Highlights from the Sept. 18 Council Meeting

Woodstock – Thursday’s Council meeting began at 7 p.m. following a closed session. Council heard presentations from several delegations to start the meeting, including one from the Woodstock Environment Advisory Committee (WEAC). Council approved a request from WEAC to submit an application for Woodstock to be designated as a Bird Friendly City by Nature Canada. This designation is awarded to communities that meet or exceed standards for reducing threats to birds, protecting and restoring natural habitat and increasing climate resiliency and engaging their community through education and outreach.

Civic Centre Arena

A report from staff provided an update on the future of the Civic Centre Arena. The single-pad arena, built in 1970, has faced ongoing maintenance issues over the past several years due to its aging infrastructure. The 2021 Recreation Facility Needs Study recommended a single pad with room to expand be built at Cowan Fields, but the 2024 North Woodstock Recreation Facility Study concluded that two ice pads should be included from the start to meet growing local demand for ice sports. The 2024 study also recommended including an indoor pool in the new facility that could either be included from the start or as a later phase.

Because the cost of a multi-use recreation complex is significantly higher than a single-pad arena and will take longer to budget for, staff provided Council with an update on the risks and costs of keeping the Civic Centre open in advance of the upcoming capital budget discussions. An estimated $1.4M in repairs will be needed to keep the facility operational in the short term which does present some financing challenges if debt must be issued for longer than the facility remains in use.

In the meantime, preliminary work continues on the North Woodstock Recreation Facility. Planning and engineering activities are underway for bringing services like water, sewer and roads to the site. The next step will be to advance the design of the facility from concept to schematic that will optimize the layout, size and configuration of the facility components which is also slated to begin in 2025. These design drawings will be required to support grant and sponsorship opportunities the City will be looking to apply for to help finance the cost of the facility.

Updates to Refreshment Vehicles Bylaw

Council approved changes to the regulations governing refreshment vehicles, most commonly known as “food trucks”. Specifically, the changes allow refreshment vehicles to operate on a first come first served basis out of designated spots at Southside Park, Cowan Fields and Cowan Park Sportsplex, subject to compliance with operating criteria that will be established by the parks department. The updated bylaw also streamlines the application and permit process for refreshment vehicles operating at City events. Finally, the changes implement two new classifications to accommodate refreshment carts (that typically sell fair-type refreshments like popcorn, candy floss etc.) from a non-motorized vehicle and add a single event fee category as a more flexible alternative to the annual license required for operators.  

Election Preparatory Activities

With the next Municipal and School Board election just 12 months away, planning is well underway. Council approved a number of procedural updates required to the City’s Municipal Code that deal with defining the role and duties of the new Deputy Mayor role that will be introduced for the 2026 election. Council also approved funding for two election coordinator roles at Thursday’s meeting. Typically, the City hires a temporary resource to help with the many administrative activities that go into implementing an election. Because Woodstock is introducing online voting, in addition to traditional in-person voting in the 2026 election, a second election coordinator is required to support the implementation of both voting methods to ensure a democratic, fair, accessible and legally binding hybrid election. 

Salary Administration Policy and Compensation Review

Council approved a new salary administration policy that will ensure a consistent, fair and transparent approach to administering compensation for non-union employees and comply with relevant legislation including the Employment Standards Act and Pay Equity Act. Under the new policy, regular salary market reviews of non-union positions will be conducted to allow for appropriate budgeting, succession planning and help attract and retain talent. A full market review was conducted as the policy was being developed because it had been longer than the recommended three-years since the last market review was completed. At Thursday’s meeting, Council also approved a phased-in approach for the proposed adjustments to achieve the compensation review targets established by the policy.

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.