Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutFinance & Admin - 1997-10-06FAC\1997-10-06 OCTOBER 6, 1997 FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MINUTES CITY OF KITCHENER The Finance and Administration Committee met this date commencing at 10:10 a.m.. under the Chairmanship of Councillor J. Ziegler with the following members present: Councillors T. Galloway, M. Wagner, M. Yantzi, John Smola, G. Lorentz and C. Weylie. Mayor R. Christy, Councillors Jake Smola, B. Vrbanovic and K. Taylor-Harrison were in attendance for part of the meeting. Others present: Ms. P. Houston, Mrs. J. Koppeser, Ms. R. Upfold, Ms. L. Blair, Ms. K. Brannen, Messrs. J. Hancock (Acting Chief Administrative Officer), J. Shivas, L. Gordon, D. Blane, T. McCabe, E. Kovacs, L. Parkhouse, T. Clancy and G. Sosnoski. LOCATION CRITERIA EXEMPTION - CLEOPATRA BODY RUB PARLOUR The Committee was in receipt of a written submission from Mr. Paul Seitz, Lawyer, representing Mrs. Margaret Deptulski, the owner of Cleopatra, a sexual/erotic body rub parlour. Mr. Seitz referred to his written submission and advised that Cleopatra is located in a commercial mall at 280 Victoria Street North, with this location meeting all of Council's criteria with the exception of Section "d" which specifies that the lands upon which the establishment is located cannot face any part of the premises or any existing residence across the street. Mr. Seitz noted that there is a residence directly across from the mall at 281 Victoria Street North, and pointed out that the current occupant has provided a letter, circulated as part of Mr. Seitz's submission, which specifies that he has no objection to Cleopatra continuing to operate at the present location. Mr. Seitz asked that his client be exempt from meeting section "d" of Council's location criteria. Moved by Councillor C. Weylie, "That the current 280 Victoria Street North location of Cleopatra (sexual/erotic body rub parlour) be exempt from section "d" of the location criteria previously approved by Council which stipulates that the lands upon which such an establishment is located shall not face any part of the premises or any existing residence across the street; and further, That the above exemption is granted on the basis of the written submission of Mr. Milton Patterson who lives across from the present Victoria Street location and has indicated that he has no objection to this arrangement." Mr. Shivas advised that in this particular instance, the exemption requested does not go to the heart of the criteria established by Council but pointed out that if approved, Council would be obliged to consider other similar exemption requests. The motion by Councillor C. Weylie to grant a location exemption to Cleopatra, was voted on and Carried. LOCATION CRITERIA EXEMPTION - VICTORIA'S BODY RUB PARLOUR Ms. Nina Troezka, owner of Victoria's, a sexual/erotic body rub parlour, appeared and requested an exemption from Section "a" of Council's body rub parlour location criteria which specifies that the establishment must be located on lands zoned C6. She also requested an exemption from Section "h" of the criteria which specifies that the lands upon which such an establishment is located shall not include an existing residence. Mr. McCabe clarified that the current zoning of the Victoria's location at 1127 King Street East is CR4 which allows for free standing offices and high density residential. He explained that this designation is unique to this area of the City and constitutes a zoning anomaly. He further explained that the Official Plan designates the area as Service Commercial, which from a policy point of view is roughly equivalent to C6. He also added that the long term objective with regard to the traffic corridor along which Victoria's is located is to create a high profile entry into the City. Councillors K. Taylor-Harrison and B. Vrbanovic entered the meeting at this time. FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MINUTES OCTOBER 6, 1997 - 133 - CITY OF KITCHENER 2. LOCATION CRITERIA EXEMPTION - VICTORIA'S BODY RUB PARLOUR - CONT'D Ms. Troezka advised that she is currently investigating other possible locations but would prefer to remain at the 1127 King Street East premises. She added that with the exception of the two exemptions requested, the Victoria Street location meets all other criteria, and that to date no other complaints have been received from neighbouring property owners or tenants. Ms. Troezka explained that with reference to Section "h" of the criteria there is currently an apartment unit which forms part of the building where Victoria's is located and is presently used by the building owner for storage and on rare occasions is used overnight as an apartment as he resides in Toronto. Ms. Troezka indicated her willingness to provide a letter from the owner stating that he has no objection to the current arrangement and will not rent the apartment to anyone as long as Victoria's remains a tenant in the building. On a motion by Councillor M. Wagner, it was resolved: "That the current 1127 King Street East location of Victoria's (sexual/erotic body rub parlour) be exempt from the following sections of the location criteria previously approved by Council: Section "a" stipulating that the establishment shall be located on lands zoned C6, on the basis that the subject lands are presently zoned CR4 and that from a policy point of view, the City's Official Plan designates this area as Service Commercial; Section "h" stipulating that the lands upon which the establishment is located shall not include an existing residence, on the basis that the current residential unit located at the rear of the property is only infrequently used as a residence and that the current occupant has no objection to this arrangement; and further, That the above exemption pertaining to "h" be subject to receipt, by the Manager of Licensing, of a letter from the occupant of the residential unit, who is also the property owner, that he has no objection to the City granting this exemption, and stating that he will not rent out said residential premises while 1127 King Street East is leased by Victoria's." Councillor Ziegler advised the delegations that the Committee recommendations would be dealt with by Council as 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday October 14, 1997. CAMBRIDGE - KITCHENER BUS SERVICE The Committee was in receipt of a report from E. Kovacs dated September 30, 1997 recommending trial acceptance of private carrier tickets to facilitate travel between the Kitchener and Cambridge bus terminals. Mayor R. Christy entered the meeting at this time. Mr. Kovacs referred to his report and noted that the net revenue impact will be relatively small as the City expects to pick up revenue on the return trip. He noted that the proposal is for a trial period and is at present limited to terminal to terminal traffic. Mr. Kovacs suggested that staff feels this change will enhance commuter traffic and eliminate some of the present inconveniences. He also advised that City of Cambridge staff are supporting this initiative which will go before their Council for consideration in the coming weeks. It was also noted that the private carrier, Trentway- Wager also supports the proposal. Councillor T. Galloway enquired as to the status of the licensing issue at the Provincial level which requires that a private carrier be used as Kitchener and Cambridge Transit buses are at present not permitted to cross municipal boundaries. Mr. Kovacs replied that to date the Province has not advised of a definitive position. Councillor Galloway suggested that the City CAMBRIDGE - KITCHENER BUS SERVICE - CONT'D should be more aggressive in this area in the interest of developing a more integrated transit system, and cited the needs of residents, particular those in the southerly portion of the City. FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MINUTES OCTOBER 6, 1997 - 134 - CITY OF KITCHENER Councillor Jake Smola entered the meeting at this time. On a motion by Councillor G. Lorentz, it was resolved: "That the City of Kitchener endorse the acceptance of Trentway-Wagar bus tickets for inter- city travel between Cambridge and Kitchener as "transfers" to access Kitchener Transit for a trial period ending June 30, 1998, at which time a report evaluating the merits of this arrangement will be presented to both Kitchener and Cambridge Councils for their respective consideration; and further, That this proposal is subject to endorsement by the City of Cambridge of a similar access arrangement involving Cambridge Transit." Councillor Wagner questioned whether the City should act more aggressively to obtain permission from the Province to allow for a more direct link between the Kitchener and Cambridge Transit systems. He suggested that staff should meet with Provincial Ministry staff and local M.P.P.'s to resolve this issue. On a motion by Councillor M. Wagner, it was resolved: "That staff approach the Province for any approvals required to directly link the public transit services provided by Kitchener and Cambridge in order to make transit travel between the two municipalities more convenient, as opposed to being required to use a third party private transit service as is presently the case; and further, That a copy of this resolution be forwarded to all area M.P.P.'s." STAFF PURCHASING CARDS Ms. L. Blair gave a presentation outlining a pilot project involving staff use of purchasing cards for small dollar purchases with the intention of reducing the number of field orders processed by the municipality. She noted that Kitchener can implement this initiative on a trial basis through the Peel Board of Education's current contract with the Bank of Montreal. She suggested a three month trial involving approximately 100 employees followed by a report and recommendations. Ms. Blair referred to several advantages of the purchasing card including a reduction in the number of invoices received by the City, associated processing savings, employee convenience and a reduction in the use of field orders which totalled approximately 10,000 in 1996. She also explained the restrictions which could be placed on the card and noted that purchasing cards are presently being used by the Region of Waterloo and various municipalities and school boards in Ontario and Canada. In response to a question from Councillor Vrbanovic, Ms. Upfold advised that it is estimated between 4500 and 5000 field orders can be eliminated through the use of purchasing cards. Councillor Vrbanovic suggested that staff should investigate whether purchases on the card can be used to accumulate credit points which in turn could be used to pay for staff business travel or City vehicle purchases. Ms. Upfold agreed to investigate and attempt to negotiate such an arrangement with the Bank of Montreal. Councillor Galloway enquired whether the City would lose the opportunity to receive discounts for early payment if purchasing cards are used, and it was explained that the City already receives a corporate discount. Mr. Gordon added that at present staff are seldom able to take advantage of supplier discounts; however, use of the purchasing card will guarantee the supplier immediate payment through the Bank of Montreal, and this savings should translate into reduced prices to the City. Councillor Galloway noted that a business plan had not been prepared for the purchasing cards and asked whether the STAFF PURCHASING CARDS - CONT'D numbers had been checked to ensure that the City will save, rather than spend money on this initiative. Ms. Upfold replied that staff are able to assume a reduction in the amount of processing time spent by Finance and user department staff, and if the initiative is successful possible elimination of part-time staff could be investigated. Councillor Wagner enquired as to the likelihood of misuse of the purchasing card be staff, and Mr. Blane replied that to the best of his FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE MINUTES OCTOBER 6, 1997 - 135 - CITY OF KITCHENER knowledge there have been no instances of intentional abuse experienced by other jurisdictions; however, if this were to occur there would be zero tolerance for inappropriate use and the card would be withdrawn. Mayor R. Christy left the meeting at this time in order to receive a delegation from the People's Republic of China. On a motion by Councillor G. Lorentz, it was resolved: "That Council endorse a three month pilot project with respect to the issuance of staff purchasing cards, following which an evaluation report is to be submitted to the Finance and Administration Committee for consideration." Mayor Christy re-entered the meeting and introduced the delegation from the People's Republic of China, representing 10 Chinese provinces and cities, and welcomed them to Kitchener. It was noted that the delegation is here with the Foundation for International Training. A representative of the delegation addressed the Finance and Administration Committee and thanked Council and the citizens of Kitchener for the opportunity to visit the municipality. He referred to pending changes in the Chinese economic system, beginning with municipalities, and indicated that he hoped China could learn from the experiences of Canadian municipalities. He extended his thanks to the Mayor and Council and invited them to visit China in the future. Mayor Christy then accepted a gift from the delegation to commemorate the visit, which he accepted on behalf of Council. INFORMATION ITEMS The Committee accepted, as information, a report dated October 1, 1997 listing the Monte Carlo events recently approved by licensing staff. NEXT MEETING The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Finance and Administration Committee will be held on Monday, October 20, 1997. ADJOURNMENT On motion, the meeting adjourned at 11:20 a.m. G. Sosnoski Manager of Corporate Records/Assistant City Clerk