The Corporation of the City of St. Catharines CITY COUNCIL AGENDA Regular, Monday, January 29, 2018 Council Chambers, City Hall, 6:30 PM
His Worship Mayor Walter Sendzik takes the Chair and opens the meeting |
1. | Mayor's Report |
2. | Adoption of the Agendas |
3. | Adoption of the Minutes (Council and General Committee) |
| 3.1 | Regular Meeting of Council, January 15, 2018
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| 3.2 | General Committee Minutes, January 15, 2018
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4. | Declarations of Interest |
5. | Public Meetings Pursuant to Planning Act |
6. | Delegations |
| 6.1 | Tom Richardson, Sullivan Mahoney LLP Re: Designation of 111 Church Street as a Municipal Capital Facility (Bethlehem Housing & Support Services and Penn Terra Group Limited) (see Council Agenda, Motion Item 9.1 and General Committee Agenda, Council Correspondence Item 4.12, Sub-item 1)
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| 6.2 | Jeff Hassim, Board Member, Garden City Kiwanis Hockey League Re: Feasibility of Third Party Facility Management – Bill Burgoyne Memorial Arena (see General Committee Agenda, Item 4.9)
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7. | Presentations |
8. | Call for Notices of Motion |
9. | Motions |
| 9.1 | Designation of 111 Church Street as Municipal Capital Facility (Bethlehem Housing & Support Services and Penn Terra Group Limited) (see Council Agenda, Delegation Item 6.1 and General Committee Agenda, Council Correspondence Item 4.12, Sub-item 1)
WHEREAS Bethlehem Housing and Support Services, Penn Terra Group Limited and FirstOntario Credit Union have agreed to construct a 127-unit affordable housing project at 111 Church Street in the City of St. Catharines; and
WHEREAS at its meeting of October 26, 2017, the Council of the Regional Municipality of Niagara approved an agreement with Bethlehem Housing and Support Services and Penn Terra Group Limited that would result in the development at 111 Church Street in the City of St. Catharines being deemed a municipal capital facility;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of St. Catharines supports the designation of a 127-unit affordable residential development at 111 Church Street in the City of St. Catharines as a municipal capital facility, recognizing that such municipal capital facility shall be exempt from municipal, regional and education taxes. Background Information - Reports from Regional Council
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| 9.2 | Correspondence from City of Port Colborne - Regional Council Approval of Audit Committee Recommendations respecting Town of Pelham (see Council Correspondence Item 4.6, Sub-item 12 from January 15, 2018) Pulled from Council Correspondence by Councillor Garcia and deferred by Council at the meeting of January 15, 2018:
WHEREAS for months the Region's Audit Committee has been questioning the Town of Pelham's finances; and
WHEREAS on November 20, 2017, despite Pelham's objections, Regional Council approved recommendations from its Audit Committee that were critical of Pelham's finances and included the very unusual step of contacting Pelham's lenders; and
WHEREAS a further motion from the Region's Audit Committee calls for the Province to order an investigation into Pelham's finances and land deals; and
WHEREAS the findings of the KPMG Forensic report commissioned by Pelham concluded that there has not been a material change in the Town's financial position as suggested in the Regional resolution and further, that there have been no misstatements in the Town of Pelham financial statements; and
WHEREAS on December 11, 2017, the City of Port Colborne's Council passed a motion stating they are "strongly opposed to the resolution approved by Niagara Regional Council respecting the financial position of the Town of Pelham", and a similar motion has been passed by Thorold; and
WHEREAS Regional Government has no authority or mandate to interfere in the finances of any of the Regional municipalities;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Council endorses Port Colborne's and Thorold's motions and strongly objects to the Region and its Audit Committee interfering in a local municipality's finances; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Regional Council, all Niagara municipalities and MPPs and the Provincial Auditor General be notified. FORTHWITH
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| 9.3 | Bottled Water in City Facilities Deferred by Council at the meeting of January 15, 2018 (Mayor Sendzik provided notice at the meeting of December 11, 2017):
WHEREAS previous St. Catharines City Councils have passed motions banning plastic water bottles at all municipally-owned and operated facilities and endorsed the principles of banning plastic bottled water to reduce waste and promote municipal drinking water as a safe, convenient and affordable alternative; and
WHEREAS the list of Canadian and international municipalities, colleges, universities, schools, and public institutions that have banned plastic bottled water continues to grow; and
WHEREAS the City of St. Catharines continues to offer plastic bottled water for sale at City facilities, in meetings, at public events, despite the direction of successive Councils in 2007, 2011 and 2012; and
WHEREAS environmental sustainability is one of the pillars of Council’s Strategic Plan with a goal to lead in the protection of our environment for future generations; and
WHEREAS the City of St. Catharines has invested in municipal drinking water infrastructure in City facilities and refill stations are part of normal practice, as funding and redevelopment opportunities are available; and
WHEREAS the City of St. Catharines has implemented a Drinking Water Quality Management System to ensure safe, high quality drinking water; and
WHEREAS the St. Catharines water distribution system is fully compliant with the stringent requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City of St. Catharines bans the sale of plastic bottled water in municipal facilities effective immediately; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that City Council directs the corporation to prepare a comprehensive plan to fully implement a plastic bottle ban based on best practices in Ontario municipalities and to provide Council with an implementation strategy, budget, implications for existing contracts and agreements, communications plan, and education strategy with timelines for implementation.
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| 9.4 | Waste Management At the meeting of January 15, 2018, Councillor Siscoe provided notice that he would present the following motion:
WHEREAS residents of St. Catharines and the Niagara region have been experiencing waste collection delays for several months, before the start of winter weather; and
WHEREAS waste collection is the responsibility of Niagara Region and is a core public service provided to taxpayers; and
WHEREAS Emterra has a not been fulfilling its contractual obligations with Niagara Region for waste collection;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that St. Catharines City Council urges Niagara Region to review the Emterra contract and explore alternate waste collection service providers.
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| 9.5 | Long Term Care Facilities - Increased Funding At the meeting of January 15, 2018, Councillor Sorrento provided notice that he would present the following motion:
WHEREAS St. Catharines and Niagara have a significant senior population; and
WHEREAS residents in long term care facilities have the right to dignity, timely and high-quality care; and
WHEREAS the City of St. Catharines recognizes the excellent work of Niagara Regional long term care facility front line staff and community volunteer groups like the Friends of Linhaven and the Linhaven Home Auxiliary Group; and
WHEREAS the Niagara Region continuously identifies operational efficiencies to ensure provincial funding is maximized for direct front line resident care; and
WHEREAS the amount of time staff spends directly with residents is an important metric to determine the level of care provided; and
WHEREAS residents in long term care facilities often have complex ailments resulting in increased demand for direct staff-resident contact time; and
WHEREAS the Government of Ontario announced on November 7, 2017 their 20 point plan “Aging with Confidence” that promised to increase the provincial average of direct resident care to four hours per resident per day;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City of St. Catharines calls on the Government of Ontario to ensure long term care facilities in St. Catharines and Niagara receive the necessary funding to implement four hours of direct care per resident per day at the earliest opportunity; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of St. Catharines requests the Niagara Region’s endorsement of this resolution; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution be circulated to local area municipalities, local MPPs, Premier Wynne, Minister of Health and Long Term Care, and Leaders of the Opposition.
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| 9.6 | Special In-Camera Meeting - February 12, 2018, at 5:30 p.m.
That Council approve a Special In-Camera meeting to be held on Monday, February 12, 2017, commencing at 5:30 p.m., prior to the Regular Council meeting, in the Burgoyne Woods Room, regarding litigation, or potential litigation, including matters before administrative tribunals, affecting the municipality or local board and advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose.
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| 9.7 | Access to First Draft Documents - Secondary Plan and Heritage Conservation District Plan Councillor Garcia will present the following motion:
WHEREAS, at its November 27, 2017 meeting, Council passed Councillor Williamson's motion directing staff to submit the extensively-delayed new Secondary Plan and Heritage Guidelines for Port Dalhousie to Council no later than the January 15, 2018 meeting, and it also unanimously passed Councillor Kushner's amendment: "BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, prior to the next council meeting, a report summarizing the secondary plan process, and draft plans submitted by the consultants during the process be provided to Council in order that Council be better prepared to review the final recommended version"; and
WHEREAS, at the January 15, 2018 Public Council Meeting, the Secondary Plan and Heritage Conservation District Plan consultants confirmed that they submitted drafts with their professional recommendations to City staff after the third and final originally-scheduled public information meeting / open house was held in November 2016, and that, since then, they have been making changes at the request of our staff; and
WHEREAS obtaining those first drafts from November 2016 will be very helpful to our understanding as those drafts will show what the outside experts recommended based on their professional expertise and input from the three originally-scheduled open houses, before staff started to request changes. Yet, despite Councillor Kushner's amendment and repeated requests, staff have refused to provide those first drafts, and we have been told that those drafts are working documents and "working documents are the property of staff members - not Councillors", and further, we have been advised by the City Solicitor that a Freedom of Information (FOI) request is the only way to obtain this information from staff; and
WHEREAS, on January 24, 2018, Councillors Britton, Garcia and Williamson did file an FOI request to obtain those first drafts, but it is still not clear what information staff is obligated to provide when requested by Council;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that staff be directed to get an outside legal opinion from an experienced municipal lawyer that clearly identifies what information Council has a right to request and obtain from staff and includes references to applicable legislation and pertinent case law. FORTHWITH
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10. | Resolve into General Committee |
11. | Motion Arising from In-Camera Session |
12. | Motion to Ratify Forthwith Recommendations |
13. | By-laws |
| 13.1 | Reading of By-laws
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14. | Agencies, Boards, Committee Reports |
| 14.1 | Minutes to Receive: Green Advisory Committee, November 29, 2017 Heritage Permit Advisory Committee, November 30, 2017 Arts and Culture Advisory Committee, December 5, 2017 Outdoor Aquatic Facility Task Force (Draft), January 9, 2018
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15. | Adjournment |