Council Highlights for February 18, 2026

Council Highlights for February 18, 2026

View the full agenda package here.

The Town of Pelham's regular council meeting was held on Wednesday, February 18, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. in the Council Chambers at the Pelham Municipal Building at 20 Pelham Town Hall.

2025 Pelham Water Distribution System Summary

Council received report 2026-0037 “2025 Pelham Water Distribution System Summary Report,” for information. The Town of Pelham annual water reports, which are required by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP), include the 2025 Annual Water Quality Report and the 2025 Municipal Summary Report. The MECP conducts unannounced inspections of drinking water systems in Ontario annually. In 2025, the Town of Pelham’s Water Distribution System was awarded a 100% inspection rating, completed under the Ministry’s focused inspection protocol. 

2026 Municipal Grant Allocation

Council received report 2026-0035, “Proposed 2026 Municipal Grant Allocation” for information and council approved the 2026 municipal grant allocations for $30,547.34 in waived fees, $15,200.00 cash allocations. and $15,210.12 estimated in-kind labour requests, as outlined in the 2026 Municipal Grant allocation summary. 

Updated Youth Municipal Grant

Town of Pelham council have expanded the previous scholarship offering for 2026, which will now be called the “Youth Municipal Grant” (YMG). The YMG will include two $1,000 scholarships. The purpose is to provide financial support to students residing in Pelham who plan to attend post-secondary education in the fall of 2026. The applicant must be a resident of Pelham and have lived in the community for at least one year. Applications will be available on the Town of Pelham website in the spring of each year

Canboro Road Pressure Reducing Valve Replacement Postponement

Council received an update that due to the frost and cold weather the “Canboro Road Watermain Pressure Reducing Valve Replacement Schedule” has been postponed until further notice. It is anticipated that the project will be completed between March and May when conditions improve. The Region of Niagara will continue to collaborate with the Town of Pelham to provide project communications as available.

2026 Water and Wastewater Budget Approval

On February 9, 2026, Council held a Special Meeting to consider the 2026 Water and Wastewater Budget, during which no amendments were proposed. As this marks the first year that the Town of Pelham has adopted a Strong Mayor Budget related to water and wastewater, a memo was provided to Council at the February 18 Council meeting. The memo provided clarity and transparency and officially confirmed that the 2026 Water and Wastewater Budget has been adopted.

2025 Official Plan Update

Council received memo 2026-0044 “2025 Official Plan Update” for information. The Town of Pelham Official Plan was adopted by Council on May 21, 2025, following a three-phase approach and submitted to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) for approval. Ministry staff have advised Town staff that the review process has taken longer than typical, as this is the first opportunity for MMAH to review the Town of Pelham’s new Official Plan following changes to planning approval responsibilities introduced through Bill 23, which removed approval authority from the Region. Staff are currently reviewing the provincial comment matrix and proposed modifications and will meet with relevant partner agencies to address outstanding matters. Once the Official Plan has been updated to respond to provincial and agency comments, staff will report back to Council with the revised document for Council’s consideration.

Traffic and Parking Regulation By-law

Council approved the amended Traffic and Parking Regulation By-law 10-2026, which had been identified as a priority item in the 2025 updated Town of Pelham strategic plan. The new Traffic and Parking Regulation By-law now replaces the previous one that was originally passed in 1989 and had been amended more than 60 times, resulting in a difficult to navigate document for all users. The new Traffic and Parking Regulation By-law, which required substantial effort and time to update, will provide for ease of public understanding of traffic and parking requirements and support consistent application and administration by staff. www.pelham.ca/bylaw

For media inquiries, please contact:

Leah Letford, Manager of Communications and Government Relations | 905-980-6653 | lletford@pelham.ca