This end of October meeting has a lot of action, and most of it will be happening in the closed meeting agenda. No big deal. There should be some action in the main portion of the meeting though with some discussion about election behaviours and expectations, plus an update about the rationalization of back office functions at the City of Guelph. (Don’t worry, there’s a whole other meeting for this week.) Check out the preview below.
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 October 24. 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 MEETING:
Superior Court Decision Update – Since the Ontario Superior Court of Justice makes decisions every day, and not all of them directly reference the City of Guelph, it’s tough to say what this pertains to. What we do know is that this pertains to “litigation or potential litigation, including matters before administrative tribunals, affecting the municipality or local board and advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose” so it will be discussed in closed session.
35, 40 and 55 Silvercreek Parkway South: Ontario Land Tribunal Update – This address is the Lafarge site in the west end, and we’ve trying to develop it for years decades. Back in 2023, a new OLT challenge was launched after the developer expressed disappointment that this fourth plan for the property had not yet been brought to council for their consideration. This will be discussed in closed for ” litigation or potential litigation, including matters before administrative tribunals, affecting the municipality or local board and advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose.”
Confidential Memo Request to Service Lands Outside of Municipal Boundaries – A curious case. This is a matter of “advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose and a position, plan, procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the municipality or local board” but we don’t know anything more than that.
26-40 Carden St. and 27-39 Macdonell St: Ontario Land Tribunal Update – Although council heard this application last fall, it has yet to come back for a decision, which is why this is now a tribunal matter. Like most of the rest of this agenda, it’s a matter of solicitor-client privilege.
COMMUNITY RECOGNITION:
U18 T1 Guelph Royals: 2025 18U AA Ontario Baseball Association Championship – Council will recognize the team for their August victory.
Centralization of Back-Office Support Functions Review – This one of the recommendations that came out of a KPMG study of potential administrative savings, but in the case of back-end functions there may not be as many savings as we were lead to believe. According to the report, fully merging administrative services between the City, the Guelph Public Library, the Guelph Police Service, and The Elliott Long-Term Care Home would only save about $85,000 to $120,000, and efficiencies are already being found through the human resources, financial and I.T. departments. Instead, the report recommends that the City pursue targeted partnerships with the Library and the Police to improve efficiency where possible, but staffing capacity issues are kind of an impediment.
Elect Respect Pledge – Councillor Carly Klassen will bring forward a list of recommendations to support the Elect Respect campaign. As you may recall, there’s a municipal election next year, and there’s some concern that candidates, especially those from equity seeking groups, will be targets of harassment. Elect Respect is a group created by Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and a new group called Halton Elected Representatives (HER) was founded to help foster a “commitment to uphold the core values of democratic service, including the right to work free from threats, abuse, or intimidation.”
Consent Agenda items from the Committee of the Whole meetings on October 7. (Items can be pulled by a councillor seeking additional information, otherwise all items will be voted on as a slate without further debate.)
- Appointment of the External Auditor
- Municipal Property and Building Commemorative Naming Report 2025
- Baker Library Facility Lease Approval
- Macdonell and Allan’s Structures Environmental Assessment: Notice of Completion
- Utility Billing Project Status and Customer Accounts By-law Update
Guelph Politico 