Brockville City Council Meeting Highlights – February 25, 2025

Brockville – Here are the highlights from the Brockville City Council meeting held on Tuesday, February 25, 2025.

Tunnel Upgrades: (See the HometownTV12 article on the Tunnel Upgrades)

The Brockville Railway Tunnel, which opened end to end to residents and visitors on August 12, 2017, has been a much-loved attraction in the City. Due to the damp conditions, the lighting and electrical components have been impacted over time which led to a reduced lightshow and a delayed opening in 2024. Upgrades to the kiosks which house the electrical components and funds allocated for lighting replacement and custom light covers were approved by Council on Tuesday evening. Staff and Council are hopeful that the tunnel will reopen with the full-scale show at a formal reopening for the season.

Procurement Policy Changes:

To streamline and strengthen the Procurement Policy, staff recommended several amendments which were considered by Council. The purpose of this policy is to ensure fair and transparent purchasing, to set spending thresholds and to meet legislative compliance. The proposed amendments were adopted and include changes to definitions and titles, additions of ethical considerations concerning the acceptance of gifts, the right to validate costs for the lowest bidders and minor changes to spending thresholds. In light of these amendments, relevant changes were also made to the City’s Budgetary Control Policy.

Committees Bylaw and Review:

With the support of the Governance Committee, staff have undertaken a review of the City’s committees, in particular its Advisory Committees. Within the report, recommendations were made concerning the development of updated Terms of Reference for Committees, as well as the adoption of a Committees Bylaw to guide and support the work of Advisory and other types of Committees. Staff were directed to proceed with revisions to various mandates and to continue to prioritize community engagement in various forms.

Proclamations:

The Franco-Ontarian Flag be flown from March 17th to March 24th, 2025 in recognition of the International Francophonie Day of March 20th, 2025.

Looking ahead:

• Planning and Development Meeting March 4, 2025 at 4:30 pm
• Planning and Development Public Meeting March 4, 2025 at 6:00 pm
• Council Meeting March 11, 2025 at 5:30 pm
• General Meeting March 18, 2025 at 4:30 pm
• Council Meeting March 25, 2025 at 5:30 pm

For more information, contact the Clerk’s Department at clerk@brockville.com

Agendas and meeting minutes are available at Brockville Civic web https://brockville.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingTypeList.aspx