Part 1: Food Security, Cold Creek, and Key Mid-Year Updates - 07/22/2025

The July 22, 2025 Regular Council meeting of the County was held at Shire Hall, beginning at 6:00 p.m. and chaired by Mayor Steve Ferguson. The meeting was structured to include an early closed session, followed by a full open council agenda that moved through announcements, deputations, and several major discussion items that would shape later decision making.

Mayor Ferguson opened the meeting with the Traditional Land Acknowledgement, welcoming members of the public watching remotely and outlining how participation and comments would form part of the public record. He also explained the meeting format, noting that Council would first move into closed session before reconvening in open session at 7:00 p.m. This framing made clear that the evening would include both confidential legal matters and a substantial public-facing agenda.

© PEC Council (YouTube)

View the entire PEC Council meeting, or continue to speaker comments and councillor votes.

Councillor Harrison disclosed a pecuniary interest related to a closed session item, which was noted before Council proceeded. Before entering closed session, Council approved an amended agenda to allow an additional deputation related to the Cold Creek Subdivision, a file that would emerge as a recurring focus throughout the evening. Council then moved into closed session to receive legal advice related to a property matter and a procurement issue in Bloomfield/Hallowell, returning to open session just after 7:00 p.m. with no motions arising from the confidential discussion.

Once back in open session, the tone shifted with a series of announcements led by Mayor Ferguson. He recognized the 120th anniversaries of both Wellington Home Hardware and Hagerman Farms, highlighting the longevity of local businesses in the County. He also delivered a proclamation recognizing National Drowning Prevention Week, a moment underscored by condolences following a recent drowning incident on East Lake. Councillors added community-focused announcements, including upcoming events in Cherry Valley and Consecon, and referenced local efforts around water safety education.

The meeting then moved into deputations, beginning with Cynthia Riordon, President of the Wellington and District Storehouse Food Bank. Riordon presented a detailed overview of the food bank’s operations, rising demand, and limitations of its current space. She explained the organization’s vision for a new, purpose-built facility and outlined early discussions regarding potential municipal property on Nile Street. Her presentation emphasized growing food insecurity in the County, volunteer capacity, and the importance of dignity and accessibility in food bank services. Council extended her speaking time and asked clarifying questions about space requirements, partnerships, and next steps, before formally receiving the deputation.

The second deputation was delivered remotely by Colin Léger, an associate with Garrod Pickfield LLP, speaking on behalf of the Waring’s Creek Improvement Association. Léger addressed Draft Plan Condition 9(ff) of the Cold Creek Subdivision, raising concerns about the timing and scope of a required cumulative impact hydrogeological study. He argued that the study had not been completed in accordance with Council’s earlier direction and expressed concern that development could proceed without sufficient environmental data. His remarks framed the issue as one of process, transparency, and environmental protection rather than opposition to development itself.

© Waring’s Creek Improvement Association

Following the formal deputations, Council heard comments from the audience, including from Les Stanfield, a stream ecologist, and Cheryl O’Brien, also speaking on behalf of the Waring’s Creek Improvement Association. Both speakers reinforced concerns about groundwater impacts, study boundaries, and the association’s exclusion from ongoing technical work. Their comments added further context to the earlier deputation and underscored the level of public attention focused on the Cold Creek file.

With public input concluded, Council moved into Items for Consideration, beginning with the 2025 Second Quarter CAO Report presented by Adam Goheen. As his first quarterly report in the role of Interim CAO, Goheen described it as a consolidated update on municipal operations, staffing pressures, financial conditions, and progress on Council-directed initiatives. Discussion around the report highlighted the volume of outstanding Council motions, the limits of staff capacity, and the importance of prioritization as the year progressed. While the report was received for information, it set the stage for later conversations about workload, resourcing, and governance expectations.

The final major discussion item in Part 1 centered on the Cold Creek Subdivision Draft Plan Condition 9(ff), presented through a report from the Development Services Department. Acting Manager of Planning Matt Coffey, responded to questions about consultation, study timelines, and staff’s role in evaluating technical submissions. While no decision-making analysis is covered in this portion of the report, the discussion made clear that Cold Creek remained a complex and unresolved file, involving environmental concerns, differing interpretations of Council direction, and heightened public scrutiny. The meeting continued into additional motions and resolutions later in the evening.

Key Takeaways

1. Community well-being featured prominently early in the meeting, with Council hearing directly about rising food insecurity and the need for expanded food bank services, alongside public safety concerns tied to water and drowning prevention.

   
   

2. The Cold Creek subdivision emerged again as a major source of public concern, with residents and advocates questioning whether environmental studies are being completed as Council previously directed.

   
   

3. The meeting highlighted how unresolved planning files and procedural questions can carry forward across multiple council meetings, shaping both public trust and the scope of later decisions when Council moves from information gathering into formal direction and votes.

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Disclaimer: This article is based on a meeting with an approximate duration of 4:15:34.Due to the length of the meeting, our team was not able to independently review the full recording in its entirety. As a result, we relied on software-generated transcription, automated summarization, and automated recognition of speakers and participants, which may not be entirely accurate. All transcriptions, summaries, and related content are prepared by our team in good faith and on a reasonable best-efforts basis. The content is provided for general informational purposes only and is intended to support public understanding of the topics discussed. While reasonable efforts have been made to present the information accurately, automated processes may result in errors, omissions, or unintended misinterpretations. This article does not constitute an official, certified, or verbatim record of the meeting, and it should not be relied upon as such. Readers are encouraged to consult original source materials, official minutes, or recordings where available for confirmation or clarification. Questions, requests for clarification, or suggested corrections may be submitted to hello@pecconnect.ca for review and consideration.