September 25 Meeting Highlights

Grey County Council met September 25, 2025 in the Grey County Council Chamber and virtually on Zoom. The meeting was immediately followed by a session of Committee of the Whole. A recording of the meeting can be found on the Grey County YouTube Channel.

County Council

• Council accepted the minutes of the September 11 Grey County Council and Committee of the Whole meetings.  Council   Committee
• Council celebrated the upcoming grand opening of the Durham Paramedic Services base. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening on Saturday, September 27 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.   News

Committee of the Whole

• Grey County will include $130,000 in the 2026 budget to complete studies and assessments to help prepare two parcels of county-owned land for future development, including the possibility of future affordable housing builds. One parcel of land is in Durham and one parcel of land is in Markdale.  Report
• Council received a staff report providing an update on the Court Security Contribution Agreement with the City of Owen Sound as directed by Council last year. The agreement aims to help cover the gap between the City’s court security and prisoner transport costs and the funding it receives from the Province. The County’s contribution to the court security costs was estimated to be $250,000 in the 2025 Budget but the actual court security costs resulted in a shortfall of approximately $120,000 which will be covered from reserves. Grey County operates the Provincial Offences Court out of the Administration Building in Owen Sound. Earlier this year the Ministry of the Solicitor General directed all courts to increase security levels. Council directed staff to write letters to the Ministry of the Attorney General and Ministry of the Solicitor General advocating for additional provincial funding to cover these new security directives.  Report
• Grey County currently has 62 long-term care beds approved for redevelopment at Grey Gables in Markdale. The Province has asked long-term care operators with approved new bed allocations to indicate if they plan to move ahead with construction plans. Council discussed the importance of long-term care services and highlighted the significant investments underway to redevelop Rockwood Terrace in Durham into a 128-bed home. Council had a lengthy discussion noting the need for more beds, the expected impact on the levy, debt limits, the complexity of redevelopment and more. Council directed staff to inform the Ministry of Long-Term Care that Grey County is interested in maintaining the 62-bed allocation and will decide on construction once the Rockwood Terrace project is completed in 2027.  Report
• Council received a staff report to consider implementing a development charges holiday for industrial development. Development charges are a tax on new development that helps to offset the increased cost of delivering municipal services and building infrastructure with growth. The intention of a development charges holiday is to spur the development of industrial lands which could in turn result in employment growth. After discussing the report, Council voted not to move forward with an industrial development charges holiday at this time.  Report
• Grey County and partners Bruce County, Dufferin County and Saugeen Mobility Transit have secured $9.5 million in funding through the Ontario Transit Investment Fund (OTIF) to develop a regional transit network. The first phase of the project is the completion of a study that will design and cost a unified regional transit network building on previous transit planning efforts, leveraging past insights, and recommendations.  The study will give staff, Council and the partners the information necessary to make informed decisions about the future potential of a unified regional transit network. The study itself is expected to take approximately six months, followed by presentations to each Council and board for consideration in the spring of 2026. The OTIF funding agreement requires contributions from all partners. Council authorized staff to sign a transfer payment agreement and to include $145,000 in the 2026 budget for Council’s consideration. Report

The Clerk’s Department maintains the official records 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.