Grey Highlands Regular Council — Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Talisman heritage motion withdrawn Mayor McQueen replaced a previously tabled notice of motion — which had proposed heritage evaluation and interim protection of the former Talisman Mountain Resort at 150 Talisman Mountain Drive — with a new motion drafted by Bruce Trail Conservancy CEO Michael McDonald. The replacement directs Mayor McQueen and McDonald to meet with municipal staff for good-faith exploratory talks on the site’s future consistent with BTC’s conservation mission, with staff to report back. The swap required and received a two-thirds majority. Councillor Dubey (BTC volunteer) declared a conflict and recused himself. Council unanimously waived its five-speaker open-forum cap to allow all nine registered delegations to speak. McDonald appeared virtually, welcoming “a far less adversarial approach”; other delegates raised estimated ongoing building maintenance costs of $30,000 per month and the longstanding mold damage inside the vacant structures.
Solid Waste Management Master Plan Council adopted in principle a 30-year plan prepared by EXP consultants targeting an increase in the municipal diversion rate from roughly 30% to 43%. The Hall-Markdale landfill is projected to reach Grey Highlands’ capacity around 2046; a recently acquired shredder is expected to push that date further. Per-household costs are projected to rise from $263 to $323 by year six, with a five-year implementation cost estimated at approximately $1.5 million. A curbside organics (green bin) program is identified as the single largest cost driver and will proceed through the budget process. The waste collection contract expires in about a year and will be retendered in 2027.
Rockland Arena Roughly 365 residents rallied around the mold-contaminated arena the previous Saturday. Air scrubbers remain in place; no further staff action is planned until the incoming council provides direction in December. A delegate noted a 2012 municipal assessment already documented roof water intrusion with no recorded follow-up remediation, and urged a root-cause investigation over continued patch repairs. Friends of Rockland Arena have raised over $225,000; council directed staff to work with the group on an ad hoc basis.
Speed limits A notice of motion carried unanimously directing a staff report on reducing the default municipal road speed limit from 50 to 40 km/h. An amendment — drawn from Community Safety Committee data showing pedestrian survival rates of 90% at 30 km/h versus 15% at 50 km/h — adds a direction to investigate 30 km/h in school zones. The incoming council will act on the report.
Beaver bounty program Council approved Bylaw 2026-105 repealing the previous bounty bylaw after the County of Grey amended its program to exclude public lands, effectively downloading costs to municipalities. Council voted separately to advocate to the County to reinstate eligibility for municipal and county lands under bylaws 5299-26 and 5300-26.
Also decided: Council received the final Lake Management Task Force report covering four Grey Highlands lakes and directed staff to report back on implementing up to nine near-term recommendations. A $50,000 payment to South East Grey Community Health Centre was authorized and Bylaw 2026-104 executed. Bylaw 2026-106 established a four-way stop at Incement Street and Can Robert Street in Eugenia. Heritage-listed property owners who do not respond to a relocation request by December 31 will have their properties moved to the municipal cultural heritage inventory. This was the final regular meeting of the 2022–2026 council term; the inaugural meeting for incoming council is set for November 23.