Council orders a traffic study of four problem intersections and pushes 3e Rang paving to 2027

The October sitting, moved to Tuesday by public notice, approved $2,025,000 in bond financing, a traffic study for the Route 138 and 201 corridor, and four items that were not on the published agenda. One agenda item listed as a PPCMOI was presented from the chair as a sign application. In the first question period, residents asked about recurring odours, access-to-information requests and spending on outside firms.

The sitting

Official documentThe regular sitting was originally set for Monday, October 5. A public notice dated September 9, 2026 moved it to Tuesday, October 6, at 6:30 p.m., at the hôtel de ville. The notice gives no reason for the change.

The mayor called the roll. Councillors René Gauthier (seat 1), Jacques Guilbault (seat 2), Jane Fairhurst (seat 3), Michel André Émond (seat 4) and Robert Greig (seat 6) were present; the mayor said Valérie Taillefer (seat 5) is on leave. The director general and the clerk and director of legal affairs were also present. Watch ▶︎

Mayor’s remarks. The mayor spoke about the provincial election held the day before. He congratulated the winning candidate in the riding, said he had called him that morning, and thanked the outgoing member for her work. Watch ▶︎

First question period

Odours from a commercial waste container. A resident raised a complaint about odours from a commercial waste container near their home, an issue they said they have raised for 15 years. They read from a municipal email saying the recent steps had succeeded, and asked what would be done so the problem does not return next summer. Watch ▶︎

The mayor said he had reviewed the file with the administration: since the end of April, he said, the municipality had sent six emails and received at least eight. He said he had visited the site the previous Sunday and noticed no odour, that the inspector assigned to the file had acted on each report, and that the owner was cooperating. He said the situation appeared under control for now. Watch ▶︎

Pressed for a plan, the mayor said the municipality would do preventive work for next summer, that the aim was for the owner to repeat the measures that had worked in the past, and that the municipality would answer the resident in writing. He said the municipality has an obligation of means, which does not guarantee results. Watch ▶︎

Access-to-information requests. The Observer’s editor asked who answers access-to-information requests while the clerk’s post is vacant. The mayor said that responsibility rests with the mayor but, as in most municipalities, is delegated to the clerk and the director general, and that he does not handle requests himself. The director general said an external firm had done that work until the new clerk took up the post, around September 20 to 25. Watch ▶︎

The editor then asked for the amount the municipality has spent on legal fees in its lawsuit against the editor, and said earlier requests for that figure had been refused as privileged or had not been answered. The mayor said the access-to-information law allows some documents to be released and not others, that some requests require a legal opinion, that the Commission d’accès à l’information is the recourse, and that he could not answer the specific question at the sitting. Watch ▶︎

A second resident supported the request and asked what the solutions were and what would happen if they were not followed. The mayor said he could not answer precisely, because the consequences depend on what each by-law provides, and said odours are harder to prove than noise. He said council wants the problem resolved. A speaker who said they sit on the environment committee said they would ask the environment inspector to review the commitments the business had made in the past, and that fines could follow if the steps are not respected. Watch ▶︎

Community garden. A resident asked whether council had received their letter about the community garden. The mayor said it had, that the 2027 budget process was only beginning, and that the municipality would come back to them. Watch ▶︎

Payments to a consulting firm. A resident asked about payments listed in the accounts since February to a consulting firm, and whether council was aware of them. The mayor said the matter followed a resolution adopted at an earlier sitting, that it concerns employee files, which are confidential, and that the contract has ended. Watch ▶︎

Agenda and minutes

Agenda2 — Adoption of the agenda: carried, with four additions. The mayor added: a first question period as item 1.2, which he said had been left off the agenda; item 7.4, an amendment to the professional services contract with Artelia Canada for Gale and Church; a new item 9.1, the permits issued in September 2026; and item 9.6, the purchase by agreement of part of a vacant lot, which he said was not on the agenda as posted. Because of the new item 9.1, the planning items that follow were called from the chair one number higher than on the published agenda. This recap uses the published numbers. Watch ▶︎

Agenda3.1 and 3.2 — Minutes: carried. Council adopted the minutes of the regular sitting of September 8, 2026 and of the special sitting of September 17, 2026. Watch ▶︎

Administration, Finance & Personnel

Agenda4.1 — Accounts payable: carried. Council approved the list of financial transactions attached to the minutes as Annex A, in a total given at the sitting as $285,664.47. Watch ▶︎

Agenda4.2 — Concordance and short-term resolution, $2,025,000 bond issue: carried. The agenda gives the amount as $2,025,000, to be raised on October 23, 2026. The mayor said the money was first drawn on a temporary credit line while the borrowing by-law went through its approval steps, and that the balance now moves to a long-term loan and the credit line closes. He read the terms: one bond per maturity dated October 23, 2026, interest payable every April 23 and October 23, bonds not redeemable before maturity except with the holders’ consent, and a five-year term from October 23, 2026. The borrowing by-law concerned was not named clearly enough on the recording to report. Watch ▶︎

Agenda4.3 — Transfers between budget families: carried. The mayor said the administration may move money within a budget “family” on its own, but transfers between families need council approval under article 961 of the Code municipal. He said the total budget does not change. The transfers total a figure given at the sitting as $418,402.47, set out in a table council reviewed in caucus; the table was not shown at the sitting. Watch ▶︎

Agenda4.4 — IT services, block of hours: carried. A 100-hour block from the municipality’s outside IT provider, for a maximum given at the sitting as $8,000 plus taxes. Watch ▶︎

By-laws

Agenda5.1 — By-law 129-2026 on contract management: notice of motion given, first draft tabled. The new by-law repeals by-laws 129-2020 and 129-2021. The mayor said it sets the rules the municipality follows to sign contracts and launch calls for tenders, and that regulatory changes require it to be updated. This is a notice and first draft only; adoption comes at a later sitting. Watch ▶︎

Municipal council

Agenda6.1 — Representative on the board of the Office d’habitation du Haut-Saint-Laurent: carried. Council repealed resolution 26-09-243, adopted in September, which had named the mayor as a temporary replacement on the board during the seat 5 councillor’s leave. The mayor said the rules do not allow short-term replacements, and council instead named him the municipality’s representative for a three-year term from October 6, 2026, renewable. Watch ▶︎

Public Works & Technical Services

Agenda7.1 — Traffic study, four intersections: carried. The study covers the intersection of routes 138 and 201, two other intersections on Route 138, and the intersection of rues Gale and Church beside the town hall. The mayor said Gale and Church are provincial roads through the village core and that more heavy trucks now use them. He said he had raised safety at these intersections with the transport ministry’s regional director in April, that the ministry had received the request well, and that no traffic study had been done for several years. The study is to measure volumes, take in existing and projected traffic, heavy vehicles, school travel, pedestrians, cyclists and crossings, and propose possible intersection layouts, in coordination with the ministry. Quotes and the award are in Approved spending below. Watch ▶︎

Agenda7.2 — Aerated ponds, new call for tenders in 2027: carried. The mayor said the first call for tenders for emptying the four aerated ponds, opened September 8, 2026, drew one bid, which was above the budget. Council decided not to proceed with it and authorized a new call for tenders covering pumping, dewatering, transport and disposal of the sludge. The money is to be provided in the 2027 budget. Watch ▶︎

Agenda7.3 — 3e Rang paving moved to 2027: carried. The mayor said the municipality received a grant he put at $3.7 million under the transport ministry’s PAVL Redressement et Sécurisation programme for 2026, and had added the 3e Rang with the money left over. The ministry is now replacing a bridge on the 3e Rang; he said that work has started and is to finish in November, and that doing both at once would cause too much disruption for residents. Council authorized the engineering department to ask the ministry to move the 3e Rang work past the current deadline of December 31, 2026, so the grant is not lost. Watch ▶︎

Added item 7.4 — Gale and Church, additional engineering studies: carried. The mayor said council intends to rebuild the water and sewer mains on rues Gale and Church next year and to add a storm sewer, in partnership with the transport ministry, which owns both roads. He said the ministry asked for additional work before construction: hydrological studies with sewer and storm-sewer modelling, a hydraulic study to apportion costs, topographic surveys, traffic-management plans, and a revision of the plans and specifications. Council amended Artelia Canada’s existing contract for a maximum given at the sitting as $67,840 before tax. The mayor said the ministry pays half of these costs, which the director general confirmed. Watch ▶︎

Fire Safety

Agenda8.1 — Fire service monthly report: tabled. The agenda lists the September 2026 report; from the chair the mayor referred to it as the August report. He gave 15 calls, including three mutual-aid calls to neighbouring municipalities, four fire alarms and one road accident. Watch ▶︎

Urban Planning

Added item (9.1 from the chair) — Permits issued in September 2026: tabled. The mayor gave 24 permits, for work valued at $3,364,601 and permit fees of $6,319. By category: four tree-felling, one extension, one water connection, one accessory building, three construction, one demolition, two occupancy (for businesses), two patio, terrace or gallery, two pool, two renewals, two renovation, one filming and two accessory equipment. He also mentioned one subdivision permit. Watch ▶︎

Official documentAgenda9.1 — Minor exemption, 6 rue Edward: carried. The public notice of September 14, 2026 describes the request: to regularize part of the house encroaching on the front setback, at 4.42 metres instead of the 5 metres required for zone R-13 under zoning by-law 148-2023, an exemption of 0.58 metres, on lot 5 807 290. From the chair, the mayor said the house was built in 1975, under different setback rules, that the neighbouring houses also sit inside the front setback, and that the CCU recommended approval. No one spoke to the request. Watch ▶︎

Agenda9.2 — 30 rue Lambton: carried as a PIIA sign application. The published agenda lists this item as « Demande de PPCMOI – 30, rue Lambton ». From the chair, the mayor presented it as a PIIA application for a commercial sign: an illuminated metal sign to be mounted flat on the building, with a light source that is not visible and dimensions that comply with the by-law. He said the CCU recommended approval, and council accepted it as a PIIA application. Watch ▶︎

Agenda9.3 — Servitude, lot 5 807 233, 28 rue Cullen: carried. This item and the next are servitudes of passage and public utility needed for the Prince-Albert, Cullen and Oliver works, so the water main can be looped instead of ending in dead ends, which the mayor said affects water quality. Council accepted the owner’s promise to grant the servitude, dated September 25, 2026, for a sum given at the sitting as $15,000, and authorized a notary, a land surveyor and the signing of the deed. Watch ▶︎

Agenda9.4 — Servitude, lot 5 807 239, 1012 rue Oliver: carried. The owner’s promise, dated September 3, 2026, commits the municipality to connect the building to the municipal water and sewer systems at its own expense and to remove the septic tank now on the lot. The cost of that work was given at the sitting as an estimated $18,650. Watch ▶︎

Added item (9.6 from the chair) — Purchase of part of a vacant lot, rue Oliver: carried. The parcel is for a turning area at the end of rue Oliver, so that garbage and recycling trucks, fire trucks and ambulances can turn safely. Council accepted the owner’s promise of sale, dated September 29, 2026, for a sum given at the sitting as $11,300 plus any applicable taxes. The lot number was read aloud but is not printed here; see the note below. Watch ▶︎

Culture & Recreation

Agenda10.1 — Library activity report, September 2026. Listed on the agenda. The mayor moved through items 10 to 13 without presenting anything, saying there was nothing in particular to report. Watch ▶︎

Approved spending

Accounts payable. $285,664.47, as given at the sitting. Watch ▶︎

Traffic study. Quotes were requested from three engineering firms. The figures read at the sitting were $54,712.17, $62,500 and $113,900, before tax. Council awarded the study to the lowest conforming firm at $54,712.17 plus applicable taxes, subject to available credits. Watch ▶︎

Gale and Church studies. Up to $67,840 before tax added to Artelia Canada’s contract, half of it to be paid by the transport ministry, according to the mayor and the director general. Watch ▶︎

Land and servitudes for the Prince-Albert, Cullen and Oliver works. $15,000 for the rue Cullen servitude; an estimated $18,650 in connection and septic-removal work in exchange for the rue Oliver servitude; $11,300 plus any applicable taxes for the rue Oliver turning area. Watch ▶︎

IT services. Up to $8,000 plus taxes for 100 hours. Watch ▶︎

AgendaFinancing. A $2,025,000 bond issue on October 23, 2026, replacing a temporary credit line.

Second question period

Showing resolutions during the sitting. A speaker asked whether the text of detailed resolutions could be displayed during the sitting so the public could follow, and asked for item 4.3 to be explained again. The mayor said resolutions cannot be released before they are adopted because they can be changed during the sitting, comparing it to handing out minutes before a meeting. He credited the clerk with making agenda items more detailed. He then explained budget families again, and said that intra-family transfers are reported to the municipality’s budget committee, which now exists, while transfers between families need council’s approval by law. Watch ▶︎

Agenda15 — Adjournment: carried. The sitting lasted about 1 hour 9 minutes. Watch ▶︎

Full resolution index

Every item that came to a vote or was formally tabled, in published-agenda order. Mover and seconder are not reported for routine resolutions. No councillor was recorded against any item.

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