Council Highlights – November 18, 2025

At last night’s meeting, Council heard from Birket Foster, Chairman and CEO of Storm Internet. He provided an update on the company’s latest fibre-powered wireless project. View the presentation.

Jason St-Pierre, CEO of the Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN), spoke to Council about the EORN Cell Gap Project, a $300 million plan to improve cell phone service in rural eastern Ontario. Rogers won the competitive process for this public-private partnership. In Mississippi Mills, this project brought three towers and three improved towers. EORN confirmed that if an area has cellular coverage from any carrier, 911 service is available no matter which carrier an individual uses. View the presentation.

A public meeting was held to talk about the background report for Official Plan Amendment (OPA) 28 – the Rural Villages and Rural Vitality Project. This project includes special plans for each village to help guide future growth and development, while protecting each village’s sense of place and identity. Council will consider this matter in the new year.

Council approved the Affordable Housing Community Improvement Plan (CIP). This project is part of the Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF), a federal program that gives money to municipalities to help create more homes. In January, Mississippi Mills received over $3.3 million from HAF to be used over three years. The Affordable Housing CIP includes five rebate programs that give money back to developers or groups who build affordable housing. 

Council has approved changes to the Capacity Allocation Policy and By-law. One change increases the allocated capacity period for draft approved plans of subdivisions from two to three years. Another change raises the number of units from 50 to 100 units for subdivisions in the policy.

The Community Services Master Plan recommendations related to museums and the action plan was approved by Council. Some of the ideas include working more closely with local museums through partnership agreements and creating a collaborative steering committee. This committee will look at how museums are currently run and funded and suggest ways to improve how they work together. The goal is to ensure museums remain strong and successful for years to come. Council also appointed Tiffany MacLaren, Mississippi Mills Manager of Community and Economic Development, to represent the Municipality on the Mill of Kintail Working Group.

Committee of the Whole also heard the following items, which will be brought forward for approval at a future Council meeting:

• Phased discontinuation of curbside recycling services for small industrial, commercial and institutional businesses.
• Approval of the draft 2026 Lanark County OPP Detachment Board budget.
• Recommendation report for Official Plan Amendment 34 – Downtown Secondary Plan and Public Realm Plan.
• Quarterly reports for Protective Services and Community and Economic Development.

Upcoming Meetings:

• Hybrid Council Meeting – Tuesday, December 2, 2025, 6 p.m. Committee of the Whole meeting to follow Council.
• Hybrid Council Meeting – Tuesday, December 9, 2025, 6 p.m. Committee of the Whole meeting to follow Council.