Highlights from the Nov. 6 Council Meeting

Woodstock – Thursday’s Council meeting began at 1:30 p.m. and wrapped up around 3:30 p.m. Agenda items of note include, 

The items of note include:  

Funding for Food Rescue

Council received a presentation from the Food Rescue Hub asking them to support the recommendation from the Mayor's Task Force to provide the Hub with a one-time donation to help secure and equip a warehouse space. The Food Rescue Hub will serve as a central system to rescue surplus foods from restaurants, farms and other producers and redistribute it to those in need. The funding will assist with securing warehouse space, refrigeration, shelving, renovations, chattels, insurance, and training. The group has already received donations to cover 50 per cent of the anticipated start-up costs. The group is also collaborating with volunteers and other community organizations to help address this urgent issue affecting one in four households across Oxford County. Council not only approved the recommendation from the Mayor’s Task Force to allocate $50,000 from the Community and Social Well-Being Reserve to assist with start-up funds for the Food Rescue Hub, but they also approved an additional $50,000 from the Community Grants funds to ensure the group has sufficient funds to get the Food Rescue Hub up and running to help individuals and families in need.  

Cowan Fields

Council authorized the Mayor and staff to submit a draft plan of subdivision application with Oxford County as the next step in the development of Cowan Fields. This area is proposed to be the future home of the North Woodstock Recreation Facility. The plan of subdivision is a planning requirement that outlines the location of new streets and how the blocks of land within the area will be used.

City Hall Expansion

There was a report on the agenda seeking direction on two questions related to the proposed future expansion of City Hall to allow staff to get revised design proposals for a possible scaled-down expansion. Council decided instead to receive the report as information and not provide direction to staff at this time. The expansion project is currently included in the 2028 capital budget forecast for budget planning purposes. Council has not approved an expansion of City Hall at this time and will have the opportunity to provide further direction to staff if they choose to during the capital budget process which gets underway at the next Council meeting on Nov. 20.  

Southside Park Expansion

The agenda also included an update on the expansion of Southside Park. The park, as it stands today, is just over 26 hectares and focuses on active recreation and sports. The expansion will add another 25 hectares and offer more passive recreation facilities and provide a connection to natural environments.  

Work to date has focused on addressing safety concerns, planning around access points and natural features that should be highlighted or enhanced and environmental initiatives like management of invasive species as well as tree and pollinator plantings. Proposed future work, which is subject to approval through the capital budget process, will be the creation of a primary paved trail through the expanded section of the park, along with secondary and tertiary trails branching off the primary trail, a community garden, outdoor education area and other gathering spots.    

Community Grants

Council awarded grants to nine community organizations as part of the 2025 Fall Community Grants program. The committee recommended the following for Council’s approval: 

 Applications for the community grant program are accepted during two intake periods each year, with the next intake period running from Jan. 2 – March 2, 2026. 

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.