This is the first of two full meetings as city council will work overtime to complete all the business it needs to do before hitting the campaign trail. In this meeting, much of the business is there for council’s consent, but there’s still a lot of interesting stuff in the agenda to look at.

CLOSED MEETING: Chief Administrative Officer Contract.

PRESENTATION: Bee City Designation with Lorne Widmer and Cathy Dykstra. Guelph will formally join the Bee City family as one of a growing number of Canadian communities who have pledged to take action to protect pollinators like bees.

IDE-2018-119 Supporting Private Members Bill C312: National Cycling Strategy – British Columbia MP Gord Johns has a private members bill in the works to create a National Cycling Strategy, which would cover things like cycling education, improving road safety, and attracting more cycling tourism. Council will be asked to direct staff to issue a letter of support for the idea on their behalf.

IDE-2018-120 Recommended Natural Heritage Action Plan – In March 2017, council directed staff to come up with a Natural Heritage Action Plan, a directive through which staff can execute various Official Plan policies and priorities for all natural heritage projects. There’s no price tag attached to anything in the action plan as the work has already been accounted for in the Capital Budget and 10-year forecast, it’s merely about organizing the work.

IDE-2018-121 Heritage Review Process for Requests to Demolish – Staff have tried to streamline the process for reviewing applications to demolish cultural heritage resources that are listed but not registered. This is not an effort to make it easier to demolish these sensitive buildings, but to create efficiency in reviewing demolition applications by having the General Manager of Planning, Urban Design and Building receive the notices directly. The final decision about whether or not to demolish or not still lies with a majority vote of council.

IDE-2018-128 Planning Advisory Committee Terms of Reference – Council needs to approve the terms of reference for the Planning Advisory Committee, which covers Official Plan updates and reviews, communities plans and studies, and Provincial plans and policy conformity. The committee will be made up of nine resident members (representing themselves as individuals) and meet between two and six times per year.

PS-2018-32 Sleeman Breweries Ltd.: Manufacturer’s Limited Liquor Sales Licence Application – Sleeman is asking for council’s support to get a “By the  Glass” Manufacturer’s Limited Liquor Sales Licence, which will allow them to sell and serve glasses of beer and spirits on site as opposed to just selling packs of beer for takeaway. Neither Building Services or the Guelph Police have raised objection to the idea.

CS-2018-60 Request for Designation as an Event of Municipal Significance: Royal City Brewing Company – City council needs to give the clerk special permission to issue a liquor licence for a special outdoor event, Royal City Brewing’s annual Oktoberfest and Community Brew Celebration. According to staff, it counts as an “event of municipal significance” since the host is a local craft brewery promoting the use of local products.

CAO-2018-27 Metrolinx Transfers – Back in 2013, when GO Trains started to run through Guelph again, a number of concessions had to be made, a $3.15 million obligation that has now been secured through a number of land transfers and agreements. The old train station is now operated by Metrolinx while Guelph Transit still has access to the driver’s lounge and the technology room. The City now has ownership over the old Drill Hall and has received nearly $700,000 to restore and stabilize the building. Still at hand is the fate of Locomotive 6167, which will have to be moved to another location for Metrolinx to make upgrades to allow for two-way, all-day train service.