[0:00] will begin the council meeting on Wednesday, May 7th, 2025. We begin this

[0:04] gathering by acknowledging that the land upon which we meet is a traditional

[0:09] territory of First Nations people. We convey our respect to our indigenous

[0:14] neighbors and thank them for their contributions to our culture, community,

[0:18] our past, and our partnerships in the future. We commit to a continued journey

[0:24] of listening and learning and building relationships.

[0:28] We'll call the meeting to order at 1:35. Is there any disclosure of

[0:35] pecunary interest or in the general nature

[0:39] thereof? Seeing no hands, we'll move on. The confiration of the agenda is uh

[0:46] before you. It's been circulated. any errors or

[0:50] additions which will recommend that the regular agenda of council dated May 7th

[0:55] 20125 be accepted as presented. Thank you councelor

[1:04] You have a question? No. Okay. Go ahead. Thanks Mayor under new

[1:11] business. I wanted to bring something up.

[1:15] Uh can you get into talking? Yeah. Uh the

[1:19] warf street. Okay. Yeah. Stuff like that can just be reported with no

[1:29] problem. All right. Anything else? Then we'll entertain a motion that

[1:35] the regular agenda be accepted with the inclusion of the missing street line

[1:39] awards bill. Any new business? Moved by Martin. Is that correct? Will you move

[1:43] it? Okay. Don, will you second that? All in favor?

[1:50] Carry. Delegations and presentations. I have been advised that there is

[1:58] none. In council committee of adjustments, none at this

[2:02] meeting. Public meetings. There is none. And uh we are into staff reports

[2:10] very quickly on this agenda. uh chief administrator officer uh Amanda

[2:16] uh in regard to emergency shelter license agreement with the Glaco

[2:19] Agricultural Society. Yeah, we missed the consent agenda. Oh,

[2:24] we did. Oh, I thought we did. Okay. I thought we called the

[2:29] Okay. Yeah. Okay. Uh the consent agenda. Did we skip right over it? We did. Just

[2:34] three items. Okay. Uh the circulated council the draft minutes the voucher

[2:39] reports and the middle county highlights move it moved by deputy mayor

[2:44] should seconded by councelor meers. All in favor

[2:52] carried. Okay staff reports uh 811. If you could lead it off that'd be great.

[2:59] [Music] Uh thank you may you hear you. Um this

[3:05] report is being brought forward with a recommendation to formalize the use of

[3:09] the Gleno agricultural hall as a designated emergency emergency shelter

[3:14] uh uh for the municipality through a new agreement with the agricultural society.

[3:19] Uh the location offers significant improvements over our current shelter

[3:23] site which is the arena uh more physical space uh and better amenities. Uh the

[3:30] agreement clearly outlines responsibilities for both parties and

[3:34] guarantees municipal access to the site when needed um and allows for future

[3:39] collaboration on items uh like future discussions on generators for the

[3:44] building. Uh importantly, there are no immediate financial commitments uh and

[3:48] any future costs uh would be brought back to council for future

[3:53] consideration. Uh I will note I'd like to note the Gleno Agricultural Society

[3:57] has been excellent to work with uh very receptive and collaborative uh to

[4:03] supporting local emergency preparedness. So we're thankful uh for that and staff

[4:08] is recommending to council to approve the agreement and authorized the mayor

[4:13] and clerk to sign to ensure we're better prepared uh for uh emergency situations.

[4:20] Thank you very much. Yes, the agreement was circulated. It's an 8page document.

[4:25] I'm sure you've had the time to read it. Um, what I found interesting about it is

[4:30] that uh if there's an emergency, we're in just like

[4:37] that. It provides a venue. Are there questions? Go ahead, Council Meers.

[4:41] Follow. Yeah. Thanks. Um, okay. We have the

[4:47] arena, right? Is there no way that we can uh do something with the arena to

[4:53] put a generator in there and has a community

[4:58] center? Um is there anything that goes on in there? I don't know if the chief

[5:02] can answer that for me or um do they have any emergency stuff going on

[5:09] there because um the fire department is basically a shelter too, right?

[5:17] Yeah, we um uh it depends where the uh element of disaster is, depends on the

[5:23] trade winds as well. Get a derailment or something like that. Uh that's why it's

[5:28] good to have several locations. But um uh and then again uh

[5:35] u we we have talked about generators at the arena uh in the past, but I'll let

[5:41] Amanda lead away on that. She said those conversations with Thank you. Um, thank

[5:48] you for the question. Uh, the, uh, municipalities are required to have one

[5:54] primary emergency shelter and then alternate locations. Uh, and there are a

[5:58] number of amenities that we look for in emergency shelters. Certainly, one is

[6:02] generator power. Uh, none of ours have that available right now. Um, and the

[6:08] agricultural society doesn't either at their building right now. Um the

[6:13] agricultural society though when comparing it to our other locations um

[6:18] has a few advantages of that building even over our arena that's adjacent. Uh

[6:23] those advantages would be one just sheer size and space. If an emergency were to

[6:28] happen and we had to open a shelter in the middle of winter uh with ice in the

[6:33] usable space in the arena is quite limited uh just to the upper level and

[6:38] the the lobby area. um and the dressing rooms which create segregated space. So

[6:44] usually for emergency shelters you want like one large open space and then other

[6:50] multiple uh spaces which is a type of layout that the agricultural society

[6:55] hall does have which is why it would be considered advantageous uh just based on

[7:01] the space available. Uh and the same limitations exist at our other halls.

[7:06] The Erid Community Center certainly it's an alternate location and as the mayor

[7:10] said in the event of an emergency occurring in Gleno or you know where we

[7:15] needed to utilize that space it's absolutely available as an alternate

[7:19] location. Uh but as a primary location the space uh size of it uh may not be

[7:25] adequate. So if we have to evacuate you know a large segment of a municipality

[7:30] uh fitting them in that space would be challenging as well as with the the

[7:36] facility we lease currently in Warsville. Uh so uh through reviewing

[7:40] with our uh CMC uh Chief Johnson that uh we are of the opinion that of all the

[7:46] facilities and amenities kind of available in our area um the

[7:50] agricultural ball does best meet the needs uh in an emergency situation. And

[7:56] of course, we would always continue to still have access to our own facilities

[7:59] and buildings uh for emergency purposes, either to augment uh or if the hole

[8:06] location wasn't needed, if there was another location that was preferred for

[8:10] whatever reason. Okay, Council Meers, is that it

[8:16] followup? Okay. And go Deputy Mayor Schles, please go ahead. Thank you,

[8:22] Mayor. I'm just wondering what cost we could be looking at here. and I see a

[8:26] shared interest in exploring the potential for a generator installation

[8:29] facility will be considered in the future. So I'm just wondering you can

[8:33] tell us a little bit about that. Sure. Uh through Mayor. Uh so at this

[8:39] time the agreement doesn't have any the agreement does not have any financial

[8:43] commitments on behalf of the municipality. Um just like one of the

[8:49] preferences and strong preferences for emergency shelter locations is to have a

[8:54] generator installation um and availability in the case of hydro

[8:59] outages during an emergency. Um right now we don't have one in our emergency

[9:05] sites uh and there is there is not one at the agricultural society. uh through

[9:11] this this discussion with them, we've talked about, you know, their interest

[9:14] in installing a generator in the future. Um whether there was a partnership

[9:20] opportunity uh but we have had no discussions of that type kind of further

[9:25] along other than we have an interest in every both parties to the agreement have

[9:30] an interest in a generator there. But any future discussions on that would be

[9:36] brought back to council for future consideration. uh if it was something

[9:40] that was even pursued. So even if that's never discussed at this location, the

[9:46] the amenities at the agricultural hall are still, you know, don't have

[9:51] generator power just like our arena doesn't. But the the layout and space is

[9:56] considered more advantageous for an emergency shelter.

[9:59] I could draw so but we will have it an emergency shelter. It will eventually

[10:06] need to generate an installation that is for conclusion that

[10:11] we take this step we will earn credential for a generator.

[10:19] Um through you I don't think it's a foregone conclusion. No I would say uh

[10:24] for any location that's an emergency shelter it would always be something

[10:27] that's on the radar. Uh it is a preferred thing for an emergency

[10:31] shelter. Um, and as the agricultural society has

[10:36] expressed interest in pursuing that, I do think we would have future

[10:39] conversations on it, but it is not as by way of right a requirement for an

[10:44] emergency shelter. Um and if there ever were uh some sort of discussion with the

[10:50] agricultural society where we we didn't like the arrangement uh either the

[10:55] current arrangement with no generator or a future discussion on a generator we

[11:00] could always make designate our emergency shelter uh to another location

[11:05] dates on this. you know can germinate at any time just uh intended to provide us

[11:10] additional resiliency and uh options and flexibility in in the event of an

[11:16] emergency. Okay. Yeah. Thank you. In terms of generator, I have I think on

[11:20] two occasions forwarded uh uh information regarding grant applications

[11:25] and such and that's what we keep our eyes open for and I'm sure the

[11:30] agricultural society will do it as well. they're u uh under their ministry funded

[11:37] to some degree too. So sometimes there's a there's opportunities in terms of

[11:44] council is the fire hall an alternate emergency shelter at this point in time.

[11:54] I can answer that to uh councelor McIll. He is the alternate EOC emergency

[12:00] operations center. It can also be used as a shelter area if needed. Uh but it's

[12:05] its official designation is the alternate EOC.

[12:10] Okay. So if I could continue. So there is a generator there. But I realize that

[12:16] you know there's problems with having the fire hall as a as a as a shelter

[12:22] because you know there's a fire there's heavy equipment going in and out. It's

[12:27] it's it's it's not great. But there's a generator. So if there was a power

[12:31] outage at this time, I think the uh clinical fire would probably be

[12:38] preferred location to any location that had no heat, no power, no air

[12:45] condition. So So yeah, I think I'm I'm in favor of this recommendation, but I

[12:51] think we will have to get a generator there at some point. Go ahead. Yeah,

[12:58] thank you, Mayor. And I just want to add a comment uh to your point that um

[13:03] before opening an emergency shelter, our municipal procedures require that the

[13:09] emergency operations the emergency control group uh made up of the mayor

[13:14] and uh some staff members uh would meet. they would choose the appropriate

[13:18] emergency shelter location based on all of the considerations of the emergency

[13:23] at that time and then they would uh uh oversee the opening of it with whatever

[13:29] required amenities. So um to your point if it was a hydro outage or new power

[13:34] would be important so we would the control group would take those factors

[13:38] into consideration. Okay, any further

[13:44] questions? Yep. Go ahead. This is probably for the chief.

[13:49] I'm just wondering if we did have an emergency in St. Albert Avenue or

[13:52] BSville. Is there a plan in place to use any facilities there or emergencies

[13:56] there?

[14:01] So, yes, deputy mayor. Um all the community centers in those areas would

[14:06] be our first pick for that. Uh provided that there was no danger in those areas.

[14:11] uh failing that we could bring down to a central one which is kind of what what

[14:15] uh we're proposing with the Gleno Agricultural Hall because it'll be set

[14:19] up with all all the supplies and everything else required to shelter

[14:24] people in time of emergency.

[14:28] And uh further to that, as the chief knows, the county has a trailer that's

[14:33] full of CS. I think there's 100 CS in there and blankets and things of that

[14:37] nature. So they can be uh uh towed to the designated shelter area and uh

[14:44] accommodations if warming center was required or something like

[14:49] that. Okay. I think we talk about it. No more questions. Uh recommendation is

[14:55] before you 181 that the county that the council of the municipality of southwest

[15:00] middle sex receive the report dated May 7th by the

[15:03] CAO and that the council approved the emergency shelter license agreement

[15:07] between the municipality of southwest middle sex and the Agricultural Society

[15:12] as presented and authorized by the mayor clerk to execute the agreement on behalf

[15:16] of the municipality. That is the

[15:18] recommendation. Is there a mover and a second? Councilman Colin second for

[15:25] this. I'll second. Okay. Discussion.

[15:32] Yes. I do like the point though that

[15:36] councelor Mars brought up about the effort community center. Yeah. I mean

[15:40] the only problem it's not quite as central but we own it and and you know

[15:47] it's it's a fair size. There might be a subject issue there if

[15:51] we had two 300 people and those are factors you know can you put can you put

[15:57] 200 people in there well okay yeah you're probably right

[16:04] and then you know you got the c the cod footprint too you put 100 cs in there

[16:10] but but community center is an alternate location is it

[16:17] so it's not designated as an official alternate location. Uh we can make those

[16:22] decisions as the emergency unfolds. If that's the proper place, then that's

[16:26] where we'll put people and we have mobile equipment that we can take

[16:29] wherever we need to. But we do need a primary emergency

[16:34] shelter for the community in Gleno agricultural hall right now is our

[16:40] recommendation for the best location. Uh that's part of uh requirements for our

[16:45] emergency management plan. Sorry. Yep. Council Myers. Thank you, Mayor.

[16:52] Um, here is for information. Are we voting on this right now? Yep, we are.

[16:56] There's a motion on the form. So, why does it say forward information?

[17:01] We're uh u go ahead.

[17:06] Thank you for Mayor. So, the recommendation is noted in uh two parts.

[17:11] The first section is to receive and file the report itself for information and to

[17:16] approve the shelter agreement attached to the report um for execution. Uh and

[17:23] that that's why it's it's worded in that way.

[17:28] Okay.

[17:30] Yes. But just picking up on council's comments that the fire hall right now

[17:36] has a generator agricultural test. So when we do the

[17:41] fire of the generator, I think I think that's very high risk having a fireall

[17:47] as the primary emergency center. Uh we're going to the fire department can

[17:51] be extremely busy during an emergency. Uh in the event of a winter emergency or

[17:57] an ice storm or something like that, uh those trucks uh um would have to be be

[18:04] maintained uh between uh calls. uh make sure they're clean. Uh the apparatuses

[18:09] are functional and uh it's uh the fire

[18:16] hall it may serve as a as a secondary unit for uh the comfort of individuals.

[18:24] But uh it is a bit high risk in relationship to the jobs that the fire

[18:30] department have to do. I think I uh would be a pretty busy place in the

[18:35] event of an e just the generator services

[18:42] and not all.

[18:46] Yeah, there's always option of four generators coming in as well that the

[18:51] community could in the event of emergency could

[18:56] obtain go ahead and uh thank you mayor. Um thank you. There are a number of uh

[19:05] requirements and amenities that are preferred in an

[19:10] emergency shelter. Um a generator being only one of them. Uh so there are the

[19:16] others are a large space, the ability to house as many as people as possible. Um

[19:22] as many people as possible. If we're were to evacuate the whole municipality

[19:26] or a certain segment, we would need multiple hundreds uh of spaces. uh

[19:31] washrooms, showers, uh accessibility. Um you know, the fire station has uh

[19:38] administration rooms, but they are upstairs, so they're not accessible. Um

[19:42] there are So, taking all those factors into account, uh the generator um being

[19:49] at a location, as the mayor said, that does have some uh challenges as an

[19:53] emergency shelter. Uh again, this uh partnership with the agricultural

[19:58] society is recommended as a primary use based on all the amenities and space

[20:04] that are at that location. Yes. Go ahead, Council Mel. Yeah, I'll

[20:10] support the recommendation. I think I've I've got enough answers to my questions

[20:14] because it sounds like you know even though we if we

[20:18] do pass this recommendation and the egg hall becomes our primary facility if say

[20:25] circumstances like say for example there was no power and no power in Gleno but

[20:32] say there was power in that could be and so then the staff and the mayor may

[20:39] probably say well we better use happen because there's power there and there's

[20:43] no power going or say they might say there's a generator. They the fireball

[20:49] is not not not really the preferred location, but if there's a generator

[20:55] there and there's power at the fire hall, they're probably going to use a

[20:58] firewall at this time. So, yeah, I'll support the

[21:03] recommendation. Okay. Yes, counc. Thank you, Mayor Allen. who would look

[21:08] after the upkeep of the generator if we put one in in between the hall because

[21:15] these generators they they got to be plenty of use them so yeah they have

[21:21] commands for that thank you so this report does not contemplate the

[21:26] installation uh of a generator at the agricultural hall

[21:31] if if there were a future contemplation of that a report uh with an agreement

[21:36] and all of the information would be brought to council and it would

[21:39] certainly include uh the details on maintenance and associated cost and

[21:44] work. We're committed we are obligated to make a primary uh to identify a

[21:51] primary evacuation center. Uh that's part of council's responsibility and uh

[21:58] as Amanda has said staff have taken into many considerations. They have expansive

[22:04] washrooms for male and female. We also have very adequate parking there. It is

[22:09] accessible and uh other amenities that they have good kitchen, stainless steel

[22:14] uh appliances. Uh so uh after their evaluation uh it is it's not saying

[22:21] that's the only building that can use but it is going to be identified as a

[22:24] primary center. One more question. Yeah, go ahead. Yeah, thank you mayor. Um, so

[22:31] basically we're just going to have an outside hookup with a portable generator

[22:35] coming coming in. Is that what it is? This is all hypothetical. We're talking

[22:39] generators. It really is a part of the agreement and we do know that uh in the

[22:45] long term it would be an ideal requirement to have but uh this we're

[22:51] not the motion that is before us is not speaking about uh the potential of

[22:58] generators I believe. Is that correct? But that that will be pursued over the

[23:04] course of time because we know that it is certainly beneficial uh to uh the

[23:09] community uh if we could acquire one and uh we'll uh you know we haven't got a

[23:16] crystal ball but we out of common sense we realize that it would be ideal to

[23:20] have a generator there and we will see if funds can be found for such a a

[23:26] project. Very often there are the odd grants on

[23:31] something like this particularly if there is a disaster in municipality that

[23:37] is a high level news item. Uh very often following such an event uh the province

[23:43] will say you know what generators we have funds available and you submit your

[23:48] application. I've seen it in the past. We haven't been successful with that but

[23:52] I have seen it in the past. Yes. I'll second the recommendation.

[23:57] Okay, I think everyone's had a hit at this. Okay, again, uh it's an agreement

[24:04] uh that meets the needs of the emergency management committee uh that were

[24:09] mandated to do and uh it will be uh u certainly uh the aspects of a

[24:17] generator will come to council in the future. I have no doubt about that at

[24:21] all in this term. Okay, I'll call the question. All in favor?

[24:29] Good questions. And uh we know that there are

[24:33] shortcomings. I would like to know if they uh the kitchen has gas there. You

[24:38] know, kitchen has gas that comes from gas. I think Yeah, it does. So that's

[24:44] that's a real benefit. So there's no hydro. At least they can provide food

[24:48] for people. Okay.

[24:54] uh 8 uh 21 uh the composition of council. Uh that's a interesting topic.

[25:01] the man that is going to lead us in. Uh the composition of this council began in

[25:07] 2000 uh following amalgamation where Ecford uh Eford and Aen Mosa and

[25:16] Wardsville and Gleno uh united as Southwest Middle Sex. And uh during that

[25:24] time uh the u councils and uh the three councils and committees uh identified uh

[25:32] the eight members passed two from each board and the mayor and the deputy mayor

[25:37] which uh equate to eight. So I'll let Amanda walk us through that. It's been

[25:43] 25 years since we've discussed this. So that's the history on it. Now

[25:48] Amanda I'll let you lead after following that. Thank you, Mayor Mayhew. Um, so

[25:54] I'm presenting this report on behalf of Kendra uh today regarding next steps

[25:59] following council's April 23rd decision to reduce its composition to five

[26:03] members uh for the 2026 election uh which would change the composition to

[26:09] five members being uh one member per three w three of the wards uh plus a

[26:14] mayor and deputy mayor. Um, at the April 23rd meeting, uh, the information was

[26:19] provided, uh, for direction. Um, uh, but since that time, we reviewed the notice

[26:24] requirements in our municipal bylaw, and we wanted to bring those, uh, to

[26:28] council's attention. uh that uh tonight we're or we're we're asking if uh

[26:34] council could decide uh whether it would like to proceed with a formal public

[26:38] meeting uh either on May 21st or June 5th uh or to forgo the notice

[26:43] requirement that is included in our bylaw. Um holding a public meeting would

[26:48] fulfill the notice bylaw and provide an opportunity for structured input. Uh,

[26:52] alternatively, council could choose uh to move forward uh without additional

[26:57] consultation vote in your uh ability. Um, if there were a public meeting, I

[27:05] would just like to advise there would be a public notice issue at the meeting. It

[27:08] would be uh a time on our regular agenda. So, if you think about how we

[27:12] have a set time for a drain kind of situation and anyone from the public who

[27:18] was in attendance would be able to speak. Um, just share information. So,

[27:24] we're seeking council direction on this and happy to answer any questions.

[27:30] Any questions from council? just, you know, I I have talked both of this with

[27:35] Amanda, but I think optics are important uh from the public and uh it's a it's a

[27:43] a decision with some weight on our shoulders and uh I think uh I kind of

[27:49] support public consultation on this. I think the object is just look better. I

[27:54] know that uh very often times they're not well attended things like this but

[28:00] uh despite that it may be our duty to uh you know extend the hand uh and deliver

[28:07] some information from this uh to the public and accept their input. Are there

[28:13] any further comments on that? Yes, go ahead council me. Yeah, I I

[28:18] would agree. I think we should follow our procedure. In the past, we we've got

[28:23] a lot of staff changes and we've accidentally um not follow procedure

[28:28] occasionally, but I think it's always a good idea to follow procedure. Yeah, I

[28:32] think the optics look better. I think it's transparency is what I'm the word

[28:36] I'm looking for uh that uh we want the public involved or give them at least

[28:41] the opportunity to any further comments or discussions.

[28:48] Yes, that extra put on the next meeting agenda. I

[28:54] don't know what staff go that quick. It might be two meetings from now. Go

[28:58] ahead. So, um it could be on the 21st agenda. Um I believe this is by memory.

[29:05] I believe the notice bylaw requires 10 days of public notice of the meeting. Uh

[29:09] and then it would just be slated on the agenda. We do have a quite a full

[29:13] meeting on the 21st

[29:17] but so we would review and but we would ensure the public notice was issued uh

[29:22] and we would target an evening meeting uh most

[29:25] likely people could also submit payments and writing all just council's

[29:31] information. Thank you.

[29:34] Yes, councelor B. I wonder if it could be mentioned in uh public knows that we

[29:41] had to kind of act before May 31st because of the strong mayor situation

[29:48] and also even um it would take two/3 of vote

[29:53] to change this. So it' be pretty hard to change this

[29:59] result right now. Yeah, it's certainly a

[30:06] council will have lots of discussion on it. I I couldn't see that wouldn't

[30:14] happen. It's, as I said, it's it's a it's a delicate subject, but it's uh our

[30:20] I wouldn't be paranoid about strong mayor policies. Uh in in the event of

[30:25] crisis and last resort, the mayor would do whatever he had to protect people at

[30:31] this table and all the other citizens and all those smalls. But uh I think as

[30:36] my report uh uh indicated uh I will be in constant conversation with the staff

[30:42] and deputy mayor uh following any any changes in that but uh uh I wouldn't be

[30:50] completely paranoid of that. We only have about a year and a half left in

[30:53] this

[30:56] term. We'll have someone else holding the galler.

[31:05] Yeah, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think we have strong powers right now as

[31:10] May 1st. So really far as strong mirror powers

[31:16] goes this if we pass this and go to five that's only going to change things after

[31:22] the next election. So for now we've got strong air powers. I don't think we're

[31:26] any under any um really big rush to get this public meeting done. I I think it's

[31:34] a good idea to have it in the evening because it's better for people and if if

[31:40] the May 21st agenda is really full, I'd even be okay with going to Well, June

[31:45] 5th will be an afternoon meeting, right? So, we go to the second second meeting

[31:50] in June. I don't know. I I'll make the recommendation that we go with a and and

[31:57] staff can schedule um schedule a public meeting in an a

[32:04] regular evening council meeting. I think so. Yeah, I'd like to see I think you're

[32:08] shortch changing the public. We have a very very heavy agenda next agenda. I

[32:13] know Amanda has advised me of that and uh you know I don't want the

[32:17] conversation cut short. I want to make to make sure everyone has, you know, a

[32:20] voice that we can hear and uh, you know, an invitation to the public. Uh, you

[32:25] know, there may even be some coffee available for or something like that.

[32:29] So, we want to make sure that uh we're not squeezing it in with a shoe

[32:34] warn. We want to give the public the courtesy

[32:39] of a really like the time for inquiries. Okay.

[32:46] Um, there's the motion for this. Uh what's our status on this? We got a

[32:51] second. Yeah, we're looking for a second.

[32:54] Okay, mayor

[32:57] should. Okay, everyone has a clear understanding of the motion. If anyone

[33:02] needs it regret, just raise your hand. Okay, everyone. Okay. All right.

[33:08] All in favor, please raise your hand. Carried

[33:11] unanimously. Thank you very much, council, and we'll look forward to that

[33:15] meeting. We'll keep you posted on

[33:19] uh on what's on what's going

[33:28] on. 83 uh one we have some sewer relief uh from uh right there. Uh Sarah, are

[33:37] you going to guys do this? Go ahead. Thank you for the report before you is

[33:43] to recommend that council approve for reimbursement of

[33:48] $65368 cents in surf fees for the customer listed in the report. Uh the

[33:54] abnormally high water usage was due to a leak and a running toilet which was

[33:59] repair. The excess water did not enter the sanitary system. Therefore, staff

[34:04] supports provided relief for charges which council has proved in the

[34:10] similar cases. Any questions? Yeah. Thank you,

[34:14] council. We used to get these quite regularly, but it's been some time since

[34:18] we've had one, but they uh they were quite often on the agenda. Is there any

[34:23] questions? Yes, mayor. I'll move the recommendation. Okay. And a second that.

[34:28] Thank you, Councelor Myers. Uh call last call for

[34:33] questions. Things like this happen. Okay. it uh it won't be the last time a

[34:39] report like this. All in favor Sarah, thank you very much for

[34:44] that one. I'm sure the u the uh candidate will be very pleased as

[34:51] well. Public works for construction of sidewalk tenders. Amanda, are you going

[34:56] to walk us through this? There's nobody on the screen. Okay.

[35:01] Thank you for you. So um I'm presenting on behalf of Mora Castillia today

[35:06] regarding the results of the recent tender for 2025 sidewalk construction

[35:10] program which was approved in the capital budget. Uh the tender was

[35:14] publicly posted in accordance with our procurement policy and we received seven

[35:18] uh compliant bids by the deadline. Uh Fioro Concrete submitted the lowest uh

[35:24] compliant bid at $82,390. Uh staff reviewed all bids and

[35:30] confirmed that that requirements and specifications. Uh the recommended bid

[35:35] is well within the $150,000 budget allocated for the

[35:39] project. Um and supports our ongoing infrastructure goals and staff are

[35:45] recommending to council to approve awarding the tender to concrete uh and

[35:51] authorize the mayor and clerk to sign any necessary documents to project.

[35:57] Thank you very much. That is a very competitive price.

[36:02] U questioning way of use concrete used in the past. Um I

[36:10] believe so. Yes. Okay. Because I know we've done extensive work in Morrisville

[36:15] and happened and uh we certainly were pleased with the results of

[36:22] that. Deputy Mayor Shice. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Um, I'd just like to

[36:26] point out that if you already know it is a very reputable company, but I would

[36:31] still uh request that a staff never check on the sidewalk progress every

[36:37] day, especially the width. In years past, we've had some real

[36:46] um and last year down by the sidewalks were too narrow. I just happened to

[36:50] catch it. So it's very crucial every day double check. There has to be boots on

[36:55] the ground when you lay sidewalks. I know there has been councils and

[37:00] administrations in the past that have been we've had

[37:03] to pour concrete up. Not we but uh other councils other administrations have to

[37:10] do it. Um yes. Go ahead. Council Myers. I'll move the recommendation. Okay.

[37:15] Thank you. Is there a second for that? That's our thing. And uh Amanda, if you

[37:20] can take back that we need boots on the ground every day there. We'd appreciate

[37:25] it. Okay. All right. All in favor? Oh, just one question. Yeah. Thank you. Is

[37:31] this

[37:35] all tear up?

[37:44] I believe it is. Yes. Okay. All right. Any more questions? All

[37:50] in favor? Yeah, it

[37:57] uh width is important. We're mandated to do the right width. It's not uh we're

[38:03] told how wide our sidewalks have.

[38:14] Yeah. everything. Yeah.

[38:19] Yeah. It was under this mayor's policy. All right.

[38:26] Uh community services and facilities. Not at this time. Uh Chief Johnson is

[38:34] going to introduce 86 to us. 861 updated emergency response plan. Uh Chief, would

[38:41] you like to walk us through that?

[38:45] Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Yes, I can speak further to this report through you, Mr.

[38:49] Mayor, and council. Before you is my report to council regarding the updated

[38:53] Southwest Middle Sex Emergency Response Plan as part of the emergency management

[38:58] and civil protection act. It is a requirement that we regularly review and

[39:01] update our municipal emergency response plan. My report details the requirements

[39:06] for these updates and the changes that we have made to our emergency response

[39:10] plan to better protect our community in the event of an

[39:14] emergency. This updated emergency response plan ensures that we are in

[39:19] compliance with the emergency management and civil protection act and that our

[39:22] municipal emergency response plan aligns with the Middle Sex County Emergency

[39:27] Response Plan. I would ask that you please accepted my report to council and

[39:31] endorse this updated emergency response plan by bylaw. I'm happy to answer any

[39:35] questions. Okay. Thank you, Chief, very much for

[39:39] that. Uh we appreciate you keeping your finger on on things like this. Any

[39:46] questions? Yes. Deputy Mayor Sh. I'll move the recommendation. Okay.

[39:52] Is there a second for that? Uh, Council

[39:57] Emory, questions again. All in

[40:01] favor? It is carried. Chief, thanks very much for that. Uh, I like the idea that

[40:06] all members of the committee will be getting copies of this, PDF. This is

[40:10] great and uh it's uh it's well done. I I found it very interesting uh

[40:18] reading. Chief, uh you're going uh through another report uh regarding

[40:24] Newberry Fire Protection on uh section 8 6.2. Uh lead us off on that,

[40:31] please. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh through you, Mr. Mayor and Council. Before you

[40:36] is my report to council regarding the updated Newberry Fire Protection

[40:39] Agreement. My report details the updated uh sorry

[40:45] new newberry fire protection agreement. On August 24th, 2022, council approved

[40:50] the bylaw 2022 080 being a bylaw to authorize the signing of an agreement

[40:56] between the village of Newbury and the municipality of southwest middle sex for

[40:59] fire protection services. This agreement expired in August 2024.

[41:04] A proposed updated agreement was presented to Newberry in December 2024

[41:09] and was accepted by Newberry Council on April 6,

[41:13] 2025. Under this agreement, the village of Newberry agrees to pay Southwest

[41:17] Middle Sex annual fees for fire protection assistance.

[41:22] The updated fire service agreement also provides asurances by the village of

[41:26] Newberry and the Newberry Fire Department for appropriate levels of

[41:29] firefighter training for their members as well as apparatus and equipment in

[41:33] compliance to OSHA and NFPA standards in order to protect our Southwest

[41:39] firefighters when operating jointly at emergencies with Newberry Fire

[41:43] Department. These insur these asurances are in line with Southwest Middle Sex

[41:47] Fire Department risk management policies and weapon requirements. Additionally,

[41:52] under this agreement, Southwest Middle Sex Fire has the provision to build the

[41:56] village of Newberry MTO rates or apparatus for any alarms attended within

[42:00] the village village of Newberry that exceed 1 hour in

[42:03] duration. I would ask that you please accept my reports council and endorse

[42:07] this updated Newberry fire protection agreement by I'm happy to answer any

[42:12] questions. Yes. Go ahead, councelor Link. Thank

[42:17] you, Mayor Fire Chief. Uh, is there ever any

[42:22] joint training with the Newberry Fire Department? Say what are they called?

[42:32] Uh, I'll let the chief answer that. Yes, I can answer that. Uh, yes, Counselor

[42:37] Uh, yes, we do schedule joint training with them. uh minimum one time

[42:42] per year. Okay. Any further questions?

[42:49] Chief uh for county's hospital is under the jurisdiction of the new fire

[42:54] department, not ours. That's a sensitive area that uh needs good fire protection.

[43:00] Uh you have no concerns about that?

[43:06] I have no concerns at this time, Mr. Mayor.

[43:11] Yeah. Anyway, we know that uh uh joint fire services are an important part of

[43:17] uh any scene and it's good to have the paperwork done in advance. Any further

[43:22] questions? Yes, deputy mayor. Just out of curiosity, does Newberry have full?

[43:31] I believe they do. Yes. Deputy mayor. Yes. Thank you.

[43:37] Yes, councils. I will move the chief's recommendation. Okay. Moved by uh

[43:43] council miners, second by deputy mayor scholice. We've had adequate discussion

[43:48] on this. I believe all in

[43:51] favor chief. Thanks very much uh for that work. We did and

[43:56] u look forward to signing the

[44:01] bylaws at this time. No building reports and no planning

[44:06] reports. Sure. mutual notice of motion. Any

[44:12] counselors? Seeing none correspondence and

[44:18] petitions, unfinished

[44:21] business. Uh, new business. Uh, no items removed from the consent agenda. No add

[44:28] items. No other business. Oh, yes. So, street light in Portsville. Yes. Go

[44:33] ahead, Council Link. You can apprise council of that.

[44:37] Thank you, Mayor. I know Amanda touched on on the update. Uh, I just want to

[44:44] give a little background. I emailed last Saturday, I believe, was u there's a

[44:50] streamline beside the Warso Museum sitting there and having sitting there

[44:55] for a few days and when the staff uh went to look at it on Monday, it was

[45:02] gone. So, I mean, someone permanently borrowed it. Oh jeez. And um so I I'd

[45:08] like to see a report uh as to what happens in the whole situation. I'm not

[45:13] looking to blame anybody, just looking to

[45:18] uh I touched on this before I don't believe we have the same service. I

[45:22] believe that's what happened here in that part of the municipality. This is

[45:28] why something like this happened. and uh Ontario Higer replaced it, took the

[45:34] light off, put it inside the museum and it sat there according to uh the

[45:40] restaurant owner probably 3 or 4 days and uh so I mean the longer it stays

[45:47] more chance it's going to be quite so I I like to report also report on the cost

[45:55] uh like I I'm thinking these are not that cheap either. Yep. Uh Manda may

[46:00] have some information she can share to all of council. And Manda, go ahead

[46:05] please. Uh thank you for Mayor. Um so as as outlined uh to councelor bank, um the

[46:15] uh the light stand pole needed to be replaced. Uh and that was reported to

[46:21] Hydro1. Hydro1 came uh replaced the pole. uh scheduled that through our

[46:26] public works team and uh staff were under the understanding and assumption

[46:31] that Hydro One would be reinstalling the existing light on the new pool. Uh and

[46:38] that was the municipal understanding uh and and always is. Uh so in this case uh

[46:44] Hydro1 uh did not and and did not communicate uh with staff in this

[46:49] instance that the light was not reinstalled. Uh so staff were actually

[46:53] not aware until it was reported um uh from from you actually that this had

[46:59] occurred and and went to promptly investigate. So uh just on the the note

[47:04] of a service standard, there was certainly no uh intent. This was an

[47:08] understanding of a service level provided by Hydro1 that was either

[47:11] misunderstood or or miscommunicated. Um, Mororrow is working

[47:16] on getting pricing for the updated life and I'm happy to share that with council

[47:20] once uh once we have that in hand uh and the replacement will be completed.

[47:27] Okay. Right.

[47:32] They follow.

[47:35] Well, yes, that's quite right what is saying, but nonetheless, I'm still kind

[47:42] of concerned that it sat around for that many days and no. Yeah, I don't I still

[47:50] don't share the same opinion, but it could have well been a trip hazard or

[47:54] something like that as well. So, it's it's unfortunate. Uh I know words don't

[48:00] uh there's always questions whether it's hydro one or whether it's the county of

[48:04] middle sex or whether it's the municipality's responsibility and

[48:07] there's always dialogue that centers around that um is the county involved in

[48:13] this in any way a they're not okay of the community

[48:20] there was you

[48:34] I'll check with my merch. [Music]

[48:43] have not been

[48:48] and sometimes the replacement of that may be a

[48:53] different there's been a lot of changes in technology in

[48:59] particular hydro are going to do this they may it may be

[49:04] entirely entirely a different light led light or something like that and

[49:10] the uh the value of used lighting is not really high either

[49:16] anyway. Okay, we'll get it fixed up and uh council will be apprised of that and

[49:21] councelor make we appreciate that information. Okay, we can all learn we

[49:26] can all learn from that question. Yes, go ahead. Yes. I

[49:32] noticed a light missing there in my van apartment just ahead of it. Is that

[49:41] right? Okay. Well, I know yesterday. All right. Amanda's writing that down as we

[49:46] speak. Uh she'll uh get on that and we'll make sure uh that is too. There is

[49:53] always a list of lights that are out. Uh sometimes Gerber replaces those lights

[49:58] and there's always a list and sometimes we wait two or three in the past we wait

[50:03] we have two or three calls uh and then we hit them all at the same

[50:08] time or efficiency lighting is important. Any

[50:13] further questions? Any further lights out?

[50:20] Seeing none we have a motion. Is there a motion on the floor? Yeah.

[50:24] Uh then okay.

[50:29] Okay. Uh new business. Uh we've gone through

[50:33] that county council and conference updates. Oh no, we had two. Oh, did we?

[50:39] The hiring committee. Yes, that's correct. Yeah, we sure do. Uh 121

[50:44] appointment of council members for the hiring committee recommended the council

[50:47] of municipality of southwest Middle Sex appoint uh and there's one as I

[50:52] understand it. Okay. Are there any volunteers

[50:57] that just could um I spoke to councelor councelor Miguel

[51:03] mentioned in the last meeting going with someone that hasn't sat on the committee

[51:07] before and councelor said he would be interested if he hasn't sat on one in

[51:12] the past. Okay. Good experience. Yep. Okay. And uh councelor McIll shared with

[51:20] me the Senate that he thought someone who is not

[51:25] ser opportunity to start. Yeah. Yeah. Go ahead

[51:32] C I'll nominate council second for that deputy mayor

[51:39] should thank you council Gil. All in favor it's carried 121 is done.

[51:48] Uh 122 uh statement of strong mayor policy uh brought Ward. Are there any

[51:53] questions? Yes.

[51:57] Just like to thank the mayor for clearing the air on this. We all have an

[52:01] understanding on what we expect. Yeah. The mayor too and they are cleared on

[52:06] that as well. But uh it is uh uh this is uh not my wish. uh has been uh put down

[52:15] by the province and uh we're under uh their governance to some degree but uh I

[52:22] can assure you uh that my position will not be uh abused in any way. I believe

[52:28] in transparency and cooperation but thank you deputy mayor

[52:34] uh for those comments.

[52:38] Okay. Motion to receive. Okay. And a motion to

[52:43] receive and file the mayor's statement. Collers. All in favor?

[52:51] Carried. Thank you, Amanda.

[52:56] Um, we have got county council and conference updates. Uh, county council.

[53:02] It was in the consent agenda. Announcements. Any announcements?

[53:08] Yes. Go ahead, Council Gill. I'll say this one more time. I got tickets for

[53:14] the L Presbyterian Church for Barbecue dinner Saturday, May 31st. It's a

[53:20] drive-thru from 5 till 6:30 p.m. $25 per ticket. And the meat is

[53:31] also until May 15th. We have to let the the caterer know by then how many meals

[53:40] to expect. So I sold tickets to Sunday, but if there's anybody else talk to me

[53:46] after the meeting. Thank you. Thank you. Any other

[53:51] announcements? Council, we're always under the watchful eye of Howie and Paul

[53:56] Vanderoot. And uh good thing they're here at every meeting. And I'd just like

[54:01] to announce it was Paul Ben's birthday yesterday. So uh council wishes Paul a

[54:06] very happy birthday and uh we enjoy your presence at all our meetings. Thank you

[54:11] Paul. Happy birthday Paul. And I know how he is a chauffeer. So uh we

[54:16] appreciate that. Uh close sessions. Uh there's

[54:22] none. I understand. Uh business arising from

[54:26] Nicole Cole sessions. This is not relevant. We have bylaws.

[54:31] Uh, council will adopt uh bylaw 20257, our emergency response plan, and

[54:40] bylaw 25/28, the Newberry Fire Protection

[54:45] Agreement, and bylaw 2559, stop up and close land adjacent to

[54:52] 157 Main Street. Uh, discussions of the previous council meeting were on that.

[54:58] and bylaw 202560 adopt the budgetary estimates for

[55:05] the 2025 tax rate and bylaw

[55:11] 202561 to confirm the proceedings of council. Are there any uh questions uh

[55:17] you'd like to forward on those? Yeah. Uh thank you,

[55:22] mayor. I just want to make a note um that the agenda was updated. Uh so um

[55:27] just yesterday so there was an additional bylaw uh 61 to declare land

[55:33] surplus which was circulated to council by email. Uh so the resolution will read

[55:39] for that one as well as the confirmatory. So it will be 2025

[55:44] 57 by 57 262 262. Okay. Thank you. All right. So

[55:52] there's that one additional bylaw on that. Uh

[55:57] um is that part of the that bylaw is necessary for the agreement purchasing

[56:01] sales? Yes. And uh but the mayor's position on that. Should I declare a

[56:07] conflict of interest on that? We'll pass that by first and then do the others.

[56:11] Not necessary. That's fine. No, thank you very much council. I did have some

[56:16] hesitation further to discussions of council on that. This is not necessary.

[56:21] Okay. Motion to adopt the bylaws as presented. Councelor McCullen, Councelor

[56:26] Miguel. Questions? All in favor? Carry. Council. Thanks very much. What time is

[56:32] it? 233. We did pretty good to back 117 pages. We did pretty well.

[56:40] Okay.

[56:43] Motion to adjourn. Second for that. Council

[56:48] Gil. All in favor? Car.

Southwest Middlesex - Regular Council Meeting - Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Transcript