The chief administrative officer said the council priorities plan was largely complete, with projects either finished or at the stage intended for this point in the term. Reports highlighted practical pressures and next steps: election preparations overlap with provincial voting, and the township is still waiting to hear whether its turf-field funding application can proceed. Council also learned that a major sewer project will run beneath the Esquimalt High School field and through Lamson Park; staff are designing it to coordinate with any turf-field work and avoid digging up the field twice. Other discussion covered falling development activity, tax collection and penalties, recreation access, and plans to study the industrial park.
Generated from the recording's captions and the agenda (minutes not yet published by the council).
The chief administrative officer reported that the plan’s projects were either complete or at the intended stage for this point in the term. Asked about grant funding for a turf field at Esquimalt High School, staff said the township had submitted an expression of interest to the Building Strong Canada Fund and was awaiting a response. The application process followed closely after the township missed out on an earlier grant.
Agreement
Council and staff welcomed the substantial progress on the priorities plan.
The township will continue pursuing grant funding for the school turf field.
Corporate Services reported heavy preparation for the October local election and a surge in complex freedom-of-information requests, mainly about fires and bylaw cases. Staff said about 150 mail ballots had been requested by the end of the previous week, already exceeding the 113 requested in 2022. The updated meeting-viewership dashboard recorded 529 unique visitors for the reporting period. Staff also described the coordination needed to meet records-disclosure deadlines and noted that one election worker had moved to the provincial election, which overlaps with the township’s October 17 voting day.
Agreement
Council appreciated the additional detail in the meeting-viewership dashboard.
Council thanked staff for the extra election and records-disclosure workload.
Staff said there were no multifamily rezoning applications in the reporting period and that development inquiries and applications were down, in line with a weak market across municipalities. A public housing database that tracks bedroom counts is being developed. The Marin on Carlisle development is expected to seek another permit extension in December. Staff explained that council controls whether to grant extensions, but the zoning remains in place; a new development permit application would still need to meet the applicable guidelines.
Agreement
Staff confirmed that affordable housing numbers marked as to be determined are generally still under negotiation.
Council will consider the Carlisle extension request when it returns in December.
Disagreement
A councillor questioned whether the developer’s earlier expectation that a one-year extension would be enough had changed; staff said the applicant could explain the circumstances when it returns.
Staff said tariffs had not yet materially affected major capital projects, which were drawing multiple competitive bids. The largest discussion concerned a high-priority sewer project from the Devonshire connection through the industrial park, beneath the school field and through Lamson Park. The pipe is at or near the end of its life and is at capacity; the multi-year project will be phased, with detailed design used to coordinate the section beneath the field with possible turf-field construction. Staff said the township would review how it divides yard-and-garden waste disposal costs with View Royal when the current contract expires at year-end. They also said they knew of no specific rule restricting trucks from school zones; Esquimalt has no designated truck routes.
Agreement
Staff and council recognized the value of coordinating sewer work with any turf-field project to avoid repeated excavation.
The sewer design and phasing will inform whether the section beneath the field needs to be prioritized.
Staff explained that the township’s payment in lieu of taxes (PILT) from federal properties was about $40,000–$50,000 below its calculation on a payment of roughly $23 million. The difference came from a small number of disputed property assessments or classifications, and staff said an appeal would cost more than the shortfall. Both properties that had been at risk of tax sale paid before the deadline. About 400 taxpayers are enrolled in the township’s 10-month pre-authorized tax payment plan. Unpaid taxes incur a provincial 10% penalty after the deadline; 2026 penalties totalled about $246,000. Staff also described new controls for approved artificial-intelligence tools and the township’s annual review of cybersecurity insurance.
Agreement
Staff and council treated the PILT discrepancy as too small to justify an appeal.
The pre-authorized payment plan gives taxpayers regular payments and helps staff predict collections.
The department highlighted a grant-funded FireSmart coordinator position lasting about four months. The coordinator will lead community outreach and education and offer free home assessments to help residents identify fire hazards where urban areas meet wilderness.
Staff reported a 22.6% reduction in lost workdays under the occupational health and safety program, which helps reduce the township’s WorkSafe premium rate. They said they are putting policies and processes in place to prevent injuries and help injured employees return to work sooner, while cautioning that future lost-time figures are hard to predict.
Agreement
Council recognized the reduction in lost workdays as significant.
Staff said they were balancing evening pool programming with public access: a lane remains available for public swimming, and the hot tub, sauna and steam room stay open. Swimming lessons are increasing, while pool use is busier overall. Gorge Park Pavilion rentals are fewer but larger, and revenue is tracking positively; staff said a worn floor may need investment and reported improvements to parking management and the sound system. Twenty publicly owned trees were removed, with replacement planting planned for spring and fall. The township does not currently track the residency of people booking facilities or joining programs.
Agreement
Council welcomed the increase in community swimming lessons.
Staff and council agreed that balancing public pool access with lessons and other programs is an ongoing challenge.
Staff said unpaid bylaw tickets from 2022 had been sent to a collection agency, with tickets from 2023–2025 to follow; the township is beginning to see some payments but will report on results later. Staff were not tracking whether limited-time parking fines had improved space availability, and said police were starting to record after-hours bylaw work more consistently for future reporting. An industrial-park business walk and survey with Royal Roads students is planned for November 30, with results expected in January. A pilot economic-nutrition-label program has three participating businesses and aims to show where businesses spend their money. The township also planned to sign a relationship agreement with the Kosapsum Nation on October 14 and was working with regional partners on the Gorge midden and cultural signage.
Agreement
Council welcomed the planned industrial-park study and the progress on First Nations engagement and cultural placemaking.
Council acknowledged staff’s work over the term.
Decisions
Esquimalt has not published the minutes for this meeting yet. Councils post minutes only after a later meeting adopts them, usually two to six weeks afterwards. We check weekly. We last checked Fri, Oct 2, 2026. Votes and decisions are taken only from the official minutes, so this section fills in once Esquimalt publishes them. Anything above about motions comes from the recording and is preliminary.