Highlights from the Dec. 11 Council Meeting

Woodstock – Woodstock City Council’s last meeting of 2025 got underway at 7 p.m. Thursday evening with presentations from several delegations.

It was a busy agenda, which included the following items of note:

Capital Budget Overview

The 2026 capital budget, which came in at just over $38 million, has now been adopted. Some of the initiatives included in the 2026 capital budget are:

• Initial expansion of Southside Park to the south of Parkinson Road, starting with the construction of a paved multiuse trail, community garden and parking areas. Future phases of the expansion will include secondary trail connections, natural playground and outdoor education space.

• Funding to allow for the purchase of accessible surfacing to improve access to City events for people with mobility challenges.
• Replacement of indoor turf at Cowan Park Sportsplex.
• Construction of a new park in the Sally Creek neighbourhood.

Council also voted in favour of:

• Deferring the funding allocation for the demolition of 478-484 Dundas St. to 2027 and approving $50,000 funding to allow for further investigation into alternate uses for the building which could include public washrooms, storage facilities, municipal space and a potential business incubator space.
• Adding a $5,000,000 placeholder to the 2027 capital budget forecast for the construction of a new outdoor pool with direction to staff to bring back a report to Council with possible locations, costs and funding sources.

The projects identified in the capital budget support the maintenance or replacement of existing assets as well as funding for new or growth-related capital assets. Funding for capital budget projects comes from a variety of sources including a contribution from the operating budget, reserve funds, debt and various capital grants.

Although changes were introduced in 2023 under the strong mayor legislation that shifts the authority of the budget to the head of Council, Mayor Acchione once again provided direction to staff to prepare and present the budget for Council’s consideration, consistent with the City’s historical budget process. Last night, Council approved a resolution to shorten the amendment period and the mayor waived his veto period, which allowed the Capital Budget to be deemed adopted for the 2026 year.

The operating budget process will begin in February 2026. Information about the proposed budget and the scheduled budget meeting dates is available at www.cityofwoodstock.ca/budget

Property Standards Bylaws

Council approved updates to two bylaws regulating maintenance standards for properties. The changes provide clearer direction on maintenance requirements and make it easier for staff to enforce and address violations. Council identified the need to update these bylaws as part of their Strategic Plan reprioritization to help enhance the vibrancy of the downtown core by increasing standards for vacant properties.

Elevator Repairs at Museum

Council approved the use of funds left over from the cupola restoration to repair the elevator at the Museum. The elevator has been out of service since Nov. 16 and the parts could take more than two and a half months to arrive. Staff can now proceed with this urgent repair to restore barrier-free access to the Museum.

Traffic Bylaw

Council also approved changes to the City’s traffic bylaw. The updates added no-parking and no-stopping regulations to some streets to improve safety and address operational issues, as well as adding all-way stop signs at the intersections of:

• Clarke and Warwick Streets
• Brant Street and Victoria Street North

Approval of 2025 Annual Status Report for the Accessibility Plan

Under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, the City is required to develop and maintain a multi-year accessibility plan and provide an annual status report on the progress towards implementing the actions identified in the plan. Council approved the 2025 status report of the 2023-2027 Multi-Year Accessibility Plan. Some of the actions included in the 2025 status update include:

• Completion of Phase 1 and 2 of the Downtown Streetscape which addressed surface issues and implemented colour blocking for those with visual impairments.
• Construction of an accessible splash pad and walkway Cowan Park Sportsplex.
• Playground and pathways at Homer Brown Park, Northland Park and Finkle Street.
• Expansion of South Gate Centre including accessible washroom upgrades, accessible drop off zone

125^th Anniversary Budget Approved

Council approved funding for the 125^th Anniversary initiatives that will be organized throughout 2026. The projects will be funded from the interest accrued on the Slot Machine Reserve Fund. Staff expects to secure some grant funding as well as private sponsorships to help offset the cost of the planned programming. You can learn more about the events and opportunities at www.woodstock125.ca

Waste Changes

Staff provided an update on the upcoming changes to the County’s waste collection program. Since the report was submitted, the County and City received confirmation that the recycling schedule will be moved from bi-weekly collection to align with the new six-day rotating schedule. This means garbage, organics and recycling will all be collected on the same day. The schedule is available on the City and County websites and will be mailed to all homes in Woodstock.

With the move to the new province-wide recycling program, materials eligible for the curbside collection program, including Styrofoam, can no longer be accepted at the EnviroDepot. Dec. 30 will be the last day household recycling and Styrofoam will be accepted at the EnviroDepot. Staff will undertake a service review of the depot as the impacts of the new waste collection program become known to determine how it can best serve the community and continue to help divert waste from the landfill.

Small businesses, municipal buildings or institutions (libraries, arenas), childcare centres, places of worship and campgrounds are not included in the new province-wide blue box recycling program. To fill this gap, Oxford County will begin offering recycling collection service to this sector in addition to green bin organic collection. Businesses and multi-residential properties must register with the County at www.oxfordcounty.ca/new-waste-collection

Find details on the changes at www.cityofwoodstock.ca/new-waste-collection

Details about all the agenda items and topics discussed during the council meeting can be found at www.cityofwoodstock.ca/agendasandminutes. Council meetings are live streamed on the City’s YouTube channel and recordings of the meetings are posted online following the meetings.

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