Wollaston council enthusiastic about vendor market and library plans

December 16, 2025

By Bill Kilpatrick

The agenda for the Dec. 9 Wollaston council meeting was a full one that included two delegations from Sarah Dunjko concerning her desire to start up a vendor/farmers market and board members of the Wollaston Public Library who were there to present their business plan for a new public library. Council showed enthusiasm for both presentations, asked many questions, gave some feedback, and in the end approved that both projects move forward.

Dunjko, a homeopathic doctor, apothecary, and former owner of a wellness centre, was the first to present. Dunjko, who currently has a stand at a Peterborough vendor’s market, believes that a private Coe Hill vendors market would be good for everyone in Wollaston. “I feel that not only would it be good for our community, bringing local produce, products [and] hand crafted items, not just to our community “ she stated. “but for tourism. Which is quite large in the summer.”

Dunjko told council that after studying other farmers and vendor’s markets in the area that she believes that a Friday vendor market held at the recreational pavilion from 2-6 p.m. would be optimal as it does not compete with other vendor markets and would hit the Friday travelers as well. “I feel that many people [tourists] are arriving at that time… it is also something for our local community to have access to do something on a Friday afternoon/evening. And providing a nice income to support local crafters and agriculture,” she explained. She would like to see the market run from the May long-weekend to the first week in November where there could be a holiday themed market.

She said that she has been in contact with some 40 vendors who showed interest in the project and that there would be little cost or risk to the municipality. Dunjko said that she would like to charge a fee for vendors that would be less than other markets which she claimed charge between $15-$50 per day. She would like to charge $250 for 22 weeks, or close to $12 per day, to try and help attract vendors and those providing agriculture. This, she explained, would not only help those vendors make a profit, but it also encourages accountability amongst the vendors who will be more likely to attend each week if they have an investment in the market. In terms of risk she pointed out that all the vendors, including those selling food, would have their own insurance and be approved by the Hastings and Prince Edward Public Health Unit.

Councillor Shelia Currie threw her full support behind the idea stating, “I love this idea. I think it’s a great idea and we should be doing what we can to facilitate it…” Councillor JD Fentie was also elated by the idea and wanted to move ahead with it as quickly as possible. “[I am] absolutely excited about this. I think it’s terrific… My initial instinct is let’s not let the bureaucracy get in the way of making this happen. At the very least focusing on getting this thing operational…”

Wollaston township clerk Jennifer Trumble, was also excited about the project and pointed out that she is working on creating policies and procedures regarding the use of public land. She recommended that council defer making a decision until the policies and procedures were complete. Council Fentie disagreed with the clerk’s suggestion arguing that “The development of the policy should not get in the way of actually getting it done.” After some discussion it was decided that the clerk in conjunction with the new treasurer Matt Walker, who also has an extensive economic development background, would have a policy ready to present to council at the February meeting.

The Public Works Superintendent, Matt Kehoe, raised a couple concerns asking if there would be a need for staff assistance from the town, potential scheduling conflicts with other community groups who use the pavilion, and concerns about cars blocking the fire lane that is used to extract water in the event of a fire. It appeared that there were no conflicts with other community groups and that the vendors would not require assistance from town staff in terms of set up or tear down, and that the lane would be kept clear in the event of an emergency.

Walker also threw his support behind the idea stating “From an economic development stand point [I’m] very supportive of farmer’s markets [and] local economic development. It serves your local populace as a form of inter-populace commerce, but it is also a tourist attraction. Many people are looking to find unique products and are willing to travel if you build a reputation up and it becomes a solid market that people can rely on…”

Council voted to accept Dunjko’s presentation and directed the clerk and treasurer to formulate a policy regarding the creation of a farmer’s market and a general plan for all municipal property usages. The new polices are to be presented to council at the February 2026 council meeting.

Library presents comprehensive business plan

At the Oct. 14 meeting of Wollaston council, council passed a resolution requesting that the library board bring forward a business plan for the future of library after the library board expressed concern that the property at 5477 Centre St. Hwy 620 was being considered as surplus property. The property was designated by council in 2019 as the future site of a proposed new library and community hub. The library board requested that council reconsider it’s decision and council said that they would postpone their decision pending the library present them with a business plan. The plan was approved by the library board at their Nov. 25 meeting and submitted to the township for the December meeting.

The 71-page report was split into four sections. Section one contained background information including a history of library services in the township from its beginnings in 1972 to present. Included withing that section are current services and statistics along with information regarding the social and economic benefits of public libraries. Section two outlined the business case for a new library. Section three outlined the business plan and recommendations. Section four included appendices as well as additional supporting documentation, research, case studies, floor plans, and a list of possible grants.

The report was presented to council by the chair of the library board Roxanne Lambert and the vice-chair Peter Lennox. Lennox began the presentation outlining his passion and experience with libraries as both a patron, volunteer, and board member. Lennox pointed out the sad state of the current library that is housed in a 700 square foot portable, that has no washrooms, running water, limited space for programs is not accessible. However, he went on to point out that the libraries serve an important role in rural communities by promoting literacy and life-long learning along with providing vital services to the community such as tech support, career supports, printing and lamination, helping with government forms and more. “Libraries aren’t just about books anymore,” stated Lennox.

Lennox said that another important aspect of libraries is how they promote economic development, and economic development, said Lennox, “is and should be at the top of our mind. Just like Eaton’s and Simpon’s were economic anchors for Yorkdale in 1965, we also need anchors here and I believe that a library can be an economic anchor even if it’s not a retail establishment. We need to bring people, we need to bring image, we need to bring culture here to Coe Hill for the purpose of economic development.”

Lennox went on to outline numerous professionals who were looking for a space to provide services in Coe Hill such as the Canada Revenue Agency, the Hastings and Prince Edward Public Health Unit, the Canadian National Institute for the blind, and requests from colleges to hold classes. “The community needs expanded services,” said Lennox. “and we need adequate space for those things to happen.”

According to the library report the new 2000 square foot building would allow for professionals to have space to provide their services and “provide accessible washrooms, children’s and adult reading areas, a meeting room, program space, and energy-efficient design features.” The report further pointed out that “A larger space creates the opportunity to offer increased programs for various age groups, contributing to overall health and well being of residents. This would also support the North Hastings Community Safety & Well Being plan, which included Wollaston Township.”

The report estimated that the new library would cost approximately “$593,630 at $200 per square foot, including design, engineering, permitting, site servicing, energy-efficiency costs, and a 15% contingency.” However, the report also stated that the costs to the township would remain minimal as they would not be looking to expand their current hours of operations nor would they be adding new staff. The report further stated that “Funding would come from donations, grants, and community fundraising, with minimal direct financial contribution from the Township other than legal costs and in-kind staff support. The library board would lead the fundraising campaign and is developing a donor recognition policy.”

Lambert began her portion of the presentation by pointing out what the library board would like from council, she stated, “Today we’re looking for council’s approval to formally partner with the library board to build this new library on Centre Street. Our preference is for a long-term lease [on the land] to move this forward because the library board is not incorporated and we cannot legally own property. We also need a long-term lease to apply for grants.” Further Lambert pointed out that they would like council to commit to not selling the property at 5477 Centre St.

When it came time for questions Mayor Michael Fuerth questioned whether or not the library had to be a post-disaster building. No one seemed to know if this was the case. The Bancroft Times researched post disaster buildings and according to the Ontario building code libraries are not automatically designated a post-disaster building, unless given that designation by the municipality under their emergency management plan.

Councillor Fentie was the next to speak pointing out that the library board should aim to expand their services as opposed to maintaining current service levels. He began stating that over half a million dollars was a huge amount of money adding, “going counter to my instinct is [that the library should] go big rather than go home. If you’re going to sink that amount of money into something, expand the services…don’t go halfway with this.” Lennox replied that he’s not against that approach, but it would depend on the municipality’s economic situation in three years. “We will deal with that as time and resources permit,” he stated. Fuerth agreed, pointing out that the main need at this point is to get a new building.

Councillor Currie began her comments stating that a discussion about a new library is overdue. She said that Lambert and Lennox are preaching to the choir adding “It really comes down to cost, that’s the crux of the issue here. What can we do?” Currie raised questions about operating costs and how that might impact the ratepayers. She also spoke about the difficultly of getting capital grants and how they are getting harder to get as there are fewer of them and more competition for them. “One of the things that we’ve found in the last few years [that] is working against us applying for grants is our small population base in Coe Hill,” she stated.

There was a further discussion about looking into partnerships with other townships to make a regional library or a potential satellite library, but it was not clear how that should happen whether it should be approached on a council to council basis or a board to board basis. Councillor Wendy Mortimer raised concerns about tying the hands of the incoming council in 2026 by signing an agreement that goes beyond the term of the current council. “I think this needs a lot more planning…” she stated.

Despite some of the concerns raised council appeared to see many more benefits from pursuing a new library than to not pursue it. Council voted in favour to receive the information provided by the library board, rescind the motion to declare the property at 5477 Centre St. as surplus, and to “work with the library board on a municipal business partnership.” Lennox was “delighted” when the motion passed.

When reached for comment after the meeting Lambert stated that the meeting could not have gone better. “We were hoping that council would make the decision to not sell the property and give some consideration to partnering with the library board to move forward to build a new building on that site,” she explained. Adding “we were very pleased with the resolution.”

Bill Kilpatrick

Turn headlines:

Wollaston to move ahead with farmer’s market

Municipality agrees to partner with library board

Pic captions:

Promoting tourism, local agriculture, and local crafters. Here Sarah Dunjko, left, makes her case before council for a Friday vendor/farmer’s market to be housed at the recreational pavilion from May to November. Council agreed and plans for the market are moving ahead. /BILL KILPATRICK, staff
First steps towards a new library. Wollaston Public Library board vice-chair Peter Lennox, right, and library board chair Roxanne Lambert present a delegation regarding their business case for a new library to council. Council agreed to rescind their motion to surplus the property at 5477 Centre St. and to work with the library on a “municipal business partnership.” /BILL KILPATRICK, staff