Notes from the regular Council meeting, which was held on Wednesday, November 5, 2025.
Staff Reports
Public Works Department
The report, prepared by Jim Borton, Director of Public Works, provided the following update in regards to the activities of the Township’s Public Works Department.
- Capital
- Princeton Phase 4: The phase is close to being completed. All the underground work is finished and the curbs, sidewalks and base asphalt have been installed. The crew are currently working on paving the driveways and on getting both the topsoil and sod completed.
Township and engineering staff, as well as the contractor, will soon be doing a walk through to identify any issues that may need to be fixed.
“We are in November and the weather can change, but their hope is they will be able to get everything done,” said Borton. “…If that changes and the weather changes [to the point] where we can’t, we will obviously come back to council and let the residents know on what the timeline would be to get that stuff completed.”
- Bridge 24 Environmental Assessment: Staff are still waiting for the completed reports to be approved byIndigenous partners.
“The hope is that it will be completed very soon, and we’ll be able to finish the drawings to get the tender out and get construction started,” stated Borton. “It’ll be next year now before construction will start.”
- Training and Association of Ontario Road Supervisors (AORS)
- Ahead of the colder months, Public Works staff attended annual winter maintenance training, which is done jointly with other municipalities in Oxford County
- AORS: The Oxford County Road Supervisors Association (OCRSA) received their finances back from the Trade Show that was hosted in Oxford back in June.
“We did very well, much higher than expected,” said Borton. “We raised a profit of $111,385 and so $91,385 of that will be going back into the community. We will be splitting 75 per cent of it, and that works out to $22,846 for each of the three hospitals, and the [five] food banks in Oxford County will be getting $4,569.”
Councillor Tina Young said that while the tradeshow was a lot of work, it’s great to see the amount of funds and resources that are going back to Oxford County.
“It’s amazing to see those numbers,” she said.
“That will be huge money for our food bank,” added Mayor Mark Peterson. “That will be greatly appreciated.”
- Drainage and Other
- Now that its fall and crops are starting to come off the fields, staff will be working to get more drain cleaning and repairs completed.
- In October, staff demoed a shoulder machine that was attached to the front of the Township’s backhoe. According to Borton, it worked well and allowed staff to put a lot of material on the Township road shoulders.
- Grading and grass cutting has also taken place and staff are working on switching everything over so they’re ready for winter operation.
- The Public Works department is also still working on approving road permits that would allow Xplorenet to use the Township’s right of way to run fibreoptic cable in the Township.
Peterson later asked Borton about the railway crossing in Princeton, stating that it was in bad shape.
“We have been in contact with CN and they are aware, but they have not committed to any date for the repair,” replied Borton. “We keep sending them messages to tell them how bad it is.”
Noting that the repair is under the jurisdiction of CN Rail, Borton said that he’s also talked to representatives from Oxford County and they have also tried to contact the company as well.
Drainage Services, Appointment of Engineer
The report, prepared by Adam Degier, Blandford-Blenheim’s Drainage Superintendent, provided the following update in regards to appointing an engineer for the Sparks Drain.
Deiger said that in September, staff received a petition for drainage works in the area of Lot 9 and 10, Concession 4.
John Pynenburg and fellow property owners asked that an outlet be provided for drainage on the property.
“This property is in the watershed historically known as the Sparks Drain,” read Deiger’s report. “The Grand River Conservation Authority has been notified of council’s intention to proceed with the petition that was accepted at the September 17, 2025 council meeting.”
Deiger told council that the next step in the process is to assign an engineer to the project, and council later voted to appoint K Smart & Associates Ltd. to prepare a new drain.
Community Services Reports
Trevor Baer, Blandford-Blenheim’s Director of Community Services, came to council with several reports on hand including the following:
- Early ON programming partnership
Having been in discussions with the Drumbo Agricultural Society to support Early ON programming at Drumbo Hall since May, staff will soon be entering into a formal agreement.
“Following discussions with all parties, including Oxford County’s Early ON program, staff have reached a mutually agreeable arrangement consistent with Council’s direction,” read Baer’s report. “The Township will provide grass cutting at the Drumbo Agricultural Society property, while Early ON will enter into a direct agreement with the Agricultural Society to operate weekly programming within the hall. This partnership provides a cost-effective way to deliver valuable family programming in Drumbo while maintaining positive collaboration between the Township, local organizations, and the County.”
Baer said that the programming will likely start around November 18, 2025, and that Early ON will host a two-hour weekly program for 48 weeks annually.
- Township to reinstate drop-in centre programming
Community Services staff have been looking into reinstating both adult and youth drop-in centre programming across the Township since last month and things are officially getting underway.
“The response from community partners has been very positive. The Friends of Princeton Park, Plattsville Lions Club, and Maple Grove Seniors in Drumbo have each expressed strong interest in participating,” read Baer’s report. “These groups will assist in planning, hosting, and facilitating activities that promote recreation, social engagement, and community connection.”
Baer said that while program start dates are currently being finalized, the intent is that the adult drop-in sessions will begin this month, snd information will be posted to the Township’s website and social media once the schedules have been confirmed.
According to the report, the following groups have committed to assisting with Adult Drop-In programming:
- Plattsville Lions Club: Plans to host Arts and Crafts sessions at the Plattsville Arena Hall.
- Maple Grove Seniors (Drumbo): Will operate a Games Afternoon, featuring board games, cards, and light social activities.
- Friends of Princeton Park: Will assist with indoor recreational activities, such as pickleball and board games, at Princeton Centennial Hall.
Township staff will provide facility access, scheduling coordination, and promotional support, while community partners will lead the day-to-day programming and volunteer coordination.
As far as the youth drop-in session, staff are still having discussions with local schools.
- Plattsville Arena Canteen
Having issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) for the operation of the canteen located on the main floor of the Plattsville Memorial Community Arena, Township staff will be entering a no-cost agreement with The Old Barn Café to operate the canteen for the 2025-2026 season.
According to Baer’s report, the Old Barn Café is non-profit committed to promoting volunteerism by involving high-school students seeking volunteer hours and retired residents wishing to stay active and engaged.
“The proposal emphasizes the following community benefits: Providing affordable food options to arena users and visitors, offering volunteer opportunities for youth and seniors, strengthening community connection through a welcoming and people-focused atmosphere., and reinvesting any surplus revenue into community projects or necessary canteen improvements”
The proposed menu includes items like french fries, chicken fingers, bagels, hot beverages and soft drinks.
Financial Services Report
The report, prepared by Denise Krug, Director of Finance, discussed changes and updates to the Township’s user fees and charges for 2026.
Key updates include extending the 30 per cent booking fee to pavilion rentals, enforcing mandatory liability insurance for all facility users through the Township’s provider, and aligning most community services fees with the municipal fiscal year (being January 1). It should be noted that arena fees will continue to follow the May to April schedule.
“The booking fee of 30 per cent for all our halls was introduced in 2025 and this has helped cut down on some of the cancellations that we’ve had in the past. We’re now proposing to extend this to our pavilion rentals as well,” explained Krug. “All renters of Township facilities are also going to be required to obtain general liability insurance through the Township’s contracted insurance provider if they don’t already have their own insurance. This change ensures that all facility users are adequately covered, reducing the Township’s financial exposure and administrative burden in the event of accidents or damages. Another change in the schedules this year is, in the past, all community services fees ran from May 1 to April 30, and we’re proposing moving forward, that this timeline only applied to the arena because it aligns with their ice time.
Councillor Nancy Demarest later expressed concern about the insurance aspect of the update.
“A lot of the time, when our halls get rented, it’s for non-profits who sometimes have their own insurance, or for fundraising events, and I’m concerned that we might make it somewhat unaffordable for some of them,” she said. “I think if we’re going to implement this, I think we really have to monitor to see if we’re turning away opportunities to rent by increasing that.”
CAO Josh Brick suggested that staff could provide a high-level overview of the insurance expenses for the next council meeting.
Clerk’s Report
Sarah Matheson, the Township’s Director of Corporate Services and Clerk, brought forward a report in regards to entering into an agreement with internet and telephone voting providers for the upcoming 2026 municipal election.
Having already voted to go forward with the internet and telephone voting process back in May, Matheson explained that the Township of Blanford-Blenheim collaborated with the Township of East Zorra-Tavistock, the Township of South-West Oxford, the Township of Zorra, and the Town of Tillsonburg to release an RFP for services.
According to her report, six bid submissions were received and verified for compliance by staff, and the highest-ranking proponent was Intelivote Systems Inc.
The cost associated with Intelivote Systems Inc. proposal for the Township of Blandford-Blenheim is $16,788.00 before HST.
Matheson’s report adds that voter list management is also required during the 2026 Municipal Election and that Blandford-Blenheim will receive the list of eligible electors from Elections Ontario.
“Using DataFix’s Municipal VoterView (MVV) platform, staff will scrub the existing list. MVV fully integrates with Intelivote Systems Inc. to reflect any changes, additions or deletions to the voter list,” read the report. “Once the work has been completed in MVV, a file will be imported to Intelivote to assign a unique PIN to each elector. Any modifications to the file that need to be made during the election period are done real time and stored by Datafix on the Intelivote system. The voter list and assigned voting credentials are then used as the basis to create Voter Instruction Letters for the voters. Specific instructions and timelines, voting website addresses and toll-free phone numbers, voter assistance phone numbers, and ballot options are all predesigned and included in the mail out.”
DataFix’s MVV platform is quoted at $8,350, excluding HST. The total estimated election cost will therefore be $25,138 and funded by the election reserve fund.
Peterson later said that he was interested in seeing if the new programming will improve the number of voter turnout.
“I’m really curious to see where the numbers next year, whether it’s higher or not, and I’m very curious to see if the demographic has changed from a senior group to say, possibly a younger group,” he said.
Council then unanimously approved the direction.
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.
