Interim CAO Adam Goheen presented the Second Quarter Report at the July 22 meeting of Council.

He noted staff are currently tracking 115 Council motions. “There is a lot of unfinished work remaining to be done,” he said. “It will be difficult, I’ll be honest, to ensure we’re bringing all of those items to you for decision.”

“It’s not just the year, it’s the term of Council too,” said Mayor Ferguson. “We have to be mindful of what will not be completed at all.”

Tourism and Transit

The 2025 Tourism Management Plan continues programs in invasive species management, the PEC Summer Pass, and increased service for public washrooms. 

The municipality also rolled out a summer transit enhancement program. The Summer Weekend Connector is a fixed-route loop connecting Wellington, Bloomfield, Picton, and Belleville Friday night through Sunday dinnertime. 

Growth and Development

The Development Charges study is still underway. It entered the developer consultation phase in the second quarter. The study commenced following a development application freeze in the County, allowing the municipality to review infrastructure needs and the revenue required to support expansion. 

Recommendations from the Development Charges study will be reviewed alongside the Master Servicing Plan, which maps infrastructure needs in relation to anticipated growth in the coming decades. 

Following a Council resolution to conduct a third-party review of the planning process, Perry Group Consulting is reviewing municipal service delivery in planning, engineering, building, and economic development. Consultation with the business and development community is planned for the third quarter, with results expected to arrive in October. 

Environmental Sustainability

Blue boxes are no longer a municipal service. Instead, producers are responsible for recycling. The shift comes from a provincial regulation, passed in 2021, mandating that blue box recycling producers become responsible for collection. 

Recycling in the Quinte region will now be run by the non-profit organization Circular Materials. As of July 17th, subcontractor E360 Solutions will pick up residential recycling. 

Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional (ICI) properties are responsible for arranging their own recycling. These include businesses, non-profits, and places of worship. ICI properties can either arrange for private collection, or drop off recycling materials on Wednesdays to waste sites in Wellington, Sophiasburgh, and Picton.

Affordable Housing

The Affordable Housing Corporation invited a representative from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to go over rental data collection methodologies and funding criteria. 

The visit resulted in a follow up meeting with additional CMHC staff, municipal staff, and Affordable Housing Corporation Board Chair, Councillor Phil St-Jean. The meeting looked deeper into the particularities of PECAHC’s development projects and prospects for CMHC funding.

Transit and Roads

225 out of 781 service inquiries to the municipality this year were related to pot holes. During the second quarter, double surface treatment began on County Roads 13, 19, and 25. The municipality also completed 12 kilometres of micro surfacing and 22 kilometres of asphalt roadway crack sealing. 

In Ameliasburgh, five kilometres of Salem Road and two kilometres of Victoria Road were returned to gravel. Grading and dust suppressant will be part of municipal road maintenance along these stretches until the Council budgets for their full repair.