General Committee
March 3, 2014
Meeting
Number 7
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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Andy
Taylor, Chief Administrative Officer
Jim
Baird, Commissioner of Development Services
Trinela
Cane, Commissioner of Corporate Services
Brenda
Librecz, Commissioner of Community & Fire Services
Catherine
Conrad, City Solicitor
Kimberley
Kitteringham, City Clerk
Joel
Lustig, Treasurer
Paul Ingham, Director of Operations
Andrea Tang, Manager of Financial
Planning
Alex Moore, Manager
of Purchasing
Alida
Tari, Council/Committee Coordinator
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The General Committee convened at the hour of 9:07 AM with Councillor
Alex Chiu in the Chair and Councillor Valerie Burke Chaired Environment and
Sustainability related items.
The General Committee recessed at 12:03 PM and reconvened at 1:00 PM.
Disclosure of
Interest
None disclosed.
1. 2013 YEAR END REVIEW OF OPERATIONS (7.4)
Presentation
Andrea
Tang, Manager of Financial Planning delivered a PowerPoint presentation
regarding the 2013 Year End Review of Operations.
The
Committee discussed the following relative to the 2013 year end review of
operations:
·
Response
cost of $1.09 M from the December 2013 Ice Storm
·
Overtime
and other personal costs
·
Reserve
fund for Firefighter sick leave
·
Building
Fee Reserve - is it too high?
·
Net
deficit of ($3.18 M)
·
Recreation
variances - focusing on increasing participation at all recreation centres
·
2014
Budget discussions should include consideration to a phase-in period for year
end accounting adjustments
·
Planning
& Design Unfavourable Variances - result of buildings that did not
materialize in 2013
Moved by Regional Councillor Gord Landon
Seconded by Councillor Don Hamilton
1) That
the presentation provided by Andrea Tang, Manager of Financial Planning,
entitled “2013 Year End Review of Operations” be received.
Carried
2. MARKHAM INTERNATIONAL SPORTS TRAINING ACADEMY (MISTA) AND MARKHAM
LIVE INFORMATION (7.0)
MISTA
Presentation Markham
Live Expenses
Alex Moore, Senior Manager of Purchasing
delivered a PowerPoint presentation outlining the Request for Information
process for Markham International Sports Training Academy (MISTA).
The Committee discussed whether this
proposal is to be funded entirely by the private sector or whether municipal
funding is required. Staff pointed out
that all 5 submissions for the Request for Information (RFI) indicated that
some municipal funding is required.
Joel Lustig, Treasurer addressed the
Committee and provided a verbal update regarding the Markham Live expenditures
and commitments.
There was considerable discussion regarding
whether anymore municipal funds should be spent for the MISTA proposal.
It was suggested that the MISTA
presentation be referred to a MISTA subcommittee meeting in early to mid April
2014.
Karen Rea, Markham resident addressed the
Committee regarding the Markham Live Financial Update advising that she filed a
Freedom of Information (FOI) for all reports related to the arena. She asked the following questions:
·
What exactly did the
municipality pay $38,397 to Ron A. Carinci and why does the Clerks department
have no knowledge of it?
·
What is the amount of money
spent for the due diligence and the company that was hired to perform the due
diligence?
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Is the amount disguised under
the Legal Advise amount of $97,000 and if not she would like the name of the
law firm retained.
·
Requesting that all reports related
to the arena be fully released to the public given that Council voted 11-2 that
the arena should be 100% privately funded.
·
How much staff time and money
has been spent on the arena?
Staff advised that Mr. Ron A. Carinci
presented to staff and that Mr. Carinci is a lawyer with a background in
development. He provided financial advice
to Committee. Staff pointed out that the
municipality does not track staff's regular and overtime work hours with any
specific project.
The Committee suggested that staff provide
a written response to the questions raised by the deputant.
Moved by Deputy
Mayor Jack Heath
Seconded by
Councillor Don Hamilton
1) That the information
provided by Alex Moore, Senior Manager of Purchasing and Accounts Payable,
regarding the Request for Information (RFI) initiative for Markham
International Sports Training Academy (MISTA) be received and referred to a MISTA subcommittee meeting to be held in early to mid
April 2014; and,
2) That the information
provided by Joel Lustig, Treasurer, regarding Markham Live expenses be received;
and,
3) That the deputation from Karen Rea, Markham resident, be
received; and,
4) That staff provide a written response to the questions
raised by Karen Rea to be discussed at the MISTA subcommittee meeting; and
further,
5) That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things
necessary to give effect to this resolution.
Carried
3. MINUTES
OF THE FEBRUARY 24, 2014
GENERAL COMMITTEE (16.0)
Minutes
Moved by
Councillor Howard Shore
Seconded by
Councillor Don Hamilton
1) That
the minutes of the February 24, 2014 General Committee meeting be confirmed.
Carried
4. MINUTES OF THE NOVEMBER 21, 2013
MARKHAM VILLAGE BUSINESS
IMPROVEMENT AREA (16.0)
Minutes
Moved by
Councillor Howard Shore
Seconded by
Councillor Don Hamilton
1) That the minutes of
the November 21, 2013 Markham Village Business Improvement Area meeting be
received for information purposes.
Carried
5. MINUTES
OF THE JANUARY 15, 2014
ANIMAL CARE COMMITTEE (16.0)
Minutes
Moved by
Councillor Howard Shore
Seconded by
Councillor Don Hamilton
1) That
the minutes of the January 15, 2014 Animal Care Committee meeting be received
for information purposes.
Carried
6. MINUTES
OF THE JANUARY 13, 2014
VARLEY-MCKAY ART FOUNDATION OF MARKHAM (16.0)
Minutes
Moved by
Councillor Howard Shore
Seconded by
Councillor Don Hamilton
1) That
the minutes of the January 13, 2014 Varley-McKay Art Foundation of Markham meeting
be received for information purposes.
Carried
7. MINUTES
OF THE JANUARY 6, 2014
RACE RELATIONS COMMITTEE (16.0)
Minutes
Moved by Councillor
Howard Shore
Seconded by
Councillor Don Hamilton
1) That
the minutes of the January 6, 2014 Race Relations Committee meeting be received
for information purposes.
Carried
8. MINUTES
OF THE SEPTEMBER 23, 2013 AND
NOTES OF THE OCTOBER 28, 2013
FLATO MARKHAM THEATRE ADVISORY BOARD (16.0)
Minutes Notes
Moved by
Councillor Howard Shore
Seconded by
Councillor Don Hamilton
1) That
the minutes of the September 23, 2013 and notes of the October 28, 2013 Flato
Markham Theatre Advisory Board meetings be received for information purposes.
Carried
9. MINUTES
OF THE JANUARY 16, 2014
UNIONVILLE STIVER MILL
PRESERVATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE (16.0)
Minutes
Moved by
Councillor Howard Shore
Seconded by
Councillor Don Hamilton
1) That
the minutes of the January 16, 2014 Unionville Stiver Mill Preservation
Advisory Committee meeting be received for information purposes.
Carried
10. MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 16, 2014
MARKHAM ENVIRONMENTAL
ADVISORY COMMITTEE (16.0)
Minutes
Moved by
Councillor Howard Shore
Seconded by
Councillor Don Hamilton
1) That
the minutes of the January 16, 2014 Markham Environmental Advisory Committee
meeting be received for information purposes.
Carried
11. MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 9, 2014
MARKHAM TRAIN STATION COMMUNITY
CENTRE BOARD OF MANAGEMENT (16.0)
Minutes
Moved by
Councillor Howard Shore
Seconded by
Councillor Don Hamilton
1) That
the minutes of the January 9, 2014 Markham Train Station Community Centre Board
of Management meeting be received for information purposes.
Carried
12. MINUTES OF THE DECEMBER 11, 2013
GERMAN MILLS COMMUNITY CENTRE BOARD (16.0)
Minutes
Moved by
Councillor Howard Shore
Seconded by
Councillor Don Hamilton
1) That
the minutes of the December 11, 2013 German Mills Community Centre Board
meeting be received for information purposes.
Carried
13. MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 27, 2014
MARKHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND
REGULAR MEETING (16.0)
AGM
Minutes Regular
Meeting
There was brief discussion regarding the
Markham Public Library's Strategic Planning.
Moved by
Councillor Howard Shore
Seconded by
Councillor Don Hamilton
1) That
the minutes of the January 27, 2014 Markham Public Library Board Annual General
Meeting and regular meeting be received for information purposes.
Carried
14. AWARD
OF CONTRACT 186-R-13
REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE SERVICES (7.12 & 8.0)
Report
Moved by
Councillor Howard Shore
Seconded by
Councillor Don Hamilton
1) That the report entitled “Award of
Contract 186-R-13 Real Estate Brokerage Services” be received; and,
2) That the contract for Real Estate Brokerage Services be
awarded to the highest ranked/lowest priced bidder, Cushman & Wakefield
Ltd.; and,
3) That Contract 186-R-13 for Real Estate Brokerage Services be awarded to the highest ranked bidder, Cushman & Wakefield Ltd., for a one (1) year term with the City having an
option to renew for four (4) additional years, with the following commission
rates payable to them upon closing of the sales transaction for five years (exclusive of HST); and,
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Year
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2014
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2015
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2016
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2017
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2018
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Sale of property
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2.00%
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2.00%
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1.75%
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1.75%
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1.75%
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Purchase of property*
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1.50%
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1.50%
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1.50%
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1.50%
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1.50%
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Lease of property
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a) Residential (% of 1-month rent)
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50.00%
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50.00%
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50.00%
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50.00%
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50.00%
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b) Industrial (% of 1-month net rent)
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2.00%
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2.00%
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2.00%
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2.00%
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2.00%
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c) Office ($ per square foot)
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$0.20
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$0.30
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$0.40
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$0.50
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$0.60
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*If the property is not actively listed for
sale and the seller refuses to pay a commission to the broker, the City, as
purchaser, would be responsible to pay commission at the rate as outlined on
the above chart.
4) That bidder Cushman & Wakefield Ltd. be
designated as the preferred vendor of the City’s Real Estate Brokerage Services
needs for a one year term with the City Solicitor having the authority to renew
successive one year terms to a maximum of five years; and further,
5) That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things
necessary to give effect to this resolution.
Carried
15. C.D. HOWE REPORT ON MUNICIPAL
BUDGET PRACTICES (7.0)
Report Attachments
Moved by
Councillor Howard Shore
Seconded by
Councillor Don Hamilton
1) That the report
dated February 20, 2014 entitled “C.D. Howe Report on Municipal Budget
Practices” be received.
Carried
16. BILL 69 – PROMPT PAYMENT
ACT, 2013 (7.0)
Report Attachment
Moved by
Councillor Howard Shore
Seconded by
Councillor Don Hamilton
1) That the Report titled “Bill 69 – Prompt Payment Act, 2013”
be received; and,
2) That Council endorse the Association of
Municipalities of Ontario's (AMO) request that municipal governments be exempt
from the requirements of the
Prompt Payment Act as set out in Attachment 1 to this report; and,
3) That the Mayor, on behalf of Council,
forward a letter to the members of the Standing Committee, the party leaders
and the local MPPs requesting Bill 69 - Prompt Payment Act be amended to:
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reflect
more realistic timelines for payments in infrastructure projects;
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allow time
for due diligence before accepting work and certifying payments; and
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allow
payments to continue to be tied to project milestones; and further,
4) That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things
necessary to give effect to this resolution.
Carried
17. 2013 YEAR END REVIEW OF
OPERATIONS (7.4)
Report Appendices
Moved by
Councillor Howard Shore
Seconded by
Councillor Don Hamilton
1) That the report dated entitled “2013 Year End Review of
Operations” be received; and,
2) That the City’s 2013 total net unfavourable variance of
($3.181M) be funded from the following sources:
a.
LTD Reserve in the amount of
$0.281M for the City’s day-to-day operating surplus of $1.614M net of year end
accounting adjustments of ($1.895M); and
b.
Corporate Stabilization Reserve
in the amount of $2.900M for winter maintenance unfavourable variance of
($1.810M) and ice storm related costs of ($1.090M) incurred in 2013; and
further,
3) That
Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to
this resolution.
Carried
18. QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM -
QMS POLICY ENDORSEMENT AND
MANAGEMENT REVIEW OUTCOMES (5.3)
Report Attachments
Moved by
Councillor Howard Shore
Seconded by
Councillor Don Hamilton
1) That the report
“Quality Management System – QMS Policy Endorsement and Management Review
Outcomes” be received; and,
2) That Council, as the
Owner of the City’s drinking water system, acknowledges and endorses the
revisions made to the City’s Quality Management System (QMS) Policy; and,
3) That the Quality
Management System Management Review Outcomes be received; and,
4) That Council, as the
Owner of the City’s drinking water system, acknowledge and support the outcomes
and action items identified from the 2013 Management Review #2; and further,
5) That Staff be
authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
Carried
19. AUTOMATED VACUUM COLLECTION (AVAC)
FEASIBILITY WORKING GROUP -
TERMS OF REFERENCE (5.0)
Report Attachment
Moved by Councillor Alex Chiu
Seconded by Councillor Logan
Kanapathi
1) That
the report entitled “AVAC Feasibility Working Group – Terms of Reference” be
received; and,
2) That
the attached AVAC Terms of Reference be approved and Regional Councillor Li be
appointed Chair of the AVAC Feasibility Working Group with the following
membership: Mayor Frank Scarpitti,
Deputy Mayor Jack Heath and Councillor Alan Ho; and,
3) That
the AVAC Feasibility Working Group provide a status update at the June 6th,
2014 General Committee meeting and table the completed study and
recommendations in October 2014; and further,
4) That
Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to
this resolution.
Carried
20. THE PUBLIC SECTOR SALARY DISCLOSURE ACT (1996) - SUNSHINE LIST
(13.2)
Councillor
Colin Campbell addressed the Committee and suggested that the Markham Library
be asked to voluntarily disclose salaries over $100,000.
The
Committee suggested that a letter be forwarded to the Ministry of Finance
requesting that the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act (1996) be
amended to include full salary disclosure over $100,000 for all Ontario public
sector salaries for all boards, agencies and local hydro distribution
companies.
Moved by
Councillor Colin Campbell
Seconded by
Councillor Don Hamilton
That the
Ministry of Finance be requested to amend the Public Sector Salary
Disclosure Act (1996) to include
full disclosure of salaries over $100,000 for all Ontario public sector
salaries for all Boards, Agencies and Hydro Local Distribution Companies.
Carried
21. KIJIJI AND CRAIGSLIST (14.0)
Councillor Don Hamilton requested an update
on the recent issue involving anonymous Kijiji and Craigslist election ads that
used the Markham Logo.
Staff advised that all of the ads that
inappropriately used the Markham Logo have been removed. Staff also indicated that each of the 78
Kijiji ads were individually responded to with a request that the poster of the
ads identify themselves and refrain from
using Markham’s logo, etc. Out of an
abundance of caution, staff also advised the York Region Public and Catholic
School Boards regarding the concerns received by the City regarding the
anonymous nature of the ads. The City
has additionally released 2 Public Service Announcements on this issue.
The alleged poster of the ads has indicated
to the York Regional Police and to City staff that they were a student trying
to create interest in the municipal election process. York Region Police have conducted an
investigation into the matter and have concluded there is no criminal intent
behind the posting of the ads – they have therefore closed the matter.
There was discussion regarding whether
Members of Council are permitted to use the Markham Logo on their personal
website. Staff advised that they are not permitted to use it.
22. BOWL FOR BIG BROTHERS AND
SISTERS (12.2.6)
Regional
Councillor Gord Landon addressed the Committee encouraging Members of Council
to sign up and participate in the Bowl for Kids Sake event. He advised that six players are needed.
23. IN-CAMERA
Moved by Regional Councillor Gord Landon
Seconded by Councillor Don Hamilton
That, in accordance with Section 239 (2) of the Municipal Act, General Committee resolve into an
in-camera session to discuss the following confidential matters (1:00 PM):
(1) GENERAL
COMMITTEE IN-CAMERA MINUTES - FEBRUARY 24, 2014 (16.0)
[Section
239 (2) (b) (b) (b) (b)]
(2) ADVICE
THAT IS SUBJECT TO SOLICITOR-CLIENT PRIVILEGE, INCLUDING COMMUNICATIONS
NECESSARY FOR THAT PURPOSE (CLOSED MEETING INVESTIGATOR REPORT) (13.2)
[Section
239 (2) (f)]
(3) A
PROPOSED OR PENDING ACQUISITION OR DISPOSITION OF LAND BY THE MUNICIPALITY OR
LOCAL BOARD (WARD 3) (8.6)
[Section
239 (2) (c)]
(4) PERSONAL
MATTERS ABOUT AN IDENTIFIABLE INDIVIDUAL, INCLUDING MUNICIPAL OR LOCAL BOARD
EMPLOYEES (BOARD/COMMITTEE APPOINTMENT AND RESIGNATION) (16.24)
[Section
239 (2) (b)]
Carried
Moved by Councillor Don Hamilton
Seconded by Deputy Mayor Jack Heath
That the General Committee rise from
the in-camera session (1:31 PM)
Carried
Adjournment
Moved by Councillor Don Hamilton
Seconded by Councillor Alan Ho
That the General Committee meeting adjourned at 1:32 PM.
Carried