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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCRPS-10-152 - Environmental Committee Recommendation (full) REPORT REPORT TO: Councillor C. Weylie, Chair and Members of the Development and Technical Services Committee DATE OF MEETING: September 27, 2010 SUBMITTED BY: Environmental Committee PREPARED BY: Colin Goodeve, Committee Administrator - ext 2278 Dianna Saunderson, Administrative Clerk WARD(S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT: September 17, 2010 REPORT NO.: CRPS-10-152 SUBJECT: ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION - 2010 COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT GRANT RECIPIENTS RECOMMENDATION: That the 2010 Community Environmental Improvement Grant (CEIG), to be funded from the Environmental Stewardship Capital Account, be awarded as follows: $3,000. to Waterloo Wellington Children’s Groundwater Festival; and, $3,000. to My Sustainable Canada and Dads Against Dirty Air; and further, That the remaining $4,000. of the 2010 CEIG funding be prorated for use as part of the 2011 grant program. BACKGROUND: The purpose of the Community Environmental Improvement Grant (CEIG) program is to encourage residents to actively participate in environmental initiatives. To facilitate this program, $10,000. was budgeted to the Environmental Stewardship Capital Account in 2010, with a maximum grant allocation of $3,000. for any one project. This year the Environmental Committee received three CEIG applications from the following groups: Waterloo Wellington Children’s Groundwater Festival; My Sustainable Canada and Dads Against Dirty Air; and, The Household Perma-Culture Initiative. REPORT: At the September 16, 2010 Environmental Committee meeting, the Committee undertook a review of the 2010 Community Environmental Improvement Grant (CEIG) applications. Due to the number of applications received, the Committee decided to forego the aggregated ranking process employed in previous years and considered each application separately on its own merits. î ó ï Questions were raised regarding the Waterloo Wellington Children’s Groundwater Festival and the means through which its overall projected cost of $95,000. would be raised. Several th members spoke in support of this application, noting that the Festival is in its 15 year during which time it has brought together the expertise of educators, groundwater specialists and members of industry and government to provide students with the opportunity to discover the importance of groundwater. Accordingly, it is not anticipated that the Festival would have any difficulty in obtaining the additional funding. It was noted that the Festival would specifically use the requested $3,000 Community Environmental Improvement Grant toward: activity centre-watershed model $1,000; Aboriginal presenter $1,500; and, Activity centre supplies $500. Members expressed concerns with the application submitted by the Household Perma-Culture Initiative, noting that it did not conform to Criteria 4.b of Council Policy I-590 (Grant Program - Community Environmental Improvement), as it lacked information regarding their organizational structure, specifically their ability to manage and account for finances. Accordingly, it was agreed that as this application does not meet the prescribed criteria it would not be evaluated; however, it was noted that should the Household Perma-Culture Initiative clarify its organizational structure, the Committee would encourage them to submit an application for a 2011 Community Environmental Improvement Grant. To ensure a greater level of accountability as to how the awarded funding is used, it was put forward that Criteria 3.b(vii) of Council Policy I-590 should be expanded. Members expressed support for having the 2010 CEIG recipients submit a minimum of two progress reports and attend a future Committee meeting to provide an update on the status of their projects. Environmental Planning staff agreed to follow-up with each successful recipient regarding the requested status reports. Based on its deliberations, the Environmental Committee is requesting a total of $6,000. be allocated to the two CEIG applicants, as outlined in the recommendation contained in this report.In addition, it is suggested that the balance of the remaining 2010 CEIG funding be prorated toward advertising and/or used for increasing the number of 2011 grant allocations. A copy of the 2010 CEIG applications have been attached hereto as references. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: $10,000. is available in the Environmental Stewardship Capital Account for use toward the 2010 CEIG program. ACKNOWLEDGED BY: T. Speck, General Manager of Corporate Services î ó î î ó í î ó ì î ó ë î ó ê î ó é î ó è î ó ç î ó ïð î ó ïï î ó ïî î ó ïí î ó ïì î ó ïë î ó ïê î ó ïé î ó ïè î ó ïç