October 10 Meeting Highlights

Grey County Council met on October 10, 2024, in the Council Chamber and virtually on Zoom. The meeting was immediately followed by a session of Committee of the Whole. Recordings of the meetings can be found on Grey County’s YouTube Channel. 

County Council 

• Council accepted the minutes of the September 26 Grey County Council and Committee of the Whole meetings.   Council   Committee 

• Council accepted the minutes of the September 26 Grey County Council closed session. 

• Council approved a by-law to provide tax refunds for eligible heritage properties.   By-Law 

• Director of Paramedic Services, Kevin McNab spoke to Council during News & Celebrations about the Supportive Outreach Services (SOS) project being awarded the Ontario Health System Quality and Innovation Award for its success in improving health outcomes for marginalized people in the region.   Media Release 

• Director of Economic Development, Tourism & Culture, Savanna Myers spoke to Council during News & Celebrations about Grey Roots Museum & Archives 20th Anniversary Fundraising Gala. Myers also spoke about Grey County’s exciting announcement and launch of the Gather Campaign with internationally renowned and decorated local Chef & Artist, Roger Mooking.   Media Release 

Committee of the Whole 

• Council heard a presentation from Thorsten Arnold about the urgent need to avert the threat of a drinking water disaster in Bruce-Grey’s Karst Regions.   Presentation   Backgrounder 

• Council endorsed a housing planning data needs and regional housing strategy request that approved actions be taken towards creating a Regional Housing Strategy. This included an additional budget allocation of $10,000 to update the County’s Growth Management Strategy (GMS) that addresses revised Ministry of Finance projections and will further explore the relationships between forecasted population growth, employment growth, and related workforce and other housing needs arising. As well, the County will explore additional services and data sources as needed via the Rural Housing Information System/Rural Ontario Institute to populate a County-wide Housing Need Assessment template.   Report 

• Council received a report that was approved in principle pertaining to Grey County urban road and rural road transfers. Staff were directed by Council to negotiate new road agreements with affected municipalities. A future staff report and review by the Urban Road and Road Exchange Task Force as well as Grey County Council approval is required.   Report 

• Grey County staff will be sourcing Utility Data Acquisition Service (UDAS) software from ECCAN which will improve the efficiency, availability, and accuracy of corporate utility data. Council heard a report from staff that presented the benefits of having up-to-date data about energy costs and consumption in County buildings to make decisions about energy management, budgeting, building commissioning, and capital projects; ultimately aiding staff significantly. The report explains how UDAS would improve the availability and accuracy of utility data, facilitate mandatory reporting, and save staff time currently allocated to manual entry.   Report 

• Council received correspondence from Guardian Wildlife Control requesting an increase to the bounty for the removal of nuisance wildlife. Council directed staff to prepare a report to be brought to Council with staff recommendations, a review of the annual costs of the program, and rates compared to other municipalities.   Correspondence 

The Clerk’s Department maintains the official record for Grey County. This publication is intended to provide meeting highlights only. For official records, please refer to the meeting minutes, or contact the Clerk’s Department at 1-800-567-4739.