GRENVILLE OPP DETACHMENT BOARD

MINUTES

2
-
Held in Meeting Room 1, 285 County Road 44
MEMBERS PRESENT
  • Mayor Nancy Peckford, North Grenville
  • Mayor Michael Cameron, Merrickville-Wolford
  • Jacques Pelletier
  • Christopher Scott
  • Tim Wasylko
  • Gregory Brown
  • Jim Goodman
STAFF PRESENT
  • Aiden Cleary
  • Chloe Preston, Clerk North Grenville
  • Mary Remmig, Deputy Clerk North Grenville
  • Darlene Plumley, CAO Merrickville Wolford
  • Karen Dunlop, CAO North Grenville
  • Julia McCaughtery-Jansmen, Clerk Merrickville-Wolford
  • Lisa Nicholas, OPP Detachment Commander
OTHERS PRESENT
  • Tawnya, health unit

    Deputy Mayor John Barclay

    Councillor Deb Wilson


Mayor Michael Cameron called the meeting to order at 1:32 p.m.

The land acknowledgement was read by Deputy Mayor John Barclay.

  • #PSB-2024-GODB-2025-04
    Moved byTim Wasylko
    Seconded byChristopher Scott

    Be it resolved that:

    The agenda for March 6, 2025 be approved as presented.

    CARRIED

None at this time. 

  • #PSB-2024-GODB-2025-05
    Moved byJacques Pelletier
    Seconded byTim Wasylko

    Be it resolved that:

    The following meeting minutes be approved as circulated:

    1. January 9, 2025
    CARRIED

Tawnya Boileau from the Health Unit delivered a presentation on active school travel (attach the presentation, didn't go out with the agenda). 

Deputy Mayor John Barclay noted the PSB has worked with the health unit in the past to create a road safety campaign. 

Mayor Michael Cameron suggested having Tawnya speak as a delegation to MW council to raise awareness in their community. He spoke to the "Block Parent" initiative. 

Knowing that the Health Unit also agreed to support the MW community,. Jacque stated support for the initiative. 

Lisa Nicolas explained how a Community Watch program in a specific neighbourhood is established. 

Mayor Nancy Peckford arrived at 1:53 p.m. 

Greg Brown stated support for helping fun the initiative. 

Chloe Preston noted that the full ask is considered in the draft budget that is on the agenda for consideration. 

Detachment Commander Lisa Nicholas provided an overview of her report.

A discussion followed regarding the statistics presented.

Lisa clarified that, for billing purposes, the statistics will be adjusted to reflect each specific municipality.

Mayor Nancy Peckford left the room at 2:04 p.m.

Lisa also noted that the detachment is currently recruiting for Detachment Operations Clerk positions. Filling these roles is expected to free up officers' time for other duties.

Councillor Deb Wilson arrived at 2:07 p.m.

Mayor Nancy Peckford rejoined the meeting via virtual participation at 2:09 p.m.

Lisa offered to arrange for Officer Dave Holmes MSERT to deliver a presentation at the next OPP Detachment Board meeting.

Greg Brown inquired whether current staffing levels at the detachment are sufficient to meet service demands.

Lisa responded that she has "adequate staffing numbers" to fulfill community needs, though she was unable to share specific figures. She will confirm whether those details can be discussed in a closed session.

Chloe Preston shared an update that a provincial logo has been created for the board.

Lisa confirmed that this logo is standardized across the province. She added that while the board's name can be changed, it would require the passage of a by-law and resubmission of the application. However, there is still a possibility that the name change could be denied.

Jacques pointed out that in French, the acronym is P.P.O., not O.P.P., noting this for consideration in the event of a future name change.

Chloe Preston provided an overview of the purpose of the annual OPP Detachment Board Report.

Jacques expressed his support for the included Protocols and Procedures and inquired about the expected timeline for their completion.

Chloe explained that the Municipality of North Grenville already has the policies outlined in the presentation, but these need to be adapted for the joint board. For full adoption and implementation, each policy must be approved by the respective councils of the participating municipalities. The development of new policies and the adaptation process is expected to begin over the next year.

Mayor Michael Cameron noted that Merrickville-Wolford is working toward implementing the AMPS program and asked whether a six to eight-month timeframe would be realistic.

Chloe suggested that prioritizing key policies would allow for a phased approach. She also mentioned that the Board may be interested in receiving a future delegation to learn more about how the AMPS program operates.

Jim Goodman asked how members of the public can contact the board directly.

Chloe confirmed that the Clerk’s Office of the Municipality of North Grenville serves as the administrative support and point of contact for the board.

Chloe Preston provided an overview of the advertising and media considerations undertaken by the North Grenville Clerk’s Office in collaboration with the Clerk from Merrickville-Wolford. She recommended not moving forward with radio advertisements at this time, as the Clerks did not receive sufficient information to properly assess their value or effectiveness.

John Barclay noted that many advertisements have already been completed using funding previously received by the Municipality of North Grenville.

Jim Goodman emphasized the need for the Board to identify appropriate advertising and promotional strategies tailored to community needs—for example, based on statistics from the Detachment Commander’s reports. He expressed a desire to see advertising that reflects the issues the OPP is actively addressing and the offences occurring in the local communities.

To support this approach, John Barclay proposed including a 5–10% contingency in the advertising budget to allow flexibility as more data on community needs becomes available.

Lisa confirmed that the current advertising proposal is generally in line with what OPP typically undertakes. She also noted that OPP independently publishes social media posts when there are recurring or significant infractions.

Jim inquired about including links to the OPP website in advertisements.

Chloe confirmed that this has been done in the past and can continue. She also noted that the social media portion of the advertising budget includes built-in contingency funding.

Jim requested that links to the OPP Facebook page, website, and other relevant resources be shared with board members for reference.

Chloe Preston acknowledged that the uploaded document was cut off and did not include the full set of notes. She then provided a summary of the advertising-related notes. Chloe confirmed that adding an additional 10% to the advertising budget would still fall within the allocated contributions from each municipality. She also mentioned that interest rates have not yet been determined, and the corresponding budget line remains blank at this time.

She clarified that the $6,000 allocated for honorariums accounts for $150 per meeting for the years 2024 and 2025. Insurance costs are expected to rise by approximately 7% annually. The conference budget line has been proposed to support the participation of one attendee.

Deb noted that, in the past, participants in zone meetings have received a zone meeting honorarium.

Greg stated that he has only ever been reimbursed for the costs associated with attending such meetings, not a separate honorarium or per diem. He suggested that this should be addressed in a formal board policy or protocol.

The board also discussed initial ideas for a future campaign project.

With the proposed adjustments to the advertising and honorarium lines, the total budget would be approximately $42,900, based on a 40%/60% municipal funding split.

  • #PSB-2024-GODB-2025-06
    Moved byGregory Brown
    Seconded byJim Goodman

    The board accepts the revised draft budget for consideration and direct staff to return the respective draft budget for ratification at their municipal council. 

    CARRIED
  • #PSB-2024-GODB-2025-07
    Moved byJacques Pelletier
    Seconded byJim Goodman

    Be it resolved that:

    The meeting adjourned at 3:29 p.m.

    CARRIED