Electronic General Committee Meeting
Revised Agenda
Revised Items are Italicized.

Meeting Number: 15

Monday, October 18, 2021 at 11:00 A.m. - 3:00 P.m.

Live streamed

Please bring this General Committee Agenda to the Council meeting on October 26, 2021.

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1.

CALL TO ORDER

INDIGENOUS LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We begin today by acknowledging the traditional territories of Indigenous peoples and their commitment to stewardship of the land. We acknowledge the communities in circle. The North, West, South and Eastern directions, and Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat, Anishnabeg, Seneca, Chippewa, and the current treaty holders Mississaugas of the Credit peoples. We share the responsibility with the caretakers of this land to ensure the dish is never empty and to restore relationships that are based on peace, friendship, and trust. We are committed to reconciliation, partnership and enhanced understanding.

2.

DISCLOSURE OF PECUNIARY INTEREST

3.

APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES

3.1

MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 21, 2021 SPECIAL GENERAL COMMITTEE (16.0)

• 1. That the minutes of the September 21, 2021 Special General Committee meeting be confirmed.

3.2

MINUTES OF THE OCTOBER 4, 2021 GENERAL COMMITTEE (16.0)

• 1. That the minutes of the October 4, 2021 General Committee meeting be confirmed.

4.

DEPUTATIONS

5.

COMMUNICATIONS

5.1

YORK REGION COMMUNICATIONS (13.4)

• 1. That the communications dated September 27, 2021 from York Region be received for information purposes:
     
     1. 2022-2027 Water and Wastewater Rates
     2. 2021 Services Capacity Assignment Status Update

6.

PETITIONS

7.

CONSENT REPORTS - FINANCE & ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES

7.1

MINUTES OF THE MARCH 4, 2021 GERMAN MILLS NATURAL HABITAT LIAISON COMMITTEE (16.0)

• 1. That the minutes of the March 4, 2021 German Mills Natural Habitat Liaison Committee meeting be received for information purposes.

7.2

MINUTES OF THE MAY 19, 2021 ANIMAL CARE COMMITTEE (16.0)

• 1. That the minutes of the May 19, 2021 Animal Care Committee meeting be received for information purposes.

7.3

MINUTES OF THE JUNE 7, 2021 RACE RELATIONS COMMITTEE (16.0)

• 1. That the minutes of the June 7, 2021 Race Relations Committee meeting be received for information purposes.

7.4

MINUTES OF THE JUNE 21, 2021 ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON ACCESSIBILITY (16.0)

• 1. That the minutes of the June 21, 2021 Advisory Committee on Accessibility meeting be received for information purposes.

7.5

MINUTES OF THE JUNE 24, 2021 HEINTZMAN HOUSE COMMUNITY CENTRE BOARD (16.0)

• 1. That the minutes of the June 24, 2021 Heintzman House Board meeting be received for information purposes.

7.6

MINUTES OF THE JUNE 24, 2021 ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE (16.0)

• 1. That the minutes of the June 24, 2021 Environmental Advisory Committee meeting be received for information purposes.

7.7

MINUTES OF THE JUNE 28, 2021 MARKHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD (16.0)

• 1. That the minutes of the June 28, 2021 Markham Public Library Board meeting be received for information purposes.

7.8

2022 INTERIM SPENDING AUTHORITY PENDING APPROVAL OF BUDGET (7.4)

L. Chen, ext. 3880 

• 1. That the report titled “2022 Interim Spending Authority Pending Approval of Budget”, be received; and,
  2. That Council approve 50% of the City’s 2021 Operating, Waterworks, Planning & Design, Building Standards and Engineering budgets, equal to $207,882,287, as a  pre-budget approval for 2022 operating expenditures; and further,
  3. That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

7.9

2022 INTERIM SPENDING AUTHORITY PENDING APPROVAL OF UNIONVILLE AND MARKHAM VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT AREAS BUDGET (7.4)

L. Chen, ext. 3880

• 1. That the report titled “2022 Interim Spending Authority Pending Approval of Unionville and Markham Village Business Improvement Area Budgets”, be received; and,
  2. That Council approve 50% of the 2021 Operating Budget equivalent to the amounts of $150,000 for the Unionville BIA (UBIA) and $132,882 for the Markham Village BIA (MBIA) as pre-budget approval for 2022 operating expenditures; and further,
  3. That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

7.10

TAX WRITE-OFFS IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 354 OF THE MUNICIPAL ACT, 2001 (7.3)

S. Manson, ext. 7514

• 1. That the report entitled Tax Write-offs in Accordance with Section 354 of the Municipal Act, 2001 be received; and,
  2. That taxes for 2019 and 2020 totalling $236,448 as set out in this report, of which the City’s portion is $57,499 be written-off pursuant to the provisions of Section 354 of the Municipal Act, 2001; and,
  3. That the Markham portion of the taxes be charged to Tax Write-off Account 820-820-7040; and,
  4. That the Treasurer be directed to remove the taxes from the Collector’s Roll; and,
  5. That the associated interest be cancelled in proportion to the tax adjustments; and further,
  6. That staff be authorized to and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolutions.

7.11

2022 TEMPORARY BORROWING BY-LAW (2.0) (7.0)

L. Chen, ext. 3880

• 1. That the report titled “2022 Temporary Borrowing By-law”  be received; and,
  2. That a by-law be brought forward for Council approval to authorize the temporary borrowing, if required, of amounts not to exceed $207,882,287 from January 1, 2022 to September 30, 2022 and $103,941,144 from October 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022 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.

7.12

MUNICIPAL ACCOMMODATION TAX REINSTATEMENT (7.3)

S. Manson, ext.7514

• 1. That the report entitled Municipal Accommodation Tax 2022 be received; and,

  2. That Council authorize the reinstatement of the 4.0% Municipal Accommodation Tax effective April 1^st, 2022; and,

  3. That staff be directed to notify all Hotel accommodation providers of the April 1^st, 2022 reinstatement date; and further,

  4. That staff be authorized to and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolutions.

8.

PRESENTATIONS - FINANCE & ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES

8.1

DEVELOPMENT CHARGES BACKGROUND STUDY UPDATE (7.11)

M. Visser, ext. 4260

• 1. That the Development Charges Background Study Update presentation be received; and,
  2. That the City provide for indexing of capital costs on multi-year Area Specific Development Charge credit/reimbursement agreements as part of the City’s Development Charge by-law update.

9.

PRESENTATIONS - COMMUNITY SERVICES ISSUES

9.1

MARKHAM VILLAGE / UNIONVILLE FLOOD STUDY COMPLETION (5.6)

R. Muir, ext. 2357 / P. Kumar, ext. 2989

• 1. That the presentation entitled “Markham Village-Unionville Flood Mitigation Study” be received.

10.

PRESENTATIONS - ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES

10.1

WATER AND WASTEWATER MASTER PLAN UPDATE (5.3)

S. Gao, ext. 6230

NOTE: Wendy Kemp, Director, Infrastructure Asset Management (Acting), York Region, and Tracey Carrigan, Master Plan Advisor, York Region, will be in attendance to deliver a presentation.

• 1. That the presentation by York Region on the York Region Water and Wastewater Master Plan Update be received.

11.

REGULAR REPORTS - FINANCE & ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES

11.1

MINUTES AND NOTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 13, 2021 RACE RELATIONS COMMITTEE (16.0)

Note: Committee has the option to endorse, amend, refer to staff or receive for information the following recommendation from the September 13, 2021 Race Relations Committee meeting:

"Whereas Indigenous Children were found at the mass grave sites at residential schools across Canada; and,

Whereas truth and reconciliation has been an important national narrative and that the City of Markham is committed to all 94 Call to Action items; and,

Whereas Call to Action item #75 calls for all levels of government to work together which includes the City of Markham; and further,

Whereas on January 31, 2017, the City of Markham signed an historic agreement of cultural collaboration with the Eabametoong First Nations:

Be it resolved that the City of Markham, the Race Relations Committee, and its communities take the time to listen and observe and actively seek out the truth and advice of Indigenous communities; and,

Be it resolved that the Race Relations Committee will make itself available to support Indigenous communities; and further,

Be it resolved that the Race Relations Committee is mindful of anti-racism and will support ongoing conversations with the City, the Mayor’s Office and Indigenous communities."

• 1. That the minutes and notes of the September 13, 2021 Race Relations Committee meeting be received for information purposes.

11.2

STAFF AWARDED CONTRACTS FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER 2021 (7.12)

A. Moore, ext. 4711

• 1. That the report entitled “Staff Awarded Contracts for the Month of September 2021” be received; and,
  2. That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

11.3

BILL PR37 - AN ACT RESPECTING THE PARYA TRILLIUM FOUNDATION (7.3)

S. Manson, ext. 7514

• 1. That the report entitled Bill PR37, Parya Trillium Foundation Act (Tax Relief) be received; and,
  2. That should Council approve the passage of a by-law authorized under subsection (1) and (2) of Bill Pr37, for the cancelling of taxes for municipal purposes, other than local improvement charges, for the property located at 344 John Street; the Treasurer or his designate adjust the property tax account accordingly; and,
  3. That the associated interest be cancelled in proportion to the tax adjustments; and further,
  4. That staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

11.4

MINUTES AND NOTES OF THE OCTOBER 1, 2021 AND OCTOBER 6, 2021 BUDGET COMMITTEE (16.0)

Note: Committee has the option to endorse, amend, refer to staff or receive for information the following recommendation from the October 1, 2021 and October 6, 2021 Budget Committee meetings:

"That the “2022 Capital Budget Pre-Approval Summary” be received (summary attached as Appendix “A”); and, 

That Council approve the 2022 Capital Budget Pre-Approval in the amount of $4,212,751.00; and further 

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

 

• 1. That the minutes and notes of the October 1, 2021 and October 6, 2021 Budget Committee meetings be received for information purposes.

11.5

2022 PROPOSED WATER / WASTEWATER RATE REPORT PRESENTATION (5.3)

L. Chen, ext. 3880

• 1. That the presentation entitled “2022 Water/Wastewater Rate Public Consultation Meeting” be received and approved for presentation at the November 18th Public Consultation meeting; and,
  2. That the report entitled “2022 Water/Wastewater Rate” be received; and,
  3. That Staff be authorized to hold an electronic public meeting on November 18th, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. to gather resident feedback on the principle of, increasing the 2022 water/wastewater rate by 3.7% or $0.1667 from $4.4680 to $4.6347; and,
  4. That feedback received at the public meeting along with the proposed 2022 water/wastewater rate be put forward for Council’s consideration on December 7th, 2021; and further,
  5. That Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

12.

MOTIONS

12.1

BY-LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICES (2.0)

No attachment

Note: Notice of Motion was provided at the October 4, 2021 General Committee meeting.

• Whereas the City of Markham maintains teams of Provincial Offences Officers to enforce City Bylaws.

  Whereas a new City  Manager of Bylaw and Regulatory Services will join the City on November 15, 2021.

  Whereas other departments, including Animal Care and Tree Protection also employ Provincial Offences Officers

  Whereas bylaw enforcement is one of the most high-profile services maintained by the City.

  Whereas bylaws are typically enforced on a complaints-only re-active basis, rather than pro-actively, such that enforcement is uneven across the City.

  Where property standards and sign bylaws in the Heritage Conservation Districts are honoured more in the breach than in the observance.

  Whereas observance of property standards bylaws across the city is perceived by many residents to have been declining for many years.

  Whereas there were hundreds of open bylaw enforcement cases prior to the pandemic.

  Whereas the pandemic has almost certainly served only to increase the backlog of open cases.

  Whereas bylaw enforcement service is limited on weekends and evenings, even as those breaking bylaws do not necessarily keep business hours.

  Whereas the bylaw enforcement team does not have a centralized dispatch system.

  Therefore, be it resolved, that Council directs City staff to commission an independent third-party report and recommendations for improved bylaw enforcement services, addressing but not limited to the following topics:

  • Best practices among other bylaw enforcement operations in Ontario and elsewhere,
  • Optimal organisational structure,
  • Per capita staffing levels,
  • Case backlogs,
  • Weekly hours of service,
  • Dispatch systems,
  • Proactive vs reactive enforcement,
  • The roles of other City and Regional field staff in identifying and reporting bylaw offences,
  • Options for the employment of private security contractors,
  • Implications for union contracts and relations,
  • Costs for various increased service levels;

  And that the final report be presented to council no later than April 30, 2022.

13.

NOTICES OF MOTION

14.

NEW/OTHER BUSINESS

As per Section 2 of the Council Procedural By-Law, "New/Other Business would generally apply to an item that is to be added to the Agenda due to an urgent statutory time requirement, or an emergency, or time sensitivity".

15.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

16.

CONFIDENTIAL ITEMS

16.1

LAND, BUILDING & PARKS CONSTRUCTION ISSUES

16.1.1

A PROPOSED OR PENDING ACQUISITION OR DISPOSITION OF LAND BY THE CITY OR LOCAL BOARD; (8.6) (WARD 4) [SECTION 239 (2)(c)

17.

ADJOURNMENT