Committee of the Whole is back to start the last third of the year with a jam-packed agenda. September may be “Back to School” time, but at city council it’s back to Downtown Renewal time with a five-pack of reports covering all manner of issues in the core including waste collection, washrooms, and heritage. Also, there will be lots of recognition for staff, and some formal recognition for our Indigenous community.
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 August 30. 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.
NOTE #3: This meeting takes place on the special day of Wednesday due to the Labour Day long weekend.
CLOSED MEETING:
Federal Grant Agreement – What the grant is, and what agreement they’ve reached, is not known. Since this is a matter of “advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose and information explicitly supplied in confidence to the municipality or local board by Canada, a province or territory or a Crown agency of any of them,” it will be discussed under Section 239(2)(f) and (h) of the Municipal Act.
STAFF RECOGNITIONS:
1) City of Guelph senior staff and members, and representatives from Matrix Solutions, won the Ontario Water Works Association/Water Environment Association of Ontario (OWWA/WEAO) Climate Action Award in the adaptation stream.
2) A team from Water Services have achieved the 2024 Association of Consulting Engineering Companies – Ontario (ACEC Ontario), Grand River Chapter Gold Award of Merit for the Paisley Pumping Station Upgrades projecter Gold Award of Merit for the Paisley Pumping Station Upgrades project.
3) Waste Resources Policy Analyst Madeleine Myhill, Supervisor of Environmental Programs Liana D’Andrea, and Manager of Compliance in Programs and Performance Heather Yates were awarded the Municipal Waste Association 2024 Bronze Promotion & Education Award in recognition of its Behavioral Insights Gold Star Pilot Program.
4) Staff were also recognised by the Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists (OACETT): Municipal Infrastructure Inspector (MII) and Municipal Infrastructure Contract Administrator (MICA) Awards
Indigenous Relations Framework – Working with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN), Six Nations of the Grand River, and the Grand River Métis Council, as well as urban Indigenous peoples, and other partner organizations, the City has developed this framework. The objective of the framework is to guide truth and reconciliation work across city hall, strengthen relations with Indigenous people, and address calls to action and justice as they arise.
Solid Waste Resources Recycling Program Transition Audit – This is the first of several reports under a category called “Downtown Renewal Update”, and this specific report is about the transition in Solid Waste Services that launches at the beginning of next year, the move to a producer funded model. So this is a perfect time for a value for money audit, and the audit found that Solid Waste is balancing economy, efficiency and effectiveness, but there are some issues that need to be addressed in the midst of the transition, primarily the need to extend existing recycling collection downtown for 2025 to avoid disruption there.
Downtown Collection Area Update – Speaking of downtown collection, the City is looking at new waste collection bins because the current ones are at the end of their life and have repeatedly failed to rise to the need of commercial, residential and industrial customers in the area. To make things tidier, staff proposing communal containers with underground capacity, 20 clusters with the three streams around the core. The budgeted cost will be $1.02 million, plus an additional $410,000 in operating costs.
Downtown Streetscape Level of Service and Construction Mitigation – Following up on a council workshop about streetscaping in May, staff are recommending that council pursue an “enhanced level” of streetscaping for the future revitalisation of Wyndham Street North. That means an improved tree canopy, more flexible street, public seating and the optimisation of public space. The project is budgeted at $17.1 million, but the other piece of that is the construction timeline, and for that staff is recommending a two-year expedited plan as opposed to something more staged that could take at least four years.
Improving Access to Public Washrooms in Guelph – There are more staff recommendations for this section that the rest of the slate combined. The report, which is charmingly called “Somewhere to Go”, contains a lot of ideas that the City should look at to improve public washroom access downtown including a staffed washroom with 24/7 access, or funding to a drop-in centre to provide a 24/7 public washroom. The report also recommends involving downtown businesses or used portable washrooms late night on the weekend as other temporary measures.
As for the recommendation, committee is being asked to incorporate underground infrastructure to allow the installation of self-cleaning public washroom structures as part of the Downtown Infrastructure Renewal Program. Also, committee will be asked to direct staff to look at expanding public washrooms city wide including winterised washrooms and more gender neutral options, and include the locations of washrooms in wayfinding.
Downtown Guelph Heritage Conservation District Study – Discussed at Heritage Guelph this past April, this report establishes the boundaries of the district and the cultural and historical context that lead to the drawing of those lines. For the record, the boundary starts at the five corners area of the north, down Norfolk and Gordon to Fountain, then east to the eastern edge of the Speed River and then north again to Woolwich. Staff will prepare a plan and guideline for the HCD once the boundary is approved at this meeting.
Guelph Politico 