Part 1: Waste Services Transitions and Tracking the County’s Priorities - 02/27/2025
- PECConnect
- Feb 27, 2025
- 5 min read
The County Council met as Committee of the Whole on Thursday, February 27, 2025, at Shire Hall in Picton, with Councillor David Harrison (North Marysburgh), serving as chair. The afternoon meeting focused on two foundational municipal issues: changes to regional waste services following the dissolution of a multi-municipality board, and an in depth review of how the County is measuring progress under its Corporate Strategic Plan.
Harrison opened the meeting by outlining procedural details, confirming the agenda, and noting that the meeting was livestreamed and formed part of the public record. No declarations of pecuniary interest, deputations, presentations, or public comments were brought forward. The committee then moved directly into its items for consideration.
View the entire PEC Council meeting, or continue to speaker comments and councillor votes.
Changes to Regional Waste Services
The first major item addressed the dissolution of the Centre and South Hastings Waste Services Board and what that decision means for the County. Council was asked to receive a report outlining the dissolution agreement, endorse a joint approach to future service delivery, and consider specific operational changes tied to household hazardous waste and electronic waste.
John Hirsch (South Marysburgh) spoke to the report, explaining that while recycling services are transitioning under a broader provincial framework, hazardous waste does not follow the same model and requires separate planning. The report responds to the board’s formal decision to dissolve and sets out how the County will maintain service continuity.
A central recommendation involved participating in a joint Request for Proposal with other former board members, led by the City of Belleville, to explore long term options for hazardous waste services. These could include continued mobile collection events and operation of a central depot, similar to existing arrangements.
Year round electronic waste access
The discussion then narrowed to electronic waste, with Hirsch describing a proposal to add electronic waste storage containers at two County sites to address complaints about limited collection opportunities. The containers would be available throughout the year during regular site operating hours and serviced by a third party organization.
Councillors asked why only certain sites were chosen. Hirsch explained that placement was limited by Environmental Compliance Approvals, which vary by location, and by available space. He identified Sophiasburgh and South Marysburgh as the selected sites.
Questions were also raised about public understanding of what materials belong in which stream. Mayor Steve Ferguson emphasized the need for clear signage, particularly for items like batteries. Hirsch noted that staff would be present during operating hours to assist residents and that additional public education could be developed.
Community fundraising and fairness
A longer exchange followed around how electronic waste collection has historically supported community fundraising, particularly through the Wellington Rotary Club. Councillors discussed whether dedicating certain months of collected material to one organization could raise fairness concerns if other groups had participated in similar efforts in the past.
The conversation acknowledged that electronic waste volumes and revenue potential are far lower than in earlier years, and that any special arrangements would need to be clearly reflected in council’s direction. An amending motion was ultimately introduced to specify how electronic waste collected during designated months would be handled and to allow for similar agreements with other organizations during the remainder of the year. With the amended direction in place, the committee moved on from the waste services item.
Reviewing Corporate Strategic Plan Metrics
The second major discussion centered on a report regarding Corporate Strategic Plan metrics, presented for information. The report tracks progress across the plan’s five pillars and includes dozens of individual measures tied to governance, rural character, infrastructure, climate action, and community well being.
The discussion included Arryn McNichol, Acting Director of Development Services and Director of Corporate and Legislative Services, along with senior staff including Emily Cowan, Albert Paschkowiak, Elis Ziegler, and Sarah Viau.
Rural severances and Official Plan impacts
A key moment in the discussion involved additional data on rural and agricultural land severances. Sarah Viau, Municipal Lawyer, explained that a summer student had compiled multi year severance data, showing trends before and after adoption of the County’s Official Plan.
Councillors questioned how the data should be interpreted, particularly given changes to the Planning Act and the difference between application dates and completion dates. Staff emphasized that the metric was intended to show long term trends and the impact of policy decisions, rather than provide a detailed parcel by parcel analysis.
The committee was advised that this information would be circulated as an addendum and made available to the public.
Several councillors raised practical concerns about the size and complexity of the report. Requests were made for hard copies of the metrics report and for a future workshop to allow council to work through the information in more detail. Council also asked to receive the results of the most recent staff engagement survey to better understand workforce related metrics.
Affordable housing drew focused discussion, particularly around how progress is measured. While some targets track construction outcomes, councillors noted that approvals and program impacts also matter.
Council introduced an amending motion to add new metrics under Housing that is Affordable, including measures tied to Leeward House, such as the percentage of residents moving into permanent housing, and outcomes from the County’s Housing Help program related to eviction prevention.
Community equity and engagement
The committee also discussed how to measure youth engagement and broader community participation, especially in rural areas. While staff noted that not all engagement can be captured numerically, councillors pushed for metrics and narrative reporting that better reflect how resident input influences municipal decisions.
An additional amending motion added a new metric under Community Equity to track expanded participation of rural residents in volunteer and engagement efforts.
Following completion of the two main items, the committee moved into closed session under the Municipal Act to consider committee appointments and personnel matters. Upon returning to open session, council approved a motion related to an appointment to the Sophiasburgh Ward Recreation Committee, with a by law to follow at the March 11 council meeting.
The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn at 3:52 p.m., wrapping up an afternoon focused on how the County manages essential services and measures progress on its long term priorities.
Key Takeaways
Waste services are improving. New year-round e-waste containers in Sophiasburgh and South Marysburgh will make disposal easier and safer.
Progress is being tracked. The County updated metrics for housing, youth engagement, and rural participation to measure how policies affect residents.
Community input matters. Council emphasized fairness, clear signage, and public education to ensure services and fundraising efforts benefit everyone.
Disclaimer: This article is based on a meeting with an approximate duration of 2:53:37. 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.
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