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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-11-17 ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE MINUTES NOVEMBER 17 2005 CITY OF KITCHENER The Environmental Committee met this date commencing at 4:04 p.m. Present: Councillor B. Vrbanovic - Co-Chair Ms. A. Jucknies, Ms. Y. Fernandes, Ms. N. Sonder and Messrs. B. McColl, R. Dingman, D. Lippert, R. Nandakumar, J. Wilson and C. Schneider. Staff: 1. Boutilier, Senior Planner B. Steiner, Environmental Planner C. Dixon, Co-op Student C. Goodeve, Committee Administrator 1. COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT GRANTS - REVIEW OF GRANT APPLICATIONS The Committee was in receipt of Community Environmental Improvement Grant Program (CEIGP) application evaluation criteria and applications from: The People's Car Co-operative Inc. (PCC); K-W Collegiate Vocational Institute (KCI); Franklin Public School Greening Project Committee; and, Evergreen: Learning Grounds Program (Waterloo Region). In addition, the Committee was in receipt this date of correspondence, dated November 17, 2005 from Mr. Dennis Wendland, Evergreen: Learning Grounds Program, requesting the Committee's support for his group's application. Mr. Patrick Rittinger, Horticulture and Landscaping Teacher, K-W Collegiate Vocational Institute, advised that with assistance from the Toyota Evergreen Foundation, staff and over 100 students have begun a habitat restoration of their school property. He stated that their goal is to continue this activity by installing planting areas adjacent to St. Matthews Church, in the park at the end of Glasgow St., and in the area behind their school's portables. Mr. Rittinger requested a grant of $2,000. for this project, with $1,000. going towards the purchase of plants and trees; and, $1,000. for mulch, topsoil and various construction materials. In response to questions, Mr. P. Rittinger advised that in 2004 the Toyota Evergreen Foundation gave their project $1,000. toward the purchase of native plant materials. Mr. 1. Boutilier advised that the City can provide mulch if requested by groups receiving these grants, noting that in this instance it may allow the applicant to re-direct funds towards the purchase of additional plants and trees. Ms. Cindy Martin, Franklin Public School Greening Project Committee, advised that adjacent to Franklin Public School is a large greenspace, which lacks sufficient shade and natural seating. She stated that their goal is to raise $30,000. to create an area where students can escape the intensity of the sun to relax, read or interact with nature. She outlined the various phases of this project and noted that they have been working with the Evergreen: Learning Grounds Program regarding the plan's overall development. Ms. Martin requested a CEIGP grant of $2,400. In response to questions, Ms. C. Martin advised that the school held a dance-a-thon and raised $11,000., which will go towards this project. She noted that the $2,400. is to be used to kick- start Phase 1 of their plan. Mr. Dave Steffler, Project Services Manager, People's Car Co-operative Inc. (PCC), advised that with an ever increasing number of vehicles on the roads, transportation-induced air pollution has become a serious environmental and health concern. He stated that in response to these concerns, the PCC is requesting a grant of $3,004. to aid in the development of a bike-share network. Mr. Steffler advised that the goal of this project is to provide practical, sustainable transportation practices to mitigate the impact of greenhouse gas emissions in Kitchener. He added that this will be achieved by integrating cycling (i.e. bike-share hubs), car-sharing (PCC) and public transit (e.g. Grand River Transit (GRT) iXpress Service) into a more multi-module transportation system, thereby working to reduce auto dependency in Kitchener. He stated that Phase 1 of this project will be to locate bike-share hubs at each of the PCC vehicle locations and in close proximity to Kitchener's GRT iXpress stops. Mr. Steffler noted that based on the success of Phase 1, Phase 2 will integrate the bike-share hubs with the yellow bike program at the University of Waterloo, which is anticipated to set the stage for development of a larger community-wide bike-share network. He noted that the number of bikes-per-hub outlined in their application should read 3 as opposed to 6. ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE MINUTES NOVEMBER 17 2005 - 37- CITY OF KITCHENER 1. COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT GRANTS - REVIEW OF GRANT APPLICATIONS (CONT'D) In response to questions, Mr. D. Steffler advised that two new members are anticipated each month over the first year of operation. He stated that last month the PCC had a total revenue of $7,600. Mr. Steffler clarified that where the budget reads "$6,600. in general office overhead" it should read "$6,000.", noting that this was provided as an in-kind service. He added that the initial cost to use the bike-share program will require a $25. refundable security deposit, which will be returned upon cancellation of membership. He advised that he has spoken with various staff members at the GRT regarding this project. He stated that if funding is awarded, it will assist with a similar request to the City of Waterloo. He added that the PCC currently has interior bus advertising, noting that as a small non-profit organization it is difficult to fund a larger marketing campaign. Mr. Steffler advised that as the PCC was audited last April, he can provide the Committee with recent financial statements. He noted that when the PCC began it was given lines of credit by the Cities of Waterloo, Kitchener and the Region of Waterloo. Mr. 1. Boutilier referenced the correspondence from Mr. Wendland, advising that due to prior commitments, he was unable to attend todays meeting. Mr. Boutilier noted that Mr. Wendland's group is requesting a grant of $2,800. He added that while Mr. Wendland's group distributes money to other organizations, which is in contravention to the grant criteria, their funding request has been ear-marked towards holding an event and not for re-distribution. Mr. Boutilier advised that a decision regarding grant allocations is required this date and of $10,204. in grant requests, the Committee has $10,000. to award. Councillor B. Vrbanovic requested that the section of the grant criteria regarding organizations that re-distribute funds be clarified by next year's application process. He advised that any recommendations arising from the Committee this date concerning the CEIGP will be forwarded directly to the December 12, 2005 Council meeting for consideration. Ms. Y. Fernandes suggested that in order to meet most of the funding requests, a grant of $2,600. be allocated to the Evergreen: Learning Grounds Program and $3,000 to the PCC. Mr. C. Schneider suggested it was premature to approve funding to the PCC until the Committee has had an opportunity to review their financial statements. Mr. B. McColl agreed with Mr. Schneider and requested that the PCC present their financial statements at a future Environmental Committee meeting. Councillor B. Vrbanovic noted that the PCC has been in existence for some time and have undergone a financial review by the City as a means of receiving a line of credit. Mr. D. Lippert commented that if the City trusts the PCC's financial records enough to provide them with a line of credit, then he would be comfortable in supporting their request. Some members expressed concerns that the applications before the Committee did not fully meet the requirements of the grant criteria and suggested that the grant criteria should be amended to include requirements to have financial records submitted as a part of the application process. Councillor B. Vrbanovic advised that due to the less than expected number of grants received, he will request that the Finance and Corporate Services Committee refer the Environmental Committee's October 20, 2005 recommendation, to increase the CEIGP funding, back to this Committee for review and suggested that at that time consideration could be given to amending the grant criteria. On motion by Mr. R. Nandakumar - it was resolved: "That Community Environmental Improvement Grants, to be funded from the Environmental Stewardship Capital Account, be awarded in 2005 as follows: $2,000. to the K-W Collegiate Vocational Institute; $2,400. to the Franklin Public School Greening Project Committee; $3,000. to the People's Car Co-operative Inc.; and, $2,600. to the Evergreen: Learning Grounds Program (Waterloo Region). " ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE MINUTES NOVEMBER 17 2005 - 38- CITY OF KITCHENER 2. AIR QUALITY WORKING GROUP - UPDATE The Committee was in receipt this date of staff's response to the Air Quality Working Group's "Air Quality Plan Questions", dated November 2005, which will be used to format the 2005 version of the Air Quality Plan. Ms. B. Steiner advised that a staff report written in 2002 was circulated to Mr. B. McColl regarding the City's pursuing ISO 14001 designation. She added that there are a number of pieces of legislation that currently bind the City and mandates the public process as to how environmental issues are handled. She stated that the City's desired environmental image is reflected in the Strategic Plan for the Environment, which she noted is currently under review. Ms. N. Sonders suggested, and it was agreed, that the members review staffs response to the Air Quality Plan Questions at the next Air Quality Working Group meeting and staff be directed to circulate possible dates for that meeting. 3. STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT - UPDATE The Committee was in receipt of the Strategic Plan for the Environment Survey and a press release regarding it's launch, dated October 31,2005. Ms. B. Steiner advised that as of this date staff have received 84 responses out of approximately 2,000 surveys that were mailed to Kitchener residents. She added that staff anticipate processing the survey results by mid-December 2005 and noted that processing will continue well into January 2006. 4. HEALTHY COMMUNITIES PLAN - UPDATE (R. NANDAKUMARl Mr. R. Nandakumar advised that over the past several months the Healthy Communities Plan Committee has been reviewing a number of corporate documents, such as the Leisure Facilities Master Plan and CulturePlan II, to evaluate how the tenants of those documents correspond to the development of a Healthy Communities Plan. Ms. B. Steiner added that one of the goals of this exercise is to examine where overlap exists within the Corporation and determine how to co- ordinate staff interaction more efficiently. Councillor B. Vrbanovic noted that the last scheduled Healthy Communities Plan Committee meeting was cancelled and that a further update will be provided at the next Environmental Committee meeting. 5. ENVIRONICS SURVEY Mr. B. McColl questioned why the Environics Survey made little to no mention of environmental issues and was advised that the survey was a project of Compass Kitchener, which is a citizen run Committee who outlined its goals and objectives. Ms. B. Steiner noted that the Strategic Plan for the Environment Survey results should provide detailed information regarding what the community believes the City's priorities should be regarding environmental issues. Councillor B. Vrbanovic advised that he is of the opinion that it is the intent of staff to present the Environics Survey to all of the City's Advisory Committees and staff were directed to investigate when it is scheduled to be presented to the Environmental Committee. 6. ADJOURNMENT On motion, the meeting adjourned at 5:40 p.m. Colin Goodeve Committee Administrator