Staff to report back no later than Q2 2026, with a City initiated amendment to the City’s Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw…

4:48:08okay the next one is an item that i added to the agenda based on the

4:48:17the uh community interest in this it felt like we needed to have a dedicated space

4:48:24and a dedicated agenda item to the to this and so uh i appreciate both council staff and the

4:48:33community understanding why adding a specific agenda item just made a lot more sense so that

4:48:38we could focus on one issue uh and with that we have uh quite a few delegations that have come

4:48:47forward so thank you very much for that but just before the delegations come up there is a recommendation

4:48:56that's been well it was originally noted like a week and a half or so ago and then on friday

4:49:02i actually changed it again uh but at least you know everyone could see it but i just want

4:49:10to just before the delegations come up or the before the delegation speak i just want to set

4:49:17the foundation of what is coming and i thought i'd just be super transparent right now in advance

4:49:22of the delegations and i'm going to ask staff to throw this up on the screen so anybody at home

4:49:29anybody in the audience here can look at it now is your time to take out your camera if you want

4:49:33to take a picture or whatever so you can look at it okay um i'll read it i'll read it out loud

4:49:40just so i'm setting the stage here okay that staff be directed to report back no later than q2

4:49:462026 with the city initiated amendment to the city's official plan and zoning bylaw pursuant

4:49:54to section 17 and 34 of the planning act it doesn't need the parcel of land i am not going to say

4:49:59the address as open space and parkland okay so that that is what will be tabled and it's up to

4:50:12it's up to the will of council after that of course but i'm just telling you that's what's

4:50:16going to be tabled after we hear from all of you i just wanted to set sort of the tone

4:50:24and i feel i feel bad i know i do actually feel bad because a lot of people you know you prepare

4:50:29your five-minute delegation you prepare sort of the route you might want to state some things

4:50:34which a hundred percent you can keep to the script of whatever you whatever you've done if you wish

4:50:40but now that you know that that's coming forward it may it may just change a little bit of how we

4:50:48how we move forward in this conversation as a community together i hope you're you understand

4:50:52and you're with me okay so with that in mind knowing that this is going to be tabled

4:51:01i'd like to call up our first delegation on this and i think we could we can have like more

4:51:09comments and questions after i and i have a lot of that but i want to respect that the delegation

4:51:15should go first okay so i have a lot more to say about why i kind of crafted it that way

4:51:24but i'm going to save it i'll save it for later okay so the first one is on telephone it is

4:51:30susan watson again and then and more is and here in the room i just don't have my glasses on

4:51:37okay you're in the wings okay and okay so susan if you're yeah i can see you on screen there for

4:51:42your phone uh you unmute and you start right away go right ahead so susan i don't know if you can

4:52:01hear me it's cam i just wondered if you're still with us uh if you want to try unmuting okay

4:52:16we'll go on to the next one but don't worry if if she's available i'll come back like i always do so

4:52:21for an why don't you come on forward okay thanks an and then i'll try susan after after after you

4:52:30an friends of court right foul waterfowl park lands by the way uh is what an is here representing

4:52:41i should have said that so uh and have you been here uh for the last little while or no because

4:52:46there's no more than five minutes okay got that and you'll get the the chime at the four minutes

4:52:50and thirty second mark okay thank you okay go right ahead okay thank you mayor and and members

4:52:56of council for the opportunity to speak today about the court right waterfowl park or niska lands

4:53:02and specifically about park part lot 13 concession five which i will call the 20 acres

4:53:12my name is an mure and i'm a citizen of guelph and a member of the friends of the court right

4:53:16waterfowl park we have a following of almost 400 people on facebook and counting i can assure you

4:53:23there are many people in this community who care deeply about this land i visited the park with

4:53:29my children back in the day and i'm painfully aware that the park was boarded up and not maintained

4:53:35by the g rca for the last 20 years the city announcement on january 23rd to sell the 20 acres

4:53:42and protect the rest is not a good deal for guelph i am asking the city to protect all of the land

4:53:50including the 20 acres i will explain why this publicly held land was purchased with taxpayer

4:53:58funds with a fairly stated intention that remains in the public record to create parkland to be

4:54:05protected in perpetuity it is our green space legacy for present and future generations of humans

4:54:12and wildlife to enjoy crucial to protect at a time when climate change is upon us

4:54:20the 20 acres is a buffer zone for sensitive ecosystems as human populations increase the

4:54:26wild things are pushed back to the valley lands if we only protect the rivers and streams the

4:54:32impact on sensitive ecosystems will be catastrophic court right park contains an astounding 31 unique

4:54:40eco sites including over 161 species of birds and 12 species of fish including brook trout

4:54:47and so much more if the 20 acres is developed the constitution the construction and additional

4:54:54human traffic will be another death knell for the wildlife in the tier three uh source water

4:55:03report the 20 acres was identified as a high volume recharge area so any re reduction of

4:55:10groundwater recharge and flow will be felt on the surrounding area including the speed river

4:55:17there has never been a full study done of the speed river watershed given the shortage of water

4:55:22that has emerged as a critical critical issue in water leachin wouldn't it be important to

4:55:27determine the role these 20 acres play in recharge of the surrounding area if not are we not

4:55:34potentially risking the degradation and loss of the natural wetland and possibly compromising our

4:55:41own water supply is the city so desperate for land to develop housing that we need to begin to sell

4:55:48off our parkland i believe not gulf today said that over 8 000 unused land approvals are sitting

4:55:56there and some of them are dating back to 1987 there's no lack of land for building homes in

4:56:02gulf land at the city's edge far away from services and supports is not a place to put

4:56:09affordable housing developing land at the edge of the city is expensive the city will be left

4:56:15with the high cost of infrastructure to link this valley to the rest of the city so let's not pretend

4:56:22that this is a good idea for housing the g rca says that the 20 acres has no ecological value as a

4:56:30rationale for selling it i believe that all land has ecological value the 20 acres could easily be

4:56:37restored to grassland or reforested people need places to play learn and grow selling this land

4:56:44will only increase the parkland shortage in gulf these 20 acres could contain sports fields playgrounds

4:56:50picnic areas camping pollinator gardeners i could go on in other words it could be a park as was intended

4:57:00the mayor counselors and city staff need to stand firm on what is good for gulf the g rca is about

4:57:06to be dissolved if sold the money from the sale is about to go into a conservation authority that

4:57:12spans both most of southwestern ontario down to winzer selling this land makes no sense and it's

4:57:19a bad deal for gulf i appreciate the motion and revision of the motion that's been put forward

4:57:27let's make the protection of this parkland the legacy thanks so much all right thanks and

4:57:34any questions for an well she's here nope you're lucky no so it's a bit oh you got to come back in

4:57:42i'm sorry counsel or two or are you through you mr. mayor and thank you for coming i just

4:57:49have to ask uh what are your thoughts on the recent amended motion i'm hopeful thank you thank you so

4:57:59much yeah great that could have been worse so that's good it's such an open-ended question

4:58:06all right thank you uh let's try susan watson again yeah okay we're gonna try susan watson again

4:58:12clerks are saying that you might be on susan are you able to unmute can you hear me yes you're

4:58:21coming through great and over to you start anytime great now got three members of council thank you

4:58:27for those updates to the motion because that was exactly the two changes i was going to ask for

4:58:34bringing the motion back in a more timely manner because the land has been declared surplus by the

4:58:42g rc a and so it was really uh we were we were looking at a situation where conservation land

4:58:49purchased with public money was it is it imminent risk of being private private type so thank you

4:58:54for understanding that urgency and and moving that forward and then my other request was the

4:58:59removal of the word potential so that so that council is really committing to um correcting

4:59:06this historic designation error um archival minutes show that both the g rc a and well city

4:59:12council approved a master plan for the ham and creek conservation area which included both

4:59:17agricultural fields and as far as i know that decision has never been rescinded and i'm not

4:59:23clear if the council who changed the zoning of the southern field to housing in 2012 was made aware

4:59:29of the history of the property mistakes happen uh council caught and fixed a similar error in 2022

4:59:37when you corrected the zoning on the arm tech land from high density to medium density and i'm not

4:59:42sure here anyone quite knew how that happened but it was clearly not what council intended and you

4:59:49fixed it um and now there's the opportunity to do the same thing for the field that was purchased

4:59:55to be held in trust as parkland and open space for wealth citizens um again as i

5:00:02intimated in my previous uh delegation this is an opportunity for you to remove housing

5:00:07from the official plan as former cio scott stewart said you would need to do when you

5:00:13approve the innovation district zoning change and importantly i think this will reduce legal

5:00:19exposure for the city in water matters the fundamental premise of the clearingland surplus

5:00:25is that it is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was acquired no one can make the case in

5:00:322026 that either parkland or conservation land is not needed wealth has at least 174 hectares

5:00:40shortage of parkland and especially playing fields and the g rca's own reports document

5:00:46increasing demand and public pressure on conservation areas so in order to cash out the

5:00:53court right lands the g rca engaged in decision-based evidence making and fabricated a false

5:00:59acquisition history they claimed that the land was acquired for the hefzler reservoir project

5:01:05and is therefore no longer needed the g rca hasn't produced one shred of evidence linking that project

5:01:13to the purchase of court right whereas in contrast there is a mountain of documentation

5:01:18tracking the true acquisition of the waterfell park for the handland creek conservation area

5:01:24including letters minutes backrounders ledgers and archival news clippings and i sent you

5:01:31as part of the agenda the letter from the mnr that i obtained by f o i specifically allocating the

5:01:37grant money towards land purchased or the handland creek conservation area and i also included the

5:01:44archival news clipping published three days later announcing that the grant and the fact that the

5:01:49purchase of the waterfell park was being made for parkland and open space in perpetuity the other

5:01:56fact that puts the lie to the gc rca narrative is this if the land was to be acquired for the

5:02:02hefzler reservoir then guelph never would have contributed tax dollars to the purchase those

5:02:09of you who have served on the g rca know that infrastructure and flood control projects are

5:02:14not funded by individual municipalities they are funded on a watershed basis through levies and

5:02:21apportionments the g rca's own disposition policy requires that the original terms of the acquisition

5:02:28be honored while the civic leaders of the day were clearly too trusting to get things in writing

5:02:33the public record is unequivocal about how and why this land was acquired the land deal currently

5:02:41being negotiated with the g rca asks council and the public to look the other way while the g rca

5:02:47caches out one sixth of the original court right land holdings if you punch the historic numbers

5:02:53the g rca contributed five thousand dollars in 1977 towards the purchase of that field today the g

5:03:01rca could be poised to sell it for as much as 20 million dollars and pocket the entire amount

5:03:08and again this plan is predicated on a lie glove city council must not support and enable the

5:03:15unethical conduct of the g rca this is a raw deal for the citizens of guelph and for future generations

5:03:23and a potential betrayal of the legacy that norm jerry and ken and ilean hamill sought to leave for

5:03:28the city citizens of guelph so thank you for moving forward with a strong great uh sorry sorry

5:03:36susan i let you go over time a little bit there i also hate cutting you off whenever you're set

5:03:41and starts with the word thank you but uh but we we we hear you stay on the phone with me just in

5:03:47case there is a follow-up is there any questions for susan at all no okay uh we're going to move on to

5:03:55our our next uh delegation um is uh renetta mayors here come on for just as renetta is coming here

5:04:05i just i i'm sorry uh i i just i just want us to be careful with our language here when we're

5:04:12talking about other entities you know lying they're unethical like i just let's let's have a

5:04:20respectful conversation about an important topic without sort of the that sort of heightened

5:04:29commentary that i just i think i i don't i don't accept that i think as a council we shouldn't

5:04:34accept that type of narrative against other entities that we we have a relationship with

5:04:39at this time so um let's just be careful i i think that's just an appropriate thing for

5:04:43me to say as the chair here in this room that we're respectful and and careful as we move forward so

5:04:48please let's let's be careful with that type of language i i don't subscribe to that i don't

5:04:52think my colleagues do either um so with saying that uh thank you for coming down and uh it's over

5:04:59to you go ahead good evening to council the mayor city staff and my neighbors my name is ronetta mayors

5:05:08and i'm a gulf resident since 96 and a healthcare professional for 18 years i begin with words from

5:05:14katrina graham an indigenous nurse and healthcare leader here in gulf wellington who's reminding

5:05:20our decision makers about the trc efforts and gulf's promise to protecting natural ecosystems

5:05:27i'm also a volunteer with the canadian association of physicians for the environment

5:05:31the ontario chapter i can tell you that science is very clear nature heals for the past five years

5:05:40over 20 000 licensed healthcare providers doctors nurses physiotherapists and alike across canada

5:05:47prescribed parks to an estimated 1.5 million canadians who are now directly benefiting from nature

5:05:55according to the evidence nature heals nature prevents physical and mental harms

5:06:00nature allows for people to age well and protect the planet natural health infrastructures like

5:06:07the court right waterfowl parklands as intended is gulf's living medicine it is the most effective

5:06:15way to counter urban heat islands filter air pollutants and offer measurable mental health

5:06:20benefits according to the gulf public library they did a 20 25 study the second most accessed

5:06:28library of things so beyond books and dvds was actually free day use vehicle permits to

5:06:35ontario parks in 2025 the first was mobile hotspots wealth have pride in their green space

5:06:43continued urban sprawl is not the answer to our hyzen crisis we have abandoned lots vacant

5:06:50homes sit idle across the city with our existing infrastructure do we not care about these existing

5:06:57footprints there are hundreds of these spaces and could be part of gulf housing needs however

5:07:04once we pave overgreen spaces it is lost our community cares deeply about keeping comfort

5:07:11conservation parkland as intended my late father was an amateur photographer who taught me about

5:07:16the parklands and in his memory we do have a bench on the west side of the river and we visited

5:07:23daily my nephews are 13 and 14 years old and they constantly hear about the climate crisis

5:07:28and loneliness epidemics and they worry and i worry for our children's future once we build

5:07:36into farmland wetland conservation it is gone forever we need housing yes but we also need

5:07:42healthy livable communities where nature is treated as an essential public health infrastructure

5:07:49not after the fact so decision makers choose long-term health over short-term pressures

5:07:55we ask as you have mentioned that revised recommendations but i would like to tweak

5:08:01it just a little bit and make it april of 2026 because a quarter is three months so i understand

5:08:09that i might be asking for too much and i am a bit new so thank you for your time and i'm open to

5:08:13questions is this your first time delegating yes you did great thanks it's fine we're easy going

5:08:21it's all good yeah so thank you very much is there any is there any questions okay uh councillor

5:08:27chou has one thank you through you mr. mayor ronata thank you for coming i did hear that you

5:08:34may mention that you have a dedicated family bench within the speed river trail is that correct

5:08:41it's it's the um uh good question now i'm forgetting my rivers but it's actually the crane park the

5:08:50river that cuts through crane park we're on the um uh john woods property um side so the west side

5:08:57of the river i think that's okay and i i preface that because my fault question is what do you think

5:09:02of the gyr c and the city partnering to clean up the trails i am hopeful about it i'm excited and

5:09:12i hope that we keep that 20 acre um eight vector 20 acre part part of the the whole um area and

5:09:24we're planning to do that so are you happy with that yes and i hope it's in april okay thank you

5:09:30thank you so much okay we don't see anything further thank you very much for coming

5:09:37lin grist i see you i see you right in the front

5:09:41and ron i see you as well welcome no problem come on down when you're ready um i don't think there are

5:10:00it should just open up yeah okay over to you lin whenever you're ready okay um yes

5:10:22before i start um mech gathry would you mind putting your revised second revision up for me

5:10:29because i may save you a whole pile of my time please put it up very quickly no problem thank you

5:10:39and i'll read i'll read it out loud one more time just if people are listening in and such online

5:10:44or whatever that's to be directed to report back no later than q2 2026 with a city initiated

5:10:50amendment to the city's official plan and zoning bylaw pursuant to section 17 and 34 of the planning

5:10:55act to designate the lands i'll just call it um as open space in parkland that's really helpful um

5:11:07and so i'm not actually going to read my whole delegation now because i'm sure there will be

5:11:14other people who will be much more eloquent than i am but i do and i really appreciate that you have

5:11:23changed the debt you know the what you're bringing to council twice that's really great um however

5:11:33uh i would really like to see is there a date april 2026 on it because i'm really concerned that this

5:11:43might get lost in the weeds so during the i'm just just just to follow process and our procedural

5:11:51bylaw we can't i can't kind of do a back and forth with you right now it's your time okay i'm sorry

5:11:57you know i want to but i just want to make sure i'm following the rules so um i can i can definitely

5:12:03answer that later though i will make sure i answer it out but this is your this is your up to five

5:12:07minutes that you need just to tell us what you think okay so then in that case what i'm going to

5:12:12say because i don't know who's going to vote in favor of your process i'm going to say i would ask

5:12:18however that council strengthen the directive so that this open space and by that i mean the court

5:12:27waterfowl reserve because i'm not a planner so i can't actually do that whole lot thing for you

5:12:34as most people in guelphan we're we're planners are a minority in guelph that this open space be

5:12:41protected by revising its recommendation to say that staff be directed to report back no later

5:12:50than april the 15th 2026 with a staff report and a process for a site specific

5:12:59council initiated land use amendment for the redesignation to open space parkland purposes

5:13:06for the eight-hectare parcel of land with the legal description of part lot 13 concession five

5:13:13fuselage pt 1 6 1 r 1 4 8 3 great thank you i'm sorry i just want to make sure i'm not interrupting

5:13:23you is that okay you're good i'm good i'm good thank you yeah okay thank you for your delegation

5:13:30councillor Goller has a quick follow-up for you okay okay thank you through your worship i

5:13:37thank you so much for coming and for everyone that has written could you help me understand

5:13:41the the rationale for april versus may or or june this coming back to council the rationale for

5:13:48so could you repeat for us to come back in april as supposed to may or or or i guess to be quite

5:13:56honest i'm just anxious it doesn't get lost in the weeds weeds and if it's actually in an amendment

5:14:02i know that it's going to come back okay okay i appreciate that thank you great seeing nothing

5:14:08further thank you then you're welcome and ron do you want to come on up next

5:14:15and then after ron we got kate mccorka dale i hope did i say that right did i say that right

5:14:22i'm two for two tonight and uh catherine hamill is catherine hamill with okay i'm sorry i don't have

5:14:29my go so i see the hand though friends of the court rate waterfowl conservation lens so ron

5:14:33you're coming up next thank you it's over to you on okay um and because you've just brought uh the

5:14:45motion forward um again i'm in complete agreement and would encourage uh everyone to vote in favor of

5:14:54it so i won't i don't go through all my delegation at this moment because easy you've already uh done

5:15:04it so yeah i i just also uh would like to reiterate what my better half has just uh presented to you

5:15:16which is if you could uh bring it back by the 15th of april um as she stated already

5:15:26that would be much appreciated as well otherwise i'm funk thank you thank you ron

5:15:33we might do a council vote later to uh confirm that lin is your better half

5:15:42so all right thank any questions for ron

5:15:46no okay thank you very much kate and kathryn are coming down and then

5:15:54andrea baker is going to join us by telephone welcome and you'll you'll share the five minutes

5:16:06yes we are if you need or whatever okay start whenever you're ready okay good evening mayor

5:16:16guthrie city counselors staff and concerned citizens and thank you for the update this

5:16:22evening much appreciated my name is kathryn hamill i am ken and eileen hamill's daughter

5:16:29i'm horris max granddaughter a number of you here this evening you may be new my parents

5:16:36perhaps you chatted with them on the phone about local issues or even had a cup of tea at their home

5:16:43one of my last outings with my parents was on the bridge of the court right property

5:16:50the sun was shining mom and dad were identifying all the ducks on the water we reminisced about the

5:16:57land and our family and as they both reiterated the importance about this space for future generations

5:17:05in essence my family's legacy for the citizens of guelph so my daughter here is holding the award

5:17:13presented to my mom in 1963 from the u gca in honor of my grandfather horris mac and the work

5:17:21that he did my grandfather understood the importance of protecting wildlife and land

5:17:28even in 1948 he knew that forward thinking and protecting land was important

5:17:34is even more important today as hundreds of acres of farmland and parkland are lost forever to

5:17:41development recently my six-year-old granddaughter asked what the award meant i spoke about looking

5:17:49after the land the importance of taking care of things or they would be gone forever we discussed

5:17:56the legacy of her great-grandparents and her great-great-grandfather we gave the plaque a good

5:18:02polish and she carried the plaque out to my car last night after she gave me a hug and a kiss

5:18:08and with a little whisper she said maybe someday i can find a spot for this plaque in my house

5:18:16thanks elspeth even at six years old you're beginning to get the message that was passed down

5:18:21from your hamel mac legacy community in particular the community of guelph was important to my parents

5:18:31my father ken hamel was an alderman for 29 years and continued to actively support numerous

5:18:37charity charities and community programs even up to his death in direct quotation from my mom

5:18:44from the guelph tribune in 2014 she spoke about the court right land it's been she quoted it's

5:18:51been purchased by public money and i'd like to see it utilized for young people and the general public

5:18:58my mom went on to say that some of the fields would make ideal sites for sports fields this evening

5:19:05mayor guthrie and each of the counselors you have an opportunity to do the right thing protect our

5:19:11community plan responsibly and return the land to its original intention so my name is kate mcorkadel

5:19:21and i am ken and ilean hamels granddaughter it was important to my grandparents that they

5:19:26live their lives with integrity and left a legacy that would benefit future generations this is

5:19:31exactly what the court right waterfell park lands achieve it is a benefit to the citizens of guelph

5:19:37providing natural space in the city it also speaks to my grandparents foresight 50 years ago to know

5:19:43that action would be needed to protect lands from development they are the example i tried to emulate

5:19:50in my own life with forward thinking and community contributions my grandmother shared her many memories

5:19:55of court right and spending time with her father and the wildlife and there's even a connection

5:20:00with the city of strafford and my great-grandfather um i live and work in strafford and he donated a

5:20:06pair of black swans to strafford um back in the day strafford's well known for its strong swans

5:20:12um there this is the time for the mayor and counselors to take positive action in a world

5:20:18where headlines are often negative and decisions are driven by economic gain this is the time to

5:20:23protect natural land because they're not making any more of it they also have the opportunity to

5:20:28honor the legacy of former citizens who had the forethought and initiative to ensure that guelph

5:20:33had amenities that benefited its citizens 50 years ago today and hopefully 50 years from now thank you

5:20:42great thank you uh to you both really kind when you mentioned had tea in your in the house

5:20:49i've i enjoyed that one time so that was great um any questions for these teleguests at this time

5:20:55counselor chu thank you through you mr mayor i i thank you for coming to the space i'm actually

5:21:02a huge fan of your family's legacy and it's no coincidence that my name's also ken um

5:21:08um so you get extra bounty points for me um i'm just curious to see if you guys would be interested

5:21:17in some capacity to uh continue sharing your family's legacy um as part of the agreement that the

5:21:25gc and the city had reached to restore some of the trails and active transportation network uh

5:21:31so i'm just curious if there's any interest uh after tonight to consider um sharing some of

5:21:38your family history with the city and with officials like myself right absolutely and i

5:21:44should mention my cousin is behind me who resides in guelph so absolutely okay now i look forward

5:21:50to chatting more with you guys and i would like to mention as well that um my background is in

5:21:55landscape architecture and i'm still very closely tied with the university of guelph's

5:21:59landscape architecture program and there are a lot of students that um are researching a lot of

5:22:03your history so it would be fantastic if you can share with them just some of that lived experience

5:22:09that you guys possess because i think that's quite valuable and can build on top of a lot of that

5:22:13trail network work that our staff is looking to undertake with the u r c a thank you thanks

5:22:20great nothing nothing further thank you very very much for coming we appreciate it okay

5:22:27so we're having a little bit of trouble getting a hold of andrea baker right now by telephone

5:22:32but for round two we have dr. he whitely that would like to join us so dr. whiteley i don't

5:22:39know if you there you are and we'll just wait to see if you can put the camera on and unmute for us

5:22:47hmm well you've unmuted a little better and you're you're we see your whole face which is perfect

5:22:54so over over to you dr. whiteley go ahead i'm delighted to say that i'm overwhelmed by the

5:23:05motion that council i hope will pass because it represents an amazing tribute to past city

5:23:15councilors to pick up the work again that has between 1965 and 1985 allowed this opportunity for

5:23:27the city of guelph to acquire a really treasured natural and cultural heritage location for the

5:23:37benefit of the ongoing generations so congratulations to everyone who formulated this motion it's amazing

5:23:48i would caution that the quality of the information that's been resented to the public on this issue

5:23:59has not been satisfactory and i'm hoping that the city might well adjust the

5:24:09the most recent web material to actually reflect what has gone on in the past and

5:24:19better guide council when they receive the proposed official plan and its uh zoning amendment

5:24:29but uh beyond making those improvements to the background information i again congratulate

5:24:38everyone who formulated this amazing motion thank you dr. whiteley let me see if there's a follow-up

5:24:48for you from my council colleagues there is not and again thank you very much for joining us very good

5:24:56uh is andrea baker no okay how about sarah christie by phone can you hear me

5:25:06hi sarah it's cam so yeah we can hear you you're coming through great thank you for joining us and

5:25:10i'll turn it over to you great thank you mayor gutery and counselors for allowing me to speak

5:25:16today and thank you for the updates before delegations began i am speaking today in support of

5:25:22the most recent updated recommendation that you just put forward for the 20 acres and we'll echo

5:25:26these previous delegates and uh their request to put forward for april 15th as well um a bit of a

5:25:34story i moved from atobico to guelph almost two years ago and since moving here i've jumped on

5:25:40every opportunity to brag about how much i love this city as you mentioned mayor gutery off the

5:25:45top it is a privilege to live here in guelph living in the gta was taking a toll on both my

5:25:50mental and physical health i lived on the side street where you think it would be saved from

5:25:55congestion but i was constantly honked at while trying to get into my own driveway uh the unpredictable

5:26:01traffic meant that running a basic airing could be 20 minutes it could be an hour and a half and

5:26:07towards the end of my time there i rarely had energy for any extra curricular outside of work

5:26:12so that meant that i didn't have energy to connect with my community i knew where my closest grocery

5:26:16store was i had one go to coffee shop but that's really about it when i moved to guelph i felt like

5:26:22i could finally put my shoulders down and breathe i live in word six near the court right

5:26:26waterfowl parkland and knowing that there's conservation land nearby has given me an excuse to

5:26:31get outside explore meet my neighbors and feel connected to my community one that i want to

5:26:37support and continue to be a part of one of the most exciting differences about walking around the

5:26:41area has been the volume of people who not only acknowledge you as you're walking by but are

5:26:46actually willing to stop and talk because that doesn't happen in congested areas your brain

5:26:50just goes into survival mode to complete the task and get home as fast and efficient as possible

5:26:56now as we've heard twice this evening doctors in canada have the authority to prescribe time in

5:27:01nature when i was living in a tobaccos this is one of the first suggestions a healthcare professional

5:27:06recommended for me now that i live in guelph i truly understand why i am proof that nature heals

5:27:13since moving here one pastime that i look forward to the most is walking around the corners of the

5:27:18handling creek and speed river and listening to the water and box breathing which you may know is a

5:27:23form of meditation or in my case it's prescribed medicine this has become a way for me to reset

5:27:29so i can continue to show up for my family my job and my community which is now guelph specifically

5:27:35my neighbors around the court right waterfowl park last year the un habitat issued a guidance paper

5:27:42on healthier cities and communities through public spaces in it their key takeaways were that green

5:27:47and open public spaces are crucial for enhancing the health and well-being of urban communities

5:27:52investing in public spaces and urban spaces can yield significant economic benefits by

5:27:57reducing health care costs incorporating public spaces into urban planning helps address spatial

5:28:02and environmental inequalities and public spaces play a vital role in fostering social cohesion

5:28:08and community engagement essential for mental health public green space is free medicine climate

5:28:14anxiety can feel paralyzing and it's something i know i'm not alone in feeling which is why i was

5:28:18so hopeful to learn that your government officially condemned ontario's bill five that tells me that

5:28:24you believe in the importance of living in harmony with healthy biodiversity i also know that i'm not

5:28:29alone in putting guelph on an environmental stewardship pedestal guelph is seen as green leaders

5:28:34and this is a critical opportunity to prove true to the name the privatization of public lands will

5:28:39negatively affect our mental health physical health put a strain on our community and is not in the

5:28:44best interest of guelph citizens so i again thank you for your recently updated recommendation

5:28:49and urge council to redesignate the 20 acres back to open space parkland thank you for your time

5:28:57thank you very much sarah and welcome to guelph

5:29:03let me see if there's a question for you okay there there is not at this time but we all hope

5:29:10to run into you on the street and actually have a conversation thank you okay take care

5:29:16uh next is phil oh hold on do we get a hold of andrea baker no okay we'll keep checking in

5:29:22is phil poffin poffin i hope i'm saying that right phil from environmental defense is going to join

5:29:27us by video um either um so phil i think i can hear you just don't see your video going on

5:29:40oh yeah we can see and hear you very nice to meet you thank you for uh for joining us tonight

5:29:49i'll turn it over to you you go right ahead good afternoon now when i started with the afternoon

5:29:55now evening uh mayor dothry and counselors uh i'm phil poffin and i um work on housing and land

5:30:04development and land use planning issues i manage the work and environmental defense along with uh the

5:30:11work regarding the whole environment Ontario environment program and environmental defense

5:30:16which is a national charity i've got years of experience prior to that as a private bar land

5:30:21use and environmental lawyer and as the land use uh planning environmental lawyer for government

5:30:27we have the go-to organization without any cuniery conflict of interest advise you on what

5:30:34laws and policies must change in cities like wildland provinces like Ontario in order to

5:30:39actually boost housing supply and and the housing shortage just go to warholmsbaster.ca

5:30:46all of you will have received my note addressing some of the serious and potentially harmful

5:30:52legal and technical misunderstandings that came into circulation over the past few weeks regarding

5:30:57the legal status of the current zoning that absurdly leaves the door open for residential

5:31:03development on a key part of the corporate waterfowl and i'm here to speak in support of the

5:31:10amended language of mayor dothry's motion which is aimed at addressing that issue that languages

5:31:18that staff be directed to report back with a city initiated amendment to fix that gap

5:31:26based specifically on the language of that proposed amendment and based on what

5:31:32concerned residents heard from the mayor and counselors i think most of you have understood

5:31:38you know the issues that we raised in our letter and taken them on board so that's good news

5:31:42just to reiterate first the logic that often makes municipalities reluctant to withdraw permissions

5:31:49granted at a proponent's request just doesn't apply at all because for whatever reason that due

5:31:57to some misguided thinking uh it's counsel itself that dreamed up this bad zoning on the site and

5:32:03that means the good news is that this mayor and counselor are purposely entitled to alter the

5:32:08city's policy in response to change conditions or simply a more complete understanding of

5:32:14wealth circumstance and secondly the city's wealth authority to protect lands that are now vulnerable

5:32:22as a result of new provincial regulations is not diminished by the fact that one such piece of land

5:32:28the land that's referred to uh in this particular motion from the mayor was the subject of an oil

5:32:34tea cell that's because due to the misjudgment of the previous mayor and council it was the city of

5:32:40wealth itself that made and was defending this risky zoning there this was a settlement where

5:32:46wealth this was not a settlement wealth was acquiescing to zoning uh demanded by a developer

5:32:54and it having given that concession it can't take effect uh this was wealth pushing for this

5:33:01and someone else not deciding not to proceed enforcing wealth to try and fix this so the

5:33:08fact that a few residents didn't continue forcing wealth to abandon the old policy a decade ago

5:33:14plainly it doesn't mean that wealth can't shift voluntarily uh knowing better now to a different

5:33:21and in in residence in residency better policy today these amendments to the official plan and

5:33:28zoning really should have been included in the same package of amendments as the rest of phase one

5:33:33of wealth's official plan update but given where we are in the agenda we've already voted on that

5:33:39question and given that this issue was overlooked in the original set of work

5:33:46this seems like a half decent alternative and so I'm urging you to vote right so even

5:33:55I just want to underline that the reason it would have been a good fit with the overall policy review

5:34:00is that because just like all the other amendments that are included in the official

5:34:04plan are included these amendments are necessary to protect wealth's interest in real changes to

5:34:10provincial law that have happened since the last opium and in particular Ontario regulation 594

5:34:17slash 22 plus 22 means that wealth can't any longer just rely on the fact that this is publicly

5:34:25owned conservation authority owned land uh as just common sense protection against development

5:34:32that means that what was a bad idea but didn't actually pose much risk to the property back in

5:34:382012 it was essentially a kind of a a soft or chen move now it really does endanger the property

5:34:46so the same rule that you know didn't pose much risk before now does and so in order to just

5:34:51restore the same level of protection under the new laws you have to

5:34:56okay uh uh Phil I'm sorry to interrupt Phil uh but that was your five minutes okay

5:35:05so I'm sorry I hate doing that but I did have to cut you off there I just wanted just a little bit

5:35:09over the five minutes but we definitely get the gist of what you're saying for sure let me just

5:35:14ask if there's a follow-up for you okay there is not at this time but thank you for waiting all night

5:35:22to be able to delegate we appreciate it thanks thanks for having thank you and uh Andrea Baker

5:35:30keep checking in no okay so our last uh delegation is uh Gina Lamel is Gina here

5:35:39okay thanks Gina thank you for coming and I'll turn it over to you okay thank you

5:35:54so my name is Gina Lamel and I am a lifelong resident of the city of Guelph much of what I am

5:36:02going to say or want to say has already been covered by the chorus of delegates speaking this evening

5:36:08and so I will be succinct but especially more so now that you've amended the motion

5:36:14thank you for having given a second sober thought to the unfortunate decision that was made years

5:36:21ago to designate this parcel of what was part of the court right waterfell park as residential

5:36:28circumstances in our community province and on the planet have changed dramatically since that

5:36:34fateful day I appreciate and am grateful for the amended motion and would encourage you all to vote

5:36:41in favor in support of it the decision you made today with respect to this amended motion

5:36:49recognizes present-day pressures needs and best practices including but not limited to our shortage

5:36:56of and need for parkland urban densification water supply and green spaces that support our health

5:37:03and well-being as well as our ability to deal with extreme heat the current housing residential

5:37:11designation on this parcel makes this piece of land incredibly valuable to a cash strapped GRCA

5:37:18and therefore puts it at risk of development thank you for recognizing this by press by sorry

5:37:26thank you for recognizing that this is a pressing issue and by moving up the timeline that said

5:37:32I too am requesting that this investigation into the process of redesignation be moved forward to

5:37:40April 2026 in my opinion there should be no discussion needed about whether or not the

5:37:47property should be redesignated but rather when and how the amended motion makes me hopeful that

5:37:54you agree finally as a taxpayer I'm very concerned annoyed and frustrated that a parcel of land

5:38:02purchased for the most part with my parents tax dollars is now being sold by the GRCA I don't

5:38:09want the privatization of conservation lands and based on what I'm hearing from others in this city

5:38:15I would say that Guelph doesn't want the privatization of conservation lands either

5:38:20I appreciate the financial pressures put on conservation authorities but disposing of and

5:38:26privatizing land that they have been entrusted with and to protect and conserve is counterintuitive

5:38:33I'm also worried that while the GRCA is the first to sell off land that it won't be the last

5:38:38conservation authority to do so for this reason my final ask to all of you is that you all advocate

5:38:46at the provincial level whenever and wherever possible for the restoration of funding mandates

5:38:53and jurisdictions to local conservation authorities so that they can continue their work that being

5:38:59to protect and preserve environmentally sensitive and significant lands and ecosystems and green

5:39:06spaces that they have that have been entrusted to them and to do this for all of us but also for

5:39:13future generations thank you great thank you Gina thank you very much you've uh you've finished us

5:39:20off but just before you go is there any questions for Gina at all no so again thank you very much

5:39:28okay everybody um so it is back to us I want more time Andrea Baker not available okay

5:39:35so it's back to us um so just uh I did say I would kind of speak to this a little bit

5:39:42at the beginning and so I just want to speak a little bit to it before we move on

5:39:48first of all I just want to say that I heard the kind of thank you Mayor Guthrie thing a few times

5:39:59but as a politician you know how much I love that but I just want to be really clear this is not a

5:40:07me thing okay it's an everybody thing and uh I do really want to say thank you to Councillor

5:40:15Billings like she really did help with this issue she's she's been she's been on this with me working

5:40:23along kind of side with me on this for quite some time and sometimes it's just a slow crawl a little

5:40:31bit just to kind of get to where where you need to go okay so um anyways so thank you very much

5:40:37to Councillor Billings and in helping with that but then there's been conversations amongst all of

5:40:43council too you know like independently staff and then of course the community okay so I just want

5:40:49to like make sure that that's stated out loud that this is an everybody issue and I think it's

5:40:56just only fair to make sure that that is is stated um I also want to just clarify a few things too

5:41:03and maybe I'll go to staff I don't know who but can jump in if I'm saying something incorrect here

5:41:09but uh you know obviously I've kind of worked on this issue uh to bring it forward and uh I'm

5:41:16just going to call it out right now um April can't happen um I asked okay uh it can't happen and the

5:41:25staff can maybe jump in on that a little bit but it is just uh it is a it is a capacity issue

5:41:32and and let me tell you this is how I kind of try to run my life independently which is I hate

5:41:37over promising and under delivering and you what you want to do is not to do that so uh I want you

5:41:45want to make sure that if you're bringing something that there's it's something that's doable and from

5:41:50staffing capacity issue April April's just it's not going to happen and I'm just being just up front

5:41:55about it just to tell everybody straight up about that um even q2 is very it's very difficult like

5:42:03there's a lot of work that is involved in this and there's a lot of work that's happening in the

5:42:08city already and this has kind of been added on for right reasons like that's not that's not under

5:42:14debate for right reasons but I just want to make sure that everyone is aware of that sort of timing

5:42:20issue because I did I did ask staff and engage with staff on that uh the other thing too is is that

5:42:26this is a process right like we have to we have to meet the planning act processes and that's a good

5:42:36thing because there are still touch points for public engagement for other people to be involved

5:42:43for feedback in the way the way that kind of the bouncing ball works on this issue you have to do

5:42:50certain things you can't you can't just skip stuff so it's a process it's a public one there will be

5:42:58people that are engaged on it maybe you here or maybe others which is a good thing right but we

5:43:03have to have that that process kind of moving forward um and so I just wanted to make sure like

5:43:09I did hear one counselor and I think it might have been an accident but say like because we're

5:43:14doing this like okay that is maybe the intent okay I wouldn't I wouldn't say anything otherwise

5:43:21but there's a process behind it that has to be fulfilled okay so I just want to make sure that

5:43:27that's an eyes wide open moment for everybody on this I think that's actually about all I wanted

5:43:33to make sure I talked about and so I think I'm good with that I'll go to staff to see if they

5:43:41want to say anything before I open it up for questions but I do know that counselor Billings

5:43:47and counselor Chu were willing to move in second the motion but is anyone on staff want to say

5:43:52anything or correct anything okay to our CAO yes so thanks mr. mayor I just wanted to there's a few

5:44:01other things that I just wanted to speak to based on the delegations that we heard um I did

5:44:06want to just say that we don't dispute the public record and how the land was acquired we absolutely

5:44:12respect that history um however it was in accordance with provincial municipal funding

5:44:19requirements of the day and that did not give the city or any of the municipality's ownership

5:44:28interest in that land so I just really wanted to clarify we are not as a city on title of that land

5:44:35and nor we acted as a land owner through the process the GRC owns all the lands and they

5:44:42control when and if that land is to be sold and just for clarity the remaining eight hectares or

5:44:50the 20 acres were not put up for sale with the rest of the land that we have previously announced

5:44:58moving forward on even though that land had been declared surplus so the work advanced by city staff

5:45:04to date has been consistent with the goals of what we heard today and that you know that the city can

5:45:12protect these lands for park and open space into the future understanding that they had been declared

5:45:19surplus to the GRCA's core legislative business and so this is really good news and I just I really

5:45:25wanted to say that out loud the work done today it really is great news as we're increasing our park

5:45:29land uh for a growing community um just to the point about um the the historical chronology

5:45:38I just really wanted to encourage the community that the city's website gulf.ca nisca parkland

5:45:44is where we have put um all the facts and the history about um all of the decisions related

5:45:51to the official plans over time and we'd really encourage the community to go there um also on

5:45:57our website is the link to the GRCA's website that also includes even more information on the work

5:46:05they've done over time on those lands um and and there's really I just also want to say this

5:46:12there's no historical error in the development of that 2012 official plan um nor any of the

5:46:20subsequent updates to the official plan since that time um all of the work has been uh there's

5:46:26been so much community engagement and professional planning advice gone into all those policies that

5:46:31we have today um and and that however does not prevent uh any future consideration or amendment

5:46:40but it doesn't call into question the um the excellent comprehensive op that we have in place

5:46:47so I just really wanted to say that um and and then there was also a comment about uh

5:46:53gulf's water capacity uh and I just wanted to remind the community that just last week at

5:46:58committee the whole we did present plans to ensure our water and wastewater capacity remain ahead of

5:47:04our plant growth uh out to 2051 including the dole lime areas so also just for clarity we do not have

5:47:14a concern in terms of the capacity for water uh and um we take it really very seriously because

5:47:22we are a groundwater community and so we are on it and there's even new policy coming into play

5:47:27to to further ensure that we've got the internal control mechanisms to manage that capacity for

5:47:33growth so um and then finally thank you Mary Guthrie for for clarifying the timeline uh April

5:47:40would really not be uh manageable um and even the the current Q2 is even quite aggressive for the

5:47:47for what you just said about community engagement in the process here so we will do our best uh we

5:47:52will be considering work plan uh impacts and uh you know we'll be in touch with the council on the

5:47:59on the timeline great thank you very much so um can I officially say out loud it's been moved

5:48:07and seconded by councillor Billings and councillor Chew yes okay is there any questions now to staff

5:48:15no oh just councillor Goller go ahead your worship just a point of clarification uh the original

5:48:23motion that was also on the website was to investigate a process I want to clarify the

5:48:27motion that's on the floor now is not to investigate a process but it's to make the change is that

5:48:31correct yeah let's throw the throw the motion right back up you'll see that that that's been removed

5:48:37okay you throw the throw it back up one more time third three third time's a charm okay and I think

5:48:49actually I'm glad if you don't mind can I speak for a second sorry so yeah process has been it's

5:48:53gone okay that that word is gone and it's it's um someone said uh one of the delegates said I think

5:49:00that that council should direct this that is that is exactly what it is when it when you see the

5:49:05word city initiated city initiated is by the direction of council okay so just just to be

5:49:12really clear on that and it is to amend okay so um but the process still has to play out

5:49:19okay the process has to play out so I just want to make sure that uh our like our planning staff

5:49:26just so everyone understands like our planning staff under their professional designation they

5:49:32have to have that sort of independence to be able to to do this work right so we got to let them

5:49:40gotta give them that room to breathe to be able to do this work through that process right and so

5:49:45and it does say right here to designate the parcel of land and then there's the address as open space

5:49:52in parkland not the residential that it is now does that help you go ahead yeah so and I just wanted

5:49:57to clarify when this comes back in q2 it will be for us to approve the change to to make that so

5:50:03there will be there'll be no other touch points we send it off to staff now and then it comes back

5:50:09as an update for us to approve is that correct that is the intent of this motion however we have

5:50:15to give the independence to our professional staff I don't want to I'm saying it properly just trust

5:50:22me on this I have to we we have to respect our professionalism of the staff and give them that

5:50:27space to do the report okay please just it's the way it works okay so I think that's just the way

5:50:35it has to be including that public engagement part as well okay um no other questions any

5:50:42comment before I call the vote okay councillor billings only because mr. mayor moving the motion

5:50:49so actually maybe I have too many comments but I've been dealing with this for quite a while

5:50:55so let me explain a bit ago the grca board dealt with the management plan for the niska lands

5:51:03and afterwards the media contacted me and said and I'm talking about the lands to the south

5:51:09that we're dealing with right now if I was happy with the decision and I commented saying I wouldn't

5:51:16exactly say I'm happy it was a predicament at the time because in the city's official plan we know

5:51:23that it is designated the site is designated uh residential and so I knew that the op update was

5:51:32coming to council soon so I figured I could just move an amendment at that time and then I was told

5:51:39by staff uh no and so now we have a separate item which is which is a good thing and I'm and I'm very

5:51:47thankful for but I do want to um give wholeheartedly thanks to dr. whiteley and susan watson for their

5:51:55persistency on the matter I mean they even delegated many times at the the g rca and Hugh I want to

5:52:02thank for sending all of the historical data to us and for susan I really appreciate you filing that

5:52:10freedom of information request as it was most helpful for me uh not only was it the financial

5:52:19contribution by the city of guelph were originally purchasing the niska lands the times have changed

5:52:25and because of recent legislation we as a city cannot acquire as much parkland dedication as we

5:52:31used to which makes the niska lands now even more valuable for future generations to come and enjoy

5:52:40so mr. mayor in 1998 pan hamill took me out to the court right lands and gave me a history lesson

5:52:49and also former mayor joe young said to me you know if you work hard and play well together

5:52:57it's amazing at what you can accomplish so mr. mayor I cannot thank you enough for listening to me

5:53:05and listening to me and all your hard work behind the scenes and taking the proposed

5:53:11redesignation idea to fruition it means a lot so we've all heard a lot we've all read a lot

5:53:19and at the end of the day sometimes you have to do the right thing and this motion in my opinion

5:53:25is doing the right thing so thank you mr. mayor okay thank thank you very much and councillor Allt

5:53:32as well please yeah thank you very much mr. mayor I do want to reiterate what councillor billings said

5:53:39but also express my thank you to our representatives on the g rca but most importantly

5:53:47with slightly apologies to the literally hundreds of people that wrote to me to whom I could not

5:53:55respond I want to thank them also for their advocacy on this issue it is really clear how much these

5:54:02lands mattered to the residents of guelph and how much personal history there is in these

5:54:08that led to this particular motion by you I appreciate that a ton as well that that we

5:54:16have before us it's the right thing to do and we are heeding well all those who are playing in the

5:54:24sandbox together thank you again to councillor billings for her remarks okay thank you very quick

5:54:36I lean and can handle story before I call the vote okay oh yes after councillor two goes first

5:54:47thank you mr. mayor I might not want to speak anymore but I will just because I've been tied

5:54:52to the hip with this file since I ran the first time almost four years ago now um ever since I

5:54:59saw that no trespassing sign on then on niska wrote I knew immediately we gotta get rid of this thing

5:55:04why is it sitting there for over a decade it shouldn't be this way two decades I'm mistaken

5:55:13I just want to say as well just to reiterate uh councillor Allt's comments uh there are a lot of

5:55:20things that happen behind the scenes that I wish I could share with you in full transparency as I

5:55:26try to do with my reports um but we have to follow governance and we have to respect our

5:55:33authorities and our staff within the GRCA not the city and in the time especially where

5:55:40governance and institutions are being challenged quite heavily we I believe we have a duty to

5:55:46reinforce integrity of our organizations I just want to say as well that we have a lot of staff at

5:55:53GRCA which I've gone to know over the past four years through attending the board meetings in

5:55:58Cambridge every month and I have to tell you a lot of them they work at the organization

5:56:03as a calling and a lot of them they're not looking to make money off of this okay and I think it's

5:56:10very important to stay on the public record because as a planner and as a landscape architect

5:56:16for a practitioner someone who's a designer it I I make courage my students all the time to look

5:56:23at the constraints around them and see what you can make out of it okay and that involves strategy

5:56:28that involves due diligence and that also requires a lot of good faith principles and I just say that

5:56:35as well because all the communications I put forward to the public on what we can do with the

5:56:42crystal ball in front of us is based off of planning framework planning principles best practices

5:56:49precedence and we have to follow those things okay we can't deviate from what the historical

5:56:55matter is and I think I want to also just say thank you to councillor Billings because she has

5:57:04that wealth of institutional knowledge so in my like myself wouldn't be able to catch up in and

5:57:10recall so I just want to thank her as well for the for the many conversations I've had with her

5:57:16and with the mayor and with my colleagues as well on this file and again it's not that we want we

5:57:21don't want to be transparent there's just a lot of legal confidential matters behind the scenes that

5:57:27we had to really ground truth and as a council that majority is newly elected from the last term

5:57:35or from the last election it's important for us to follow governance and I think that's been

5:57:43hammered in by my colleague councillor Busuttil who sits on the governance board right so

5:57:53I come to respect as well that we have to follow process we have to be strict we cannot deviate

5:58:00from process and for someone like myself who's young and who's very anxious to get things done

5:58:05it's very painful I could tell you but I think we have to honor the principle of

5:58:13reinforcing the integrity of our institutions because without that

5:58:17none of this great work could exist so I just again thank you for indulging me in this time and

5:58:22I look forward to hearing more about the history from the Hamilton's that are attended here today

5:58:27so thank you so much for being here and thank you for indulging me in

5:58:31of course comments yeah thanks councillor to thank you and so um thank you and I'm sorry I

5:58:36forgot to go to you um I just want to just very quick uh can and I mean him all uh story um

5:58:44I got a two two two of them I got elected first time as mayor and uh no one called me no one

5:58:55knocked on my door and uh but the first person to ever reach out to me was Ken

5:59:03and um he said I want to take you out for lunch I want to get to know you and um

5:59:10uh he took me around to all of the businesses in the city uh and to to meet all of the like

5:59:18owners and and I will never forget that like I couldn't believe it it was just uh such an honor

5:59:26but the second time it was to have tea in their house uh in the in the arboretum and um

5:59:34while it was there there was only two topics that they brought up the library

5:59:39and these lands like all like all of them right and I gotta find it it's it's somewhere I know I

5:59:47have it because I know I did not throw it out um but they had already pre photocopied for me

5:59:54a whole bunch of like the same articles that we've been kind of been sending on on this land

5:59:59and stuff like that we've been sent by others on this land and it gave me like a little like a

6:00:04little package and um and they they yeah they sat me down for the cup of tea and and they talked to

6:00:12me about the importance of of this land and and so it's always been sort of just kind of hanging

6:00:18there like like a fog in the background like it's just kind of hanging there and um and so anyways

6:00:25it just uh I just wanted to I guess I wanted to tell that story because I wanted to validate that

6:00:30it's accurate like this the stuff that that we've heard so I hope that these types of comments and

6:00:35this historical narrative is taken away seriously by staff as we continue to move forward on this

6:00:41and the public as well so thanks thanks for giving me that opportunity just to validate that okay

6:00:48we are at that time to call the vote is anybody against that's unanimous perfect so thank you

6:00:56very much we have one more very quick um it's just fixing something uh counselor Gibson uh brought