Earlier in the month, City Council announced the 2026 budget plan which included a $41.3 million request from Peterborough Police Services. 

Police Chief Stu Betts said the funding increase would allow the service to fulfill new requirements set out by the provincial government’s Community Safety and Policing Act with an additional $91.9 million being allocated to expand and renovate police facilities. 

This includes renovations to the 500 Water Street station, and the construction of a new police station on a Lansdowne Street Property that was purchased in January 2024. Included in the facility upgrades is a provincially mandated indoor pool and Nordic spa, in partnership with Therme, in the basement level of the new Lansdowne location.

This comes from a private agreement made between Premier Doug Ford and Therme Spa, the same company which, as of 2019, has taken over the former Ontario Place location to implement Nordic spa locations to every Ontario police station. 

In a statement to Arthur, Mayor Jeff Leal confirmed  “We will also be discontinuing the annual payment of $150,000 to the DBIA and reallocating it into the police budget.”

An unidentified spokesperson from the DBIA who was in attendance at the meeting and wishes to remain anonymous threw a paper airplane at Stu Betts which contained a note that stated “Give up the $150,000 or else”. 

Police Chief Betts responded to the audience that Police Services would be unable to give up the “$150,000 from [their] budget because it would require [them] to hire one less officer in [their] current recruitment process” stating that it was “completely unfathomable given how detrimental that would be to the downtown area.” 

He elaborated further, stating “the best thing we can do for downtown is have one more police officer there.” 

The DBIA spokesperson replied that if the police did not reallocate the $150,000 back to them, they would be “entitled to the usage of the indoor pool and Nordic spa at the new police services Lansdowne location” and continued, “we have no intention of being courteous about towel usage, especially in sauna areas.” 

Coun. Alex Bierk interrupted the ordeal, suggesting that the police services project be capped at $75 million, to which Stu Betts responded by reminding him that the building of the indoor pool and nordic spa were provincially mandated and that a secondary nordic spa location would be necessary by 2028 based on the number of officers employed by the Peterborough Police Services. 

Mayor Jeff Leal reminded everyone that in addition to the indoor pool and Nordic spa renovations, the Community Safety and Policing Act required facility upgrades that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, by increasing them exponentially during construction and then maintaining them to a slightly lower level after renovations would be completed so that emissions “actually equalize to zero” and that he is “really good at math.” 

Police Chief Stu Betts addressed Mayor Leal, stating “I have been hit by another paper airplane with a note on it, this time it says ‘towel’ with an X through it and has a picture of a bum.” 

Betts stated that he believes the note came from a member of the DBIA. 

The DBIA spokesperson responded by stating “I would NEVER draw a bum like that! I would draw a bum like this!” and proceeded to hold up a drawn picture of a bum, which indeed, was not the same bum as the one which appeared on the note that had been directed to Police Chief Stu Betts. 

Police Chief Betts responded to the DBIA spokesperson accusing them of “drawing that bum differently on purpose!” in an attempt to frame him for fabricating the note. 

Coun. Lesley Parnell suggested that the meeting be called to a close. This suggestion was disputed by Coun. Joy Lachica, stating that Coun. Parnell’s suggestion to not continue discussion to find out who drew the bum “interrupted democratic process” and violated the City’s Procedural By-law. This motion passed 10-1, with Coun. Lesley Parnell voted against the motion to figure out who drew the bum.  

An additional vote was held to determine whether or not council believed that the bum drawing came from the member of the DBIA. The result of the vote was 6-5, with Councillors Joy Lachica, Keith Riel, Andrew Beamer, Alex Bierk, Gary Baldwin and Matt Crowley voting in favour of the bum not coming from the DBIA, with Coun. Riel stating that it was “clear that the second bum was not drawn the same as the first, and couldn’t have been drawn by the DBIA member.” 

Later, Mayor Jeff Leal said that some “extremely difficult choices” were being made in the 2026 budget, and that $8 million would need to be cut from the city’s operating budget. 

Leal continued, claiming that $8 million is equal to closing both library branches, ceasing snowplowing, and the tax supported waste management programs. 

“Even though the inground pool and Nordic spa addition to the Lansdowne location will cost approximately $65 million, there is absolutely no room to decrease these costs as they are following the provincially mandated requirements of marble floors, luxury sandals for each officer, and dimmable mood lighting in every room,” Leal told council.

Police Chief Betts added that “the dimmable lights are not meant to create a homoerotic atmosphere” elaborating that “not all dimmable lights create homoerotic atmospheres” and that he can confirm this as the Police Board meetings take place in a room with dimmable lights. 

The DBIA spokesperson responded “all dimmable lights are homo-erotic. You can’t separate dimmable lights and homoeroticism.” 

A vote on whether dimmable lights are unable to be separated from homoeroticism was held, with council voting unanimously in favour, concluding that all dimmable lights do create homoerotic atmospheres, especially those used in the Police Board meetings.