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HomeMy WebLinkAboutComm Svcs - 2010-09-27COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 27. 2010 CITY OF KITCHENER The Community Services Committee met this date, commencing at 3:41 p. m. Present: Councillor G. Lorentz -Chair Mayor C. Zehr and Councillors C. Weylie, K. Galloway, J. Gazzola, J. Smola and B. Vrbanovic. Staff: C. Ladd, Chief Administrative Officer P. Houston, General Manager of Community Services J. Willmer, Interim General Manager of Development & Technical Services D. Chapman, General Manager of Financial Services and City Treasurer R. Regier, Executive Director of Economic Development M . Hildebrand, Director of Community Programs J. Witmer, Director of Operations K. Baulk, Director of Enterprise Division G. Hastings, Manager of Golf Courses D. Ritz, Supervisor of Design and Development J. Sheryer, Assistant City Solicitor C. Goodeve, Committee Administrator CSD-10-065 -GRAND RIVER CAR SHARE The Committee considered Community Services Department report CSD-10-065, dated September 21, 2010 regarding the provision of dedicated parking spaces at City facilities for use by Grand River Car Share (GRCS) vehicles as well as the potential for the City to become a Corporate member of the GRCS. Mr. M. Hildebrand reviewed the report. Mr. Matthew Piggott, Grand River Car Share attended in support of the proposal contained in the staff report. He expressed confidence that the GRCS would be able to obtain the number of memberships necessary to justify requesting these parking spaces from the City. In response to questions, Mr. Piggott advised that although 30 spaces were requested, the GRCS are supportive of initially being allocated only 9 spaces at various Community Centres and Pools located across the City. He stated that while there will be instances where a reserved sign is erected and no vehicle has been assigned to that spot, it has been shown that having a presence such as this in the community is an excellent marketing tool. He added that the placement of the sign shows the community that the stationing of a CarShare vehicle at a particular location is supported. He noted that without this presence, local membership growth slows dramatically as residents are less certain if the program is in place. In response to questions regarding the City becoming a Corporate member of the GRCS, Mr. Hildebrand advised that since March 2010, the Fleet Division has been developing strategies to make vehicles accessible to employees with short-term and on-demand need. He added that Fleet proposed a pilot program to meet these needs beginning January 2011 for afour- month period. He stated that staff suggest that this pilot either be reduced in scope or placed on hold, and that the City become a Corporate member of the GRCS. He suggested that the benefits, use and cost effectiveness of the membership be evaluated after a 6-month period. He noted that since part of the original pilot program was to include three vehicle transponders for parking at City Hall, staff recommends that the CarShare vehicles be provided dedicated, clearly marked parking spots in the City Hall underground parking garage as well. Ms. J. Sheryer advised that the staff recommendation would need to be amended to include an additional clause to provide for a separate agreement with the GRCS providing for the use of the three parking spaces at the City Hall parking garage at no cost. In addition, she requested that the staff recommendation be changed to reference the GRCS' legal name, People's Car Co-operative Inc. Councillor J. Gazzola suggested that the Corporate membership pilot project should be extended from 6 months to one year, with a full report to be provided at the end of that time on the status of the program. Councillor G. Lorentz commented that measures should be taken to allow the public to continue to use the spaces allocated to the GRCS, even if no GRCS vehicles have been assigned to that location. COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 27. 2010 - 39 - CITY OF KITCHENER 1. CSD-10-065 -GRAND RIVER CAR SHARE (CONT'D) Councillor B. Vrbanovic brought forward the staff recommendation with an additional clause to provide for the 3 parking spaces at City Hall as well as extending the pilot project's timeframe to one year. On motion by Councillor B. Vrbanovic - itwas resolved: "That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute an agreement with the People's Car Co-operative Inc. (Grand River CarShare) to provide one (1) parking spot at each of the non-revenue generating City of Kitchener facility lots, as outlined in Community Services Department report CSD-10-065, for the use of Grand River CarShare vehicles, subject to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor; and, That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to execute an agreement with the People's Car Co-operative Inc. (Grand River CarShare) providing for the use of up to three (3) parking spaces at the City Hall parking garage for the use of Grand River CarShare vehicles at no cost, subject to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor; and, That in subsequent years, the General Manager of Community Services be authorized to execute amendments to the agreement, including additions and deletions of parking locations, subject to the satisfaction of the City Solicitor; and further, That staff proceed with the application to make the City of Kitchener a Corporate member of GRCS, with an evaluation of the usage, costs /benefits of membership and provide a full update after aone-year period." CSD-10-060-PARKS MASTER PLAN FINAL APPROVAL The Committee considered Community Services Department report CSD-10-060, dated September 10, 2010 regarding the results of additional community and advisory committee feedback on the Park Master Plan (PMP). Mr. D. Ritz provided an overview of the report. Messrs. Fred Galloway, Galloway Associates Inc., and Bill Green, GSP Group presented the feedback and comments received since June 2010. Mr. Galloway advised that City-owned natural areas are now regarded as part of the parks system. He stated that despite minimal investment in the past toward the acquisition of natural areas relative to the other categories, the City owns over 1,000 hectares of natural areas representing about two-thirds of the total parkland inventory. He added that City-wide parks and District parks make up the majority of active parkland comprised of sportsfields and other facilities. Together they make up about 15% of the inventory based on land area, with additional District parks proposed in Southwest Kitchener and Grand River South. Mr. Green advised that part of the reason that the City has such a vast inventory of natural areas, as compared to active and neighbourhood parkland, is the lower cost of acquisition and site development. He displayed a graph illustrating the magnitude of costs associated with the acquisition and development of each type of park. He stated that active parks and neighbourhood parks provide for higher volumes and much more intensive use than the equivalent area of natural land; and this is reflected in the cost of site development to accommodate such use. He added that natural lands are more sensitive to human access and are intended for conservation and passive enjoyment with a low level of facility development. He noted that increased investment in all three types of parkland is recommended in the Park Master Plan, with the greatest recommended for natural areas in terms of percentage increase. He commented that overall, the Park Master Plan recommends a 50% increase to the City's capital budget for parks over the ten-year capital forecast, adding that a portion of these capital investment recommendations have already been incorporated into the City's 2010-2019 forecast. He pointed out that it is being recommended that natural areas receive a 125% increase in capital spending, adding that no other theme has a recommended increase of this size. He noted that the PMP is not a static document; rather, it is a living strategy that requires ongoing investment, regular monitoring, and periodic updates. He agreed to circulate copies of their presentation to the Committee. COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 27. 2010 - 40 - 2. CSD-10-060-PARKS MASTER PLAN FINAL APPROVAL (CONT'D In response to questions, Mr. Green advised that comparing hectares of natural area per person is one form of benchmarking, but cautioned that this kind of straight-line analysis is more appropriate for the other types of parkland; such as, neighbourhood or District parks. He added that the acquisition of natural areas does not correlate to population growth, rather it relates to geography. Natural areas exist regardless of population, while conversely growth is an impetus for the development of neighbourhood parks. He stated that there is an inherent flaw in using population growth as a ratio for future natural lands acquisition, as there may not be enough of these lands to continually sustain such a ratio indefinitely. Mr. Galloway responded further advising that the term "natural area" presumes some type of natural features, therefore as the population increases, eventually the City would need to purchase tablelands and plant woodlots to maintain such a ratio. He stated that it is important to gain an understanding of what currently exists and build strategies for the utilization of those lands. He noted that it is important to keep in mind that places such as Victoria Park or the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex are very specialized units and do not correlate to a blanket ratio. He commented that each park type is different and has varying uses; accordingly, what should be determined is if the proper type of park exists or should be developed to meet the needs of residents. He advised that the City does not have a history of purchasing natural areas, but rather acquires them through other means that have been put in place to protect these types of lands. Mr. Galloway spoke to the complexity and planning that is required to determine the amount of funding that would be needed for each initiative in the PMP. He commented that, in his opinion, it is important that the City adopt the PMP at this time to enable this process to move forward. Ms. Mary Ann Vanden Elzen, Kitchener Waterloo Field Naturalists, advised that on the surface her organization is supportive of the tenets of the PMP. She expressed concern that details are missing from the Plan in relation to specific dollar allocations, as well as timelines to achieve specific outcomes. The Committee was then in receipt of comments on the PMP from Mr. Gord Nicholls, resident, dated September 16th and 23rd, which he reviewed. He suggested several amendments to the PMP, including adjustments to the 10-year capital budget so that the amounts for each of the five thematic areas are within the 1.25% to 1.75% range of the total Kitchener capital budget. He pointed out that natural areas only account for 0.16% of the City's capital budget. He added that when the starting point is this low, the 125% capital spending increase to natural areas does not seem to be that significant. He further suggested that there is more than enough natural lands available to ensure that land acquisitions could begin in 2011 and proceed at a rate that would guarantee that the current ratio of population to parkland for both natural areas and developed parks would be maintained as the population increases over the next 20 years. Ms. Daphne Nicholls, resident, expressed concerns with the budget allocations and implementation details outlined in the PMP. She referred to discrepancies with the Kitchener map contained in the PMP and commented that a number of the features are difficult to read. She requested that this map be clarified to specifically indicate the locations of the 15 ESPAs in Kitchener as well as the provincially sensitive wetlands and woodlots. A motion by Councillor J. Gazzola was brought forward to defer and refer the Park Master Plan to allow it to be considered by the new Council in 2011. Several members spoke in opposition to the proposed deferral, commenting on the difficulties that would be imposed to the budget process should this be referred to the new Council. In addition, it was noted that that the development of the PMP has been underway since 2008 and that it is time to move forward with the implementation of this strategic document. Councillor Gazzola's motion was then voted on and was Lost on a recorded vote, with Councillor J. Gazzola voting in favour and Mayor C. Zehr and Councillors G. Lorentz, J. Smola, K. Galloway, B. Vrbanovic and C. Weylie voting in opposition. The following motion was Carried unanimously on a recorded vote COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER 27. 2010 - 41 - CITY OF KITCHENER 2. CSD-10-060-PARKS MASTER PLAN FINAL APPROVAL (CONT'D) On motion by Councillor B. Vrbanovic - itwas resolved: "That the Parks Strategic Plan (Park Master Plan, dated June 2010) be approved; and, That the implementation of the Park Strategic Plan strategies and implementation actions, as presently recommended, be referred to the corporate business planning and the 2011 capital and operating budget processes for consideration; and further, That staff consider appropriate benchmarking and ratios for the various park categories discussed in the plan and report back to the new Council with aone-year update on the implementation of this strategic plan and possible recommendations for the 2012 and beyond budget processes." CSD-10-067 -GOLF MEMBERSHIP FEES The Committee considered Community Services Department report CSD-10-067, dated September 22, 2010 providing additional information on the revised golf membership system presented at the September 13, 2010 Committee meeting. Mr. G. Hastings reviewed the report. Mr. Bill Brown, resident, attended and expressed concerns with the proposed unlimited play membership package, noting that as the green fees have yet to be established he is unable to determine if it would be in his best interest to purchase the new membership package. He commented that he is a member of both of the City's golf courses and up until September 13, 2010 he was unaware of the proposed changes. In response to questions, Mr. G. Hastings advised that green fee rates are anticipated to increase marginally from what was offered for the 2010 season. Mr. K. Baulk added that in mid-August a brochure was distributed to the members of both City golf courses, noting that a majority of respondents expressed support for the new membership package. He commented that if people purchase this new membership and are concerned that they may not reach the break-even point, then staff would be more than happy to provide a refund at the pay-as-you- play rate. On motion by Mayor C. Zehr - itwas resolved: "That the golf membership system, as outlined in Community Services Department report CSD-10-067, be adopted for the 2011 golf season, subject to the following condition: i. that once green fees have been established and prior to the start of the 2011 golf season, golfers will be permitted to switch from the unlimited play membership package to the pay as you play system and will be refunded the membership paid." CSD-10-064 - 2011-2013 SPECIAL EVENTS WORK PLAN Due to time constraints, this matter was referred to October 4, 2010 special Council meeting. ADJOURNMENT On motion, the meeting adjourned at 6:02 p. m. Colin Goodeve Committee Administrator