The Municipality of Highlands East has put some churches, legions, and private road residents on notice they will need agreements, and insurance, as of Nov. 1 if they want the municipality to continue to maintain these properties.
The program is going to be reviewed in 2026. At a Sept. 9 council meeting, public works manager, Perry Kelly, raised the issue.
He said the municipality had historically provided maintenance services, including snow removal, on properties not under its ownership, and with no formal agreements in place.
He said it included private property, roads, and land under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.
“While these services were provided with good intentions, they now present significant concerns regarding liability, cost, and resource allocation,” Kelly said.
He added, “the expectation from private and non-municipal property owners for continued service places undue pressure on municipal staff and resources. This diverts attention from municipally-owned infrastructure and compromises service quality and efficiency.”
Staff consulted with their insurance provider and solicitor. While the municipality has a duty to maintain public highways in its jurisdiction, diverting resources to private and Crown land puts them at risk of being unable to fulfill that duty, Kelly said, putting them in danger of negligence claims.
As for the private and Crown land, he added, “in the event of a slip, trip, fall, or motor vehicle accident, a claimant could pursue legal action against the municipality, irrespective of legal ownership.”
He said the average unit cost per winter event is more than $1,300 during regular hours and more with overtime. Kelly was further worried that continuation of the maintenance activities may set a precedent leading to further requests from other private property owners for the same service.
He presented four options to council for their consideration: stop the maintenance immediately and tell property owners to make other arrangements; do Crown land only, with agreements and insurance; continue but get agreements and insurance; or maintain the status quo. Council opted for a slightly revised option three.
Coun. Cam McKenzie said he’d had some residents, particularly from churches and legions, express concerns about the impact.
“Financially, probably most of them are on thin ice. If this comes to pass, some may close.” He said that would impact the work they do in the community. He added the timing was not great, soon going into the winter season. Coun. Angela Lewis agreed.
Deputy mayor Cec Ryall commented, “it’s a service that we don’t have to supply but morally should be supplying.” However, he shared liability concerns. He was not in favour of the status quo, thinking option three was the way to go.
Mayor Dave Burton said with tight timing, he’d prefer status quo this year, moving to option three in 2026.
CAO Brittany McCaw suggested they still try to get agreements in place this year, with a minimum $5 million liability. “Then we can review this program again next year to decide what it is you decide to do moving forward.”
The decision impacts four churches, two legions, five roads and a staging area, two MNRF properties, an MTO property, and one unassumed laneway.
