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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-05-03SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES MAY 3, 2012 CITY OF KITCHENER The Safe and Healthy Community Advisory Committee met this date, commencing at 4:00 p.m. Present: Mr. K. Euler, Vice-Chair Councillor S. Davey, Supt. A. Darmon, M. Garner, Ms. J. Metzger and Ms. V. Pavkovic. Councillor D. Glenn-Graham was in attendance for part of the meeting. Others Present: Councillor F. Etherington Staff:T. Boutilier, Senior Business Development Officer S. Weare,StrategicInitiatives Associate L. Korabo, Committee Administrator “ANIMATE THE TRAIL : PILOT FUNDING PROPOSAL” 1. Ms. A. Polevoy and Mr. M. DeGroot, residents, presented information on a neighbourhood pilot project, entitled ‘Animate the Trail’, taking place on May 27, 2012 and requested funds towards associated costs. The inaugural ‘Animate the Trail’ happening is combining with the 2nd annual Henry Sturm Neighbourhood Festival to program a celebration along a portion of the Iron Horse Trail. Committee members were advised the first Henry Sturm Neighbourhood Festival was organized by neighbours in response to the death of a local resident while walking along the trail. The combined events will be held on May 27, 2012 to coincide with the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences being hosted by Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo. The Congress is a gathering of 7,000 university professors, researchers, policy- makers, practitioners and students and their families. Objectives of the animate proposal are: Celebrate the trail as an asset that is accessible and safe for all ages, especially the neighbourhoods around the trail; Showcase the trail as a place for biking and walking, as well as points of interest along the way; Continue to build social ties with the City of Waterloo; Build strong grassroots community engagement that may tie into the established Festival of Neighbourhoods; and, Show that this kind of celebration may be done regularly as a cost effective form of active transportation. The goal of the day is to create clusters of activity in safe green spaces at key junctions along the Trail. A coordinator will work to facilitate scheduling along with event organizers to ensure a balanced approach to setting out the placement of performers, artists, food and drink vendors. Mr. DeGroot advised volunteers hope to hold this event twice annually and make it sustainable. In this inaugural year, organizers are requesting funding from the Committee to allow for the hiring of a festival coordinator and to pay for supplies related to the event’s safety. Programming of displays will be along a 3-km stretch of the Iron Horse Trail between Queen Street (Kitchener) and King / Allen Streets (Waterloo). Any funds provided would be matched by the Creative Enterprises Initiative (CEI). Organizers have begun contacting local neighbourhoods, organizations and performers and have received a positive response. Ms. A. Polevoy advised that she was involved in organizing the first Henry Sturm Neighbourhood Festival and is pleased that it is being combined with another grass-roots event. Councillor S. Davey expressed his support for the proposal, noted its good fit with the mandate and purpose of the Committee. Should funding be approved, he requested that a presentation on the outcomes of the event be made to the Committee at a later date. SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES MAY 3, 2012 - 10 - CITY OF KITCHENER “ANIMATE THE TRAIL : PILOT FUNDING PROPOSAL” (CONT’D) 1. In response to questions from members, Mr. DeGroot advised that organizers are requesting a contribution of $2,000. which will go towards safety-related costs, the hiring of a festival coordinator and honorariums for some of the participants. Any remaining funds will be put towards the next event or used to fund a proposed mural for the trail. On motion, by Mr. M. Garner - it was resolved: “That the Safe & Healthy Community Advisory Committee provide funding in the amount of $2,000. to the ‘Animate the Trail’ event, scheduled for May 27, 2012; and further, That organizers provide a presentation to the Committee on the outcomes of the event and the use of the provided funds.” Mr. M. Garner also advised that the Kitchener Downtown BIA would be pleased to contribute $200. toward costs of the event. BROWNFIELD DEVELOPMENT 2. Mr. T. Boutilier, Senior Business Development Officer, attended to provide information on the joint City of Kitchener / Region of Waterloo Brownfields Financial Incentive Program (BFIP) as expanding knowledge on the issue of brownfields was listed in the Committee’s 2012 work plan. Mr. Boutilier advised that, by definition, a brownfield is vacant land or a shell of a building that may contain chemical contamination. Sites generally are unsafe areas within the community having no public surveillance, and provide a low level of assessment and tax generation while increasing municipal costs related to fire, police and by-law inspection. The BFIP provides assistance to developers / owners to clean up brownfields who then provide sites for new infill development. These sites are generally strategically located on major thoroughfares with good public access and exposure, are usually fully serviced with hard services and have established communities surrounding them providing soft services such as libraries and schools. Planning policies at both the City of Kitchener and the Region of Waterloo acted as drivers for the creation of the BFIP. The objectives of the Program are: stimulate investment; reduce liability & risk to the taxpayer; reward success not failure; investment in the future; and, not rewarding the polluter. The Program itself has three funding components: a 50% grant towards the cost of two Environmental Site Assessments (ESA) which determine the kind and amount of contamination on site. The 50% grant is capped at $40,000; decreased Regional development charges equaling the value of the investment made; and, Tax Incremental Grant for a 9-year period following rehabilitation. The BFIP benefits both the land owner and the municipality as it lowers risk while keeping all liability with the private sector.Further, it provides an increase in taxes paid to the municipality which would not have been realized had the site not been cleaned up. Staff’s guidance and assistance throughout the process has resulted in many successful remediation projects being completed, such as: the Rexall Pharmacy development at 537 Frederick Street (formerly an auto service business); development of a residential building at 1240 King Street East (former bus terminal property); the Intowns development at 110 Highland Road (formerly a forge site); and, the Kaufman Lofts located at the corner of King and Victoria Streets (former leather factory). Mr. Boutilier also provided examples of projects currently underway that have benefitted from the brownfield incentive program. SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES MAY 3, 2012 - 11 - CITY OF KITCHENER BROWNFIELD DEVELOPMENT (CONT’D) 2. In closing, Mr. Boutilier advised that the Region of Waterloo has passed a resolution directing staff to undertake a review of the Brownfields Financial Incentive Program by developing a framework to formalize the prioritization of financial incentives within key reurbanization areas and continue working with area municipalities to refine the three funding components. He suggested that when this consultation begins, the Committee may wish to provide input and include this in its future work plan. HEALTHY FOOD POLICY 3. Ms. S. Weare reminded members that she was asked to investigate what if any, policies were in place in other municipalities governing food available for purchase through vending machines at facilities. The City of Kitchener currently has no healthy food policy but rather arranges with vendors to have limited healthier choices placed in vending machines. Research found that two municipalities in British Columbia had adopted nutritional guidelines but these were done in response to a directive issued by their provincial government. Mr. K. Euler requested that the guidelines from the cities of Prince George and Kelowna be provided to members to allow for review and further discussion at the next Committee meeting. Ms. J. Metzger suggested contacting Region of Waterloo Public Health to determine if they have information that could be considered by the Committee when drafting a policy. The Committee agreed to continue moving forward with consideration of drafting a healthy food policy as it relates to the City’s public buildings and have a more detailed discussion at its June meeting. Councillor S. Davey requested information on existing vending contracts and the revenue streams provided to the Corporation. Ms. S. Weare agreed to speak with staff and gather whatever information is available. SAFE NEIGHBOURHOOD STRATEGY 4. Ms. S. Weare advised that the sub-committee comprised of herself, V. Pavkovic and J. Metzger has met to conduct an environmental scan of approaches taken by other municipalities to create safe neighbourhoods. A variety of methods have been utilized, including: by-law and enforcement approach; social development; and, community engagement. The sub-committee looked at common themes found in material from other communities and agreed that the entire committee needed to have a larger discussion regarding development of a vision for a safe neighbourhood strategy. A general discussion on how input can be gathered locally was held and provided direction for moving forward. A suggestion was made to use the term ‘healthy’ rather than ‘safe’ as it provides a more positive connotation. A request to circulate the environmental scan summary was made. Consensus was reached that development of a safe neighbourhood strategy is a community engagement project. Due to the potential scope of the strategy development, it was suggested that Compass Kitchener be approached about taking this on due to their expertise in community engagement. Ms. S. Weare agreed to speak with the Chair of Compass Kitchener regarding this suggestion. If this matter were to be undertaken by Compass Kitchener, members of the Committee were asked to consider developing a toolkit to implement the potential findings of the engagement process. The sub-committee agreed to take the Committee’s feedback and bring back additional suggestions and the environmental scan summary to the next meeting. SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES MAY 3, 2012 - 12 - CITY OF KITCHENER DAVID STREET - UPDATE 5. In response to an item on the Committee’s work plan regarding properties on David Street, Supt. A. Darmon provided historical information regarding a residential address that had been brought to the attention of the police, neighbours and City staff. In response to complaints regarding on-site activities, a community mobilization program was implemented resulting in stakeholder meetings, inspections and ultimately the execution of a search warrant. The building was boarded up and there are now potential re-development plans for the location. Temporary housing was provided for displaced tenants and support services provided for those in need. Supt. Darmon stated the story of David Street is a good example of partnering with different organizations to achieve the desired outcome. WATERLOO REGIONAL POLICE SERVICES - FOCUS GROUP 6. Supt. A. Darmon provided an update to the invitation extended to Committee members to participate in a focus group held March 26 at Central Division. Similar focus groups were held at all divisions with the purpose to gather feedback on four key areas as Waterloo Regional Police (WRPS) undertake a strategic business planning process for 2012-2015. General questions posed were: a. how are we doing as a police service? b. what are we doing well? c. in what areas can we do better to improve? d. what suggestions / opportunities do you have to improve i. the safety of our community and quality of life for all people? ii. our programs and service delivery? Supt. Darmon advised that community feedback was also received on: Need for improved communication; Concerns with prostitution; Impact of divisional boundary changes – core areas are much bigger, some visibility issues; Perceptions of safety; and, Challenge to be ‘greener’. The feedback received will be considered as the business plan is developed. The plan will be tabled with the Police Board soon and will be available on the Police website, once approved. 2012 JANE’S WALK 7. Ms. S. Weare circulated a poster developed to advertise the 2012 Jane’s Walk scheduled for May 5 and 6, 2012. An itinerary outlining the walk was also provided. All were encouraged to participate. A report on the event will be brought to the Committee’s June meeting. DOWNTOWN ADVISORY COMMITTEE - UPDATE 8. Mr. M. Garner advised that the last meeting of the Downtown Advisory Committee was cancelled, however, it was noted that the Committee has divided itself into three sub-groups with each considering a particular area of interest. The three areas are: east end; programming for Civic Square; and, vitality on King Street. Mr. Garner also advised that the Committee is reviewing its Terms of Reference to determine if it will remain as an advisory committee or re-invent itself as a working group to develop programs stemming from other advisory committees. SAFE AND HEALTHY COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES MAY 3, 2012 - 13 - CITY OF KITCHENER COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP 9. Ms. S. Weare advised that an application has been received to fill a vacancy on the Committee. She suggested that the applicant could fill either an at-large vacancy or represent the educational sector. The Committee agreed that the applicant should be appointed to fill the educational sector vacancy. On motion by Councillor S. Davey - it was resolved: “That Kathy Doherty-Masters be appointed to the Safe & Healthy Community Advisory Committee (education) for a term ending November 30, 2012.” NEW BUSINESS 10. Mr. K. Euler circulated an email he recently addressed to Councillor F. Etherington on the matter of coyotes in the Huron Natural Area. Due to time constraints, it was suggested that members review the email provided and this matter be added for discussion at the June meeting. ADJOURNMENT 11. On motion, the meeting adjourned at 6:05 p.m. L. Korabo Committee Administrator