[5:05] Great. Welcome everyone to the town of Greater Napony regular session of

[5:08] council for the 25th day of August 2026. Just before we call the meeting to

[5:12] order, I just want to remind everyone this evening that this evening's meeting

[5:15] is being livereamed via our YouTube channel. So, welcome to those that are

[5:19] in the body of the council chambers this evening. Welcome to those that are

[5:22] watching uh tonight and welcome to those that will watch us at a later date. So

[5:26] having said all that, we'll call the meeting to order and we'll start our

[5:28] meeting uh with our opening proceeding which is a playing of the national

[5:32] anthem. So I'll ask those in the body of the council chambers to stand and face

[5:35] the flag as we play our national

[5:51] Heat. [music]

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[6:04] Heat.

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[6:14] Heat

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[6:33] up here.

[6:38] [music] Heat. Heat.

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[7:05] » [music]

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[7:22] » Great. Thanks everyone. Uh just uh before we get going, we're going to uh

[7:27] deal with a closed session that we had earlier this evening. So I'll look for a

[7:31] motion to uh note rece [clears throat] or sorry to uh go into or to do our

[7:36] rising report from close session. Moved by deputy mayor Calver, second by

[7:39] councelor Shank if there's no further comments, questions or concerns. All in

[7:42] favor of that motion? Opposed? Motion's carried. I would like to report uh that

[7:48] in closed session this evening uh that council received for information

[7:54] the confidential appointments to the joint compliance audit committee report

[7:58] and further that council approve the recommended appointments and direct that

[8:02] a bylaw be brought to the September 8th 2026 meeting for adoption. Uh look for a

[8:10] motion to note and receive that. Uh moved by councelor Nory second by depra.

[8:14] There's no further comments, questions, or concerns. All in favor of that

[8:17] motion? Opposed? Motion's carried. Uh the next matter is confidential

[8:21] SR1429-2026 legal advice. The council received for

[8:26] information the confidential legal advice report.

[8:30] Moved by councelor Davyy, second by councelor

[8:33] Shank. If there's no further comments, questions, or concerns, all in favor of

[8:37] that motion? Opposed? The motion's carried. And I'm just going to back up

[8:42] because we do have some rising reports. Madam clerk, I think from August 11th

[8:45] and 25th, am I correct? >> Through your worship. Yes. Uh since

[8:50] August 11th was only close session in the special meeting, we'll do the rise

[8:53] and report. Yeah. >> Okay. So, having uh said

[9:00] » uh this one here, right, right? >> Yeah.

[9:02] » Yeah. >> Uh we'll uh look for a motion to know

[9:05] and receive the confidential SR1434-2026 land sale former Suttered Lands. that

[9:11] council receive for information the confidential land sale former sutter

[9:15] lands report and fur that council direct and authorized staff to proceed as

[9:18] directed in close session moved by deputy mayor calver second by councelor

[9:21] Martin if there's no further comments questions or concerns all in favor of

[9:24] that motion motion's carried and finally confidential SR1433-2026

[9:31] human resources report August 11th the council receive for information the

[9:34] confidential human resources report moved by councelor Nory second by

[9:39] councelor Martin if there's no further comments, questions, or concerns. All in

[9:43] favor of that motion? Opposed? Motion's carried. Uh look for a motion to adopt

[9:50] uh the agenda as presented. Move by councelor Davyy. Second by councelor

[9:54] Shank. If there's no further comments, questions or concerns. All in favor of

[9:57] that motion. Opposed. Motion's carried. Disclosure of pecuniary interest in the

[10:01] general nature thereof. Is there any disclosures of pecuniary interest this

[10:05] evening? Seeing none, uh, deputations, schedule

[10:10] deputations, new items. I don't believe we have any, madame clerk. Uh,

[10:15] deputations item on the agenda. We do have one deputation, Jay Bogdanowitz.

[10:20] Miss Bdanowitz is here. And so, welcome, uh, Miss Bogdanowitz. Uh, I don't know

[10:26] if you've been here in person or not. The microphone in front of you, there's

[10:29] a button in the middle uh, says push. You just have to push it. Once the green

[10:33] light is on, the green light is on and we'll be able to hear you. but they have

[10:37] to have the green light on so the folks at home can hear you as well. So, um,

[10:40] whenever you're ready, the floor of yours.

[10:43] » Okay, great. Thank you. Uh, thank you, uh, for allowing me to speak tonight.

[10:47] Uh, I appreciated the conversation, uh, at the last meeting very much. Um, and I

[10:52] appreciated that there was a unanimous interest in, uh, a bylaw review of, um,

[10:57] of, I guess, orders to mow tall grasses. Um, I also very much appreciated that

[11:02] two council members came to the property to see uh the garden that we are trying

[11:06] to naturalize and uh they spoke highly of it uh during the council meeting and

[11:11] um you know suggested that others uh could do the same as well on their

[11:14] properties. Um I appreciated the staff report that was turned around very

[11:18] quickly um and that was very thorough although I have a few questions about

[11:22] that report today. Um, and I guess, um, what I'm kind of

[11:27] left wondering is that regardless of, um, you know, the praise I received from

[11:31] from the counselors, um, staff continue to recommend upholding the order to MO.

[11:37] Um, and so again, I'm here to, uh, request that the order is cancelled. Uh,

[11:41] and to just confirm again that this issue is causing a great amount of

[11:45] distress for for me and my family. Um, one of the things in the report that

[11:50] I found uh that was interesting that I wanted to highlight um was an

[11:54] interpretive direction that pollinator gardens and naturalized lawns could fall

[11:59] within the existing exemption for ornamental grasses that currently exist

[12:03] in the bylaw. And if that interpretation is taken,

[12:07] that would protect our garden and others like it um as the bylaw update proceeds

[12:12] uh without rec without requiring council to wait until the next term to act. So I

[12:17] thought that was a kind of an interesting um let's not call it a

[12:20] loophole, but a kind of interesting interpretation um to address this issue.

[12:25] Um I'm also [clears throat] here to seek clarification about the report in

[12:29] particular. Uh the report recommends um mowing along two of my property lines,

[12:34] but it says that I I don't need to mow if if the area is a wetland and those

[12:39] property lines um contain cattails. And so in my interpretation, this is um you

[12:44] know part of a a storm water swale and I'm curious to know if that would be

[12:48] considered a wetland or not. Um the report also um suggests that the

[12:54] order is canled. Um, however, it kind of suggests that it could be opened up

[12:59] again um before the next term of council. Um, and so again, I'm here to

[13:03] humbly ask that the decision that is made today closes the issue for us until

[13:07] the bylaw can be updated. Um, the topic of t ticks and pests came

[13:14] up at the last meeting. Um, and uh, I wanted to refer to the letter that

[13:18] council has received by Joyce Hustlin, uh, who is a Thousand Islands master

[13:23] gardener. uh she wanted to um I guess point

[13:26] council to um a number of scientific papers that have been written on the

[13:30] issue and uh and if uh council proceeds with updating the bylaw encourage that

[13:36] those involved in that um that they consult the the latest scient scientific

[13:41] papers on the issue and in particular just to quote her um her letter she says

[13:46] that blackhead black sorry blacklegged ticks um and their abundance is driven

[13:51] by deer access white-footed mice populations and woodland proximity and

[13:55] it's um and plant height and mowing schedules do not quite um you know

[14:00] contribute to tick populations. Um and so finally just to conclude um

[14:06] you know again I'm here as I've mentioned in my letter I will not be

[14:08] destroying my garden uh and forced to mow and if the town decides to destroy

[14:13] the garden I will have no choice but to take legal action for damages. Thank

[14:17] you. >> Great. Thanks Madanowitch. Just hang

[14:21] tight and we'll see if uh just hang tight. We'll see if council has any

[14:24] questions for you. Okay. So, council, do you have any questions or comments for

[14:28] for Julie with respect to her her uh deputation here this evening?

[14:34] Uh Deputy Mayor Calber, thank you worship.

[14:40] The blacklegged tick. There's a lot of different talks about what causes, what

[14:46] doesn't cause, where they live, where they don't live. Um,

[14:52] as much as you're saying that long grass doesn't attribute to them and so on and

[14:57] so forth, there's also documents out there that say it does. Um, I'm just

[15:02] just a little concerned. I mean, we have bylaws in place for a reason.

[15:07] And here we are. As much as you enjoy your

[15:11] your natural garden, natural yard, and I did take a drive out there, by the way.

[15:15] I didn't I didn't knock on your door. I went and seen what I could see from the

[15:19] road. Um, and I've seen your trails that you've got cut through your property and

[15:24] stuff, but I I just I'm just concerned myself. I

[15:29] know with our property that we maintain and look at, 100 plus acres of land. Um,

[15:34] and we have trails as well and uh we do have ticks on the property um as well.

[15:41] And it's uh it's a non-stop fight to try to keep them and we keep everything cut

[15:45] back on our trails and so on and so forth. But uh yeah, I'm just a little

[15:49] concerned when you when you say that the long grass doesn't doesn't in inhibit

[15:53] these uh these ticks because we have them too and they're everywhere and

[15:57] especially in southeastern Ontario there these ticks are all over the place. So

[16:03] anyways, that was all I've got to say on that. So, I I still believe our bylaws

[16:08] are are still good and should be followed. Thank you.

[16:12] » Thank you. Uh, Deputy Mayor Calver, is there anything else for Miss Baganowitz

[16:18] before we move on? Seeing none, uh, hang tight, uh, Julie.

[16:24] We will have a, I'm sure, a robust conversation about the matter later on

[16:28] in the agenda. So, uh, um, relax and see how we do things here in Napony. So,

[16:33] thank you. I'll look for a motion to note and receive the uh the uh

[16:38] deputation of Julie Bogdanowitz. Moved by councelor Noi, second by Deputy Mayor

[16:43] Calver. If there's no further comments, questions, or concerns, all in favor of

[16:47] that motion? Opposed? Motion's carried. Unfinished business. The first matter is

[16:51] updated executive services, labor relations, reserve, spending thresholds,

[16:55] and governance framework. And Mr. Grant, I think you're going to speak to that.

[17:00] Uh so when you get settled in there, we'll uh we'll allow you to take the

[17:03] floor.

[17:12] Uh thank you worship and through you your worship to members of council. Um

[17:16] this is an item that is coming back uh with respect uh to uh labor relations uh

[17:24] reserve. Uh the initial trunch of money going into the reserve uh is $155,000

[17:32] um from workplace self uh safety and insurance board. Uh and the team has

[17:38] also talked about how to have recurring support um for that kind of reserve. Um

[17:44] the the current theory is what's called gapping dollars. So there will be uh

[17:49] monies that are unspent on budgeted salary dollars due to turnover or

[17:52] recruitment and that sort of thing. and that's uh dedicated for HR so should be

[17:57] going for HR purposes. Uh council at our uh last meeting expressed the desire um

[18:04] to understand um exactly how this money would be allocated and spent, how

[18:09] council uh could perform its fiduciary duty in terms of spending limits um

[18:15] while also um creating a a separation on specific

[18:21] HR matters. And I think that we've struck a reasonable balance here and I'm

[18:24] I'm happy to get your views on it. So, the proposed delegated authority limits

[18:29] um the way that it uh is proposed to work is that uh there'd be a maximum

[18:34] spend uh of $25,000 um for things such as recruitment

[18:40] advertising, executive or specialized recruitment services, uh candidate uh

[18:44] assessment and testing tools, relocation assistance, um things like that for uh

[18:50] recruitment and staffing transition costs, termination, severance, and

[18:54] workforce restructuring costs such as uh contractual termination pay, severance

[18:58] obligations, vacation payout, liabilities, uh labor relations uh and

[19:02] legal expenses and investigation cost such as external labor employment legal

[19:08] services, workplace investigations um under some of our policies uh such as

[19:13] the workplace harassment uh bylaw, arbitration and mediation costs, human

[19:18] rights or employment compliance matters, uh WSIB and accommodation costs. Um so

[19:25] uh I would have the authority to authorize the spend on the

[19:28] recommendation of human resources uh and would do so in consultation with the

[19:33] treasurer. Um the uh anything exceeding that and candidly anything serious would

[19:40] exceed that. uh it just would uh would come to council uh for an inc camera

[19:45] discussion uh in a general sense without getting into the specific HR files per

[19:51] se. But this this is the problem we're trying to solve and this is why we think

[19:54] this uh avenue uh is the proper avenue to solve it and this is how much uh we

[19:59] believe that we need above and beyond what is our delegated authority. Um, I

[20:04] would expect um a lot of um uh spending would be minor in nature and far below

[20:13] the $25,000 threshold. One of the things that sparked this discussion candidly

[20:18] was um the fact that HR had no recruitment budget.

[20:22] » Um that candidly was a problem u from my perspective. we were using uh our own uh

[20:29] website, social media and that sort of thing to try to find um appropriate

[20:34] staff and and sometimes we're looking for very specialized people in a very

[20:38] competitive market. So I'll I'll give you an example. Um he's not here anymore

[20:43] online so I can embarrass him. Um Mr. Hatton is someone that we did an

[20:49] expanded uh search for using very specific uh advertising methods

[20:54] particularly um the association of planners websites and which come at a

[20:59] cost um and that's where we found them and uh that is candidly a get because

[21:05] planners are hard to find. Um there's a number of different kinds of professions

[21:09] that are hard uh to fill and that is one of them at this point in time. Um so we

[21:15] would see things such as that. Um the uh and anything above and beyond

[21:22] that as I mentioned we would bring to council um for uh your authorization. Um

[21:28] we would give you a full rationale and you know as we do financial reporting we

[21:33] would indicate um these are where monies were spent and the reason that they were

[21:37] spent that way. And with that uh I or Miss Natt Fischer are happy to answer

[21:42] any of your questions. Great. Uh, thank you, Mr. Grant. Go

[21:45] ahead, Councelor Nish. >> Mr. Grant. Um, just I think I know the

[21:49] answer, but the relocation assistance is that the sweet in the pot to say to

[21:53] bring someone from the other end of the lake from a big city to here or

[21:56] something like that? Is that the idea >> to Mr. Mayor? Short answer, yes. Um, so

[22:01] if we're pulling people from if we're trying to um entice them from the

[22:06] greater Toronto area or beyond, um, it's unlikely we'd be able to pay full

[22:11] relocation. Um but sometimes that's what's needed to give us a competitive

[22:16] edge over over a different organization. [clears throat]

[22:20] » Thought so. Thank you. >> Thank you councelor Nor. Thank you Mr.

[22:23] Grant. Is there anything else? Councelor Martin.

[22:28] » Thank you mayor through you. Um Mr. Grant. Um

[22:35] the the reserve fund is was or is or whatever it

[22:40] was at 155 155,000

[22:44] and >> Mr. Mayor. Yes, it is.

[22:48] » Okay. Um so if the corporation saves money during

[22:54] the year that's going to be replenished by that money saved. So what what

[22:59] happens if there's x number of dollars saved and you keep you build up that

[23:04] fund to um a large amount? I mean, I I like reserve funds, Billy. Me for, you

[23:11] know, firet truck, uh, uh, snow plows, building maintenance, that type of

[23:16] thing. But I'm just I'm just wondering why HR usually isn't an emergency

[23:22] situation. Like, usually HR can come to council for for funds or whatever. And

[23:30] should there maybe be a cap on the reserve fund as far as I mean how much

[23:37] money would would you recommend that uh or you you would think that's going to

[23:42] be needed in a particular year. >> So through you Mr. Mayor to councelor

[23:50] Martin uh difficult to say depending on year to year. So I would agree that

[23:54] there's no uh emergency situations per se. Uh but human resources is part of

[23:59] the business that costs money has cost money. We can cost that out over the

[24:03] last several years. We've just been pulling it from other places. Um so it's

[24:07] it's come at the expense of of some other places. Um I would say do I think

[24:13] that the reserve is going to get quite a bit higher year-over-year savings? I

[24:17] would love to have that problem. [laughter]

[24:20] I don't think we're going to have that problem.

[24:23] um only because of some of the the uh past dollars that have been spent for

[24:28] specific reasons, whether it be arbitration that we recently went

[24:31] through. Um if we have mediation cost, recruitment costs, um there's an ongoing

[24:37] costs that are fairly healthy. And I wouldn't suggest that we'd want to go

[24:41] much over 150 unless uh if it indicated, you know, a circumstance indicated that

[24:49] we needed more than that, we would come to you and ask to to raise the

[24:51] threshold. If we were over that, my expectation would be that uh finance

[24:56] would tell you um look, we we are over the threshold of the reserve that was

[25:00] originally set up by council. What would you like to do with the money? Um so I I

[25:05] don't think we're going to see uh the reserve grow and grow and grow per se.

[25:09] It's unlike other reserves and that there's continuous operating needs, but

[25:13] it's been uh a negotiation between HR and others uh between uh how things will

[25:20] be funded, where the money is going to come from, are people going to get the

[25:23] same level of service uh based on the budget they have to allocate for a

[25:27] recruitment effort or whatnot. And we're we're looking to sort of standardize the

[25:31] service so everyone gets the same level of service, if you may, if you will. Um

[25:35] so that's the intention for it. I don't know if I answered your question

[25:39] there, counselor, in a roundabout way.

[25:44] Thank you. Um, could I just um So, is is that uh does this mean if we

[25:51] have a reserve fund of 150 roughly,000 that that will no longer be a budget

[25:58] item because other years we've actually budgeted for HR expenses, have we not?

[26:05] And I mean, if there's an expense coming that needs to be paid for, it usually

[26:09] comes out of the general reserve as opposed to

[26:13] having a I mean, I don't know how many reserves we have now. I I've I've heard

[26:17] a number of reserves over over the last four years, and I'm just I just want to

[26:22] make sure that council is aware of every dollar spent, but we all know that next

[26:28] year is going to be a a challenging year budget-wise. So, I'm just I'm just

[26:32] trying to get a perspective on on what's going ahead as far as our budgeting is

[26:37] concerned. >> I think uh I think our human resources

[26:40] professional may be able to weigh in on this, Mr. Grant. So, go ahead, Holly.

[26:44] » Thank you. Through your worship. Um we of course now my brain has gone

[26:49] completely empty. Um Oh my goodness,

[26:55] my brain's empty. It Yeah, thank you. Um, [laughter]

[27:01] in the past we have budgeted for known expenses in HR that have come up. So

[27:06] when we know we're going to arbitration, when we know we're doing those certain

[27:10] when we're going to have higher than normal legal fees, but in a lot of the

[27:13] situations that you see listed in this reserve here, they're unknown. They

[27:17] happen kind of just as they happen. Um, so I I foresee this being a separate pot

[27:23] of money for that exact reason. we will still likely budget for these higher

[27:29] expense item ticket items that we know are coming. So, we won't be pulling from

[27:33] those reserves for that specific thing when we know it's coming. But otherwise,

[27:38] everything else listed in this reserve, it it kind of comes up as the year goes

[27:43] on and that's why we're asking for this specific pot of money on the side to

[27:46] pull from.

[27:50] Yep. >> So, this is just for emergency funds.

[27:55] This isn't for So, we'll still be looking at budgeting for normal HR

[28:00] expenses. So,

[28:02] » through your worship, yes, we will still be planning on budgeting for normal

[28:06] known HR expenses. I'm not confident the word emergency is the right word um

[28:11] because that has a certain context associated with it. But these are the

[28:14] unknown costs that happen throughout the year. Um, they happen every year.

[28:18] They're going to happen every year, but you can't plan for them because you

[28:22] don't know which ones are going to come up.

[28:25] » Thank you. Sorry. Go ahead, Mr. Grant. >> So, three, Mr. May, I'll give I'll give

[28:30] an example for you, counselor. So, uh, some of the recruitment costs that we

[28:34] would incur, we wouldn't know. Um, so, uh, people don't often, uh, forecast in

[28:40] advance, um, before they've found a new job. They let you know when they've

[28:44] secured a new job. Not that anyone not that we want anyone to leave. Um but uh

[28:50] the difference in recruiting um certain positions uh versus other positions.

[28:56] There will be a difference in cost in how you would have to go to recruit

[28:59] because one year we might find a difficult to recruit position that we

[29:03] have to invest more money into to find the right person. Uh and other ones um

[29:09] those types of uh people that could fill those positions are are more abundant in

[29:14] the area. um we might have uh an HR investigation that comes up for whatever

[29:20] reason that we weren't anticipating that we would need um funds for, but we

[29:25] wouldn't be necessarily anticipating those because a matter might have uh

[29:29] popped up that would be contrary to a policy and we're obligated under policy

[29:33] to act. Um but we wouldn't have been able to foresee those because um we

[29:38] didn't plan for someone to break a policy.

[29:42] » Thank you, Mr. Graham. Thank you. Uh, council, go ahead,

[29:47] councelor Shane. Hi,

[29:50] » Matthew. Uh, I'll give you an analogy. I had a wise man tell me once that uh, and

[29:54] this is council's what's happened in the past. All right. So, if a child touches

[29:59] a stove when it's really hot, it's a little gunshy touching again. So,

[30:03] there's a concern here. All right. I'll be I'm just being honest. All right.

[30:08] That are we giving you the the keys to the

[30:13] safe? if you know what I mean. I know it's 155,000, but are we losing any

[30:18] authority of no, we're not going to pay that out or no, we're not going to do

[30:23] this or we're losing that. Now, I'm in agreement with what you're doing. All

[30:29] right, cautiously. All right, but uh Ellen is

[30:35] going to give us a quarterly financial breakdown.

[30:39] uh anything is I have faith because we have great staff that anything that's

[30:45] contentious that is you know it doesn't do the smell

[30:49] test because uh we're not a municipality that just goes yeah we'll just yeah

[30:55] we'll bend or yeah no you know what I mean if it has to go that route we we'll

[30:59] go that route you know what I mean but we have to be fair and honest with

[31:02] ourselves also and where that money spent and that's where I think where

[31:05] Bill's coming from also where counselor Martin is coming from is that we just

[31:09] want to make sure that we're not out of the loop, that we're still in that loop

[31:13] with Ellen's uh financial what she's going to give us to us and with your

[31:18] communication skills, Matthew and and Holly, what you guys are doing, I feel

[31:22] confident that you're doing it. So, I'm not saying I'm not going to look at it

[31:26] with a real magnifying glass, but it's definitely going to be looked at. So,

[31:30] that's what my concern is. as long as you you address those type of concerns

[31:33] with the the future council then uh you know what I mean what their concern

[31:37] might be because you know once bitten twice shy you know what I mean so that's

[31:43] where you're into a shy state right now so that's all

[31:48] » yeah go ahead Mr. Grant >> so um I'll uh I'll I'll speak to that

[31:53] counselor and and invite Holly to weigh in so I'd first say through you Mr.

[31:57] Mayor, if we were going to rob the safe, I'd ask you for a lot more money. I

[32:01] really would. Um, and there's nothing in this policy that would allow us to spend

[32:06] $150,000 in one shot. So, what you're seeing in terms of a $25,000 limit,

[32:13] that's around my that's actually quite a bit less than my delegated authority

[32:16] already. Um, it it's and to date in my time here. Uh, I like working here, so I

[32:23] wouldn't spend that without telling you. Uh, unless it was a serious emergency,

[32:27] like I need to act and spend something now, we're going to lose a lot more. Um,

[32:33] what I would say is, um, let's call it, um, say if there was a dismissal that

[32:39] had to be made for whatever reason, um, some of this would be enough to to cover

[32:43] the statutory limits that we'd be required to pay anyway. if we were

[32:47] looking to have a negotiated settlement that would far exceed that for whatever

[32:51] reason, $25,000 probably wouldn't do it. Um, candidly, um, and if we were going

[32:58] to do that and look to get into a negotiated settlement, um, I would more

[33:04] than likely give you like give you the situation of here's the situation we're

[33:09] in. Here's the the management decision that I need to make. um I need uh to,

[33:16] you know, pull this amount of funds for this reason. Um and if I don't do that,

[33:20] here are some other options in order to get to the outcome that we need to get

[33:25] to. If it's not financial like right away, it might be um not that anyone's

[33:31] going to get fired, um but it would be something like salary continuence to

[33:35] spread out money as opposed to a lump sum out of the reserve. There'd be

[33:39] different ways to get at it. Um but we're quite aware um of the hot stove.

[33:46] Um we've taken great pains uh to ensure that staff and council have a high

[33:50] degree of trust and we value that. Um and uh it's not in our interest nor do

[33:56] we desire to lose that. >> Yep. Go ahead.

[34:00] » Like there's not all 25,000. There's an item in here 15,000. So that's the

[34:05] reason why there's but the reason why I'm saying that is

[34:09] because in the past you know a limit was 15,000 and an individual [clears throat]

[34:13] would go ahead and 14,552 and then the next month it would be

[34:17] 14,582 you know I mean I'm still below my limit

[34:21] you know what I mean as long as none of that ever happens you know I mean and I

[34:26] have trust in you guys so and you all know that you know I don't pound on you

[34:31] every day so there there we go. So yeah, I just that's the reason why the concern

[34:35] is there. That's all. >> So uh through Mr. Mayor, if it gives you

[34:40] any comfort, counselor, I'm remarkably cheap.

[34:46] » Thanks, uh councelor Shank. Thank you, Mr. Grant. Deputy Mayor Gbert.

[34:50] » Uh thank you through your worship. Um know exactly where you're coming from,

[34:53] Mike. Uh for a lot of years, we'd say you hear the saying, well, we'll find

[34:58] the money. This isn't money we're going to find. This is money for a specific

[35:04] job. This is for HR. This isn't just a slush fund for others to pull out of.

[35:09] This is HR money, their responsibility, and I have uh nothing but the utmost

[35:14] respect and trust for our staff. Thank you. Thanks, Deputy Mayor Calver. Is

[35:19] there anything else? If not, we do have a recommendation that council receive

[35:25] for information the updated executive services labor's relations reserve

[35:28] spending thresholds and governance framework report and further that

[35:31] council approve the proposed thresholds for delegated authority spending in each

[35:35] category. Moved by councelor Shank, second by councelor Davey. Is there any

[35:40] further comments, questions or concerns with respect to the motions on the

[35:43] floor? Seeing none, we'll call the question. All in favor of the motion

[35:46] that's on the floor opposed. The motion's carried. Next matter is growth

[35:50] in infrastructure request for land transfer 341 Camden Road portion of

[35:54] Milhouse Yard, Stormwater Pond Land. And Mr. Grant, you're going to speak to that

[35:59] as well. >> Uh I'm going to parrot the notes that

[36:04] Mr. Nobs was kind enough to give me. Um as uh he's not here today, so if you'll

[36:09] bear with me, I just need to pull that up.

[36:12] Um

[36:18] okay. Um so the subject property that um uh is in the report uh speaks to um

[36:27] fencing and and the like. So the fencing is to delineate uh the limit of town

[36:30] owned storm water pond area which was approved through budget. Uh a survey was

[36:35] completed to determine exact property line for the fence installation. Uh the

[36:39] property line bicts two mature pear trees which were planted by the owner of

[36:44] 341 Camden uh road several years ago. Uh the owner of 341 would like to see the

[36:50] trees retained through the installation of the fence. Uh the owner has requested

[36:54] either the town shift the fence further onto town property to avoid trees

[36:58] effectively um you know that would effectively give

[37:02] up town owned land which is not something that staff would recommend. Uh

[37:07] town compensate for the loss of the trees. A $400 tree of the fences

[37:10] installed on the property line and respectfully I think if there's a tree

[37:14] on our property that's candidly our tree. Um but uh the town transferred a 5

[37:19] foot wide strip of land for $1 to the owner to shift the property line away

[37:23] from the trees. Um you know the there's several different

[37:28] approaches uh to sell you could sell the owner a 5ft wide strip along the rear

[37:33] property line um roughly an $890 sale price to legally shift the property line

[37:38] to allow the trees to remain. Um if council elects to proceed with the sale

[37:43] uh of the land, the next step would be to declare the land surplus, which

[37:46] requires public notice and bylaw to allow the transfer uh would come to a

[37:50] future meeting. This would be a class two surplus as uh there's only one

[37:55] property that could acquire this land. Um so that is I believe Mr. Gnome's

[38:00] recommended option. The uh the other option I think that um uh would come up

[38:06] uh is uh council directed staff to come up with a uh tree bylaw. You may recall

[38:13] if in the event that we were going to install a fence and had to remove a tree

[38:18] to do so, we would be obligated to plant two trees uh under that policy which has

[38:23] yet to come forward. Um but I would say those are the options. I believe Mr. No

[38:28] has the recommended option of a land sale just to preserve the trees as they

[38:32] are. Um if council wanted a different option that would be one of them with

[38:36] that um I'm happy to uh answer sort of questions uh to the best of my

[38:44] ability.

[38:48] » Thank you uh thank you Mr. Grant. Uh let's we'll try and venture through this

[38:53] and see what we can do for you. So um first of all is there any questions? Go

[38:57] ahead, Council Martin. >> Sorry, Matthew. [laughter]

[39:02] Um, start off with, I would like to say that

[39:07] somehow or another, I'd like to see those trees saved. That's one of my I

[39:12] was I was over there actually the other day and I I don't know if you recall at

[39:17] council prior councils uh another resident over

[39:21] there actually bought a small area of and it's right beside this property um

[39:28] to square off his property and to make it one continual

[39:33] square fence there. So, I I'm just wondering, and you probably don't maybe

[39:38] don't know this, maybe you do, whether that neighbor was notified

[39:43] because I know there is some concern that now that that there's a bump out of

[39:48] his property next door, it's going to affect the new fence that he put up just

[39:52] recently, within the last, I think it was a month, maybe roughly. So, I don't

[39:57] know if that neighbor was contacted at all about uh his comments.

[40:04] through you, Mr. Mayor. I will have to look in that and get back to you,

[40:07] counselor. >> Thank you. Um, there's some other things

[40:11] I'm I'm asking about this, too. Um, the out of the six options that I that we

[40:18] have here. Um, I just want to ask why not number four,

[40:29] which is Well, I'll let you read it. [laughter]

[40:37] So through you, Mr. Mayor, if I read that um correctly, we'd be installing a

[40:42] fence um further on our property. We would still own some property but not

[40:48] have effective use of it, >> right?

[40:50] » Um so I would I we're not recommending it for that reason because normally if

[40:54] you're going to put fences, you put it on the property line of what?

[40:57] » Normally. Yes. >> Yeah. And so, um, I think if if the

[41:03] desire was to maintain the trees, uh, and not cut them down and replace them,

[41:08] but, uh, and allow the individual that planted them to retain ownership, a

[41:12] class 2 land sale is the way to go. Um, because then there is, um, no ambiguity

[41:18] over who owns what. Yeah, I understand kind of, but it would

[41:25] it it seems to me it would save this particular um

[41:31] person that's requesting the trees be saved and giving him land for for a

[41:38] dollar basically is what he's requesting for. Um, and I think we're talking about

[41:42] five feet roughly from what I was looking at over there for a bumpout. I I

[41:48] just think that it's not it's not going to be of any use

[41:53] to him or the town where that fence is. I mean, it's it's only it's only going

[41:58] to go to serve to uh save the trees and and if we sell it to them, it's going to

[42:05] be the same thing. There's going to be a bump out to save the trees. The only

[42:11] thing is it Yeah, you're right. It clarifies who owns it possibly. But when

[42:16] you're talking about 5 ft to save a tree,

[42:20] I I I would think number four would be it would save surveys, money, legal

[42:26] cost. That's all I'm I'm looking at. >> Go ahead, Mr. Grant.

[42:30] » So through you, Mr. Mayor, uh point of clarity as well is like uh the trees

[42:33] were planted by the individual, but the tree on our property legally is our

[42:36] tree. >> Um

[42:38] » I agree. >> Yeah. So um I I would say that

[42:42] » although excuse me, Mr. Grant, I I looking at it and and I'm not a

[42:47] surveyor, but looking at it, the one looked like it was in on his property.

[42:52] The other one was right on the property line, possibly if you measured with a

[42:57] with a, you know, a GPS instrument. I'm But it's more on town land than it is,

[43:04] but I I'm just, you know, >> so

[43:07] » just to clarify where the trees are >> through you, Mr. Fair enough. Partially

[43:11] our tree. >> Yeah. Um, so what I would say is this,

[43:14] like, um, I would look at this with the principle of what would we do for any

[43:18] other property if it wasn't just these trees, but it was some other thing. I

[43:22] think the principle of ownership is something that we would want to

[43:25] maintain. Um, and be really clear about who owns what.

[43:29] » Okay. >> Um, only because with land ownership

[43:32] comes responsibilities, comes liability, comes a number of different things. So

[43:36] if it's our intention uh to ensure that the trees can be preserved and owned by

[43:40] the individual then I would go through uh the effort of surveying it out and so

[43:45] the fence is in the proper place and ownership is not in question. Um it's

[43:49] say in the unlikely event that something happened on land that we owned but had

[43:53] no custody over um that puts us in a very precarious position not only in

[43:58] this but in other areas of of land ownership.

[44:04] » Yeah. Thank you, mayor. Through you, uh, Matthew, I I

[44:10] my main concern is to save the trees, but I mean, if we sell 5t of this

[44:15] property and give them a bump out and it costs 5 to7,000, I'm reading their

[44:21] report here uh, to do that. Does do we know if that property owner is prepared

[44:27] to spend that money for like he's asking for for a dollar? I I'm assuming he's

[44:34] not going to want to spend5 to $7,000 um legal fees and and um survey. So I

[44:44] guess my my other qu my last question will be if he doesn't buy it because he

[44:49] doesn't want to spend the money, are we going to cut the trees down?

[44:53] Because I'd really hate to see those two trees go.

[44:57] » Thank you. Okay. I won't ask anymore. >> So through you, Mr. Mayor, for the

[45:01] record, Council Min, you can ask as many questions as you like. It's why we're

[45:03] here. Um, but so I would say uh a couple of different things. Um, in line with

[45:10] the land sale bylaw and the principles of value for real estate, um, I would

[45:16] always advocate that we sell land for what it's worth and not necessarily what

[45:19] someone wants to pay, per se. Um, there is a value to that land. I'm quite

[45:25] certain it's more than a dollar. Um so uh giving someone for regardless of the

[45:30] purpose uh and how no matter how honorable it is, I think we have an

[45:33] obligation as a municipality uh to steward you know land ownership

[45:38] resources and and and charge what the land is worth. um in the event that we

[45:44] were going to um if a tree had to come down because we're putting a fence on

[45:48] the property line, that's when I believe um that the the policy that was

[45:53] recommended and approved by council for us to bring uh to bring back. Um we

[45:57] would plant two others uh in recognition uh of a healthy tree being removed due

[46:04] to uh the work uh initiated by the town. I I believe that this is something that

[46:10] actually speaks to exactly the intent uh of the policy that councelor Hicks

[46:14] brought forward and council passed that I mean nobody wants to cut down a tree

[46:18] that we don't have to like full stop. We would like we do everything in our power

[46:21] to avoid it. If we were putting a fence on a property land which is the

[46:24] recommended place to put a fence to delineate ownership and it re and it

[46:28] required a tree but maybe not both to be cut down. Um, I would say that we should

[46:33] replant two of the same species in as near a proximity as we could. Uh, that

[46:38] would be my recommendation on that, counselor, if if council doesn't want to

[46:41] have a bump out and and entertain a sale.

[46:44] » Thank you for that, Matthew. >> Thanks, Counc.

[46:49] Uh, thank you for your worship. Is David still online or is David gone?

[46:56] » Three, Mr. Mayor. David is not on the line.

[46:58] » Okay. I reached out to him earlier today. I wanted some clarification, but

[47:01] I was just trying to figure out we we did to the neighboring property. I'm

[47:05] trying to find I'd like just verification what we did to sell him

[47:08] that bit of land he wanted to do because we got to we got to kind of stick with

[47:12] our town's best practice. Um in my opinion anyways. Um it is it is a class

[47:19] two land, but we can't uh we can't do one without

[47:25] doing for everyone. So, that's just my uh my way of thinking. And I had one

[47:31] more. These pear trees, I I didn't see here how big they are. Are they Are they

[47:36] something that could be um could have somebody specially come in with a uh a

[47:41] tree spade and relocate these trees? I I don't know how big a pair of tree gets.

[47:45] I I drove by a couple of times. I couldn't see them. So, thank you.

[47:51] » Go ahead, Mr. Grant. See if you can uh >> Mr. I I don't know the answer to that,

[47:55] but we can certainly investigate if they can be relocated. Uh in terms of land,

[48:00] um I would say that there's a very clear process um by how council can dispose of

[48:06] uh land that it owns. So, first part of that would be to declare uh a piece of

[48:11] property surplus. You can declare a whole property. You can decide that

[48:15] there's an element of a property and you need to reservey it and and and parcel

[48:19] it out. Um and so if it doesn't have access uh to um you know public roadway

[48:26] or something else uh it would be deemed class two because there's only a few

[48:29] properties that would abut that that could buy that. Um that is a very

[48:33] prescribed process in the land sale bylaw. Um so we would offer that to

[48:37] anyone if they came forward. Normally uh we would only offer surplus lands and

[48:43] extenduating circumstances you would have to declare it surplus. So there'll

[48:46] be uh additional steps towards that. Um and as for uh removing the tree and

[48:53] relocating it, I can certainly uh ask the team um and we could we could come

[48:59] back uh with that information if that's of interest.

[49:06] » Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Grant. I think madam clerk is going to weigh in here, I

[49:10] think. Then I'll go back to you dep. And I I did just want to add to confirm

[49:16] that um I believe it was last year uh council did go through the class 2 land

[49:21] sale process with the neighbor um and that uh property owner purchased the

[49:26] land from the town at the set value in the policy and was responsible for all

[49:30] the legal transfer fees for that transaction.

[49:34] » Thank you, Madam Clerk. That's been very helpful. Go ahead, Deputy May.

[49:38] » Uh thank you, your worship. I I I thought that's what we what had taken

[49:41] place. I just was looking for a refresher and then thank you madam clerk

[49:44] for that. Um yeah m uh Mr. Grant I'd like to see some sort of report brought

[49:51] back before we make any decisions as to if if these trees could be movable and

[49:56] what the cost would be at that. I mean, um, if we go with what we've laid out in

[50:01] past, which I believe we should stick to what we've done in the past, uh, class 2

[50:05] lands, you're saying it's worth approximately $890,

[50:09] but then the cost to do the transfer of the, um, surveys and stuff could be

[50:14] between 5 and 7,000. That's a a big chunk to pay for a little land to save a

[50:18] couple of trees if, in fact, for maybe $2,000, they can be plucked from the

[50:23] ground and and replanted. I don't know. just worth looking at every option

[50:27] before we just decide to throw this out. Thank you.

[50:30] » Thank you, Mayor G. Mr. Grant. >> So, through you, Mr. Mayor. If that be

[50:36] the will of council, I would recommend a motion on that to uh direct that staff

[50:41] go and and find out uh if it is feasible to relocate the trees and then come back

[50:46] and and address this at another >> [clears throat]

[50:47] » uh at another time. >> Uh thank you, Mr. Crank. Go ahead,

[50:51] Councelor Shank. Now, Matthew, this this might like sound a simple question, but

[50:58] uh did he not own

[51:03] that land where those trees are or they were with all the subdivision

[51:08] and with the Mil House pond and everything else and the lot line ended

[51:11] up being there? I'm just trying to get in my mind why did he plant the trees so

[51:16] close to the lot line if he wanted to keep

[51:20] your line? if he wanted to keep the trees and he planted them, why wouldn't

[51:23] he plant them further on his own property?

[51:27] » So, for you, Mr. Mayor, I don't know that I can speak to the mindset of

[51:30] someone else and and choices that they made. Um, what I will say is it's not

[51:35] terribly unusual for people not to be 100% familiar with where lot lines are.

[51:40] We've we've had other cases where structures have been built, fences have

[51:44] been built, that sort of So my so what my what I'm trying to understand is is

[51:48] that why would the municipality change a boundary line when so therefore you I

[51:55] mean where somebody else planted some trees all right I'm sorry if you wanted

[52:00] to keep those trees you put it on yourself but also his one of his

[52:04] requests are that if you have to take him out he'd like to get paid $400 a

[52:07] tree. All right. So, all I'm saying is is

[52:12] it doesn't, you know, I don't understand what you where you guys are going. Like,

[52:16] if I wanted to plant some trees, I would make sure that they're on my own

[52:18] property. All right? I can't complain about it afterwards when go, "Oh, so

[52:22] bad. They're mature trees. I want you to pay because it's not on my I planted

[52:25] them not on my own property." So, uh, good fences, good neighbors. So, I don't

[52:33] know why you want to go down through. I'm not willing to sell. It's the

[52:38] people's. It's it's not your own individual land. It's the taxpayers's

[52:42] land that 5T. It could be used for trail. It could be used for other things

[52:46] that whatever it might be. All right. For that cost because somebody planted

[52:51] trees on your own land on not his own land. All right? So

[52:57] I don't understand the rationale behind this whole thing. So as far as I'm

[53:00] concerned, you know, this is where the fence is going and everything else. And

[53:02] if it happens to be on the edge, well be on the edge. If he wants to move them,

[53:06] he can move them. We'll let we'll grant him that. But that's where the fence is

[53:09] going. Have a nice day. You're going to have to buy a couple more trees and

[53:12] we're not paying you $400 cuz we hit the tree because you planted them on the

[53:16] wrong side of the property. You know, like

[53:20] that's just that's the way I look at it. Maybe I'm the bad boy, but that's the

[53:24] facts. >> Yeah. Go ahead, Mr. Grant.

[53:28] » Uh so it's you, Mr. Mayor. Uh at this point in the evening, I'm going to

[53:31] remind Michael that he owes me $50. Um, [laughter]

[53:36] but what what I would say is I won't dispute your logic, counselor. I I won't

[53:40] um I uh the land in question is ours. The incumbrance uh on the lot line that

[53:48] is ours uh we didn't put there. Uh I would not be in favor of renumerating

[53:53] somebody um for infringing on property that isn't theirs. Um I think if the

[54:00] trees can be moved, fair enough. I don't disagree that we offer the opportunity

[54:04] for someone else to remove the trees and pay for that. But what I would say is is

[54:10] council has already um created a mechanism by which we would

[54:17] ensure uh tree canopy in perpetuity. So if we have to remove a tree and and

[54:23] we're working on this as we speak, we will plant two trees uh in the absence

[54:28] and we would do that with any uh the policy would be such that we would do

[54:32] that with any tree that is removed that is healthy um and is removed because we

[54:37] are doing work um will replace them. Um and I think that would uh be here and

[54:44] and if council wants to sell the property they can. If they don't want to

[54:47] sell the property they don't have to. Um,

[54:51] yeah, I'll leave it there. >> Councelor Martin.

[54:55] » Thank you, Mayor. Um, I don't think anybody is advocating we

[55:00] sell him that land for a dollar like he wanted. He should pay the same as

[55:05] everybody else does for class 2 land. Um but

[55:11] um counselor Shank I I think in town a lot of people eyeball their lot line and

[55:18] they'll print shrubs and trees on it and I got a feeling that's what happened

[55:22] with these but 15 20 years ago and it wasn't intentional to put it on town

[55:28] land. It was he was probably thought he was putting it on his own land. So, it's

[55:33] that close. If you look at that that uh sketch, it looks like the one tree is

[55:38] right on the red line and the other one's just inside on it. So, anyway,

[55:43] just just wanted to add that. And and um like I say, nobody's advocating we do

[55:49] what he wants to sell it to him for a dollar. Um absolutely not. And uh we

[55:55] certainly wouldn't pay him $400 per tree either, but uh that's just what he

[56:00] wanted asking. doesn't mean we should.

[56:05] » Thank you. Uh, councelor Martin, uh, councelor David

[56:10] » through you, mayor. Um, I guess looking at it, the way I see that chunk of

[56:14] ground, like it doesn't look like it carries a whole lot of value for the

[56:17] town itself as far as that retention pond area and whatnot. There's still

[56:20] room to do more work in there. So, like staff recommendation, bump the fence to

[56:26] east, make a make an offer of fair fair market value, pay that. If he's not

[56:31] interested, give him the chance to move the trees under his own dollar. Other

[56:34] otherwise, we'll look after it. The fence is going where it was initially

[56:38] intended and the trees will have to be moved and we'll plant four new trees on

[56:42] the retention pond property and and move on. It seems fairly straightforward to

[56:46] me and that's a I don't know, that's just how I see it.

[56:52] » Thank you, Councelor Davey. I think you might have took some of the words out of

[56:54] my mouth here, so thank you for that. Um, is there anything else?

[57:00] uh saying that and I'll just weigh in briefly. I mean I I like uh like what

[57:03] Sean had to say is is that we've got a process. We got it to and and we we've

[57:08] literally just gone through that process probably

[57:12] uh months prior to where it's a very similar type of thing where there's a

[57:16] small sliver piece of land. It it made sense to to sell it to the neighboring

[57:20] land owners. It's a class two piece of property. Um, and so it made sense, but

[57:25] that loan landowner at the time decided that they were going to pay the cost to

[57:30] get that it was worth him. It was worth that cost to do that. So, I don't think

[57:35] we should venture too far away from that. So, um, I I like what Sean has to

[57:39] say is that we we we direct staff that we say, listen, this it is a a type two

[57:45] or class two piece of property. This is what the rules are around that. will

[57:49] give you that opportunity to buy that 5 ft. But that's your responsibility to do

[57:53] that. And and he's he's going to make a decision, I think, as to whether that's

[57:59] going to be worth it or not. If it's not worth it, and we need to take the the

[58:02] trees out of there, then uh you know, we'll do what we do best, which is we'll

[58:06] make good for it because we'll plant two trees for every tree that we take down

[58:09] because that's what we said we're going to do. Um but I think we we put uh we

[58:14] give the the landowner the opportunity. I I know that I think he planted those

[58:17] trees 15 20 years ago. Um um he he seems to be attached to those trees, but we

[58:24] give him the opportunity to take uh to to buy that silver land. Um and and and

[58:29] we have to keep in mind that if that's the direction that we're going to go, we

[58:31] still do have to go through the the surplus property. So there there is some

[58:35] time left here to go through this that um uh if anybody has a change of heart,

[58:41] then we can still deal with it. So, um I I like uh the first option there, which

[58:46] is to proceed with the next steps uh uh for the class 2 piece of property. Uh in

[58:51] that amount of time, it will give him the opportunity and us the opportunity

[58:54] as well to see whether or not it's these trees can be um can be removed and and

[58:59] if they are, then that's great. And if they can't be, then uh um at least we'll

[59:03] get the landowner the opportunity to to do that. So, um that would be my

[59:07] suggestion. And uh um I have it as I think madam clerk is the first option

[59:13] that we have and and okay thank you uh councelor Davey and I think hearing is

[59:19] that council direct staff to proceed with the next steps in the consideration

[59:22] of the class 2 property sale with no reduction to the established valuation

[59:26] rate for class 2 land sales and a final decision regarding whether to declare

[59:31] the land as surplus and approve a class 2 sale be made following the public

[59:36] notice period. So we do have to go ahead madam cler

[59:40] » through your worship we do and I I recognize that I wrote that earlier

[59:43] today but on reflection if the land owner is not willing to pay

[59:48] any money for this uh the town may not want to bother um doing that public

[59:54] notice and incurring those expenses. So it may be prudent to direct staff to

[59:59] advise um the land owner of council's direction and if he's amendable to

[1:00:04] proceeding then we do the public notice. Um

[1:00:08] » and and I I guess again once again I assumed and I shouldn't assumed I

[1:00:12] assumed that probably staff would come back to us and say listen uh the

[1:00:15] landowner doesn't want to do that. So um maybe we we bring this back to council.

[1:00:20] So um did you wish to reward that uh that uh recommendation or do we just add

[1:00:26] that on the bottom of this one?

[1:00:39] » [clears throat]

[1:00:43] » I guess the easy thing is is that we we give uh staff direction to um

[1:00:48] » to communicate >> to communicate council's uh um direction

[1:00:52] to the land owner and then to bring back a report at a future date once we have

[1:00:58] uh the direction from the land owner as to how he would like to try and proceed

[1:01:02] with this. And I know that Madame Clerk can word

[1:01:06] Smith this much better than I did.

[1:01:21] So through your I think we could have the council direct staff to communicate

[1:01:25] that the town is willing to initiate the class 2 land sale process with no

[1:01:29] reduction to the established evaluation rate for class 2 land sales.

[1:01:33] um and to uh report back to council on the response from the land owner as well

[1:01:40] as feasibility of tree relocation if council wanted to include that as well.

[1:01:45] » Yeah. And and I think so I think uh in order to do our due diligence I think we

[1:01:49] can put that in there as well. So councelor Davyy is that sort of how our

[1:01:56] conversation went? I think through >> you may yes that sounds good to me.

[1:01:59] » Perfect. And we do have a secondary and council shank. Is there any further

[1:02:04] comments, questions, or concerns with respect to that motion that's on the

[1:02:07] floor? Seeing none, all in favor of the motion

[1:02:11] that's on the floor? Opposed? The motion's carried. Thank you. Uh,

[1:02:15] everyone, uh, moving on to growth and infrastructure zoning GIS mapping

[1:02:20] enhancement. And this matter, I believe, is going to

[1:02:24] be deferred, madam clerk, to the 22nd of September meeting. Am I correct there?

[1:02:28] through your ship. Yes, that's correct. >> Okay, we'll put that under unfinished

[1:02:32] business. And that takes us into the administrative consent agenda.

[1:02:37] Start off council minutes. Regular session of council July 28th, 2026.

[1:02:41] Special session of council August 11th, 2026. Is there anything in those

[1:02:45] anything in those minutes that anyone would like to uh have any discussions or

[1:02:50] comments about? Seeing none, uh, recreation advisory

[1:02:54] committee, trail uh, development advisory committee, waste diversion

[1:02:59] committee, the market square advisory committee. Is there anything in those

[1:03:02] minutes that anyone had any questions or comments about? And uh, go ahead,

[1:03:05] councelor Martin. >> Thank you, mayor. um

[1:03:13] the um in the waste diversion minutes. Plus, I wanted to make an announcement

[1:03:18] about the uh um what we'll be doing um September the 12th.

[1:03:24] Um here at town hall, we'll be giving out

[1:03:29] blue boxes. The waste diversion committee is going to set up um um a

[1:03:34] table with uh information brochures on uh the new items that can be recycled.

[1:03:40] And uh also uh like I say, we're going to give out uh blue box containers to

[1:03:46] the first 100 people that come that day to to receive them. That's all we have

[1:03:51] to give out. So I just I just want to stipulate that everybody's not going to

[1:03:55] get one. If they're 101, they're going to be out of luck, I'm afraid. But uh um

[1:04:01] it's it's going to be uh September the 12th here at the market square and uh

[1:04:06] the diversion committee, myself included, will be set up here and uh

[1:04:11] we'll we'll uh try to um encourage you to do more recycling. Um if you want to

[1:04:17] talk to us about ideas about uh composting, uh anything you want to talk

[1:04:22] about, we'll be here to discuss it. But uh hopefully you'll show up on the 12th

[1:04:27] of September. Um the market, farmers market will be going at the same time.

[1:04:32] We may be set up at the back, we may be at the front. We're not uh 100% sure of

[1:04:37] that, but uh we will be here. So I just wanted to make that announcement first

[1:04:41] of all. Um that's all I had on the waste

[1:04:45] diversion uh committee. May there

[1:04:49] » great thanks uh council Martin, deputy mayor.

[1:04:53] » Uh thank you your worship. Uh so speaking on behalf of the uh trail

[1:04:57] development advisory committee um we've got off uh got off our first meeting uh

[1:05:04] both feet hitting the ground and running and our second meeting we just held.

[1:05:07] We've uh appointed a chair and a uh deputy or vice chair and we've come up

[1:05:13] with some really good ideas which I think will be coming back to council uh

[1:05:17] some coming back this evening for uh some of the recommendations that we've

[1:05:20] come up with and I just wanted to say that uh this trail [clears throat]

[1:05:25] committee is uh it's just an honor to be sitting on it and working with them

[1:05:30] because everybody's all rowing in the same direction. It's it's just a

[1:05:34] fabulous group of people we've put together for this. Thank you.

[1:05:38] » Great. Thanks, uh, Deputy Mayor Coll. Go ahead, Council Martin.

[1:05:42] » Thank you, Mayor. Um, just on on the trails, u portion there, I'm with the

[1:05:48] sensitive use. Um, I I just wanted to get uh Madame Clerk's opinion on that if

[1:05:54] I could. >> Through your staff report later this

[1:05:58] evening where we can discuss that. >> Okay. Okay. because I I was just

[1:06:03] curious, but I know the committee's suggesting uh it be added to our uh to

[1:06:08] our bylaw. So, I just I'm I'm always concerned about the homeless situation

[1:06:13] in um in Springside Park. So, I'm I'm finding, you know, if a trail can be

[1:06:20] designated sensitive use, certainly our park can be too. So, I'm just that's

[1:06:25] where I'm going with this. I'll I'll leave it at that, though.

[1:06:28] » Yeah. We'll uh we're going to circle back to that bill. We're gonna have a

[1:06:30] discussion about that. So um that's probably the best place to to deal with

[1:06:34] that. So um is there anything else with respect to the committee minutes?

[1:06:40] Seeing none uh correspondence for information items dated August 25th,

[1:06:45] 2026. Is there anything in those correspondence anyone would like to pull

[1:06:49] out or have a conversation about or draw attention to? Seeing none, uh

[1:06:54] proclamation request National British Home Child Day. Uh, is there anything in

[1:06:58] that uh report that anyone would like to say anything about? And uh go ahead,

[1:07:02] Bill. >> Thank you, Mayor. Um,

[1:07:06] again, I um I want to thank the mayor and council for for actually doing the

[1:07:12] proclamation. It's it's always my uh privilege and I I because of my personal

[1:07:20] situation with my own dad being one of the British home children. Um

[1:07:26] I always every year uh enjoy doing this uh to to honor not just my dad but there

[1:07:33] was thousands of people that came and settled right in the Napony and Alana

[1:07:38] area. So, I just want to honor the those people who who, like I say, settled here

[1:07:44] in Napony. And right now, there's literally I think there's four or five

[1:07:48] million people in Canada um that are descendants of uh the British home

[1:07:55] children. So, um again, my porch light will be on uh

[1:08:01] September 28th. And uh I I'm I'm very proud and happy that uh everybody is uh

[1:08:08] doing this proclamation. Thank you, Mayor.

[1:08:10] » Great. Thanks, uh Council Martin. Greatly appreciate it. And again, it's

[1:08:14] always nice to uh hear firsthand knowledge. Sometimes we see the

[1:08:18] proclamations, they come in and and and their words on paper sometimes, but it's

[1:08:22] nice to hear the real life stuff. So, thank you for that. Um the executive

[1:08:27] services activity report, August 2026. Is there anything in that executive

[1:08:31] services report that anyone had any questions or comments about?

[1:08:35] Seeing none, uh the greater napony fire department activity report July 22nd to

[1:08:40] August 2nd, 2026. Is there anything in that report anybody had any questions or

[1:08:44] comments about? Councelor Shank. >> Uh uh with great delight. uh our fire

[1:08:50] chief Sean uh our fire chief has come up with maybe a solution to solve you know

[1:08:55] the alarm activations and especially and the burn complaints which is 31 out of

[1:08:59] the 58 calls that I assume that came out of that area. So uh when I got the

[1:09:04] recent email I went that's my chief. So uh I just want to say kudos to you

[1:09:10] looking at alternative ways of you know what I mean of what we can do and what

[1:09:13] we can't do to save things and and still provide a a top-notch product. So, thank

[1:09:18] you. >> Great. Thanks, Councelor Shank. Um,

[1:09:24] parks, recreation, and culture activity report. Is there anything in that report

[1:09:27] anyone had any questions or comments about?

[1:09:31] Seeing none, um, financial and IT services activity uh, activity report

[1:09:37] for August of 2026. And, uh, go ahead, councelor or deputy mayau.

[1:09:42] » Actually, uh, worship, I did want to speak on the parks and recreation. Um, I

[1:09:47] just wanted to thank uh Mr. Brown and his staff. I see the works underway uh

[1:09:52] to do the to the repair on the uh town dock and that's great to see it. It's a

[1:09:57] I know it's been a very trying uh time to get any work done on that um due to

[1:10:01] high waters and busy schedules of everybody involved. I want to say thank

[1:10:05] you very much for getting it going. >> Great. Thanks uh deputy mayor Calvert.

[1:10:10] Uh so the financial and IT services uh activity report is that report that uh

[1:10:15] anyone had any questions or comments about I'm sure Mr. Grant will be able to

[1:10:19] help us out on that one too maybe. Uh seeing none um the access E11 July

[1:10:27] 2026 report. Is there anything in that report that anyone had any questions or

[1:10:30] comments about? Seeing none. So we'll look for a motion

[1:10:34] that the minutes of the regular session of council Jul dated July 28th, 2026 and

[1:10:40] the special session of council dated August 11th, 2026 be adopted as

[1:10:43] presented. That the minutes of the recreation advisory committee, trailer

[1:10:46] development advisory committee, waste diversion committee uh Marco Square

[1:10:50] Advisory Committee of July 2026 and August to August 13, 2026 be

[1:10:56] received for information that the correspondence for information items

[1:10:58] dated August 25th, 2026 be received. The council endorsed the proclamation

[1:11:03] request for the National British Home Child Day and that the activity reports

[1:11:07] for executive services, financial and IT services, fire department and parks and

[1:11:11] reculture for the month of August 2026 and the access E11 report for July 2026

[1:11:16] items 8.6 through 8.10 be received for information. Moved by councelor Davyy,

[1:11:22] second by councelor Shank. If there's no further comments, questions or concerns,

[1:11:26] all in favor of that motion? Motion's carried. items for consideration. I

[1:11:31] don't believe we have any of those, madame clerk, if I'm not mistaken. So,

[1:11:37] um, that gets us into the executive services grass bylaw compliance order

[1:11:41] 0307. And madam clerk, you're going to speak

[1:11:44] to this

[1:12:05] Good evening, your worship and members of council. Um, at the July 28th

[1:12:10] meeting, council heard a deputation and requested a report back. So, the report

[1:12:16] before you covers a number of areas. that covers the um specific context of

[1:12:21] this order in question. Um as well as the enforcement of the grass bylaw in

[1:12:28] greater Napony more broadly. Um staff do note that we are seeing a we're seeing

[1:12:34] an increasing trend across the board in requests for enforcement of bylaws as

[1:12:39] people become more familiar with using the E11 tool to submit requests. Um but

[1:12:45] grass does remain one of our consistently in our top five areas where

[1:12:50] residents request um enforcement action to be taken. Um

[1:12:57] staff do acknowledge that the bylaw is over 25 years old. When we look at our

[1:13:02] other comparators, it's it's definitely the oldest um bylaw in that list and we

[1:13:07] would recommend that it be looked at. However, because it it affects everyone,

[1:13:13] and we know that there's very strong feelings and opinions about what's

[1:13:18] important to have in a grass bylaw, we think it's really important to do

[1:13:21] extensive um public consultation and get community input um for for a council to

[1:13:27] hear what the residents of Greater Napony feel is important to them to have

[1:13:31] in a grass bylaw, which is why we recommend um that that decision be a

[1:13:37] recommendation that the next term of council look at it very early, ideally

[1:13:41] before the next enforcement season begins, but that that not be something

[1:13:45] that we try to rush through uh in the last couple months of this term. Um just

[1:13:52] because it is just about every property in town has

[1:13:56] some form of grass on it and so it's something a lot of people we should give

[1:14:00] them the opportunity to to participate in that conversation.

[1:14:05] Um we do discuss the um

[1:14:11] the decision that was made by the superior court earlier this year. Um

[1:14:16] where there is a charter right around personal expression uh that can be made

[1:14:21] through lawns particularly through the decision to naturalize lawns which

[1:14:25] speaks to personal values. Um the court's decision really indicated that

[1:14:29] if a municipality is is going to enforce a grass bylaw, it needs to be able to um

[1:14:36] have policy reasons why that is necessary as well as ensuring that it

[1:14:40] has taken a a minimally impairing approach. Um

[1:14:48] lots of Ontario municipalities are still working through what exactly that means

[1:14:52] in their specific local contexts. Um, we do note in the report that eastern

[1:14:58] Ontario does have a higher prevalence of Lyme disease and blacklegged ticks than

[1:15:02] maybe other areas of the province. And that is certainly a valid consideration

[1:15:06] in a grass bylaw as well as um making sure that

[1:15:13] a lot of bylaw enforcement is making sure that neighbors can live with each

[1:15:17] other. uh that one person's right to use their own property doesn't um cause

[1:15:22] negative impacts or unreasonably negative impacts to the people uh who

[1:15:27] are also living in that same area. Um again, there's several options here

[1:15:35] before council for consideration. Um whether you want to tackle updating this

[1:15:41] bylaw now, defer that to the next term of council, and whether what you want to

[1:15:44] do with this specific order. um whether it be set aside for the remainder of

[1:15:50] this year with an understanding that the property will that's not an exemption

[1:15:55] forever and the property will be subject to whatever new rules may or may not

[1:16:00] come into effect in the future. Um but staff are happy to respond any

[1:16:07] questions the council may have on this. >> Great. Thanks uh madam clerk. Uh who

[1:16:12] wants to start? You're

[1:16:16] » Yeah. Go ahead. Councelor Shank, >> that has to be addressed. All right. The

[1:16:20] key is is with the bylaw, what one does, everybody has to do. What

[1:16:26] I find is that I I'm in agreement with the staff recommendation under one point

[1:16:31] that I think we should reduce is the buffer zone from 15 ft to 10 ft. This

[1:16:37] alleviates any other min any other areas of naturalization that we currently

[1:16:42] have. All right. that's bordering to somebody that wants to keep their lawn

[1:16:48] as as a lawn. All right? So, you don't have that [clears throat] grass or weeds

[1:16:52] or whatever it might be over on that property. So, a 10-ft buffer, what

[1:16:57] they're suggesting, I feel is a very much of a compromise. And in the

[1:17:01] meantime, over the winter time in the new council, Jessica will be coming up

[1:17:06] and drafting a new bylaw, something that is

[1:17:10] palatable for everybody, whether they're the new council wants to have no

[1:17:15] naturalization or some naturalization or what they would like, but it gives

[1:17:20] everybody in the municipality that can have a voice towards it and go

[1:17:26] through that. So everybody will have a say whether

[1:17:29] they do or they don't. Do they does the municipality want it or not want it? All

[1:17:33] right. So this is kind of a happy medium. So as far as I'm concerned, uh

[1:17:39] it's a fair approach. I agree with the municipality, but all we're asking for

[1:17:44] is a 10 ft buffer zone that with the reasons what uh just get already done.

[1:17:51] So and I'll move that staff recommendation.

[1:17:55] » Yeah. Great. Thanks. Uh, thanks councelor Shank. We'll see if anyone

[1:17:58] else wants to weigh in. I'll weigh in and then I'll look I'll come back to you

[1:18:01] for that uh for that motion. So, um, is there anything else before I weigh in?

[1:18:10] Uh, councelor Martin. Thank you, Mayor. Um,

[1:18:16] just just the fact that we're going to be reviewing our bylaw and producing a

[1:18:22] new bylaw, I'm assuming, although maybe not. Maybe it'll be the same as the old

[1:18:26] one, but I just think if there's going to be a staff review,

[1:18:30] um, this order to mow should be suspended and until that's done and we

[1:18:36] have a new bylaw in place. So, that would be my recommendation. Uh, I know

[1:18:41] it's not staff recommendation, but uh, that's my recommendation. I I I

[1:18:47] just feel that um, naturalization has to has to have some weight in this. Um,

[1:18:55] some people uh I know are worried about ticks, but I I and they're worried about

[1:19:01] noxious weeds. But sometimes sometimes you have to go beyond

[1:19:08] those things to I mean it's very important that we also have pollination

[1:19:13] with our bees and with our butterflies. It's so I I'm the opposite of some

[1:19:18] people's view on this and uh I would just recommend right like I say

[1:19:23] suspending this order temporarily until it's reviewed and a new ballot comes

[1:19:29] forward. That's that's about the best I can say right now. Thank you.

[1:19:34] » Great. Thanks uh councelor Martin. Go ahead councelor.

[1:19:37] » Um just briefly uh I pretty well agree with councelor Martin. We have to look

[1:19:42] at each case. As we've said with the wetlands and whatnot that the case by

[1:19:47] case, this is not the same. This this this lady's piece of property I want to

[1:19:52] look at is not the same as Robert and Water Street. That is a mess. That

[1:19:56] should be cut. But they can't say now that's a wild land cuz it's not. That's

[1:20:00] just one example. So she's done something proper. I think we she should

[1:20:04] be put on hold until a new bylaw comes out. And uh again look at them case by

[1:20:09] case. That's that's my opinion. Great. Thanks, uh, councelor Nori. Um, is there

[1:20:14] anything else? Uh, before I weigh in, uh, seeing none, I, uh, I, I, I, I, I,

[1:20:22] I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I have to agree with Councelor

[1:20:23] Shank. Um, I I think what we're doing here is taking a very measured approach.

[1:20:30] I don't think we are in a position to completely discredit

[1:20:35] the risk of the blacklegged tick. And the reason I say that is is because

[1:20:41] back in it's become a public safety issue at some point

[1:20:48] because um back in April of 2025, the Southeastern Health Unit put out a

[1:20:57] release that identified that the risk of encountering the blacklegged ticks. And

[1:21:02] I I'll just read parts of it. And and I know that there's uh there's folks out

[1:21:05] there that have the ability to find this, but the risk of encountering

[1:21:09] blacklegged ticks in the southeast region, which where we are, is very high

[1:21:13] compared to the rest of the province. So it's it's we're in a part of the the

[1:21:18] world that this is a very prevalent public health issue. Uh that was in

[1:21:22] April of 2025. In May of 2026, uh they they've released again the health unit,

[1:21:29] the the the Southeastern Health Unit has released and said that the warm weather

[1:21:32] is here. The Southeast Public Health Unit is reminding residents that the

[1:21:36] region is an established high risk for blacklegged ticks. So, they've they've

[1:21:43] reconfirmed that we have an issue here. we have a problem here that uh that

[1:21:48] [clears throat] we all know has the ability to to to spread the the Lyme

[1:21:53] disease. throughout um throughout my readings, I

[1:21:58] was able to obviously I I went on to the the province of Ontario's website um

[1:22:04] that talks about um ticks, Lyme disease, uh avoiding uh tick bites and and and

[1:22:12] the link is is within I I thank Madam Clerk because Madame Clerk has been so

[1:22:16] gracious to put that link in the staff report that we've seen in that uh so

[1:22:21] when you go to the link and you click it, it talks about maintaining your

[1:22:24] property And it says you can help keep blacklegged ticks away from your

[1:22:28] property by and the first note is keeping grass mode short.

[1:22:35] So it's [clears throat] very highly d uh documented that um

[1:22:42] we have a problem here. it's a high-risisk area and and that's uh one

[1:22:46] of the ways in order to to remedy the problem and it's not going to make I

[1:22:50] think we're all not uh [sighs] naive enough to know that it's not going

[1:22:54] to completely but it's going to mitigate the problem with with the blacklegged

[1:22:58] ticks is is to keep some grass cut. So we as a council have to consider and and

[1:23:05] we are we're taking into consideration the naturalization. I think we are

[1:23:08] because uh uh we we've we've seen the uh the case law at least I have and I've

[1:23:13] read through the case law and the case law is somewhat helpful but it's not

[1:23:17] completely helpful because the case law doesn't address public health or safety

[1:23:22] issues which I'm assuming in the city of Missaga they don't have the same issues

[1:23:26] that we do at the in the town of Greater Napony or in the southeast health unit

[1:23:30] area catchment area. So um while it's helpful, it it is case law that uh we we

[1:23:36] have to be cognizant of, but it doesn't completely cover the issues that we have

[1:23:41] here. And I think uh um we have to keep in mind that there is a public health

[1:23:46] issue with respect to the blacklegged ticks and the Lyme disease in our in our

[1:23:50] catchment area. So how are we going to how are we going to rectify that and how

[1:23:52] we going to remedy that? Um I I agree with councelor Shank that um a buffer

[1:23:59] zone which also in the documentations from the province it it talks about uh

[1:24:03] buffer zones and at one point it talks about even considering placing uh when

[1:24:07] you have u uh equipment uh swings and playground equipment and that types of

[1:24:11] thing of placing wood chips or mulch and the foundation of that to try and help

[1:24:15] to um to mitigate the fact of uh of the issue of of the blacklegged tick. So, um

[1:24:23] I think the buffer zone um is the most appropriate thing to do and and and like

[1:24:29] I say, we have to not only take into consideration those folks that uh wish

[1:24:34] to have naturalized lawns, but we have to take into the the consideration the

[1:24:38] rest of the population as well that may come in contact with a blacklegged tick

[1:24:42] and get bit. So, um I have to agree with councelor Shank with respect to to uh

[1:24:47] what he's saying. I think we owe it to our community to ensure that we have

[1:24:53] done everything that we could do in light of the fact that we are cognizant

[1:24:57] and same as every other municipality in this province is cognizant of the fact

[1:25:02] that their their bylaws with respect to grass cutting probably should be

[1:25:06] reviewed and I and I have to think uh um with the with the extra time that we're

[1:25:11] going to have now as we're moving into into the winter season or the fall

[1:25:14] season um it's going to provide us an opportunity to to have a robust

[1:25:18] conversation with respect to cutting grass. It's going to provide us the

[1:25:21] opportunity to to come up with a uh an updated a a very um thorough

[1:25:30] bylaw which is going to take into account uh all the citizens. So, uh,

[1:25:35] having said that, um, and and I guess [sighs]

[1:25:39] what I should also and and I want to make sure that we we we we've dotted all

[1:25:42] the eyes and cross the tees here, but, uh, um, there has been a large number of

[1:25:47] correspondence that get, uh, um, um, received and supported through quite a

[1:25:55] few of the 444 municipalities in this province. uh asking the province to to

[1:26:02] get engaged in in the um the assistance of trying to solve the Lyme disease

[1:26:08] problem that we have. So, and I think uh I think we all know that the best way of

[1:26:13] resolving the Lyme disease problem is not getting Lyme disease. So, um and and

[1:26:19] that uh and I don't have unfortunately I don't have that documentation in front

[1:26:22] of me tonight, but I know that I could find it fairly quickly. uh and I noted

[1:26:26] it that it's uh not only been um received and supported by municipalities

[1:26:32] in the rural areas, it's been received and noted and and supported by

[1:26:36] municipalities in northwestern Ontario as as well as uh those in the GTA area.

[1:26:41] So, um I I think we we need to do our due diligence on this at this point and

[1:26:46] uh um provide some form of a buffer, which I think 10 ft is is probably the

[1:26:52] fair amount as we've heard in in previous reports that uh the 15T buffer

[1:26:57] zone is is a buffer zone that is being used by a municipality that's close to

[1:27:02] us. Um I think uh which which which would be fine but I think the 10-ft

[1:27:07] buffer zone would be sufficient to in order to provide the uh the public

[1:27:11] safety that I think uh we need to provide with respect to this. So having

[1:27:16] said all that is there anything that anyone else would like to comment uh and

[1:27:20] I'll put it back because I've obviously talked a lot this evening. Um is there

[1:27:24] anything else anybody would else would like to say before I uh ask councelor

[1:27:28] Shank to make a motion? Go ahead deputy mayor cover then I'll go to councelor

[1:27:31] Martin. Thank you through your worship. So just for the public out there

[1:27:35] listening, our current bylaw, which is a law, states grass must be cut entire

[1:27:42] yard. What I'm hearing and understand from the

[1:27:47] report I've read is that we're going to not go with a 15t buffer zone, but a

[1:27:53] 10-ft buffer zone. That's acceptable for now until we have

[1:27:58] a chance to review our bylaws. So, we are making a bit of an adjustment

[1:28:04] to our bylaw [clears throat] for this particular piece of property

[1:28:09] until such time we get a chance to review everything and

[1:28:13] review it thoroughly, which I think is is more than fair. Thank you. Thanks,

[1:28:19] Deputy Mayor Calver. And go ahead, councelor Martin.

[1:28:22] » Thank you, Mayor. um through you. Um

[1:28:29] can [clears throat] since we are going to be reviewing our

[1:28:32] bylaw and there could be changes uh to it and in view of the fact that there's

[1:28:39] cold weather coming, there's going to be snow covering the ground. I don't think

[1:28:42] anybody's going to get any ticks from that, can we not suspend this order to

[1:28:47] mow until that bylaw is reviewed?

[1:28:56] Uh we we as a council obviously councelor Martin can uh do whatever

[1:29:01] forehands say we do when they put it in the air but uh um I think we just need

[1:29:07] to remind everyone that uh the issue with the tick population unfortunately

[1:29:13] um a number of years ago the cold weather used to kill them off but

[1:29:17] unfortunately that doesn't exist anymore so that doesn't kill them off and and

[1:29:20] and from my understanding any of the research I've done on it is that uh even

[1:29:24] the uh even the winters that we have here aren't sufficient enough to keep

[1:29:30] them at bay. So um that's my understanding of it anyways. So but uh

[1:29:37] like I say we can uh I'll I'll entertain uh councelor Shank's motion and then

[1:29:43] we'll go from there. So thank you. I'll say one final thing if you go ahead

[1:29:48] counc >> the way I look at it council Martin

[1:29:51] councel nory is that the bylaw currently states you have to cut your whole lot

[1:29:56] all right it's a residential not not fully developed residential subdivision

[1:30:01] all right it's in a residential subdivision so we have for the we had I

[1:30:07] think minimum of 60 complaints just in the south of different lots all right

[1:30:13] that the bylaw had to do uh most of them or pretty well all of them have done

[1:30:19] theirs. I understand the proponent who's went

[1:30:24] ahead and said, "Hey, I've I've got a you know, I don't lived in the

[1:30:28] countryside all the time, but I have a I've made a natural lawn here with this

[1:30:33] that to teach my kids and everything else, which he has a valid point."

[1:30:37] But all I'm saying is is that if a 10-ft boundary, all right, because if you let

[1:30:44] this lady go 100% and not have a buffer, what about the proponent that's right

[1:30:50] beside it that wants to have their lawn cut perfectly?

[1:30:53] So 10 ft out of the acreage that she has, all right, on this I feel is a a

[1:31:01] fair and approachable, you know what I mean? something that's

[1:31:05] protecting the neighbors and other locations also and this location. All

[1:31:09] right. And it's something that's that's uh you're not going ahead and cutting

[1:31:14] the whole lot especially when you have a valid point and this should be

[1:31:17] addressed. We are going to address this in the meantime. You're setting a

[1:31:21] precedent. Also, if you have a natural lies and you have done the work that the

[1:31:25] lady has done, you have to have a buffer road to protect your neighbors also. You

[1:31:30] can't just let leave your yard into natural because the next neighbor beside

[1:31:34] might not like that. So you have to take that under consideration also. That's

[1:31:38] the reason why I feel this is a fair and measured approach of what we're doing.

[1:31:44] So that's why it's proud. There we go. >> Great. Thanks uh councelor Shank. Uh we

[1:31:50] do have a recommendation. I think it was staff recommendation that you wish to uh

[1:31:54] with the the minor modification. And I'll read it so everybody is aware of

[1:31:57] it. That council receive for information executive services grass bylaw review

[1:32:00] and compliance order 0307 report. And further that council direct that no

[1:32:05] changes be made to the grass bylaw at this time, but that a recommendation to

[1:32:09] review the bylaw in advance of the next enforcement season be presented to the

[1:32:14] next term of council. And further that the council direct the compliance order

[1:32:17] 0307 be upheld and modified to require a buffer zone of 10 feet to be mowed on

[1:32:23] the southeast south and east boundaries of the lot to a height below 10 in with

[1:32:29] an exception of the any wet land areas and with a compliance deadline of the

[1:32:34] 8th of September 2026. And you'll make that by way of motion.

[1:32:40] And we have a seconder with councelor Davyy has is the seconder. Is there any

[1:32:45] further comments, questions, or concerns before we call for the vote? Council

[1:32:49] Martin, >> can we have a recorded vote, please?

[1:32:52] » Uh oh. Yeah. Oh, Madam Clerk is out here. So, yeah. Uh, Madame Clerk, if if

[1:32:58] there's nothing else, um, uh, I'll turn it over to you.

[1:33:03] » All right. Um, Ward One, Councelor Shank.

[1:33:06] » W three, Councelor Davey. >> Ward four, councelor Nory,

[1:33:09] » no. >> Ward five, councelor Martin,

[1:33:11] » no. >> Deputy Mayor Caliber,

[1:33:13] » yes. Mayor Richardson. >> Yes,

[1:33:15] » that motion's carried. >> Great. Thank you uh thank you folks and

[1:33:19] thank you uh madam clerk for doing that. So moving on to the next matter,

[1:33:23] financial and IT services OCIF funding support resolution. And

[1:33:29] Mr. Murphy, you're going to speak to that.

[1:33:43] uh through your worship. I I don't have a whole lot to add to the report in

[1:33:46] front of you. Uh I think it speaks for itself in terms of the financial impact.

[1:33:51] If OCIF was lost for the municipality, uh it is not a small amount of money and

[1:33:55] the projects it goes towards on an annual basis. U if those funds were

[1:33:59] lost, I think it would have a major impact on the municipality. Uh as to

[1:34:04] what council wishes to do, that's totally up to them in terms of um

[1:34:08] whether they want to advocate or whether they do not want to or the method they

[1:34:11] wish to do so. Um but staff feel that this is a extremely important issue and

[1:34:16] the financial impact uh would be significant on the budget as a whole. Um

[1:34:20] so happy to take any questions if you wish. Um but otherwise I'll leave it up

[1:34:25] to you. >> Thanks Nathan. Uh is there any questions

[1:34:28] or comments with respect to Mr. Nathan's presentation of the report that's in

[1:34:32] front of us this evening. Seeing none, we do have a recommendation

[1:34:35] the council receive for information the financial IT services OCF funding

[1:34:39] support resolution report and further council support the municipal finances

[1:34:42] finance officers association of Ontario. The MFOA requests that the province of

[1:34:47] Ontario make a permanent make permanent the doubling of the Ontario Community

[1:34:50] Infrastructure Fund funding from 200 million to 400 million annually

[1:34:55] beginning in 2027 and that a copy of the resolution be forwarded to the Premier

[1:35:00] of Ontario, the Minister of Infrastructure, Minister of Municipal

[1:35:03] Affairs and Housing, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Finance

[1:35:05] Officers Association of Ontario, the Association of Municipalities Ontario,

[1:35:09] the Member of Provincial Parliament for Hastings, Lennoxx and Anington and

[1:35:12] Ontario municipality Nice. Moved by councelor Davyy, seconded by councelor

[1:35:18] Nory. If there's no further comments, questions, or concerns, all in favor of

[1:35:23] that motion? Opposed? Motion's carried. Trails Development Advisory Committee

[1:35:27] initial recommendations. And Mr. Grant, uh, when you're ready, the floor is

[1:35:31] yours.

[1:35:48] Thank you. And through your your worship uh to members of council, this is uh the

[1:35:54] first set of recommendations from the trails development advisory committee.

[1:35:59] Um so the committee as uh the deputy mayor has pointed out has met twice. Um

[1:36:04] they have uh broken down their work uh into uh a number of different areas. Um

[1:36:11] so they're going to uh go over everything from

[1:36:15] uh safety and security to amenities uh and the like. So they've they've put out

[1:36:20] a a pretty robust uh work plan, safety, security issues, amenities and

[1:36:24] accessibility, recommended service levels and promotion of the trails.

[1:36:28] Um in going through their first uh and second meetings, the committee had a few

[1:36:34] recommendations uh that they wanted uh council to consider. Um with respect to

[1:36:41] the trail and those I would suggest um uh should council adopt some of those

[1:36:46] recommendations, um some of them would need to go to the budget process. Um but

[1:36:51] the committee itself um felt that the new in town trails

[1:36:58] um should have encampment protocol restrictions around it. Now I point out

[1:37:02] the encampment protocol already covers a a significant portion of the in town

[1:37:07] trails. Some of the trails are on public property like uh streets and sidewalks

[1:37:12] and that wouldn't uh that would already be covered. Uh some of them uh there

[1:37:17] would be um and I'll ask madam clerk to correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe

[1:37:21] it's um [clears throat] uh 3 m or 3 feet on either side.

[1:37:29] » I think madam clerk wants to weigh in there first. Matthew,

[1:37:33] » sorry. Ju just to clarify through your worship. Um

[1:37:37] right now because there's no trail, there's an existing buffer setback of 10

[1:37:42] meters from the private property line. So the the middle where the rails were

[1:37:47] could technically have an encampment on it. I believe that once a trail is built

[1:37:53] the buffers will overlap to the point that the entire area will be a sensitive

[1:37:57] use anyway without making any bylaw amendments. But the my understanding is

[1:38:02] the recommendation is the trail development committee just wanted to

[1:38:05] make extra sure because it will be the trail itself plus 5 m on either side

[1:38:11] plus the 10 m coming in from the private property line is very likely uh covering

[1:38:16] that whole area and thank you. Uh there may be uh a

[1:38:22] small area or two along that trail that would not be covered by private

[1:38:26] property, but the vast majority of it will be or would uh touch on uh the

[1:38:32] distance from uh a cemetery. Um so uh with that uh we could uh be directed to

[1:38:40] look at any remaining areas and that should go through uh an encampment

[1:38:44] protocol review process. I would suggest uh that council welcome ebikes and e-

[1:38:49] scooters uh onto the town trail and ensure where appropriate speed limits

[1:38:53] are in place. That the town consult with the OP on a minimum number of security

[1:38:57] cameras that be considered for installation on the town trails. That

[1:39:00] council consider laying uh the appropriate conduit during trail

[1:39:03] construction to accommodate any lighting and security cameras that might be

[1:39:07] required. And the town explore funding opportunities uh through grants to

[1:39:11] support all trail amenities. uh and staff looking at this. Um a lot of great

[1:39:17] ideas coming out of the trail development advisory committee. Uh I

[1:39:21] would uh as the sitting staff member there offer the following reflections.

[1:39:25] Um the we could expand sensitive use

[1:39:29] designations to the periphery of in town trails. Uh I think that should be part

[1:39:33] of a broader review process and as the clerk has mentioned much of it is

[1:39:37] already covered but there will be the odd pockets uh that may have uh some

[1:39:42] areas that we may want to look at. um that but it should be in the in the

[1:39:47] broader context. I believe that council defer the promotion acceptance of e-

[1:39:51] scooters and ebikes on in town trails until such time as it decides on whether

[1:39:55] it wishes to permit the use of the VI bylaw which is required by provincial

[1:40:00] legislation. Uh that council directs staff to consult uh with the OP on the

[1:40:05] appropriate location for security cameras. that council directs staff to

[1:40:09] include estimates for solar lighting and remote security cameras on the in town

[1:40:13] trails as part of the 2027 budget process. I think we can meet their

[1:40:17] intent without necessarily um putting in conduit uh at this point

[1:40:22] in time. Uh and that uh council direct staff to include trail amenities as a

[1:40:26] focus in its 2027 grant acquisition strategy. Um and with the grants uh

[1:40:31] strategy coming forward um that will make a ton of sense. Uh, with that, I'm

[1:40:36] happy to answer any questions. And, uh, in your report, you'll have the

[1:40:39] recommendations that the committee made up top, uh, staff's reflections

[1:40:43] underneath. And what I would recommend is council may want to have each

[1:40:47] recommendation in a separate motion. >> Thank you, Mr. Grant. Uh, councelor

[1:40:52] Nori, >> just quickly, the one I'm opposed to

[1:40:56] till we have more legislation is the ecooters on those things. I'm going to

[1:40:59] be bringing up something under inquiries. I don't want to double double

[1:41:02] dip but without lights and dark and these things I know under the law the

[1:41:07] road can't go above 24 km an hour but cakes had a fellow going 77 and it's

[1:41:12] facing a lot of charge so I would like to see that one scrapt there for now

[1:41:16] until we don't eliminate mo mobility things but uh it's very slippery slope

[1:41:22] if you're not too careful that would just be my only suggestion for now

[1:41:28] » thanks councelor and I think that's that's part of the recommendations is to

[1:41:31] defer that. And and I mean I agree with you because this whole ebike scooter

[1:41:37] scenario is is is um evolving I guess is the best way to

[1:41:42] put it. So but I think I think the recommendation if I'm not mistaken, Mr.

[1:41:45] Grant, was to defer that anyways until there's some clarification. But I'll let

[1:41:49] you speak to that. >> Sure. Uh thank you your worship. So, um,

[1:41:53] the way that the the committee recommendation sheets are, um, laid out

[1:41:58] is the committee's recommendations are on top, staff's reflections are on the

[1:42:02] bottom. My reflection is that you should defer that until such time that council

[1:42:06] makes a decision on the broader, uh, escooter situation, which would be

[1:42:11] required anyway.

[1:42:14] » Yeah. Perfect. So, uh, thank you, Mr. Grant. Is there anything else? M I think

[1:42:20] councelor Martin was gonna make this up here.

[1:42:22] » Um Mr. Grant, I I I agree with most

[1:42:27] everything and and thank goodness that we're working towards finishing the in

[1:42:31] town trail. It's going to be wonderful. Um certainly agree with lighting and

[1:42:36] cameras. Um [sighs] the sensitive use issue is a big deal

[1:42:42] for me. I'd love to see it as sensitive use on the trail as well, but I got

[1:42:48] Springside Park that I'm really concerned about right now. I'm really

[1:42:53] concerned about the children playing down there right now. There's people

[1:42:57] walking their dogs, children running and playing in our

[1:43:02] Springside Park. And that's not a sensitive use area.

[1:43:06] It should be. So, I'm saying if we're going to put sensitive use on the

[1:43:11] trails, Springside Park should be sensitive use as well. And there's

[1:43:16] there's something's got to change here because I'm going to be awful upset. I'm

[1:43:20] I'm really really ticked off right now what's going on down there. But anyway,

[1:43:25] I I'll leave it at that for now. >> Thanks. Uh thanks, Councelor Martin. Go

[1:43:30] ahead, Mr. Grant. >> Three, Mr. Mayor and Council Martin. I

[1:43:33] share your concern. I do uh the um not only the impact on the citizens but the

[1:43:39] impact on on the services that citizens pay for is is significant. Um and as

[1:43:45] well the the individuals living there are are also not having a a great time

[1:43:49] of it. So given that I um if there is a concern about looking that in isolation

[1:43:55] and I would agree that that's fair. Um there may be an opportunity to review

[1:43:59] the sensarium more broadly as part of the annual education program that we're

[1:44:04] doing. You you could also take a look at the legislation and that um with the

[1:44:08] indication from uh the morning star mission that they

[1:44:12] intend to move. Uh their service functions may also shift. Um there has

[1:44:18] been some preliminary discussions about expanding their services. Um you know

[1:44:24] and and if they uh expand those services to a point or the county expands those

[1:44:29] services uh to a point where um there is a shelter or some shelter spaces in

[1:44:35] town. uh town council has the ability to revisit the amount of sensitive use

[1:44:42] areas that uh exist because the balance um and that's what it's all about is

[1:44:49] balance with when with in the absence of shelter space we have to

[1:44:55] air on the side of caution. there does seem to be shelter space with a move and

[1:44:59] that that may happen um then I think we would be in a position to re-evaluate.

[1:45:07] We we still wouldn't be able to protect everything but we may be able to expand.

[1:45:10] So I would suggest councelor Martin that that would be appropriate to address

[1:45:15] those concerns to move it to a broader review so we don't look at anything in

[1:45:19] isolation if that's the will of council.

[1:45:24] » Go ahead, Bill. >> Thank you, Mayor. Um, thank you,

[1:45:27] Matthew. I I I think you hit on it right there. A broader review would uh would

[1:45:33] uh be better because if we are going to look at sensitive use area, a trail,

[1:45:39] it's absolutely asinidine to not include Springside Park down there. I mean,

[1:45:44] we've got visitors going down there, hundreds of them every day. I I wouldn't

[1:45:48] even be surprised if it it would hit a thousand people down there. and and

[1:45:52] there's kids walking with I've I've picked up needles myself off the ground

[1:45:58] and and took them to a needle drop off. I It's dangerous for kids. It's

[1:46:03] dangerous for people being down there in that park. So,

[1:46:08] this gives me a perfect opportunity to complain about that with this with the

[1:46:12] trail. So, uh and and I'm not against that on the trails either because I I

[1:46:17] believe me and I know it's a problem everywhere. Everybody's

[1:46:22] really ticked off with what's been going on with the tents and the and the

[1:46:26] homeless conditions and sort of thing. Residents, taxpayers, they can't use

[1:46:30] their park because of of what's going on and that's not fair to them. So, and I

[1:46:37] know I know it's county and it's province and and we our hands are tied

[1:46:42] and I know I understand I understand all that, but I'm just saying sensitive use

[1:46:46] if we can use that in the park as well as the trails, you're going to make a

[1:46:51] lot of people happy. So, there you go. >> Yeah. Go ahead, Mr. Mayor.

[1:46:56] » So, thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'd say councilman, I agree um that there's a

[1:47:01] lot of concern. Uh I would say that uh Greater Napony has gone further than

[1:47:06] most in terms of protection. Uh so conservation park in its entirety uh is

[1:47:11] off limits and we've we've had great success in making sure that we've

[1:47:16] minimized um conflicting use in those areas. Um you know there's been a few

[1:47:22] other areas where we've had a tremendous success. uh we've been able to partner

[1:47:26] with um social service agencies and law enforcement and and and I would say that

[1:47:32] in the event um that there is um a proper shelter option in town um I'm

[1:47:41] cautiously optimistic we might see that in the future. I know that uh you know

[1:47:47] the Morning Star Mission is in in their move is is looking at their options. I

[1:47:52] think the county has been um in on those discussions and and supportive of

[1:47:57] Morning Star Mission's uh broader mandate. I can't say too much cuz it's

[1:48:02] not u my discussion to have, but um so I'm keeping an eye on that situation

[1:48:07] very closely and and appreciating that um many council members would like to be

[1:48:14] um protect as much area as we can. Um if there if the situation changes where we

[1:48:22] can strike different balance because there's more amenities available for

[1:48:25] those that are homeless, uh I will be the first in line to bring that to you.

[1:48:33] Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Grant. I I appreciate what you're saying there. And

[1:48:36] and uh I I know this council, this town staff, everybody has done everything we

[1:48:43] can legally do with the homeless situation. But but it's important to say

[1:48:49] legally because we have to act within the law. And unfortunately going back to

[1:48:54] what is it 1982 or something when the charter of rights come out or when and

[1:49:00] you know um it's affected what we're doing here today actually I I believe so

[1:49:07] anyway what we can do with ringside park I I'm

[1:49:11] I'm I'm happy to hear that at least it's going to be in the mix of of speaking

[1:49:16] about it. So thank you very much. Thank you mayor.

[1:49:19] » Thanks Council. Go ahead Deputy May. Uh thank you through your worship. Um just

[1:49:25] uh to uh Madame Clerk, I'm just wondering

[1:49:29] what is the buffer zone for a trail and is there a different buffer zone for

[1:49:33] trail versus parking lot? Because I think what the biggest complaint is that

[1:49:38] I'm hearing um at Springside Park is the 310 right along the edge of the parking

[1:49:43] lot as you come down. If you want to come down and enjoy your your lunch

[1:49:47] break and go for a walk, that's what you see. I I just wondered if there's is

[1:49:51] there a buffer zone from parking lots or is it just from the trail itself?

[1:49:56] » So through your worship under the uh current bylaw this setback is on or

[1:50:01] within 5 m of a walking path or trail parking lot or designated pedestrian

[1:50:08] access point. So it is the same buffer for both.

[1:50:12] » Okay. So they're definitely uh not the 5 mters from the parking lot. Thank you.

[1:50:17] and uh to councelor Martin, I don't believe the county actually had a part

[1:50:21] in creating this problem, but we we do have a problem and we are working at it.

[1:50:26] Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh Deputy Mayor Calary, is

[1:50:30] there anything else?

[1:50:34] Uh seeing none, we do have a recommendation that uh council receive

[1:50:38] for information the trails development advisory committee initial recommend

[1:50:41] recommendations report and further that council expand the sensitive use

[1:50:44] designation to the periphery of the in town trails to those areas not already

[1:50:51] captured by boundaries associated with the recreational amenities and private

[1:50:54] property that counts as a further promotion or acceptance of e- scooters

[1:50:57] and ebikes on in town trails until such time as it decides on whether it wishes

[1:51:02] to permit the use of these vehicles by bylaw as per the provincial legislation

[1:51:07] that council direct staff to consult with the OP on the appropriate location

[1:51:10] for security cameras and in town trails. That council direct staff to include

[1:51:13] estimates for solar lighting and remote security cameras on the in trails as

[1:51:18] part of the 2027 budget process and council direct staff to include trail

[1:51:22] amenities as f as a focus of its 2027 grant acquisition strategy.

[1:51:30] Uh moved by councelor Shank, second by councelor Davey. Is there any further

[1:51:34] comments, questions, and concerns with respect to that motion?

[1:51:38] Go ahead, Mr. Grant. >> So, uh, Mr. Mayor, just, uh, in

[1:51:42] reflection of the conversation that council's had, I think the only, uh,

[1:51:46] amendment to that motion that I might make, Mr. Mayor, is to defer, uh,

[1:51:51] protection of the trail to a broader review process if that's the will of

[1:51:55] council.

[1:51:59] » Yeah, we do have a motion on the floor. Um,

[1:52:03] I'll go to them. I'll go to the movers and the seconders.

[1:52:12] » Perfect. >> Madam clerk, do you have what you have?

[1:52:23] So through your just to be clear, the first clause would be that council refer

[1:52:27] the request to expand the sensitive use designation um to those that already

[1:52:32] captured it to a broader review process. Um I believe that's already been

[1:52:37] scheduled for this coming winter.

[1:52:44] Over and second are good. Okay. >> Is there anything further?

[1:52:49] Not. We'll call for the vote. All in favor? Motion's on the floor. Oppose.

[1:52:53] Motion's carried. Um information uh sorry bylaws. We don't

[1:52:58] have any bylaws. Information reports for members. I don't believe we have any of

[1:53:01] them. Inquiries. Does any member do any members of council have any inquiries

[1:53:05] with respect to anything? Councelor Nor. >> Actually, I had a information.

[1:53:11] [laughter] >> Well, we can

[1:53:12] » first and I've got two inquiries. Let me just talk. I tell you what, let's go

[1:53:15] back to the information reports first and then we'll go to the inquiries. I'm

[1:53:18] going to let you have at her. >> Thank you. I'll do my best to be quiet.

[1:53:22] Um, from the arts committee, they had the final Music in the Park on April

[1:53:28] August 8th. I mean, very successful. And I just segue into what was been said

[1:53:35] beside me. People were relaxed and happy because they could enjoy their park. Not

[1:53:39] like last year. I'll leave that part at that. But it was over 100 people. So

[1:53:43] they were very very happy. Thank you. >> Great. Thank you. Um inquiries. You want

[1:53:49] to go there too? >> Yeah. Two. I think one you've already

[1:53:52] addressed Mr. Grant, but I was bringing up the escooters and that because the

[1:53:58] provincial government has said it's towns and municipalities responsibility

[1:54:01] for those things except for speed. I think it's 24 km an hour. And I'm

[1:54:05] worried about liability if or if we don't do something. And people are like

[1:54:08] pinball or pin bowling pins on certain sidewalks in different cities. I don't

[1:54:13] want that to happen here. And I've seen some adult-aged people acting like

[1:54:17] children on them on our sidewalk. So, are we looking into that? Um or are they

[1:54:23] about what we can do? I know we won't have enforcement, but to protect us

[1:54:27] liable liability wise, are you looking into that?

[1:54:32] » So, through you, Mr. Mayor, to uh to uh the counselor. Um so, councelor Nor, I

[1:54:38] would say we will absolutely look into that. Um, so we would have to bring

[1:54:41] forward a bylaw to to govern that in the use of municipal spaces and it would be

[1:54:46] our intention to do that in the new term.

[1:54:49] » Thank you. Cuz I know Kingston I don't think allows them anywhere technically

[1:54:52] but and the number two is um as we talked about and I see that Kylie sent

[1:54:58] out rough estimate what it to the media what's costing for a 1388 bridge. I

[1:55:04] don't expect to tell, you know, send out the media regularly, but can we put on

[1:55:07] our website possibly an update what it's costing so the taxpayers aware and maybe

[1:55:12] some photos of what's coming out of there so the public knows what's going

[1:55:15] on because maybe not the disgusting stuff, but you

[1:55:19] know what I'm trying to say is if we could just inform them more what's going

[1:55:22] on so they can be more aware of why we're doing what we're doing and what

[1:55:25] it's costing them. Just an idea. >> So, sure through you, Mr. Mayor. it is

[1:55:30] our intention to put a a full release um out on the completion of phase 2 and I'm

[1:55:35] going to bring forward a full report but uh since you've asked the question I can

[1:55:38] say like um I expect that work for phase one which was about 35 trailers that we

[1:55:45] pulled out uh and phase two which would be 100 cubic tons uh so 100 basically

[1:55:51] tons of material coming out uh it's more than we thought it's a settling tanks

[1:55:55] it's propane propane tanks we found um homemade septic fields and drug

[1:56:00] paraphernalia. Um it's it's not it's not a good scene. Um so that's come out. Um

[1:56:06] phase one and phase two were were led to local contractors by competitive bid. Uh

[1:56:12] those contracts combined will be anywhere between 120 and $145,000.

[1:56:18] Um that's what I expect the bill to be. Um in that neighborhood, uh we are

[1:56:24] expecting permits for the property. Um well, we require permits for a quanet

[1:56:30] huts that that's there as well as uh a mobile trailer where the property owner

[1:56:35] was living. That's you can't have that unless you have um a permit for uh your

[1:56:40] construction single family home deadlines have been given. No permits

[1:56:43] have been received. I expect that there will be a phase three and that material

[1:56:47] has to be pulled out. Um so roughly we'd be in the neighborhood of 150 to 160.

[1:56:53] Um, a lot of that would be build back to the all of it, the work of the contract

[1:56:58] be back to the property owner as per uh the the court order. What won't be uh

[1:57:05] recouped is the loss capacity um that the town has incurred. Um so we've had

[1:57:12] uh the fire department there. We have had um we have had bylaw services there

[1:57:18] for the last two and a half weeks um providing a level of security on site.

[1:57:23] There's been individuals that have been moving in and out of what is actively a

[1:57:27] construction site. Um, bylaw's also been instrumental in pointing out things on

[1:57:32] the property that can be removed per court order and things that cannot be

[1:57:35] removed. We are permitted to take certain things off the property and not

[1:57:39] others. Um, so they've been instrumental in that. Uh, with that, members of the

[1:57:43] community have had to suffer a lower level of service uh for by law

[1:57:47] enforcement because they've been otherwise engaged. Um, so legal fees,

[1:57:53] um, we've gotten recoup a percentage of the legal fees to date, but we're not

[1:57:57] going to recoup all of those. Um, so it has been a massively significant

[1:58:03] undertaking in what was an unsafe and unsanitary situation that presented a

[1:58:09] danger and a risk to the people that were staying there. Um, and presented

[1:58:14] candidly a public health risk. um to the point we're going to have to call in the

[1:58:18] Ministry of Environment uh for some of the damage that has happened there. Um

[1:58:23] so it is not a small thing. It's been it's been expensive and the work that's

[1:58:28] happened will be recouped uh one way or another. The the court order also allows

[1:58:32] us to place uh the cost of the contractors on property taxes if the

[1:58:37] money is not forthcoming. And the law allows us to seize property if that's

[1:58:41] not paid. Um but uh we were compelled to act um cuz this was a unsafe, unsanitary

[1:58:49] and and unjust. >> Thank you very much. And uh I'm sure the

[1:58:55] public will appreciate uh having an up further updates as well. Thank you.

[1:59:01] » Thanks uh councelor Nori. Is there anything else? Go ahead, man.

[1:59:06] » Sorry through your worship. I just want to go back to the escooter question

[1:59:09] because I've been getting it a lot lately as well. Um, so to clarify, if

[1:59:13] the town does not have a bylaw that says they're allowed, then they're not

[1:59:18] allowed. And the town does not currently have a bylaw. So we're in the same

[1:59:21] position as the city of Kingston currently. Um, just for clarity.

[1:59:26] » Good. I wish the people would learn that. [laughter]

[1:59:31] [clears throat and cough] And I know that uh well, and you probably know as

[1:59:33] well, Bob, the OP is is they're working on it and it's kind of frustrating them

[1:59:37] as well because of the different uh

[1:59:42] makeups of these type of things too. So, I think there's a lot of work that has

[1:59:45] to be done probably at the provincial level to try and uh

[1:59:49] sort it out. So, but thanks for bringing it up. [clears throat] Uh is there

[1:59:53] anything else as far as the inquiries go?

[1:59:56] Seeing none noticed emotions. I don't believe anybody has any noticed

[1:59:59] emotions. New business. I don't believe we have any new business. Announcements.

[2:00:04] Does anybody want to make any announcements this evening?

[2:00:09] Seeing none. Uh CEO's remarks. Mr. Grant, did you have any remarks you

[2:00:13] would like to make this evening? >> Nothing for me this evening, Mr. Mayor.

[2:00:17] » Uh thank you. The forward counter. I know we've all had an opportunity to

[2:00:20] take a look at that. Is there anything in the forward code? Uh go ahead. Deputy

[2:00:22] Mayor C. Just want to verify the uh September 8th meeting for the for the

[2:00:27] forward counter is at the Roblin Hall. Is that correct?

[2:00:32] » Through your worship. Yes, that's correct. Our next meeting will not be in

[2:00:35] this building. Don't come here. Uh we'll be at Roblin. We will be live streaming

[2:00:39] the meeting the same as we did when we met at South Fred Hall.

[2:00:42] » Thank you. I I seen that in there, but I I thought when we were talking about

[2:00:46] changing, I thought we were doing the Selby Hall. That's why I was questioning

[2:00:48] that. So, thank you. [clears throat]

[2:00:52] » Thank you. Madame Clerk, and thank you, Deputy Mayor Galver. Uh, was there

[2:00:57] anything else with respect to the forward calendar?

[2:01:00] Seeing none, we'll look for a motion to uh for the bylaw to confirm the

[2:01:04] proceedings of the town of for the council of the corporation of town of

[2:01:07] Greater Napony. Moved by Deputy Mayor Calver, seconded by councelor Davyy.

[2:01:11] Read a first, second, and finally pass this 25th day of August 2026. All in

[2:01:16] favor of that motion. Oppose. Motion's carried. And motion to adjurnn. Moved by

[2:01:20] councelor Davyy, second by councelor Shank. There's no further comments,

[2:01:23] questions, concerns. All in favor of that motion? Oppose. Motion's carried.

[2:01:26] Thanks, folks.

Regular Session Council - 25 Aug 2026

Transcript