Part 1: OLT Settlement, Canopy Funding Partnership, and Community Updates – 01/29/2026

The County Council held a regular meeting at Shire Hall on Thursday, January 29, 2026, after it was rescheduled from January 27. Mayor Steve Ferguson, who chaired the meeting, opened with a land acknowledgement and a reminder that the meeting was livestreamed and forms part of the public record.

The evening started earlier than usual, with Council moving into a closed session at 6:00 p.m. and returning to open session at 7:00 p.m.

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Wrapping up an Ontario Land Tribunal appeal

Coming out of closed session, Councillor Brad Nieman declared a pecuniary interest because his daughter and son-in-law farm land connected to the matter. Nieman refrained from taking part.

Council then voted to approve Minutes of Settlement between 1983358 Ontario Inc. and the municipality, and directed legal counsel to resolve Ontario Land Tribunal File OLT-25-000115 based on those settlement terms.

Black History Month, a Barker Street notice, and a community loss

In announcements, Councillor Phil St-Jean gave notice that he planned to bring forward a motion at the next meeting about changing Barker Street in Picton from a one-way street to a two-way street.

Councillor Sam Grosso noted it was reporter Hailey MacDonald’s final Council meeting and wished her well.

Councillor Corey Engelsdorfer offered condolences on the passing of Cynthia Riordon, President of the Storehouse Foodbank, speaking about her service and leadership in the community.

Mayor Ferguson also pointed to the upcoming Coldest Night of the Year walk and read a proclamation recognizing February 2026 as Black History Month, including the theme “30 Years of Black History Month: Honouring Black Brilliance Across Generations.”

County Foundation deputations focus on data and local grants

The meeting then shifted into deputations from community organizations. Anne VanVlack, Vital Signs Coordinator with the County Foundation, walked Council through the Vital Signs program and how it collects and shares local data on community well-being. She described it as a way to turn information into usable insights for planning and decision-making. Council received the deputation.

Next, Gillian Armstrong, Interim Executive Director for the County Foundation, spoke about the Municipal Community Grants program, focusing on the 2024 program wrap-up and explaining how the competitive, application-based grants work and who they support. Council also received that deputation.

Quinte Conservation seeks backing to lead a Green Municipal Fund application

The final deputation came from Lindsay Nash, Outreach and Stewardship Coordinator with Quinte Conservation, who asked Council to support Quinte Conservation as the lead applicant for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Green Municipal Fund, under the Growing Canada’s Community Canopies program.

In discussion, councillors weighed what the partnership would mean in practice, including how County staff would work with Quinte Conservation and how matching funds would function within existing budgets. Council ultimately approved the partnership, authorized the Mayor to provide a letter of support, and directed staff to collaborate on the framework and report back on specific commitments or milestones. Council then formally received Nash’s deputation as well.

A resident steps up to support the canopy partnership

With no one pre-registered to speak, Mayor Ferguson invited comments from the audience.

Lise Bois, speaking as a member of the Quinte Urban Forest Network and connected to other local tree-planting groups, addressed Council to support the newly approved canopy partnership and emphasized how community groups could help leverage funding for tree planting across the County. Council received the comment for information.

Routine borrowing bylaw and a major fire protection grant

Council then moved into early items for consideration. First was a standard annual step: Council approved the 2026 Temporary Borrowing By-Law, which supports the municipality’s ability to manage cash flow and maintain its line of credit.

Council also approved the agreement connected to the Ontario Fire Protection Grant Transfer Payment Agreement. The report related to a successful grant application and the funding was described during the meeting as supporting firefighter health and safety equipment, including cancer prevention and respiratory-related equipment for the County’s fire service.

Key Takeaways

1. A long-running OLT matter moved toward closure. Council approved settlement minutes tied to an Ontario Land Tribunal file and directed legal counsel to resolve it on that basis.

   
   

2. Local data and community grants stayed in the spotlight. The County Foundation used deputations to explain how Vital Signs data is gathered and shared, and how municipal community grants support local programs and services.

   
   

3. Tree planting could scale up through a new funding partnership. Council approved a partnership with Quinte Conservation to pursue Growing Canada’s Community Canopies funding, with an approach designed to build on existing budgets and bring in community partners.

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Disclaimer: This article is based on a meeting with an approximate duration of 2:22:12. 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.