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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCAO-06-025 - Centre Block / Central Library Citizens' Forum1 Ki~~rER - • ~hiefAdministraror's Off)ce Report To: Finance and Corporate Services Committee Date of Meeting: April 10, 2006 Submitted By: Carla Ladd, CAO; Michael May, Senior Public Affairs Officer Prepared By: Jana Miller, Writer Ward(s) Involved: All Date of Report: April 6, 2006 Report No.: CAO-06-025 Subject: CENTRE BLOCK/ CENTRAL LIBRARY CITIZENS' FORUM RECOMMENDATION: That Council endorses the general approach and agenda that City staff has developed for the Centre Block Citizens' Forum events scheduled for Tuesday, May 23, 2006 and Tuesday, May 30, 2006 at Kitchener City Hall as outlined in this report. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This report serves to outline the details of the Citizens' Forum approved by Council at its March 20, 2006 meeting. On March 27, 2006, staff presented the Finance and Corporate Services Committee with some preliminary details on the Forum in order to seek feedback and general direction from Council. Staff was subsequently directed to move forward with making more detailed preparations for the forum and report their progress back to Council on April 10. In order to allow as much input from as many citizens as possible, the Forum will consist of three major phases spanning a period of a month and a half. Each phase will build on the input received from citizens during the previous phase. ^ Phase 1: Pre-Forum Public Consultation (April 14 -May 16} ^ Phase 2: Citizens' Town Hall Meeting (May 23, Council Chambers) ^ Phase 3: Citizens' Forum Panel Discussion (May 30, Council Chambers) BACKGROUND: Acknowledging the increasing amount of public feedback the City had been receiving on both the Centre Block and central library projects, at its March 20 meeting, City Council agreed to postpone a decision on how to proceed with these two projects until they received the benefit of a formal public consultation process. To provide citizens with that formal public consultation process, Council agreed to host a Citizens' Forum in May 2006. The purpose of the forum will be to discuss several key questions about the current proposal to build a new central library on Centre Block. The results of that consultation process were to be reported back to the Finance and Corporate Services Committee on June 26 to enable Council to provide direction on how to move forward with the two projects. REPORT: The Citizens' Forum will consist of three major phases spanning a period of a month and a half. 1. Phase 1: Pre-Forum Public Consultation (Aaril 14 -Mav 161 In order to make it as easy as possible for citizens to contribute to formal consultation process, staff will make arrangements for apre-forum consultation period to take place prior to the two public meetings (Phase 2 and 3), This period will allow citizens who are unable to attend the public meetings to provide their feedback on the central library and Centre Block redevelopment projects and to have that feedback considered as part of the formal consultation process. Citizens will be encouraged to visit the City's website to submit comments online to three specific questions (See Appendix A). For those citizens who do not have access to the Internet, they can provide their feedback through a public phone line at 741-2602. The phone line and website feedback will be available as of April 14. 2. Phase 2: Citizens' Town Hall Meeting (Mav 23, Council Chambers) After a series of brief informational presentations to ensure that the evening's discussions are well-informed, a panel of citizens will be chosen at random (see below for details on the selection process) to serve as the `Citizens Panel' for the two public meetings. For this first meeting, the main focus of the `Citizens' Panel' will be to listen to all of the input from their fellow citizens throughout the evening. The panellists will gather information and become informed on the diverse public opinion that exists about the two projects so that they can represent those citizen views during the next phase of the consultation -the May 30 Citizens' Forum Panel Discussions. The majority of the meeting -two hours -will be devoted to hearing directly from as many citizens as possible through a traditional town hall style meeting. The meeting will be guided by a professional facilitator. Below is a proposed agenda for the Citizens' Town Hall Meeting (Phase 2). This agenda may be subject to some changes based on discussions with the professional facilitator. 6:30 - 7:00 pm -Informational Presentations The agenda will begin with the professional facilitator summarizing the citizen input received through the pre-forum consultations (Phase 1). That summary will be followed by three informational presentations, including: (1) a background report about the City's Economic Development Strategy and Investment Fund; (2) a presentation on the current central library proposal, and; (3) a report on potential options for the redevelopment of Centre Block. 7:00 - 7:30 pm - Questions of Presenters and Selection of Citizens' Panel Everyone in attendance will be given the opportunity at this point to ask questions on the facts presented during the presentations. This question period will be aimed at clarifying any points made during the presentations. At the same time, the Citizens' Panel will be selected. Those residents selected for the panel will take their seats alongside City Council around the Council horseshoe. 7:30 - 9:30 pm -Public Input Session The majority of this meeting will be a traditional town hall style public meeting where everyone in attendance (expect the Citizen's Panel) will be invited to share their comments and feedback on the new central library and Centre Block redevelopment projects. The Citizens' Panel will listen to all of that input from their fellow citizens so that they are able to represent the diverse range of citizen views about the projects during the panel discussions on May 30 (Phase 3). 3. Phase 3: Citizens' Forum Panel Discussion ~May 30, Council Chambers) The evening will begin with a summary of the May 23 meeting, including the information presentations and the audience feedback, just prior to a light meal. The majority of this meeting will consist of a facilitated Citizens' Panel Discussion where the panellists selected at the May 23 meeting will work through a set of predetermined questions. The questions, listed below and attached as `Appendix A' have been developed based on the informal input received from the public to date on the two projects. These questions may be subject to changes based on consultation with the facilitator. Following the panel discussions, there will be some time for everyone in attendance to provide any final input into the process before the facilitator wraps up the discussions. Below is a proposed agenda for the Citizens' Town Hall Meeting (Phase 2). This agenda may be subject to some changes based on discussions with the professional facilitator. 5:00 - 5:30 pm - Recap of May 23 Public Input This session will begin with a handout and brief oral presentation (by the professional facilitator) summarizing the input and information received at the May 23 Citizens' Town Hall. 5:30 - 6:00 pm -Light Supper 6:00 - 8:00 pm -Citizens' Panel Discussion The citizens' panel will spend a significant amount of time discussing the predetermined questions around the projects. See `Appendix A' for the proposed questions. 8:00-9:00 pm -Final Public Input Anyone in attendance who is not a member of the Citizens' Panel will be able to provide their final feedback into the consultation process. 9:00 - 9:30 pm -Wrap Up and Summary by Facilitator The facilitator will recap the evening's discussions for everyone in attendance and wrap up the meeting. Make-Up of Citizens' Panel: A Citizens' Panel of 20 participants (12 Kitchener citizens at large and 8 community sector representatives) will be selected -first to listen to the diverse input about the new central library proposal and Centre Block redevelopment project from fellow citizens (May 23) and then to discuss the specific pre-determined questions reflecting the issues surrounding the two projects (May 30). While the Citizens' Panel will be selected at the May 23 meeting of the forum, all members of the public who are interested in the future of the block and the new central library will be invited and encouraged to attend both evenings. There will be an opportunity for all citizens present at both forum meetings to express their feedback and vision for the block. The guiding principles in choosing the members of the panel will be: Diversity of Viewpoints: To ensure that the members of the Citizens' Panel represent the diverse range of opinions on the current library proposal, as best as possible depending on who attends the May 23 public meeting, the 12 citizens at large will be made up of four members who are: (a) in favour of the current library proposal; (b) opposed to the current library proposal, and (c) undecided about the current library proposal. If possible, the 12 citizens at large will also be equally divided between citizens living in the downtown and citizens living in the suburbs. Fair and open process: To avoid the perception that the City had any influence on the outcome of the forum, the process of selecting the panellists will be done through a fair and unbiased random draw to be completed at the May 23 meeting with the public and the media in attendance. Informed discussion: The forum panel will also include eight Community Sector Representatives -experienced in diverse fields including real estate, university and college, labour, downtown business, multicultural, library, development, high technology and education. These panellists will bring to the table expertise and knowledge of their fields as it applies to the redevelopment of the block and a new central library. Citizens' At Large Selection Process X12): Anyone who pays taxes to the City of Kitchener, and is in attendance at the May 23 Citizen's Town Hall meeting before 7:00 pm, will be eligible to enter their name into a draw to be a part of the Citizens' Panel as one of the 12 citizens at large. To ensure we achieve the guiding principles listed above, anyone wishing to submit their name into the draw will be asked to complete a questionnaire which asks the following questions: 1. Do you pay taxes to the City of Kitchener? 2. Do you support the current proposal for a new library? 3. Do you oppose the current proposal for a new library? 4. Do you need more information before making a decision on whether or not you support the project? (Undecided). 5. Do you live in downtown Kitchener? 6. Do you live in a suburb of Kitchener? After answering these questions, citizens will be asked to submit their questionnaire into one of six ballot boxes (downtown resident in favour of library; downtown resident opposed to new library; downtown resident undecided about new library; suburban resident in favour of new library; suburban resident opposed to new library; suburban resident undecided about new library). Staff will be on hand to assist in this process. As best as possible depending on who attends the May 23 meeting, two names will be drawn from each box by a member of the local media. Community Sector Representatives Selection Process (8): The purpose of including the 8 Community Sector Representatives on the panel is to ensure that the forum discussions consider all of the wide-ranging issues and options which have been raised by citizens in recent weeks in relation to the two projects. To ensure that the selection process of the eight Community Sector Representatives is seen to be fair and unbiased, the City of Kitchener will not choose the names of the community sector representative participants directly. Instead, the City will send letters to a variety of community organizations asking them to submit the name of one of their members to participate on the panel and represent their specific subject area/sector. The City will encourage the organizations to submit a representative who either lives or works in Kitchener. In the case that the City receives interest from more than one person to represent a specific subject matter, the City will randomly draw from the names submitted to choose the participant. (For example, if the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and Conestoga College all submit a name, the City of Kitchener will randomly draw one of those names to participate on the panel.) Organizations that will be contacted for community sector representatives include the following: Organization: Subject Matter: K-W Real Estate Board Real Estate UW, WLU, Conesto a Colle e, Universit , Colle e Waterloo Regional Labour Council Labour KDBA, KW Chamber of Commerce Downtown Business Multicultural Centre,YMCA Settlement Services Multicultural Homebuilders Develo ment Communitech, Canada's Technolo Trian le Hi h Technolo Catholic and Public School Boards Education FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: • Three (3) quarter-page advertisements in The Record prior to Citizens' Forum: $4,200 • Light supper for forum participants (catered by City Hall staff): $1,230 • Total cost of event: $5,430 COMMUNICATIONS: Communications to the general public about the Centre Block Citizens' Forum will take a variety of forms including: • Communications will be sent to all Neighbourhood Associations and Council Advisory Committees asking these organizations to consider the projects and provide feedback by May 16. They will also be asked to encourage their members to attend the public meetings. • Three (3) quarter-page advertisements will be placed in The Record leading up to the event. • Media advisories will be sent to local media. • A front page story will appear in the next issues of Your Kitchener (circulation of 65,000 Kitchener residents) and Evolution (circulation approximately 2,500.) • Information will be posted on the City's website which will include an opportunity for citizens to provide their feedback online. CONCLUSION: The three phased formal consultation process outlined in this report will allow as many citizens as want to, to provide input to City Council on the central library and Centre Block redevelopment projects. Carla Ladd, CAO Michael May, Senior Public Affairs Officer APPENDIX A -- Citizen Panel Discussion Questions Do we need a new central library? • What are the library's needs? What role will technology play in the new library? What about adding more branches instead? Could we partner with universities or other cities? • Are there other alternatives to improve our library that are worth pursuing? YES NO Is the Centre Block the best location for a new central library? • Are there other, better locations for the library? YES NO How should we proceed with the development of Centre Block? PROCEEDWITH CURRENT Will the current proposal and process qet us the tXpe of IibrarX we want on Centre Block? YES PROPOSAL AND PROCESS What is the best process NO to redevelop Centre Block with a central library?