M I N U T E S
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
2003-12-16
Canada
Room
Meeting No. 1
Attendance
|
Mayor D.
Cousens
Regional Councillors F.
Scarpitti
J.
Heath
J. Jones
B.
O'Donnell (12:05
p.m.)
Councillors S.
Daurio
E.
Shapero (11:45 a.m.)
G.
McKelvey (12:35 pm)
J.
Webster
K.
Usman (11:45 a.m.)
A.
Chiu
|
J. Livey, Chief Administrative Officer
S. Birrell, Town Clerk
B. Cribbett, Treasurer
C. Conrad, Town Solicitor
R. Hutcheson, Manager, Heritage Planning
P. Miller, Manager, Secretariat Services
J. Sales, Commissioner of Community
and Fire
Services
V. Shuttleworth, Director of Planning & Urban
Design
A. Taylor, Commissioner of Corporate Services
M. F. Turner, Commissioner of Strategy,
Innovations
& Partnership
P. Wealleans. Director of Taxation
|
The Committee of the Whole meeting convened at the hour of 11:35 a.m.
with Mayor D. Cousens in the Chair.
DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST
None declared.
1. MINUTES
OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
NOVEMBER 25, 2003 (16.0)
Moved by Councillor A. Chiu
Seconded by Councillor J. Webster
That the minutes of the Committee of the Whole meeting held on November
25, 2003 be confirmed.
Carried
2. 2004 WATER/WASTEWATER RATE INCREASE
(5.3 & 5.5)
Weblink By-Law
A public meeting was held on December 9, 2003 to obtain public input on
the proposed retail water/sewer rate increase.
Committee had before it a report dated December 16, 2003 in this regard.
Moved by Councillor S. Daurio
Seconded by Councillor J. Webster
That the report dated December 16, 2003
entitled "2004 Water/Wastewater Rate Increase" be received;
And that the Town of Markham's water/wastewater
rate be increased by $0.0610 per cubic meter effective January 1, 2004 to a
total of $1.2810 per cubic metre;
And that By-law 2002-276, the by-law on fees
and charges for services or activities provided or performed by the Town of
Markham, be amended to reflect the increase in water/wastewater rates.
(By-law 2003-240)
Carried
3. DESIGNATION
UNDER PART IV OF THE
ONTARIO HERITAGE ACT
THE CAPTAIN ROBERT REESOR HOUSE, 8042 REESOR ROAD
(16.11.3) Weblink
Moved by Councillor S. Daurio
Seconded by Councillor K. Usman
That
Heritage Markham’s recommendation to designate the Captain Robert Reesor House
at 8042 Reesor Road under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act be
approved;
And
that the Clerks Department be authorized to:
·
publish and serve Council’s Notice of Intention to Designate as per the
requirements of the Act; and
·
prepare the Designation By-law for this property;
And that the Province of Ontario be requested
to enter into a heritage conservation easement agreement with the Town, prior
to the transfer of the property from Provincial ownership.
Carried
4. INTERNATIONAL STONE SCULPTURE
SYMPOSIUM - 2004 - VARLEY ART
GALLERY (6.5 & 6.12) Weblink
Moved by Councillor E. Shapero
Seconded by Councillor K. Usman
That the Town accept the organizer's decision
to defer the International Stone Sculpture Symposium (ISSS), originally to be
held in the summer of 2004, to the summer of 2005;
And that the Memorandum of Understanding
between Echo Research Institute and the Town of Markham be amended to change
the date of occurrence to the summer of 2005, and establish October 31, 2004 as
the date by which financial sustainability must be demonstrated to the
satisfaction of the Town in order for the event to proceed on Town owned lands;
And that no funds, either as a grant, loan or
letter of guarantee, be advanced to Echo Research Institute at this time.
Carried
as amended
(See
following motion to amend)
Moved by Councillor J. Jones
Seconded by Councillor S. Daurio
That the date by which financial sustainability must be
demonstrated be amended to read October 31, 2004.
Carried
5. PROPERTY TAX REDUCTION PROGRAM
FOR HERITAGE PROPERTIES (7.3
& 16.11) Weblink
On December 8, 2003, Finance and Administrative Committee referred
consideration of this matter to the meeting this date in order for staff to
provide clarification of the wording for these procedural matters:
- Clause
1, Sub-section 1: clarify heritage easement criteria;
- Clause
1, Sub-section 2: clarification relating to heritage classification;
- Clause
1, Sub-section 3: clarification regarding building and/or land; and
- Clause
1, Sub-section 3: clarification regarding infractions - eligibility and time
frame.
Some discussion took place regarding the requirements for approval of a
heritage grant, the financial implications to the homeowner, the conditions for
a heritage tax rebate and its potential effect on property values.
A letter dated December 12, 2003 from Mr. Glenn Baron in objection to
the proposed Heritage Properties Tax Reduction Program, was tabled.
Moved by Councillor S. Daurio
Seconded by Councillor A. Chiu
That the Town of Markham implement a Heritage
Property Tax Reduction Program effective January 1, 2003 under the provisions
of Section 365.2 of the Municipal Act, 2001 to
provide tax relief for eligible heritage properties as defined in the Act and in the by-law attached to this report;
And that the criteria for eligibility in the
heritage tax reduction program include the following:
- To meet Provincial requirements an eligible heritage property must
be designated as a property of cultural heritage value or interest under
Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act
or it must be part of a heritage conservation district under Part V of the
Ontario Heritage Act; and, in
either case, the property must be subject to a heritage easement agreement
under section 22 or 37 of the Ontario Heritage Act;
and
- To meet Town of Markham requirements, an eligible property/building
must meet all of the following additional eligibility criteria to the
satisfaction of the Commissioner of Development Services:
a.
Be classified as a Group 1 or Group 2 structure as evaluated by Heritage
Section staff using the Town of Markham’s ‘Evaluating Heritage Resource’
document; and
b.
Be in a good and habitable condition.
- If only a portion of a property (building and land) is deemed to be
of cultural heritage value, Town staff would determine that proportion for
the purposes of the application and forward the application to the
Municipal Property Assessment Corporation for an assessed value of the
portion;
- A heritage easement agreement must be in place by December 31 of the
taxation year for which relief is sought except for 2003 in which case the
heritage easement agreement must be in place no later than July 31,
2004;
- The property must not be the subject of any Town by-law
contraventions, work orders or other outstanding municipal requirements as
of the date the application is made;
- The amount of the annual heritage tax rebate be set at 30% of taxes
payable on the eligible property;
- There are no outstanding municipal fines, arrears of taxes, fees or
penalties assessed against the property.
And that Council support the elimination of
the agreement preparation fees associated with heritage conservation easement
agreements to encourage property owners to enter into these forms of agreements
as part of Markham’s commitment to preserving its local heritage resources;
And that the heritage tax reduction will be
applied to taxes as levied, or as reduced on a reconsideration or assessment
appeal;
And that the Town of Markham’s Fees and
Charges Bylaw 2002- 276 be amended to reflect the elimination of the easement
agreement fees and to include the heritage tax reduction application fee;
And that the application fee of 20% of the
annual heritage reduction for the initial year of application and the
application fee of 10% of the annual heritage tax reduction for each renewal
period (every third year) be deducted from the total annual heritage tax
reduction amount once calculated;
And that the
Heritage Tax Reduction shall be repaid by the owner in full for every year for
which there are outstanding municipal by-law contraventions, work orders,
penalties, fees, arrears of taxes, fines or other outstanding municipal
requirements;
And that staff report annually to Council on
the program and include elements such as the number of applications, costs and
resource requirements;
And that the Regional Municipality of York be
requested to pass its own heritage tax reduction by-law to account for its
share of the total taxes, failing which the 30% reduction in taxes would be
limited to the Town and education components;
And that the necessary by-laws be enacted.
(By-laws
2003-341 & 2003-342)
Carried
(See
following motion to amend which was lost)
Moved by Councillor J. Jones
Seconded by Councillor K. Usman
That consideration of a Town of
Markham Heritage Property Tax Reduction Program be deferred to the first
quarter of 2004.
Lost
6. MARKHAM MUSEUM IMPLEMENT BUILDING
COLLECTIONS MOVE (6.7
&7.6)
Committee had before it a report dated December 8, 2003 from the
Director, Recreation and Culture Services, regarding the Markham Museum
implement building collections move. A
report dated December 16, 2003 providing further information on additional
costs, was tabled.
Barb Roth, Director, Recreation and Culture Services, provided a verbal
update.
John Storey, Chair, Markham Little Theatre (MLT) Fundraising Committee,
was in attendance and advised Committee that the additional costs would cause
MLT some financial difficulty.
Options were discussed and it was agreed that payments should remain as
close to current payments as possible.
Moved by Deputy Mayor F. Scarpitti
Seconded by Councillor A. Chiu
That the verbal update by the Director,
Recreation and Culture Services on additional costs for the Markham Museum
Implement Building collections move, be received;
And that the report from staff regarding
costs in connection with the Markham Museum Implement Building collections
move, be received;
And that the report entitled "Markham
Museum Implement Building Collections Move", be received;
And that, in order to expedite the moving and
safe interim storage for museum collections until a permanent solution is
determined, the $200,000 interest-free loan approved by Council at its meeting
held on September 22, 2003, for the construction of a workshop, storage and
rehearsal facility at the Markham Museum site, be increased by $58,830;
And that the Markham Little Theatre repay the
loan with equal annual payments over the next eighteen (18) years beginning on
the first draw.
Carried
7. COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS
MAYOR'S SENIOR AWARD COMMITTEE
(16.24)
Moved by Councillor K. Usman
Seconded by Councillor S. Daurio
Mayor's
Senior Award Committee
That one advertisement be placed in the
newspapers to obtain applications from interested individuals for the Mayor's
Senior Award Committee;
And that appointments to the Mayor's Senior
Award Committee be considered with all other 2004 advisory committee
appointments;
Budget Sub-committee
And that the following Councillors be
appointed to the Budget Sub-committee for a term to expire November 30, 2006:
Councillor D. Horchik, Chair
Deputy Mayor F. Scarpitti
Regional Councillor J. Jones
Regional Councillor J. Heath
Councillor A. Chiu
Councillor S. Daurio
Councillor E. Shapero
Councillor K. Usman;
Day Care Committee
And that the following appointments to the
Day Care Committee for a term expiring March 31, 2004, be confirmed:
Courtney Chang
Cathy McKnight
Alene Swan
Tammy Roth
Helen Soehner
Michelle Alley
Graeme Allan
Susy Martino
Shawna Sheldon
Rick Tuzi
Finance
and Administrative Committee
And that Councillor A. Chiu
be appointed to the Finance and Administrative Committee for a term to expire
November 30, 2006;
German Mills Community
Centre Board
And that the following appointments to the
German Mills Community Centre Board for a term expiring December 31, 2004, be
confirmed:
Erin
Cattral
Kathy
Branny
Stan
Solomon
Eileen
Carter
Helen
Duffy
Myra
Bechtel
Markham
Race Relations Committee
And that the following
Members of Council be appointed to the Markham Race Relations Committee for a
term to expire November 30, 2006:
Deputy Mayor F. Scarpitti
Councillor E. Shapero
Councillor K. Usman;
Safe
Streets Task Force
And that the following
Members of Council be appointed to the Safe Streets Task Force:
Councillor A. Chiu
Councillor J. Webster
Councillor K. Usman, Chair of Transportation Committee;
Victoria Square Community
Centre Board
And that the following appointments to the
Victoria Square Community Centre Board for a term expiring December 31, 2004,
be confirmed:
Gord
Combdon
Edith
Friedel
Joy
Mortson
Jean
McCron
Ruth
Brock
James
Barker;
And that Deputy Mayor F. Scarpitti be
appointed as ex-officio on all Town of Markham committees.
Carried
8. CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY
TO UNIONVILLE (12.2.6)
A press release dated December 16, 2003 from the Varley Art Gallery was
tabled announcing that the Ontario Heritage Foundation has approved funding of
up to $175,000 for the restoration of the Salem Eckhardt/McKay House on Main
Street Unionville.
9. ECONOMIC ALLIANCE
WITH SINGAPORE AND SRI LANKA
(12.2.6)
Moved by Deputy Mayor F. Scarpitti
Seconded by Regional Councillor J. Heath
That Mayor Cousens be authorized to meet with
and extend best wishes to the Mayors of Singapore and Colombo and to establish
an economic alliance with Singapore and Sri Lanka.
Carried
The Committee of the Whole meeting adjourned at 12:20
p.m.