June began with a very busy meeting that discussed a trio of important topics. Do you like to talk about asset management and infrastructure? We’ve got you covered. Are you concerned about stopping the proliferation of single-use plastic? This is your meeting. Are you concerned about the fate of the Drill hall and/or interested in a new arts centre in Guelph? Then you’re definitely going to want to stay tuned!
Committee of the Whole Meeting – June 4
There was a trio of big topics on this month’s Committee of the Whole agenda starting with the Corporate Asset Management plan. Guelph has been ahead of the curve on asset management, but a report has to be filed with the Ontario government by July 1 documenting the existing levels of service, the desired service levels, and the infrastructure spending needs to achieve both.
Committee heard that there is $350 million in City infrastructure assets that are past due for retirement. This is the infrastructure backlog you hear about, and it’s a moving target that changes as assets are created and age. There’s also a matter of risk, and the biggest risk to infrastructure is climate change, but with measures incorporated into the plan Guelph seems ready to tackle 90 per cent of potential climate challenges.
Having said that, the 2024 backlog of renewal work is estimated at $354.3 million, and the increases are being driven by inflationary factors and updated asset inventories. Staff explained that there are big gaps between funding and investment, but that’s not a problem specific to Guelph, and staff are presently walking a tight rope to close the gap while being mindful of affordability. Mayor Cam Guthrie remarked that municipal spending has increased in areas that are typically provincial responsibility, and that local spending has more generally increased at a much faster rate than spending from the province.
After approving the motions to send the report on to the provincial government, and to have the budget considerations come back to council this fall, committee heard the report about the Single-Use Items Strategy Phase 2. There are three parts to this phase: That businesses must accept a customer’s clean reusable drink cup for beverage orders, that they only offer single-use accessory food-ware items like utensils and trays by request only or through self-serve stations, and that paper shopping bags must contain 40 per cent post-consumer recycled content.
Committee did offer an additional recommendation, to explore the requirement for restaurants to accept reusable containers beyond beverage cups. Nectar Tampacopoulos, General Manager of Environmental Services, said that this was something staff would like to get more feedback on, but they weren’t opposed to being directed by committee to pursue it. At the very least, staff could explore the use of reusable containers and report back if it can’t get done by March, the original deadline for Phase 2.
Then it was time for the third item, the big one, the fate of the Drill Hall. Staff was recommending that the building be put for sale, but a full court press had been organized by members and supporters of the Guelph Centre for Visual Art. Staff was aware of that proposal because it came up in the Request for Expressions of Interest, but they discounted the option because it required additional financial support from the City. Deputy CAO Jayne Holmes said that she didn’t want the direction from staff to be taken as a sign that they don’t support the arts, or that they don’t want to protect heritage.
The line of delegates ended with Mike Salisbury, one of the board members of the Centre for Visual Arts and a former city councillor (which is why Guthrie kept accidentally calling him “Councillor Salisbury”). He raised the point that the project has a laundry list of local supporters, has been a project long in the works before these current efforts, and can be a transformative project for the city as a driver of economic and tourism growth.
What does the project need? About a year to see if they can pull it together and maybe a commitment to partner with the City of Guelph, even if that means the City will serve as landlord and hold on to the Drill Hall. Salisbury was confident that between in-kind contributions, fundraising, pent-up desire for such a facility in the city and ideas to start activating the space even in the midst of any capital renovations, the Centre for Visual Art could get on its feet in short order, and without anyone from the City writing a big cheque.
After a dinner break, committee had to dig in and make a decision, either put the Drill Hall up for sale, or give the Centre for Visual Arts a chance. Councillor Rodrigo Goller asked about the paradox of putting the hall up for sale when in 2021 staff found that there was no market desire for the property. Essentially, they argued that the market’s changed a lot in three years and that the Drill Hall could host any number of functions but with the set limitations of being next to the train tracks, having no parking and being a protected heritage building. Council could theoretically change the zoning to make it more appealing too.
Ultimately, only two councillors – Dan Gibson and Christine Billings – supported the original staff recommendation to sell the Drill Hall, most members of council felt it was in the best interest of the City to retain the building for public use and to let the Centre for Visual Art have a chance to make a formal case for their project. The question was what kind of motion the committee would get behind.
Councillor Leanne Caron offered a three-part alternative: To direct staff to begin negotiations with the Centre for Visual Art to lease the building, explore funding alternatives, keep up maintenance of the Drill Hall and report back by Q1 2025 to report progress. Caron said that the City has a history of supporting community building efforts as both landlord and tenant and they don’t have to offer funds in order to be supportive.
Councillor Erin Caton provided two additional recommendations as an amendment, one to ensure that the Drill Hall lease comes with an equity and inclusion plan, and that it will be subject to the City of Guelph’s public engagement standards. There was some wordsmithing on a couple of things, like adding the word “potential” before lease because Guthrie didn’t want to make it sound like a fait accompli.
Most on committee were agreeable to the intent of the recommendations even if there were some hesitations about how much City staff should be helping the Centre for Visual Arts board, especially when it comes to finding funding. On that point CAO Stewart said that staff will be looking at their own parameters before month’s end, but it was important that they get direction from committee about what to do about the Drill Hall. Guthrie said that he didn’t think that this is the right time to sell the Drill Hall, not after sinking $5 million into the building to stabilize it. He also thought that the Centre for Visual Arts should be given the time to explore the viability of their proposal.
The set of five amended recommendations were approved.
But committee wasn’t done yet, a Guthrie motion through Councillor Carly Klassen directed staff to allocate $10,000 in unspent funds from the 2024 Community Investment Strategy account to the Centre for Visual Arts for a feasibility study to be completed by the end of the year. Guthrie said to consider it seed money. That motion was also approved although Gibson and Billings voted against it.
Click here to see the complete recap of the meeting.
Guelph Politico 