Part 1: Child Welfare Pressures, Housing Projects, and County Road 49 Reconstruction — 05/26/2026
- PECConnect
- May 26
- 5 min read
The County Council covered a wide range of major issues during its May 26 regular council meeting, from child welfare funding pressures and affordable housing requests to the long-awaited rehabilitation of County Road 49. Mayor Steve Ferguson chaired the meeting, which also included public comments about Picton Terminals, governance concerns, and several development-related deputations.
The evening opened with announcements tied to upcoming Pride Month events across the county, including a June 20 Pride Parade in Picton and several community events organized through local recreation committees. Council also issued multiple proclamations recognizing Pride Month, Seniors Month, National Indigenous History Month, Stroke and Aphasia Awareness Month, and National Accessibility Week.
View the entire PEC Council meeting, or continue to speaker comments and councillor votes>
Children’s Aid Society Warns of Growing Pressure
One of the most significant discussions of the evening came from Jess Sundberg, Executive Director of Highland Shores Children’s Aid Society, who delivered a sobering presentation about the state of child welfare services in the region.
Sundberg explained that while public perception often focuses on children being removed from homes, between 90 and 96 percent of the families supported by the agency actually keep children within their biological family or kinship network. He stressed that the organization’s mandate is supposed to focus heavily on prevention, but the provincial funding formula continues to prioritize reactive intervention instead.
The agency currently operates on a $34 million budget that has effectively declined for 13 straight years due to annual reductions and inflation pressures. Sundberg said the organization is facing rising placement costs, staffing challenges, and increasing difficulty finding foster placements close to home.
One of the more alarming examples involved a child whose needs were so complex that more than 40 placement providers across Ontario declined to accept them. In situations like that, Children’s Aid Societies are sometimes forced to place children in hotels with rotating staff supervision until a proper placement can be found.
Sundberg also connected many child welfare cases to broader community issues such as housing instability, poverty, and lack of access to mental health supports. He urged council to continue advocating for prevention-focused funding and stronger local collaboration between social service agencies.
Several councillors asked how municipalities could help. Discussions touched on housing affordability, utility disconnections, poverty-related interventions, and culturally sensitive supports for Indigenous families.
Developers Push for Housing Capacity and Fee Relief
Council also heard two major housing-related deputations.
Representatives from Cosmopolitan Homes appeared before council seeking assurance that sufficient water and wastewater servicing capacity would be reserved for their approved 111-unit townhouse project at 49 and 57 Folkard Lane in Picton.
The developers emphasized that the project already has zoning approval and argued they are ready to move quickly once servicing allocations are confirmed. They also highlighted new provincial HST rebate programs that could help reduce purchase prices for some units to around $399,000.
Several councillors questioned whether the company could realistically build and sell the homes quickly enough to justify reserving servicing capacity. Concerns were also raised about tying up water allocation if the market slows.
County staff responded that the project appears close to final subdivision approval already and that the county’s updated servicing allocation policies now include “use it or lose it” provisions intended to prevent long-term hoarding of capacity.
Council did not approve any special allocation request during the meeting.
Later in the evening, developer Alan Hirschfield returned to council regarding the proposed Nicholas Street affordable housing project in Picton. Hirschfield clarified that the request had been narrowed to relief from wastewater connection charges specifically for the project’s affordable housing units.
The revised request totals roughly $296,000 and applies to 31 affordable rental units that would remain affordable for 25 years.
Some councillors supported reviewing the request further, while several residents speaking during public comments argued taxpayers should not subsidize a private project that has already reduced its original affordable housing targets.
Council ultimately directed staff to prepare a follow-up report exploring the feasibility of the request.
County Road 49 Finally Moves Forward
A major milestone came later in the meeting when council officially awarded the tender for the long-awaited County Road 49 rehabilitation project.
The construction contract, worth roughly $18.7 million, was awarded to R.W. Tomlinson Limited. The project is supported by substantial provincial funding and will rehabilitate approximately 17 kilometres of deteriorating roadway between Picton and the Skyway Bridge.
Staff explained that work will begin almost immediately, starting with culvert replacements before moving into concrete rubblization and asphalt resurfacing.
Most of the major paving work is expected to happen during 2026, with final asphalt and restoration work continuing into 2027 and 2028.
Councillors raised concerns about construction-season traffic, tourism impacts, safety around the Skyway Bridge, and the risk of additional deterioration on County Road 15 as drivers seek alternate routes.
Staff confirmed that extensive traffic management plans and communication strategies will be put in place, including discussions with the Ministry of Transportation about signage along Highway 401.
The project passed unanimously and was widely described as overdue after years of worsening road conditions.
Governance and Provincial Power Debates
Toward the end of the meeting, council debated two politically charged motions.
One motion from Councillor Bill Roberts called on the province to increase public health funding and redistribute a portion of land transfer tax revenues to municipalities. Roberts argued that preventive public health investments save significant downstream healthcare costs and reduce pressure on hospitals.
That motion passed unanimously.
A second motion from Councillor Kate MacNaughton criticized Ontario’s Better Municipal Governance Act, warning that expanded provincial powers could weaken local democracy and eventually allow unelected municipal leaders to be appointed.
The discussion revealed divisions around tone and strategy. Some councillors strongly supported speaking out against what they viewed as growing provincial interference, while others worried the language could damage the county’s relationship with Queen’s Park at a time when municipal funding support remains critical.
The motion ultimately passed in an 11-1 recorded vote.
Key Takeaways
The county’s social service agencies are under growing strain. Highland Shores Children’s Aid Society made it clear that housing instability, poverty, and lack of community supports are increasingly affecting families locally.
Major housing projects are moving forward, but debates over affordability, servicing capacity, and taxpayer support are becoming more intense as council balances growth pressures with infrastructure limits.
The long-awaited reconstruction of County Road 49 is finally happening. Residents and visitors should expect major construction impacts over the next several seasons, but council believes the rehabilitation is necessary after years of worsening road conditions and safety concerns.
Disclaimer: This article is based on a meeting with an approximate duration of 4:38:20. 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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