Notes from the regular Council meeting, which was held on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
Staff Reports
2026 Gravel Tender Results
The report, prepared by Jim Borton, Director of Public Works, asked that Council accept a tender for the supply, crushing, loading, weighing and placement of gravel along the Township’s roads.
According to Borton’s report, the Township adds gravel to approximately 70 kilometres of its 210-kilometre gravel road network every year.
“The Township puts out an annual gravel tender for the supply, crushing, loading, weighing and placement. The Township has split the roads up into three areas. In 2026 we will be doing the B cycle, which is the South roads in the Township. Staff used the online procurement site bids&tenders to run the Gravel tender,” states the report. “In our Capital work scheduled for 2026, we have the reconstruction of Township Road 3 between Blandford Road and Oxford Road 22. This tender includes the B gravel and A gravel required to complete this work.”
Noting that the municipality’s operating budget for the placement of 18,000 tonnes of granular “A” gravel was $300,000 and the capital budget for the placement of 3,000 tonnes of granular “B” and 4,000 tonnes of granular ”A” was $100,000, the Township ultimately received the following five bids for the tender:
- Summit Aggregates KW Inc. – $15.48 a tonne
- Oxford Sand and Gravel Ltd. – $16.94 a tonne
- Willson Sand and Gravel Ltd. – $18.00 a tonne
- GT Associates Engineering Services Corp. – $25.00 a tonne
- DJ Jackson Haulage Ltd. – $16.95 a tonne
The report’s recommendation was to ultimately award the tender to Summit Aggregates KW Inc. for the supply, crushing and placement of approximately 22,000 tonnes of granular “A” for a total of $340,560 ($278,640 falling under the operating budget and $61,920 falling under the capital budget), and approximately 3,000 tonnes of granular “B” for a total of $46,440 under the capital budget.
The material will be supplied from the company’s pit in Ayr at 2686 Greenfield Rd.
“Staff is recommending that the contract be awarded to Summit Aggregates KW Inc.,” stated the report. “Staff has confirmed that the gravel is of good quality and a sieve analysis will be provided once awarded. Summit will be supplying a scale calibration and ensures the Township that they can supply enough trucks to meet the 2,000 tonne per day application.”
Mayor Mark Peterson later said he researched the company and saw that it’s received good reviews.
Councillor Daryl Barnes asked Borton if the shoulders will be taken off the roads before the new gravel is placed, and the director of public works confirmed that yes, that would happen once the frost is completely gone.
Council then voted in favour of accepting the tender bid.
Public Works Monthly Report for March
The report, prepared by Borton, provided the following update in regards to the activities of the Public Works Department.
Capital Infrastructure:
- Princeton Phase 4: Borton said that the phase was not completed in 2025 as expected, but that the drain infrastructure and base asphalt are completed.
He said that Cassidy Construction will be returning in the spring once the weather breaks to complete the missing sidewalk pieces, driveways, topsoil and sod. Once the weather is more ideal, the Township, KSmart and the contractor will complete an inspection to identify any issues that need to be fixed before the contractor is finished.
“Cassidy Construction will be back in Princeton come April to finish all of the driveways and sod. They’ve talked to their sod contractor and they are anxious to get in and once everything dries up, they can get started putting topsoil and sod down,” Borton told Council. “Unortunately, the asphalt plants, don’t typically open until May 1 but they will be on-site prepping with the gravel, making it easier for residents to get in their driveways.”
- Princeton Phase 5: The final phase includes the raising of manholes, completing the curb work, top lift of asphalt and the installation of a pedestrian crosswalk on Main Street at Elgin Street. Borton noted that the tender document is being prepared and will go out this April.
- Bridge 24: The Township’s engineers are compiling the last of the Environmental Assessment (EA) reports so that the study can be filed with the Ministry of the Environment. The tender will be completed and posted for bidding early this year with construction scheduled to start in July.
“Once we have the approval from our Indigenous partners, we can close this EA, get the tender out with hopefully a start date of July 1,” Borton told Council. “Now, with the in-water work, the GRCA will not allow us to do anything before July 1, but we are hoping to have everything in place so the contractor will be ready to start then.”
- Bridge 23: Staff has had the pre-construction meeting, and the contractor has indicated that he is planning to start at the end of April or early May. The project is expected to take six to eight weeks to complete.
Association of Ontario Road Supervisors (AORS):
Borton told Council that at the recent Good Roads Conference in Toronto, he had the opportunity to be involved in several delegations with the Liberal Caucus, the Ministry of Infrastructure, Ministry of Rural Affairs and Ministry of Transportation.
He noted that part of the discussions included the abuse and harassment of public works employees, specifically in regards to winter maintenance operators.
“We [AORS] will be supplying both the Ministry of Transportation, the Liberal Caucus and the MTO with more data-based results,” said Borton. “One of the biggest questions that we got was, ‘Is this a geographical problem?’ We assured them that no, this was an Ontario-wide problem.”
Borton also brought up how the province of Manitoba has strengthened its rules around motorists’ behavior around snowplows and other winter maintenance vehicles.
“Essentially, on a road that’s 80 kilometres and under, you would have to stay back 30 metres,” explained Borton. “Anything 80 kilometers and above, you would have to stay back 100 metres. It gives the [snowplow] drivers some protection. …Since the Province of Manitoba has passed it, we’re [AORS] trying to get that from the province of Ontario to pass that as well.
Infrastructure Maintenance:
Borton’s report states that Public Works staff continue to deal with winter maintenance activities. As the weather starts to warm up and winter passes, other activities like grading roads, filling potholes, replacing signs and sign posts, removing body wood from ditches and assessing damage to sod and grass boulevards, are keeping staff busy.
Public Works has also been:
- Reviewing and approving road permits that would allow Xplorenet to use the Township right of way to run fibreoptic cable in the Township.
- Working with MESH, the Public Works service coordinator, Community Services and the Drainage Superintendent to create an on-line check list for equipment inspections and patrols.
- Looking into park inspections and some activities at the Plattsville Arena.
- Working with Geotab for staff to use the vehicle inspection and Hours of Service app.
- Continuing to meet with landowners at outdoor sites to discuss ditch or road issues.
- Reviewing upcoming 2026 projects and working on work schedules.
After receiving the report for information, Peterson told Council that the CN Rail has patched the railway tracks in Princeton. The issue has been ongoing for several months and Peterson as well as staff have been, and will continue to try to have the issue resolved correctly.
“I sure hope that isn’t going to be their permanent fix,” said Peterson. “I know I did get an email saying that they were going to come out and repair it by the end of April, so I’m hoping that this is the temporary fix. To be honest with you, I don’t know why they even did what they did, because it did absolutely nothing, as far as I’m concerned.”
Community Services Department monthly report for March
Trevor Baer, Blandford-Blenheim’s Director of Community Services, provided the following update in regards to the activities of the Township’s Community Services Department:
- The Plattsville Arena hosted the Little Brave Minor Hockey Tournament over March Break. The tournament ran from Monday through Friday, welcoming a total of 25 teams.
Each day featured a different age group, resulting in consistent daily usage of the facility and strong community engagement throughout the week - The Plattsville Figure Skating Club successfully held their year-end ice show and showcased local talent, marking the conclusion of their season. Staff are also currently preparing for the seasonal transition as the arena is scheduled to shut down on March 30, 2026.
- Staff are working to ensure all park spaces are ready for the upcoming season. Work includes: opening washroom facilities, installing garbage receptacles, and completing general site cleanup. Cemetery operations are also being prepared for the season, including general grounds maintenance and site readiness. All parks are expected to be fully operational by May 1, 2026, including washrooms and waste services.
- Recruitment efforts for summer staffing have progressed and interviews for seasonal student positions have been completed. Staff will be selected and onboarded in preparation for the busy summer season.
- Staff are also continuing to develop the Ice Allocation Policy for the Plattsville Arena. This policy is intended to improve fairness, transparency, and overall utilization of ice time. A report will be brought forward to Council in the future for review and adoption.
Delegations
- Conservation Authority Consolidation Update
Ingersoll Mayor Brian Petrie, who serves as Chair for the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, visited Council to share a presentation on the Province of Ontario’s conservation authority consolidation announcement.
On March 10, 2026, the Government of Ontario announced that the province’s 36 independent conservation authorities will be condensed into nine regional organizations, to be in operation and implemented by 2027.
Petrie said he’s since been going around to various municipalities sharing information in regards to what they can expect from the change.
“There’s a lot of changes that are happening and a lot of information is missing from that change,” he said. “But the important thing is that we continue to communicate through this change that the Upper Thames [conservation authority] will still be there, operating until they tell us not to be.”
Petrie told Council that once the consolidation happens, a small piece of Blandford-Blenhem will fall under the Western Lake Erie Regional Conservation Authority, but also part of the Eastern Lake Erie Regional Conservation Authority with the Grand River.
“Oxford County is a little bit unique in this because we kind of do things differently than a lot of municipalities already, but the biggest thing you’re going to see is in the governance side of things,” said Petrie. “The Province is still saying they are going to be municipality governed, but really, who’s going to be doing that is what’s going to be changing. It’s going to be upper tiers and single tier municipalities only. Right now, Oxford county does pay the levy that’s involved there, but you have local representation. …We’ve tried very hard on the board to have rural and urban representation and the biggest concern is that you’re going to lose that local voice and knowledge which is very important in policy making.”
Following a lengthy back and forth discussion about the changes and what it will mean for different municipalities, Council accepted the presentation as information. To see the full presentation, please visit: https://pub-blandfordblenheim.escribemeetings.com/FileStream.ashx?DocumentId=1095
- 2026 Tourism Oxford Update
Meredith Maywood, Tourism Manager for Oxford County, presented Council with an update in regards to the 2026 Tourism Oxford Update.
During her presentation, Maywood shared the importance of tourism, noting that it helps diversify local economies.
She also shared that data from Ontario’s Southwest and Symphony Tourism Services shows that visitors from Canada and the U.S. took an estimated 1,380,700 trips to Oxford County in 2025, up from 1,196,300 in 2024.
Maywood also shared that a visitor survey shows that September to October and July to August are the most frequently chosen months to visit Oxford County.
Eighty-eight per cent of people said they would likely return, 83 per cent are likely to recommend friends and family to visit Oxford County.
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.
