Council Recap – April 23 Regular Meeting of Council
Announcements
Councillor MacNaughton spoke about the Earth Week events hosted by the Environmental Advisory Committee and various community groups. Click here to view these events.
Councillor Branderhorst brought forward a notice of motion for a resolution regarding the Canada Ontario Community Housing Initiative (COCHI) and Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative (OPHI) for the next feasible Council meeting.
Councillor Roberts announced the retirement of Councillor Nieman from 30 plus years of public service next week and congratulated him for his efforts.
Councillor St-Jean announced the Picton BIA annual general meeting will be held at the Macauley Museum on April 24 for business owners in Picton. He encouraged business owners toattend to connect with other Picton BIA members.
Mayor Ferguson proclaimed May 1 as National Physicians’ Day, National Nursing Week from May 6
12, the month of May as Lyme Disease Awareness Month, Bladder Cancer Awareness Month, and “Community Living Month” .
Presentations
Prince Edward County Field Naturalists presentation to Council
Sheila Kuja, Prince Edward County Field Naturalists, made a presentation to Council in celebration of Earth Week regarding Biodiversity in Prince Edward County. Click here to view the presentation.
Deputations
Elva Strome and Karen White from the Canadian Cancer Society addressed Council regarding Bay of Quinte Relay for Life. Click here to view the deputation.
Lyn McGowan and Ken Robertson of the Rotary Club of Wellington addressed Council regarding the Accessible Beach Mat & Mobi Chairs project at Wellington Rotary Beach. Council approved the assets of a mobi accessible beach mat, two mobi floating wheelchairs and storage shed provided by the Rotary Club of Wellington. They will be installed at the Wellington Rotary Beach. Click here to read the deputation.
Comments from the Audience
Irene Harris of the Accessibility Advisory Committee spoke in support of item 9.2 and provided accolades to the Wellington Rotary. She hopes that this will stand as an example for future budgets.
Adam Hambly spoke in support of item 11.1 regarding the regional physician recruitment. He noted it will go a long way to support a collaborative approach with neighbouring communities in the Bay of Quinte.
Items on the Agenda
Council approves Memorandum of Understanding – Regional Physician Recruitment
Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding to collectively support regional physician recruitment and retention between the County of Prince Edward and the cities of Belleville and Quinte West, County of Hastings and Municipality of Brighton.
Special Transit Initiatives: HealthPULSE Shuttle and Homelessness Prevention Transportation
The County will enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with Loyalist College regarding the HealthPULSE Shuttle and continue to explore the expansion of the program with Loyalist. Council authorized staff to broaden specialized transit eligibility criteria as needed to enable pilot programs that meet local needs, provided it would not impact the tax levy. Click here to read the staff report for more information.
Tax Tools and Policies for 2024 Property Taxation
Staff provided Council with a report on the detailed considerations of the various tax tools and policies available to the municipality for the 2024 taxation year. The report sets out the recommended Property Tax Tools and Policies used to generate the 2024 property tax notices. Staff are proposing no changes in the approach to the tax classes from the 2023 tax bills. Click here to
Resolution from Councillor Braney seeking Council support for the province to upload County Road 49
Council directed the Mayor to write to Premier Doug Ford to request a meeting to discuss the uploading of County Road 49 to the province for it to maintain, similar to what was announced in Ottawa. Click here to read Councillor Braney’s full resolution,
Council appointed members to the Water and Wastewater Rates Community Committee
Council appointed Councillor St-Jean, Councillor Engelsdorfer and Councillor Pennell to the Water and Wastewater Rates Community Committee. Each of the appointed Councillors represents a ward within the service area of one of the Municipal Drinking Water or Wastewater systems. In addition to the Council appointees, Council appointed several public members to the
Committee of the Whole Highlights – April 26, 2024
Presentations
Jim Pine, Indigenous Lead and Jason St-Pierre CEO Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN), addressed Committee regarding 2024 EORN Update. Click here to view the presentation.
Deputations
Dorothy Bothwell addressed the Committee regarding the Peer Review of the Water and Wastewater Financing for Wellington Infrastructure. . Click here to view the deputation.
Dan Leeming addressed the Committee regarding Opportunities for Climate Change Preparedness through New Growth. Click here to view the deputation.
Comments from the Audience
Angus Ross spoke in support of item 5.2 regarding Opportunities for Climate Change Preparedness through New Growth. Discussions included the municipality achieving net zero by 2050, the impact on housing pricing, and how the costs to heating and cooling will be reduced with the extra cost of putting in geothermal and heat pumps long before the mortgage has expired.
Don Wilford expressed concern for item 7.1 regarding the Peer Review of the Water and Wastewater Financing for Wellington Infrastructure. He noted that the excess for growth and consumption does not address sustainability and is not needed. Don Wilford encouraged Council to not approve the staff report and find alternatives with existing plants.
Items on the Agenda
Peer Review of the Water and Wastewater Financing for Wellington Infrastructure
Staff will begin procurement on the final design of the Water and Wastewater Plants in Wellington, with consideration of the recent preferred solutions presented as part of the Regional Water Supply Servicing Master Plan Study, to complete the necessary technical and public input to support timely construction.
The Audit Committee to provide the additional scope of work for the review of the water and wastewater financing for Wellington infrastructure. This scope of work will incorporated into the next two studies that will need to be started in the Development Charges Background Study to begin in the Fall of 2024, and the next Rate Study to begin in 2025. Click here to read the staff report.
Taxi Support Grant
Council approved the draft Taxi Support Grant program guidelines presented by staff.
The next Regular Meeting of Council will be held on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at 7 pm at Shire Hall, 332 Main Street, Picton.
The next Committee of the Whole meeting will be held on Thursday, May 9, 2024, at 1 pm at Shire Hall.
This summary is not a complete record of the proceedings of the meetings. For the official record, please refer to the minutes in the next Council agenda. A video of this meeting is available on The County’s YouTube Channel.