Special General Committee
December 8, 2014
Meeting
Number 1
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
Joel
Lustig, Treasurer
Bill
Snowball, Fire Chief
Dennis Flaherty, Director of
Communications &
Community Engagement
Bob Nicholson, Acting Director,
Operations
Sonia Singh, Emergency Preparedness
Coordinator
Alida
Tari, Council/Committee Coordinator
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The General Committee meeting convened at the hour of 7:06 PM with Mayor
Frank Scarpitti in the Chair.
Disclosure of
Interest
None disclosed.
1. ICE STORM 2013 UPDATE
(CITY OF MARKHAM PRESENTATION) (5.7)
Andy Taylor, Chief Administrative Officer delivered a
PowerPoint presentation providing an update on the actions taken by the City to
recover from the December 2013 Ice Storm.
There was discussion regarding how tonight's meeting
was advertised. It was noted that tonight's
meeting was advertised in the Economist & Sun on November 27, 2014,
specifically noting the Ice Storm Update, and the presentations by the City and
PowerStream. The December 8, 2014
Special General Committee meeting was advertised in the Economist and Sun, and
in the Thornhill Liberal, on December 4, 2014, with a reference to further
details being available on the City website.
Additionally, an ad for the meeting was listed for two weeks on the
City's Portal, displayed on the electronic information boards in all community
centres and an e-mail was sent to all City's Ratepayers Associations. The Committee suggested that for future
Special meetings staff provide Members of Council with a PDF
description/summary of the meeting that they can forward to their constituents
as part of the communication plan.
The Committee discussed the role of Members of Council
during emergency situations. Staff indicated
that they are having the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC) in
February 2015 to provide Incident Management System (IMS) training for all
Members of Council.
The Committee suggested the following relative to the
December 2013 Ice Storm and any potential future emergencies:
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An integrated system approach with the various
agencies and York Region (everyone can view the same information)
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An Emergency Portal
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Standardized communications
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Utilize the York Region radio station (105.9 FM) -
consider developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the radio station
with respect to providing updates during severe weather and any other City
emergency situations
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Consider providing update messaging in various
languages
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Consistency when providing messages - provide an
update daily at the same time
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Investigate partnering with organizations such as
Places of Worship within the municipality that could be utilized as warming
centres when required
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Amend the "Markham Ice Storm 2013 Response
Plan" document to be better integrated with the staff presentation
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Consider establishing a data base that provides
contact information for vulnerable residents
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Re-evaluate the type of trees that are planted along
the above ground hydro lines
Moved by Councillor
Don Hamilton
Seconded by Regional
Councillor Jim Jones
1) That the
presentation provided by Andy Taylor, Chief Administrative Officer,
entitled “Ice Storm 2013 - Update” be received.
Carried
2. 2013 ICE STORM
UPDATE -
OUTAGE MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENTS
(POWERSTREAM PRESENTATION) (5.7)
Brian Bentz, President and Chief Executive Officer,
PowerStream Inc.; Colin Macdonald, Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs
& Customer Service, PowerStream and Mike Matthews, Senior Vice President,
Operations and Construction, PowerStream delivered a PowerPoint presentation outlining
the outage management improvements relative to the December 2013 Ice Storm.
There was considerable discussion with respect to the
vegetation management program. It was
noted that PowerStream is altering their 3 year cycle for tree trimming along
overhead hydro wires to a 2 year cycle.
The Committee requested that PowerStream provide
Members of Council with a summary outlining all the changes to improve their
outage management.
There was brief discussion regarding the cost to bury
the overhanging hydro lines. It was
noted that the cost associated to that is approximately $4.5 billion.
Eileen Liasi, Thornhill resident addressed the
Committee regarding the December 2013 Ice Storm update and stated some concerns
with the advertising for tonight's meeting and clean up of debris from the ice
storm within watercourses. She believes that there are discrepancies between PowerStream's
presentation and information on their website.
Marion Matthias, Thornhill resident addressed the
Committee with respect to the December 2013 Ice Storm update and suggested that
PowerStream investigate if the Heritage area in Thornhill can be put on the
John Street power grid.
David McBeth, Markham resident addressed the Committee
regarding the December 2013 Ice Storm and provided some suggestions such as
having a tear-out card in the Markham Life magazine that lists the contact
phone numbers for all agencies (eg. cable, power, various municipal
departments, York Region, etc.). Mr.
McBeth is in support of utilizing the York Region radio station 105.9 FM to
provide updates to residents during emergency situations.
Moved by
Councillor Don Hamilton
Seconded by Regional Councillor Jim Jones
1) That the presentation
titled “Ice Storm Update – Outage Management Improvements” provided by the
following staff from PowerStream Inc. be received:
- Brian Bentz, President and CEO
- Colin
Macdonald, Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs & Customer Service
- Mike
Matthews, Senior Vice President, Operations and Construction; and,
2) That the deputations from Eileen Liasi,
Marion Matthias and David McBeth be received.
Carried
Adjournment
Moved by Councillor Alex Chiu
Seconded by Councillor Amanda
Collucci
That the General Committee meeting adjourn at 10:24 PM.
Carried