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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDowntown Advisory - 1996-07-11DAC\1996-07-11 KITCHENER DOWNTOWN ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES July 11, 1996 The Kitchener Downtown Advisory Committee met this date under the Chairmanship of Councillor Mark Yantzi with the following members present: Councillor Karen Redman, Councillor Berry Vrbanovic, Robert Braun, Nancy Brawley, Deborah Budd, Brian Hunsburger, Regis Coladipietro, Martin de Groot, and Rita Westbrook. Staff Present: Sybil Frenette, David Corks, Randy Mattice and Catherine Heal Regrets: Mayor Richard Christy, T. Brock Stanley, Doug Marshman, Marleen Guttensohn, Denise Strong, Peggy Walshe, Michelle Morisetti, Karen Taylor- Harrison, Lillian Kehl, Lorna Van Mossel, Marianne Wasikla, Jancie Williams and Neil Carver 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA - July 11, 1996 Moved by Nancy Brawley. Seconded by Brian Hunsberger That the agenda for July 11, 1996 be approved. Carried 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - June 13, 1996 Moved by Deborah Budd. Seconded by Rita Westbrook That the minutes be approved. Carried. 3. REPORT ON FIRST WORLD CONGRESS ON CITY CENTRE MANAGEMENT HELD IN ENGLAND - David Corks David Corks gave a report on his trip to England and what he learnt from the congress (see attached). Councillor Vrbanovic said, opposite to what David reported, stores were open after 5:00 pm in Europe during his visit. David replied that stores are only open after 5:00 pm in the tourist areas and that he could only speak for England, not the rest of Europe. Councillor Vrbanovic further asked if the report will be presented to the Planning and Economic Development Committee and Council. Councillor Yantzi agreed that it would be a good idea to do so. David showed a brochure about Winnipeg downtown. He explained that Winnepeg hired a group of theatrical students to dress in uniform acting as ambassadors. They praise people who put garbage in the bin and boo and blow whistle at people who litter. Councillor Redman said she liked the idea of ambassadors, but she wondered about the costs of such move. David replied that Winnipeg hires students in the summer to do that so the costs are low. They are highly visible and their presence have the same effect as police in terms of safety perception. With regard to the ring road, Martin de Groot questioned if the Ring Road in Kitchener downtown was different from the European model. David replied that the one in Kitchener is very similar to the European model. Councillor Redman asked while the business owners manage the parking facilities if they also make the parking policies. David believes that they do. The facilities are municipally owned and funded. David will go through the materials he collected on the ring road system and report on further findings. 4. UPDATE ON DOWNTOWN ENTRANCE SIGN - Sybil Frenette Sybil Frenette updated the committee on the downtown entrance sign project. At the previous meeting, the committee showed support for the downtown entrance sign but suggested to add an icon to the sign, something that represents the downtown and is different from entrance signs used for suburban areas. The clock tower was suggested. The team took the suggestion and added the clock tower to the sign. Sybil was very pleased with the positive change of the design. The recommendation has been approved by Council. The entrance sign will be installed in the first week of September. Rita Westbrook asked whether previous discussion has taken place about installing an entrance sign at the east end of Kitchener downtown. Rita felt that the entrance sign was such a good idea that it should be implemented at other locations to achieve its full potential. Sybil responded that the intention is to install an entrance sign at the east end as well. The installation of the entrance sign at King and Victoria Streets is made possible by the road improvement project at the intersection. When a similar opportunity arises at the east end, an entrance sign can then be considered. Deborah Budd praised the City's outstanding work at providing a welcoming garden at the Rockway Garden. Robert Braun also felt that the entrance sign was a very effective marketing tool. In order to achieve its full potential, it should be installed on other major arteries that lead to the downtown. Robert felt that having the installation of entrance sign tied to the planning process [meaning that the installation of entrance sign could only take place when some other work is being done] will limit the progress of sign installation. Councillor Redman asked if other sites have been identified for the entrance sign. Sybil replied that no other site has been identified; however, Sybil will pass the committee's suggestions on to the Design, Heritage and Environment Division and try to get the entrance sign incorporated into the Urban Design Guideline. Brain Hunsberger suggested that the same design be used to create a consistant visual identity for the downtown. 5. PROPOSED NEW WARD BOUNDARIES - Randy Mattice Randy Mattice, Planner at the Policy Research & Housing Division, gave an overview of the initiative to change the ward boundaries. Randy explained that the existing boundaries have been in place since 1978. The imbalance in the number of voters and the size of different wards are obvious, the South Ward being one of the biggest concerns. At the beginning of 1995, the City Clerks Department informed Council that the deadline for changing the boundaries was fast approaching if Council wanted the new boundaries to be in place for the election that will take place in 1997. Council decided to start the process of changing the ward boundaries. Professor Bob Williams, Professor in Political Science at the University of Waterloo and an expert on ward boundaries, prepared a number of criteria (see attached). In addition, Council requested staff to investigate three options--having 8, 10 or 12 wards. Currently, there are 10 wards. After further debate, Council directed staffto prepare scenarios only for a 10 ward system. Randy presented the proposed new boundaries to the committee (see attached). The proposed boundaries were designed to meet the criteria set up by Professor Bob Williams as much as possible. The proposed changes have been advertised in the local newspaper and neighbourhood associations have been informed. The Ontario Municipal Board will decided whether to approve the proposed change before January 1997. Members of the committee discussed the following issues. The proposal is based on projected demographic and economic development trends. The accuracy of the projection is questionable. For example, the downtown is experiencing a noticeable improvement which might not be reflected in the projection. The proposal should be based on existing situation rather than projected figures. Basing the boundaries on the existing situation will ensure that the new boundaries will suit current needs. -108- Changing the ward boundaries is a complex issue and it affects the downtown significantly. It takes time for residents to consider the situation thoroughly and make recommendations. The process should have been started earlier. There is not enough time for residents to respond. The lack of time is further worsened by the summer season when many people are on vacation. The committee is concerned about the decrease in the number of wards in the downtown. The wellbeing of the downtown is important to the whole city. A reduction in the number of downtown wards might result in a shift of political control to the suburban areas which might be unfavourable to the downtown. A member further suggested that, instead of reducing the number of wards in the downtown, the number of downtown wards be increased to four. Instead of basing the ward boundaries on projected demographic figures and the size of the areas, some members suggested to base the division on the volume of issues that the elected councillors will have to deal with. Currently, the downtown wards are small in size but the downtown councillors have the same amount of work as other councillors that are working on much bigger wards. One member suggested to have councillors at large, similar to the system used by the City of Waterloo, in which councillors represent the whole city rather than a certain ward. It was clarified that the councillors in Waterloo do represent their own wards when dealing with city issues and they become councillors at large when dealing with regional issues. The Committee discussed the location of the boundary that is used to divide the proposed wards 1 and 2 not being King Street. A King Street division would be more clear cut geographically but it might not be the most desirable boundary for communication. The proposed boundaries have incorporated current boundaries for planning communities. When a planning issue arises, collection and distribution of information is done according to boundaries of the planning communities. The boundaries of planning communities helps staff to decide which residents are affected. Bisecting those communities makes that communication process very difficult. Both Councillor Mark and Councillor Redman welcomed input on the boundaries of wards 1 and 2. They both think that both the King Street and Charles Street boundaries have pros and cons but they found both options agreeable. There will be a public meeting on August 6, 1996. Council will listen to residents' opinions on the proposed boundaries. DAC members are encouraged to attend the meeting to present their input. Randy acknowledged that the actual population expansion seems to be taking place faster than the projected figures. The projection for the year 2005 was selected so that the new boundaries could theoretically reflect the demographic and economic situation for two electoral terms (6 years); however, the boundaries will be reviewed every three years. 6. UPDATE DOWNTOWN ACTION TEAM - Sybil Frenette -109- Sybil Frenette referred to the attachment about the budget for the downtown. The first group of projects were recommended by the Mayor's Task Force, the second group were projects that were done in and around the downtown but were not recommended by the Mayor's Task Force. The third group were projects that have been budgeted but have not been implemented. Reports will be prepared for the third group of projects and those reports will be presented to this committee for review, then DAC will make recommendations to Council. This process helps to monitor the allocation of the downtown fund. Sybil added that waves of new ideas continue to appear, for example, the idea of using ambassadors. Downtown revitalization is an on-going process. Martin de Groot asked for clarification on the item--downtown event co-ordinator. Sybil answered that the downtown event co-ordinator is a 2-year contract position. A consultant, Jennifer Lynn, has been hired to develop 2 major events for the downtown. Rita Westbrook asked for updated information about Market Square. Sybil replied that there was no new information, the transaction will have to be finetuned. Mr. Manfred Conrad was hopeful that the deal will be resolved in the next two weeks. Sybil continued to report that the Downtown Development Team is preparing an annual report in which measurable results, such as the number of new businesses, increase in assessment will be presented. The information that will be contained in the annual report will be used as a bench mark for measurement of performance in the future. The 15 recommendations contained in the Retail Action Plan will be reviewed by the Planning Department and decisions will be made about which department should implement the different recommendations. In brief, actions will be taken regarding the promotion of retailing. With regard to the Adaptive Reuse Project, requests for further information about the priority sites have been received. The City will have to do some more detailed studies to analyze potential uses of the properties involved. The Adaptive Reuse Committee will propose that the City cost-share the feasibility studies up to $10,000. The proposal will be presented to Planning Committee on August 6, 1996. The tax sale process of the Goudies property is scheduled to start on August 2, 1996. Permission will have to be sought from the court to proceed with the tax sale. The City is hoping for a judgement that will allow it to sell the property, either by auction or by bids. It is estimated that the property will have a new owner in mid-October. The windows have been cleaned by the KDBA. Window displays will be put up soon and they will remain there until the property is sold. The idea of a mews beside Goudies is hard to implement before the Goudies property is sold. The Parks and Recreation Department will do some simple grading and landscaping. Mr. Submarine has shown interest in putting a patio on the location. The intent is to animate the space and therefore the downtown. The Government Book Store located on the ground floor of the City Hall will be moving to the Kitchener Public Library. A suggestion was made in the Cultural Plan to put a streetfront cultural store in the space. Such a move will demonstrate the City's commitment for arts and culture. A proposal will be drafted and presented to Council. 7. KDBA REPORT - Nancy Brawley Nancy Brawley reported that Tuesday On The Town was kicked off by a fashion show. The intent is to capitalize the increased pedestrian traffic in the downtown. The Kick-Off was successful. It has been proved that music attracts people. The KDBA is encouraging retail stores to remain open on Tuesday evenings to help attract more traffic. Six buskers have been hired to guarantee that street entertainment will be in place. Live entertainment will be provided on some of the Tuesdays in July. There will be other themes, such as community nights and arts & culture. The Side-Walk Sale was successful in increasing pedestrian traffic. The number of pedestrians doubled during the sale. The weather was good. The KDBA hopes that the success this year can be used as a reason to close King Street for the event next year. About 2000 - 2500 people participated in the Canada Day Count Down Event. The weather was good and the response was positive. Cruising Night will take place on July 12. There are many new registrations this year. There will be rock-and-roll bands and buskers on King Street and a live band in the King Centre. The KDBA is preparing a marketing strategy. The database is being updated. The new Restaurant Guide is completed and will be printed in 2 weeks. Pedestrian counts are being conducted and the counts are high. The counts will be conducted regularly to track any changes. The Mayor's office has received a number of letters regarding the Retail Action Plan. A number of merchants in St. Jacobs are considering moving to Kitchener downtown. Radio advertising for the downtown has proved to be effective. The windows at the Goudies property will be decorated within 2 weeks. The former Planet Fusion has a new owner. It will be named King Street Trio. A new restaurant-- One Eyed Jack's--on Duke Street will have a grand opening on July 11. Councillor Redman complimented Nancy Brawley for personally cleaning the windows at the Goudies property. -111- 8. AUGUST MEETING - CONSIDERATION OF WHETHER, IN VIEW OF THE HOLIDAYS, A MEETING IN AUGUST IS PRACTICAL Councillor Yantzi felt that the issues, including the issue on traffic signals, could be postponed until September. He suggested that the meeting in August be cancelled. None of the members present objected to that suggestion. It was then decided that there will NO meeting in August. The next meeting will be on September 12, 1996. 9. NEW BUSINESS Councillor Yantzi announced that Councillor Weylie is not a member of the Downtown Advisory Committee, and Councillor Mike Wagner has resigned. Both councillors will attend the DAC meetings when able or as issues arise that are of their concern. Martin de Groot informed members that a Cultural Plan has been prepared by the local arts community and the Parks and Recreation Department of the City. To obtain a copy of the Cultural Plan and further information, please contact Mike Price, Division Manager of the Culture, Events & Leisure Programs Division, at 741-2503. 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at about 10:30. Submitted by Catherine Heal Acting Committee Secretary July 17, 1996 741-2310 Members of the Kitchener Downtown Advisory Committee Notice is hereby given that a meeting of the Kitchener Downtown Advisory Committee will be held on THURSDAY, September 12, 1996 in the Conestoga Room on the 1st floor, City Hall, 200 King Street West commencing at 8:30 a.m. There will be NO meeting in August, 1996. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Approval of Agenda- September 12, 1996 Approval of Minutes - July 11, 1996 Progress Report on Downtown Festivals - Jennifer Lynn Downtown Annual Report - Sybil Frenette Update on Downtown Action Team - Sybil Frenette KDBA Report - Nancy Brawley New Business Submitted by, Catherine Heal, Acting Committee Secretary Kitchener Downtown Advisory Committee C~ Members of Council S. Frenette Mayor's Office (1) J. Witmer Members of Management Comm. T.B. Stanley B. Arnot G. Nixon D. Corks T. McCabe T. Boutilier L. MacDonald Press (2)2