[0:05] Annie, bonsoir, and good evening, and
welcome to our regular meeting of
[0:09] council. As normally I do, the first
meeting of the month goes to the Deputy
[0:16] Mayor. So, to you, Annie.
>> Thank you, Mayor Paju.
[0:20] I would first like to begin the meeting
by acknowledging that we are in the
[0:24] traditional territory of the Anishinaabe
people in the Robinson-Huron Treaty
[0:29] Area.
And wish to recognize the neighboring
[0:32] community of Dokis First Nation. While
we meet today, I would like to take a
[0:37] moment to acknowledge the importance of
the lands which we call home. We do this
[0:42] through reaffirm our commitment and
responsibility in improving our own
[0:46] understanding of local indigenous
peoples and their cultures. From coast
[0:51] to coast, we acknowledge the ancestral
and unceded territory of all the Inuit,
[0:56] Métis, and First Nation peoples that
call this land home.
[1:00] And with that, I need
a mover and a seconder for the adoption
[1:07] of the agenda.
Okay, Willie and Roger.
[1:12] I believe
Are we doing the amendment right now at
[1:17] 6.4.1?
Or are we just keeping it there?
[1:21] We're going to keep it there. Okay.
You'll speak to it. Okay.
[1:25] So,
um
[1:28] We have no disclosures of pecuniary
interest.
[1:31] We have no delegations.
So, we'll continue on to reports and
[1:35] items for consideration 6.1.1,
a resolution to approve the
[1:40] municipality's contribution to the
Sudbury East OPP Detachment Board's 2026
[1:46] budget. And I believe Mayor Paju will
speak on this.
[1:50] » Thank you.
Um
[1:52] So, the We've already passed our budget
which included the OPP budget. However,
[1:58] with the OPP detachment board, part of
the regulations is once the budget is
[2:05] approved by the OPP detachment board, it
has to come back here for formal
[2:11] approval by the uh
by council. Um just to let you know that
[2:17] uh
what we budgeted will be it's a little
[2:20] lower than what we currently have uh
because there were a few savings, but um
[2:26] aside from that uh
I believe Carly has a resolution for us.
[2:34] » It's a long one, so bear with me.
So, it says whereas pursuant to the
[2:39] Community Safety and Policing Act 2019
Section 71-1, an OPP detachment board
[2:45] shall prepare estimates in accordance
with the regulations made by the
[2:48] Minister of the total amount required to
pay the expenses of the board's
[2:52] operation excluding the remuneration
of board members, and whereas pursuant
[2:58] to the CSPA 2019 Section 71-2, the OPP
detachment board shall submit the
[3:05] estimates to every municipality that
receives policing services from the
[3:09] detachment along with statement of the
municipality's share of the costs as
[3:14] determined in accordance with the
regulations made by the Minister, and
[3:18] pursuant to the CSPA Section 71-3
subject to Section 4, municipalities
[3:23] shall contribute their share of the cost
to the OPP detachment board's budget in
[3:28] accordance with the estimates.
And pursuant to sec- to O. Reg. 135-24
[3:34] Section 3, each municipality in the area
for which the OPP detachment board has
[3:40] services shall pay an equal share of the
amount set out in the board's estimates.
[3:46] And whereas Sudbury East OPP detachment
board has prepared estimates of all sums
[3:51] required for the operation of the board
for the fiscal year of 2026 totaling
[3:55] $26,276.80
[3:59] to be shared equally among the
participating municipalities.
[4:03] Um and then it lists out the same amount
for all four municipalities at
[4:08] $6,569.20.
[4:12] Now, therefore, be it resolved that the
Council of the Municipality of French
[4:15] River hereby approves the 2026 budget
estimates for the Sudbury East OPP
[4:20] Detachment Board in the total amount of
$26,276.80
[4:24] and confirms the municipality's
obligation to contribute its equal share
[4:28] in the amount of $6,569.20
[4:32] in accordance with O. Reg. 135-24
and provide a copy of this resolution to
[4:37] the Sudbury East
OPP Detachment Board for their records
[4:41] and implementation.
>> Okay.
[4:44] Uh
I'm over in a second or Councillor Dave
[4:48] and Councillor Bom. All those in favor?
Good.
[4:53] Uh there are no finances tonight. Public
Works is nil, so we'll continue on to
[4:59] 6.4 Recreation and Community Services.
6.4.1
[5:04] Build Community Strong Fund Local Impact
Stream. We have a resolution to approve
[5:09] the addition of the fire suspension
system
[5:13] at the Noelville Arena as an additional
2026 capital project and I believe our
[5:19] CAO Mark can speak to this.
>> Yeah, thank you, Madam Chair. Um just to
[5:23] give a a brief background is that the
federal government released details on
[5:28] the funding program
which support local infrastructure
[5:31] funding
delivered through FedNor for
[5:34] shovel-ready community infrastructure
projects. Upon reviewing the system and
[5:38] discussing the program with our
representative out of North Bay,
[5:42] we were pleased to find out that they
would recognize the arena dash board
[5:46] system even though it the project has is
currently underway, has still qualifying
[5:51] for the application even though we
started prior to the application
[5:55] submission.
Um so we were pleased with that. Uh and
[5:59] then trying to take advantage of the
potential um program, we looked into the
[6:04] fire suppression system. Um
unfortunately,
[6:08] from the day I wrote this report last
week, things have changed. Um our
[6:13] original cost estimate of $200,000 has
ballooned uh significantly higher and
[6:19] and
probably outside of the purview of what
[6:23] we can afford to put in place for this
20202026
[6:27] capital budget season.
Um so I'm recommending that we remove
[6:32] that first resolution at this point in
time from the application. Uh but I'm uh
[6:38] still recommending that council proceed
with authorizing us to submit the
[6:42] application for the arena boards project
at a cost of $450,000,
[6:47] which is already approved by council,
uh with a contribution from the federal
[6:52] program of 225
and our contribution of 225.
[6:59] » Anybody have any questions?
I need a mover and a seconder.
[7:04] Councillor Willie and Councillor Dave.
[7:10] Do you want to read the resolution?
[7:17] » Therefore, council authorizes a funding
application to the Build Communities
[7:20] Strong Fund Local Impact Stream for the
arena dasher board replacement project
[7:25] with the total project value at 450,000
and a municipal contribution of up to
[7:30] 225,000.
>> All those in favor?
[7:35] It passed.
6.5 Emergency and Protection Services
[7:39] 6.5.1
We have the report
[7:44] 2026 flooding flooding event report.
Um I believe it's all in there.
[7:52] Um Mark will speak to this since Russ's
not available tonight.
[7:56] » Thank you, Madam Chair. Um as promised
to council, we said that we would come
[8:00] back with a report detailing the the
events that we went through in 2026
[8:04] during the flooding events.
Um so you'll see the background and I'll
[8:09] I'll briefly go to the the main points
um as all the information is already
[8:13] within
uh the report. Um so following the
[8:17] summary of the municipal per response
and impacts related to the flood events,
[8:21] uh we did declare significant weather uh
event as of April 14th due to the the
[8:27] substantial rainfalls that we had
received leading into that date. Uh the
[8:32] state of emergency was declared by the
mayor on April 15th and was terminated
[8:36] on April 27th. The emergency control
group held 10 meetings.
[8:41] Um myself along with the fire chief,
who's also the community emergency
[8:45] management coordinator for the
municipality, attended more than 20
[8:49] meetings
uh with the Sturgeon Nipissing French
[8:52] River shed community.
Total of 20 roads were affected during
[8:56] that event. Most affected roads were
repaired within 24 hours. Two municipal
[9:01] roads were flooded for over over 30
days.
[9:05] Highway 607 was flooded uh for
approximately 30 days in two separate
[9:10] locations affecting some residents in uh
some businesses.
[9:14] Um one private road was also flooded for
an extended period of time over 30 days.
[9:20] A total of 20 residents that we're aware
of reported flood impacts to us at the
[9:24] municipality.
And a volunteer firefighter staffed the
[9:28] Alban fire station for 20 days straight
for 8 hours per day. And then we with
[9:34] our capabilities with our drones that we
have at the municipality we're able to
[9:39] uh fly over some of the affected areas
and provide information
[9:43] to the dam managers in terms of the
impacts that were being realized within
[9:48] our municipality.
Um
[9:51] 18 members of the Ontario Search and
Rescue Volunteer Association through the
[9:55] provincial assistance with the
provincial declaration were in our
[9:58] community
for a period of time to assist with
[10:01] sandbagging.
We did receive assistance from grade 7
[10:05] and grade 8 students from Magnetawan
Public School, approximately 20 of them,
[10:09] helped out with sandbags, which is great
and very appreciated. And approximately
[10:15] 40 residents did volunteer their times
in assisting in providing assistance.
[10:20] Um these were done through two
sandbagging stations that were held at
[10:24] the community center and the Alban
Community Center and the Well Community
[10:27] Center.
We did provide a total of 7,000 sandbags
[10:32] that were deployed from the municipality
to assist local residents.
[10:37] We did provide some assistance to Heavy
Inlet and the Municipality of Killarney
[10:43] who were short bags at the onset of the
flood and those bags have been
[10:49] replaced
from there. So we're looking current in
[10:52] our current inventory now in preparation
for future events as we're sitting at
[10:57] about 8,000 bags in storage.
Council did authorize the use of the
[11:03] landfill for affected residents and as
you'll see from the report one resident
[11:07] at this time has taken advantage of that
situation and we're still open for
[11:12] others as we haven't met the threshold
that was approved by council.
[11:16] One thing I'd like to point out is
disaster recovery assistance. There's
[11:21] two programs offered by the province,
one for municipal assistance. As you can
[11:26] see from the report, unfortunately we
didn't meet the threshold for the
[11:30] municipality expenses
Uh, to qualify for that part of the
[11:34] recovery assistance. And what I'll do is
maybe turn it over to Julie, just to
[11:39] give you an idea of our expenses to date
that we encountered as a municipality
[11:45] for the emergency.
>> Thank you, Mark. So yes, in your report
[11:50] you'll see that we've
spent so far approximately 75,000
[11:56] dollars. That would be the financial
impact of the flooding.
[12:00] Um, those costs include contractor work
on the flooded
[12:04] roads, pardon. Culvert replacements,
traffic control measures, sandbags, and
[12:09] overtime volunteer related costs.
Um, so like Mark mentioned, we do not
[12:16] qualify as the threshold was
approximately 173,000
[12:22] dollars, which is 3% of our
the
[12:26] source revenue.
[12:29] » Thank you, Julie.
>> Again, the second part of the Ontario
[12:33] disaster recovery program is assistance
to provide people that have been
[12:37] affected both personally with households
and commercial industry.
[12:43] The group of the ministry was in the
area on June 3rd to do
[12:48] an evaluation with their adjuster.
As of the date of this report, we had
[12:53] still not received confirmation whether
we as municipality would qualify for the
[12:59] program or not. And we're hoping to
receive by April 16th, if I'm not
[13:03] mistaken with that mayor, July 16th. Um,
if successful, the the the staff will
[13:10] work in terms of putting out the
information and how to residents can
[13:14] make
application for assistance. And we did
[13:18] identify three main areas of concern of
people who we needed assistance.
[13:26] Um,
now,
[13:29] um um, volunteers talked about, landfill
talked about. In terms of conclusion,
[13:34] um, the flood event had a significant
impact on the municipal, uh, French
[13:38] River operations as you can see from our
financial expenses and also had a
[13:42] significant impact on on our residents
and our private private properties and
[13:47] and the commercial industry that, uh,
operates along the river in many
[13:51] locations.
Um, through the coordinated efforts of
[13:54] municipal staff, the emergency control
group, provincial partners, volunteers,
[13:57] firefighters, students and residents,
municipality was able to respond
[14:01] promptly
and effectively by providing sandbags,
[14:04] undertaking road repairs, monitoring
conditions and supporting affected areas
[14:08] to the best of our ability.
Um, I wish and the the committee, along
[14:14] with the municipality, extends its
sincere appreciation to all individuals
[14:18] and organization who contributed, um, to
the flood response events including, um,
[14:23] the, um,
Union, uh, who did provide some funds
[14:27] for assistance, as well.
Which was very much appreciated. I want
[14:32] to make sure that that's mentioned.
So, out of the outcome of of this event,
[14:38] um, you know,
we have taken upon ourselves listening
[14:43] to,
uh, council members, listening to
[14:45] affected members, listening to affected
parties along, uh, along the river and
[14:51] you'll see within your package that the
we have drafted a, uh, a letter to the
[14:58] Minister, Federal Minister responsible,
um, through government transformation,
[15:02] public works and procurement, requesting
a ministerial delegation and federal
[15:07] engagement regarding the French River
dams complex and its role in recent
[15:11] flooding events.
It's not, um, hard to say and we've
[15:14] talked about this at this table on
numerous occasions, um,
[15:19] climate change events are occurring more
rapidly
[15:23] more more and less intervals and has a
fairly significant impact on our
[15:30] economics the very economic industry and
and private residences.
[15:36] So in a nutshell the letter outlines key
requested outcomes or points of
[15:42] discussion that we would like to have
with the minister.
[15:45] Looking for an independent technical and
operational review of the 2026 flood
[15:50] event a climate adaptation and flood
risk action plan.
[15:55] Improve watershed governance and
equitable risk management.
[16:00] Enhanced transparency and emergency
communication protocols although there's
[16:04] there's communications out there I you
know I think there's always room for
[16:07] improvement to share more information. I
know
[16:11] as as the the lead person I do refer
people to the website and into certain
[16:17] areas but I
sometimes it's information that's hard
[16:20] to understand and interpret
I think
[16:24] maybe we can do better in terms of
providing better communications.
[16:29] And and consideration of upstream and
adjacent infrastructure constraints
[16:33] impacting downstream communities and
although I kept it general
[16:38] and indeed would be I'm sure
aware in terms of the impact that the
[16:45] water treatment plant in the city of
North Bay has on an impact in terms of
[16:50] how we try to
manage
[16:55] the upstream and downstream and share
the pain throughout events both not just
[17:00] in flooding events but also in in low
water events.
[17:05] So you have the correspondence in your
package
[17:08] we're looking for Council to endorse
that draft correspondence to be sent to
[17:12] the minister
and authorize the mayor to execute and
[17:15] submit the correspondence on behalf of
the municipality.
[17:20] Sorry for being so long.
>> That's okay, Mark.
[17:23] Um I don't think we have a resolution in
there.
[17:27] We do Oh, we do have what? Okay, sorry.
My uh so I need a mover and a seconder.
[17:31] Councillor Bob and Councillor Roger.
And go ahead.
[17:36] » Be it resolved that council endorses and
authorizes the mayor to execute and
[17:40] submit the attached letter to the
Honorable Jewel Lightbound,
[17:44] Minister of Government Transformation,
Public Works and Procurement regarding
[17:47] the French River Dams Complex and
Watershed Resilience on behalf of the
[17:51] Municipality of French River.
>> All those in favor.
[17:56] Okay. Thank you.
Well, thanks, Mark.
[18:00] Oh, 1 minute.
>> I just I just have a question. Um the
[18:04] amount that that this cost us the 75,000
or whatever, out of where is that coming
[18:10] from? Cuz we didn't budget
for a flood.
[18:15] » Good question, Madam Mayor. Um through
you, Madam Chair.
[18:19] Um we're hoping to realize some savings.
We've done We've seen a a little bit of
[18:23] savings here and there. Um hopefully
that we'll be able to uh capture those
[18:28] and
uh address them towards that um that
[18:32] overspend uh
to be able to balance our budget.
[18:35] » We We do have a a working reserve fund
as well, right? Right?
[18:40] » Yes, there is a
>> So, if worst case scenario, if we don't
[18:45] manage savings, we can go to that
>> That would be
[18:48] » line item and and get it out of there,
right?
[18:51] » Yes.
>> Okay. Mark.
[18:53] » Yeah, so traditionally what we've done
in the past is we try to absorb it
[18:57] within our operations as best as we can
with savings. Um so, at one point in
[19:01] late November or early December, I'm
certain that Julie will come back and
[19:05] say, "Here's our projections. Here's um
where our shortfalls are and here's what
[19:10] we're suggesting we take the money to um
make up any shortfalls due to the
[19:15] emergency expenses.
[19:19] Um
in terms of of the letter, any
[19:23] Sorry, any feedback?
[19:28] » Councillor Willie.
>> After reading the letter,
[19:31] I was very pleased that
all aspects of what our municipality has
[19:38] went through was touched on. I even like
how the nuances of the equality was
[19:43] mentioned as well.
I don't think there was much left
[19:47] wanting. I think it was very direct,
very to the point, and very informative.
[19:52] It outlines exactly what we need moving
forward to have things very clearly and
[19:57] concisely put in writing so we have
something to follow moving forward.
[20:05] » Thank you, Willie. Anybody else?
Councillor Dean.
[20:13] » I suspect I mean, I'm not opposed to the
letter. I think it's a a good idea. It
[20:18] at least expresses our concerns with the
way the system has been has been
[20:22] operated, but I don't think we're going
to get anywhere because I don't know
[20:26] what they else they can do without some
kind of serious changes to the whole
[20:31] system. And whether or not that will
occur or
[20:36] I mean, I I mean, I've seen these kind
of letters before. Been at meetings of
[20:41] all kinds over this water level
management and uh
[20:45] and they're just
we're we're we're so much at the
[20:51] at the what the weather conditions are
at the runoff period in
[20:57] in March and April.
I mean, if everything goes smoothly, we
[21:02] don't see a problem.
If we get a combination of a rapid melt
[21:07] and a heavy rain, we're in trouble. And
there's with with the existing
[21:11] infrastructure, there's nothing else can
be done.
[21:15] Either we flood the lake or we flood
that vast down here or both. And I've
[21:19] seen both.
I don't know what we think can be done,
[21:23] but doesn't hurt to ask.
>> Sir, I
[21:28] » I'll leave it at that.
>> If I may say something, I know that 7
[21:31] years ago we had made we had had a
meeting
[21:37] uh for the flooding back from our first
flood in 2019.
[21:43] I believe it was.
I would like to see if there
[21:47] there's anything that they've done over
the course of the years cuz they had
[21:50] told us that they would be working on a
plan, right? So, it would be nice to see
[21:56] what they have done over the the last 7
years from like what kind of work has
[22:01] been done. It would be nice cuz I know
that back then they had said that they
[22:05] would do something.
And I think this year it seemed like it
[22:09] was better controlled. I don't know if
that's just me, but it seemed like the
[22:14] flooding was all not all dumped on us
like prior years.
[22:22] » Last time around, they had some meetings
after the flood. And they brought some
[22:28] people from out west. Supposed to be
very experienced in flood control
[22:32] management and that sort of thing.
They spoke to I I attended the meeting
[22:36] in North Bay where he spoke and
the message from the group at the at
[22:42] that meeting was take the issue to the
province.
[22:46] Never heard more. Did you hear any more?
I never heard more.
[22:52] That's where it went. That this guy went
to
[22:54] was assigned to the province to bring
the information to them on them I guess
[22:59] on how they handle flooding in the Red
River and that sort of thing in
[23:02] Manitoba. He was from Winnipeg.
But I don't think that I never heard or
[23:07] read of any changes that were made in
operations or the management of the dams
[23:14] or the system. And I'm sure we would
have heard if there was.
[23:20] » You can go ahead, Mark.
>> Thank you through you, Madam Chair. Um
[23:23] the changes that were made is that they
did
[23:26] amend the operational guidelines. Uh
they made some changes to the wording.
[23:30] They did talk about equality uh in terms
of sharing
[23:35] sharing sharing.
Um they did uh define the fact that at
[23:39] one point uh at a certain level the dams
would be open wide open. That wording
[23:44] was changed uh in from there. And they
did add some monitoring stations and
[23:49] snow monitoring stations within the
system to give them some better
[23:52] indications of um of some of the um
the data that's required to make some of
[23:59] those decisions. Um again, the letter
was drafted and I think Councillor Dean,
[24:04] you said it appropriately. If we sit by
and and think um and not say anything,
[24:10] they think everything's kosher and
right. Um but if we express our concerns
[24:15] and our willingness to work or to
discuss the matters, at least uh we're
[24:19] putting our concerns to the forefront
and see where it takes us.
[24:25] » Thank you, Mark. Councillor Willie.
>> I just want to comment after Dean made
[24:29] his comments, right? I've never been one
to sit back and just just uh accept
[24:34] things as they are. Uh we have to always
evaluate. If we're going to move
[24:38] forward, we have to look at what we
have, evaluate what's going on, and we
[24:41] have to address and try to make change.
Uh I can speak to the building code.
[24:45] There has been hurricane ties put in
roofs so they don't fly off anymore.
[24:49] That was done because we recognized a
deficiency in the building. So, we have
[24:54] to look at these processes again, and we
have to see where efficiencies could be
[24:58] made or or changed.
To sit around and say
[25:02] we're at the mercy of extreme weather
events, there's nothing we can do, I
[25:06] have a hard time accepting that. I think
we have to look into these things. If we
[25:10] were to move forward, we we know we're
prone, we have a deficiency
[25:15] um with our waterway. We do accept um
everything running down from Nipissing.
[25:20] Um Nipissing can only control so much
and they have to off-shed. But we still
[25:24] have to look at all parameters in order
to make an informed and uh educated
[25:29] decision. That's all I have to say.
>> Okay. Thank you.
[25:34] So uh I think we are all in favor of
presenting the letter at during AMO.
[25:40] Council's okay with that? So
All right. We'll continue on to 6.5.2.
[25:47] We have a resolution to award the
purchase of the thermal imaging camera.
[25:52] And I believe Julie will speak to that.
>> Yes, thank you, Madam Chair.
[25:57] Um so in your package, you'll have the
report um
[26:01] to award the purchase of the two new
thermal imaging cameras.
[26:06] Um some background information. So
Council has approved $18,000 in the
[26:11] capital budget for the purchase of those
two cameras.
[26:15] Um we submitted a request for quotation
back in March um and received some
[26:21] quotations back then. However, not uh
all the um vendors were meeting the
[26:28] requirements and we noticed that we were
missing an important National Fire
[26:32] Protection Association requirement in
the document. So we had to reissue to
[26:36] make sure that uh all the vendors knew
of what we we were requiring in this
[26:42] purchase. So a second request for
quotation was issued uh on June 1st with
[26:48] a um
deadline of June 25th. At that time we
[26:53] did receive three
submissions
[26:57] that you'll see in your report and
one of them, the 1200 degrees
[27:04] or dark fire ink
has met all the specifications for the
[27:12] camera that we had listed at a price of
$16,998
[27:18] plus HST. That's for both cameras.
So based on the evaluation criteria and
[27:26] the prices, it is recommended that
council award the purchase of those two
[27:31] thermal cameras to 1200 degrees dark
fire ink for $16,998
[27:38] plus tax.
>> Okay.
[27:42] We need a mover and a second. Councillor
David and Councillor Willie.
[27:47] » It is all that council awards the
purchase of two thermal imaging cameras
[27:51] for the fire department to 1200 degrees
dark fire ink for $16,998
[27:57] plus applicable taxes.
>> All those in favor?
[28:01] Okay. Thank you.
We'll continue on to 6.5.3 which is a
[28:07] quarterly report from the fire
department.
[28:10] As a doc is not here.
If you guys have any questions for him
[28:17] after looking at the report, you can
send them an email and I'm sure he will
[28:23] gladly answer any questions that we
have, but I think it's pretty basic and
[28:28] pretty similar to the the past few
years. So we'll continue on to 6.6
[28:36] building planning and development. 6.6.1
we have a resolution to adopt the
[28:43] building bylaw draft presented at the
meeting of June 3rd, 2026. And I believe
[28:49] Andrea, our building official, will
speak to that.
[28:54] » Thank you.
To you, Madam Chair.
[28:58] Um so, this uh building
uh the draft building report was brought
[29:02] to council at the last council meeting
in June uh June 3rd. And um as required
[29:08] by the building building control uh
sorry, Ontario Building Code Act, any
[29:13] changes to the fees in a building bylaw
need to be posted to the public for 21
[29:18] days. Uh the municipality posted the
changes to the bylaw on the municipal
[29:24] website and also to the municipal
Facebook page to put it out to the
[29:27] public that we were making these
changes.
[29:30] Up until this meeting, I had received no
response from the public about any
[29:34] issues with these changes. And if unless
council has any questions this evening,
[29:39] I recommend that the bylaw be passed
this evening.
[29:43] » Anybody have any questions? Seeing none,
I need a mover and a seconder.
[29:48] Councillor Bob and Councillor Roger.
[29:53] » Be it resolved that bylaw 2026-40, being
a bylaw respecting construction,
[29:58] demolition, and change of use permits
and inspections, be read a first,
[30:02] second, and third time and finally
passed.
[30:04] » All those in favor?
We'll continue on to uh seven, the
[30:10] correspondence. We have 7.1. We have a
donation request for the Kids Golf
[30:15] Tournament
at Maples.
[30:18] Um I believe we have a resolution. I
need a mover and a seconder, a
[30:25] recommendation.
A request.
[30:29] A mover and a seconder. I believe we're
It says that we're going to sponsor a
[30:33] hole.
Does anybody have any questions?
[30:43] » Um my apologies. I'm just curious. All
right, so we are making a donation?
[30:48] » Uh I believe there is a recommendation
to make a donation of a whole.
[30:53] Yes.
>> In a financial amount of?
[30:57] » Of $100.
Okay.
[31:00] » Thank you. We didn't see this. It's not
>> Pardon me?
[31:03] » We don't have this information.
>> Oh, I thought we
[31:10] » We have the letter, the request letter,
but
[31:12] » Okay.
>> No backup to it.
[31:14] » Oh, okay. My my apologies. So, uh yeah,
we had the the request and I believe uh
[31:22] I guess we would need somebody to move
it forward. Uh Counselor Davis?
[31:27] Counselor Willie?
And I believe uh
[31:31] you have the resolution for it.
>> Yes.
[31:34] Uh be it resolved that council approves
a donation of $100 to the French River
[31:38] Junior Golf Tournament towards their
annual event on July 21st, 2026.
[31:43] » All those in favor?
Thank you.
[31:47] So, this is a kids golf tournament that
they have annually at the Maples.
[31:52] Um so
[31:58] He's sitting
and he
[32:03] So, we'll continue on with
uh we have the consent agenda.
[32:07] We need a mover and a consent and and a
seconder to adopt uh
[32:13] So, Counselor Willie and
I need a seconder.
[32:18] Counselor Davis?
>> Be it resolved that council approves the
[32:22] items of the consent agenda under
section 8.1 and receives the items under
[32:26] section 8.2.
>> All those in favor?
[32:31] Thank you.
Uh there are no items separated from the
[32:36] consent agenda.
Now, we will move no notices of motions.
[32:41] Uh we will move on to announcements and
inquiries and I believe Mayor Pigeau
[32:45] would like to proceed first.
>> I do.
[32:50] Sorry, Bob.
Nice try, Bob.
[32:55] That's what That's the good part of not
sharing is that I get to say go first at
[33:00] announcement, not last as normal. Uh
but one of the reasons I wanted to go
[33:05] first I want to express once again my
sincerest thanks um
[33:10] to the staff, uh especially Mel and
Jason um who put uh Canada Day together
[33:17] for us. And um
you know, and it had to be moved inside
[33:21] the uh arena, which was the best move uh
because of the amount of heat. Um I also
[33:27] want to thank members of council who uh
worked so hard on the the barbecue, man.
[33:34] As I said to you in my email, um I think
uh the municipality owes you a shirt and
[33:40] a stiff drink. So, that that was uh a
hot one out there.
[33:45] Also, uh the firefighters association um
for once again doing their dunk tank and
[33:52] uh that got us a bit of publicity uh on
the on the news, which uh I thought was
[33:57] really nice.
Um the only other thing that I have is
[34:02] um
the cart the French River Lions Club is
[34:07] hosting a car show at Didi's on July
18th. Uh starts I believe at 10:00 and
[34:15] goes through till 3:00 and they're
going to be highlighting a lot of
[34:19] antique cars and
bikes and whatever and the proceeds that
[34:24] are uh
being uh raised will go to the food
[34:28] bank. Um so, that's uh very much
appreciated. So, that's uh not this
[34:33] Saturday, next Saturday between 10:00
and 3:00 a.m. Oh, 3:00 a.m. Yeah, right.
[34:39] 3:00 p.m.
Didi's restaurant. And that's all I have
[34:44] for now.
[34:48] » Thank you, Mary Bethune.
We'll continue on with Roger.
[34:54] » Thank you, Madam Chair.
I have to double up on the Canada Day.
[35:02] I think it's the amount of work that
went into it.
[35:05] Unbelievable. Like moving everything
from outside to inside.
[35:09] So, I would like to also thank Mel and
Jason.
[35:14] I mean, Jason really basically carried
the Canada Day.
[35:19] One thing I have to say though, the
workers outside the bar on the barbecue
[35:25] get a
get a stiff drink. I was inside, so I
[35:28] should get half a drink.
Thank you.
[35:37] » Elton Bond.
>> Thank you, Madam Chair.
[35:42] I I think counselor uh
Roger, you should get you should get a
[35:46] full drink.
But we'll we'll give doubles to the
[35:50] people outside.
>> Here you go. Perfect.
[35:53] » Uh
I will uh
[35:57] maybe won't sound good, but you said you
second that the I'll
[36:04] turn that.
And I have to say yeah, thank you to Mel
[36:08] and uh
and Jason and all the organizers, all
[36:12] the volunteers,
all the the people that attended. Uh
[36:19] just seeing that that's the smiles of
the the kids, the children,
[36:25] the games, the face painting, the the
bouncy
[36:29] bouncy uh
whatever you call them there.
[36:33] And and some Some of the kids complained
though because they said there was an
[36:38] adult in there.
>> Oh, no.
[36:40] » But that that has to
to go. And
[36:45] anyway, thank you to everyone. It was a
super day.
[36:49] Uh the only
two more things that I have. I had a
[36:53] chance to visit the arena this
afternoon. The boards are coming along
[36:57] great. They're looking very nice.
Uh but the the workmanship is very good.
[37:04] The the quality of the product we got is
very good.
[37:08] And
seniors complex meeting
[37:13] next next week on
uh the week after 22nd. Anyway.
[37:18] And I don't know where the summer is
going. I'd just like to wish everyone a
[37:22] a
super rest of the summer and uh
[37:26] be safe and enjoy.
[37:30] » Thank you, Bob. Oh, Councillor Rogers.
>> One thing I I forgot to mention about
[37:35] Canada Day
and I thought, you know, being in
[37:38] selling tickets is the smiles that I saw
on the younger kids when they came to
[37:45] buy a hot dog or something and they were
told that they weren't paying, you know,
[37:50] it brought a big smile and the you know,
the the whole package of the pop and the
[37:55] chips. And I also have to
saw a few smiles on the parents when
[37:59] they found out didn't have to pay. So,
giving out hot dogs to the kids and
[38:05] like a hot dog combo or whatever, uh I
think it was a very good idea and that
[38:10] should never come in doubt that every
candidate should the same thing should
[38:15] happen. Thank you.
>> You're welcome.
[38:18] Councillor Willie.
>> I won't keep going on about Canada Day,
[38:23] Canada Day from my observation was a
great success. I just want to point out,
[38:26] I know there's been some mention with
Jason there. Um
[38:29] while I was cooking, I made mention that
I was burning my arms reaching in to
[38:33] grab the back burners.
And Jason says, "I can help you. I'll
[38:37] fix it." I said, "No, no, don't worry
about that. We'll just look at that for
[38:40] next time, right?" So, he shows up and
he's got this modified spatula now with
[38:45] a hockey stick handle.
I had no problem reaching those back
[38:49] burners burgers after that.
Um moving on to just an observation I
[38:54] made.
We live in a in a fantastic municipality
[38:57] and I think for the most part we all do
look after each other and we we mind
[39:02] what we do
and and really reflect on how it affects
[39:05] everybody else. Just two things I want
to bring up, ATVs and jet skis. Um ATVs,
[39:12] it's a privilege actually to to have
those vehicles on the road. I don't know
[39:15] if we go back not too far that we
weren't allowed to put them on the road.
[39:19] They had to trailer to locations.
I'm witnessing people take cart launch
[39:24] and they're riding in the middle of the
road. They're blocking traffic and
[39:27] they're obstructing Well, they're
obstructing traffic. Um I don't know
[39:30] what the exact regs are, but you have to
shoulder those vehicles and they have to
[39:34] ride at a percentage of the road the
legal road speed. I just want everyone
[39:38] to keep that in mind, please, that we
shouldn't be in the way of of normal
[39:43] modes of transportation. Uh next, jet
skis. Um we live in a pristine
[39:47] environment.
French River example, well, there's a
[39:50] lot of that river that isn't populated.
Um wild sounds, wild animals, and
[39:55] there's nothing that breaks that than
hearing a jet ski do circles, burp
[40:00] pissing the thing, jump up and down all
over the place, revving, and cranking
[40:04] the music
on these machines for what reason? Put
[40:08] your buds in.
That's that's what I do when I'm on the
[40:11] lawn mower. No one needs to listen to my
music. Um I just need people to um
[40:16] realize uh what they're doing and how it
affects other people. That's all. You're
[40:21] enjoying your activity, that's great.
Other people may not be enjoying that
[40:24] activity as well. So, I just I just want
to put that out there. I know
[40:28] probably in many instances we're not
doing this on purpose. Sometimes we just
[40:31] need a reminder of what we're doing and
how it affects others. Uh that's all I
[40:36] have. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Counselor Willie.
[40:41] Uh Counselor Dean.
[40:47] » I'd just like to uh
reiterate that I thought the Canada Day
[40:51] celebration was really well done. I
myself came out prepared to try to do
[40:57] something and I didn't get offered any
job, so I mostly walked around and
[41:02] talked and that sort of thing, but uh
but it was well attended and people were
[41:08] enjoying themselves and uh
there was some kind of interest in the
[41:12] dunk tank and some of those kind of
things, too.
[41:15] But I think I think it was a success and
and I I'm I didn't see the fireworks,
[41:20] but I'm guessing it went well, too. It
was a good evening for them and
[41:25] and uh so but otherwise it was uh it was
well done and uh
[41:31] I won't even be around next year, so I
don't have to worry about whether I get
[41:36] a job or not, but I went out there. I
thought maybe I might be working and
[41:40] then I found Willie and and uh
Dave and another body doing all of the
[41:45] work and and uh and now they had the
special spatulas to work with, so
[41:51] they'll be better than ever in going
into the future. So, uh that's all I
[41:56] have to say. It was well done and I'm
glad we uh were so successful and we had
[42:02] good weather.
[42:04] » Counselor Dave.
>> I'm going to say to same thing with
[42:08] Canada Day. It was uh very well
organized and uh
[42:13] I want to thank uh Bob, Willie, Renee,
Julie, and Jason who allowed me to take
[42:20] a little bit more of a break this year
on the barbecue so I could play on the
[42:23] bouncy castle.
Which it wasn't any easier than cooking,
[42:27] by the way.
[42:32] » Thank you,
Dave. Uh so, I'm going to go on uh
[42:37] Canada Day was great. The fireworks were
amazing. Uh
[42:42] must say thank you to the fire
department for getting the
[42:48] the dunk tank. Uh I think uh on the hot
day like that, we did not have a hard
[42:53] time getting any volunteers. Even our uh
Ian Campbell was put down by our mayor.
[43:00] So, she can throw a baseball.
She can. So, thank you to uh everybody
[43:07] who gave a hand and
I'm glad everybody was able to enjoy it.
[43:12] Um there are a few things. Um the
Trading Post is celebrat- uh is
[43:18] celebrating 75 years of being 70 years?
70 years of being in business this year.
[43:25] My apologies.
Uh so, it's a big year for them. So, if
[43:29] you have a chance to stop in throughout
the summer, I know they have numerous
[43:32] activities going on. Um also, we have
BG's Tacos out in Albin that is doing a
[43:40] market on Sundays now. So, that is great
to see.
[43:45] Uh it's nice to see that we have all
these businesses around in the area
[43:49] whether it be food uh
or markets or it's really nice to see uh
[43:56] the livelihood uh
in the communities of all these extra
[44:01] businesses and I know that the tourists
or the seasonal people are really
[44:06] enjoying it. You know, from Seasons and
Brew to Kathy Caravan for ice cream or
[44:12] you know, Contigo Cafe for coffee or the
Trading Post or Great Escape Cabins.
[44:19] There seems to be a lot to do and with
the beach and the splash pad, so people
[44:23] are really enjoying that. So,
it's great to see all the new businesses
[44:28] in the community and the ones that are
soon to open. So, congrats to that
[44:33] to all of that. We have uh the Trout
Lake Picnic Association will have their
[44:39] annual picnic on Sunday, August 2nd. Um
I know there's also Christmas in July
[44:46] happening
with the French the No L'eau French
[44:50] River Market,
uh which will be July 25th, 2026. A lot
[44:55] of the businesses in town here will have
specials going on from Home Hardware to
[45:01] the chip stand.
Uh so, you might they'll have
[45:04] decorations out. So, uh you may want to
go around and and participate and
[45:09] hopefully next year we can get some of
the houses to decorate, which would be
[45:13] really nice and maybe get some kind of I
don't know bike-a-thon or something
[45:17] going. So, we
Santa Claus is supposed to stop in this
[45:21] year.
Uh he is scheduled. He's uh on holidays
[45:27] and but before he jumps into the busy
season,
[45:30] he's going to stop in.
Uh there's also the car show happening.
[45:34] And so, there's many uh activities and
uh a lot of stuff happening. The public
[45:40] the library has all their summer
programming going on for kids. So, uh
[45:45] it's been really good. So, that's about
all I have to say.
[45:50] Um so, we will continue on to uh we have
no closed sessions tonight. Uh I need a
[45:59] resolution to adopt the confirmation
bylaw.
[46:02] Councillor Dave and Councillor Dean.
And uh
[46:08] our next scheduled meeting will be
August 12th.
[46:12] Uh
it's a little sooner because of AMO, so
[46:16] uh for those we will have a four-week
holidays
[46:20] for and we'll be back then. So, we need
a resolution to adjourn.
[46:25] Councillor Dave and Councillor Bob.
Thank you very much.