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Minutes

General Committee

November 9, 2015

Meeting Number 29

 

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

 

Mayor Frank Scarpitti

Deputy Mayor Jack Heath

Regional Councillor Jim Jones

Regional Councillor Joe Li

Regional Councillor Nirmala Armstrong

Councillor Valerie Burke

Councillor Alan Ho

Councillor Don Hamilton

Councillor Karen Rea

Councillor Colin Campbell

Councillor Amanda Collucci

Councillor Logan Kanapathi

Councillor Alex Chiu

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

Martha Pettit, Deputy City Clerk

Nasir Kenea, Chief Information Officer

Joel Lustig, Treasurer

Phoebe Fu, Director of Asset Management

Peter Loukes, Director of Environmental Services

Mary Creighton, Director of Recreation Services

Biju Karumanchery, Director of Planning & Urban Design

Sandra Skelcher, Manager Financial Reporting & Payroll

Morgan Jones, Manager, Roads Operation

Alida Tari, Council/Committee Coordinator

 

 

 

 

The General Committee meeting convened at the hour of 9:06 AM with Deputy Mayor Jack Heath in the Chair and Councillor Alan Ho Chaired Community Services related items.

 

General Committee recessed at 11:55 AM and reconvened at 1:10 PM.

 

 

Disclosure of Interest

 

None disclosed.

1.         REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
110-R-15 AUDITOR GENERAL SERVICES (7.12 & 11.0)

            Presentation     Report

 

Trinela Cane, Commissioner, Corporate Services delivered a PowerPoint presentation regarding the Request for Proposal for Auditor General Services.

 

The Committee inquired about the name of the Auditor General and discussed whether the name should be included in the proposed recommendation. Staff advised it is Geoff Rodrigues.

 

The Committee suggested that Geoff Rodrigues come to a future General Committee meeting prior to him developing the audit plan.

 

Moved by Councillor Karen Rea

Seconded by Councillor Logan Kanapathi

 

1)         That the presentation by Ms. Trinela Cane, Commissioner, Corporate Services, entitled “Request for Proposal 110-R-15 Auditor General Services” be received; and,

 

2)         That the report “Request for Proposal 110-R-15 Auditor General Services” be received; and,

 

3)         That the Contract for Auditor General Services under Request for Proposal 110-R-15 be awarded to the highest ranked bidder, MNP LLP; and,

 

4)         That MNP LLP be appointed as the Auditor General for a four year term to a maximum amount limit of $152,640 ($150,000 + $2,640) inclusive of HST;

 

a.       $152,640 – Year 1

b.      $152,640 – Year 2

c.       $152,640 – Year 3

d.      $152,640 – Year 4; and,

 

5)         That the annual amount of $152,640.00 be funded from the Operating Account  #110-110-5699; and,

 

6)         That the Chief Administrative Officer be authorized to execute an agreement with MNP LLP in a form satisfactorily to the City Solicitor; and,

 

7)         That Report “110-R-15 Auditor General Services” be included as part of the November  10th, 2015 Council Meeting agenda; and further,

 

8)         That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

Carried

 

2.         AVL-BASED SNOW CLEARANCE INFORMATION
FOR RESIDENTS ON PORTAL SITE AND
MOBILE APPLICATION (5.10 & 7.13)

            Presentation

 

Morgan Jones, Manager, Roads Operation and Nasir Kenea, Chief Information Officer delivered a presentation regarding the AVL-based snow clearance information available for residents on the Markham Portal site and demonstrated the mobile application.

 

The Committee discussed and suggested the following relative to the AVL-based snow clearance information on the City's Portal site:

·        Consider having colours that are more distinct in the legend

·        Provide contact information for Regional Roads

·        Spell out "Service Level Agreement"

 

There was discussion regarding the current Council approved service level for snow removal.

 

Moved by Councillor Logan Kanapathi

Seconded by Councillor Amanda Collucci

 

1)         That the presentation by Mr. Nasir Kenea, Chief Information Officer, and Mr. Morgan Jones, Manager, Roads Operations, entitled “AVL- Based Snow Clearance Information for Residents on Portal Site and Mobile Application” be received.

Carried

 

 

3.         2015 SEPTEMBER YEAR-TO-DATE
REVIEW OF OPERATIONS AND
YEAR END PROJECTION (7.4)

            Presentation     Report     Appendices 1-13

 

Andrea Tang, Manager, Financial Planning delivered a PowerPoint presentation regarding the 2015 September Year-to-date review of Operations and Year End Projections.  She noted that on page 12 of the staff report it should read "favourable ($0.28M)."

 

There was discussion regarding recreation revenues.

 

Moved by Councillor Valerie Burke

Seconded by Regional Councillor Nirmala Armstrong

 

1)         That the presentation by Ms. Andrea Tang, Manager, Financial Planning, entitled “2015 September Year-To-Date Review of Operations and Year End Projections” be received; and,

 

2)         That the report entitled “2015 September Year-To-Date Review of Operations and Year End Projection” be received.

Carried

 

 

4.         MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 26, 2015
GENERAL COMMITTEE (16.0)

            Minutes

 

Moved by Councillor Valerie Burke

Seconded by Councillor Alex Chiu

 

1)         That the minutes of the October 26, 2015 General Committee meeting be confirmed.

Carried

 

5.         MINUTES OF THE JUNE 17, 2015,
JULY 15, 2015 AND AUGUST 19, 2015
BOARD OF MANAGEMENT UNIONVILLE
BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT AREA (16.0)

            June     July     August

 

Moved by Councillor Valerie Burke

Seconded by Councillor Alex Chiu

 

 

1)         That the minutes of the June 17, 2015, July 15, 2015 and August 19, 2015 Board of Management Unionville Business Improvement Area Committee meeting be received for information purposes.

Carried

 

 

6.         MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 13, 2015
OCTOBER 16, 2015 BUDGET SUB-COMMITTEE (16.0)

            October 13     October 16

 

Moved by Councillor Valerie Burke

Seconded by Councillor Alex Chiu

 

1)         That the minutes of the October 13, 2015 and October 16, 2015 Budget Sub-Committee meeting be received for information purposes; and,

 

2)         That the following recommendation from the October 16, 2015 Budget Sub-Committee meeting be endorsed:

                       

                        “That the Capital Budget Item No. 16008, Parks/Open Space Acquisition, Design & Improvement Plan for $110, 800 be pre-approved”.

 

Carried

 

 

7.         MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 23, 2015 AND
SEPTEMBER 21, 2015 FLATO MARKHAM
THEATRE ADVISORY BOARD (16.0)

            February     September

 

Moved by Councillor Valerie Burke

Seconded by Councillor Alex Chiu

 

1)         That the minutes of the February 23, 2015 and September 21, 2015 Flato Markham Theatre Advisory Board meeting be received for information purposes.

Carried

 

 

8.         MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 28, 2015
MARKHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD (16.0)

            Minutes

 

There was discussion regarding whether budgeted funds should be allocated to for the annual staff celebration.

 

Moved by Councillor Don Hamilton

Seconded by Councillor Colin Campbell

 

That the Library staff be requested to reconsider the allocation of $3000.00 of their budget being allocated to the Annual Staff Celebration.

Carried

 

Moved by Councillor Valerie Burke

Seconded by Councillor Alex Chiu

 

1)         That the minutes of the September 28, 2015 Markham Public Library Board meeting be received for information purposes.

Carried

 

 

 

9.         MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 17, 2015
SANTA CLAUS PARADE COMMITTEE (16.0)

            Minutes

 

Moved by Councillor Valerie Burke

Seconded by Councillor Alex Chiu

 

1)         That the minutes of the September 17, 2015 Santa Claus Parade Committee meeting be received for information purposes.

Carried

 

 

10.       2015 THIRD QUARTER INVESTMENT
PERFORMANCE REVIEW (7.1)

            Report     Exhibits 1-6

 

Moved by Councillor Valerie Burke

Seconded by Councillor Alex Chiu

 

1)         That the report dated October 26, 2015 entitled “2015 Third Quarter Investment Performance Review” be received.

Carried

 

 

11.       2016 INTERIM TAX LEVY BY-LAW (7.4)

            Report     Memo

 

Joel Lustig, Treasurer addressed the Committee and summarized the details outlined in the memo.

 

The Committee suggested that implementation of the penalty application charge be effective January 1, 2016.

 

Moved by Councillor Amanda Collucci

Seconded by Councillor Karen Rea

 

1)         That the report “2016 Interim Tax Levy By-law” be received; and,

 

2)         That the memo dated November 4, 2015 by Shane Manson, Revenues & Property        Taxation be received; and,

 

3)         That Council authorize an interim tax levy for 2016; and,

 

4)         That the by-law as amended at the November 9, 2015 General Committee            meeting be passed to authorize the 2016 interim tax levy with the inclusion of the         following:

·        That in the event that the taxes are not paid by the instalment due dates, a penalty will be charged at a rate of 1.00 per cent on the fourth day of default on the amount of taxes due; and further,

 

5)         That staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

Carried

 

 

 

12.       TEMPORARY BORROWING BY-LAW 2016 (7.0)

            Report

 

Moved by Councillor Valerie Burke

Seconded by Councillor Alex Chiu

 

1)         That the report “Temporary Borrowing By-law 2016” be received; and,

 

2)         That a by-law be brought forward for Council approval to authorize the temporary borrowing, if required, of an amount not to exceed $162,179,118 from January 1, 2016 to September 30, 2016 and $81,089,559 from October 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016 to meet the expenditures of the municipality until taxes are collected and other revenues are received; and,

 

3)         That the Treasurer report to Council in advance of borrowing, if temporary borrowing is required; and further,

 

4)         That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

Carried

 

 

13.       INTERIM SPENDING AUTHORITY
PENDING APPROVAL OF 2016
UNIONVILLE AND MARKHAM VILLAGE
IMPROVEMENT AREAS (BIA) BUDGETS (7.4)

            Report

 

Moved by Councillor Valerie Burke

Seconded by Councillor Alex Chiu

 

1)         That the report titled “Interim Spending Authority Pending Approval of 2016 Unionville and Markham Village Business Improvement Areas (BIA) Budgets”, be received; and,

 

2)         That Council approve 50% of the 2015 Operating Budget equivalent to the amounts of $145,160 and $135,935 for the Unionville B.I.A. (UBIA) and Markham Village BIA (MBIA) respectively as pre-budget approval for 2016 operating expenditures; and further,

 

3)         That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

Carried

 

 

 

14.       INTERIM SPENDING AUTHORITY
PENDING APPROVAL OF 2016 BUDGET (7.4)

            Report

 

Moved by Councillor Valerie Burke

Seconded by Councillor Alex Chiu

 

1)         That the report titled “Interim Spending Authority Pending Approval of 2016 Budget”, be received; and,

 

2)         That Council approve 50% of the City’s 2015 Operating, Waterworks, Planning & Design, Building Standards and Engineering budgets equal to $162,179,118 as a  pre-budget approval for 2016 operating expenditures; and further,

 

3)         That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

Carried

 

 

15.       CLASS ACCOUNT CREDIT BALANCES (7.0)

            Report

 

Staff addressed Committee and provided further explanation of the CLASS system credit balances.

 

Moved by Councillor Don Hamilton

Seconded by Councillor Colin Campbell

 

1)         That the report titled “CLASS Account Credit Balances” be received; and,

 

2)         That Council approve the placement of advertisements in local newspapers and on the City’s website to provide reasonable notice to clients who may be eligible to apply for refund of unclaimed CLASS credits resulting from transactions up to and including December 31 2013; and,

 

3)         That the costs incurred from placing the advertisements, estimated at $2,500, be offset against unclaimed amounts; and,

 

4)         That Council authorize Staff to charge an administration fee of $10 or 10% of the verified refund, whichever is greater, to recover staff costs associated with refunding these amounts; and,

 

5)         That remaining unclaimed credit balances, less the cost of advertising, resulting from transactions up to and including December 31 2013 be cancelled, deemed non-refundable and transferred to the Corporate Rate Stabilization Reserve; and,

 

6)         That CLASS accounts be reviewed annually, and after a reasonable effort has been made to alert clients, credit balances left unclaimed for a minimum of two years, be cancelled, deemed non-refundable and transferred to the Corporate Rate Stabilization Reserve; and further,

 

7)         That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

Carried

 

 

16.       AWARD OF CONTRACT 136-T-15 FOR THE
SUPPLY AND INSTALLATION OF AUTOMATIC
IRRIGATION SYSTEM AT MARKHAM GREEN GOLF CLUB (7.12)

            Report

 

There was discussion regarding the cost of the irrigation system.

 

The Committee requested that staff provided Members of Council with a profit and loss statement for the Markham Green Golf Club.

 

Moved by Councillor Logan Kanapathi

Seconded by Councillor Amanda Collucci

 

1)         That the report entitled “Award of Contract 136-T-15 Supply and Installation of Automatic Irrigation System at Markham Green Golf Club” be received; and,

 

2)         That the Contract 136-T-15 Supply and Installation of Automatic Irrigation System at Markham Green Golf Club be awarded to the Sole Bidder D.J. Rain & Co. Ltd., in the total amount of $458,937.60 inclusive of HST; and,

 

3)         That a contingency in the amount of $22,946.88, inclusive of HST impact, be established to cover any additional contingency costs, and that authorization to approve expenditures of this contingency amount up to the specified limit be in accordance with the Expenditure Control Policy; and,

 

4)         That the total award of $481,884.48 be funded from the Recreation Services capital budget for Markham Green Golf Course Irrigation (account 070-6150-15181-005 - Rouge River/ Markham Green Golf Course Irrigation); and,

 

5)         That the remaining balance in the amount of $11,287.39 be returned to the original funding source; and,

 

6)         That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

Carried

 

 

17.       STANDING COMMITTEE/COUNCIL
MEETING SCHEDULE (16.0)

            Memo     Calendar

 

There was discussion regarding whether the meeting start time should be 9:30 am.

 

Moved by Regional Councillor Jim Jones

Seconded by Councillor Amanda Collucci

 

1)         That the memorandum entitled “Standing Committee/Council Meeting Schedule” be received; and,

 

2)         That the 2016 Standing Committee/Council Meeting Calendar be adopted.

Carried

 

 

18.       PROJECT MANAGEMENT
COORDINATION AND REPORTING (5.0)

            Report     Attachment A     Attachment B

 

Moved by Deputy Mayor Jack Heath

Seconded by Mayor Frank Scarpitti

 

1)         That the report entitled “Project Management Coordination and Reporting” be received; and,

 

2)         That the “Major Project Status Tracking” Dashboard report (Attachment “A”) be received; and further,

 

3)         That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

Carried

 

 

19.       BACKFLOW PREVENTIVE PROGRAM
UPDATE AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF
NEW ADMINISTRATIVE FEES (5.3)

            Report     Portal Brochures

 

Staff summarized the details outlined in the report.

 

Moved by Deputy Mayor Jack Heath

Seconded by Councillor Colin Campbell

 

1)         That the report entitled “Backflow Prevention Program Update and the Establishment of New Administrative Fees” be received; and,

 

2)         That new Waterworks Administrative Fees be established to encourage those private backflow prevention contractors (i.e. Qualified Persons) to use the online submission system,  as opposed to the previous manual submissions, and to help   automate the administrative process in our Program, namely:

·                    “Manually Processing Fee for a Test Report” in the amount of $25;

·                    “Manually Processing Fee for a Survey Report” in the amount of  $50;

·                    “Manually Processing Fee for a Device Upgrade Report” in the amount of $30; and,

 

3)         That three new Waterworks Administrative Fees be added to the Fee By-Law (By-law  # 2002-276) and the Fees be effective on January 1, 2016; and further,

 

4)         That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

Carried

 

 

20.       SPECIAL GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING
FOR PROPOSED POWERSTREAM MERGER (13.7)

 

There was discussion regarding the November 11, 2015 Special General Committee meeting dealing with the proposed PowerStream merger and whether it is sufficiently advertised.

 

 

21.       LICENSING COMMITTEE (2.0)

 

Councillor Valerie Burke is requesting that staff report back with options to improve the current Licensing Hearing process.

 

 

Moved by Councillor Valerie Burke

Seconded by Councillor Amanda Collucci

 

Whereas Markham's Licensing Hearing process has resulted in the use of a significant amount of paper; and,

Whereas the use of electronic photos and Google streetview tools at Licensing Hearings will enhance the quality of meetings; and

Whereas Markham's Licensing Committee appellants currently experience long delays in the scheduling of their hearings; and,

Whereas the scheduling of Members of Council to participate in licensing hearings has been problematic due to their already busy schedules; and,

Whereas the current Licensing Committee process is problematic and should be reviewed to explore other options that are available for performing this function

Now therefore be it resolved that:

Staff report back to General Committee by February, 2016 with options to improve the current Licensing Hearing process to ensure it is paperless, efficient, effective and customer-centric.

Carried

 

 

22.       IN-CAMERA MATTERS (16.0, 5.0 & 8.2)

 

Moved by Councillor Alan Ho

Seconded by Councillor Valerie Burke

 

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 (1:12 PM):

 

 

(1)        GENERAL COMMITTEE IN-CAMERA MINUTES
-October 7, 2015 (16.0)

            [Section 239 (2) (a) (b) (d) (f)]

 

(2)        LITIGATION OR POTENTIAL LITIGATION, INCLUDING MATTERS BEFORE ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNALS, AFFECTING THE MUNICIPALITY OR LOCAL BOARD (PROJECT MANAGEMENT COORDINATION AND REPORTING) (5.0)

            [Section 239 (2) (e)]

 

(3)        THE SECURITY OF THE PROPERTY OF THE MUNICIPALITY OR LOCAL BOARD (160 DUDLEY AVENUE) (8.2)

            [Section 239 (2) (a)]

Carried

 

           

(1)        GENERAL COMMITTEE IN-CAMERA MINUTES
-October 7, 2015 (16.0)

            [Section 239 (2) (a) (b) (d) (f)]

 

Committee consented not to report out the above item.

 

(2)        LITIGATION OR POTENTIAL LITIGATION, INCLUDING MATTERS BEFORE ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNALS, AFFECTING THE MUNICIPALITY OR LOCAL BOARD (PROJECT MANAGEMENT COORDINATION AND REPORTING) (5.0)

            [Section 239 (2) (e)]

 

Committee consented not to report out the above item.

 

(3)        THE SECURITY OF THE PROPERTY OF THE MUNICIPALITY OR LOCAL BOARD (160 DUDLEY AVENUE) (8.2)

            [Section 239 (2) (a)]

 

The above item has been forwarded to the November 10, 2015 Council meeting.

 

 

Moved by Regional Councillor Joe Li

Seconded by Councillor Logan Kanapathi

 

That the General Committee rise from the in-camera session 3:34 PM.

 

Carried

 

 

Adjournment

 

Moved by Councillor Alex Chiu

Seconded by Councillor Valerie Burke

 

That the General Committee meeting adjourn at 3:48 PM.

 

Carried

 

 

 

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