Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutDowntown Advisory - 1999-06-10DAC\1999-06-10 KITCHENER DOWNTOWN ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES JUNE 10, 1999 The Kitchener Downtown Advisory Committee met this date under the Chairmanship of Councillor Mark Yantzi with the following members present: Councillor Karen Taylor- Harrison, Nancy Brawley, Anita Petsche Good, Tom Brennand, Mary Drandzyk, David Gowland, Denise Shelbourne, Ruth Tomlinson, Regis Coladipietro, Peter Walberg, Trudy Beaulne, Howard Rotberg, and Arli Klassen. Others Present: Brock Stanley, David Corks, Tim Fox, Debbie Schlichter, Molly Green, Grant Nixon and Larry Lynch. Regrets: Mayor Carl Zehr, Councillor Berry Vrbanovic, Howard Marr, Denise Strong, Peggy Walshe, Mary Coleman, Greg Kett, Mike Peng, Neil Carver, Brian Scott, and Staff Sgt. Gary Askin. 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA- JUNE 10, 1999 The Agenda for the June 10th meeting was approved with the following addition: Licensing of Street Musicians Moved by: Karen Taylor-Harrison Seconded by: Anita Petsche Good CARRIED 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - MAY 13, 1999 It was moved that the minutes of the May 13, 1999 meeting be approved. Moved by: Ruth Tomlinson Seconded by: PeterWalberg CARRIED 3. GAUKEL STREET PROMENADE Larry Lynch displayed a map of the base plan for improvements to Gaukel Street. There is very little they can do with landscaping at the corner due to lack of space. There will be new curbs, they will fix the road, and install small planters along the street. The primary focus will be street lighting (Victorian style). They will upgrade the lighting 53 by the corner, around the Transit and around the proposed fountain. Some parking spaces in front of the Post Office will be eliminated and replaced with planting beds. The Bullas fountain will be installed at the corner of Gaukel and Charles by the Transit terminal. A Cambridge company has been hired to do the design work and it should be installed by the year 2000. They hope to be able to have the fountain running all year round. The design for the Victoria Park end of the project is a wish list for the future if the City is able to get hold of the automotive property. There is still some detail work to do. The project will be designed in '99, and construction should begin in spring 2000. There was some concern from the committee regarding the reduction of parking in front of the Post Office. There will be 4 short term (15 minute) parking spaces left. There are negotiations underway to close the driveway off of Gaukel Street to allow for an extra space. Howard Rotberg suggested that someone should undertake a study to see how many people stop at the Post Office to pick up their mail. Trudy questioned whether an arrangement could be made with Canada Post for 5-10 spaces in the parking lot for their customers picking up their mail. Tim felt the lease arrangement they have with the Toronto School of Business could prevent that. Nancy suggested that perhaps they could offer a "drive-up" area. Larry will examine all options with Parking. Mark questioned whether the crossing at Joseph had been addressed. It is a dangerous area because of the speed of vehicles and poor site lines. Larry advised him that it hadn't been addressed yet, they will have to go back and take a look at it. Larry wanted to make the Committee aware that the construction that is happening downtown is being done by MetroNet Communications. They are installing 15 km of cabling that may require them to lift some slabs of sidewalk. Ninety percent of the work will be done by torpedo. They also have to cross King @ Ontario. Larry will talk to Nancy regarding upcoming events to avoid any disruptions. 4. SPEAKERS CORNER Grant Nixon was in attendance representing Parks & Rec. Nancy had concerns with the use of Speakers Corner during the Serbian marches. They view the corner as a symbolic place for them to march to. The amplification of speeches bothers hotel guests. Nancy was wondering if the amplification system could be removed and changes made to the use of the corner. If the amplification system is a problem, it should be dealt with under the noise by-law. Nancy asked whether it could be eliminated all together. Grant felt that it wouldn't be fair to deny legitimate groups. Tom Clancy had suggested to Grant that any request for changes should come from the KDBA Board level in the form of a letter with causes, problems and solutions. The area is scheduled for some upgrading next year. Karen feels that Speakers Corner is very important to the City. Though these marches have been happening around 9:00 in the evening this is not the normal time for the use of the corner. Howard suggested that if we want to see the corner flourish, we should 54 encourage its use and publicize it. A sign could be erected stating regulations/parameters - no swearing, no amplification, hours of use, etc. Stress compliance of the noise by-law. Several members of the Committee felt that this area was a place for freedom of speech and that we should encourage its use. Grant stated that Parks & Rec are trying to restrict the number of signs on open space areas, but more vigorous enforcement would help curb some of the violations. The following motion was put on the floor: The Committee suggests that City staff report back on the proper use of Speakers Corner - its present use, and how we might best encourage its future use. Moved by: Howard Rotberg Seconded by: Arli Klassen CARRIED 5. SUMMER MEETING SCHEDULE Mark asked the Committee if there were any pressing items that needed to be addressed during July and August. Trudy expressed interest in trying to come up with a millennium type project. This would warrant a July meeting to meet the deadline for projects. It was decided that the Committee would meet on July 8th as planned. The August 12th meeting would likely be cancelled. 6. UPDATES Housinq Arli mentioned that the research on homelessness has been completed and they hope to release the results next Wednesday. The numbers have increased. This item will be added to the July 8th agenda. Tim has had discussions with 2 developers in the last month. One has an offer on a property. The City is preparing a Developer's Package to encourage residential development downtown. Bringing People Downtown Nancy informed the Committee that the summer sidewalk sale is scheduled for June 23- 26. There will be lots of prizes, hot air balloon rides. One of the summer students that the KDBA has hired is a magician. His group will be putting on a magic show in Civic Square. 55 Cruise Night is scheduled for July 9th. Plans are coming along very well, 110 registrations so far. There will be 4 live bands, and an increase in street entertainers. Market Village is coming along nicely. There have been several positive comments, they are drawing people back into the area again. The Motorcycle Show & Shine was a smash hit. The Church Tours was an excellent event, very well attended. It provided a good prototype for the Kilometre of Culture idea. The 3rd Annual Christkindl Market is scheduled for December 9-12. The new Oktoberfest and Christmas Float will be based on a downtown theme. The Children's Museum has chosen Sybil Frenette to seek a location for them. This is good news for Kitchener. David Gowland questioned the status of Chess Tables for downtown. David Corks contacted Facilities Management who are looking into the pricing of such tables. David Gowland was upset that it would take so long to get information, and is afraid that the idea will just disappear. He did volunteer to look into the idea himself, but it was left to City Staff. David Gowland and David Corks will work together to gather information. Supportin,q Business David Corks received a suggestion from Market Village that the parking in the Eby Street lot be free on Saturday mornings. Parking is free in Market Square at that time. The KDBA has made this same request several times over the years. The following recommendation was made: That City Council review free parking on Saturday in the Eby Street parking lot to match Market Square. Moved by: Tom Brennand Seconded by: Denise Shelbourne CARRIED The Poseidon project is moving along. The Walter Fedy Partnership is very excited about the project. The Aquatic Facility Specialists will be up from the U.S. next week to tour the area and interview and gather information from several local groups. Physical Environment On January 1, 2000 the smoking ban comes into effect for bars and restaurants. The fear is that King Street will become an ashtray, and outdoor patios will become the smoking section for patrons. David recommends that we look at a No Smoking provision on patios. The Regional By-law only covers the inside of buildings. Trudy suggested that we gather information from other communities to see how they are 56 handling the situation. She also suggested that we look into how the schools have handled it in the past. Mark suggested that we have someone from the Region attend the July meeting to speak to us regarding the by-law. The KDBA has a summer student working on the mural program. There are 1 or 2 expected for this year. The KOR Project Group is hoping to do a mural this year. They are also looking into a millennium grant for a series of murals. Nei,qhbourhood/Community Development Howard Rotberg invited DAC members to the dedication of Wallenberg Park this Sunday afternoon (June 13th) at 2:00. The park is located on Weber between Cameron and Pandora. Nancy asked the Committee for feedback on "Downtown This Month". She questioned whether they should continue to produce the paper or try to dress it up. It has served its purpose and has become more of an advertising vehicle. They have asked for community input, but have received none. They have thought about coming up with a quarterly paper with more editorial content. The KDBA puts in a fair amount of money each month, it is not being supported by advertising. The Committee felt it looked too much like a flyer and gets thrown out. Trudy suggested that they need someone to do the information gathering, make a voice for the downtown. The KDBA doesn't have enough staff to spare someone. Peter felt that there is a lot of things that are discussed at DAC that would be of interest to the public. Nancy may approach the Record to do a "downtown page" similar to the "minor sports page" they do periodically. 7. NEIGHBOURHOOD ASSOCIATION UPDATES Cedar Hill Folk Festival is scheduled for July 10th from 3:30-10:30. Mt. Hope/Breithaupt Park NA is still looking for dedicated space. They are planning a carnival at Breithaupt Park, no date set. They are also looking for a new rep as Trudy will now be representing the Social Planning Council. Funding is coming for the Downtown Inter-Community Health Centre Program. They are looking for a site. The Festival of Neighbourhoods is scheduled for September 19th. The Central Frederick Association is planning a Summer Festival on August 15th at Weber Park. 8. LICENSING OF STREET MUSICIANS The KDBA would like to see the licensing of street musicians. Nancy has had Molly Green doing some investigating into the concept. She had a copy of the guidelines used in Victoria, BC. The musicians would purchase a license for $10. They would wear a badge to indicate that they have a licence. There would be no limit as to how 5? many licenses would be permitted, they would have to sign a code of conduct. There would be no auditions, anyone who applied for a license would get one. David Corks has been working with June Koppeser in Licensing regarding the licenses and will share the information from Victoria with her. At the present time we have no power over them, we cannot control or legislate them. Several members of the Committee failed to see the need for licensing street musicians. What is the reason for extracting money from people trying to make a buck. It is a public street. Do we want to deny them the ability of perform? Nancy informed the Committee that this has been discussed at DAC and at the KDBA previously, but there was no time to do anything about it. It is felt that with licensing we will attract more experienced, better quality musicians. The following motion was put on the floor: That Staff investigate the development of a licensing process for street musicians. Moved by: Nancy Brawley Seconded by: Anita Petsche Good CARRIED Howard Rotberg supports the motion. He feels $10 is a nominal fee and will encourage more unique musicians. The more we have the better. Peter Walberg is attracted by the sense of vitality downtown. He is afraid we are creating a clean/sanitized environment and becoming very "mall like". We need to keep downtown fun and unique. We should be careful before we rush into anything. The meeting adjourned at 10:40 am Carol Robinson, Committee Secretary