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By Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press

Essex County Council received a report outlining the departmental activities and performance – active and completed approvals – of the Planning Services Division over the past year for information.

It also provided some comparisons to activity over the past five-years, in addition to comments on the Planning Division actions toward achieving goals outlined in the County’s Strategic Plan and initiatives detailed in the Official Plan adopted in 2024, Rebecca Belanger, Manager of Planning, explained to County Council at the July 16 meeting.

The Planning Services Division – consisting of a manager, two senior planners, and a summer student – for the County of Essex facilitates the approval of planning applications on behalf of the province in conformity of all sections of the Planning Act, as well as other provincial and federal legislation.

“The Planning Services Administration continue to focus efforts on streamlining the development approvals process and to improve service delivery,” Belanger said.

On a few different occasions over the past couple of years, the staff members of this County department have received correspondence from the Windsor-Essex Home Builders’ Association, providing recommendations from their perspective on how the County could improve the experience in the developmental approvals process, Belanger explained.

“I’m in regular communication with the Home Builders Association representatives, working on these continuous improvements to remove red tape and continue making these improvements,” she said.

One of the improvements currently underway include the implementation of the Cloudpermit Planning module, which the County is in the process of building presently. This will provide a web-based platform for processing the subdivision and condominium applications County-wide.

“This web-based platform will allow developers, agencies, local municipalities, and the County to share application updates on a live basis,” Belanger said, noting this will ensure all users have the same information at the same time.

The implementation of Cloudpermit accomplishes one of the County’s Strategic Plan objectives, which encourages more regional collaboration through harmonizing planning approvals.

Kingsville Mayor Dennis Rogers was pleased to hear of this collaboration, noting what is heard at the local level is how much back-and-forth there is on Plans of Subdivision and Condominium.

The County’s Planning Services Division has noticed an increase in the number of applications that are processed.

In 2019, Belanger recalled reporting to County Council there were 30 development applications in process at that time, particularly relating to subdivisions.

Presently, this department has over 150 planning applications in process, Belanger added.

“In the last two-years, there has been a notable increase in the number of condominium applications submitted for approval. Many involve the redevelopment of lands within the urban centers in the County, which utilize existing municipal services and support healthy, sustainable communities.”

The processing of subdivision applications in particular involves a significant time-allocation of planning application and reviewing support studies – such as functional servicing, stormwater management, traffic and environmental impact assessments – in collaboration with agencies and local municipalities.

“The complexity in processing each application is unique, based on a series of circumstances,” she explained.

County Planning provides four-broad service areas: long-range planning, processing and approving planning applications, managing special projects, and responding to public and agency inquiries.

In terms of special projects, the Planning Department is currently working on the preparation of a large-scale Community Improvement Plan (CIP) program guideline, which should be presented to County Council later this summer. Staff is also working on including a new natural heritage compensation guideline in the County Environmental Impact Assessment, planned to be tabled this summer or early fall.

In addition, the Request for Proposal to retain a consultant to prepare the Specialty Crops Study is planned for procurement in the coming months, with the project ongoing this fall and winter.

Planning staff, Belanger added, is also heavily involved in the development of the Coastal Resilience Plan for the south-shore communities of the County. The outcome of this work is intended to be transferable to the other remaining communities in the County. Work will continue over the coming years, she added.

By Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press

Administration for the County of Essex has been directed to prepare a letter and submit it to the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO) in support of the Windsor to Lakeshore Transmission Project.

The ERO has requested feedback on the proposed Windsor to Lakeshore Transmission Project; a double-circuit 230-kilovolt transmission line from Lauzon Transformer Station (TS) in Windsor to Lakeshore TS in Lakeshore, and associated station facilities.

County CAO Sandra Zwiers spoke of the Longwood Project, which is providing a transmission corridor from Chatham into Lakeshore.

“This is the next phase of the development that takes that power source and moves it right across the northern-stretch of Essex County into the City of Windsor,” Zwiers explained. “Based on our experience in the Longwood to Lakeshore Transmission Line – and the Warden [Hilda MacDonald] and I have had a number of dedicated meetings with the Ministry and with Hydro One on this project – we are excited to continue that collaboration, consultation with the Ministry on this next important length of the transmission project.”

She sought County Council’s permission during the July 16 meeting to provide the letter of support to the ERO.

“Administratively, we believe this is a really important continuation of work that is already being done in the region, but we will continue to unlock economic and growth potential and address some consistency and resiliency issues that we already see facing our hydro structure in the region,” Zwiers added.

Key benefits of the project she outlined included providing reliable power for residents and businesses, support for economic growth and agri-business, sustainability and climate leadership, improved quality of life, infrastructure readiness for the future, and stronger rural and agriculture resilience.

“We would be formulating those benefits – and any other County Council wishes to add this evening – to a letter of support.”

Considering this transmission project will pass through Lakeshore and Tecumseh, Zwiers said she did reach out to the CAOs of both of the municipalities. Feedback received was that the County’s letter of support also included a reminder to continue that dedicated collaboration and consultation with these two communities, in addition to the County of Essex.

“It is important that those lines [of communication] remain clear and open, considering their residents would be primarily most-affected as this project unfolds and gets things constructed. We are certainly willing to do that as well,” Zwiers added.

She also received correspondence from the Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus, Kate Burns-Gallagher, who expressed support on behalf of her organization for any letter the County may submit to the ERO.

Tecumseh Council is in full support Mayor Gary McNamara said.

“The region is in dire need, and if we are to expand our ability to attract new investment into the region – and even for our own sustainability in terms of housing and also to deal with climate change – it is very important for us to move forward.”

Lakeshore Mayor Tracey Bailey thanked Zwiers for her leadership on the project and connection with the communities most impacted. She was happy to support the motion.

There is no cost to the County of Essex to support this project.

By Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press

The Harrow Early Immigrant Research Society (HEIRS) volunteers have recently completed a scanning project in cooperation with the Town of Essex’s Clerk’s Department.

With a mission to promote and advocate for the preservation and study of genealogical and local history in the original Township of Colchester, in part, through the collection and preservation of print artifacts and written materials related to local history, HEIRS volunteers set out to scan and digitize as many of the handwritten minutes and by-laws that could be located.

To date, HEIRS has scanned and digitized 28,111 pages of handwritten records. That includes minutes and by-laws of Colchester North, minutes of Colchester South, minutes of Colchester Township, minutes and by-laws of the Village of Essex Centre, Essex Town by-laws and minutes, and Harrow minutes.

The range of years goes back to as early as 1859 to the most recent being 1964.

Laurie Brett, Secretary/Treasurer of HEIRS, explained she approached the Town’s Clerk’s Department around a year ago and received permission to undertake this large-scale project.

HEIRS scanned from three different record types, including large bound books into which the Clerks would write with pen, binders of quasi-official and looseleaf minutes and by-laws some of the clerks maintained, and microfilm reels of early Colchester South and Colchester North that were in the HEIRS resource collection.

Throughout the course of undertaking the scanning project, Brett said it was discovered many young people, including some of HEIRS’s volunteers, cannot read cursive writing, which was used in record keeping.

“Advances in handwriting technology have made it possible to scan these pages, transcribe them, and make them searchable,” Brett explained to Essex Council at the July 16 meeting when explaining the project.

Unfortunately, technology can’t always compensate for faded type, ink blots, or damage.

“A poor choice of a pen 100-years ago often means we are dealing with faded type today. More tragic than that is when pages start to decompose, due to adverse environmental factors,” Brett added.

The good news is that HEIRS has been able to make the vast majority of these records searchable.

Brett acknowledged the cooperation of the Town’s Clerk’s Department on this project. “They were critical to making this project successful,” Brett said, adding the books are heavy and not easily hauled-around. She also recognized the Board members and volunteers at HEIRS, who supported this project.

With this project complete, HEIRS has turned its sights on scanning a very large collection of photographs.

She also spoke of how the 130-years worth of Essex Free Press archives was recently transported to the Leddy Library Archives and Special Collections at the University of Windsor.

“Preserving the original print copies of our local newspapers has become a pressing issue in the face of significant challenges to the industry related to financial viability, ownership changes, and newsroom closures,” Brett said, who once served as Editor and Publisher of the Essex Free Press. Her family owned the newspaper from 1896 to 2011.

She credited her husband, Art Rhyno, for his interest in ensuring the local newspapers have been digitized. He also ran the Town’s minutes and by-laws through handwriting recognition software, making them searchable.

On behalf of the Town’s Clerk’s Department, Joe Malandruccolo, Director of Legal and Legislative Services, said they are thankful for the material and the efforts.

“We have already started using some of it, especially for drainage by-laws that were hard to find and not digitized. They were hard to get through,” Malandruccolo said.

Council received the delegation, with Mayor Sherry Bondy acknowledging HEIR’s efforts on this project.

By Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press

The Town of Essex’s “Report a Problem” online platform – that allows residents to relay issues related to Town-owned infrastructure, parks, facilities, and concerns with Short Term Rental Units and town by-laws – has been updated.

Essex Council learned of the revamp, and received a presentation on the changes, at the July 7 meeting.

The online portal, powered by CityWorks, was historically managed, supported, and fully funded by the County of Essex for all local municipalities, Marc Tortola, Essex’s Manager of Strategic Communications, explained.

In 2024, however, Essex was informed the County would no longer be providing – or funding – this service, leaving municipalities to manage their own service independently.

“In anticipation of this change, the Town of Essex proactively included an upgrade to this service request portal in the 2024 Capital Project Budget,” Tortola added.

Those funds covered the cost of migrating to a standalone platform, including the initial setup fees and operating costs.

After looking into the matter, Tortola noted Essex’s administration determined continuing with CityWorks was the most cost-effective and practical solution, as it offers the necessary tools and functionality to maintain a high-level of service for residents and is familiar to Town staff.

Previously, Essex’s data was hosted on the County’s servers, and Essex’s administration worked with the CityWorks team to migrate to a cloud-based solution, which resulted in improved performance, enhanced security, and greater long-term sustainability, he added.

In addition, Tortola relayed that several system enhancements have also been made to improve the overall user experience.

Residents can access the “Report a Problem” portal as usual. There is a “Report a Problem” tab at the top of www.essex.ca, or they can log directly onto. https://www.essex.ca/en/live/report-a-problem.aspx.

This online tool allows users to not only submit a request, but they can now check on the status of their service request.

It also includes a step-by-step instructional video to help residents through the process, and a Frequently Asked Question section.

Using the tool, residents can choose the category under which the matter they are reporting to the Town falls, and allows them to provide a graphic or image of the problematic issue to help relay their concern to Town staff.

When providing the exact address of their concern, there is a tool that allows the user to draw where exactly the issue is located on the property they indicated. They can also provide additional text to describe details, giving specific direction to staff, Tortola explained.

Residents wanting to use this tool will be required to use an email to send the service request. Once uploaded, they will receive an automatic email noting it has been submitted.

An upgrade to the website, Tortola said, allows residents the ability to check the status of their service request. They can do so by going back to the “Report a Problem” page on the Town website and selecting “Check Service Request Status.”

They will need to enter their service request number, provided through email when they initially submitted the application, and their last name.

Tortola added Town administration is working with CityWorks to allow Town staff to be able to add comments to this section in the future.

In answering Councillor Joe Garon’s question on how large of a file can be uploaded and if video could also be added, Tortola believes any file type can be dropped. He will look into it and check to see if a video will indeed work as he too sees that as a helpful resource.

Garon would like to see adding a phone number and address of the individual submitting the request be mandatory to ensure seriousness of complaints, and that the system require residents to type in their email twice to ensure it is correct.

He also believes Councillors should be notified of complaints made in their wards, so they will be in the know. This system was made to allow residents to go directly to Town departments with issues, and he noted Council has a right to know about the issues.

Councillor Katie McGuire-Blais would also like to be informed of complaints in her ward, and suggested that could be done in a monthly summary.

Tortola noted information can be pulled into a spreadsheet to create a report. Director of Legal and Legislative Services, Joe Malandruccolo, noted staff will have to ensure any data shared with Council complies with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

CAO Kate Giurissevich added that the Town already reports annually on the summary of tickets, and she believes this enhancement will allow for that to be done more frequently and provide Council with an idea where problem areas are.

McGuire-Blais also suggested a new page be automatic when telling residents their submission was successfully uploaded, so they do not miss it as that indication line opens up and disappears quickly.

Tortola said there is no way to change that currently, but the feedback was sent to CityWork to perhaps look into creating that option in the future.

Deputy Mayor Rob Shepley liked that the Town was moving in the right direction, and also would like a report sent to Council with data that can be shared on issues.

In answering Mayor Sherry Bondy’s question on whether this will be easier to use on a phone than the former version of the tool, Tortola said the new system is much more mobile-friendly.

In addition, Bondy asked if there is anything on the website about confidentiality, knowing some residents may want to complain about property standards of a neighbour, for instance. Tortola noted there is a confidentiality statement on the Report a Problem website.

Bondy had concerns with identifying information and ensuring confidentiality.

“I think we have to be really careful what format that information comes to Council in,” Bondy said.

Council received the presentation for information.

By Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press

The Town of Essex will install a new air conditioner and generator at the Harrow and Colchester South Community Centre.

These upgrades will ensure the facility can be used as an evacuation shelter, should the need ever arise.

During the July 7 meeting, Council for the Town of Essex awarded the supply and install of a generator at the Harrow and Colchester South Community Centre to Anchor Hydro for $146,784.73, including non-refundable Harmonized Sales Tax. Of the cost, $97,300 will come from the Green Municipal Grant Funding provided through Federation of Canadian Municipalities for this project.

In the report Director of Community Services, Jake Morassut, prepared for Council on the matter, it highlights that back in 2023 the Town of Essex endured several natural disasters and extreme weather events.

“In response to these events, and to help the residents in our community, the Town opened Emergency Relief Shelters at both the Essex Center Sports Complex and the Harrow and Colchester South Community Centre. During one of these events, power was lost to the facilities and the shelters had to be closed.”

After reviewing the situation, Council asked administration to investigate options for the installation of back-up generators at the Town’s arena facilities.

Upon looking into the matter, Morassut noted the cost to connect the entire facility to the generator was extremely high. Administration worked with electrical contractors and engineers to develop a design that will power the essential portions of the facility if the Emergency Relief Shelters were opened.

“This greatly reduced the financial cost of the project,” he outlined.

Anchor Hydro was the lowest compliant bidder, meeting all the technical requirements, of the seven received, the report adds. As this capital project falls within the approved budget of $160,780.80, there is no financial impact.

“Sounds like a great project,” Essex Mayor Sherry Bondy said, asking administration to look into how to send a letter of thanks to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities for the financial contribution.

By Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press

Staff for the Town of Essex will provide Council with a written update regarding the Essex Sport Fields project during the 2026 Town of Essex budget deliberations, which will take place in late fall.

Councillor Kim Verbeek first presented this matter at the June 16 regular Council Meeting as a Notice of Motion, and Council supported it at the July 7 meeting.

What drove Verbeek to introduce this motion to Council came from concerns she heard from the local soccer community. She said rumours were circulating that soccer players would be without somewhere to play in Essex Centre, as the Hanlan Street extension was going to start long before the Essex Sports Fields, located on Batten Side Road on the south-side of Highway 3, were ready to be in use.

“I think there will be wholesome discussion in a few months when we get a full report,” Verbeek said, adding an update to Council on this matter would be helpful.

Jake Morassut, Director of Community Services, said in the foreseeable future there is nothing that would interfere with use on the current fields.

The Town has taken steps recently to provide a water line to the developing Essex Sports Fields to help allow the specialty grass to grow, which did not take last year. Relying on Mother Nature to provide a sufficient water source in the form of rain, he added, was tough to rely on.

The Town of Essex is anticipating a soft opening of the Essex Sports Fields next year, where both the current and new fields will be in use, so the Sports Fields are not over used in its early stages.

He added that because the Town was recently made aware it was unsuccessful in getting a grant to help support the development of the Essex Sports Fields, he is working on a long-term funding model. That will be presented to Council around 2026 Budget deliberations.

Councillor Katie McGuire-Blais believes what sparked the aforementioned rumours was that concrete barriers were put up next to the existing soccer fields. She asked Town staff why they were placed there.

Director of Infrastructure Services, Kevin Girard, explained the concrete barriers were put up because the road between the soccer complex and Holy Name Catholic Elementary School is not a public road, built as a construction access for the Woodview Subdivision. At the request of the school and the Town’s Public Works Department, the concrete barriers were put in place to limit risk of liability and injury.

When they were put in place, Girard said there was a lot of ice, posing potential risks of students and parents slipping and falling, so the decision was made to block the road off.

McGuire-Blais asked Verbeek to clarify what she wanted in this report because “when we say ‘can we get a report,’ it doesn’t quite give us what we are looking for.”

Verbeek would like the report to lay out a timeline, and clarify each piece associated with the future facility as they will need to be addressed in future budgets in looking at what the Town can afford without counting on grants. If the Town receives grants in the future, that could potentially speed up the project.

“I think the community has got this grand picture, and they are just like ‘when is this going to happen,’” Verbeek said.

The Essex Sports Fields will be completed, but it will be over a great deal of time, one piece at a time.

Councillor Joe Garon said there is already a plan in place in that there is a need to have the new soccer fields across Highway 3, the Capital Roads Plan has the Hanlan Extension scheduled tentatively in 2028. He believes baseball will follow there.

The difficulty from administration’s end is knowing how aggressive Council wants to be in its approach on the matter, Morassut added. He noted a 10-15-year plan could be created, or a funding model could come back to have everything done in a year or two.

He said they will do their best to come up with a plan believed to be reasonable. When it is presented, Council feedback will be sought as to how the funding model and timeline should look.

Mayor Sherry Bondy thanked Verbeek for bringing the matter forward, noting it is key, heading into budget time, what projects are going to cost. This will also help outline the tax increase that could impact residents, if anyone provides grief on the slower approach.

In garnering public feedback at budget time previously, the majority of responding residents have noted roads is the top priority. That makes it difficult to justify spending millions of dollars on recreation.

“People assume the Town has lots of money, but when you are sitting here, we understand that there are a lot of priorities and not a lot of money,” Bondy added.

The report, she continued, will be helpful in showing what amenities planned for the park will cost. Then, the Town can go after naming rights, which will help save taxpayer dollars. It will also help to outline information for when the Town finds another grant for which it could apply.

By Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press

Council for the Town of Essex supported Mayor Sherry Bondy in directing Town administration to draft a letter to the Windsor Essex County Health Unit, asking when and why they shut down County beaches and measures the municipality can take to avoid beach closures this summer and in the future.

As the matter was minor and urgent in nature, Bondy was able to raise it under New Business during the July 7 meeting, instead of having to go through the Notice of Motion process, which would have delayed a decision two-weeks, when the next regular Council meeting is scheduled to take place.

This is a matter about which Bondy believes a conversation needs to be had.

She would like to ask the Health Unit what its methodology is in terms of determining when a beach should be closed, and if its reps know how the Town of Essex could prevent future closures.

“I know we have only had one warning on our beach this summer,” but she wanted to start dialogue with the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) and Source Water Protection in seeing what the municipality can do to prevent closures at its Colchester Beach.

That can look into seeing if fishflies, goose droppings, or sanitary septic systems that are hot tapping into the lake are the issue.

“We worked so hard to bring people down to our beach,” she said. For example, last summer family members of hers from out-of-town rented rooms to stay in the area and the beach ended-up being closed.

“It is kind of a kick in the gut when you can’t use the beach,” she said.

Councillor Jason Matyi thanked Bondy for bringing this matter forward.

“Our water protection is kind of lacking right now,” he said, noting conversations used to be held freely with the neighbours to the south about source water protection. “To get more eyes looking at it, to get the Health Unit involved to find out if there are things we can do to help at the municipal-level, I think this is a great conversation to have. I am really looking forward to the information we are going to get back from this.”