GENERAL COMMITTEE
January 17, 2011
Meeting No.
3
Finance & Administrative Issues Community Services Issues
Chair: Mayor
Frank Scarpitti Chair: Councillor Alex Chiu
Vice Chair: Councillor Carolina Moretti Vice
Chair: Councillor Howard Shore
Environment
& Sustainability Issues Building,
Parks, & Construction Issues
Chair: Councillor
Valerie Burke Chair: Councillor Logan Kanapathi
Vice Chair: Regional Councillor Joe Li Vice
Chair: Councillor Colin Campbell
Alternate formats are available
upon request.
Attendance
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John
Livey, Chief Administrative Officer
Catherine
Conrad, Town Solicitor
Jim
Baird, Commissioner of Development Services
Brenda
Librecz, Commissioner of Community & Fire Services
Andy
Taylor, Commissioner of Corporate Services
Gary Adamkowski, Acting Director, Asset Management
Peter Loukes, Director, Operations
Joel Lustig,
Treasurer
Alex Moore, Manager
of Purchasing
Colin Service, Manager, Planning & Policy Development
Ernie
Ting, Manager Infrastructure
Mary
Creighton, Director Recreation Services
Martin
Barrow, Facilities Allocation Coordinator
Andrea
Tang, Manager Financial Planning
Veronica
Siu, Acting Manager, Financial Planning
Stephen
Chait, Director Economic Development
Alida
Tari, Council/Committee Coordinator
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The General Committee convened at the hour of 1:04 p.m. with Mayor Frank
Scarpitti in the Chair; Councillor Alex Chiu Chaired Community Services related
item Nos. 16 and 17.
DISCLOSURE OF
INTEREST
None disclosed.
1. MINUTES
OF THE DECEMBER 13, 2010 AND
JANUARY 10, 2011 GENERAL COMMITTEE (16.0)
December January
Moved
by Regional Councillor Gord Landon
Seconded
by Deputy Mayor Jack Heath
1)
That the Minutes of the
December 13, 2010 and January 10, 2011 General Committee be confirmed
CARRIED
2. MINUTES
OF THE DECEMBER 15, 2010
ACCESSIBILITY COMMITTEE (16.0)
Minutes
It was noted that
Alan Ho's name is misspelled in the minutes.
Councillor Don
Hamilton stated his support regarding Sydney's concern related to the
accessible parking at the new development on Highway 48 south of Major
Mackenzie Drive. Staff was requested to
look into this concern.
There was brief
discussion regarding new guidelines with respect to accessibility improvements and
accessibility changes being completed to various Town facilities.
Moved
by Regional Councillor Gord Landon
Seconded
by Deputy Mayor Jack Heath
1) That the Minutes of the December 15,
2010 Accessibility Committee be received for information purposes.
CARRIED
3. MINUTES OF THE DECEMBER 15 AND
DECEMBER 20, 2010 BUDGET SUB-COMMITTEE (16.0)
December
15 December
20
Moved
by Regional Councillor Gord Landon
Seconded
by Deputy Mayor Jack Heath
1) That the Minutes of the December 15 and
December 20, 2010 Budget Sub-Committee be received for information purposes.
CARRIED
4. MINUTES
OF THE OCTOBER 28, 2010
CYCLING & PEDESTRIAN
ADVISORY COMMITTEE (16.0)
Minutes
Moved
by Regional Councillor Gord Landon
Seconded
by Deputy Mayor Jack Heath
1) That the Minutes of the October 28,
2010 Cycling & Pedestrian Advisory Committee be received for information
purposes.
CARRIED
5. MINUTES
OF THE NOVEMBER 18, 2010
ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY
COMMITTEE (16.0)
Minutes
Moved
by Regional Councillor Gord Landon
Seconded
by Deputy Mayor Jack Heath
1) That the Minutes of the November 18,
2010 Environmental Advisory Committee be received for information purposes.
CARRIED
6. MINUTES
OF THE NOVEMBER 10, 2010
PUBLIC ART ADVISORY COMMITTEE
(16.0)
Minutes
Moved
by Regional Councillor Gord Landon
Seconded
by Deputy Mayor Jack Heath
1) That the Minutes of the November 10,
2010 Public Art Advisory Committee be received for information purposes.
CARRIED
7. MINUTES
OF THE NOVEMBER 22, 2010
PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD (16.0)
Minutes
Moved
by Regional Councillor Gord Landon
Seconded
by Deputy Mayor Jack Heath
1) That the Minutes of the November 22,
2010 Public Library Board be received for information purposes.
CARRIED
8. MINUTES
OF THE NOVEMBER 1, 2010
RACE RELATIONS COMMITTEE
(16.0)
Minutes
Moved
by Regional Councillor Gord Landon
Seconded
by Deputy Mayor Jack Heath
1) That the Minutes of the
November 1, 2010 Race Relations Committee be received for information purposes.
CARRIED
9. MINUTES
OF THE NOVEMBER 9, 2010
SENIORS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
(16.0)
Minutes
Moved
by Regional Councillor Gord Landon
Seconded
by Deputy Mayor Jack Heath
1) That the Minutes of the November 9,
2010 Seniors Advisory Committee be received for information purposes.
CARRIED
10. MINUTES
OF THE DECEMBER 1, 2010
THE FRIENDS OF THE MARKHAM
MUSEUM
FOUNDATION BOARD (16.0)
Minutes Code
of Ethics
Moved
by Regional Councillor Gord Landon
Seconded
by Deputy Mayor Jack Heath
1) That the Minutes of the December 1,
2010 The Friends of the Markham Museum Foundation Board be received for
information purposes.
CARRIED
11. AWARD
OF TENDER 006-T-10 STEELCASE ROAD
EAST SANITARY SEWER REPAIR
(7.12.1)
Report
The Committee inquired what is being done to
recover the $426,417.24. Ms. Catherine
Conrad, Town Solicitor advised that the Town is in the process of taking legal
action against a property owner on Steelecase Road.
There was brief discussion regarding the 2008
Capital Budget account(#053-6150-8334-005) being used to fund the cost to
repair the sewers in order to mitigate further damage and risks.
Moved
by Regional Councillor Gord Landon
Seconded
by Deputy Mayor Jack Heath
1) That
the report entitled “Award of Tender 006-T-10 Steelcase Road East Sanitary
Sewer Repair” be received; and,
2) That the contract for tender 006-T-10 Steelcase Road East
Sanitary Sewer Repair be awarded to the sole bidder, Tectonic Infrastructure
Inc., in the amount of $396,813.84 inclusive of HST; and,
3) That a contingency be established in the amount of $29,603.40
inclusive of HST to cover any additional construction costs; and,
4) That the award be funded from the Sewer System Upgrade Program
account #053-6150-8334-005 of the Town’s 2008 Capital Budget in the amount of
$426,417.24 inclusive of HST; and further,
5) That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things
necessary to give effect to this resolution.
CARRIED
12. 2011
BUDGET SCHEDULE (7.0)
Report
Moved
by Regional Councillor Gord Landon
Seconded
by Deputy Mayor Jack Heath
1) That the report dated January 17, 2011 entitled “2011 Budget
Schedule” be received; and,
2) That the Budget Sub-Committee meetings
scheduled for the dates and times below be approved;
Meeting
#3 – Monday,
January 10th (1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. – Canada Room)
Meeting
#4 – Monday,
January 24th (1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. – Canada Room)
Meeting
#5 – Monday,
January 31st (1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. – Canada Room)
Meeting
#6 – Monday,
February 7th (2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. – Canada Room); and,
3) That
the Draft Public Meeting Presentation be presented at the February 14th
General Committee meeting; and,
4) That
a public meeting be held on February 23rd to receive public feedback
on the 2011 Budget; and further,
5) That Staff be authorized and directed
to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
Note: Please see January 25, 2011 Council minutes
for an amended schedule
13. PROPOSED
2011 WATER/WASTEWATER
RATE INCREASE (7.0)
Report Appendix
A
There was discussion regarding York
Region's projected 10% water increase over the next two years.
The Committee requested that staff provide
some information related to delinquency rates.
It was pointed out that funds received from
water rates are strictly used for the water system only (reinvestments into the
system and upgrades to infrastructure to keep up with forecasted growth).
Moved
by Regional Councillor Gord Landon
Seconded
by Deputy Mayor Jack Heath
1) That the report dated
January 17, 2011 entitled “Proposed 2011 Water/Wastewater Rate Increase” be
received; and,
2) That staff be authorized to hold a
public meeting on February 1, 2011 at 6:45p.m. on the
proposed 2011
Water/Wastewater rate increase; and,
3) That the 2011 Town of Markham’s
(“Town”) Water/Wastewater rate increase be equivalent to the Region of York’s
(“Region”) monetary increase of $0.1352 per cubic metre (m3) based
on Region’s estimated increase of 10%; and,
4) That in addition to the Region’s
increase, the 2011 Water/Wastewater rate increase includes a surcharge of $0.0683/m3;
and,
5) That effective April 1, 2011, the 2011 Water/Wastewater rate will be
$2.4164/m3,
an increase of $0.2035/m3; and further,
6) That Staff be authorized to present the
“2011 Proposed Water/Wastewater Rates” presentation (Appendix A) at the
February 1, 2011 Public Meeting.
CARRIED
14. DISSOLUTION OF THE GRANTS
SUB-COMMITTEE
AND APPROVAL OF FIRST QUARTER
2011
CELEBRATE MARKHAM GRANTS (7.6)
Report
The Committee suggested that clause 2 of the
resolution be amended to replace "General Committee" with
"Budget Subcommittee".
There was discussion regarding the three
suggested Celebrate Markham events to be approved and whether the same level of
funding should be provided to all community groups/organizations that received Celebrate
Markham grants in 2010. It was noted
that the three suggested (Black History Month, Chinese New Year Celebration and
Tony Roman Hockey Tournament) are being approved at this time as a result of
timing issues. The Committee briefly
discussed the importance of going through the grant application process prior
to approving any other grants.
Joel Lustig, Treasurer, presented the
Committee with the list of community groups/organizations that received Celebrate
Markham grants in 2010.
Moved by Regional Councillor Gord Landon
Seconded by Deputy Mayor Jack Heath
1) That the report entitled “Dissolution of the Grants
Sub-Committee and approval of first quarter 2011 Celebrate Markham Grants” be
received; and,
2) That the Grants Sub-Committee be dissolved and the decision
making responsibilities be transferred to Budget
Subcommittee; and,
3) That the following Celebrate Markham events: Black History
Month ($2,000), Chinese New Year Celebration ($10,000) and the Tony Roman
Hockey Tournament ($6,000) be approved at the 2010 funding levels; and,
4) That Staff to bring forward the remaining 2011 Celebrate
Markham Grant requests at a future General Committee meeting; and further,
5) That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things
necessary to give effect to this resolution.
Note: Please see January 25,
2011 Council minutes for amended grant amount
15. BUDGET
SUB COMMITTEE-
ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE
(7.0)
Report
The Committee advised that Terms of
References need to be established for these suggested task forces and/or
working groups.
There was discussion regarding whether any
of these suggested task forces could be referred to other existing Town Committee
and whether any of them could be part of the proposed "At Your Service"
task force.
The Committee discussed what the intended objective
is for the proposed Windrow Plowing Services task force.
The Committee made the following
suggestions:
·
Windrow Plowing Service be a
task force
·
Include Regional Councillor Joe
Li and Councillor Alex Chiu as members for the Windrow Plowing Service task force
·
Implementation of
Light-Emitting Diode (LED) Streetlight Continue be a working group and include
Councillor Alex Chiu as a member
·
Refer the Consolidation of TXM
(Tax Manager) and Amanda to the Information Technology Subcommittee (IT)
·
Boulevard Maintenance on
Regional and Local Roads be a working group and include the following as
members Regional Councillor Gord Landon, Regional Councillor Joe Li and
Councillor Alex Chiu
Moved by Regional Councillor Gord Landon
Seconded by Deputy Mayor Jack Heath
1) That the report
dated January 10th, 2011 entitled “Establishment of Task Forces” be
brought forward to General Committee for approval; and,
2) That the following
bodies be established to investigate the following areas, with
members as noted and Chairs to be appointed by the
members:
a) Windrow Plowing Services Task Force
Regional Councillor Gord Landon
Regional Councillor Joe Li
Councillor Colin Campbell
Councillor Alan Ho
Councillor Don Hamilton
Councillor Logan Kanapathi
Councillor
Alex Chiu
b) Implementation of Light-Emitting Diode
(LED) Streetlights Continue Working
Group
Regional Councillor Gord Landon
Councillor Howard Shore
Councillor
Alex Chiu
c) That the Consolidation of the
following be referred to the Information Technology Subcommittee:
Consolidation of TXM (Tax Manager)
and Amanda
Councillor Alan Ho
Councillor Howard Shore
d) Boulevard Maintenance on Regional and
Local Roads Working Group
Deputy
Mayor Heath
Regional
Councillor Jim Jones
Regional
Councillor Gord Landon
Regional
Councillor Joe Li
Councillor
Alex Chiu
e) E3
Taskforce
To be reinstated with
current members: Mayor Frank Scarpitti. Deputy Mayor Jack Heath, Regional
Councillor Jim Jones, Regional Councillor Gord Landon, and Councillor Carolina
Moretti, and additional members appointed: Regional Councillor Joe Li Councillor
Howard Shore; and,
3) That the task force
and working groups report back to General Committee on
opportunities and action items on or before June 13th,
2011; and,
4) That any financial
implications be considered in the 2012 budget process; and
further,
5) That Staff be
authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this
resolution.
CARRIED
16. COMMUNITY
LEAD TESTING PROGRAM-
STATUS REPORT (6) (5.3)
Report
Moved by Deputy
Mayor Jack Heath
Seconded by Councillor
Valerie Burke
1) That the report titled “Community Lead Testing Program –
Status Report (6)” be received; and,
2) That staff report back to Council with the findings of the
Community Lead Testing Program after completion of sampling period #7; and
further,
3) That staff be authorized and directed to do all things
necessary to give effect to this resolution.
CARRIED
17. CRICKET
PITCH ALLOCATION POLICY (6.0)
Report Policy
The Committee
discussed the importance of ensuring that the cricket allocation policy
promotes a greater stewardship for the cricket pitches. Staff advised that when permits are issued
the permit owner is given an orientation on the Town's expectations.
There was discussion
regarding allocation for local groups.
Staff advised that the Town only provides allocation for cricket pitches
to Markham residents and allocation time is based proportionately to the number
of Markham residents.
Deputy Mayor Jack
Heath requested that he work with staff to expand on 7.3 of the Cricket
Allocation Policy to address his concerns prior to January 25, 2011 Council
meeting.
Moved by Deputy Mayor
Jack Heath
Seconded by Councillor
Don Hamilton
1) That the report entitled “Cricket Pitch
Allocation Policy” be received; and,
2) That
Council endorse the Cricket Pitch Policy, giving staff the authority to
allocate time on pitches in accordance with the policy; and further,
3) That
staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to
this resolution.
CARRIED
NEW BUSINESS
18. DOG OFF-LEASH AREAS (6.3)
Councillor Howard Shore advised the
Committee that he has been receiving numerous inquires regarding dog off-leash
areas. It was suggested that he hold a
Public Information Meeting for his constituents explaining how the process
regarding requests for dog off-leash areas are handled.
Councillor Shore inquired how many applications
have been received and approved by the Town for dog off-leash areas. It was suggested that staff e-mail that
response to the Mayor and Members of Council.
19. FEDERATION OF CANADIAN
MUNICIPALITIES (FCM) (13.12.4)
Councillor Alex Chiu expressed an interest
in running for the election for the Board of FCM and asked Members of Council
for their support.
Moved
by Deputy Mayor Jack Heath
Seconded
by Regional Councillor Gord Landon
That
Council support Councillor Alex Chiu's decision to seek a position as a
Director of FCM's National Board; and,
That
Council approve any expenses associated with Councillor Alex Chiu's attendance
at FCM Board meeting should he be elected.
CARRIED
20. RESTRICTED MATTERS
January 17, 2011 General
Committee Meeting (16.0)
Moved by
Councillor Carolina Moretti
Seconded by
Councillor Alex Chiu
That, in
accordance with Section 239 (2) (c) of the Municipal
Act, General Committee resolve into an in-camera session to discuss the
following confidential matters (3:04 PM):
1) A proposed or
pending acquisition or disposition of land by the municipality or local board.
(See Restricted Agenda)
CARRIED
Moved by Deputy Mayor Jack Heath
Seconded by Regional Councillor Jim Jones
That the Committee rise from the in-camera session (6:06 PM)
CARRIED
ADJOURNMENT
The General Committee meeting adjourned at
6:09 PM