County Council Highlights for April 2, 2025

Warden encourages participation in the library’s spring cleanup

Grab a kit at an Essex County Library branch and join The Great Cleanup Challenge.

Warden Hilda MacDonald encouraged residents to take part in the fun, month-long challenge put on by the library and the Essex Region Conservation Authority. Kits available at library branches include tracking sheets, garbage bags and gloves. Participants can turn in their tracking sheets after their cleanup efforts to be eligible for prizes in the challenge, which ends May 3.

“Hats off to the Essex County Library staff and our friends at the Essex Region Conservation Authority for inspiring us to do some spring cleaning that will help Essex County shine,” the warden said at the start of Wednesday’s Essex County Council meeting.

MacDonald also urged residents to consider registering as organ and tissue donors during April, which is Be a Donor Month. Every three days someone in Ontario dies waiting for a lifesaving organ donation and thousands more need transformative tissue donations.

“Registering to be an organ and tissue donor is a simple way to improve the odds,” the warden said. Ontario residents can register at beadonor.ca or in person at any Service Ontario location.

MacDonald also noted that residents can be part of developing a climate resiliency plan for the Lake Erie coast between Amherstburg and Port Alma.

The Pelee Coastal Resilience Committee is hosting open houses to get input on April 14 in Wheatley and April 15 in Kingsville. Information and registration details are available on the Pelee Coastal website’s Engagement page.

Data about proposed development charges presented

An overview of the results of the first ever County of Essex Development Charges Study was presented to council and will be followed by a public release of the background document on April 15 and then a series of public meetings.

The study recommends a residential development charge of $12,998 per unit for single detached homes and a non-residential (commercial/industrial) charge of $46.50 per square metre. Those rates are in line with what other upper-tier municipalities in Southwestern Ontario charge, says a report to council.

The charges would be on top of those already imposed by local municipalities, as noted in the draft study presented to council. Essex County currently does not have development charges, which can be levied to fund growth-related infrastructure and service enhancement. The county development charges would be for infrastructure and services it provides, such as regional roads, libraries, emergency medical services, waste diversion, regional planning and long-term care.

Following the public release of the Development Charges Background Study on April 15, stakeholders will be consulted, a draft by-law will be prepared and a statutory public meeting will be held in May to receive feedback.

Council voted to hold public sessions in each of Essex County’s seven local municipalities and to add information to the report about the development fees charged in Chatham-Kent.

Servicing and encroachment agreement for school sewer main approved

Essex County Council has authorized a servicing and encroachment agreement with the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board to allow for the installation and maintenance of a sewer main along County Road 8.

The forcemain, which uses pumps to move sewage, will serve St. Thomas of Villanova Secondary School in LaSalle. It will run along County Road 8 between the school and South Riverview Drive, where it will empty into the existing sanitary sewer system, says a report to council.

Fire coordinator and alternate appointees recommended

Essex County Council is supporting the appointment of Windsor Fire Chief James Waffle as fire coordinator for the Essex-Windsor region, and Windsor Deputy Fire Chief Daemon Hart and Leamington Fire Chief Don Williamson as alternates.

The official appointment is made by the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal, which requested a letter of support from Essex County Council. The annual remuneration the county pays the fire coordinator and alternates remains the same: $5,000 for the coordinator and $1,250 to each of the alternate coordinators.

Notice of motion calls for report on cost of regional policing study

Councillor Sherry Bondy introduced a notice of motion that would direct staff to prepare a report outlining what it would cost to engage a consultant for a feasibility study on regional policing. The motion will be debated at a future council meeting.