County Council Highlights for July 17, 2024

Warden Applauds County’s History and Partnerships

Essex County has much to celebrate as it marks 232 years this week, Warden Hilda MacDonald said in her opening remarks at Wednesday’s Essex County Council meeting.

“Since it was created on July 16, 1792, Essex County has grown by tens of thousands of residents and gained a reputation for agricultural and manufacturing excellence,” she said. “Our enviable climate, beautiful waterfronts and attractive communities continue to lure new residents and business investors from around the world.”

The warden applauded the Town of Essex and Government of Canada for their partnership in helping to complete the County Wide Active Transportation route along the north shore of Lake Erie connecting Amherstburg, Essex, Kingsville and Leamington.

On Monday the federal government announced $2.7 million from its Active Transportation Fund will be invested in County Road 50 in the Town of Essex to create paved shoulders for cyclists and pedestrians. The town successfully applied for the funding.

“Theses paved shoulders will be used by local residents, cyclists from across the region and tourists visiting our stunning waterfronts, peaceful natural areas, top-notch wineries and restaurants, and many other businesses,” MacDonald said.

The warden welcomed two new members of the County of Essex senior leadership team: Director of Human Resources Kyla Pritiko and Director of Information Technology Darrel Laurendeau.

She also reminded the public to be safe around the water this summer and noted that July 21 to July 27 is National Drowning Prevention Week.

Local Municipalities Get Bulk of Canada Community-Building Funds

Local municipalities will receive $9.7 million of the just over $12 million from the Canada Community-Building Fund allocated to Essex County in 2024.

Essex County Council voted to continue its practice of designating 80 per cent of the funding to the seven local municipalities and approved a new funding agreement that covers the next 10 years. A report to council shows how much is going to each local municipality in 2024.

The Canada Community-Building Fund is a permanent source of funding for provinces and territories to support local infrastructure priorities. Municipalities can pool, bank and borrow against the funding.

Essex-Windsor EMS Seeing a Gradual Decrease in Code Blacks

Periods when there are no Essex-Windsor EMS ambulances (code blacks) available due to strains in the health-care system are gradually decreasing, as are the times when only one to three ambulances are free to respond to calls (code reds).

This trend is holding despite call volumes in May that were higher than the previous months in 2024, says a report to council by Chief Justin Lammers. The chief’s report provided council with a mid-year update on operations and efforts Essex-Windsor EMS is taking with its health-care partners to reduce offload delays at hospitals.

Essex-Windsor EMS is projecting a three per cent increase in the number of high-acuity calls it responds to and a 13 per cent decrease in low-acuity responses in 2024. The decrease in low-acuity calls “can be attributed to the success of the Mobile Integrated Healthcare Community Paramedicine (MIHCP) program within Essex-Windsor EMS, as well as the ongoing work of the Windsor Essex Ontario Health Team and all of its partners,” says the chief’s report.

Essex-Windsor EMS is in the process of refreshing its master plan, with a report expected by early 2025 on the results and recommendations.

County Moving to New Software for Maintenance Management

The County of Essex will move to a cloud-based software to handle infrastructure-related permits, work orders, inspections and complaints, as well as asset management.

Council voted to award a three-year contract and five-year extension to Public Sector Digest Citywide Inc. for $419,700 (plus applicable taxes) for installation and maintenance of Citywide’s Maintenance Manager software, which will replace server-based software that is currently used.

There will be an overlap of the two systems in 2024 and 2025. After that, the annual fee for the Maintenance Manager software will drop from $192,000 for the current software to $28,500 in 2026 and $31,500 in subsequent years, says a report to council by Director, Infrastructure and Planning Services, Allan Botham.

Citywide software is already being used by the County of Essex and local municipalities for asset management.

Council Increases Pay for Alternates

Pay for alternates, who attend Essex County Council meetings when a mayor or deputy mayor cannot, is increasing to $260 per meeting retroactive to Jan. 1, 2024.

Council also voted that the amount be deducted from the pay of the absent mayor or deputy mayor and that alternate pay be adjusted using the same inflationary percentage applied to the base pay for council members. The decision was made after council was presented with a report setting out some of the options for paying alternates.

Application Made for Plaque at River Canard Bridge

The County of Essex, in partnership with the Town of LaSalle and Town of Amherstburg, is applying to the Ontario Heritage Trust to erect plaques at the bridge on County Road 8 in River Canard.

English and French versions of the same plaque would be placed at both ends of the bridge, which connects Amherstburg and LaSalle, says a report to council. Built in 1937, the bowstring bridge over the Canard River is the last of its kind in Essex County and sits in the shadow of historic St. Joseph Church. Council in 2023 approved a plan to seek Ontario Heritage Trust approval and contribute to the cost of erecting a plaque recognizing the bridge’s historic significance.

Hours of Community Safety Zones at Tecumseh Schools Extended

The hours of community safety zones on county roads in the Town of Tecumseh are being extended to 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The town requested the change after extending the time community safety zone speed limits are in effect on its roads.

The three Tecumseh schools on county roads with community safety zones are St. Mary French Immersion Catholic School, St. Peter Catholic Elementary School and Tecumseh Vista Academy.

Traffic Signal at County Road 9 and County Road 10 Planned for 2025

County Council has approved spending an estimated $250,000 to construct the above-ground part of a traffic signal at County Road 9 and County Road 10 in 2025.

The underground infrastructure for the traffic signal was installed during the reconstruction of the bridge at the intersection, which was completed in early July. There would be no savings if the traffic signal was completed this year, says a report to council.

Local Municipalities Provide Feedback about Regional Shared Services

Council was provided with results of a survey of local municipalities asking them about their level of satisfaction with the services provided by Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island (TWEPI) and Invest WindsorEssex.

Both agencies receive discretionary funding from the county. During the 2024 Budget deliberations, Essex County Council directed administration to consult with local municipalities about their satisfaction with the agencies and invite the agencies to attend council meetings to demonstrate their value to the county.

Local municipal CAOs and local municipal tourism and economic development staff were generally satisfied with the service provided by TWEPI and somewhat less with the service they receive from Invest WindsorEssex. Both organizations were provided with the results of the survey and submitted letters in response.

Amherstburg Seeking Safety Measures at County Road 20 Intersection

Deputy Mayor Chris Gibb gave notice that he will be bringing a motion before council requesting a review of traffic, bicycle and pedestrian conditions at and near the intersection of County Road 20 and Lowes Side Road.

The proposed motion asks the county to consider reducing the speed limit on County Road 20 from Lowes Side Road south for approximately 500 metres, as well as installing signed crosswalks at the intersection.