Grey Highlands council to vote on $5.8M Markdale highway contract

Grey Highlands council will consider awarding a $5.8-million tender for the Highway 10 Connecting Link in Markdale at its July 8 meeting, while recent public sessions have examined zoning applications, a comprehensive zoning by‑law update, and lake management recommendations.

Highway 10 contract up for vote

Council’s July 8 agenda includes a recommendation to award the Highway 10 Connecting Link project to Cox Construction for $5,838,698.18, plus a 10-per-cent contingency. The connecting link runs through Markdale and is one of the larger infrastructure items before council this term.

Also on that agenda are three zoning by‑law amendments resulting from a June 22 public planning hearing: rezoning at 194519 Grey Road 13, Fairmount Farms at 806097 Sideroad 25, and Conservation Side Mfg. at 308114 Centre Line A. A heritage property tax rebate agreement for 156386 Seventh Line in Rocklyn and a process to sell a vacant municipal building at 726024 Sideroad 22b will also be considered, along with a by‑law to amend fees and charges schedules A and F.

Public hearing on four zoning applications

A public planning hearing on June 22 gave residents a first look at four land‑use proposals. The applications include a rezoning from Rural Residential to Residential Shoreline at 194519 Grey Road 13, a planning application for Fairmount Farms on Sideroad 25, a land‑use review for Old Durham Road Enterprise Inc. at 113451 Grey Road 14, and an application for Conservation Side Mfg. on Centre Line A. Staff have not yet released a report; council will vote on the resulting by‑law amendments at the July 8 meeting.

Holding provisions stir discussion in by‑law update

At the June 24 committee of the whole meeting, council received a report on the comprehensive Zoning By‑law update. The main decision was whether to remove proposed holding provisions H2 (Natural Heritage System) and H5 (Identified Karst), which would have required environmental studies before building permits are issued. A statutory public meeting in April drew about 150 participants, with opposition to the provisions being the dominant theme.

Staff recommended removing H2 and H5, noting that Grey County supports removal and that no other Grey County municipality applies holding provisions for these features. Environmental review would continue at the Planning Act application stage instead. Council directed staff to bring the final by‑law for adoption at a future meeting.

Lake management task force reviews draft report

The Lake Management Task Force met on June 25 to discuss a draft report covering Lake Eugenia, Brewster’s Lake, Irish Lake, and Wilcox Lake. The document outlines objectives, best practices, and 12 action recommendations on topics including water quality, septic systems, and invasive species. The task force also scheduled an additional meeting in August and received updates from sub‑committees on education and implementation strategies.

Coming up

The next council meeting is July 8 at 1 p.m. in the municipal council chambers. Key items include the Highway 10 tender award, the zoning by‑law amendments, the heritage property tax rebate, the Rocklyn building sale, and the fee schedule update. Agendas are posted at greyhighlands.ca.

Generated from official meeting agendas and minutes — every underlying document is linked from the city page. Read the primary source before you rely on a detail.