Council news: New name for arena; Bridge Street traffic calming; and more

By Sharon Harrison
Tuesday’s regular council meeting – its only meeting this month – included learning about Wellington arena’s new name, and the need for traffic calming measures on Picton’s Bridge Street.

Council also received an update on AI (artificial intelligence) governance, and heard about why the Upper Lake Street building and the Cherry Valley depot are to be declared surplus.

It was a lengthy meeting at six hours which finally concluded at midnight where much of the discussion involved the Drake Devonshire’s heritage permit application, as well as a resolution on the Cold Creek sub-division requesting a “lessons learned” report. (Click here for Lessons learned report to come to council. Drake Devonshire story coming soon.)

Wellington arena gets new name
Under a new naming rights sponsorship agreement renewal, the Wellington and District Community Centre (known as Lehigh arena since 2019, and Essroc arena previously, since 2010) will now be called Heidelberg Materials Arena – all three names belong to the same company.

Lisa Lindsay, director of recreation and community facilities, confirmed the proposed agreement renewal with Heidelberg Materials Canada Ltd. for the Wellington arena who will provide a sponsorship contribution of $150,000 over a 10-year term, payable in annual instalments of $15,000.

“This is just a continuation of a long-standing partnership with Heidelberg in our community, and it is one of the renewals as directed by council in the Rekindle the Spirit sponsorship plan when the arena was built in 2010,” confirmed Lindsay.

“Staff recommend that sponsorship revenues be allocated to future capital improvements and lifecycle investments at the Wellington and District Community Centre, helping to offset infrastructure renewal costs and support the long-term sustainability of the facility,” she stated.

Staff will coordinate installation of branding and signage, and implement the approved naming across facility operations, communications, marketing materials and booking systems.

Mayor Steve Ferguson said it is a great way to honour a great corporate entity, one of our largest employers, he said. “It’s a great idea to carry it on.”

Bridge Street traffic calming
Council approved the recommendation of the traffic advisory committee (from its meeting on June 24) regarding traffic calming on Picton’s Bridge Street, resulting in a report to come from staff.

Four members of the public, largely Bridge Street residents, spoke to the traffic issues, including Kelly McGillivray who is chair of the traffic advisory committee, a transportation engineer, as well as a Bridge Street resident.

“Recently, concerns about Bridge Street traffic expressed by me and other residents have consistently been conflated with Town Hill, and dismissed by staff mostly as being already studied,” said McGillivray.

Bridge Street itself is a separate issue with concerns stretching from beyond the Town Hill intersection to the town limits, she said. Also noting that currently the posted speed limit is 50 km/hr, indicated by one west-bound sign at the town limits.

“This stretch of road is characterized by several curves and hills that shorten the sight distance,” expressed McGillivray. “When speeding drivers ignore the speed limits, this poses a danger to both pedestrians crossing the road and residents leaving their driveways, or turning at minor streets onto Bridge Steet.”

Member of the public Jane Lesslie, also a Bridge Street resident, said the road has slopes, curves and blind spots, particularly around the intersection of Church and Bridge, and more importantly, where Port Picton boulevard meets Bridge.

“I ask you to please install flashing speed feedback signs on the stretch of roadway between the 12,500 address on Loyalist Parkway and the Town Hill,” requested Lesslie.

“This is a major throughway for transports and tourists… people travel at very high speeds between the Glenora Ferry and where Loyalist Parkway becomes Bridge Street. And similarly, with the slope down the Town Hill and with people rushing to get to the ferry, cars similarly have high momentum going in the opposite direction.”

Upper Lake Street building and Cherry Valley depot declared surplus
Council approved a request from the community services, programs and initiatives department to declare a parcel of municipal land abutting 30 Upper Lake Street in Picton for the purpose of conveyance to Hydro One Networks Inc. for future expansion to distribution station, and part of a parcel be declared surplus to the needs of the municipality for the purpose of divestiture.

Additionally, council also approved that a parcel of municipal land identified as the Cherry Valley pit and equipment depot, located at 30B Chourney Lane in Cherry Valley, be declared surplus to the needs of the municipality for the purpose of divestiture.

AI governance update
Council received a report on the annual update on the municipality’s artificial intelligence governance model, which is an annual requirement under the municipal artificial intelligence use policy. It’s all about the use of AI, the tools being used and how they are being used.

Author of the report, David Boyle, senior manager of infrastructure technology and transformation, noted that the report outlines progress to date, planned next steps and the current use of AI across the municipality. He also noted how AI technology has advanced quickly in the last year.

“Together, the terms of reference and the policy establish guidelines for staff use of AI and identify the key considerations that must be addressed when using these tools.”

Boyle stated how staff completed an audit to establish a baseline understanding of how AI is currently being used across the municipality, but also developing a framework for using AI going forward.

“Staff feedback and internal reviews have shown that AI tools are already being used across many of the municipal departments. These tools help staff complete tasks more efficiently, such as editing reports, summarizing information, improving security, and analyzing data.”

He also noted that as AI becomes more widely integrated into County operations and software systems, staff will be required to complete AI training.

Councillor Bill Roberts asked staff and the committee to “keep an eye on the bigger picture of AI and its implications”.

He said a few things that bother him are the “staggering expenditures on AI that are rapidly outpacing the growth and profits with regard to AI. What does that mean in terms of embedding AI on the municipality in creating that dependency?” asked Roberts.

Speaking to AI data centres and their use of water, power and similar issues, he said, “eventually, they have a cost and that cost can bypass us and our municipal priorities when it comes to things like housing and affordability”.

“If we could generally keep an eye out, because we want to make sure that AI is good for our staff, good for our municipality, good for the welfare of all residents of Prince Edward County.“

Full details of the items discussed at the July 21 council meeting, including staff reports, can be found on the corresponding agenda on the County’s website, along with the meeting recording.