Notes from the regular Council meetings, which were held on Wednesday, September 2 and Tuesday, September 8, 2026.
Delegations
While the Council received several delegations throughout the meeting on Wednesday, one that stood out in particular was from resident Max Maschke.
Maschke brought forward a series of questions and concerns in regards to the security of the 2026 Municipal Election and the Township of Blandford-Blenheim’s use of internet and telephone voting.
Council, as well as CAO Josh Brick, assured him that Intelivote Systems Inc. is a trusted system, and that the reasoning behind moving toward telephone and internet voting was to hopefully increase voter turnout.
The largest benefit of online voting is accessibility, especially in rural municipalities,” said Brick. “When you don’t have a single growth centre where the majority of your population is centralized, having that ability for folks to cast their ballot remotely, or to visit a range of different locations in the absence of polls like a municipality such as Blandford-Blenheim, greatly enhances the accessibility of an election.”
Mayor Mark Peterson said that while people can cast their vote over the phone or by computer, those who are worried about security will still be able to go to voter assistance centres and cast their votes electronically there.
“You don’t have to have a cell phone or tablet, or even use your own to vote,” he said. “On election day, you can come to say, the Township Office here, and there’ll be tablets set up so you can cast your vote.”
Drumbo Four-Way Stop
Council approved the installation of a four-way stop at the intersection of Centre Street and Pinkham Street.
The direction comes after a public meeting in early 2026 where residents raised their concerns about public safety in the area.
Jim Borton, Director of Public Works, said that while traffic counters didn’t necessarily point to the need for a stop in the area, it was a low-budget way to ensure local residents feel safer when travelling through the area.
Councillor Nancy Demarest said she was supportive of the idea.
“We don’t always have an opportunity to be preemptive about these things, and I know this is a big concern for the people that live along those two streets,” she said. “It’s not anecdotal, they’re seeing what’s happening. I think in this instance, like you said, it’s low cost, and I think it’ll bring comfort. That park’s not going to get any less busy with the development that’s going on, so I think it’s a good idea.”
Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund
Council authorized staff to apply for funding through the Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund to be used for capital improvements at the Plattsville Memorial Community Arena.
Skills Development Fund Grant
Council also endorsed the Township’s application for Skills Development Fund Capital Stream funding to recognize and support the skills-development infrastructure incorporated into the new Blandford-Blenheim Princeton Fire Station #81.
It was also directed that the clerk put out a request for regional support for the application.
Blandford-Blenheim Princeton Fire Station #81 Closeout Report
CAO Josh Brick, Director of Protective Services Drew Davidson and Director of Finance/Treasure Denise Krug presented Council with the Princeton Fire Station #81 capital project closeout report.
The approximately $3.08 million build was completed substantially on budget with approximately a $50,000 variance on the total capital cost.
“We had sort of accounted for a ten per cent contingency on this type of project work, and so ending at 1.7 per cent variance was something we were really pleased with,” said Brick. “…This was of tremendous value for the community, largely on budget, and this is a really significant piece of infrastructure that is going to benefit, not only our own community, but surrounding communities for over 50 years.”
Brick also informed Council that the former Station #81 building was sold for $701,000, approximately $50,000 over the listed price.
Davidson also had the opportunity to run through several lessons they learned throughout the project, including construction start dates. He added that fire chiefs visiting from other municipalities have been impressed with the build, and that the response from local residents has been positive.
Krug later provided an overview of the financial implications of the capital work.
“You can see from the breakdown of the costs that the overall price of the fire hall was just over $3 million, and I did outline many of those costs were approved in either one of the budgets in 2024, 2025 and 2026, or in separate reports that were brought forward to Council,” she said. “As for the financing for those costs, the previous two years were financed through reserves with council approving a $2 million debenture. That’s not done until the project is completed, so we will be receiving those funds through the OILC [Ontario Infrastructure and Lands Corporation] through the County prior to the end of the year. We did use $200,000 already to help finance the fire hall last year, and we do anticipate that we will be collecting some more development charge and that we’ll be able use some of those to put towards the debenture payments on that.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
