October 14 Meeting Highlights

Grey County Council met on October 14, 2021 at 10:00 a.m in the Council Chamber for the regular session of council. The meeting was immediately followed by a session of Committee of the Whole. A recording of the meetings can be found on Grey County’s YouTube Channel.

County Council

• Warden Hicks welcomed County Council back into the council chamber. This was the first meeting in-person since the beginning of the pandemic. Grey County will be holding hybrid in-person and virtual meetings for the foreseeable future.
• Council accepted the minutes of the September 23 County Council and Committee of the Whole meetings.  Council  Committee
• Council received the minutes of the August 27 Board of Health meeting.  Dr. Arra provided a verbal update on the current COVID-19 monitoring. Numbers are consistently in the lower single digits. Vaccination efforts continue.  Minutes

Committee of the Whole

• Council directed staff to prepare a report outlining the costs of including County Councillors on the County’s Employee Assistance Program. The program offers mental health and other supports for employees. 
• Council received a delegation from Trevor Graham about speeding concerns on Grey Road 32 and asking the County to lower the speed limit to 50 and install signs east of East Back Line. County staff acknowledged that speeding is a concern in many areas of the county. Lowering the speed limit and installing signage has been unsuccessful in other areas. A staff recommendation will be presented to Council as part of a staff report in the new year.   Presentation 
• Council passed a motion to donate $1 million to Georgian College to help deliver a nursing degree program out of the Owen Sound Campus. The donation will be funded in full from the Healthcare Initiatives Reserve.  Report
• Grey County will look to farmers for assistance in developing natural and crop snow fences along County roads. Report
• Council supported an Official Plan Amendment to redesignate lands in Southgate outside in Dundalk. A subdivision is proposed for the property.  Report
• The Province is transforming employment services across Ontario and Grey County is partnering with Huron County, Bruce County and Stratford to submit a proposal for the management of services in our catchment area. Report
• Staff reported on the current challenges facing the Child Care sector in Grey County. Currently, child care operators in Grey County are shot about 150 registered staff and are only available to operate at 70% capacity. There are more than 800 children on waiting lists for licensed child care. There are numerous contributing factors, including the pandemic, low wages and challenging working conditions.  Report

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