Part 1: Affordable Housing Loan, Accessibility Push, and Public Space Decisions – 03/26/2024
- PECConnect
- Mar 26, 2024
- 4 min read
The County Council met for a Regular Council meeting at Shire Hall on March 26, 2024, with Mayor Steve Ferguson in the chair and all councillors present for the open session after closed business. The meeting moved through a mix of big, County-wide files and smaller policy decisions that still touch daily life, from parking to how council expenses are handled. Council began with a closed session, then returned to open session with two directions that set a practical tone for the night.
Council directed staff to explore an agreement with Sandbanks Provincial Park and the province about the municipal parking area near the Dunes Beach entrance, with a future open report coming back for discussion.
Council approved a Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) Financial Accountability Agreement with StayPEC, asked staff to bring the related bylaw in open session, and set a five-year review cycle so the agreement stays aligned with how the program evolves.
View the entire PEC Council meeting, or continue to speaker comments and councillor votes>
American Eel questions land in the room twice
A deputation from Kendall Dewey on the proposal to add the American Eel to the federal Species at Risk list arrived after a technical delay, but it still sparked a wide Q-and-A. Council questions touched on eel populations in local waters, differences in how the topic is treated in Canada versus the U.S., and why the issue showed up on a municipal agenda in the first place.
That conversation was echoed earlier in comments from the audience, where Amy Bodman spoke to the eel file and shared a statement from Rick Beaver, identified as a Mississauga Ojibwe elder from Alderville First Nation. Council received the deputation and the audience comments.
The night’s main debate: financing stalled affordable housing
The biggest stretch of discussion focused on a request tied to the Prince Edward County Affordable Housing Corporation and two projects already familiar to many residents: Niles Street and Disraeli Street.
Staff and council discussed what had happened so far, why pre-construction work has been slower than hoped, and what options remained after other funding routes did not land. Council also heard public concerns during the audience comment period, including questions about whether the proposal expanded the municipality’s role and how risk and repayment would work.
An attempted amendment from Chris Braney, seconded by Corey Engelsdorfer would have deferred the proposed loan-related recommendations to explore other options. After debate, a recorded vote defeated the deferral. Council then returned to the main motion and approved a $5 million construction loan at 2.5% interest for a five-year term, along with the bylaw needed to enter the loan agreement. Council also declared both projects a Project of Community Interest, underlining that the work was being treated as a public priority rather than a niche initiative.
Council pay and expenses: one clause pulled out
Council then turned to a joint report on 2023 council remuneration and updates to Policy CLS-08, the Council Remuneration and Expense Policy. Discussion narrowed quickly to one line item: memorial donations and flowers. A motion brought by Sam Branderhorst and seconded by Kate MacNaughton removed that section from the policy, and council then carried the broader policy updates as amended.
A call for accessibility funding before 2025
Next came a resolution led by MacNaughton and Roy Pennell tied to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and Ontario’s 2025 accessibility deadline. Council supported urging the province to create a Municipal Accessibility Fund and to act on recommendations from the Donovan Review, with the Mayor to send letters to provincial leaders and municipal organizations.
Roads, boat launches, and an eel deferral
On tenders and routine items, council approved road-related awards and noted that a broader line painting review would be brought forward through the 2025 budget process. Council also amended the Tourism Management Plan workplan to test a practical idea at boat launches: where space permits, staff will identify two free parking spaces for people enjoying the area without launching a watercraft for summer 2024, with temporary signage and data collection ahead of a fall boat launch review. Finally, council deferred Environmental Advisory Committee comments on the American Eel file to the April 9 meeting so David Harrison could consult additional stakeholders, while still receiving the committee’s report as amended.
Key Takeaways
Affordable housing is being pushed forward using local tools. Council chose a municipal construction loan approach rather than waiting on outside funding, and formally framed two projects as Projects of Community Interest.
“Public space” rules are still being defined in real time. The boat launch parking decision showed an ongoing tension between user-fee models and basic public access, with a summer pilot designed to gather evidence before bigger changes.
Council is asking the province to match deadlines with dollars. On accessibility, council’s message was straightforward: if 2025 standards are the target, municipalities need stable funding to actually deliver the upgrades.
Disclaimer: This article is based on a meeting with an approximate duration of 4:03:44. 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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