council chambers
Council Connect: Highlights from the Oct 12, 2021 meetings of Council
Tecumseh Town Council met electronically this evening and here are the highlights:
Public Council Meetings
McLean-Hergott Drain: Council held a meeting to hear from landowners who will be affected by proposed
construction on the McLean-Hergott Drain, which is located on the south side of County Road 46 east of
Concession 10 (County Road 17). The plan is to construct a fire hydrant access over the drain. This will involve
installing a culvert.
Regular Meeting of Council
Firefighters Recognized: Wade Bondy, Director of Fire Services and Fire Chief, recognized the contributions of
five Tecumseh Fire Fighters: Ryan MacEachern, Sean McNamara, Tyson Brohman, Dan Redmond and Conner
Tazzman.
Tecumseh Pickleball Association: Malinda Hebert and JoAnne Neilson appeared as a delegation from the
Tecumseh Pickleball Association to provide support for the staff report addressing the lease agreement
between the Association and the Town for the use of the new pickleball courts and the staff report addressing
naming rights for the new courts. The reports were brought forward and considered as follows:
Lacasse Pickleball Courts Leased: The Tecumseh Pickleball Association will lease the new courts at Lacasse Park
35 hours a week for an annual fee of $4,000 plus HST, under an agreement approved by Council. The five-year
renewable agreement goes into effect Jan. 1, 2022. As part of the arrangement, the Tecumseh Pickleball
Association will hold a minimum of three public open houses to promote the sport.

Zekelmans Pay for Naming Rights: The soon-to-be constructed pickleball courts at Lacasse Park now also have
a name: Zekelman Pickleball Complex. The Barry and Stephanie Zekelman Foundation has agreed to pay the
Town $100,000 for the naming rights. The money will go toward the cost of building the courts. Additionally,
the Zekelmans will also pay for signage for the complex.

Stray Cat Program Renewed: The Town is renewing an agreement under which the Windsor/Essex County
Humane Society will take stray cats and charge the town $25 for each animal. The humane society ensures the
cats are healthy and puts some up for adoption. Those that appear to be community cats are spayed or
neutered, vaccinated, micro-chipped and then returned to the location where they were captured.

Report Projects a Year-end Surplus: A mid-year estimate shows Tecumseh could end 2021 with a $236,411
surplus, says a report by Tom Kitsos, Director of Financial Services and Chief Financial Officer. Of that, $97,321
is tax supported and $139,090 is supported by water and wastewater charges. The report cautions that the
continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and unforeseen weather events could change the outlook.
Borrowing for Sanitary Sewer Payments Approved: Council has approved borrowing an additional $616,000 to
assist property owners paying off the cost of a sanitary sewer it installed in the North Talbot Road area. Nine
property owners have requested five-year debentures totalling $537,500 and one has requested a debenture
of $78,500 over 10 years. The Town is issuing the debentures to the Ontario Infrastructure and Lands
Corporation and charging property owners an additional 0.75 per cent interest for the five-year debentures and
1.25 per cent for 10-year debentures. The interest the Town collects is used to cover legal and administrative
costs.

Funding to Pay for LED Signs: A portion of an Ontario Municipal Modernization Fund grant that Tecumseh
received in 2019 is going to pay for two additional community LED message signs. The new signs for Lakewood
Park and McAuliffe Park will cost $45,000 more than what was anticipated. To cover the price, Council
cancelled a plan to use some of the provincial funding to pay for an electric vehicle charging station near Town
Hall. Town administrators will work with Essex Power to seek other grants for installing electric vehicle charging
stations.

Apartment Buildings Boost Construction Value: The value of construction projects for which permits were
issued in the first six months of 2021 is up 581 per cent over last year. The jump is due to two multi-storey
apartment buildings worth a combined total of $28 million and an industrial office building with a value of $5.6
million, says a report by Brian Hillman, Director of Planning and Building Services.

Next Regular Meeting: The next regular meeting of Council is October 26, 2021. The meeting is scheduled to be
held electronically. The agenda and livestream will be available on the Town’s website. Follow the Town of
Tecumseh on Facebook and Twitter for news and the latest information.