Committee and Council Highlights - July 2025

Committee heard an informational delegation from Maddy From regarding a countertop food waste reducer called FoodCycler and the possibility of our Municipality signing up for a pilot program. Garbage and recycling falls under the District of Muskoka's responsibilities so Committee did not think it was appropriate for the Township to sign up for the program at this point but there was a lot of support for citizens to investigate waste management options such as the FoodCycler.

Committee received a presentation from Rebecca Cunnington from the West Muskoka Food Bank. The presentation highlighted the consequences of the Ice Storm earlier this year and the need for a generator to keep perishables safe during any future significant weather events.

The Food Bank has secured a conditional grant for $15,000 to support the purchase and installation of a power generator for the Glen Orchard Community Centre where the Food Bank is located and asked Committee to supply the remaining funding amount of $6,421 as the estimated total cost of the generator is $21,421. Committee directed staff to work with the Food Bank to determine next steps and funding and to report back to Committee to inform the 2026 Capital Budget.

Donna Masters, a resident of Kidd Street requested that the Township install a street light on Kidd Street in Torrance for safety reasons. Committee directed staff to investigate the request and report back with the need, potential options and cost of the installation. 

Committee received a presentation from Bryan Gardner regarding his concern with solicitation of magazines in plastic bags that are dropped on docks in Muskoka Lakes. Committee directed staff to prepare a report that investigates potential ways to address the issue.

Severe weather events and a delay in the rollout of the application
process for short-term rental licensing, which were not contemplated in the 2025 budget assumptions, have created a high likelihood of an operating deficit for the current fiscal year. Committee directed staff to prepare and return with a list of capital projects that may be scaled back, cancelled and/or deferred in 2025 to offset the expected operating shortfall.

Committee recommended that Council adopt the 14-minute rural fire response time (achieved 80% of the time) as a performance goal, aligned with NFPA 1720 standards. Committee also approved amending the by-law to Establish and Regulate a Fire Department to reflect the 14-minute response time performance goal and directed the Fire Chief to track response time performance annually and report to Council beginning in 2026.

Committee approved the amendments to the Facility Fee Policy C-PR-14 and Procedural By-law 2023-089 which included the direction to approach Council for the approval of waiving a rental fee only if the event meets the approved criteria. Regular fees for the rental of arenas shall always apply, while Municipal Grants Policy C-FS-09 will allow these requests/community groups or organizations hosting events at the arena the ability to apply for a Community Grant to help offset costs. Delegations are no longer permitted regarding arena fee waiver requests if the event does not meet certain criteria, such as being available to the general public, available for participation at no cost to the end user, and/or conducted entirely for charitable purposes.

Committee directed the Mayor and Clerk to sign the Draft Lease Agreement and Hydro One permission form with Lakeland Solutions to install EV Charging Stations at the Township Office and at 1007 Bala Falls Road.

Rebecca Willison from the District of Muskoka presented the 2024 annual informational report on its water quality monitoring program to the Planning Committee.  The presentation focused on Total Phosphorus levels in lakes in Muskoka and highlighted that  65% of lakes sampled in 2024 had a total phosphorus level that was higher than the 10 year average for each lake and 48% of lakes sampled in 2024 had a reading that was higher than the previous reading, however no lakes had a significant increase in levels.

The Presentation also included a summary of their main activities in 2024 including Biological Monitoring, the ‘Love Your Lake’ Program, The ‘Natural Edge’ Program and Community Outreach. It was noted that the District of Muskoka will be taking over as lead delivery agent for the Love Your Lake and The Natural Edge programs. The District will also be revising the Lake System Health policies as part of the Muskoka Official Plan Review.

Deborah Martin-Downs from the Muskoka Lakes Association presented results from the 2024 water quality initiative to Committee which included information about Total Phosphorus levels, Chloride levels and bacteria counts. 

The MLA commended the Township for a number of initiatives that they believe have positively impacted the results in 2024 including protecting shorelines, requiring buffers and septic inspections.

Neil Hutchinson from Friends of Muskoka Watershed presented to Committee regarding Chloride levels related to road salting activities  within the Muskoka Watershed. The presentation noted that chlorine levels are elevated in 70% of tested Muskoka lakes and that Chloride levels are at potentially harmful levels in 12% of Muskoka lakes.  A number of effective strategies were presented to reduce chlorine levels. 

Mr. Hutchinson requested that Committee pass a resolution to commit the Township to ongoing efforts to reduce the use of road salt while maintaining the safety of our roads and urge the Province to work urgently to develop limited liability legislation, and Best Management Practices,  create and fund an advisory committee to protect feshwater ecosystems, drinking water and infrastructure from the impacts of salt pollution. Committee passed the resolution.  A request for funding to be used towards the Muskoka Watershed “Salty Muskoka” project was directed to the Community Grant Fund for 2026.

This report summarizes the Township of Muskoka Lakes By-law Division's activities from January to June 2025. The division has increased its seasonal staff in 2025 and is now conducting proactive patrols and investigations, particularly on area lakes. The number of investigations was comparable to 2024. The report highlights updates to various by-laws, increased community engagement efforts, and collaboration with the other Township Departments.  It was also noted that the Short Term Rental Licensing Application portal will open on July 28 and will be available on the Township’s website.

The LPP is a province-wide volunteer based water quality monitoring program with a goal to better understand and protect the quality of Ontario’s inland lakes. The program relies on the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. Director Huff confirmed that the agreement between the Lake Partner Program and the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks has been signed and is place for this year.

Due to concerns raised at the meeting by Councillor Burry and the discussion that followed with all Councillors, Committee directed staff to review the Fireworks By-law and to report back to Planning Committee with options and recommendations at a later date.