HomeMy WebLinkAboutINS-11-037 - Naming of Consolidated Maintenance FacilityREPORT TO:Community and Infrastructure Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING:
April 11, 2011
SUBMITTED BY: Pauline Houston, Deputy CAO, Infrastructure Services,
519-741-2646
PREPARED BY:
Andrea Bailey, Interim Manager, Communications and
Marketing, 519-741-2458
WARD(S) INVOLVED: N/A
DATE OF REPORT: April 6, 2011
REPORT NO.: INS 11-037
SUBJECT:
NAMING OF CONSOLIDATED MAINTENANCE FACILITY
RECOMMENDATION:
That the recommended name for the City of Kitchener’s new consolidated maintenance facility
(CMF), Kitchener Operations Facility, be accepted.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Under Council Policy I-475, Naming/Renaming of Corporate Facilities, “all decisions to name or
rename facilities shall be at the discretion of Council.”
With this policy in mind, in January 2011 the CMF workplace culture committee launched an
internal facility naming contest for city staff who will be moving to the new facility to participate
in, to engage staff and build excitement around the upcoming move to the CMF.
Upon reviewing the staff submissions, the committee voted on the preferred suggestion,
Kitchener Operations Facility - a combination of naming suggestions submitted by two staff.
The preferred option is now before committee for endorsement. City council will consider final
approval of the recommendation on April 18, 2011.
BACKGROUND:
Kitchener's new consolidated maintenance facility (CMF) is located on 45 acres of land on
Goodrich Drive.
When it’s fully functional in late spring, 2011, the CMF will bring a number of our municipal
operations and services under one roof, including city facilities management, corporate call
centre, fleet repair, gas-line works/utilities, greenhouses, parks and woodland maintenance,
road maintenance, salt storage, snow clearing, stockrooms and bulk material storage, and
watermain and sewer maintenance.
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The CMF will bring many benefits including elimination of duplicated vehicles and equipment;
improved coordination of work and services; improved efficiency of vehicle use; improved
response times for emergency vehicles; maintained and improved service levels; and
streamlined service delivery to the community.
Given this will be the first time a number of the more than 400 staff moving to the CMF work
together, and they will have to adjust and adapt to their new work surroundings, the CMF
workplace culture committee, made up of staff from across the corporation, is looking for ways
to build staff interest and excitement around the move.
An internal CMF naming contest ran from Jan. 10 to 31, 2011, inviting staff who will be moving
to the new facility to submit name suggestions for consideration by the CMF workplace culture
committee.
By way of an internal communications strategy, contest participants were asked to submit
names for consideration that encompass outstanding service, shared pride and togetherness.
More than 40 suggestions were submitted, and the committee narrowed the field down to a
combination of the following two suggestions: Operations Complex and Kitchener Central
Operations Facility. The recommended option is Kitchener Operations Facility.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
While the CMF naming contest was an internal corporate initiative, the program successfully
fostered leadership and engagement amongst the staff who participated, and supported a
number of corporate objectives identified in the city’s People Plan - the strategy for how the
organization supports its employees so that we can be successful in the work we do each day
for the community.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
Given the consolidated maintenance facility will not be a building that’s readily visited by the
public, compared to other municipal facilities, such as community centres, swimming pools and
arenas, the CMF workplace culture committee deemed it more appropriate to allow the staff
who will be moving to and working from the facility to play a lead role in its naming. Doing so
helps foster a sense of ownership and pride in staff; and it will ideally make the transition to the
new facility easier for them.
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CONCLUSION:
Of the names submitted for consideration, “Kitchener Operations Facility” encompasses
outstanding service, shared pride and togetherness - the objectives staff at every level hope to
achieve in relocating to the new facility.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY:
Pauline Houston, Deputy CAO, Infrastructure Services Department
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