Council for the Town of Hanover will wait until it receives a report from staff on sidewalk costs before it potentially reconsiders a decision on how will it close the East End Trail Loop.
This week, council received a delegation from Alina Rehkopf, who asked that council reinstate the originally planned naturalized trails along the west and south sides of the Saugeen Cedar Heights West subdivision.
The Environmental Impact Assessment for the proposed project was completed in 2023 and received approval from the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority in fall of 2025. The trail completion was included in this year's budget, before council backtracked on the decision as a result of another delegation from nearby residents on March 16.
Rehkopf said it was unusual for council to pivot on an infrastructure project like this when many of the concerns shared at the March meeting could be mitigated.
"The residents are left to ask, what about this project is so problematic that it needed to be cancelled at the last minute," Rehkopf told council. "For many of us, we're fairly upset and confused about why that needed to be the case... I think it's worth the time and effort for the relatively low cost considering the great community benefit that finishing those naturalized sections can provide."
Along with Rehkopf's presentation, council received eight letters asking them to reconsider the decision to finish the trail with sidewalks throughout the subdivision, as well as several more supporting Hanover's trail system. Those that shared their opinions included the Town's Parks, Recreation and Culture Advisory Committee.
Mayor Sue Paterson read those letters in the council meeting and issued an apology for how the March 16th meeting was handled.
"As Mayor, part of my responsibility is to guide council when controversial issues arise... I hold myself accountable and want to acknowledge that I should have advised council before making a decision that we needed to hear from all sides. I apologize for not doing so," said Paterson. "As a council, our role is to not to respond to only one set of voices but to consider the full range of perspectives within our community... If council is to revisit this matter, I believe it is essential we do so with a complete picture, ensuring all viewpoints are heard weighed and respected. That is how we make balanced informed decisions that serve the broader community while acknowledgeding the legitimate concerns of those most affected."
Council members discussed how to proceed, but there was no appetitie for a vote to reconsider the original motion, which would require a two-third majority to overturn.
Councillor Brandon Koebel still wanted to see the requested report on the cost of a network of sidewalks throughout the subdivision. The developer of the of the Saugeen Cedar Heights West subdivision had previously reached an agreement with the Town to construct a trail and parking area as part of the east end trail development. However, it had not calculated the cost of sidewalks throughout the subdivision to complete the trail network, nor what the expense to the Town would be.
When asked when the report on sidewalk costs would be ready, CAO Sherri Walden informed council that staff had paused the report once, letters and comments calling for reconsideration came in, just to ensure that council still wanted to go down that road.
She estimated the report would be ready by the end of June.
Deputy Mayor Warren Dickert said his mind wouldn't be changed by what was shared in council this week.
"It's a well-documented fact, I'm a sidewalk guy, I like to have our sidewalks connecting our communities," he said. "I've been on this case for quite a bit. So for me, that was a priority... we had people coming in and didn't like where the trail going where it was. I looked at the entire package and I saw that I had a concern here with sidewalks as well... I'm firm on my commitment, I think I thought it through very well. I believe what we proposed made sense and I haven't heard anything that has changed my mind on that."
The town could lose out on some grant funding as a result of the project pivot. During the meeting, Laura Christen, Director of Parks, Recreation and Culture, clarified that just over half of the $47,800 in grant funding the town received for the project can go towards rehabiliting the trail east of 24th Avenue. However, the remaining $23,800 would be forfeit if they opt for sidewalks.
The Town has already incurred $14,450 in expenditures related to the project
CAO Walden said in an email that the current deadline for completion and use of the approved grant funding is September 26, 2026, and that staff are currently working with the grant administrators to explore available options.
Council will discuss options once the sidewalk report from staff is brought back.
