Part 1: Queen Elizabeth School Redevelopment Discussion – 08/07/2024

The Council convened a Special Committee of the Whole on August 7, 2024 to focus entirely on the future of the former Queen Elizabeth School property in Picton. The meeting was held at Shire Hall and livestreamed to the public, reflecting the level of community interest surrounding the site. Councillor Phil St-Jean chaired the meeting and emphasized at the outset that this was an early step in a longer decision-making process about how the property could be used.

St-Jean framed the evening as a reset point, noting public confusion about whether decisions had already been made. He clarified that Council was not approving a final plan, but considering how to move forward after purchasing the property earlier this year. Any motions from the committee would still require ratification at the August 27 Council meeting.

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Public Voices Set the Tone

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The first major portion of the meeting was dedicated to public comments, with residents living near the site speaking directly to Council. David Middleton, a Centre Street resident, urged Council to return to the original guiding principles behind purchasing the property. He spoke in support of a community-focused vision, including shared spaces and the possibility of a community garden, drawing on his past experience establishing similar projects elsewhere.

Neighbour Tim Johnson, who lives across from the site, raised concerns about traffic, density, and safety in the surrounding streets. While supportive of affordable housing in principle, Johnson questioned whether high-density development was the only option and pointed to earlier Council commitments around a community hub model. He highlighted previous reports showing strong interest from community organizations that could occupy much of the existing school building.

Barb Mason, speaking as Chair of the Picton Community Gardens, reminded Council that her group had already submitted an expression of interest during earlier stages. She offered practical support in helping establish gardens on the site regardless of the final development outcome. Ingo Rauth, another nearby resident, focused on long-term financial impacts, questioning whether public-private partnerships might shift infrastructure and cost burdens onto the municipality over time.

Community Hub Work Comes to a Close

Following public input, Council received a report from Elis Ziegler, Supervisor of Housing, outlining the final work of the Queen Elizabeth School Redevelopment Community Partner Tenant Selection Committee. Ziegler explained that the committee had evaluated interest from community service organizations during the earlier hub-focused phase and identified 11 groups still interested in shared tenancy if a hub were to proceed.

Council voted to formally dissolve the committee and send letters of appreciation to its members, including Susan Quaife, Penny Morris, David Bednar, and council representatives who had participated. The decision marked a transition away from the original federally funded hub plan after grant funding did not materialize.

Expressions of Interest and Next Steps

The meeting then turned to the central report of the night, presented by Adam Goheen, Director of Housing. Goheen walked Council through the results of a recent Expression of Interest process, which sought potential private or non-profit partners to help redevelop the site. He explained that the County could not fund redevelopment alone and needed to recover its $1.3 million purchase cost by the end of the year.

Five proposals were received, each offering different approaches to affordable housing, mixed-income development, and limited community space. Goheen stressed that all proposals were conceptual and that higher density was often required to make affordability viable without ongoing subsidies.

He outlined staff’s recommendation to invite all proponents back for refinement, begin early public consultation with neighbours, and return to Council later in the fall with a final recommendation.

Key Takeaways

1. No final decisions have been made about the Queen Elizabeth School site, and Council emphasized this is still an exploratory phase.

   
   

2. Public input will play a formal role, with community consultation expected shortly after Labour Day.

   
   

3. The County is balancing urgency around finances with long-term goals around affordable housing, community benefit, and neighbourhood fit, setting the stage for difficult but consequential decisions later this year.

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Disclaimer: This article is based on a meeting with an approximate duration of 2:13:17. 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.