HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil - 2008-02-25 SSPECIAL COUNCIL MINUTES
FEBRUARY 25, 200$ CITY OF KITCHENER
A special meeting of City Council was held at 3:09 p.m. this date, chaired by Councillor J. Smola with
all members present. Mayor C. Zehr was in attendance for part of the meeting.
Notice of this special meeting had been previously given to all members of Council by the City Clerk
pursuant to Chapter 25 (Council Procedure) of the Municipal Code.
Council was advised that this special Council meeting was a strategic planning session which is part
of a series of meetings which have been held to allow discussion of various strategic initiatives and
directions being taken by the City.
Ms. C. Ladd, Chief Administrative Officer, provided an update on the City's Strategic Plan advising
that the Plan incorporates the Plan for a Healthy Kitchener, the City's Corporate Plan and the soon to
be completed People Plan. Ms. Ladd added that the Departmental Business Plans and budgets
support the Strategic Plan and align with the priorities and goals. She then reviewed the priorities of
the Plan fora Healthy Kitchener being: quality of life; diversity; Downtown; development;
environment; leadership; and, community engagement. Ms. Ladd provided examples of some of the
initiatives being undertaken under these priorities and advised that the seventh priority which was
taken from the Corporate Plan is efficient and effective government. Councillor B. Vrbanovic
commented that he found this information to be valuable in bringing everything together suggesting
that an annual update would be helpful for Council.
Ms. A. Pappert, General Manager, Community Services Department, introduced the proposed
Community Investment Strategy (CIS) -Phase 1 advising that the Strategy has been developed to
ensure that future municipal support of community groups is optimally aligned with the community's
overall goals and the City's strategic priorities. Members of Council were previously circulated the
City of Kitchener Community Investment Strategy Phase 1 Report -Framework for the CIS, dated
February 2008 and Appendices `A' - `G' to the Phase 1 Report.
Ms. I. Pregel, Manager, Cultural Development, gave a presentation on the proposed CIS advising the
strategy was based on six key themes: evolutionary, not revolutionary; alignment with City priorities;
funding to grow; three tiers of support; transparency and accountability; and, collaboration and
partnerships. Ms. Pregel explained that the suggested policy would be that any not-for-profit
organization in any sector would be eligible to apply for support and the amount and type of support
provided would be based upon the fit of the service delivered with City priorities, not upon the type of
group applying. Ms. Pregel then reviewed the six key themes highlighting the following:
• role of Council would remain as now with final decision making on amounts of support
awarded;
• support would be given to community groups on the basis or program provided rather than
type of group;
• a consistent and objective analysis process would be used for all applications to ensure
alignment with the City's priorities;
• multi-year agreements between the City and providers of core services would undergo a
thorough assessment process;
• support being provided should keep pace with 1) population growth 2) inflation and 3) evolving
community needs;
• there will be three tiers of support 1) operational support for long term core service provided by
proven organizations 2) one-time support for strategic programs and priorities and 3) one-time
support for innovative projects;
• Council would adopt a philosophy of providing organizations sufficient support to enable them
to successfully deliver the program or service agreed to;
• organizations providing services deemed core could have multi-year agreements;
• transparency would ensure that all groups know about support opportunities and that the
decision process and results are freely known;
• accountability would ensure groups that receive support are accountable for how they spend
funds;
• a standardized assessment process would be developed to identify the extent to which
services delivered were in fact consistent with City and community priorities;
• any organization would have the right to a debrief of the analysis of their application for
support;
• a managed appeal process would ensure a fair and orderly hearing for any group having a
legitimate case to be reconsidered;
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• work more effectively with funding partners in all three tiers of support especially the private
sector to leverage resources.
Ms. Pregel advised that the transition plan to move from the existing process to the proposed new
CIS framework will likely take 2-3 years to accomplish. Program details such as guidelines and
procedures will be developed in Phase 2 which will provide further opportunity for Council to refine
the direction being taken. Ms. Pregel added that total funding will need to consider additional staff
resources required to conduct analysis of applications and post-support assessment which is not
done today. Ms. Pregel concluded her presentation asking if the proposed CIS was heading in the
right directions, if there were any gaps, any sensitivities that should be further investigated and what
else is needed for Council approval.
Councillor J. Gazzola asked if under the current system the groups being supported and the services
they provide are aligned with the City's priorities. Ms. Pappert responded that it may not always be
the case and under the new proposed plan, the City would be assured that support would be given to
those groups that continue to be aligned with the City's priorities. Councillor Gazzola asked if there
was an estimate of cost for the new plan. Ms. Pappert advised that population and per capita costs
are provided in Appendix `G' of the report adding that under the new plan as population increases,
demand for support will also increase. A question was raised regarding the exclusion of
neighbourhood associations from the proposed CIS. Ms. Pappert responded that support for
neighbourhood associations will be part of a new strategy regarding new neighbourhood development
which will be brought before Council in the near future. Councillor Gazzola raised a concern
regarding the multi-year agreement for groups providing long term core services asking whether
regular reports will be submitted for review. Council was informed that it is anticipated that annual
reports will be submitted to Council. Councillor B. Vrbanovic suggested that in regard to the appeal
process perhaps a separate committee could be established to review and make recommendations to
Council. He also pointed out that consideration will have to be given in developing how to deal with
groups that no longer align with the City's priorities as this may be a sensitive area. Councillor K.
Galloway suggested that in terms of a final report that simpler language should be used as the
current report is difficult to understand as it is now written.
Councillor G. Lorentz advised that he has been part of the Committee developing the CIS and
believes that it would move the City in the right direction. He added that in order to continue to move
forward, Council should approve in principle the Phase 1 Framework as presented today. A concern
was raised as to what exactly Council would be approving at this point in time and it was suggested
that a motion to approve in principle should be specific to the six key themes which would provide
direction for staff to continue developing the Community Investment Strategy.
Moved by Councillor G. Lorentz
Seconded by Councillor B. Vrbanovic
"That Council approve in principle the six key themes of the proposed Community Investment
Strategy as outlined in the Phase 1 Report -Framework for the CIS, dated February 2008."
Carried.
Mr. J. Witmer, Director of Operations, gave a presentation on winter maintenance providing
information on the activities of the Operations Division, challenges to meet standards in snow plowing
and removal and budgetary data over the past 5 years. Mr. Witmer advised that during a snow event,
the practice has been to clear snow on a priority basis: 1) Regional roads, arterials and downtown, 2)
bus routes and, 3) residential streets. In addition, the Province has set standards for municipal roads
which, for the most part, have been met by the City. Mr. Witmer provided information and data on the
kilometres of road being maintained, the staff and equipment resources utilized to meet current
standards and the budgets and winter snow event cost since 2003.
In answer to questions raised by Council, Mr. Witmer explained that during a snow event all
equipment and the majority of staff start snow plowing usually at 2 a.m. and run fora 14 hour shift
including 13 drivers and 12 pieces of equipment for City facilities. There is an afternoon shift and in
some cases contractors are hired to assist. He added there are challenges with having a full
compliment of staff due to sick time and vacation and there are equipment breakdowns and need for
maintenance. Under the Hours of Work legislation, drivers must take a required break for each shift
and during long snow events, there is the issue of fatigue.
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Mr. Witmer then provided three scenarios related to winter snow events:
1) the ideal storm where snow stops falling before midnight and all staff are available to complete
all roads within 16 hours at a cost of $170,000 per event;
2) the snow event where snow continues to fall and in order to complete a full plow on all roads
within 16 hours, additional equipment and staff are required at a cost of $264,000 per event
and $6.16M in capital cost;
3) the snow event where snow continues to fall and in order to complete a full plow on all roads
within 24 hours, additional staff are required at a cost of $258,000 per event.
He explained these scenarios and the estimated costs were being provided to assist Council in
providing direction on what standard should be used for snow events then staff will develop a model
based on that standard and report back with costs and implications.
Mr. Witmer then spoke to two issues that Council had requested for follow-up: driveway and sidewalk
corner windrows. He advised that staff investigated how other municipalities dealt with driveway
windrows and a few were using `gated plows' which are plow-blades that push the snow past the
driveways to the boulevard areas. In looking how this could be used in Kitchener it was estimated that
with gated plows it would take 30-40% longer for a full snow clean-up and approximately $7M for new
equipment plus additional operational cost. In regard to sidewalk corner windrows it was estimated
that it would cost approximately $64,000 per corner per snow clearing event in order to complete
within 14 hours.
A general discussion ensued with the following comments being made:
• Cul-de-sacs are a problem and perhaps staff need to look at snow blowing equipment and/or
reverse plowing;
• Windrows are still a major complaint and perhaps if addressing every driveway is too costly
that a service to those that require assistance in removing the windrow be investigated;
• Plowing all residential streets following a snow event within the standard timeframe is
important;
• Complaints of streets not being plowed at all during a snow event;
• Issue of parked cars and whether the City should look at tag and tow as a method of
eliminating this problem;
• Installing GPS units in all vehicles to assist in eliminating missed streets;
• The need to increase the level of service with respect to winter maintenance as everyone in
the City depends on the roads;
• Investigate the need to purchase a second snow melter;
• The need to increase the number of staff on the afternoon shift in order to better utilize the
equipment and meet standards for snow clearing;
• Snow clearing should be completed within 16-24 hours.
Mr. Witmer advised that based on the discussion, staff will work on a model for snow clearing within
24 hours and will report back to Council on the costs for the model and other implications.
Moved by Councillor J. Smola
Seconded by Councillor C. Weylie
"That an in-camera meeting of City Council be held this date to consider a personal matter."
Carried.
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FEBRUARY 25, 200$ - 45 - CITY OF KITCHENER
On motion, the meeting adjourned at 6:02 p.m.
MAYOR CLERK