Committee of the Whole Preview – What’s on the Agenda for the June 6 Meeting?

It’s June! The weather is nice, and there are lots of outdoor activities to take part in, so naturally this month’s Committee of the Whole agenda is one of the longest in some time. In terms of long-term issues it’s going to cover all the bases including social services, community engagement, council governance, water, Smart Cities, strategic planning and downtown renewal. All that, and a lot of staff members need to be honoured too.

NOTE #1: Delegates will be able to appear at this meeting in-person or via tele-presense but you do have to register with the clerks office before 10 am on Friday June 2. You can also submit written delegations and correspondences for agenda items.

NOTE #2: In addition to meeting in-person, this meeting will also be live-streamed on the City of Guelph’s website here.

CLOSED SESSION:

Water Services’ Updated Operational Plan Endorsement – File this under Section239(2) (a) of the Municipal Act for matters “relating to the security of the property of the Municipality or Local Board.”

STAFF RECOGNITIONS:

1) Manager of Policy and Intergovernmental Services Kimberly Krawczyk has earned her Masters in Public Administration.

2) Manager of Business and Technical Services Heather Connell and Waste Resources Circular Economy Specialist Vivian DeGiovanni are both Recipients of Federation of Canadian Municipalities 2022 Sustainable Communities Award.

3) The OPWA Award for Project of the Year Award in the Disaster/Emergency Construction/Repair Category (Less that $2Million) for the Howit Creek Sanitary Sewer Encasement and Erosion Protection project goes to Manager of Technical Services Kyle Gibson, Project Engineer Jackie Kay, Construction Inspector Nicholas Gatto, Manager of Technical Services Adam Wiltschek, Program Manager Adam Geldart, and Supervisor Lab Services and Environmental Compliance Phil McIntyre.

4) Corporate Asset Management Analysist Kevin Nelson has won his P.Eng Designation.

5) Analysts Asset and Maintenance Management Mathew Walden earned his Maintenance Management Professional Certification (PEMAC).

6) Walden also earned his C.Tech Designation (OACETT)

7) The Royal Sludge winners of the Pump Maintenance Operation Challenge at 2023’s Water Environment Association of Ontario (WEAO) are Lead Hand from Maintenance Wastewater Andre Charlebois, Wastewater Collection Leaha Kane, Wastewater Collection Michael Whitwell, Licensed Electrician Peter Buciurca, and Manager of Operations Wastewater Services Sumant Patel.

Ontario Health: Multi-Sectoral Accountability Agreement, Declaration of Compliance – Once a year, the City of Guelph has to submit a declaration of compliance to indicate that all terms of the Multi-Sectoral Accountability Agreement were met in the past year; this must be done for all City services that get Ministry of Health funding. Right now, only one program at Guelph applies to this agreement and it’s the Community Paramedicine program.

2023 Governance Review – Every two years, the clerks’ office reviews the governance rules for council and recommends changes, and most of those changes tend to be administrative, or to reflect best practices and things like that. Big changes? There are a few. There’s now a four-month limit on pulling information reports without the permission of the service area committee chair, and there’s a proposed delegated authority to allow clerks to make administrative edits to motions like typos or grammar. Other changes include prohibitions for public correspondences on workshop meetings, and limiting all delegations to five minutes, including the ones at statutory public meetings.

2022 Guelph. Future Ready Progress Report – This is the annual report for the progress on the City’s Strategic Plan, and this may be the last report for the Strat Plan in its present form. (The new version of the Strategic Plan will come to council for approval next month.) There are no hard and fast numbers with the report, just a recital of what the various key performance indicators (KPIs) from the five strategic pillars are. In terms of motions, council will vote to receive the report and that local board and shared services should be gently asked to provide their own annual performance updates to the City.

County of Wellington Social Services: Report to Guelph City Council – It was about this time last year that Guelph City Council asked for a report from the County of Wellington about the provision of social services in Guelph. For the most part, the motion was made in relation to the provision of housing and services for people experiencing homelessness and/or have mental health and additions issues, but the report will cover childcare and Ontario Works too. There are no formal motions coming out of this report, it’s mostly for the information of committee.

Components of the New Community Engagement Framework – After much fanfare and anticipation, staff will reveal the update to the Community Engagement Framework. The goal was ensure that the City was following best practices, to modernize the framework, integrate new tools, and figure out new approaches to be more inclusive while meeting people where they are in this post-COVID world. The biggest change is that the framework is now five documents instead of one covering policy, governance and operation. Several of the operations pieces are still in progress, but committee will be asked to approve the Community Engagement Charter, which sets expectations about when and how the City does engagement, and frames everyone’s roles and responsibilities.

Smart Cities Update: Our Food Future and Circular Opportunity Launchpad – With the original federal grant running out, the activities of the Smart Cities Office are starting to wind down and the programs they started will soon have to find a new home among the various community partners. David Messer, the executive director of the Smart Cities Office, will outline what the last few months will look like, and what comes next in 2024. A community event is being planned for October that will be the formal conclusion of the project. Council will also vote to encourage our public health unit to fight issues of food insecurity.

Municipality of Trent Lakes Resolution: Oath of Office – Councillor Leanne Caron will speak to this item, a motion from the Mayor and Council of the Municipality of Trent Lakes that asks the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to make a change to the municipal oath of office. An additional line, “…that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada including the Constitution, which recognizes and affirms the Aboriginal and treaty rights of First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples.”

Water Services’ Updated Operational Plan Endorsement – As part of the Ontario Municipal Drinking Water Licensing Program, council has to endorse the operating plan for Water Services within the first year of the new council term. The document provides an understanding of the local drinking water systems, outlines the responsibility of the drinking water systems’ owner and operator and includes a commitment to the provision of safe and clean drinking water.

Downtown Renewal: Status Update – The staff report hails this as an “exciting time” for Downtown Guelph, and evidently one of the reason is the Downtown Infrastructure Renewal Program (DTIRP). This program is presently in development, and construction could start as early as 2026, but the end result could look something the image at the top of the article, which is a complete street for Macdonell from the 2014 Streetscape Manual. Other places downtown that will need some serious consideration in the future include St. George’s Square, which could be turned into a roundabout, and Macdonell Bridge and Allan’s Dam, which both need some serious rehabilitation work or might just be demolished and replaces with something else.