Council Reports August 2024
Regular Council Meeting Wednesday August 7th, 2024
The Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councillors Brunelle, Helowka and Walma in attendance.
Open Deputations
Ms. Noel Macartney
Noël McCartney brought her granddaughter to witness the democratic process since she will be the one impacted by the decisions of this council. Ms. McCartney addressed Council regarding the new administrative centre requesting that Council support a motion to hold a referendum to ensure the residents of Tiny are fairly represented. Ms. McCartney was thanked for her deputation which was received as information.
Mr. Borys Kowalsky
Mr. Borys Kowalsky addressed Council regarding the new administration centre and referred to his previous deputation regarding a call for a referendum. Mr. Kowalsky urged Council to decide in favour of holding a referendum on whether to proceed with the new administrative centre building project. Mr. Kowalsky was thanked for his deputation which was received as information.
Karen Zulynik
Karen Zulynik addressed Council about the recent Ombudsman’s report which ruled that the TTAC is not subject to the open meeting rules and no further steps would be taken on the matter. Ms. Zulynik noted her displeasure with the outcome of the report, expressing that the process was disrespectful, and should the Township glorify the report, it would be a disservice. Ms. Zulynik was thanked for her deputation which was received as information.
Municipal Administrative Building Committee Meeting Minutes
Councillor Brunelle sought clarification on the June 17, 2024, TTAC Committee meeting minutes with regards to the Phase 2 procurement tender process. Director Leitch referred to the newly adopted procurement process and explained that a different process may be required for management of the new building construction to reduce the potential for delays by giving the production manager special privileges.
Councillor Brunelle also questioned the extra $100K discussed in the meeting minutes. It was explained that the original estimate for the existing building was $2.0M and that after a professional appraisal took place it was raised to $2.1M.
Councillor Brunelle referred to the deputation by D. Wulff outlining the Blackline Report recommendations and questioned why the recommendations in the report related to size were not followed. Mayor Evans explained that the Blackline recommendation was high level and not done in the same level as staff have since done.
Discussion/ Wyevale Ball Diamond Community Fundraising Initiative
Haley Leblond, Director of Corporate Services, provide Council with an update regarding the Wyevale Ball Diamond community fundraising initiative noting that participating community residents have requested a refund of their charitable donation as the LED Lighting Capital Project has been deferred to 2025. After consulting CRA and seeking a legal opinion, staff was directed to return the donations and advise there could be tax implications.
Extension of Deadline for Receipt of TTAC Ad Hoc Committee Applications
Sue Walton, Director of Legislative Services/Clerk advised that only three of seven required applications from residents have been received. After some discussion it was agreed that the application process be extended by two weeks.
By-law 24-047 – Being a by-law to appoint an Acting Chief Administrative Officer.
Mayor Evans indicated that CAO Lamb is on short term sick leave until at least September 8th and that Deputy CAO Leblond will be appointed acting CAO during this period. Council approved the bylaw.
Committee of the Whole Meeting Wednesday August 7th, 2024 The Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Councillors Brunelle, Walma and Helowka were in attendance. Mayor Evans in the Chair.
Matters for Discussion
Deputation by Borys Kowalsky – Request for Referendum on New Administrative Building
Councillor Brunelle outlined his concern that council was doing a disservice to the residents by not considering a referendum on the issue.
He then introduced and proposed a motion as follows: That whereas the Blackline Consulting Report, released in January 2023, provided recommended administrative centre space required for the efficient conduct of municipal operations, and promoted flexible working arrangements for staff; and whereas the report notes a recommended 15,050 square feet required for municipal operations, which exists within the current administrative centre building and a revised layout should be considered, and if space is a concern, then flexible working arrangements should be implemented; and whereas the costs of the project threaten to be very great, substantially greater than those estimated by Council’s chosen consultants, which would result in tax increases substantially higher than those projected; and whereas the resulting financial burden on our small community with its modest tax base would be heavy even in the best of times, and that circumstances have changed dramatically for the worse over the last four to five years. Now therefore be it resolved that the Council of the Township of Tiny pause their support for the new TTAC Project to avoid placing an unnecessary further financial burden on the Township of Tiny residents; and be it further resolved that the Council of the Township of Tiny conduct a referendum.
There was no seconder and, therefore, the matter was not considered. Residents in attendance voiced their displeasure with the response.
Discussion / Township of Tiny Administrative Centre Municipal Address
Tim Leitch, Director of Public Works, noted the site for the new administrative centre requires a 911 municipal address. Upon consideration of the options, Council approved 255 Concession Road 9 East.
Communications – Consent Items
Ontario Ombudsman Review – Closed Meeting Complaint /
Township of Tiny Administrative Centre Committee Meetings
Councillor Walma referred to the letter from the Ombudsman which stated that the TTAC was not an open meeting under the Act and therefore not subject to the open meeting rules.
Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks – Application for Approval of Waste Disposal Sites
Councillor Brunelle read out the notice and recommended residents take the opportunity to comment on the proposal.
Re: Application for Approval of Waste Disposal Sites Renewal
Hauled sewage disposal site Township of Tiny, County of Simcoe
Reference Number 5642-D6LPMB
This proposal is for the renewal of Environmental Compliance Approval No. 6034-CDFMQ4 for Regional Sanitation Disposal Ltd. for a Hauled Sewage Waste Disposal Site. The application is for the spreading of residential hauled sewage in the Township of Tiny. The site is approximately 21 hectares in area, with a total usable spreading area of 6.4 hectares.
Additional details relating to the application can be found at the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO) at https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-8957
It is requested that:
– the Township of Tiny and County of Simcoe make comments with respect to the application including a confirmation of whether the property is appropriately zoned for the proposed use and what the current zoning designation is.
– the report is signed and dated by the Commissioner of Planning or the Commissioner of Works or their respective equivalent and responded to the attention of Manager/Part V Director, Waste Approvals, Environmental Permissions Branch, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks at wasteproposalcomments@ontario.ca within six weeks of the date of this letter including the Ministry reference number in the subject line. If no response is received by this date, we will assume that you have no objections to the proposal.
For further details of the site’s operation, including copies of the site plan drawings that were included with the application, please contact Chuck Duquette, Regional Sanitation Disposal Ltd., (cduquette1978@gmail.com).
Municipality of McDougall – TC Energy Pumped Storage
Councillor Walma noted that TC Energy is attending the next SSEA meeting scheduled on September 6, 2024, 9:30 a.m., at the Wye Marsh. The meeting is open to the public.
Matters for Consideration
Midland, Penetanguishene and Tay Joint Letter – User fees and charges for all recreation amenities – services Midland, Penetanguishene and Tay Joint Letter
Councillor Walma suggested service availability to residents was important and that Tiny be involved with the process. He pointed out that Tiny also provides services used by other municipalities and that this should be considered in the costing discussions.
Mayor Evans stated that Tay has dropped out of participation. He noted Tiny had withdrawn payment for services in the past for a number of reasons and the reasons are still relevant. He is against user fees and feels that the support residents provide in terms of commercial tax revenue far exceeds what could be generated by user fees. He feels that we should not contribute to facilities we have no say over. Councillor Helowka and Deputy Mayor Miskimins supported the mayor’s position.
Councillor Brunelle suggested we need to meet and discuss with neighbouring municipalities.
The item was deferred until after the North Simcoe Heads of Council meeting in September.
Trish and Rob Campbell – Request for Library Privileges at Wasaga Beach
The residents requested that Tiny Township Council consider an agreement with the Town of Wasaga Beach that would enable Tiny Township residents to use the excellent new library located at 544 River Road West.
Council directed staff to follow up with Wasaga on how this might be accomplished and garner public input. In the interim, Tiny residents who wish to use the Wasaga Beach Library be reimbursed the user fees, per household by the Township accordingly.
New Business
Taxation Discussion Regarding New Admin Build
Councillor Walma spoke to a potential fundraising initiative for the new administrative centre by way of tax credits. He suggested that if a resident donated funds up-front
(e.g. $2,500.00) toward the construction of the new facility, a credit toward their property taxes in the same value could be provided.
Haley Leblond, Director of Corporate Services, noted that the Municipal Act stipulates the process of tax collection, and this concept would not meet the intent of the legislation.
It was noted that the proposed TTAC Ad Hoc Committee will be looking at viable fundraising opportunities with recommendations to Council.
Regular Council Meeting Wednesday August 28th, 2024
The Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Councillors Brunelle, Walma and Helowka were in attendance. Mayor Evans in the Chair.
Township of Tiny Education Bursary Recipients
Council recognized the following individuals who received $1000 each.
• Aimee Edmonds, Georgian Bay District Secondary School
• Ava Beauchamp, École Secondaire Le Caron
• Gena Dafoe, Georgian Bay District Secondary School
• Sebastian Zakkari Elemento, St. Theresa’s Catholic High School
• Wesley Simons, École Secondaire Le Caron
Heritage Social Event – Saturday, September 28, 2024, 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Township of Tiny Community Centre 91 Concession Road 8, East
County of Simcoe – 2026 Recycling Collection Changes for Businesses as of January 1, 2026
The Provincial Government passed legislation to make producers of recyclable products (paper products and plastic packaging) fully responsible for the costs associated with the lifecycle of recyclable products.
By January 1, 2026, a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) will act on behalf of
producers to create and manage the new province-wide residential recycling collection system.
While most of the new legislation is extremely positive, the new system does not include recycling collection from Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (IC&I) locations, such as downtown businesses and most not-for-profits.
As of January 2026, the County will only collect garbage and organics across the region, not recycling. The County will continue to accept recycling drop-off at County waste drop-off sites for an additional fee (to be approved by Council) due to the cost of transfer, haulage and processing.
Council Members Update/Conferences, Seminars and Events
AMO Delegation Updates
Mayor Evans reported on the event that he, the other council members and CAO attended and presented delegations to two Ontario Ministers:
– Development of Settlement Areas with Minister Callandra regarding boundary expansion to allow for housing development which was well received.
– Septage Management with Minister Surma in collaboration with the Town of Midland. Funding may be coming forward to allow for the improvements required by the Town of Midland for its waste management capital improvement requirements.
Scheduled Deputations
Joshua Fuller – Sledheads 4 Kids
Sledheads 4 Kids is an organization that holds powersport events that support different local charities, non-profit powersport groups, and Amici Children’s Camp Charity so that kids from low-income households can enjoy summer camps across Ontario. They are asking that council support their events that will take place at Georgian Bay Park. They will also be presenting to Midland, Penetanguishene and Springwater.
They are hoping to set a world record for the longest snowmobile parade (Feb 16 Georgian Bay Park) as well as some other world records: most miles ridden by ATV in a 24 hour period (Oct 19 GBP); most miles ridden by snowmobile in a 24 hour period (Feb 19, GBP). Each event will have drop off points for food banks and have representatives from each food bank so they can also take cash donations.
Dr. Donald Stubbs – Georgian Bay Park
Dr. Stubbs is proposing an open discussion about the interpretation of the 2008 Ontario Municipal Board (OMB ) decision PL051037. This provincial approval re-designated lands located in Part Lots 24 and 25, Concession 2 to permit a recreational park known as Woodland Beach Recreational Park (WBRP) which later was renamed Georgian Bay Park (GBP).
Dr. Stubbs outlined a brief history of the park since 1999.
There are two one-hundred-acre plots that make up GBP: part zoned Agricultural and part Major Recreation. Based on the 2008 OMB decision, this land was granted very unique zoning abilities allowing a medical clinic, mountain bike facilities and a Lodge/Recreation Complex. A 60-person multipurpose room on the second floor of this complex was recently approved.
Dr. Stubbs outlined several concerns including a 9-year legal battle, significant delays during the Site Plan application stage and requirement to place the access road internally on an easement.
Then he outlined ways in which GBP has given back to the community including providing space for Tiny Fire Department and Georgian Bay Search and Rescue training. They have a fully equipped medical and dental centre with safety and accessibility equipment. They host FarmFreshFoodFest and the annual Georgian Bay Festival. All non-profit.
GBP has a pool, four pickleball courts, one full sized basketball court, two volleyball courts, children’s playground, baseball diamond almost completed, panoramic lookout tower and over 200 acres of guided trails developed by naturalist Bob Bowles all open to the public with a day pass.
Dr. Stubs invited the Mayor, Members of Council and Tiny Township staff to visit the park in person to see what it has accomplished.
Minutes of Township of Tiny Administrative Centre Committee July 22, 2024
Councillor Brunelle questioned what statistics were being tracked by the Public Distribution of Correspondence Tracker. Director Leitch outlined the spreadsheet they have developed to track correspondence received and summarized by the committee which will be in the minutes of the next meeting and presented to council in September.
Pamela Robitaille – Request for Noise By-law 21-028 Exemption
Ms. Robitaille has requested council to grant an exemption under noise by-law in order to have a 5-piece live band on her property on September 21, 2024. Her immediate neighbours have been notified and invited to attend. Band will play from 4pm-8pm, 2 to 3 sets, dinner will be served, followed by light music/xm radio until 11pm.
Council approved the exemption.
Public Works Report PWR-027-24 – Award of Tender PW-24-11: Hot Mix Patching
The 2024 budget includes $140,000 for a hot mix road patching program. This is to cut out and repair areas with high concentration of potholes in roads that are otherwise in fair or good condition. This creates what is known as a semi-permanent patch that is much stronger, cost effective, safer and smoother for vehicles in comparison with the temporary patching methods used in the municipality (cold mix patching, spray patching, etc.). Staff put out a tender for the hot mix patching of several areas amounting to approximately 2000 square metres of patching in July of this year.
Council awarded the project to Global Simcoe Paving for $110,600 + HST and directed staff to work with Global Simcoe Paving to select other areas for hot mix patching not included in the base tender with the remaining funds in the 2024 budget.
Committee of the Whole Meeting Wednesday August 28th 2024
The Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Councillors Brunelle, Walma and Helowka were in attendance. Deputy Mayor Miskimins in the Chair.
Communications:
Consent Items
Mayor Evans read out the letter he received in response to his letter to the Minister of Municipal Affairs Paul Calandra on the subject of municipal officials with full time employment. In part Minister Calandra wrote “We will consider this feedback as we continue to explore ways to support municipal elected officials and municipalities. I am copying my colleague, the Honourable David Piccini, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development as employment standards fall under his ministry’s purview.
Matters for Consideration
Art Duval – Naming of Toanche Park Baseball Diamond
Correspondence was reviewed by council promoting the naming of the Toanche Park ball diamond The Larry Patenaude Diamond to recognize his many contributions since 1972 in his quest to provide a baseball facility for the neighbourhood. “There could be no ballpark without Larry Patenaude.” The matter was referred to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee for review and recommendation.