By Thomas Smith
“We are well underway on the clean up,” opened Mayor Carter’s report at last Thursday’s council meeting.
Thanking all the volunteers and those involved, he says that we are now in the cleanup stages of Minden’s flooding event of 2026.
“Our flood2026 email address is still being monitored,” assured Carter.
Deputy Mayor Schell asked about the disaster mitigation funding going towards infrastructure to reduce impact caused by the flooding of the Gull River.
Carter says that the municipality recently received a variety of promotions for various flood mitigation
“The Ministry of Emergency Preparedness and Management may have a aprogram to give grants for looking at flood mitigation and preparedness,” said Carter. “Having said that, one of the best things about sand bags is they are portable and easy to store.”
Carter said that everything is on the table, except that the town itself cannot be raised.
He also said that a report from 1982 described MH council as not being interested in learning how to prevent flooding in Minden.
“At the time in 1982, the previous flood had been in the 1950s,” said Carter. “At this point, I think we need to be looking at everything.”
Councillor Tammy McKelvey asked if the postmortem meetings of community groups will include the council.
“First and foremost, it will be the emergency control group’s job to take any feedback we get,” he said.
CAO Cynthia Fletcher says that they will report what went well and what can be approved upon.
“For those who were involved more intensely with flood mitigation, there is information going out,” she said.
After an upcoming meeting, a media release will explain to the public how to send feedback. THis survey is intended to get suggestions on how the municipality should mitigate floods in the future.
“There are logistics and sometimes risks,” said Fletcher. “If we are damming up one area, it is creating issues in another area.”
For Fletcher, she feels the municipality’s next steps should be a broader flood mitigation study.
Many people have asked the council to make our waters into a totally managed water system.
“It is impossible. There are so many streams coming into the system that runs through Minden
Hills,” said Fletcher. “A lot of it is the more marshy areas that rise up as well. It is certainly a very challenging thing to manage. We certainly would like to look at a more comprehensive Flood Management Plan.”
Councillor Pam Sayne said that the municipality did a fabulous job during the flooding.
Commending Pharmasave’s community barbecue, she thanked them for giving back to those who volunteered during the flood.
“We never had a gathering where people could express that frustration with each other and have a debriefing,”
Said Sayne, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic. “I saw that a part of that was happening when Pharmasave offered lunch.”
Sayne says that the municipality should have an event like that that invites the community to share their experiences and explain how the water system works.
She also said that Minden Hills should nominate themselves for the PJ Marshall Award through the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.
Fletcher says that the municipality is indeed planning an appreciation event for the community.
“The community spirit in Minden Hills is second-to-none,” she said.
Fletcher confirmed the intent to collect information from Minden Hills residents in the coming months.
