HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil - 2009-04-06 SSPECIAL COUNCIL MINUTES
APRIL 6, 2009 CITY OF KITCHENER
A special meeting of City Council was held at 3:39 p.m. this date, chaired by Mayor C. Zehr with all
members present.
Notice of this 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
meeting was a strategic planning session which was being held to allow discussion on various
strategic initiatives and directions being taken by the City.
Council considered Community Services Department report CSD-09-026, dated April 2, 2009, an
information report concerning the City's Loose Leaf Collection program. In addition, Council was in
receipt this date of a copy of the "Loose Leaf Collection Program" Powerpoint presentation, the 2009
Loose Leaf Weekly Collection program map and the 2008 Loose Leaf Collection program map. Mr. J.
Witmer, Director of Operations, provided an overview of the report and reviewed the following areas
of the Loose Leaf Collection program:
• program objectives -why does the City have a Loose Leaf Collection program;
• historical program -what options are currently available for residents in Kitchener;
• process -how the current program operates and what are its' components;
• activities -what equipment and staff resources are used to collect leaves;
• challenges -what makes the program work well and what does not;
• program cost -what's the annual cost of the current program;
• alternative solutions -what options are available for Council's consideration; and,
• communication -what communication will be required.
Mr. Witmer advised that in 2008 additional expenditures of $135,000. from the previous years'
program for a spring clean-up resulted in an over expenditure of the program's budget by $100,464.
He noted that if that cost had not been applied, the program would have been under budget for the
first time in several years. He then reviewed the following 4 Alternative Solutions for the future of the
Loose Leaf Collection program:
1. homeowners take responsibility for leaf disposal;
2. residents required to place leaves in bags and / or containers;
3. maintain current program; and,
4. new leaf collection program.
Mr. Witmer concluded his presentation by indicating that staff is seeking direction from Council on the
preferred alternative and approach for the 2009 program.
In response to questions, Mr. Witmer advised that one of the criticisms frequently expressed of the
existing leaf collection program is that the public has no idea as to when their leaves will be collected.
He stated that the new leaf collection program, as proposed by Alternative 4, would establish defined
collection areas and defined start and end dates. In addition, it would have defined levels of service,
which would ensure that "hot spots" are monitored and collections are undertaken as required due to
the volume of leaves. Collection areas would be on a predetermined schedule based on previous
years experience with leaf volumes. He added that the areas of the City outside of the defined
collection areas would receive year-end street sweeping and leaf pick-up based on safety and
drainage concerns. He noted that leaf dump sites would continue to be available throughout the
defined leaf season. He clarified that people are not currently being encouraged to rake their leaves
onto the roadway in the spring, noting that street sweepers are deployed in the spring to clean-up
sand and other materials deposited during the winter. He stated that due to traffic, safety and noise
concerns, street sweepers are only deployed during certain hours of the day.
In response to questions concerning Alternative Solutions 1 and 2, Mr. Witmer informed Council that
the Regional Municipality of Waterloo would face financial and resourcing issues if those Alternatives
were pursued. He added that the Region has advised that it would cost them the equivalent of the
City's current program to collect and process the increased number of bagged leaves; and,
accordingly, there would be a charge back to the City to defer some of the additional costs. He noted
that if these Alternatives are pursued the City would still need to operate leaf dump sites at an
approximate annual cost of $180,000. However, these Alternatives would enable staff to be re-
deployed to continue working on construction and maintenance activities that are typically interrupted
by the leaf collection program. Mr. Witmer noted that a work order could be created when a
supervisor undertakes some action in relation to the leaf collection program; thereby providing greater
SPECIAL COUNCIL MINUTES
APRIL 6, 2009 - $3 - CITY OF KITCHENER
detail in the future as to the total number of resources needed to implement the City's leaf collection
activities.
Councillor C. Weylie suggested that if Alternative 4 is pursued, the City should post information
regarding the set collection schedule and defined levels of service in the phone book in the same
location as the Region's yard waste information.
Councillor J. Gazzola advised that while he supports staff's efforts to improve the current leaf
collection program through the initiatives outlined in Alternative 4, he would prefer to see the City
implement a combination of Alternatives 1 and 2. He stated that, in his opinion, the majority of
residents would support aCity-wide ban prohibiting the raking of leaves onto roadways. He
suggested that with the savings that would be realized through such a ban, the City could potentially
distribute yard waste bags to all residents.
Councillor B. Vrbanovic advised that while he does not foresee the City being able to completely
cease its leaf collection activities, all residents should be encouraged to bag their own leaves. He
then expressed concern regarding the potential charge back from the Region, especially given that
they are responsible for the local yard waste program. He suggested that staff should consult the
Cities of Cambridge and Waterloo regarding the development of a coordinated leaf collection solution.
He noted that he is willing to approach the residents in the Chicopee-Grand River Ward who live in
the identified "hot spots" to see if they would be willing to bag their own leaves.
Councillor G. Lorentz requested that staff undertake some public consultations on this matter and
suggested that questions regarding the leaf collection program could be posted on the City's website
and included in the next issue of Your Kitchener. He noted that he is not prepared to support moving
forward with any of the proposed Alternative Solutions until Council has received feedback from the
public.
Mayor C. Zehr spoke to the importance of having one single solution that could be applied across the
whole region. He stated that one of the reasons given by the Region concerning the potential charge
back relates to providing a different level of service to Kitchener residents, as compared to the other
local area municipalities.
Ms. C. Ladd, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), advised that staff could bring this issue forward at
the Joint Services meeting scheduled for April 28, 2009 and again at the all -Region CAOs meeting
on May 1, 2009.
Council requested that staff endeavour to report back to the May 11, 2009 Community Services
Committee meeting with information on the following:
• what are the current leaf collection activities of the Cities of Waterloo and Cambridge and their
level of interest in pursuing a coordinated solution;
• additional enforcement techniques that could be implemented at leaf dump sites to prevent
illegal dumping;
• the number of additional street sweepers that would be required to reduce the City-wide sweep
cycle down to 3 weeks;
• results of preliminary public consultation on the Alternative Solutions;
• the potential operation of the street sweeping equipment during the night shift; and,
• the costs involved in distributing yard waste bags to residents.
Ms. P. Albrecht, Accessibility Standards Trainer, circulated a copy of her presentation entitled
"Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA), Update: Accessible Customer Service
Standard", dated April 6, 2009. She then led Council through a training session on the AODA
accessibility standards for customer service. She advised that a process is currently underway to
review all existing policies to identify gaps and from there develop the content and timelines for staff
training. She noted that staff anticipates having a policy in place regarding these standards by
December 3, 2009. It was noted that the Provincial Government is expected to release the AODA
standards related to information and communication by June 2009.
SPECIAL COUNCIL MINUTES
APRIL 6, 2009 - $4 - CITY OF KITCHENER
Moved by Councillor B. Vrbanovic
Seconded by Councillor G. Lorentz
"That an in-camera meeting be held this date of consider a land acquisition /disposition matter
and alitigation /potential litigation matter which is also subject to solicitor-client privilege."
Carried.
On motion the meeting adjourned at 5:31 p.m.
MAYOR CLERK