[1:56] I'd like to call this meeting in order please.

[2:00] » Thank you. Um like to make an announcement to start with this uh this

[2:05] session will not be live recorded. Uh it will be uploaded tomorrow as we are

[2:10] having some technical difficulties. So for those that are here and wish to

[2:16] watch it again, you can watch it tomorrow when it will be uploaded. I'd

[2:21] like again call the meeting to order. Uh our regular meeting of January 21st,

[2:26] 2026. And our first item would be to adopt the

[2:30] agenda. >> I moved by Harold Leavine, second by

[2:33] Moren McMillan. Be it resolved that council for the township of Kilu Hagerty

[2:37] and Richards hereby adopts the agenda for the regulars council meeting of

[2:40] January 21st 2026 as presented. >> All those in favor carried.

[2:47] Now our first nation's land acknowledgement. As we gather today, I

[2:51] would like to acknowledge on behalf of this committee and our community that we

[2:55] are meeting on the traditional territory of the Aangquin people. We would like to

[2:59] thank the Aangquin people and express our respect and support for their rich

[3:02] history. and we are extremely grateful for their many and continued displays of

[3:06] friendship. We also thank all the generations of people who have taken

[3:10] care of this land for thousands of years. And please join me in a moment of

[3:14] silent reflection.

[3:26] And thank you. And does anyone Oh, my mayor's address. So, some places that

[3:34] I've been at in the last couple of weeks, uh, January the 11th, I was had

[3:39] an interview on CHCR. That's our radio station for those who don't know. Uh, on

[3:44] the 14th of January, we had a county council meeting along with health,

[3:48] community services, and corporate service committees.

[3:52] Uh, the 15th, we had a public meeting and also our first staff budgeted

[3:58] meeting. And on the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th, uh, we had Roma and there was

[4:05] four of us that attended that event. And personally, I appreciate the opportunity

[4:10] to participate in this conference. It was great to advocate for our community

[4:14] and learn about opportunities that support rural municipalities.

[4:18] The best part of the conference is to mingle with similar municipalities that

[4:21] share the same uphill battles like less revenue and higher expenses.

[4:27] some of the key things of the conference. Um, first off, I want to

[4:31] congratulate the Roma board for listening to the members. Um, to what to

[4:38] include in their sessions. There was a lot of relevant things. Uh, I'm not

[4:42] saying all the presentations were great, but the question and answer period after

[4:48] those sessions were very informative and the involvement of people was really

[4:53] good. Uh some of the items that were that really hit home were uh there was a

[4:59] section called rural voices and it started off as one theme and ended up

[5:04] all talking about AI and the problems that our communities are being faced

[5:08] with with AI and uh it's really scary the days ahead. Another item was the

[5:16] costs of cemeteries. Uh, of course I would be remiss in not mentioning the

[5:21] Doug Ford speech, which I don't know who his script writer is, but uh, someone

[5:26] added humor to his speeches, which was it was really good and it shed a

[5:31] different light on how you perceive him. Um,

[5:36] this one will hit home to all of us. uh accur accurate information to residents

[5:41] and that evolved around what to do if you lose a newspaper and how do people

[5:45] communicate on a day-to-day basis with your residents and it was very

[5:50] informative I know Moren was there with me and uh I think Tammy was there maybe

[5:56] no I'm not sure anyways it was very very interesting uh also there was a session

[6:02] on aqua which was water and wastewater and uh the new code of conduct when and

[6:10] if it's ever going to come out. Um so on the also on the 20th last night um I was

[6:17] present to give out service awards for 5 years plus to all our firefighters which

[6:23] was a really good good night and you know you look at the service they

[6:28] provide for us and the protection they provide for us and we give them a plaque

[6:32] and a piece of pizza. So, uh, to put that in perspective, that was their

[6:36] thank you. But honestly, from wordswise, I congratulate them for what they did

[6:41] and how supportive of we are of them and how thankful we are that they put in the

[6:47] time to train to fight the battles. So, that was I wanted to make mention of

[6:52] that. And today, finally, we had our second staff budget meeting. And, uh, my

[6:58] last note is a reminder. snow fund starts January 26th and runs till

[7:02] February the 1st and hopefully everyone can support that event.

[7:08] Great. Um, at this time would Bill and Meen or Tammy like to elaborate on

[7:14] anything from Roma?

[7:20] » Sorry. Yeah, it's my fourth time attending the Rural Ontario Municipality

[7:24] Association conference and I think this one for me was the best one yet. uh lots

[7:29] of I I was in several of the sessions and that that uh the mayor spoke about.

[7:35] Um, I think it the one that was really interesting and a little bit of of a

[7:41] surprise and kind of out in left field uh was the very last one on the last day

[7:48] which was about building a more connected community. And it was really

[7:52] it talked about the uh the epidemic of loneliness across the world and how that

[7:57] impacts uh it it impacts our society in so many ways and it was a really just a

[8:03] feelood feel good way to end the the 3-day conference. So thanks for thanks

[8:08] for letting me go. >> Thanks Morin.

[8:11] » Yeah and I enjoyed it a lot. Everybody I met now knows where Kiloo is and Round

[8:16] Lake and Will know and they know that uh the Kiloo Sunrise originated from uh one

[8:21] of our small communities. Uh I did uh some good uh workshops on communication

[8:26] and infrastructure and how to get uh good messages, truthful messages out to

[8:31] our community. So I look forward to being able to do that in the next little

[8:35] while as budget is coming right up around the corner. So it's very timely.

[8:41] And does anyone have any pecunary or financial interest to declare? Having

[8:46] seen none, we'll move right into our delegations. Mr. Mr. Pton, please join

[8:51] us.

[9:00] » I did. Thank you for the extra information.

[9:04] » Good evening. My name is Michael Patrunic and I live in the old Caou

[9:07] neighborhood. Thank you for your time today. publicly addressed this concern.

[9:12] On August 24th, 2025, council passed bylaw 31, 2025 without public

[9:18] notification, consultation, and debate. This bylaw closed most of Greens and

[9:23] Sullivan's roads, which provide access to Silver Creek. I'm here to present a

[9:27] petition that request council amend the bylaw to make the road unmaintained as

[9:32] it once was and should still be. Before I present the signatures, I will review

[9:37] the meaning of closed and unmaintained, what a waterway and highway are, and

[9:42] provide a history of the road surveys for the Killer Loop Road, which is also

[9:46] known as Greens Road in Selenbrook. Um, I'll also raise questions about the

[9:51] process, the transparency, the benefits, and the cost of bylaw.

[9:56] Let's start with definitions. According to Canadian Oxford dictionary, closed,

[10:00] which is an adjective, means shut with nothing left open or not allowing public

[10:05] access. The last one seems important, not allowing public access.

[10:11] Unmaintained is an adjective that means not kept in proper or good condition.

[10:17] It's pretty easy. So, let's move to the rules. According to the Beds of

[10:21] Navigable Waters Act, waterways are owned by the Crown and Wright of Canada.

[10:26] According to the municipal act, a highway includes all road allowances

[10:30] made by the crown surveyors that are located in the municipality.

[10:36] It also states that a bylaw permanently closing a highway shall not be passed

[10:40] without the consent of the government of Canada if the highway abuts on land

[10:45] including land covered by water owned by the right sorry by the right sorry by

[10:50] the crown and right of Canada. Next I'm going to talk about road

[10:54] history. So if we look back to the 1860s,

[10:58] I was able to find a map that shows the original viup of the Hagerty Township.

[11:08] This includes uh who got which survey plot along with the waterways, the

[11:14] rights of ways for the planned uh railways and a tiny segment of road in

[11:19] red showing two acres that represents the origins of the kiloo roford road and

[11:24] some of which has been closed by this new bylaw 312025.

[11:29] I'm going to call this the OG survey. If we move forward about 20 years to

[11:35] 1878 when the council at the time created bylaw 18

[11:48] this is by lighting

[11:53] a survey defining the entirety of the road from just north of the mill

[11:57] following a path with many curves hills and crossing silver creek all as it

[12:02] winds its way south to the town line. I will call this the confirmation survey.

[12:11] About 50 years later, as part of a government survey in 1935, a map of the

[12:16] Golden Lake area was published in 1937.

[12:24] This is a segment of that there.

[12:29] This map clearly shows the full Killer Roachford road as traveled. I will call

[12:34] this the asbuilt survey. That is three crown surveys showing the

[12:39] Killer Roachford road that we now know as Greens Road and Faliban's road. This

[12:43] road also crosses Silver Creek or Silver Lake Creek. It's known by both names.

[12:49] Silver Creek is fed by Silver Lake upstream and flows into the old Kilaloo

[12:53] Pond, making it owned by the Crown and Wright of Canada and therefore subject

[12:56] to its processes which include elements related to public notice and

[13:00] consultation. None of this appears to have been done.

[13:04] I also found a story from the Eganville leader from 1964.

[13:10] It's called the old road. Those who built it have gone their sorry have gone

[13:15] to the rest many long years ago. For the old road is almost 100 years old and was

[13:20] among the first roads to be built in Hagerty Township. Built from Roachford

[13:24] to old Kilaloo, a distance of about 3 miles, it served the people of

[13:28] Roachford, South Alona, Cormarmac, and Bruinell for a long period of time. The

[13:34] men who built it followed a straight line from Roachford for about a mile,

[13:38] but apparently decided to follow the path of least resistance, and the result

[13:42] was a winding road with many twists and turns. Midway between Roachford and Old

[13:47] Kiddoo is the Green's farm. A farm cleared out of the virgin forest by

[13:51] Christopher Green. At the north end of the farm is a bridge spanning Silver

[13:55] Lake Creek. And here in the springtime, people would come for miles to catch

[14:00] suckers. Arriving a little before dark, they would build a fire and remain until

[14:04] late into the night. Under the bridge, planks were laid across some logs a few

[14:09] inches above water. When the darkness came, the fishermen would lie down on

[14:13] these often wet plains, put their arms down into the cold spring water, and

[14:18] catch sucker by hand. One windy night, they failed to put out the fire. The

[14:22] next morning, the bridge was smoldering ruins.

[14:27] In the rapids below the bridge, there was abundance of trout, and in those

[14:31] far-off days, there never seemed to be a small one. It was just above the bridge

[14:35] that Tom Ruddy, one autumn day, killed two otter with a single shot.

[14:40] This creek was the scene of a drive each spring for many years. First square

[14:44] timber, later saw logs. At one time, a dam extended from the bridge for about

[14:49] a/4 mile holding back an immense head of water. A little way from the road, the

[14:54] bridge, a road led to the Ruddy's farm. Here, William Ruddy lived and raised a

[14:59] large family. One of his sons cleared the farm further down the road, and

[15:02] these three families, the Ruddies and the Greens, were the only ones to live

[15:05] beside the old road. About half a mile from the bridge, you come to the crooked

[15:10] hill. It would seem to have been easier to build the road almost straight down

[15:14] this rather long hill, but the builders decided to make it crooked and succeeded

[15:18] very well. This crooked hill so intrigued a young girl, Pat Green, now a

[15:23] missionary sister in Japan, that she composed a poem about it. The hill was

[15:28] particularly straightened, sorry, partly straightened some years ago. The road

[15:33] led on over hills and valleys to the thriving picturesque village of Kiloo.

[15:38] That was many years before the advent of the railway, before there was any killer

[15:42] station. Many persons ranking high in church and state once traveled this

[15:46] road. In those years, long past and gone, traffic was heavy on the old road.

[15:51] In the winter, you could hear the music of sleigh bells at almost any hour of

[15:55] the day or night. It began to be called the old road when another road was built

[16:00] from the western end of Roachford to Killoop. This road, now part of Highway

[16:04] 512, was paved some years ago. Then the traffic almost ceased on the old road.

[16:09] The buddies have long since gone and for a time people called it the greens road.

[16:14] Martin Garvey in his song of old Killoo has some lines about this road which he

[16:19] calls Green Valley Road. And now the Greens have also gone. And the old road

[16:25] lies silent and peaceful, rarely being used by anyone. A kindly road in all its

[16:29] years. There never was an accident on it. The birds still sing from the

[16:33] treetops. Rabbits and partridge come to its side. The beavers, after an absence

[16:37] of 70 years, have once again taken over the creek and marshlands. Beside its

[16:43] bank, the rust muskrats build their domes. The scenery along this woodland

[16:48] road, especially in the autumn, is as beautiful as the eye wish for it. Here,

[16:52] all is serene, quiet, beautiful. At times in the far off distance, you may

[16:57] hear the blare of horns. Um, as cars and trucks travel the harsh

[17:03] pavement. >> Excuse me, Mike.

[17:06] » How often I've traveled it by day and by night and love every foot of it.

[17:09] Sometimes I still travel it. And as you once more walk over its hills and

[17:13] valleys, the old road seems to welcome you. Glad that someone is using it.

[17:18] Mike, this is from Kill Ontario. >> You got three minutes. Three minutes and

[17:22] you're No problem. Okay.

[17:28] That there just provides some providence to the road. So if I focus on the bylaw,

[17:32] the bylaw is for the assumption and dedication of a road with the road's

[17:35] name unsaid. If this was a public interest, why was there not more

[17:38] celebrated announcement letting them know that you were improving the

[17:41] township? Or was there something the council wanted to keep quiet? Hiding

[17:44] within it was a single word that removes the public right to access most of the

[17:48] road. Closed. Item three states that the corporation

[17:52] of the township of Kiluhagy Richards confirms that any lands contained within

[17:56] pin number 57515-000093 of the land titles east of parts one and

[18:01] two of survey 49R20598 which are vested in the corporation of

[18:06] the township of Kiler Hegy Richard which would be considered a public highway

[18:09] remain closed as covered earlier the word closed means not allowing public

[18:13] access any spoken word by the town today or anytime suggesting closed means

[18:17] otherwise is meaningless the town's position can changed without notice.

[18:21] Remember, closed means not allowing public access. The bylaw seems to be a

[18:25] little bit little benefit to the town. Before the new road was surveyed, the

[18:30] road was wide enough to handle occasional passing traffic with a solid

[18:32] base to be driven on year round, even on a lowered Civic or a transport truck

[18:36] with a trailer. Um, now about the survey. The new survey identifies the

[18:42] route does not even identify the route of the original road. Uh, one would

[18:46] expect it to be the master, but instead it identifies fence lines were probably

[18:50] built by a farm in the path of lease resistance rather than a long surveyed

[18:54] post. Uh, this makes the new road wider than the old survey. Was an evaluation

[18:58] done regarding the land the town was expropriating?

[19:02] Uh, part of that last two questions stem from the fact that town managed the

[19:06] southern section of the road uh, the Sullivan side differently. At that end,

[19:10] the town has allowed an adjacent land owner to claim some of the survey

[19:13] traveled road by erecting new fences and a line of boulders obstructing passage

[19:18] down the traveled road. What are the costs of these bylaws? Were there direct

[19:22] dollar costs for the process and creating the road and maintaining the

[19:25] road and legal stuff going forward? Did this bylaw add to the tax base or

[19:30] distract by adding more costs? And what about the cultural costs? With everyone

[19:34] losing access to history, nature and waterways, these costs can never be

[19:38] recovered. To summarize, birds are important and closed and unmaintained

[19:42] have specific uses when it comes to roads. We must use them properly. The

[19:46] killer of Roachford Road, Greens Road, Sullivan's road, and Silver Creek have

[19:50] long recognized history and meet the definitions set up by the provincial and

[19:54] federal acts and should be handled accordingly with greater public notice

[19:57] and transparency.

[20:01] This leads me to the purpose of me being here today. I've circulated a petition

[20:05] calling for the amendment bylaw 31-2025 to remove the word closed at the end of

[20:10] section 3 and replace it with unmaintained. It has 83 signatures on it

[20:14] of adult residents and land owners in the Kilu Heaggedy Richards with close to

[20:18] unanimous support from Old Killoo where the roads located. If more signatures

[20:22] are required, what number is needed for you to do your review? Please review and

[20:25] genuinely consider this request's change in a way that keeps the public aware. If

[20:30] you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them now. Sorry for the length.

[20:34] » Thank you, Mike. And uh I'll open it up to council now for any questions and

[20:37] we'll start down here. Herold

[20:42] » thanks. >> I just had I just wanted to just just

[20:46] for like public awareness because I know you did receive a letter from our CEO.

[20:50] So, I just want to read a part of it just so everybody just maybe it helps a

[20:54] better understanding >> because I mean I

[20:55] » No, just a just >> just a little. It's uh please note that

[20:59] whether the applicable lands were considered unmaintained instead of

[21:02] closed, the township would still not be maintaining the lands. If you're

[21:06] » maintain the land, >> I'm just let me finish please. Sorry. Uh

[21:10] if closed results in proh or if your concern is that the status of closed

[21:14] results in prohibiting public access access to township lands, please note

[21:18] that the township generally does not actively prohibit public access to

[21:22] either its closed roads, its unmaintained roads, or its unopen road

[21:25] allowances. However, any public entry onto these lands and use of these lands

[21:29] is at an individual's own risk. It is also fully the responsibility of the

[21:33] private individuals to ensure they are not trespassing on private properties.

[21:37] So, I just wanted to read that just just to help

[21:40] » question. >> No,

[21:42] » no, we can we can't answer questions. I just wanted to read that just

[21:44] » May I respond to your public >> because this was supposed to be a

[21:48] question and you've decided to just read something.

[21:49] » No, no, no. It's just for public information.

[21:51] » Public information as I said earlier closed has a specific definition and the

[21:57] whims of the township have changed here and there. I remember a day when they

[22:01] wanted street lights in old Kiloo. So anyways, uh we'll move along here.

[22:06] And uh Brian, do you have any questions? Brian, do you have any questions?

[22:12] Carl, >> Ted,

[22:17] » what's landlock land, Mike? >> Well, I like to purchase. I have a

[22:20] chance to fall. >> I have you have to go through him. So

[22:25] » that's true. >> I believe you're referring to there are

[22:28] properties back there that have lost access to portions of the property

[22:32] because of this bylaw. And accordingly from what I read from your other bylaws,

[22:36] it costs a few hundred dollars if they want to get access to that to be able to

[22:40] do improvements on it. And those would have to be renewed on a regular basis.

[22:44] As I said earlier, closed means closed. It's a real definition. Fix the bylaw,

[22:48] please. >> So what Marine just read is right from

[22:51] our legal counsel. And >> now

[22:56] » as the township >> when he stopped anybody

[23:01] » from using a closed road before so why would we start now?

[23:05] » Uh again your whims can change. Laws are laws and they're written in a specific

[23:11] way to mean certain things. Add the word unmaintained and the law is fine. It

[23:17] means you didn't close off public access to a federal waterway.

[23:21] I have to take the advice of our solicitor and he's saying there is no

[23:27] difference.

[23:31] » Can you uh forward something more official than you just telling me this

[23:35] or your little letter? Cuz you you're you're telling me there's no difference.

[23:39] But if I go back there and I'm charged to have the police show up, am I

[23:43] supposed to show them a map and say, "Look, I'm on the road."

[23:47] » Well, that that's all there is. There's a map. There is a there is a three

[23:51] survey. So the town said we don't know where the borders are.

[23:55] » I don't understand how the town cannot know where the borders are when there

[23:58] are three government surveys. >> So what are you saying if the police

[24:04] » I'm saying I've had the police called on me for trespassing on this road in the

[24:08] past? >> Not by the township.

[24:09] » Multiple times. No, by adjacent land owners. I've been assaulted by adjacent

[24:13] land owners. >> Yeah. And since the township refuses to

[24:17] take ownership of the road, those charges were dropped.

[24:20] » Yeah. >> Now, if does the township own the road

[24:23] or not? >> They do own the road. Yes.

[24:27] » Then where is it? >> It's up there.

[24:30] » Is it open or closed? >> It's closed.

[24:32] » Then closed means no trespassing. >> See, we're just going to keep arguing

[24:37] here. So, am I >> How many How many signatures?

[24:40] » I told you what our solicitor said. >> I hear you. And he said, "You can go on

[24:45] that road if you want." >> And I say,

[24:47] » "And it's up to you." Well, >> then if you don't believe him, that's

[24:52] your problem. >> Charged.

[24:53] » That's your problem. >> Do I come back with trespass charges?

[24:57] There've been trespass charges laid already this year for that road.

[25:01] » Not from the township. Not if you're on You must have been on somebody. Whoever

[25:05] was charged was on somebody else's propert.

[25:08] » I think you need to do some more investigating.

[25:11] » How can somebody be charged? How can somebody be charged if they're on

[25:14] township property and township? >> How come they block the road? Then the

[25:18] road's blocked in multiple locations and the township is not doing anything about

[25:22] it. >> And I don't I told you in discussions

[25:25] that we are trying to do something about >> you

[25:30] have it in your head listen to you being closed. You're doing nothing. You're

[25:34] actually working backwards against the people for the right to access public

[25:38] property. See,

[25:40] » how many signatures do you want for me to readress this publicly?

[25:43] » I don't care private debate.

[25:47] » We're telling you you can use the road and you're still not happy. So, what do

[25:51] you want us to do? >> I want you to change the bylaw. So, the

[25:54] bylaw says I can use the road. >> We're telling you you can use the road.

[25:59] Our solicitor is telling you tell her to stop. Excuse me. It's not

[26:06] open to public. Uh, Mr. Peternic asked for the uh, legal opinion to be

[26:13] released. I'm I think it would >> makes sense for this council to consider

[26:19] releasing all or part of that letter. >> Before we do that, I'd like to ask the

[26:24] CEO if it's permissible. >> Yeah. No, I mean it's something for

[26:27] council to consider. >> Why is everyone hiding behind

[26:30] everything? >> Why can't we just have public discussion

[26:32] about you guys closing public access? Closed is a real word.

[26:36] » Dr. your solicitor smart. >> Pardon?

[26:39] » Talk to your solicitor tomorrow. Closed is a real word.

[26:42] » Well, we have issu we have talked with the solicitor and there was supposed to

[26:46] been a letter written to you >> and as said they but I was

[26:52] » so they they said, "Oh, closed doesn't mean closed since when are you the

[26:55] dictionary? When do you as a township define what words mean?"

[26:59] » I think it'll be cleared up. I know you don't believe us, but I think if you

[27:03] read the same letter from the lawyer that I read two weeks ago or a week ago

[27:07] when we had when it came up that uh that perhaps you might be convinced if you

[27:13] don't listen to us and you don't listen to the lawyer. Well,

[27:16] » I'll get my lawyer. We can get our own lawyer. It's

[27:19] » absolutely 100% who is opposed to the actions you took in our neighborhood

[27:24] without letting us know. Mhm. >> Does council have anything else to uh

[27:31] say?

[27:34] » Here's the signature so far. I'll continue to circulate that.

[27:40] » Okay. Thank you, Mike.

[27:48] Now we'll move on to the minutes of the previous meeting.

[27:53] Regular council meeting of January 6th, open session.

[27:58] » Moved by Brian Picoski, second by Bill Smith. Motion to approve the minutes of

[28:02] the regular council meeting of January 6th, 2026, open session.

[28:07] » Questions or discussion? All those in favor? Carried.

[28:15] And when the whole meeting of December the 9th, 2025, open session. Moved by

[28:21] Moren McMillan, second by Harold Lavine. Motion to approve the minutes of the

[28:24] committee of the whole meeting of December 9th, 2025 open session.

[28:30] » Uh questions or concerns? Having seen none. All those in favor? He

[28:38] committee of adjustment January 13th open session?

[28:42] » Moved by Moren McMillan, second by Harold Lavine. Motion to approve the

[28:45] minutes of the committee of adjustment meeting of January 13, 2026, open

[28:50] session. >> Questions or discussion? All those in

[28:54] favor? Carried.

[29:01] » Oh, yes.

[29:06] » Carl needs to sign it.

[29:21] Does anyone have any comments in regards to the upcoming meetings?

[29:27] Um, examining the road and general vouchure 12 2025 questions. Bill

[29:37] » 27983 and 2784

[29:45] » second page >> the two $3,000 charges

[29:56] I just sign I know one was for salt I think or gravel

[30:00] » no one are you talking about 83 and 84 >> yeah 83 and 84 I just signed one

[30:05] tonight. >> Winter sand. And both both of them are

[30:08] for winter sand. >> Oh, okay.

[30:10] » And the bottom one is for winter sand as well.

[30:12] » The bottom. >> Is that their land owner?

[30:16] » Yes. >> Is that because they're land owners?

[30:20] » Yes, because

[30:23] » they own the pit.

[30:28] » No, >> you disappoint me,

[30:32] Brian. Okay, we're good.

[30:37] And uh services committee reports. Now we'll move to correspondence.

[30:45] City of Peterborough sustainable police funding.

[30:52] » You supporting this >> unless you want to.

[30:56] » If you want to. It was for discussion. >> That's funding. So that sounds

[31:02] » reasonable for when I read it. >> That's what I thought first. When I read

[31:06] it, I believe that it's >> it's only a section.

[31:09] » It's not OP, but it's >> it's a section

[31:11] » sustainable funding for >> local police.

[31:17] Okay. Okay. >> So, I didn't that's why I didn't ask.

[31:21] » Uh town of Prescott robust recycling program. Uh did everyone read this? I

[31:27] thought this one might be a one for a resolution.

[31:32] Carl, >> that's

[31:38] too much going in the ground, right? >> Harold, you're okay with that one?

[31:43] » Yeah. >> Okay, good.

[31:45] » We'll bring it back next week or two weeks.

[31:52] Uh, Eeyorn monthly update December 2025.

[32:01] Thank you note from the will well no rink committee.

[32:05] That was very nice.

[32:13] Stats Canada is hiring for the 2026 census.

[32:17] » For people who might be looking for some part-time employment, but Stats can is

[32:22] hiring right now for for the upcoming election. And actually, they're I don't

[32:26] want to they're not re I don't want to use the word desperate, but this is the

[32:31] third time this has come across the desk. And I think they're really looking

[32:35] for people to help. So, if you want to and earn a few extra

[32:39] bucks, by all means,

[32:44] EOWC a news release.

[32:54] Uh, next one is MMA, Police Services Board Budgets.

[33:02] No doubt councelor McMillan, you read this very thoroughly.

[33:08] We did include this a budget for you. >> Yeah.

[33:15] » And the Ministry of the Attorney General updates to tailgate event permits and

[33:19] Bill would like to speak to that. >> So, this is a this is a really

[33:23] interesting update. Uh there was a a a thing a license for what they call the

[33:32] tailgate party. uh they're changing that to the uh bring your own event and what

[33:39] they said. Uh so there's we're going to be able to get events licensed for bring

[33:44] your own events if they're cultural or communitywide events that are sponsored

[33:48] by the municipality. The reason I'm speaking about it is

[33:52] because I think that uh that opens up lots of possibilities for different

[33:57] kinds of for for other groups to approach us and say, "Hey, we'd like to

[34:00] do this kind of an art festival or this kind of a dinner a dinner or what

[34:05] whatever it happens to be." But it's now going to be legal as of October or April

[34:11] 30th for people to apply for a bring your own event to a cultural or

[34:16] community event. So, what I what I've done, I've

[34:20] forwarded this on to Colton and Tammy, of course, and uh to let his mind go

[34:25] thinking about different things and to source out different people to maybe be

[34:29] interested in it. And I think it's it can be really a fun thing, I think. So,

[34:34] we'll see how it works. >> There's a possibility that sometime in

[34:38] the future, an event like the Irish gathering could be a bring your own

[34:42] event. >> Yeah. you know, so

[34:46] » maybe not change the name of it to a tailgate event, but we could

[34:50] » getting rid of tailgate. >> Okay, next one is from Town of Elmer.

[34:55] Support for the city of Wellland's call to action for justice and protection of

[34:58] Canada's children.

[35:03] And there is another EOWC news release.

[35:09] Okay, good. And now we're going to move on to

[35:13] bylaws.

[35:16] Tammy, did you before we get to the bylaws, did you want to read something

[35:19] off in regards to that one letter that came?

[35:22] » Um, not from the first bylaw. >> Not from the first one. Okay.

[35:28] So, yeah. Right. So, the first bylaw is bylaw number 6-2026.

[35:35] Do you want me to read it or are you going to read it?

[35:37] » Uh, moved by Bill Smith, second by Ted Brown. That bylaw number 06206 being a

[35:43] bylaw authorizing the execution of an Ontario fire protection grant transfer

[35:47] payment agreement between his majesty the king and right of Ontario and the

[35:51] municipal corporation of the township of Hillary and Richards be given its first,

[35:56] second and third reading and fi uh finally passed this 21st day of January

[36:00] 2026. >> Questions discussion all those in favor?

[36:05] Carrie.

[36:34] Now I'll ask that question. Did you want to read something?

[36:37] Um so uh before the next uh resolution is read um putting um um bringing

[36:45] forward the bylaw to put the two questions to the electors on uh the

[36:49] ballot. Um um Connie Mask wrote an email. She did

[36:54] ask a question at the meeting and she followed up with an email. So I'll just

[36:57] read her email. Um good evening and thank you for providing the opportunity

[37:01] to learn more about the upcoming questions for the 2026 meeting split

[37:04] election. After the recent public meeting, I felt it is not fully

[37:08] articulate my primary concern and I would like to offer further

[37:11] clarification. My concern is that the voters are being asked on two to

[37:15] interconnected matters without knowing the outcome of one or the other. For

[37:19] instance, a voter might support reducing council to four counselors and one mayor

[37:23] only if the current ward system remains without knowing the outcome of the ward

[37:27] versus at large vote. that same voter might feel forced to vote against

[37:31] council reductions simply to avoid the risk of an unfavorable combination. To

[37:35] resolve this ambiguity, I suggest um splitting the proposal into

[37:40] three specific questions. Are you in favor of abolishing the current board

[37:44] system in the township of Ku Hagerty and Richards? Are you in favor of reducing

[37:48] the size of council to four counselors and one mayor if the current board

[37:52] system is abolished? Are you in favor of reducing the side of CA size of council

[37:56] to four counselors and one mayor if the current ward system remains in place? I

[38:00] have not yet made a final decision on these issues and look forward to

[38:04] conducting more research and attending information sessions over the next eight

[38:07] months. However, providing this level of clarity on the ballot would ensure that

[38:11] voters like myself can express a preference that accurately reflects our

[38:15] vision for the township. Thank you for your time and consideration considering

[38:19] this feedback. Best regards, Connie Matz. Yes. Does anyone have any

[38:24] discussion? >> I can comment on that. I thought about

[38:27] it because I I think that it's a really interesting uh like I get her point. I

[38:33] think it's really an interesting point, but I I'm afraid that if we put those

[38:41] three questions on the ballot that none of them would get past the 50% in order

[38:46] to make the uh it would water down the choices. And if we don't get 50% on on

[38:54] any of them, then council isn't compelled to move forward with with the

[38:59] thing with a decision to follow the advice of of the people. And we'd be

[39:06] back the next council would be in the same position of saying, well, some

[39:09] people want it and some people don't. And and if we keep the questions, in my

[39:14] opinion, if we keep the questions, do you want award system? Do you want four

[39:18] or six counselors? It's very plain and simple and we're likely to get clear

[39:23] direction to council. That's my thought. >> Does anyone else have a comment?

[39:28] » I agree. >> Right.

[39:32] » Yeah. I think um I think we'd be all right just with the two questions, but I

[39:36] agree with her that we need a lot more information handed out to the or put out

[39:42] to the public before election time. And that would clear up a lot of these kind

[39:48] of questions. Uh especially that one, I think. But basically what what I get out

[39:55] of it is what she wants to know is what what are we going to do if it's if that

[39:59] happens. So we haven't made that clear to anyone.

[40:04] We haven't talked about it ourselves as a council. So I can see why there is

[40:09] some uh misunderstanding out there.

[40:16] Carl

[40:21] Ted

[40:24] I I think it would water like Bill said it would water down the actual question

[40:30] and I think I don't think anyone wants to waver from the question. I think we

[40:35] want the question as blunt as possible and take care of business. So,

[40:40] so if council had decided that they wanted

[40:45] to proceed with this, we'd have to uh make an amendment to the bylaw. But

[40:49] having seen no such feelings that you want to change the bylaw, let's proceed

[40:55] with the bylaw >> by Lavine second by Ted Brown that bylaw

[41:00] number 07.26 26 being a bylaws that two municipal questions to the electeds at

[41:05] the 2026 municipal election for the municipal corporation of the township of

[41:08] Kilaloo Hagerty and Richards be given its first, second, and third reading and

[41:12] finally passed this 21st day of January 2026.

[41:17] » Any questions or discussion? Having seen that all those in favor?

[41:22] Carried.

[41:37] And any unfinished business, new business? If none, we are going to

[41:41] committee of the whole. >> Moved by Brian Picausski, second by

[41:45] Harold Lavine. Motion to move into committee of the whole. Be it resolved

[41:48] that council move into a closed meeting pursuant to section 239 of the municipal

[41:51] act 2001 as amended for the following reason. advice that is subject to

[41:56] solicitor client privilege, including communications necessary for that

[41:59] purpose with regards to a shoreline erosion reconsideration. All those in

[42:04] favor carried. >> Thank you everyone.

January 21 2026 Regular Meeting

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