Notes on the Council Meeting held February 10th, 2026 – The meeting was called to order at 19h30.
Questions from the public (for issues not on the agenda) – none
SPVM Report – none
Councillors’ Reports
Cllr Lowensteyn reported that the library’s annual general meeting would be held February 23rd at 19h30 in the library; the Junior Council would be meeting February 19th at 17h30 in the Coop and Winterfest, hosted by the Baie-D’Urfé Citizens’ Association was to be held on Saturday, February 21st from 10h00 until 14h00 at the Red Barn.
Cllr Brown reported that the vCOP vehicle was out on patrol for 68 hours in January and that the members contributed a total of 178 volunteer-hours that month. The Rescue Squad had a total of 556 volunteer-hours, including first-aid support at Allan’s Hill on the weekends, first-aid support to ringette tournaments in Beaconsfield and Kirkland, search and rescue training for the ski patrol at the Morgan Arboretum. Their annual general meeting was held February 4th – Wayne Belvedere was re-elected as Director and George Motz as Captain.
Mayor’s Report
Mayor Ektvedt commented on the re-design of the STM (buses) routes on the West Island and that they had a legal obligation to connect with the new REM trains, which is not of great benefit to Town residents. She suggested that public-transit users go to the STM website (stm.info) and try out the route planner. Any comments or questions should be directed to the STM itself. There will be a continuous-loop route in our industrial sector which will be of great benefit to the many people employed by our industrial residents and the Town will be installing new bus shelters in several locations up there.
In the matter of public security, the mayor commented that this is a safest community in the West Island but, due to the increase in crime generally throughout the West Island, we have seen increased patrolling by the SPVM and by our own vCOPs. She also recommended that residents take some precautions personally.
There was an incidence of a homeless (unhoused person) in our Town this past year. The matter was successfully resolved; however, our Director-General is arranging for a workshop to be given to the Town employees and volunteer groups on how such situations should be handled in the future.
There are several Town activities scheduled in February – Chinese New Year, Seniors’ dance, Winterfest and several associations’ annual general meetings. The Wednesday café held a potluck luncheon on January 28th; thanks to the “Three Baristas”. The Valentine’s craft activity held on February 8th was well attended; thanks to Oana, Oona, Gracie and Aksel for organising and running this.
Correspondence
There was a letter received on behalf of several residents on Magnolia regarding the forced replacement of non-conforming septic systems. Mayor Ektvedt reported that, of the residents writing, only one has applied for a permit. Of the residents not represented by this letter, 10 of them have applied for and received their permits and completed the work. Council feels that sufficient time has been given for residents to arrange this work (two years to date). The Town will not contact the province for financial aid and will not borrow to help finance new septic systems. This work is considered a cost of owning a home in this municipality. The deadline to comply with issued notices is December 31st, 2026.
Administration
As the Council is pleased with the performance of Director-General Nicolas Bouchard since he was first hired in 2018, they approved a new employment contract with him.
Authorization was given to pay premiums totalling approximately $46,000 for the Town’s damage-insurance coverages.
Finance
The list of expenses included period 13 of 2025 and the month of January 2026 and totalled $1,152,400.
Parks, Recreation and Environment
The new Environment Advisory Committee is comprised of Councillors Maggie Caron and Wanda Lowesteyn and citizens Karin Gebert, Richard Gregson, Susan Hawker and Philippe Paulmier. A mandate was given to this committee to initiate a native-plant corridor, particularly in the Hydro right-of-way between Westchester and Cornwall.
The contract for the supply and planting of trees in urban woodlands was approved.
Public Works and Town Infrastructures
The Town agreed to collaborate with the City of Montreal purchasing group for the supply of coloured and clear diesel fuel.
Canadian Pacific Railways will be performing major maintenance work on the level crossing at Morgan Road. This work is at the cost of the Town of Baie-D’Urfé and will amount to approximately $151,000. This amount will be paid to CPR from the non-affected surplus.
Citizen Services and Community Affairs
The Town will once again subsidize the membership fees charged to Baie-D’Urfé residents by the Morgan Arboretum.
The amount awarded by the Excellence Support Program will be increased from $200 to $300 per competition to an annual maximum of $1,200 per candidate.
Max Chantler was awarded $600 for participating in two water-polo competitions; Sophie Ann Cyr was awarded $300 for participation in a cheerleading competition.
Question Period (for items on the agenda)
Stefan Kurylowicz: The city of Montreal has a $2M budget for potholes and possibly giving some of it away? Mayor Ektvedt: no, Montreal does not give money to the demerged cities. That is why we are demerged; we have our budgets and equipment so that we can keep on top of things. Montreal is trying to get things back on track.
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 20h35.