Budget Committee Minutes

Meeting #:Meeting No. 8
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
  • Councillor Isa Lee
  • Andy Taylor, Chief Administrative Officer
  • Trinela Cane, Commissioner, Corporate Services
  • Brenda Librecz, Commissioner of Community & Fire Services
  • Arvin Prasad, Commissioner Development Services
  • Claudia Storto, City Solicitor and Director of Human Resources
  • Joel Lustig, Treasurer
  • Bryan Frois, Chief of Staff
  • Matthew Vetere, Manager, Budgeting
  • Brian Lee, Director, Engineering
  • Biju Karumanchery, Director of Planning and Urban Design
  • Catherine Biss, Chief Executive Officer
  • Laura Gold, Council and Committee Coordinator

The Budget Committee convened at 9:04 AM with Councillor Amanda Collucci in the Chair.

  • Moved byCouncillor Andrew Keyes
    Seconded byCouncillor Reid McAlpine

    That the Minutes from the November 5, 2019 Budget Committee meeting be approved as presented.

    Carried

Catherine Biss, Chief Executive Officer, Markham Public Libraries provided the 2020 Recreation Budget Presentation.

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

Longer Library Hours

Library patrons across the City are requesting longer hours on Fridays. Staff are investigating automated solutions to extend the hours.

E-Books

Publishers limiting access to E-books continues to be the Library’s greatest challenge. There is pressure in both the United States and Canada to pass legislation to create more equitable access to e-books.

Staff to advise if a letter from Mayor and Members of Council on the matter to other levels of government will help address this issue.

Library Capital Budget Items

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

20175 –  Heritage Garbage Enclosure

Staff advised that a durable shed that fits with the heritage character of the community is required to enclose the waste containers.

Staff were directed to investigate if there is a less expensive option for the shed. The cost of the Unionville Bandstand storage shed was requested, as a comparable type of asset. The shed may also not need to have a heritage look, as it is being located next to a non-heritage building.

20176 – Library Collections

A Committee Member suggested adding the additional funds required to purchase e-books to the regular Library Collection Budget.


20178 – Markham Centre Library

Different options are being explored for the Markham Centre Library. The hope is to build the library within another facility and design it as a neighbourhood hub/centre. Staff plan on consulting the Markham Centre community on the vision for the library.

  • Moved byCouncillor Reid McAlpine
    Seconded byCouncillor Karen Rea

    That the Budget Committee approve the Library Capital Budget Items (excluding Capital Budget Item 20175).

    Carried

Staff presented the outstanding items from the 2020 Directors Presentations:

Capital Budget Item No. 20014 - McKay Accessibility Consultant

Staff removed this item from the 2020 Capital Budget requests, and the project is not moving forward.

Wismer Community Park

A sign has been installed on the site identifying that the construction of Wismer Community Park will start in 2020. Staff are developing a standardized set of buildings for future parks.

A Committee Member noted that the building should be of the same standard as the building built at the Berczy Community Park.

Wismer Hammersley Park

A meeting with the developers is scheduled to be held in mid-November to finalize outstanding issues.  The park is anticipated to go to tender in March 2020, and to be completed in late 2021.

Berczy Community Park

The cost for design and construction of the Berczy Community park was $10.78M.

Capital Budget Item No. 20026 – Cornell Parkette

Staff recommended that the Capital Budget request for the Cornell Parkette design and construction be reduced from $553.8K to $375K (plus contingency funds) to be consistent with the budget spent on parkettes in Berczy and Wismer.

Capital Budget Item No. 20032 – Active Transportation Program

Staff provided a breakdown of the active transportation program. Some of the items the Cycling and Pedestrian Advisory Committee spent funds on in 2019 included: 1) the Markham Cycling Day Event; and 2) the Active Kids to School project; and 3) Members attending the Vision Zero Seminar.

Committee requested the following:

  • A breakdown of how the Cycling & Pedestrian Advisory Committee Budget was spent in 2018, and 2019.
  • A budget for a city wide wayfinding strategy/study for its trail system;
  • The budget for other City of Markham citizen Advisory Boards and Committees.

Capital Budget Item No. 20040 - New Traffic Signals –Kirkham/New Delhi (D&C)

Committee agreed that the traffic signals are not required in this location at this time and to remove the project.

Capital Budget Items-  No. 20043 - Update on Markville Secondary Plan, and No. 20052 Transportation Study Markville Mall

Staff will discuss with York Region the McCowan Environmental Assessment and the access issue at Foody Mart. 

Funding options are still being explored for this project, but it is anticipated that the funds will be co-funded by the developers. Funding options for the planning component of the project have been secured.

 

Capital Budget Item No. 20045 - Sidewalk Program Design

Staff removed Hazelton Avenue, Windridge Drive, and added Elgin Street to the sidewalk program.  The project budget has been revised to $466.5K.

Committee requested that the new Capital Budget form for this item be circulated to the Mayor and Members of Council.

Capital Budget Item No. 20046 - Smart Commute Markham-Richmond Hill

A representative from Smart Commute was in attendance to provide a presentation on the services they provide.

The following responses to Committee inquiries on the Smart Commute program were provided:

Smart Commute is now delivering some of its services internally that it once outsourced, and it is only providing its core services to manage funding cuts.   Companies requesting more customized services now have to pay an additional fee. Smart Commute is currently serving about 60 organizations in Markham and Richmond Hill. The Board of Trade recommends Smart Commute to new businesses in Markham and Richmond Hill. Smart Commute focuses on the final destination of the commuter versus where they are coming from. Education is a key part of getting people to commute smarter.

Committee suggested that locations where residents can meet to carpool to work be promoted, and that the City encourage more of these types of locations.

The Mayor thanked Metrolinx for its cooperation and assistance with the City’s whistling cessation project.

Capital Budget Item No. 20050 - Traffic Asset Replacement

Staff advised that three speed boards per Ward is sufficient at this time. Speed boards from different Wards can be moved around to areas where there are speeding issues.  It was recommended that this strategy be tried out for one year prior to purchasing additional speed boards.

Committee asked staff to investigate if the speed boards could be modified to include photo radar prior to purchasing additional boards.

Staff advised they are working with York Region on implementing a photo radar program and that the speed limit displayed on the speed board may not be accurate enough for legal purposes.

Mount Joy Visioning Project

Staff confirmed that funds have been put aside for a transportation analysis, as part of the Markham Road Corridor Secondary Plan.

Capital Budget Item No. 20155 - Recreation Autonomous Floor Scrubbers

Staff will pilot one new autonomous floor scrubber at the Pan Am Centre in 2020. The other two scrubbers that were requested will be extended for one more year. The project request was reduced from $186.9K to $62.3K.

  • Moved byCouncillor Andrew Keyes
    Seconded byCouncillor Keith Irish

    That the Budget Committee approve the revised Capital Budget Item 20026 – Cornell Parkette Design & Construction for $375K plus contingency funds.

    Carried
  • Moved byCouncillor Keith Irish
    Seconded byCouncillor Karen Rea

    That the Budget Committee defer the approval of Capital Budget Item No. 20032 – Active Transportation Program; and,

    That staff provide the budgets of other City Advisory Board and Committee Budgets.

    Carried
  • Moved byCouncillor Karen Rea
    Seconded byCouncillor Andrew Keyes

    That Capital Budget Item No. 20040  - New Traffic Signals –Kirkham/New Delhi (D&C) be deleted.

    Carried
  • Moved byCouncillor Karen Rea
    Seconded byCouncillor Andrew Keyes

    That Capital Budget Item 20040 -New Traffic Signal - Kirkham/New Delhi (D&C) be deleted from the 2020 Capital Budget.

    Carried
  • Moved byDeputy Mayor Don Hamilton
    Seconded byCouncillor Reid McAlpine

    That the Budget Committee approve Capital Budget Item 20043 -Update on Markham Secondary Plan and 20052 -Transportation Study Markville Secondary Plan.

    Carried
  • Moved byCouncillor Keith Irish
    Seconded byCouncillor Andrew Keyes

    That the Budget Committee approve Capital Budget Item No. 20045 - Sidewalk Program Design be approved.

    Carried
  • Moved byCouncillor Keith Irish
    Seconded byCouncillor Reid McAlpine

    That the Budget Committee approve Capital Budget Item No. 20046 - Smart Commute Markham-Richmond Hill be approved.

    Carried
  • Moved byCouncillor Keith Irish
    Seconded byCouncillor Reid McAlpine

    That the Budget Committee approve Capital Budget Item No. 20048 - Streetlight Program Construction be approved as presented.

    Carried
  • Moved byCouncillor Andrew Keyes
    Seconded byCouncillor Reid McAlpine

    That the Budget Committee approve Capital Budget Item No. 20050 - Traffic Asset Replacement.

    Carried
  • Moved byCouncillor Karen Rea
    Seconded byCouncillor Reid McAlpine

    That the Budget Committee approve Capital Budget Item No. 20155 - Recreation Autonomous Floor Scrubbers with the revised budget of $62.3K.

    Carried

None.

The next meeting of the Budget Committee will be held on Tuesday, November 12, 2019.

The Budget Committee adjourned at 11:25 AM.