion? Through you, Mr. Mayor? Yes.

1975
02:29:59,512 --> 02:30:04,810
And may I ask one question, clarification. Regarding the credit

1976
02:30:04,810 --> 02:30:09,210
valley and the amalgamation by the changeover. Will that affect

1977
02:30:09,210 --> 02:30:12,250
what we're doing with our wastewater plant and our relationship?

1978
02:30:12,250 --> 02:30:15,428
Or is that a whole other issue? That part should

1979
02:30:15,428 --> 02:30:19,517
be untouched. It's a lot of other stuff, primarily around

1980
02:30:19,517 --> 02:30:24,287
planning. Building code where people can go, how fast things

1981
02:30:24,287 --> 02:30:27,816
are going to be permanent. And there was no roundtable

1982
02:30:27,816 --> 02:30:31,133
discussion, but. If you're okay with the motion now, we're

1983
02:30:31,133 --> 02:30:33,613
not going to vote on it. Just yet. Councilor Taney,

1984
02:30:33,613 --> 02:30:36,550
is it okay for you or. Do you want to?

1985
02:30:38,201 --> 02:30:39,801
I'm not sure how this question is going to fit

1986
02:30:39,801 --> 02:30:46,144
anyway. But. This mandate came from above. And they seemed

1987
02:30:46,144 --> 02:30:49,409
to get what they want. Yes, we should put a

1988
02:30:49,409 --> 02:30:52,289
fight up. Or we should have a delegation to figure

1989
02:30:52,289 --> 02:30:59,483
out what our questions or whatever going forward. But. The

1990
02:30:59,483 --> 02:31:03,686
conservation authorities in my mind. Have done well by its

1991
02:31:03,686 --> 02:31:09,393
citizens, and we're part of several conservation authorities. I think.

1992
02:31:12,220 --> 02:31:15,689
We need to discuss before we give our answer. But

1993
02:31:15,689 --> 02:31:18,769
I'm a little pessimistic on our odds, but hopefully we

1994
02:31:18,769 --> 02:31:22,449
can help. People see the right away. Okay, so I

1995
02:31:22,449 --> 02:31:25,729
take it that's an okay second, then. Sure. Thank you.

1996
02:31:25,729 --> 02:31:29,169
Okay, so maybe I can do a little bit of

1997
02:31:29,169 --> 02:31:35,533
a background. I was in Collingwood. For the regional engagement

1998
02:31:35,533 --> 02:31:41,593
session for the conservation authority. Regional consolidation. What came out

1999
02:31:41,593 --> 02:31:45,789
of it. I got a much better feeling from it

2000
02:31:45,789 --> 02:31:48,389
after being at the roundtable. Versus what? Seeing all the

2001
02:31:48,389 --> 02:31:51,729
comments that are out there. And what's come up now

2002
02:31:51,729 --> 02:31:58,496
is. Instead of. The conservation or the Ministry of Environment,

2003
02:31:58,496 --> 02:32:00,856
Parks and Parks has basically said, look, if you're just

2004
02:32:00,856 --> 02:32:02,496
going to say no. You don't like it. You want

2005
02:32:02,496 --> 02:32:05,832
everything to stay the way. It is. Your comments are

2006
02:32:05,832 --> 02:32:07,712
likely not going to get you very far, but if

2007
02:32:07,712 --> 02:32:11,385
you come. With very specific things that you would like

2008
02:32:11,385 --> 02:32:14,825
to keep to take out that you like about it.

2009
02:32:14,825 --> 02:32:19,145
That you don't like about the conservation areas, our conservation.

2010
02:32:20,434 --> 02:32:23,714
Act right now that those are the kind of things

2011
02:32:23,714 --> 02:32:28,838
that. They would react better to. As proposed. So they're

2012
02:32:28,838 --> 02:32:35,423
looking for constructive criticism. Not just criticism. And while we

2013
02:32:35,423 --> 02:32:39,183
were there, certain ideas came up, like we use a

2014
02:32:39,183 --> 02:32:45,291
cloud permit. For the municipality. Well, most conservation authorities don't

2015
02:32:45,291 --> 02:32:47,771
do anything like that, and nothing is standardized. From one

2016
02:32:47,771 --> 02:32:51,716
conservation authority to the other. Some conservation authorities. Their permits

2017
02:32:51,716 --> 02:32:54,716
are over 120 days before they're granted. I think CVC

2018
02:32:54,716 --> 02:32:58,596
is, other than our trail permit for wastewater, that's generally

2019
02:32:58,596 --> 02:33:04,156
a much quicker approval for the larger municipalities, some municipalities

2020
02:33:04,156 --> 02:33:08,756
or some conservation authorities, I think they have 17 staff.

2021
02:33:08,756 --> 02:33:13,541
CVC is over 200 and. 70 staff. So. It's hard

2022
02:33:13,541 --> 02:33:15,341
for the little guys to compete with the big guys,

2023
02:33:15,341 --> 02:33:18,181
and I kind of see this as maybe what the

2024
02:33:18,181 --> 02:33:20,621
idea is. I just think it kind of is a

2025
02:33:20,621 --> 02:33:24,421
baseball bat. To small municipalities like us who will get

2026
02:33:24,421 --> 02:33:28,453
left out. And it doesn't solve any problems. For mono

2027
02:33:28,453 --> 02:33:31,653
or amaranth, where they're still stuck with three conservation authorities,

2028
02:33:31,653 --> 02:33:37,408
no matter what you do. So I'm hoping that. There

2029
02:33:37,408 --> 02:33:39,768
will be a couple counselors. I'm willing to do it,

2030
02:33:39,768 --> 02:33:41,208
but I'm also willing to keep my nose out of

2031
02:33:41,208 --> 02:33:44,848
it and just provide documents that would be helpful just

2032
02:33:44,848 --> 02:33:47,568
to get something out there. And the deadline for comments

2033
02:33:47,568 --> 02:33:51,513
is December 22. So it's coming fast at us. And

2034
02:33:51,513 --> 02:33:53,433
that's why I asked to put this. On this agenda

2035
02:33:53,433 --> 02:33:55,753
just to see we might not be able to come

2036
02:33:55,753 --> 02:33:58,553
up with a response even. But I think we should

2037
02:33:58,553 --> 02:34:06,016
at least try. Councilor Ryan. Thank you. Through Mr. Mayor.

2038
02:34:06,016 --> 02:34:09,915
I think it's really important we make a response. We

2039
02:34:09,915 --> 02:34:13,795
are identifying as a green town, it is our single

2040
02:34:13,795 --> 02:34:17,917
biggest asset that we stay green. I guarantee that we

2041
02:34:17,917 --> 02:34:19,917
will be looking good as a green town in about

2042
02:34:19,917 --> 02:34:22,477
ten years as the rest of the communities build out,

2043
02:34:22,477 --> 02:34:27,079
so. I would support this. I'll happy to give feedback.

2044
02:34:27,079 --> 02:34:31,639
Some feedback is better than nothing. Councilor Brennan. Thank you.

2045
02:34:31,639 --> 02:34:36,154
Through you. Yeah, I agree with that. The problem with

2046
02:34:36,154 --> 02:34:43,546
consolidation is that. Individual. Needs tend to get lost in

2047
02:34:43,546 --> 02:34:52,091
the shuffle. If the individual. Conservation authorities, as they exist

2048
02:34:52,091 --> 02:34:56,011
now, are doing an adequate job for their local constituents.

2049
02:34:57,776 --> 02:35:00,936
Then bringing in an umbrella over top of them just

2050
02:35:00,936 --> 02:35:04,865
adds to the bureaucracy. I don't see how it adds

2051
02:35:04,865 --> 02:35:09,539
to the efficiency. There are other things that can be

2052
02:35:09,539 --> 02:35:12,099
done. Such as what? You mentioned from a planning point

2053
02:35:12,099 --> 02:35:16,130
of view. There are things that can be done. To

2054
02:35:16,130 --> 02:35:21,276
bring. Different conservation authorities into alignment as much as is

2055
02:35:21,276 --> 02:35:29,250
feasible. And profitable to do. So, yeah. I think we

2056
02:35:29,250 --> 02:35:32,586
need to provide a good response. And to give a

2057
02:35:32,586 --> 02:35:36,540
little additional feedback, I think we're going. From just under

2058
02:35:36,540 --> 02:35:41,566
300. Board members across Ontario to less than 100. So

2059
02:35:41,566 --> 02:35:43,486
there will be a lot of municipalities that will be

2060
02:35:43,486 --> 02:35:47,166
left off. And if you want to talk to somebody

2061
02:35:47,166 --> 02:35:50,526
from Peel, Lake Peele is the biggest contributor to CVC.

2062
02:35:50,526 --> 02:35:53,801
Well, if. They're not going to want to diminish their

2063
02:35:53,801 --> 02:35:56,121
voice on the board, so they're going to lobby that

2064
02:35:56,121 --> 02:36:02,535
all of they have a heavier weight than Orangeville. Kaladin.

2065
02:36:02,868 --> 02:36:04,628
Mono. Who else do we have on the board from

2066
02:36:04,628 --> 02:36:08,348
out here? Myself and CVC. And then. We've got James

2067
02:36:08,348 --> 02:36:12,308
Sealy from puss lynch representing Aaron on the Grand river

2068
02:36:12,308 --> 02:36:14,948
and. That board is going to be decimated to by

2069
02:36:14,948 --> 02:36:18,780
the number of people who come in. Our voice is

2070
02:36:18,780 --> 02:36:21,540
going to be diminished if we don't find a solution.

2071
02:36:21,540 --> 02:36:26,947
Councilor Ryan. Through you, Mr. Mayor. The other really important

2072
02:36:26,947 --> 02:36:31,427
thing to remember is this is overriding. Species at risk

2073
02:36:31,427 --> 02:36:35,427
is overriding. The stop gaps between climate change, which is

2074
02:36:35,427 --> 02:36:40,834
happening now. That's the canary and the coal mine. Albeit

2075
02:36:40,834 --> 02:36:43,994
that some of the conservation areas are slow on permitting,

2076
02:36:43,994 --> 02:36:49,609
but they provide a buffer for our environment. And between

2077
02:36:49,609 --> 02:36:52,969
economies and more homes, can't make up for the air

2078
02:36:52,969 --> 02:36:55,689
we breathe. We need clean air, and we need weather

2079
02:36:55,689 --> 02:37:01,323
mitigation and conservation authorities. These wetlands actually do that? And

2080
02:37:01,323 --> 02:37:05,243
another comment on how they are funded. Now, CVC is

2081
02:37:05,243 --> 02:37:08,483
primarily funded by the levy system. And the special levy

2082
02:37:08,483 --> 02:37:10,523
from peel. But when you get to many of the

2083
02:37:10,523 --> 02:37:16,083
smaller conservation authorities, there's 60% or 70% self funded by

2084
02:37:16,083 --> 02:37:20,599
parks that they have, by campgrounds, by leasing land. So

2085
02:37:20,599 --> 02:37:25,340
you can't treat everyone the same in these situations. And

2086
02:37:25,340 --> 02:37:29,323
we're kind of unique, I think. The rural gem, the

2087
02:37:29,323 --> 02:37:31,043
green gem on the side of the GTA and the

2088
02:37:31,043 --> 02:37:33,363
CVC, but. Then when you add us to the Grand

2089
02:37:33,363 --> 02:37:36,523
River Conservation Authority, we're pretty much the same. As two

2090
02:37:36,523 --> 02:37:42,200
thirds of it. Councilor Bernard. Yeah. My experience when I

2091
02:37:42,200 --> 02:37:46,081
went from Grand river to CVC, I was amazed at

2092
02:37:46,081 --> 02:37:50,506
the difference in terms of internal funding. That Grand river

2093
02:37:50,506 --> 02:37:55,586
has a vast array of parks. And facilities that generate

2094
02:37:55,586 --> 02:37:58,266
a lot of revenue that at the time I joined

2095
02:37:58,266 --> 02:38:01,836
CVC, they didn't have anywhere near. In fact, they were

2096
02:38:01,836 --> 02:38:08,666
just embarking on creating. A program. To encourage that kind

2097
02:38:08,666 --> 02:38:11,826
of thing, and they still think they're nowhere near to

2098
02:38:11,826 --> 02:38:15,643
the same. Extent. And as we're talking about budgets, the

2099
02:38:15,643 --> 02:38:19,883
reserves are very late on most conservation authorities and they

2100
02:38:19,883 --> 02:38:22,043
have a lot of capital improvements that need to be

2101
02:38:22,043 --> 02:38:26,651
maintained. Cbc right now. Its operating costs are almost equivalent

2102
02:38:26,651 --> 02:38:31,356
to what the levy is. All right, well. Anyone else

2103
02:38:31,356 --> 02:38:34,676
want to comment on this? It sounds like we have

2104
02:38:34,676 --> 02:38:36,996
some positivity here, so. I'll call the vote. All in

2105
02:38:36,996 --> 02:38:40,356
favor for that? That motion is carried. Thank you very.

2106
02:38:40,356 --> 02:38:42,596
Much, and I'll let you fight amongst yourself on who

2107
02:38:42,596 --> 02:38:47,086
wants to do it. I'm happy to help, though, all

2108
02:38:47,086 --> 02:38:55,069
right. I think we're on. To. That one? Yeah. Okay.

2109
02:38:55,069 --> 02:38:59,023
Yours is so pretty. It's got more colors. I will

2110
02:38:59,023 --> 02:39:00,943
now move on to passage of the bylaws. I have

2111
02:39:00,943 --> 02:39:04,223
a motion moved by. Councilor Alard, seconded by councilor Cheney

2112
02:39:04,223 --> 02:39:07,623
that the bylaws numbered 25 79. And 25 80 are

2113
02:39:07,623 --> 02:39:11,827
hereby passed. All in favor? That motion is carried. Thank

2114
02:39:11,827 --> 02:39:15,427
you very much. We are adjourning at 05:29. P.m.