Just I wanted to
the next council to pay attention.
Yeah. Are you doing the equaliz?
Yeah. Yeah. I want to
Good morning everyone. I'd like to call
the meeting to order. We'll begin with
our land acknowledgement. At the
township of Severn, we recognize the
following land acknowledgement. We'd
like to begin by acknowledging that the
land on which we gather in which the
township of Severn operates is part of
the traditional
territory of the Ashabave. For thousands
of years, indigenous peoples have been
inhabiting and caring for this land. In
particular, we acknowledge the territory
of the Ojiway or Chipua peoples. This
territory is covered by the Lake Simco
Treaty 16 and the J Collins Land
Purchase. We are grateful to have the
opportunity to work on this land and by
doing so give our respect to its first
inhabitants. I'll sing our national
anthem, please.
Oh [singing]
Canada, [music]
our home [singing] and native [music]
land.
True [singing] patron love
in all [music]
of us.
With [singing] glowing [chanting] hearts
we see the rise, the [music] true north
and free.
From far [singing]
and [chanting] wide, oh
we stand [singing] on God for thee.
God keep [singing]
our land.
Glorious
and free.
Oh [music]
Canada,
we stand [singing]
on God
for thee. [music]
Oh [singing] Canada,
we stand on God
for thee.
» Thank you. Approval of the agenda.
Madame clerk, please.
» Thank you. The motion reads that the
agenda be adopted as circulated.
» Move in a second, please. Move by
councelor Jansen. Second by councelor
Brennan. All in favor? That's carried.
Thank you. Any uh disclosure of
pecuniary interest. Seeing none, we do
have one presentation this morning. I
just the presenter. It is a a 10minut uh
time on the presentation. And uh like to
welcome Katie Church, aquatic invasive
plan coordinator, and Rebecca,
I hope I said that properly, aquatic
invasive species specialist, invasious
species center, Lake Simco Water Soldier
Working Group. Welcome.
» Thank you so much. Um okay, presentation
is up. Okay. Um so thank you for the
opportunity to speak with you today. Um
we've already done our introductions. Um
we are here uh representing the in uh on
behalf of the lakesco water soldier
working group. Um next slide.
So just before I dive in, um I want to
talk about uh the great work that the
Severn Sound Environmental Association
um is doing uh coordinating invasive
species monitoring, management and
education init initiatives with
municipalities and partners. Uh the work
being done by the SSEA demonstrates the
importance of regional collaboration
when responding to invasive species
threats and protecting our shared
aquatic ecosystems. Next slide.
Okay. Um, so this is a timeline of water
soldier in Ontario. Um, so it was first
detected detected in the Trent River in
2008 and management has been underway
since uh, I believe 2014. Um, but what I
really want to highlight on this slide
is uh, in 201 uh 15 it was listed as a
prohibited species in Ontario. Um, so
that means it's illegal to possess,
transport, deposit, or release water
soldier under the Invasive Species Act.
Uh, we'd like to say this is a a turn
off the tap in water sales in Ontario.
Um, and then also want to highlight that
2024 detection within Cooks Bay. I will
send the other slides to Becca.
Thanks, Katie. Uh, next slide. Oh,
actually, you know, we're good. Sorry.
Um, so water soldier, just a little bit
of background, is an invasive perennial
aquatic plant. It's a submerged plant
and it will become buoyant in the summer
um during peak growing season. It has
sword-shaped leaves and they're they're
pretty serrated and then they can
sometimes form large white rosettes. Um,
we often tell people it looks like the
top of a pineapple. And it was first
reported in Lake Simco in 2024. Next
slide, please.
Um so this detection we knew that we
needed to take some action and there was
already an established water soldier
working group um proper for Ontariwide.
So it was pretty easy to make the
transition to establish a subcommittee
for Lake Simco. Um but we knew that we
needed more members and local partner
engagement. So the purpose of the water
soldier working group for Lake Simco is
to be a collaborative effort to support
water soldier surveillance, monitoring
and response in Lake Simco and to
explore any options that we can to
mitigate the impacts associated with the
new detection in such an ecologically
important area. So we focus a lot on
communications and outreach developing a
moni monitoring plan and implementing it
and then um our integrated management
plan development which the goal of it is
to prevent the spread and support
management. Next slide.
These are just some monitoring findings
from 2025. Um, we had an inter agency
monitoring team from Chipoas of Rama
First Nation, the Chipoas of Georgina
Island First Nation, and the OFAH
Foundation. Over 5,000 hectares of Lake
Simco were monitored. You can see those
green dots there to show just um the
scale of what was monitored and how far
and and why they really did go. Uh they
completed over 3,000 point intercepts.
They found no plants in the Holland
River, which is good news. But they did
find about 450 hectares of water soldier
in Cooks Bay, which is the largest um
establishment in I think North America,
honestly. Uh these yellow dots and red
dots just kind of show the density. So
the red are the most dense and then the
yellow um have water soldier present but
aren't as dense. Next slide.
And then this is kind of a better visual
to just illustrate the um impact really
of of water soldier in Lake Simco. You
can see uh where this boat is over on
this larger drone image. That's some
submerged vegetation. And then um just
to the top left of the image, there's
the emergent form colony of it. Um and
yeah, you can really just see how much
area can be occupied by water soldier
and what the imp impacts could be to
recreation and all kinds of things. And
with that, I'll pass it back to Katie on
the next slide.
» Thanks, Becca. Um, so what does this
mean for Lake Simco? Uh, water cell has
the ability to impact kind of all
aspects. Uh, so in terms of lake health,
um, as you can see in that drone photo,
um, it has the potential to, uh, reduce
native aquatic plant biodiversity and
alter, uh, aquatic habitat. Um and then
water soldier has the potential to also
threaten the progress that has already
been made to improve the health of Lake
Simco. In terms of recreation,
those dense mats can restrict uh
swimming, boating, angling, um really
any recreational activity. Um and the
plant also has those sharp serrated
leaves which can make na navigating and
handling those uh dense infestations
really difficult.
Um there's also impacts to shoreline
access and waterfront use for residents
and visitors. Um water shelter can
create challenges for activities such as
irrigation um and can interfere
interfere that shoreline the shorelines
and waterways.
Um for the township of Severn this is uh
particularly important because the
community is connected to to Lake Kiting
which is connected to Lake Simco um with
significant recreational ecological and
economic value tied to these waterways.
Um so while water soldier has not been
uh detected in Lake Fuching, you can see
in the previous slide those green dots,
the monitoring we did, we did not find
any last year. Um waiting for data on
this year. um uh residents, anglers and
others, users of the lake move between
those connected waterways and that
movement creates an opportunity for
invasive species to spread. Uh but it
also gives us an opportunity to prevent
that spread.
Next slide.
So we are at a critical juncture here as
we know as of 2025 monitoring data um it
is uh located just in Cooks Bay, the
southernmost part of Cooks Bay. Um but
action is essential to prevent further
expansion. And what I really want to
highlight is that no single agency can
manage this alone. This is a 450 hectare
infestation, the largest in North
America. Um it really requires that
cross agency coordination. Um the
working group's combined expertise and
shared responsibility um are the key to
success. Next slide.
Um, so the risk of what is the risk of
doing nothing. I think this photo really
shows uh the impact that it can have for
recreational boers. Um, you can see
those uh canoes and kayaks, they're not
getting through that dense uh mat, those
floating plants at the top, that very
light green. Um, there is a high
probability of sub uh of spread within
and outside Lake Simco. um increased
pressures on shoreline residents and
businesses over time. This uh mat is
only going to continue to grow if uh we
do nothing. Um and it also can uh
inhibit the viability of alternative
future management options. Next slide.
Um so what is the working group doing
this year? So, an integrated management
plan has been drafted uh and finalized
which showcases integrated pest
management. Uh we're engaging with
municipalities like yourselves. Um we're
hoping to secure consistent funding uh
which is estimated a treatment cost of
$5 million over 5 years, which will help
us establish clear timelines, goals, and
milestones. Um detection and monitoring,
uh we're increasing it uh this year. uh
they're out there right now monitoring
uh the parts of Lake Simco
and we're also uh doing a proposed man
management implementation. So with the
collective agency support we're
implementing phase one of management
which is uh kind of like a pilot
management. It is 450 hectares. Uh so we
have to really uh pay attention and and
really study when we are doing those
management. um and then monitoring the
results of management to establish
coordinated action for the coming years.
Uh next slide.
Uh so what is a path to success here? Um
it is through collaborative action. It
requires strong federal and provincial
partnerships combined with uh support
for key management and monitoring
activities and um local municipalities
also have an important role to play.
While water soldier has not been
detected within Georgian Bay uh the lake
the Georgian sorry the southern township
Lake Simco is connected a connected
water body and preventing the spread of
this invasive species uh will require
collaboration among uh municipalities
and your municipality can play an
important role by way raising a
awareness promoting prevention and
supporting early detection by reporting
any new water soldier detections.
Uh next slide.
Okay. So as we wrap up here, I just want
to highlight this uh municipal
expenditure survey. Um so this is a go
the goal of this survey is to assess the
direct costs of municipalities are
currently investing in invasive species
monitoring, detection, prevention, and
management and to better understand the
priority species and challenges across
Ontario. Uh I think this uh survey was
done around eight years ago. So I think
it's time for an update. Uh we encourage
municipalities to participate as the
information collective will help future
planning resources and support invasive
species management across the province.
Um next slide.
Okay. And with that, I'm going to just
wrap it up and say thank you for your
time and consideration. Uh we appreciate
the opportunity to speak with you today
and happy to do our best to answer any
questions.
» Thank you very much for the
presentation. Well done. These invasive
uh species, are they coming uh like by
boat like underneath the boat? Like
where where exactly how are they
reaching uh our waterways?
Yeah. So, it was originally detected in
the Trent Severn waterway. Uh it is
connected to Lake Simco. Uh there's no
correlation between that those uh
detections and the one in Cooks Bay as
it's quite far from where it's detected
in the Trent Sever waterway. Um so we
believe it's being moved by a boat by
boats. Um so these uh water soldier
plants they spread through turions or
offsets. If you imagine like a a house
spider plant, they have the little
offsets or little babies as we like to
call uh can attach to a boat and be
moved uh to another water body if the
boats are not decontaminated.
» Thank you. Any members of council have
councelor Taylor?
» Uh thanks for the uh alarming report. Uh
it um you can't do it alone and I'm I'm
very glad to hear that uh SSEA is
involved here. And further to what the
mayor was asking, uh, so where did it
come from and then how do you mitigate
it is my my two questions there.
» Yeah. So like I said, we believe that
it's uh being moved throughout the
waterways on boats or uh it could also
it it was an ornamental water garden bit
plant originally introduced in North
America. Um so that's how it got to
North America and as we see in 2015 we
we've regulated it. Um, and in terms of
mitigation management, uh, we have been
managing this plant since 2015. So,
we've learned a couple things along the
way, but in terms of management, we
have, uh, uh, we do something called
integrated pest management. So, uh, we
kind of go through the different types
of management including hand pulling,
manual removal, uh, uh, mechanical
removal using like mechanical harvesters
and herbicide.
Thank you very much, Councelor Mannings.
» Thank you through the chair and thank
you for your presentation. Um, you had
said that it was detected in Cooks Bay
in 2024, I believe. Okay. It's only 2026
now, so a couple years later, and that
was an alarming photo that you showed
us. So, is that sort of what we can
expect to see as far as quick growth or
was it not was it already large but not
detected before in Cooks Bay? I'm trying
to get a sense of that because we do
have waterways uh throughout the
township and it is very alarming.
» Yes, I I I agree. It is a very alarming
photo. Um so, we believe we don't know
how long this plant has been established
within Cooks Bay. can see it's a very
wellestablished population. Um I believe
uh when it was detected in 2024 uh we
were only looking we did a really um u
small uh monitoring. It was kind of
detected midsummer and there's tons of
other invasive aquatic plants that we
were working on. So we dedicated a
couple weeks to monitoring and we only
found it in kind of the the Jordan
Harbor really really southern part of
Cooks Bay. when we did that um formal
monitoring in 2025, those were our
findings, that 450 hectares. Um so, uh
I'm waiting for the results for for
2026. We'll see what that looks like. Um
but I can only assume it's it's growing.
Um but it's really important that we're
out there monitoring and we know that
it's uh in within the southernmost parts
of Cooks Bay. What we're doing is
monitoring outside of Cooks Bay to see
if there's any established populations
within the main lake, Lake Cuchaching.
Those are really our priority areas, the
Holland River as well.
» Thank you. And just a further question,
when you say one of the mitigating
things, one of the things that your
group really wants to establish in
coming to our council today is education
also. So what what would that entail?
» Um I would uh I would say what's great
for for the municipality to do is to uh
uh education through uh outreach. Um, so
social media, any any way to get uh uh
the members of the communities involved
and also um uh
detailing how to report new water
soldier detections through uh invasive
species uh apps such as ED maps. Uh and
if you'd like, I can send more
information on on how we can uh how you
guys can do some outreach on that.
Councelor
Jansen,
» Thank you very much for your
presentation. Um, I I see that uh your
ask here is for municipalities to fill
out the survey. Um, and we have a couple
of options we're allowed to do as a as a
council. I guess I just want to ask
staff is are we going to be
participating in that survey
[clears throat]
» Through the chair? Um, I'm sure we will.
I haven't seen it come out, but uh
typically our efforts are through SSEA,
so we would probably get them to do it
on our behalf.
» Georgian Bay
» And Georgian Bay Forever.
» Any further comments?
» Thank you.
» Okay, thank you very much. Oh, Deputy
Mayor Cox. Yeah, just a quick um so will
that go to our communication person and
be put on our social media because I
noted here that they have that uh QR
code for people to be able to to zoom in
on just following up on what council
Jansson said. We can do that. We will do
that.
» Okay. Any further comments? Thank you
very much. Have a great day.
» Thank you. Have
» A presentation or presentation a motion.
Sorry.
Yes, thank you. Uh the motion reads that
the delegation from Katie Church,
aquatic invasive plan coordinator and
Rebecca Dazzio, aquatic invasive species
specialist for the invasive species
center, uh Lake Synical Water Soldier
working group be received for
information.
» Moving in a second, please move by
councelor McIntyre, second by councelor
Jansen. All in favor? That's carried.
Thank you.
Moving on. Uh any of the consent list,
any members of council like to pull?
Councelor Taylor.
» Uh yes, through the mayor. I'd like to
pull E4.2.
Councelor Brandon,
» I would just like to speak for a minute
to E4.4.
» E4.4.
» Go ahead if you'd like to speak to it.
» Sure.
» Yes. Um
I should will come as no surprise to
anyone here that I uh support rapid and
robust transition to carbon intensive
energy uh renewables. And at AMO, we did
some of us had the opportunity to have a
presentation by by the group uh the
Canada North Vehicles Initiative which
was uh started by um the mayor and uh
Mayor Norcross in New. Anyway, uh, at
that presentation there, I had some
concerns with some of the comments
regarding EVs and I spoke to the
organizers about it and I said, you
know, basically, I love what you're
doing to try to defend jobs in Allison,
but um, I don't like what you're saying
about EVs. I could never support this.
Now, it's interesting because this
resolution doesn't doesn't deal with
that issue, but I just felt that I would
love to see a presentation by this group
to us. Um just a couple of points that I
want to make. So we've had the mandate
for EVs repealed at the request of a lot
of companies. Um and uh they say it's
because there's no demand. Well, that's
simply not the case for EVs. And um uh
and to make my point, I'll just state
that uh in Europe, where apparently we
want to sell these things because we
won't be selling them to Trump and this
gang, 20.7% of the market share is in
2026 is EVs. And Australia, Brazil,
India, South Korea, and Vietnam, some
countries of which we've already had
deals, more than doubled their EV sales
in the first half of 2026.
So, uh, it should not come as no
surprise to us here that manufacturing
in Ontario has dropped below 10%.
Um, although we keep saying we have a
robust management thing, that's a fight
we've been losing for years and the
decline in automotive jobs is
significant,
but we don't want to build something
that people want.
Also, I would be concerned with the
mandate down there that says uh um uh we
don't support changes in emission
standards which are the driving point to
get to EVs, right? You know, the mandate
was loosened up for 2035. So, if you
loosen up emission standards, there's no
incentive
to uh to build EVs. And yet, the biggest
investment inputs that the current
government has announced in recent times
has all been related to EVs and
batteries. That's where it is. That's
where the future is. So, uh, you know,
to say there's no demand and then say,
well, don't let the Chinese sell cars
here to me is quite contradictory. And
that was part of kind of the tone of
that presentation. So, I would like to
see I really do want to support this. We
do need that Honda plant's fabulous. I
know people that work there, but I would
love to understand better what their
more detailed philosophy is. and I would
love to see a presentation that would
allow me to wholeheartedly support it or
in fact, you know, ask them to make
changes. That's all.
» Thank you. Any uh other deps? No, I just
wanted to speak to it because I
understand where uh councelor Brennan's
coming from, but my take on it is more
on the overall effect of the tariffs and
Trump on the automotive industry and
Simco County being a large uh automotive
supplier plus training at Georgian
College, we are considered one of the
biggest areas for automotive supply and
the fact that um Honda is one of the
largest manufacturing employers in Simco
County and the fear of it leaving
because they could possibly leave and go
to the states. And I think this is the
biggest rationale on the beginning of
this right now is we need to support our
industries and our automotive industries
in Canada while this whole war trade war
between uh the US and Canada is
happening because Simco County is
definitely an automotive uh maker
supplier uh educator and and this is
what I think the new tech was trying to
get across is that we need to stand
together on this and get the federal
government to help uh these companies
stay in Canada and continue to supply
jobs.
» Councelor Jans.
» Yeah, I know we're not uh not debating
the the topic, but uh you know, I I
definitely support this uh resolution
that's been put forward. You know, these
are workers. They're very uh good paying
jobs. Uh my neighbors work in the in the
auto industry and they they commute uh
to this area. um and I'm sure lots of
other residents in our communities do
too. Councelor Min,
» Uh thank you through the chair and for
this um item, I would support as as
presented in the agenda that the
township respond uh with all the
resolutions. But further, just to your
point, um, member Brennan, if there is
something specific that you want tweaked
because there are a number of, uh,
resolutions that that are listed there,
but overall, I was at the presentation
too in Ottawa and they've done a lot of
work and I but I, I think there's more
to be done. This is just an initial
support and I think it's an absolutely
excellent idea to get them on an agenda
um obviously for the next council. Thank
you.
» Thank you. Any further comments? Okay.
Any other items to be pulled? So just
4.2 by councelor Taylor. Okay. Madame
clerk, do you have a motion, please?
» Thank you. The motion reads that the
consent list for September 2nd, 2026 and
the recommendations contained therein be
adopted as resolutions of council with
the exception of E4.2.
» Move in a seconder. Moved by councelor
Mcdar, second by Deputy Mayor Cox. All
in favor? That's carried.
» Now we have to resolve into uh committee
of the whole. Madam clerk.
» Yes. Thank you. Motion to resolve into
committee of the whole.
» Move in a second, please. Councelor
Taylor, Councelor Brennan. All in favor?
That's carried. Thank you.
» Uh thank you. Um I'm the chair for the
committee of the whole for September and
we are at agenda item F1.
We don't have any public meetings. So
we'll go uh to continue our discussion
that we just had for the items pulled
under uh F2 business items pulled from
the consent list. So I'll go to you
member Taylor E.4.2
SSEA E.coli and DNA marker testing.
Uh thank you, Madam Chair. Yeah, I
thought I'd pull this uh E4.2
uh the review and proposal from Dr.
Volic from SSCA. And just to refresh
council's memory, um, at the August 5th
meeting, uh, the SSEA was requested to
review and comment on the data provided
by the Glosserool Cottage Association.
And that was data up until July the
13th, which showed uh, uh, bacteria
readings and and colform readings
throughout various points both in
Georgia Bay and on our side. And uh
since we asked SSA for their comments in
the meantime,
glo the glosser pool people conducted
another survey on August the 10th. And
so that they was it was forwarded to
SSCA for their comments as well. And
that's we've got the report from Dr.
Volic that has everything up until
August the 10th. And uh basically the
the report is an excellent report, but
it's something to really think about.
And I the reason why I pulled it today
is that this will come up on the next
council. I just want to make sure you
don't forget this is very important and
the report has six points but one of
them is uh what do you do with the data
and that's something that council and
staff will have to determine that uh if
it if the ecoli is from the geese what
do you do with the geese if if it's uh
human ecoli you have to find the source
and a couple of uh testing here and
there isn't good enough you need a
scientific data data to
track these, identify them, and and come
up with a seasonality to see where
they're at. And so this is what uh the
report says. So basically, it's going to
be a cost implication and a budget item,
but it's very important. We can't ne
neglect that. I think that the the
warning signs are there, and I want to
thank the Gloucester pool people for
doing this testing there, but we have to
work with our SSAA group. They're the
professionals, and they've given us
options there. something for the next
council to think about that. Uh uh uh
but in my in my view, a few thousand
dollars is nothing in in the grand
scheme of things with the budget, but
let's do a a scientific
uh approach to this and and a plan of
attack how to correct it. So, I'm
opening up for any discussion would be
great. Thanks,
» Deputy May Cox.
» Yeah, I spoke with uh Julie Kay from
SSEA yesterday because I wanted to get
and there she is. [laughter]
Hi. Uh, I wanted to get a a better
understanding sort of in a layman's term
on this because my dilemma is if it's
animal or if it's human. So, what do we
do? Is there a cure? Is can you do
something? And and the um some of the
background on it is you go and you you
test your water and making sure you know
your hands or anything don't touch it
because you can contaminate. So, you
test and it says yes, there's E.coli.
lie. 5 minutes later, you may be able to
test that same same spot and there won't
be anything because it could have been a
bird going by. It could have been a boat
that went by with gray water. It could
have been a human swimming and going to
the washroom. It there's so many things
it could be and with the water moving
the way it does, it's very hard to
source find. And we did find out from
our um building department that the
septics along there had no major issues.
And the only way you can find out is if
you do a die test. If you if it's a
consistent but unfortunately being
consistent when you think about how that
water is always moving, how how
consistent is it? Is it from a source
way up or is it one that just went by or
is it whatever's going on? So,
[clears throat] my concern and and I'll
post the question to Julie is even if
you have all the scientific data and if
you had a pond in your backyard and you
had an issue, I'm sure you could figure
it out and contain it and find something
to do. My concern is we're doing all
this testing and the water's moving and
in the end, is there a way or has there
ever been a way to correct this ecoli
issue? I understand phosphorus and I
understand you can, you know, septic
systems and it comes from uh fertilizers
and all these things, but the E.coli to
me is an enigma that I'm not sure I can
figure it out and I probably shouldn't
even think about it because that's what
scientists do. Anyway, I'd like to pose
that question to Julie.
» Welcome, Julie. Thank you.
» Thank you through the chair to the
deputy mayor. Um, first of all, thank
you. That was an excellent summary of uh
really the challenges of uh this kind of
work. Um in terms of the question,
uh
uh not really. I mean, as long as
there's people and wildlife and birds
and livestock and rainstorms and um it's
it's there's always going to be ecoli
present. um you know what uh what the
Glaester cottagers type work is showing
is you know times where that might spike
or there might be higher levels um and
you know we see that after rainfall
events because it's running off the land
um like you mentioned we see it if you
know if there's been a bunch of boats in
a bay over a weekend you often see some
spikes in in levels um and it's I think
it's the overall picture piece so uh
doing a bit everything to make sure
we're doing the best we can to reduce
those levels. You're never going to get
rid of it. Um, but being able to reduce
them. So, things like you've already
done, right? doing septic inspections,
making sure those septics are
functioning properly, making sure
shorelines are as natural as possible,
so they're buffering, uh, making sure
stuff doesn't get to the water in the
first place, making sure Boers are aware
of proper management of gray water, and
making sure there's no Y valves, so
there's no black water going out, you
know, making sure people are aware of
their own impact and trying to reduce
that. But no, there's no way of getting
rid of E.coli.
» Okay, just supplemental then. Thank you
for that, Julie. So I guess what I'm
trying to to find out and you've said it
is education is the biggest thing we can
do to help and we could probably work
with FOCA on that. I'm sure they
probably do a lot of that. the
Federation of Ontario Cottage
Association and I and I believe that
that is and we also have to understand
that there's more people more people are
on water now more you know our
population is increasing more people are
going to the lake to swim there's more
people with boats pulling in and out of
of uh you know boat ramps and and out
there fishing and doing things and then
we get the water soldier. So it's just I
agree totally with what um councelor
Taylor said, member Taylor said. Um, but
I also want to make sure that the next
council understands that this is just
one more step in trying to protect our
water and education is one of the best
things we can do and we're very lucky to
have the SSEA. Thank you.
» Thank you.
» Any further comments?
Councelor Taylor, did you
» I would just support the motion that was
presented by staff that did this go to
the mayor for budget in 2027. Thank you.
» Council remains. Sorry, I'm chair.
» I'm sorry. What the Christ member?
Sorry, chair. Sorry. Sorry through the
to the chair. I
» That's okay. That's perfectly okay.
» Yeah, just
to the chair. Just to confirm, I I'd
like to the the motion as written if we
could do that. Thank you.
» Thank you. Over to the CEO.
» Yep. I just wanted to thank Julie for
rearranging her schedule when councelor
Taylor pulled this to to Sorry. Thank
you.
And I I want to thank Julie as well. My
term is running out, but uh a great
resource for me as well. So, thank you.
» Welcome.
» Uh thank you very member Cox.
» Yeah. And and I think that um the next
council who's ever here comes back, they
need to really rely on on the SSEA for
many things. And I and I would just like
to put a little tweak in that maybe when
the next council is looking at septic
reinspection program, they could
probably uh confer with the SSEA for
help in that.
» Okay. Thank you very much. So I'm
looking at our clerk for a motion,
please.
» Thank you. The motion reads that the
correspondence and proposal from SSCA
regarding E.coli coli and DNA marker
testing and a proposal for the Tunchpa7
integrated water monitoring program be
received and referred to the mayor for
consideration in the 2027 budget. Thank
you. Moved by member Taylor, seconded by
member Brennan. All in favor and
carried. Thank you very
Okay. Uh, next motion is is that
committee rise and return back to formal
council session to receive a report on
the proceedings of the committee the
whole.
» Thank you. Do I have a mover? Moved by
member Jansen, seconded by member
McIntyre. All in favor and carried.
Thank you.
» Okay. And then the next motion is that
the recommendations of the committee
hold for the meeting of September 2nd,
2026 be adopted as resolutions of
council.
» And do I have a mover, please?
Moved by member Brennan, seconded by
member Taylor. All in favor and carried.
Thank
» My apologies. Uh member Minn, uh
anyways, we move on to G1. Uh councelor
Minn Westshore Recreation Grant Funding.
Madame Clerk,
» Thank you. I just want to make it clear
that today is just to receive the notice
um as was done with uh councelor
Jansen's item a couple like last month.
So, this will come forward to the
September 16th meeting for discussion
and debate.
» Okay. Thank you. Uh, do we need a motion
for it, madame clerk? Okay. Thank you.
So, moving on. Uh, county council boards
association committee summaries.
Councelor Taylor.
» Uh, thank you. Uh, just a quick one, two
quick ones. Uh, the AGM for the quarter
mill is on September the 17th at 6:30
p.m. Everyone's welcome, but if if you
are wanting to come, let me know. We
have to arrange some food and drink. And
uh I found out yesterday Severn Falls is
having their end of summer celebration
on Saturday, October the 17th
in in downtown Severron Falls. Thank
you.
Thank you very much. I'm very happy to
report that the Seg Bay Chamber of
Commerce, they had their golf tournament
uh uh last month at for the Georgian Bay
Hospital, uh they raised a lot of funds,
including one single donation of
$150,000.
Um you know, congratulations to the
event organizers. Um it was a huge
success. Um in Cold Water, the steampunk
festival, I know it's not part of the
BIA, but it was a it was also a big
success. Uh the streets were extremely
busy. Lots of people dressed up and
taking part and using uh their
imaginations. The costume contest went
really well. Uh thank you to the
organizers and all the volunteers that
put that event on. Uh for the BIA, I'd
like to report that our next meeting is
on September the 15th followed by their
annual general meeting which will take
place on September the 29th at M's Cafe.
Um that's my report. Thank you.
» Thank you, Councelor Brennan.
» Yes. Thank you, mayor. Um, with regard
to the um, uh, Otis and Otis Park, um, I
just want to say that the event that we
had, the national coh cornhole event,
was a smashing success and, uh, they
wrote a letter to, um, to uh, the board
um, saying that they would really
encourage anyone to hold their event
there of this nature. So unfortunately
the nationals moves across Canada so
it's a 10-year thing but uh we do hope
to secure the regionals again next year
and um people are very happy u and
there's a reason first of all um there's
been significant renovations done at the
rink um due in no small part to uh
provincial grants and to the incredible
work of a local uh developer um uh Wes
Brennan's company no relation Everybody,
this is not a promo. Don't I have
nothing to gain. Um, they have just, if
you're over, they have just done a major
renovations on the bathrooms there
alone. And I know that's kind of a weird
thing to talk about, but what an amazing
job they did. It's just a whole
different place. So, we're really happy
with that. And things are going quite
well. Uh, the facility there is booked
from November to June. We're turning
people away. We just can't accommodate
all the requests. and except for
Thanksgiving, the hall is booked solid
until the middle of Jan of December.
So, uh we we've been promoting it
heavily at the new with our council and
it is paying off in big dividends. So,
it's just such good news for Otis Park
because they do have challenges with
some old facilities. Um for the uh
chamber uh you all should have sent from
me the notice that there is an economic
summit on September 24th held guess
where in Sever Township at the golf
course and uh there happens to be I
think a debate with the Aurelia
potential mayors there too we'll have to
put up with but between that there is a
fantastic economic summit and the
details have been sent to you so I won't
elaborate and I have no report on the
physician recruitment at this particular
time. Thank you. Thank you very much,
Deputy Mayor Cars.
» I have no [clears throat] uh committee
updates, but I would like to uh speak to
the uh paddle auction, nogo art paddle
auction that we went to, I went to and
some of the members went to on Saturday.
Um 26 paddles were auctioned and they
raised 7,000 almost $7,000 which will go
back to the art club for uh their
continued uh
help and u donations to the community up
there. They do help our uh events
committee uh with cake and and crafts
for the children. Other than that, thank
you
» Councelor Min.
» Thank you. Um,
one upcoming event that I want to just
promote for the township, it's a
township event at Timberline Park. It's
uh, Southern Connects on September 15th.
And, uh, I expect a huge crowd and I
want to thank the township for coming
and bringing um, all of the the events,
the swag, the firefighters, the music.
um as I know you've seen on Facebook
over 250 people um have been
participating in that and I really hope
that this is a real um showcase
[clears throat] of an event. So let's
pray for the weather this time because
it was cancelled because of rain last
time. Um just a couple past events that
were worth mentioning. On August 22nd,
the Bayu Park rate pairs had their
annual uh pig roast family fun day. It
was a little uh less well attended
because of weather again, but I want to
thank the council members who did uh
come out. So, it was very well attended
on our our side. Uh August 19th, there
was a classic car show at Webbers and it
was my first time going. And in speaking
to people um as my husband was looking
at all the cars. They um they come from
all over, but there's also a lot of
sever people. There was a great display
from Soldiers Hospital and that was a
fundraiser. I'm wondering if we could
also maybe at least for that last one of
the year where there was several
thousand people if we could have a
display maybe a Severn Connects type
display next year at their end of year
one and just have a presence because uh
I think that would be a good place to um
give out some swag and really promote
our township. Um that's all I have right
now. Oh, and just a shout out to the
groups who are watching uh to get your
grant applications in before the end of
this month. Thank you very much,
» Councilor McIntyre.
» Thanks to the chair. What you to say?
The auction was great. Um 72 people in
attendance,
7,000 raised. Was very, very well
attended event. And the Wednesday coffee
uh club was meeting is back in the
chambers. I think beginning today
they're no longer at the pavilion. So
1:00 till 2:33 whenever um you're
welcome to come out center and have
coffee. That's all I have.
» Thank you. And I have nothing to report.
Thank you very much. So we're moving on
to uh no closed session. Madam clerk,
bylaws.
» Okay. Uh motion reads that bylaws number
202662 to 202663 inclusive are hereby
passed.
» Move in a second or please move by
councelor Ming. Second by deputy mayor
Cox. All in favor that's carried.
Confirmation bylaw and adjournment.
Please madam clerk.
» Motion read that bylaw number 202664
is hereby passed and we're adjourned.
» Move in a second please. Moved by
councelor Brennon. Second by councelor
Jansen. All in favor? That's carried.
Thank you very much everyone. Enjoy your
day.