Budget Committee Minutes

Meeting #:Meeting No. 6
Date:
-
Location:
Council Chamber
Members
  • Councillor Amanda Collucci, Chair
  • Councillor Andrew Keyes, Vice-Chair
  • Mayor Frank Scarpitti (ex-officio)
  • Deputy Mayor Don Hamilton
  • Councillor Keith Irish
  • Councillor Reid McAlpine
  • Councillor Karen Rea
Regrets
  • Councillor Khalid Usman
Roll Call
  • Regional Councillor Jim Jones
  • Trinela Cane, Commissioner, Corporate Services
  • Brenda Librecz, Commissioner of Community & Fire Services
  • Arvin Prasad, Commissioner Development Services
  • Joel Lustig, Treasurer
  • Bryan Frois, Chief of Staff
  • Sandra Skelcher, Senior Manager, Financial Planning & Reporting
  • Matthew Vetere, Manager, Budgeting
  • Mary Creighton, Director of Recreation Services
  • Morgan Jones, Director, Operations
  • Laura Gold, Council and Committee Coordinator

The Budget Committee convened at 9:00 AM with Councillor Amanda Collucci in the Chair.

  • Moved byDeputy Mayor Don Hamilton
    Seconded byCouncillor Keith Irish

    That the Minutes from the November 1, 2019 Budget Committee Meeting be approved as presented.

    Carried

Mary Creighton, Director of Recreation provided the 2020 Recreation Budget Presentation.

Staff provided the following responses to the 2020 Recreation Budget Presentation:

Bill Crothers Soccer Field

The City and York Region District School Board equally share the operating costs of the Bill Crothers Soccer Fields, including the replacement cost. Through the City’s partnership with the School Board, the City has access to permit the fields during non-school times.

Vision for Recreational Services

The Integrated Leisure Master Plan speaks strongly towards building partnerships. As part of its future vision for the City’s recreational programs, the City is also looking at creating a subsidy for residents that cannot afford the City’s recreational fees, and addressing the demand for playing seasonal sports all year around (e.g. soccer, and hockey).

Aging Population

The City is looking at partnership opportunities to address the recreational space needs of older adults. One of the biggest challenges is that older adults prefer to meet closer to their homes.

Pan Am Centre

The PanAm Centre has a $1.2 million dollar operating deficit. Staff continue to look for opportunities to reduce this cost.

Fitness in the Park Program

Staff were encouraged to expand the Fitness in the Park Program, as it has been very well received by residents. Holding recreational activities in the Varley Courtyard and at Markham Centre as part of this program was suggested.

Hosting Tournaments at City Facilities

The City tries to balance holding tournaments at community centres and arenas with the disruption it causes to regularly scheduled programming.

Building Automation

As a member of the Corporate Energy Management team Recreation Services  works with the Asset Management Business Unit to improve the energy efficiency of the City’s Community Centres.

Community Services Rate

Not-for-profit community groups that are based in Markham and provide programs to Markham residents can apply to receive the community services rate to receive a discount when booking space at Markham’s Community Centres.

Physical Literacy

Markham in Motion is the City’s physical literacy program. It is embedded into all of the City’s recreational programs. The York Region District School Board was an active partner in the development of the program.

Aquatics Staff

Staff are looking at ways to attract and retain more aquatics staff. An aquatics think tank session was recently held to brainstorm innovative solutions to address this issue. Increasing the wages of aquatics staff is one option being explored, but funds would need to be found through revenues to support this option.

Innovation/Staying Current

Some of the activities undertaken to be innovative/ stay current in regards to the City’s recreational programs include: 1) conducting customer service surveys; 2) conducting focus group; 3) conducting brainstorming/think tank sessions; and 4) through data analytics.

Recreation Capital Budget Items

Staff provided the following responses to the 2020 Recreation Capital Budget Items:

20100 - Roof Top Condenser Replacement

The roof top condenser has likely lasted longer at the Armadale Community Centre than at Angus Glen Community Centre, as it does not have a pool or skate rink, which both place additional pressures on the system.

20113 – Water Fountains

Staff confirmed that the water fountains are being replaced two years prior to the end of their lifecycle. This brand of water fountain did not last as long as other water fountains purchased by the City in the past, repair costs have been increasing, which supports the decision to replace in advance of lifecycle.

Cornell Parking Garage

The Cornell Parking Garage has been inspected by an engineer and has been deemed structurally sound. Staff will report back to Council on how the funds that were pre-approved for the Cornell Parking Garage will be spent.

The warranty on the construction of a Community Centre is generally one or two years. 

A postmortem is held after the completion of every Community Centre and all design flaws are documented to ensure the same design flaws are not made in the design of a future City facility. The design of a community centre is very complex.

20116- Library Carpet Replacement

It was clarified that the carpet being replaced at the Cornell Library is in a different location than the carpet previously replaced.

20143- Morgan Pool Mechanical Replacement

It was clarified that this capital budget item includes the replacement of the sand filter. The mechanical system will be replaced when the pool is being renovated.

20149 – Pan AM Centre – External Vestibule

This Capital Budget item is to address the issue that the Pan Am Centre lobby does not retain adequate heat in the winter months. Different options to mitigate the issue have been explored and were presented to the Committee. The option to build an external vestibule was determined to be the most suitable option. The funds will come from the Pan AM Centre project fund, and the work will be done in the summer if the project is approved.

Committee provided the following feedback:

  • Consider hiring a wind specialist to investigate the issue;
  • Ensure the solution blends in with the design of the building;
  • Change the location of the door on the south side of the building;
  • Close off the south entrance to the building in the winter months and test if this improves the lobby temperature;
  • Open up the door on the east side of the building;
  • Look into putting up a wind screen or blocker up;
  • Find out how the vestibule will affect the temperature in the summer months;
  • Look at putting in sliding doors;
  • Item to be approved, Staff are asked to report back on recommended action prior to commencement of project.

20156 – Building Automation Replacement

The current system is being replaced with a building automation system to be smarter, more proactive and effective, and to bring the system up to the corporate standard.

20155 – Recreation Autonomous Floor Scrubbers

Committee requested that staff investigate the possibility of extending the lifecycle of two of the existing floor scrubbers for an additional year, so that the City can purchase one autonomous floor scrubber as part of a pilot project. The additional two autonomous floor scrubbers can then be purchased next year if the project is a success.

  • Moved byCouncillor Andrew Keyes
    Seconded byCouncillor Reid McAlpine

    That the Recreation Capital Budget Items be approved (Excluding Capital Budget Item No. 20155); and,

    That Capital Budget Item 20149 be approved on the condition that staff report back on the options for the project.

    Carried

None.

The next meeting of the Budget Committee will be held on Wednesday, November 6, 2019.

The Budget Committee adjourned at 11:45 AM.