This month of council meetings comes to a close with a Smart Cities Update, and further discussion about finally moving the Guelph Innovation District lands.

CLOSED MEETING: Confirmation of Closed Minutes for the closed Council meetings held February 25, 2019 and Committee of the Whole held March 4, 2019; CS-2019-43 March 2019 Public Appointments to the Municipal Property and Building Commemorative Naming Committee and Water Conservation and Efficiency Public Advisory Committee; IDE-2019-24 Guelph Innovation District (GID) – Q1 2019 Update; IDE-2019-39 Dolime Quarry – Mediation Process Update.

PRESENTATION: Smart Cities Update – As you may have heard, the City of Guelph and the County of Wellington are one of the finalists for their combined efforts and entry in the Smart Cities Challenge. The Guelph/Wellington proposal for a circular food economy could win one of two final prizes of $10 million to implement the idea, and the final submissions were made on March 5. The final decision, meanwhile, will be made on May 14, but this report will provide an update to council about all the connections and accomplishments that the proposal has achieved so far.

IDE-2019-24 Guelph Innovation District (GID): Q1 2019 Update – There’s no new information provided in the report about this item, which was already discussed earlier this month at the Committee of the Whole. Presumably though, new information will come out of the closed meeting as noted above. To recap, Infrastructure Ontario is offering to sell the Guelph Innovation District lands on behalf of the City, but using Guelph’s own marketing materials and specifications for dispensation of the land thus selling the land as the City of Guelph sees fit while reducing the City’s liability.

CS-2019-44 March 2019 Public Appointments to the Municipal Property and Building Commemorative Naming Committee and Water Conservation and Efficiency Public Advisory Committee – One member will be named to the Municipal Property and Building Commemorative Naming Committee and four people will be named to the Water Conservation and Efficiency Public Advisory Committee for a term lasting through to November of this year.

Consent Items from the Committee of the Whole Meeting on March 4:

• IDE-2019-20 Sign by-law Variances – 649 Scottsdale Drive
• IDE-2019-22 Sign By-law Variances – 18 Douglas Street
• IDE-2019-23 Sign By-law Variances – 1460-1474 Gordon Street
• IDE-2019-26 Delegation of Authority – Authority to Reduce Speed Limits Within Construction Zones
• IDE-2019-31 Approval of Renewal of the Gazer-Mooney Subdivision Water Services Operating Agreement
• IDE-2019-28 Approval of the 2018 Water Services Annual and Summary Report
• IDE-2019-32 Approval of Water and Wastewater Long-Range Financial Plan as Required Under Ontario Regulation 453/07