Part 1: PEC Council Approves Borrowing, Backs Water Protection - 11/14/2023
- PECConnect
- Nov 14, 2023
- 5 min read
The County Council met on November 14, 2023 for a regular evening meeting that covered committee appointments, major financial decisions, infrastructure borrowing, housing pressures, source water protection, and the future scope of advisory committees. The meeting was held in Council Chambers at Shire Hall and live streamed for the public, with Mayor Steve Ferguson presiding as chair.
Mayor Ferguson opened the meeting by formally calling Council to order, delivering the land acknowledgement, and outlining how the public could participate and access meeting materials. He confirmed that Council had first met in closed session earlier in the evening, as permitted under the Municipal Act, before returning to open session to conduct the bulk of its business.
View the entire PEC Council Meeting, or continue to speaker comments and councillor votes>
Closed Session Outcomes and Committee Appointments
Council’s first substantive action in open session was to deal with a motion arising from the earlier closed meeting. Councillor Janice Maynard introduced a motion related to the Appeals Committee, which Council approved without debate.
The motion amended the Appeals Committee Terms of Reference, confirmed the committee’s composition, and formally appointed four members of the public to serve as voting members. Council also directed staff to bring forward an amending bylaw later in the month to finalize the changes. This step mattered because the Appeals Committee plays a key role in reviewing property standards orders and certain licensing and permit decisions, providing residents with an independent appeal process.
Community Announcements and Seasonal Notices
Council then moved into agenda announcements, where councillors shared a series of upcoming community events. Councillor Phil St-Jean highlighted the Bloomfield Nighttime Santa Claus Parade and the reopening of the PEC Angel Tree program, noting the role of volunteers and the growing need for community support during the holiday season.
Additional announcements followed from Councillors Corey Engelsdorfer, Janice Maynard, and staff, promoting holiday parades and public activities across Picton and Consecon. While informal, this portion of the meeting reflected Council’s role in connecting municipal business with community life.
Public Comments: Transportation and Source Water Protection
Two registered public speakers addressed Council, each raising broader policy questions.
The first was Kelly McGilvery, Chair of the Traffic Advisory Committee and a professional transportation engineer. McGilvery explained that the committee was requesting a name change to Transportation Advisory Committee, arguing that its mandate had expanded beyond vehicle traffic to include active transportation, cycling, pedestrian safety, and mobility planning. She emphasized that the request was about clarity and inclusivity, not expanding the committee’s authority.
The second speaker, Amy Dickens, Source Water Protection Program Coordinator with Quinte Conservation, addressed Council on proposed provincial changes to the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry system. Dickens explained that recent provincial proposals could allow certain high-risk activities to proceed without full ministry review, including waste transport and construction dewatering near contaminated sites. She warned that this shift could weaken drinking water source protection, an issue with direct relevance to the County’s groundwater-dependent systems.
CAO Quarterly Report: Housing, Infrastructure, and Tourism
Council then turned to the Chief Administrative Officer’s Q3 report, presented for information. The report prompted extensive discussion and questions from councillors, reflecting its breadth.
Much of the conversation focused on housing pressures, including short-term accommodations, affordable housing initiatives, and the status of potential partnerships such as the Wildscape housing proposal. Staff clarified that while whole-home short-term rentals were capped, other forms of accommodation remained permitted under revised bylaws.
Infrastructure planning was another major theme. Councillors questioned timelines and costs related to the Regional Water Supply Master Plan, Main Street Picton reconstruction, sidewalk projects, and ongoing concerns with County Road 49. Staff emphasized that several projects were multi-year by design and that additional public consultation was planned for water system decisions.
Tourism management also surfaced as a growing area of reflection. Staff acknowledged that changing visitor patterns and declining tourism numbers in 2023 may warrant a reassessment of how aggressively the County manages tourism-related infrastructure and enforcement in future budgets.
Major Financial Decisions: Infrastructure Borrowing and Taxation
Council approved a significant borrowing motion authorizing up to $23.3 million in construction financing through Infrastructure Ontario. Staff explained that this borrowing would fund previously approved water and wastewater infrastructure projects, with funds drawn down only as needed and later converted to long-term debentures.
Council also approved the 2024 interim tax levy bylaw, a routine but essential step that allows the municipality to collect taxes early in the year before the full annual budget is finalized.
Advocacy Motions: Income Security and Drinking Water Oversight
Two major advocacy resolutions followed. The first, introduced by Councillor Bill Roberts, Sophiasburgh, urged the provincial and federal governments to explore a guaranteed livable income program. Councillors discussed local data on housing costs, food insecurity, and low incomes, connecting economic vulnerability to broader community health and workforce challenges.
The second, brought forward by Councillor Janice Maynard, asked the province to halt proposed changes that would reduce oversight of activities posing risks to source water protection. This motion directly reflected the earlier public comments from Quinte Conservation and sparked a detailed discussion about regulatory oversight, self-registration, and lessons learned from past water contamination events.
Traffic Advisory Committee Scope and Naming Debate
Later in the meeting, Council revisited the Traffic Advisory Committee through a consent item that had been pulled for discussion. While Council supported several staff-requested traffic reviews across the County, the proposed committee name change generated extended debate.
Some councillors supported the shift to Transportation Advisory Committee as a modern reflection of the committee’s work, while others expressed concern about public confusion, administrative workload, and changing long-standing committee names mid-term. Council ultimately amended the motion to remove the name change, keeping the committee’s existing title intact.
Key Takeaways
Council approved major financial and infrastructure decisions that will shape water, wastewater, and road systems for years to come, with borrowing tied to projects already underway.
Housing affordability and income security remain front-and-centre issues, with Council formally advocating to higher levels of government for systemic solutions rather than piecemeal fixes.
Source water protection emerged as a clear priority, with Council signaling strong concern about any reduction in provincial oversight that could affect local drinking water safety.
The meeting concluded just after 9:00 p.m., wrapping up a wide-ranging agenda that blended technical governance, community advocacy, and long-term planning concerns affecting residents across the County.
Disclaimer: This article is based on a meeting with an approximate duration of 2:27:59. 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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