Warden Lauds New Accessibility Flag and Praises EMS Staff

Members of Essex County council wore red shirts to Wednesday’s regular meeting to show support for persons and families who are living with disabilities.

Red Shirt Day is an initiative of Easter Seals and part of National AccessAbility Week, which is observed from May 29 to June 4.

“We are wearing red to show support for persons and families who are living with disabilities. We are wearing red to celebrate the achievements of people living with disabilities,” said Warden Gary McNamara in his opening remarks. “And we are wearing red to show our commitment to creating a fully accessible and inclusive society that honours and values contributions of people of all abilities in all aspects of life.”

On Monday, the County raised an accessibility flag at the Civic Centre.The blue, green and white flag, designed by Kristine Verbeek, features the word “Accessibility” under a stylized figure in a wheelchair facing the right side of the flag. Behind the figure in the wheelchair are seven chevrons representing the seven municipalities moving forward together to make Essex County more accessible.

“It was a proud moment, one that acknowledged the progress we’ve made and the work we’ve left to accomplish,” said McNamara, thanking the Essex County Accessibility Advisory Committee for its leadership and work to make the county more accessible and inclusive.

McNamara also recognized and thanked Essex-Windsor EMS staff for continuing “to serve our region with pride, dignity and professionalism” and told them, “We stand with you, and we know the residents of Windsor and Essex County do, too.”

The warden ended his opening remarks with a call to all residents to vote in Thursday’s provincial election.

Community-Building Fund Distribution to Municipalities Approved

Council approved the distribution of $11.5 million from the Canada Community-Building Fund among Essex County municipalities.

The fund (formerly known as the Federal Gas Tax Fund) is a permanent source of funding to be spent on local infrastructure priorities. The county distributes 80 per cent of its allocation to the seven municipalities and puts 20 per cent toward county road projects. The funds are distributed to the municipalities based on their 2021 Census population.

Contract for CWATS Paved Shoulder Projects Awarded

The contract for constructing paved shoulders on parts of County Road 2 and County Road 34 has been awarded to Rudak Excavating Inc. for $553,600, plus applicable taxes. The company’s bid was the lowest of three submitted and is within the approved budget.

The paved shoulders are part of the County Wide Active Transportation System (CWATS). They are being built on a 1.2-kilometre stretch of County Road 2 between Stuart Lane and the Moison Creek Bridge, and a 0.5-kilometre stretch of County Road 34 between County Road 18 and Highway 3.

The Municipality of Lakeshore will cover 60 per cent of the cost for the County Road 2 project because it is in a settlement area. The county is covering the full cost of the project on County Road 34 in Kingsville.

Sun Parlor Home Management Committee Structure to be Formalized

County council has directed administration to prepare a by-law that formalizes the current practice of naming all council members to the Sun Parlor Home committee of management.

The Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021, which came into effect in April this year, includes changes to the responsibilities of management committee members, says a report to council. The report advises county council members to take note of the following changes:

• Every resident of a long-term care home has the right to raise concerns related to, among other things, a member of the committee of management;
• A member of the committee of management is guilty of an offence if they become aware of the suspicion of improper or incompetent care or abuse of a resident and fail to report it;
• Members of the committee of management are prohibited from discouraging a whistleblower;
• Committee of management members cannot sit on the long-term care home’s family council; and
• Persons convicted of certain criminal charges or professional misconduct are prohibited from serving on a committee of management.

Since 2006, all members of county council have sat on the Sun Parlor Home committee of management.

Notices of Motion Introduced

Essex Mayor Richard Meloche introduced a notice of motion calling for the County of Essex to “take regional control, both operationally and financially, for the impending organic waste collection and disposal, and furthermore that the County of Essex take control of generic waste for all seven lower tier municipalities, both operationally and financially, as lower tier garbage collection contracts expire.”

Kingsville Mayor Nelson Santos introduced a notice of motion calling on the county to fully fund under the County of Essex taxation levy any regional organics collection program launched by the Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority.

The notices of motion will be discussed at the next meeting of Essex County council.