City Council meeting overview package for October 6, 2025

Peterborough, ON - City Council endorsed the following items during its General Committee meeting in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 500 George St. N., on Monday, October 6, 2025:

• Drinking Water Standard of Care Training and receiving and accepting the 2025 Water Quality Report and the 2024 Drinking Water Quality Management Standard Review Report;
• The 2025 Audit Planning Report for the Corporation of the City of Peterborough;
• The City of Peterborough Holdings Inc. 2024 Annual Report;
• Proceeding with implementing parking restrictions on Hetherington Drive;
• Acknowledging receipt of a notice of intention to demolish a portion of the industrial buildings at 107 Park St. N., indicating that Council has no interest in pursuing heritage designation of 107 Park St. N. with the exception of certain identified buildings, consulting with Peterborough Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee on the appropriateness of designating the certain identified buildings, and reporting back to Council;
• Municipal Addressing By-law Update;
• Notice of Motion by Councillor Dave Haacke: That the Council of the Corporation of the City of Peterborough requests assistance under the Municipal Ice Storm Assistance Program;
• Report of closed session - That Council approve the recommendation outlined in closed session report of Commissioner of Legislative Services that the presentation of the chair of board of City of Peterborough Holdings Inc. be received for information;
• Report of closed session - That that the decision regarding the disposition of 705 Sherbrooke St. be deferred and that staff be directed to explore potential opportunities for the use of the property in collaboration with local supportive housing providers, including but not limited to CMHA, Fourcast, and other relevant partners and report back to Council with findings and recommendations;
• Report of closed session - That staff be directed to proceed as outlined in closed session report of the City Solicitor respecting Superior Court litigation;
• Report of closed session - That staff be directed to proceed as outlined in closed session report of the City Solicitor respecting confirmed Administrative Order Litigation;
• Report of closed session - That staff be directed to proceed as outlined in closed session report of the Commissioner of Municipal Operations respecting a new lease at Peterborough Regional Airport, respecting termination of a lease at Peterborough Regional Airport, respecting demolition of a City-owned building at the Peterborough Regional Airport, respecting release of approved capital budget for the airport, and respecting non-standard procurements for services at Peterborough Regional Airport; and
• Report of closed session - That closed session report of the Director, People and Culture be received for information.

Items endorsed by General Committee will proceed to the regular Council meeting on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 to be considered for final approval.

The meeting is livestreamed at peterborough.ca/WatchCouncil. Agendas and recordings of meetings are posted at peterborough.ca/agendas.

To speak as a registered delegation at a Council meeting, individuals must register no later than 11 a.m. on the day of the meeting. To register, complete the online application at peterborough.ca/delegation, or phone 705-742-7777 ext. 1820.

Before the public portion of the meeting, Council held a closed session meeting starting at 4:30 p.m. to consider six items as permitted under the Municipal Act, 2001, including:

• Section 239(2)(d) Labour relations or employee negotiations and 239(2)(j) a trade secret or scientific, technical, commercial or financial information that belongs to the municipality or local board - Update
• Section 239(2)(c) A proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land by the municipality - Surplus Lands
• Section 239(2)(e) Litigation or potential litigation and (f) advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose - Litigation
• Section 239(2)(f) Advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose - Litigation
• Section 239(2)(k) A position, plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the municipality or local board - Lease
• Section 239(2)(d) Labour relations or employee negotiations and (e) litigation or potential litigation - Labour relations

Drinking Water Standard of Care Training

Council endorsed that the Drinking Water Standard of Care Training be received for information, that the Councillor handbook be received for information, that the 2025 Water Quality Report be received and accepted, and that the 2024 Drinking Water Quality Management Standard Review Report be received and accepted.

In Ontario, the Safe Drinking Water Act (2002) establishes a legal standard of care for individuals making decisions about municipal water systems, including municipal Councillors.

On April 1, 2025, MOWAT25-001 Council passed a by-law to transfer the water system and its assets to the City of Peterborough. With this change the Councillors have become the Owners of the drinking water system and now have a statutory Standard of Care under the Safe Drinking Water Act, 2002 section 19.

The 2024 Water Quality Annual Report provides information regarding the current state of the drinking water for the City of Peterborough. It is generated to provide information to Councillors to assist in diligent oversight of Peterborough’s drinking water system, helping to ensure the safety of drinking water. This report will also be available for our customers to view at peterborough.ca.

The Drinking Water Quality Management Standard requires a complete review of the Quality Management System (QMS) every 12 months. This review covers all aspect of the QMS including regulatory non-compliance, water quality, operational performance and infrastructure review. The intention of this review is to ensure the continuing suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of the quality management system.

City of Peterborough Holdings Inc. 2024 Annual Report

Council endorsed receiving the City of Peterborough Holdings Inc. 2024 Annual Report.

In the report, Peterborough Utilities states that the focus of the year was on maintaining its commitment to powering the community with reliable and sustainable clean energy, while at the same time preparing for organizational changes scheduled to occur in early 2025.

Throughout the year, its attention remained on enhancing the operational efficiency of its facilities and ensuring the uninterrupted delivery of electricity. In addition to its fleet of generation facilities, the Company also provides wholesale metering services within the province of Ontario, and hot water tank rentals throughout the Peterborough region. During 2024, the Company also operated and maintained water treatment and distribution facilities within the City of Peterborough, operated and maintained Riverview Park & Zoo (RPZ), and provided information technology services to the Company and City. The Company and its
related entities operate as the Peterborough Utilities Group (PUG).

Financial results from operations in 2024 were very strong and driven by excellent generation production. Net income was $8.1 million (2023: $5.9 million), which was $1.9 million above the Company’s plan for the year. Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) was $24.4 million (2023: $23.7 million), which was $2.5 million higher than forecast, indicative of the strong operational performance of the Company in 2024.

In fiscal 2024, the annual dividend of $6.5 million (2023: $5.4 million) represented 81% (2023: 92%) of the Company’s earnings for the year. This dividend comprised $5.5 million in budgeted payments and $1.0 million in special dividends relating to the reimbursement of Shareholder transition costs.

Hetherington Drive parking restrictions

Council endorsed proceeding with implementing on-street parking restrictions on Hetherington Drive between Richard Road and Woodland Drive.

On March 10, 2025, Council approved a motion directing staff to review parking options for operational concerns caused by on-street parking at the north end of Hetherington Drive.

Vehicles parked on both sides of Hetherington Drive impede snow-clearing operations, garbage collection, recycling, and green waste pickup, as well as restrict emergency vehicle movements, particularly during the winter months.

Parking restrictions are recommended for Hetherington Drive between Richard Road and Woodland Drive to address these operational concerns.

There are currently no parking restrictions within the study area outside of the standard 3-hour limit on city streets and overnight winter parking restrictions, 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. between December 1 and April 1.

Staff recommend that Calendar parking restrictions be implemented at the north end of Hetherington Drive, fronting the new residential townhouse development. Calendar parking restricts parking on the east side of the road between the 1st and 15th of the month, and on the west side of the road between the 16th and the end of the month. 

For the southern section of the road, it's recommended that a No Parking restriction be implemented on both sides of Hetherington Drive between Richard Road and the southern end of the new residential townhouse development (approximately 215 metres south of Woodland Drive).

Proposed partial demolition: 107 Park St. N.

Council endorsed acknowledging receipt of a notice of intention to demolish a portion of the industrial buildings at 107 Park St. N., indicating that Council has no interest in pursuing heritage designation of 107 Park St. N. with the exception of certain identified buildings, consulting with Peterborough Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee on the appropriateness of designating the certain identified buildings, and reporting back to Council.

On September 8, 2025, the property owner, GEPR Energy Canada Inc., a subsidiary of GE Vernova, gave the City 60-day notice of its intent to demolish almost 84,500 square metres (910,000 square feet) of industrial building area in accordance with subsection 27(9) of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.O.18 (“the Act”).

The Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) prepared on behalf of GE Vernova proposes a series of mitigation strategies to preserve heritage elements on site, including preserving certain buildings on the property, while also accommodating the proposed demolition. The HIA concludes that the proposed development for the site (i.e. building demolitions and retentions) appropriately conserves the site’s cultural heritage value and attributes and reflects best practice in Canadian heritage conservation. The author of the HIA, ERA Architects Inc., specializes in heritage conservation, architecture, planning and landscape and holds various professional memberships.

The General Electric Factory Complex at 107 Park Street North is listed on the City’s Heritage Register as a property of cultural heritage value or interest. The property is not a designated property; it is a “listed” property on the register.

After receiving the notice of intent to demolish, unless negotiated otherwise, Council has until November 7, 2025, to determine whether it wishes to issue a notice of intention to designate the property under Part IV, subsection 29(1) of the Act, otherwise the proposed demolition may proceed subject to applicable law.

The complex, which is currently developed with approximately 104,000 square metres (1.1 million square feet) of building area, dates back to 1891 and is a central part of Peterborough’s industrial heritage. Architecturally, the GE complex typifies late nineteenth and early-twentieth century factory design through its integration of late Victorian design features onto the exterior of its industrial spaces.

The majority of the buildings on site have been vacant since 2018 except for 60 GE Vernova employees located in buildings at the southeast corner of the site along Park Street and approximately 300 BWXT employees located in buildings at the west limit of the site along Monaghan Road.