PERTH — At its latest committee meeting, the Town of Perth discussed upcoming changes to waste collection, approved new street names, supported grant applications, and launched a new quarterly newsletter to keep residents informed.
Waste collection changes
The town is phasing out its free garbage bag tag program. Starting in January, each household will be allowed one free bag of garbage every two weeks. Additional bags will require a tag, which will be sold in sheets of ten at $3.30 per tag.
Until Dec. 31, the town will continue to collect two bags per household every two weeks, while no longer issuing free tags as of September. Weekly green bin and recycling collection will continue unchanged.
“This gives people a few months to figure out, ‘Can I do this?’ and time to purchase additional tags if needed,” said Deputy Mayor Ed McPherson.
The shift is intended to extend the life of the town’s landfill and save approximately $10,000 annually, while also improving waste collection efficiency.
Coun. Jim Boldt voiced opposition, arguing the policy unfairly impacts larger families. “There’s no way in heck that a family of four or six is going to manage with just one bag every two weeks,” he said.
However, Chief Administrative Officer Michael Touw clarified that the policy does not restrict how much garbage households can produce, only how much is collected for free. “If you use more water, you pay more. If you heat your home to 25 degrees in winter, you pay more gas. This is the same idea,” said Touw.
Street naming
As part of the ongoing development of the Perthmore subdivision, the developer has proposed naming two new streets: Parkside, which provides access to a community park in Block 56 of Phase 6, and North Gate Drive, which runs north-south through the area.
While the names were approved by the committee, the discussion raised concerns about the lack of diversity in street names.
“There’s not one Indigenous name for any street in our town,” noted Coun. Gary Waterfield. “We start every council meeting with a land acknowledgement, but unless we take real action, it’s just empty rhetoric.”
Director of Development Services Joanna Bowes agreed, saying she is already planning to revise the street naming bylaw later this year.
“I’m hoping to bring a new bylaw to council with ideas like more Indigenous names, notable women in history, and other notable figures,” said Bowes.
Grant applications
Town staff are pursuing an Ontario Trillium Foundation Seed Grant to support the town’s recreation programming. The grant could provide up to $100,000, which would allow the town to hire staff to develop sustainable, long-term programming, explained Community Services Director Kathy McNally.
Staff are also preparing a separate application for the Enhancing Accessibility and Safety for Everyone Grant, seeking up to $60,000 to replace the aging flooring in the women’s change rooms at the Perth and District Indoor Pool.
“The flooring is due for replacement, but it’s not currently in our budget,” said McNally. “When opportunities like this come up, we jump at them.”
The Local Loop newsletter
A new quarterly town newsletter, The Local Loop, will soon be delivered to all households via Canada Post. The initiative met with approval from committee members and is intended to improve communication with residents.
The town will continue communicating through social media but recognized that many residents are not on those platforms.
The idea was spearheaded by Crystal Reinhardt, communications coordinator under the direction of Cathy McNally, director of Community Services, and will take the form of an 11 x 17-inch bifold. Each edition will feature a community spotlight, key meeting dates, upcoming events, and town service updates.
“Newspapers tend to get things wrong and have a certain bias,” said Mayor Judy Brown, welcoming the initiative.
The first issue is expected to arrive in mailboxes this fall.
“Our vision is that residents will keep it on the fridge and use it as a quick reference,” said McNally.
