Part 1: Youth Transit, Parkland Funds, and Wetland Conservation Decisions — 05/28/2025
- PECConnect
- May 28
- 4 min read
The County’s Committee of the Whole met on May 28, 2026 with Councillor Kate MacNaughton serving as chair. While the agenda was relatively short, the meeting covered several topics with long-term implications for the County, including parkland reserve funding, development charges, a new youth engagement strategy, and the future of municipally owned wetlands.
The meeting began with two annual financial reports presented by Director of Finance Arryn McNichol, both required under provincial legislation.
View the entire PEC Council meeting, or continue to speaker comments and councillor votes>
Parkland Reserve Fund Sees Slight Decline
McNichol provided Council with the annual update on the County's Parkland Reserve Fund, which collects money through development-related processes and can only be used for eligible parkland purposes. The reserve opened 2025 with roughly $950,000, received about $47,000 in new collections, earned interest, and spent approximately $91,000, ending the year with just under $937,000.
Part of the discussion focused on historical ward allocations within the reserve. Staff explained that some older records did not align with current ward categorizations and are being corrected. Changes will consolidate some former ward categories, including combining Bloomfield and Hallowell allocations and moving Consecon into the Ameliasburgh grouping. Staff emphasized that while allocation labels require updating, the reserve balances themselves remain accurate.
Council also discussed broader trends in parkland collections. McNichol noted that development-related contributions have decreased over the past few years while spending from the reserve has gradually increased.
Development Charges Continue Growing
The second financial report focused on development charges, which municipalities collect from new development to help pay for growth-related infrastructure.
McNichol reported that development charge reserves began 2025 with approximately $8 million, collected another $2 million during the year, and ended with a balance of roughly $9.5 million after spending about $519,000 on eligible projects.
Council spent time discussing how those funds are used and whether there is a way to better track where development charges are collected versus where they are ultimately spent. Staff explained that development charges can only be used for projects identified in the County’s development charge background study and must relate directly to growth-related capital infrastructure.
The conversation highlighted an ongoing interest among some councillors in understanding how growth in different parts of the County translates into infrastructure investments across the municipality.
Youth Engagement Strategy Takes Shape
The largest discussion of the afternoon focused on the County’s developing Youth Engagement Strategy.
Community Services staff member Ashley Stewart presented a project update after several months of consultation with youth, community organizations, and municipal staff. The strategy is intended to respond to concerns raised previously by youth advocates and to strengthen how the municipality supports and engages young people.
Stewart explained that the draft framework is built around five emerging pillars: career paths and mentoring, youth services and activities, engagement and recognition, adult allies, community mobilization.
The framework focuses on youth between the ages of 14 and 29 and is designed to identify actions the municipality can take directly while also supporting community partners already working in the space.
Several potential initiatives were highlighted, including expanded co-op opportunities, youth-focused gathering spaces, stronger communication tools, recognition programs, mental health resources, and partnerships with local organizations. Quick-win projects are already underway, including municipal career exposure opportunities for students and planning for another youth mental health resource fair.
One proposal generated considerable discussion: providing free County transit access for high school students.
Councillors debated how the program could work, particularly for students living outside areas served by fixed-route transit. Staff explained that the original proposal focused on fixed routes because of capacity limitations on on-demand transit services. However, councillors expressed concern about ensuring youth living in more rural areas are not left out.
After discussion, Committee approved an amendment broadening the direction so staff can consider transit access beyond fixed routes as implementation moves forward. The amended recommendation was ultimately approved.
Wetland Lands Headed to Land Trust
Following a closed session, Committee returned to open session and approved a recommendation involving environmentally protected municipal lands.
Council authorized the transfer of six surplus municipally owned wetland parcels to the Hastings Prince Edward Land Trust as a donation for a nominal value of $2, subject to due diligence and future Council approval. A seventh parcel will remain under municipal ownership and be used for future tree planting initiatives connected to the County’s climate action goals.
Key Takeaways
Youth engagement is becoming a major municipal priority. The County is building a long-term strategy focused on youth opportunities, participation, transportation, and community connections. Several initiatives could begin as early as this year.
Development-related reserve funds remain financially healthy. Both parkland reserves and development charge reserves continue to hold significant balances, giving the County resources for future growth-related projects and park investments.
More protected lands may soon move into conservation ownership. The proposed transfer of six wetland properties to the Hastings Prince Edward Land Trust would place environmentally sensitive lands under long-term stewardship while retaining one parcel for municipal climate-related projects.
Disclaimer: This article is based on a meeting with an approximate duration of 2:05:37. 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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