HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil - 2010-12-06 InauguralCOUNCIL MINUTES
DECEMBER 6, 2010 CITY OF KITCHENER
The Inaugural Meeting of the 2010-2014 City Council was held this date in the Council Chamber, City
Hall, Kitchener, with all members present.
The meeting opened with the singing of 'O Canada' by Suzanne Doyle. Ms. Myrta Rivera, St. Mary's
General Hospital Chaplain, led Council and guests in a moment of reflection.
The Honourable Mr. Justice P.J. Flynn was called upon to induct the elected officials. As required by
statute, the Declaration of Office, which incorporates the Oath of Allegiance, was taken by Mayor C.
Zehr and Councillors Scott Davey, Berry Vrbanovic, John Gazzola, Yvonne Fernandes, Kelly
Galloway, Paul Singh, Bil loannidis, Zyg Janecki, Frank Etherington and Daniel Glenn-Graham.
A musical selection by Suzanne Doyle followed.
Moved by Councillor B. Vrbanovic
Seconded by Councillor Y. Fernandes
"That Clause 7 of the Striking Committee Report be amended to read: "That the schedule
attached to Corporate Services Department Report CRPS-10-173, dated November 15, 2010,
be approved as the 2011 schedule of Council and Standing Committee meetings save and
except that the budget meeting scheduled for February 10, 2011 be moved to February 11,
2011."
Carried.
Moved by Councillor S. Davey
Seconded by Councillor F. Etherington
"That the report of the Striking Committee of this date, be adopted as amended."
Carried.
Mayor Carl Zehr then delivered his Inaugural Address, a copy of which is appended and forms part of
these minutes.
Moved by Councillor D. Glenn-Graham
Seconded by Councillor B. loannidis
"That leave be given the Mover and Seconder to introduce the following by-laws for three
readings and that the same be taken as read a first, second and third time, be finally passed and
numbered serially by the Clerk.
(a) Being a by-law to amend By-law 93-191 respecting the appointment of an Acting Mayor.
(b) Being a by-law to amend Chapter 25 of the Municipal Code with respect to Procedure.
(c) To confirm all actions and proceedings of the Council."
Carried.
Moved by Councillor Z. Janecki
Seconded by Councillor P. Singh
"That this inaugural meeting of City Council be adjourned."
Carried.
The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p. m.
MAYOR CLERK
COUNCIL MINUTES
DECEMBER 6, 2010 - 314 - CITY OF KITCHENER
REPORTS ADOPTED BY COUNCIL
STRIKING COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL -
1. That Council consider applications received after the deadline date of October 1, 2010.
2. That the appointments of the Chairs and Vice-Chairs to the Standing Committees of Council
for the one-year period ending November 30, 2011, be approved.
Community & Infrastructure Services Committee
Councillor K. Galloway (Chair) and Councillor P. Singh (Vice-Chair)
Finance & Corporate Services Committee
Councillor J. Gazzola (Chair) and Councillor S. Davey (Vice-Chair)
Planning & Strategic Initiatives Committee
Councillor B. Vrbanovic (Chair) and Councillor Z. Janecki (Vice-Chair)
3. That the appointments to the legislated and/or statutory committees/tribunals of Council for the
specified terms, be approved.
Animal Designation Appeal Committee (2 years)
Councillor S. Davey, Councillor Y. Fernandes and Councillor B. Vrbanovic (alternate)
Belmont Improvement Area Board of Directors (4 years)
Councillor Z. Janecki, Joan Pries, Herb Hoegler, Dave Wingert, Linda Nelson, Jean Costelec,
Margaret Tofflemire, Shari Scott, Melitsa Loannou, Christine Rumner
Centre in the Square Board of Directors (4 years -Council; 3 years -Citizen)
Mayor C. Zehr, Councillor J. Gazzola, Councillor B. loannidis, Councillor Z. Janecki, Marcus
Shantz, Astrid Kropp, Barry Hunt
Committee of Adjustment (4 years)
Denny Cybalski, Andrew Head, Arthur Lise, Bob McColl, Jennifer Meader
Committee of Revision (1 year)
Councillor D. Glenn-Graham, Councillor B. loannidis, Councillor Z. Janecki
Dog Designation Appeal Committee (2 years)
Councillor S. Davey, Councillor Y. Fernandes and Councillor B. Vrbanovic (alternate)
Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee (1 year)
Councillor K. Galloway
Kitchener Downtown Business Improvement Association (4 years)
Mayor C. Zehr, Councillor F. Etherington, Councillor D. Glenn-Graham, Moya Spruce,
Margarida Anao, Kevin Ballantyne, Mark Graham, Tony DiBattista, Adrian Conrad, Liz Howie,
Michael Von Tiechman, Colin Leis
Kitchener Housing Inc. Board of Directors (3 years)
Mayor C. Zehr, Councillor F. Etherington, Councillor B. loannidis, Christian Witt, Bob McColl
COUNCIL MINUTES
DECEMBER 6, 2010
-315-
CITY OF KITCHENER
REPORTS ADOPTED BY COUNCIL
STRIKING COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL - (CONT'D)
(Cont'd)
Kitchener Power Corporation Board of Directors (1 year)
Mayor C. Zehr, Councillor K. Galloway, Councillor J. Gazzola, Larry Galajda, Allan Beaupre
Kitchener Public Library Board (4 years)
Councillor K. Galloway, Councillor B. Vrbanovic, Jennifer Ball, Wayne Buchholtz, Dan Carli,
Tiffany Dejak, Jude Doble, Mike Farwell, Lynn Gazzola, Bruce MacNeil, Dave Sterritt
Property Standards Committee (2 years)
Karen Taylor-Harrison, John Rowe, Claude Schneider, Nelson Stead
That the following appointments to Advisory Committees of Council for the specified terms, be
approved.
Arts & Culture Advisory Committee (2 years)
Councillor F. Etherington, Juan Bohorquez, Don Bourgeois, Laura Lee Dam, Ashley Dean,
Cheryl Ewing, Jamie Grant, Ann Marie Hadcock, Allan Hoch, Earl McCluskie, Catherine
Mombourquette, Marcel O'Gorman, Helena Redshaw, Julie Robbescheuten
Compass Kitchener (2 years)
Sam Charles, Holly Duff, Soha Elsayed,
Kimberly Knowles, Theron Kramer, Sarah
Wilkin
James Howe, Christopher Hyde, Jasminka Klacar,
Marsh, Hanan Mohamed, Cameron Smith, Tristan
Cycling Advisory Committee (2 years)
Councillor Y. Fernandes, Michael Arges, Steve Burek, Duncan Class, Peter Dedes, Bart
Forwell, Dennis Hilker, Tim Kenyon, Brian Laube, Nikola Mehes, Jessica Romero, Mary Sehl,
Mackenzie Turner
Downtown Advisory Committee (2 years
Councillor F. Etherington, Councillor D. Glenn-Graham, Amina Gilani, Lisa Polonoski, Aaron
MacFarlane, Jamie Yantzi, Alan Doherty, Michael Falcone, Tania Benninger, Don Zehr, Cory
Grossman, Glenn Scheels, Lawrence McNaught, Cameron Dearlove
Economic Development Advisory Committee (2 years)
Councillor S. Davey, Councillor B. loannidis, Councillor P. Singh, Ashley Reid, Peter
Benninger, Glenn Koehler, Jeremy Auger, Amr Kebbi, Darrin Snider, Kelly Vieira, Brian
Bennett, Adrian Conrad, Mark Bingeman, B. Takhar, Rebecca Short, Darren Shaw, Shawn
DeBruyn, Len Carter, Ian Cook, Steven Voll
Environmental Committee (2 years)
Councillor D. Glenn-Graham, Councillor Y. Fernandes, Councillor B. Vrbanovic, Barbara
Ciochon, Steve Grossman, Stacey Dankert, Mohab EI-Hakim, Dan Hoshowsky, Graham
Lehman, Lindsay Matthews, Mark Peterson, Simone Smith, Rizwan Younis, George Zador
COUNCIL MINUTES
DECEMBER 6, 2010 - 316 - CITY OF KITCHENER
REPORTS ADOPTED BY COUNCIL
STRIKING COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL - (CONT'D)
4. (Cont'd)
Heritage Kitchener (2 years)
Councillor F. Etherington, Councillor Y. Fernandes, Councillor Z. Janecki, John Ariens, Kerry
Kirby, Ann Oja, Laird Robertson, Sandu Sindile, George Thomas, Steven Thomson, Erin
Young, Grayson Zeilstra
Safe & Healthy Community Advisory Committee (2 years)
Councillor S. Davey, Councillor F. Etherington, Councillor D. Glenn-Graham, Derek Bellamy,
Karen Kwiatkowski, Pat Doherty, Deepa Ahluwalia, Karl Euler
5. That the following appointments to the other Committees /Organizations for the specified
terms, be approved.
Aeronautical Noise Management Committee (4 years)
Councillor B. Vrbanovic, Councillor S. Davey (alternate), Gary Tomic, Richard Wagner
Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery -Board of Directors (1 year)
Councillor F. Etherington
Grand River Hospital -Board of Trustees (1 year)
Councillor P. Singh
Homer Watson House Foundation (1 year)
Councillor Y. Fernandes
Horticultural Society -Kitchener -Board of Directors (1 year)
Councillor D. Glenn-Graham
Huron Natural Area Joint Ventures Committee (1 year)
Councillor Y. Fernandes, Councillor K. Galloway
Multicultural Centre of K-W Board of Directors (1 year)
Councillor D. Glenn-Graham
Oktoberfest Inc. Advisory Council (1 year)
Councillor S. Davey, Councillor B. Vrbanovic
St. Mary's Hospital Board of Trustees (1 year)
No appointment made at this time
Wilfrid Laurier University -Board of Governors (1 year)
Councillor B. Vrbanovic
COUNCIL MINUTES
DECEMBER 6, 2010 - 317 - CITY OF KITCHENER
REPORTS ADOPTED BY COUNCIL
STRIKING COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL - (CONT'D)
That notwithstanding the provisions of Clause 3.1 of Council Policy I-63 (Appointments to
Boards and Committees), Council hereby confirms the following appointments in excess of the
maximum allowable years of service; namely:
Denny Cybalski -Committee of Adjustment
Kerry Kirby -Heritage Kitchener
Dan Carli -Kitchener Public Library
Bruce MacNeil -Kitchener Public Library
Pat Doherty -Safe & Healthy Community Advisory Committee
Peter Benninger -Economic Development Advisory Committee
That the schedule attached to Corporate Services Department Report CRPS-10-173, dated
November 15, 2010, be approved as the 2011 schedule of Council and Standing Committee
meetings save and except that the budget meeting scheduled for February 10, 2011 be moved
to February 11, 2011.
(As Amended)
COUNCIL MINUTES
DECEMBER 6, 2010 - 318 - CITY OF KITCHENER
Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehr
Inaugural Address
Monday, December 6, 2010
Good evening and welcome to tonight's historic inaugural celebration, where you are witnessing, as
your invitation read, "History in the Making".
Tonight seven new councillors and three returning councillors who are brimming with energy have
taken their declarations of office. For the first time in our collective memories, Kitchener's council has
a majority of new faces around the horseshoe.
I can tell you that because of this, I am excited to work together on behalf of the more than 230,000
citizens we will serve.
It is an honour to address you tonight as the mayor of Kitchener. I was humbled to again receive the
trust and confidence of the people of Kitchener in the recent election. Thank you for allowing me the
opportunity to continue to serve as mayor.
Thanks also to all the candidates who participated in the municipal election. It takes courage and
commitment to put your name on a ballot.
Once again, despite the excellent slate of candidates, our voter turnout remained too low, improving
by only 3% over the 2006 results. Generally speaking, our citizens are very engaged in the life of our
community, and I hope that in future elections, the turnout will be more reflective of this.
To the councillors who have just left this horseshoe, Christina Weylie, John Smola and Geoff Lorentz,
thank you for your dedication, hard work and lengthy service on behalf of our citizens.
Congratulations and welcome to our new councillors -Scott Davey, Frank Etherington, Yvonne
Fernandes, Dan Glenn-Graham, Bil loannidis, Zyg Janecki and Paul Singh.
Welcome back to our three returning councillors -Kelly Galloway, John Gazzola and Berry
Vrbanovic.
From our initial discussions, I know all of you are looking forward to advancing issues of particular
interest to you, as well as working collectively on behalf of our broader community.
In the words of the great industrialist, Henry Ford: "Coming together is a beginning. Keeping
together is progress. Working together is success." I look forward to achieving much success with
you.
I would also like to warmly welcome all of our family members and friends to tonight's historic
celebration. Your support and understanding are critical to our ability to serve as Mayor and Council.
Personally, I would like to once again thank my family and in particular my wife Sandy for your
understanding of the demands of my position. Sandy, not only are you my strongest supporter, you
are my best critic and trusted advisor.
Thank you all.
In preparing for tonight's ceremony, I reflected on my previous inaugural addresses. In particular, I
reviewed the first address I gave as the newly minted mayor in 1997, when I was a little younger and
a little less grey, but as enthusiastic and energetic as I am today.
In 1997, I said, and I quote, "It's really not the mayor's vision that counts at all: It's what OUR vision
is -all the people. It's what we believe Kitchener is and can be. As mayor, it's my job to draw that
vision out ... to bring it to life and to make us feel good about who we are and where we live."
I believe that this still holds true, and over the past 13 years, we have done exactly that.
In 1999, council launched the largest and most inclusive public engagement process in our city's
history, as we set out to understand our community and our collective vision.
COUNCIL MINUTES
DECEMBER 6, 2010 - 319 - CITY OF KITCHENER
We started by defining our vision: "Together, we will build an innovative, caring and vibrant Kitchener
with safe and thriving neighbourhoods."
Then you told us about your priorities for our community. You wanted to be engaged and show
leadership in your community and you did that through your active participation. You wanted an
improved quality of life with an energized downtown, a more diverse community with a variety of
activities to pursue -learning, exploring new cultures and an active, vibrant arts, culture and leisure
scene. You wanted new economic growth and employment opportunities and to attract new talent to
our community. You wanted an increased focus on our environment with more trails, parks and
cycling paths. And you wanted to take a leadership role with respect to environmental sustainability
and to reducing our ecological footprint.
As I see it, as council moves forward, we need to respect our community's priorities and vision, and
use them as the foundation on which to make our decisions.
This isn't about us as a council. It's about us as a community.
Over the next four years, challenges will present themselves. However, these priorities and vision
give us the foundation and the focus needed to make important decisions about the future of our
community. As a wise person once said, "We cannot control the wind, but we can adjust our sails."
While the worldwide economic turmoil of the past two years has been challenging for our community,
Kitchener continued to move forward. True to our roots and our vision, we have thrived, seized new
opportunities and welcomed innovation.
Think of the strategic opportunities that we have developed over the past few years to diversify our
economy: the Health Sciences cluster, the digital media cluster in the Tannery including the
Communitech Hub, Desire2Learn and Google, while continuing to support innovation in our vital
manufacturing cluster with the creation of the Manufacturing Innovation Network.
Without a long term community vision, those investments would not have been possible. Coupled
with the recently announced GO Train service, transit hub and a future LRT, these new investments
are literally changing the face of our city and adding strength to our local economy that simply was
not there before.
Our economic development strategy and our community's focus on investing in our downtown have
been balanced with continued investments in our suburbs.
Over the past decade alone, we have built or upgraded the LEED GOLD certified Activa Sportsplex,
Sportsworld Crossing Twin Pad; constructed or expanded community centres in the Chandler Mowat,
Kingsdale, Victoria Hills, Williamsburg and Stanley Park neighbourhoods; developed a new fire
station on Huron Road; continued to develop the Huron Natural Area; redeveloped McLennan Park
and provided infrastructure, connected by parks and trails, to support our many new neighourhoods.
Truly, we have done a great deal across the breadth of our city for the benefit of all citizens. We have
been strategic and have invested in a sustainable manner. We can all be proud of the fact that these
investments were accomplished while maintaining one of the lowest property taxes of similar sized
cities in the province.
While considering these significant investments, please also remember this fact: municipal
governments deliver numerous services, programs and activities with only eight cents of every tax
dollar collected by all orders of government.
Think about that. The community centres and arenas we and our children use, the workers who plow
our roads, the firefighters who respond to emergencies, the trails we enjoy and the parks where we
play plus many more services are provided using only eight cents of every tax dollar you and I pay.
Those who know me understand that I am passionate about the role municipalities play in the lives of
our citizens.
We know that municipalities are the economic engine of our country. We also know that receiving just
eight cents of a tax dollar is not a sustainable financial model for Kitchener or any other Canadian
municipality.
COUNCIL MINUTES
DECEMBER 6, 2010 - 320 - CITY OF KITCHENER
This is why I believe that we need to work cooperatively with other orders of government to ensure
that they acknowledge the need for change to the funding mechanisms for municipalities.
I will say tonight, as I have said before, in order to balance their budgets, the federal and provincial
governments must not - as has been done in the past -download services and programs onto the
backs of municipalities.
Municipalities are under-funded. There is no question about this.
But let me be clear.
Canadians cannot afford to pay significantly more in taxes. We need a new and innovative way to
allocate existing taxes, be they income taxes, sales taxes or property taxes. However, until that
mechanism is in place, we have a responsibility to create a sustainable budget to ensure the long
term health of our community.
I would remind you of the hard lessons we learned in a previous era when decisions were made in
municipalities across this province with short term thinking, rather than with the benefit of a long term
vision.
As a council, I believe that we need to develop the will and the foresight to avoid making decisions
that may benefit our citizens only in the short term, but which do not fit with our established long term
strategic vision for our community. Such decisions often result in greater costs in the future.
As Mayor and as a community citizen, I realize that we have to balance the need for fiscal
responsibility with our ethical, legal and societal responsibilities to our community. We will strive to
fulfill those obligations remembering that despite the success of our community, many remain in need
in Kitchener and across our region.
Therefore, we will work collectively to ensure that the decisions we are making are the right decisions,
the best decisions, in the short term and the long term.
As the largest city in our region, I believe it is incumbent upon us -while always acting in the best
interest of Kitchener citizens - to consider the interests of our neighbours as well. Kitchener is a
community that strives to achieve a broad vision, one that looks beyond our municipal boundaries to
do what's best for our entire region.
While I had hoped for a different result on the referendum question regarding discussions with the
City of Waterloo, we will continue to work co-operatively with all our neighbours.
Again, specifically to you as councillors, after twenty-two rewarding years in municipal politics, I still
enjoy the opportunity to serve and to represent our community. It is my hope that as we embark on
this new council term together, you too will find satisfaction in serving the public and working with our
community.
I look forward to working together with you on behalf of the citizens of Kitchener.
To select a quote from the City of Kitchener's Strategic Plan, "We will work together because success
depends on all of us."
History in the making - it starts tonight.
Thank you for joining us as we celebrate together