Fewer permits but construction value rose in 2024
18% drop in permits, but 29% jump in value to $90.2 million
Trent Hills issued fewer building permits last year, compared to 2023, but the value of the work carried out jumped dramatically, says a report to council today.
The building department reported an 18 per cent drop in the number of building permits issued in 2024 to 439 from 519, but the value of construction increased 29 per cent to $90.2 million from $69.8 million, said Stephen White, Chief Building Official.
Deputy Mayor Mike Metcalf asked White what he expected to see this year.
White responded that it is hard to know given all the uncertainty at the provincial, national and international level.
“There are a lot of projects on the table right now that are coming through the planning department,” White said. “Sometimes we see a number of developers regrouping. It’s sort of like the pause before the big push. We are getting steady permit applications coming through. We have a number of projects that will be activated. But I don’t want to be too optimistic. I don’t think we’re going to see a massive development or big boom.”
Cat control program gets $5,000
Council agreed to donate $5,000 to the Small Town Cat Project to pay for veterinary fees associated with its program of trapping, neutering and returning stray cats to their environment.
Alysha Drobot and Larysa Struk said that their project, which has been funded by donations and fundraising, spent $10,000 in the county last year and could have done more work if it had more money.
They said that in 2024 they rescued 128 cats in Trent Hills and after being spayed or neutered 98 were adopted, most through their partners, and 18 were released back to the place they came from, mostly farms.
The group has partnerships for lower cost services with English Line Veterinary Services in Campbellford, Presqu’ile Animal Hospital in Brighton, and Southeastern Ontario Spay/Neuter Clinic in Trenton.
They explained the group is not a rescue but it traps strays and provides medical attention so cats can be adopted or returned to their environment without the risk of a population explosion.
You can learn more about their program on their Facebook page.
Conservation cuts discussed
A large chunk of the hour and half long council meeting was spent discussing a how to save about $50,000 now spent on conservation services.
The issue was a plan supported by council in December to cut a service it currently gets from Lower Trent Conservation, monitoring for environmental risks and working with landowners to prepare plans to prevent problems. There are currently 18 risk-management plans in place in the municipality.
Deputy Mayor Metcalf, who is council’s representative on the Otonabee Region Conservation Authority and the Crowe River Conservation Authority, but not the Lower Trent, has argued for several years that Lower Trent needs to cut its costs.
In December he instigated a move to shift the risk management service to the Otonabee River group, which would have saved $47,114. Lower Trent planned to charge $80,081 for the service and Otonabee said it would do it for $32,967.
Rhonda Bateman, chief administrative officer of the Lower Trent, had appeared at council in November and again in December to explain and defend its budget. She returned Tuesday in an effort to persuade Trent Hills to reverse its shift and maintain the risk management work with Lower Trent.
Bateman said Lower Trent would now charge $38,748 for the service, explaining that Stirling/Rawdon had agreed to pay a larger share of the cost, and it was reallocating some of the expense to another department.
Metcalf asked why Stirling/Rawdon had agreed to pay more if it wasn’t getting more service.
In a letter to council. Bateman said that Lower Trent has provided the risk management service for nine years. She noted that the 18 existing plans are with Lower Trent and cannot be transferred to another organization.
After a lot of discussion, council asked staff to prepare a report for the next council meeting that will outline the two options. In December it issued a letter giving a year’s notice to Lower Trent that it was cutting the contract.
Polar Plungers raised more than $40,000
Just an update to the amount of money raised by the Campbellford Memorial Hospital’s auxiliary with its Polar Plunge on Sunday. The latest total is more than $40,000 with donations still coming in.
The 33rd annual plunge had the most divers and raised by far the most money.
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