General Committee
November 23, 2015
Meeting
Number 31
Finance & Administrative Issues Community Services Issues
Chair: Deputy Mayor Jack
Heath Chair: Councillor Alan Ho
Vice Chair: Councillor Colin Campbell Vice
Chair: Councillor Alex Chiu
Environment
& Sustainability Issues Building,
Parks, & Construction Issues
Chair: Councillor
Valerie Burke Chair: Councillor Colin
Campbell
Vice Chair: Councillor Karen Rea Vice Chair: Regional Councillor Nirmala
Armstrong
Alternate formats are available
upon request.
Attendance
Regrets
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Andy
Taylor, Chief Administrative Officer
Trinela
Cane, Commissioner of Corporate Services
Brenda
Librecz, Commissioner of Community & Fire Services
Catherine
Conrad, City Solicitor
Kimberley
Kitteringham, City Clerk
Joel
Lustig, Treasurer
Alex Moore, Manager
of Purchasing & Accounts Payable
Christopher
Alexander, Acting Manager, By-Law
Enforcement
& Regulatory Services
Carlie Turpin, Public
Services & Records Coordinator
Peter
Loukes, Director Environmental Services
Andrea
Tang, Manager, Financial Planning
Veronica Siu, Senior
Business Analyst
Alida
Tari, Council/Committee Coordinator
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The General Committee meeting convened at the hour of 9:11 AM with Deputy
Mayor Jack Heath in the Chair.
General Committee recessed at 12:33 PM and reconvened at 1:28 PM.
Disclosure of
Interest
None disclosed.
1. TOOGOOD POND (6.0)
Mr. Reid McAlpine, on
behalf of the Unionville Business Improvement Area, The Unionville Ratepayers
Association, The Unionville Villagers Association and The Unionville Historical
Society addressed the Committee requesting that the City maintain Toogood Pond
as an outdoor skating facility.
Moved by Councillor
Don Hamilton
Seconded by Councillor
Colin Campbell
That the deputation
from Mr. Reid McAlpine regarding the request to maintain Toogood Pond as an
outdoor skating facility be received; and,
That the request to
maintain Toogodd Pond as an outdoor skating facility be referred back to staff
and report back at the December 7, 2015 General Committee meeting.
Carried
2. MUNICIPAL TAX (7.3)
Shelly Srivastav,
Markham resident addressed the Committee regarding the proposed 2016 municipal
tax rate. She is requesting that the
City consider ways to reduce the proposed increase in tax rate.
It was suggested that
Joel Lustig, Treasurer, meet with Ms. Srivastav to discuss her concerns relative
to the proposed municipal tax rate for 2016.
3. MARKHAM’S TAXI INDUSTRY (2.23)
Presentation
Kimberley Kitteringham, City
Clerk, Chris Alexander, Acting Manager, By-Law Enforcement & Regulatory
Services, and Carlie Turpin, Public Services & Records Coordinator
delivered a PowerPoint presentation with respect to Markham’s Taxi Industry.
The Committee discussed the
following with respect to Markham’s Taxi Industry:
·
Number
of “bandit” cabs and how do these get addressed?
·
Limousine
Industry – what service can they provide?
·
Is
the Uber service cheaper than licensed taxi cabs?
·
The
need for additional By-law officers to control the unlicensed service providers
·
Tariff
rate for Markham taxis
·
Requirement
of GTTA plate to pick up from Toronto Pearson International airport
·
What
should the role of municipalities be relative to the taxi industry
·
The
importance of redefining the regulatory definitions in the City’s By-law to
include services that are being provided by Uber
·
The
importance of consistent province-wide rules/legislation to regulate share ride
services
·
Should
taxi cabs be regulated by municipalities?
·
Forward
report to Markham MPP’s
·
Ensure
that insurance companies have a good idea of who is operating as Uber
·
Can
Uber vehicles have a sign on their vehicle
·
Staff
to report back on how much money these unregulated services are costing the
municipality
·
That
the City Clerk forward a letter to Tim Hudak, Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP),
Niagara West, Glanbrook to put a hold on the proposed bill to legalize Uber
The
Committee suggested that staff provide a memo to the Budget Committee regarding
hiring additional By-law enforcement officers.
Arie
Leitman addressed the Committee regarding Markham’s Taxi Industry and stated
concerns with the increasing licensing fees. He is requesting that the City
update the By-law that regulates taxi services.
Spiros
Bastas addressed the Committee with respect to Markham’s Taxi Industry and
stated concerns with Uber service. He believes that uber drivers should be
licensed through the municipality the same as taxi cabs.
Shahzad
Ahmed addressed the Committee regarding Markham’s Taxi Industry and is
requesting that the City update the By-law regulating taxi services to ensure
that uber has no legal ability to continue their service.
Yohuda
Shahaf addressed the Committee with respect to Markham’s Taxi Industry and
suggesting that uber services should have a sign on their vehicles stating that
it is an uber service. He believes that the municipalities should ensure uber
services are licensed the same as taxi cabs.
Mansoor
Iobal addressed the Committee regarding Markham’s Taxi Industry and stated
concerns with the increasing fees to operate a taxi cab. He is requesting that the By-law be updated
immediately.
Souhad
Abdull addressed the Committee with respect to Markham’s Taxi Industry and
stated concern with uberX services. He is suggesting that the taxi license fees
be lowered.
Youseff
Assoud addressed the Committee regarding Markham’s Taxi Industry and stated
concerns with the unlicensed services taking away from licensed taxi cabs.
Vasilios
Sakorafas addressed the Committee with respect to Markham’s Taxi Industry and
stated concerns with the unlicensed taxi services such as Uber.
Tahir
Sultan addressed the Committee regarding Markham’s Taxi Industry and stated
concerns with the unlicensed taxi services.
Moved by
Councillor Amanda Collucci
Seconded by
Councillor Logan Kanapathi
1) That the presentation by Ms. Kimberley
Kitteringham, City Clerk, Mr. Chris Alexander, Acting Manager, By-Law
Enforcement & Regulatory Services, and Ms. Carlie Turpin, Public Services
& Records Coordinator entitled “Markham’s Taxi Industry” be received; and,
2) That staff report back to the General
Committee on January 18, 2016 meeting with amendments to By-law 2012-92 to:
a) Revise the current definitions for taxicabs, owners, taxicab
brokers & limousine service companies;
b) Add additional wording to prohibit the dispatching of unlicensed
taxicabs & limousines; and,
3) That staff report back to General
Committee in January, 2016 on the establishment of a Taxicab & Limousine
Advisory Committee (TLAC) to assist the City in consulting with industry
stakeholders; and,
4) That staff report back to General
Committee meeting in February, 2016, on the following:
a) Fare rates;
b) A review of the City of Markham’s driver
training requirements;
c) other regulations that affect the taxi
industry; and,
5) That the deputations from Spiros
Bastas, Arie Leitman, Shahzad Ahmed, Yohuda Shahaf, Mansoor Iobal, Souhad
Abdull, Youseff Massoud, Vasilios Sakorafas and Tahir Sultan be received; and,
6) That staff continue to
monitor the status of the Provincial Bill and collaborate with other Ontario
municipalities on a unified policy approach to address Uber and report back to
General Committee in the Spring, 2016; and,
7) That Markham’s Taxicab
& Limousine Industry be encouraged to review & adopt customer service
enhancements including:
•
Online payment options
•
Real time GPS tracking
•
Direct customer feedback
mechanism, and further,
8) That
MPP’s work collaboratively with City of Markham and that this report be
forwarded to all Markham MPP’s, The Ministry of Government and Consumer
Services, and Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario
Carried
4. STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM PREVIOUS
AUDITOR GENERAL (11.0)
Presentation Appendix
A
General Committee
consented to defer this item to the December 7, 2015 General Committee meeting.
1) That the presentation by Ms. Trinela
Cane, Commissioner, Corporate Services entitled “Status of Implementation of
Recommendations from Previous Auditor General ”, be received.
5. 2016 PROPOSED WATER/WASTEWATER RATES (7.4)
Presentation Report
Peter Loukes, Director,
Environmental Services and Veronica Siu, Senior Business Analyst delivered a
PowerPoint presentation regarding the 2016 Proposed Water/Wastewater rates.
There was brief discussion regarding the Carlton Road pumping station.
The Committee suggested that staff investigate the possibility of
charging a homeowner for the water used by the Fire Fighter to put out a house
fire.
There was discussion with respect to non-revenue water and how it is
being better managed.
The Committee discussed the need for alternative ways to promote
Markham’s drinking water as a preferred option rather than plastic bottled
water.
There was discussion regarding potential ways to retrofit water fountains
in older parks to ensure that they meet the water quality standards. It was noted that the retrofit options can be
very expensive.
The Committee discussed synergies and efficiencies being done within the City’s
waterworks department.
The Committee suggested that staff consider including the increase in
hydro rates and property tax rates when the chart is presented at the Public
Meeting.
Moved by Councillor Alex Chiu
Seconded by Councillor Don Hamilton
1) That the presentation by
Mr. Peter Loukes, Director, Environmental Services and Ms. Veronica Siu, Senior
Business Analyst, entitled “2016 Proposed Water/Wastewater Rates”, be received;
and,
2) That
the report entitled “Proposed 2016 Water/Wastewater Rate Increase” be received;
and,
3) That Staff be authorized to hold a
public meeting on December 7, 2015 at 7:00p.m. in the Council Chamber at the
Civic Centre to gather resident feedback on the proposed 2016 water/wastewater
rate increase of $0.2597/m3 from $3.3154/m3 to $3.5751/m3;
and,
4) That feedback received at the
public meeting along with the proposed 2016 water/wastewater rate be tabled for
consideration at the December 15th Special General Committee meeting scheduled
for 6:00pm; and,
5) That the recommendation from the
Special General Committee meeting be tabled for adoption by Council at the
December 15th Council meeting scheduled for 7:00 p.m.; and further,
6) That
Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to
this resolution.
Carried
6. MINUTES
OF THE NOVEMBER 9, 2015
AND NOVEMBER 11, 2015
GENERAL COMMITTEE (16.0)
November
9 November
11
Moved by Councillor
Alex Chiu
Seconded by Regional
Councillor Jim Jones
1) That
the minutes of the November 9, 2015 and November 11, 2015 General Committee meeting
be confirmed.
Carried
7. MINUTES
OF THE SEPTEMBER 16, 2015
ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON ACCESSIBILITY (16.0)
Minutes
Moved by Councillor
Alex Chiu
Seconded by Regional
Councillor Jim Jones
1) That
the minutes of the September 16, 2015 Advisory Committee on Accessibility meeting
be received for information purposes.
Carried
8. MINUTES
OF THE SEPTEMBER 16, 2015
ANIMAL CARE COMMITTEE (16.0)
Minutes
Moved by Councillor
Alex Chiu
Seconded by Regional
Councillor Jim Jones
1) That
the minutes of the September 16, 2015 Animal Care Committee meeting be received
for information purposes.
Carried
9. MINUTES
OF THE SEPTEMBER 17, 2014,
OCTOBER 15, 2014, NOVEMBER 19, 2014,
MARCH 3, 2015, APRIL 15, 2015 AND
MAY 27, 2015 BOARD OF MANAGEMENT
UNIONVILLE BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT AREA (16.0)
September October November March April May
Moved by Councillor
Alex Chiu
Seconded by Regional
Councillor Jim Jones
1) That
the minutes of the September 17, 2014, October 15, 2014, November 19, 2014,
March 3, 2015, April 15, 2015, May 27, 2015 Board of Management Unionville
Business Improvement Area Committee meeting be received for information
purposes.
Carried
10. MINUTES
OF THE OCTOBER 20, 2015,
OCTOBER 23, 2015 AND OCTOBER 27, 2015
BUDGET COMMITTEE (16.0)
October
20 October
23 October
27 November
3 November
10
Moved by Councillor
Alex Chiu
Seconded by Regional
Councillor Jim Jones
1) That
the minutes of the October 20, 2015, October 23, 2015, October 27, 2015,
November 3, 2015 and November 10, 2015 Budget Committee meeting be received for
information purposes.
Carried
11. MINUTES
OF THE NOVEMBER 10, 2015
DEVELOPMENT CHARGES PUBLIC MEETING (16.0)
Minutes
Moved by Councillor
Alex Chiu
Seconded by Regional
Councillor Jim Jones
1) That
the minutes of the November 10, 2015 Development Charges Public meeting be
received for information purposes.
Carried
12. MINUTES
OF THE SEPTEMBER 9, 2015
AND OCTOBER 7, 2015 FRIENDS OF THE
MARKHAM MUSEUM FOUNDATION BOARD (16.0)
September October
Moved by Councillor
Alex Chiu
Seconded by Regional
Councillor Jim Jones
1) That
the minutes of the September 9, 2015 and October 7, 2015 Friends of the Markham
Museum Foundation Board meeting be received for information purposes.
Carried
13. MINUTES
OF THE OCTOBER 22, 2015
MARKHAM ENVIRONMENTAL
ADVISORY COMMITTEE (16.0)
Minutes
Moved by Councillor
Alex Chiu
Seconded by Regional
Councillor Jim Jones
1) That
the minutes of the October 22, 2015 Markham Environmental Advisory Committee meeting
be received for information purposes.
Carried
14. MINUTES
OF THE SEPTEMBER 14, 2015
RACE RELATIONS COMMITTEE (16.0)
Minutes
Moved by Councillor
Alex Chiu
Seconded by Regional
Councillor Jim Jones
1) That
the minutes of the September 14, 2015 Race Relations Committee meeting be
received for information purposes.
Carried
15. MINUTES
OF THE AUGUST 12, 2015
RBC MARKHAM MILLIKEN MILLS
CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL COMMITTEE (16.0)
Minutes
Moved by Councillor
Alex Chiu
Seconded by Regional
Councillor Jim Jones
1) That
the minutes of the August 12, 2015 RBC Markham Milliken Mills Children’s
Festival Committee meeting be received for information purposes.
Carried
16. STAFF
AWARDED CONTRACTS
FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 2015 (7.12)
Report
Moved by Councillor Alex
Chiu
Seconded by Regional
Councillor Jim Jones
1) That the report entitled “Staff
Awarded Contracts for the Month of October 2015” be received; and,
2) That Staff be authorized and
directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution
Carried
17. STATUS
OF CAPITAL PROJECTS
AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 (7.5)
Report Exhibits
A-C
The Committee discussed the following projects:
·
Project
10543 South Unionville Avenue
·
Project
13585 Real Property from Estate of Trevor Watson
·
13484
Phoslock Applcation Swanlake
The
Committee suggested that a recommendation was already passed directing that
Project 12371 - Milne Dam Conservation Area Master Plan remain active and not
close the project. It was suggested that
staff look into this and report back at the Council meeting.
Moved by
Councillor Don Hamilton
Seconded by
Councillor Colin Campbell
1) That the report dated November 12, 2015 entitled “Status of Capital
Projects as of September 30, 2015” be received; and,
2) That the amount of $5,504,458 from the
closure of capital projects be transferred to the sources of funding as listed
on Exhibit A; and,
3) That the closure of projects as outlined in Exhibit B and C be approved; and,
4) That the Non-Development Charge Capital
Contingency Project be topped up from the Life-Cycle Replacement and Capital
Reserve Fund by $304,711 to the approved amount of $250,000; and,
5) That the Engineering Capital Contingency
Project be topped up, from the City-Wide Hard Development Charges Reserve, by
$86,631 to the approved amount of $100,000; and,
6) That the Design Capital Contingency
Project be topped up, from the Development Charges Reserve, by $63, 318 to the
approved amount of $100,000; and,
7) That the Waterworks Capital Contingency
Project be topped up, from the Waterworks Stabilization/Capital Reserve, by
$19, 144 to the approved amount of $100,000; and further,
8) That Staff be authorized and directed to
do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
Carried
18. DISCRETIONARY EXPENSES (7.0)
Councillor
Valerie Burke addressed the Committee and advised that she has become aware
Council Members can no longer purchase tickets to City events/functions that
they are invited to and pay for those tickets through their discretionary
account. The Committee suggested that
staff report back with a memo at the December 7, 2015 General Committee meeting
outlining when this change took place.
It was suggested that staff provide a report in the first quarter of
2016 outlining what expenses the discretionary account can be used for.
19. CAROLYN PANNELL (12.2.6)
Councillor Don Hamilton advised the
Committee that Carolyn Pannell passed away suddenly on November 14, 2015.
20. ROUGE PARK CHARRETTE (6.3)
Deputy Mayor Jack Heath advised the
Committee that there is a Public Information meeting regarding Rouge National
Urban Park Gateway in Cornell and Charrettes being held on November 23, 24 and
25, 2015 and encouraged Members of Council to participate if they are
available.
21. IN-CAMERA MATTERS (16.0,
16.0, 16.24 & 7.3)
Moved by Councillor Don Hamilton
Seconded by Councillor Alex Chiu
That the following
confidential matters be referred directly to the November 24, 2015 General
Committee meeting:
(1) GENERAL
COMMITTEE IN-CAMERA MINUTES
- November 9, 2015 (16.0)
[Section 239 (2) (a) (b) (d) (e) (f)]
(2) 2016
BUDGET COMMITTEE IN-CAMERA MINUTES
- October 20, 2015 (16.0)
[Section 239 (2) (e)]
(3) PERSONAL MATTERS ABOUT AN IDENTIFIABLE
INDIVIDUAL, INCLUDING MUNICIPAL OR LOCAL BOARD EMPLOYEES (BOARD/COMMITTEE
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS) (16.24)
[Section 239 (2) (b)]
(4) PERSONAL
MATTERS ABOUT AN IDENTIFIABLE INDIVIDUAL, INCLUDING MUNICIPAL OR LOCAL BOARD
EMPLOYEES (PROPERTIES FOR TAX SALE REGISTRATION) (7.3)
[Section 239 (2) (b)]
Carried
Adjournment
Moved by Councillor Alex Chiu
Seconded by Councillor Valerie
Burke
That the General Committee meeting adjourn at 3:15 PM.
Carried