Special Council Meeting - Budget

9:19All right, good evening everybody. Welcome to our special city council meeting which is the

9:24budget delegation night November 18th 2025 it is six o'clock so with that I'd like to ask

9:32for everyone to stand if you're able as we recognize our national anthem thank you.

10:59Thank you as we continue just a moment of silent reflection. Great thank you and now our territorial

11:15acknowledgement as we gather let us take time to reflect on our privilege to live and work here

11:20in Guelph a city built over rich indigenous histories we're guests here and to reflect upon

11:25the responsibility to care for this land the people who live here today and the generations to come

11:31if our actions today can move us towards reconciliation we should take pause and make

11:35those decisions with intention and gratitude this place we call Guelph has served as traditional

11:39lands and a place of refuge for many peoples over time but more specifically the Anwararok

11:45and the Honolashoni this land is held as the treaty lands and territory of the mississaugas of the

11:49credit first nation and Guelph lies directly adjacent to the Haldeman track and it's part of a

11:55long-established traditional hunting grounds for the six for the six nations of the Grand River

12:00many first nations in New It and Métis peoples who have come from across Turtle Island

12:04called Guelph home today and with that is there any disclosure of pecuniary interest

12:11and a general nature thereof for the items in front of us tonight don't hear or see any so

12:17consider that matter closed so thank you everyone everybody for coming my colleagues staff and

12:24the delegations and citizens tonight tonight is a dedicated night just to the to delegations

12:32in regards to the proposed 2026 budget I think it would be I think it would be good just to

12:40just kind of set the ground rules right now just for engagement so it's no more than five minutes

12:46and you will hear a chime at the four minute and 30 second mark which is your heads up you only got

12:5330 seconds left don't get to five minutes because the microphone gets turned off and we don't want

12:58that so please just get it done within the five minutes and then once you're done I'll just ask

13:04to see if there's any questions from my colleagues or maybe even for myself and we can we can see if

13:10there's any interaction there if there's not we do thank you for coming might be a few questions

13:14back and forth after that's done for all of our delegations just depending on how sort of we go

13:22through them all we might have a break in the middle we might we might go through to the end

13:28just depending on sort of how how the evening goes and and then when we come back we'll just

13:33ask to see if there's any follow-up questions from council to staff and then after that as we've

13:40normally done the last 10 11 12 years we will do like an intentions opportunity so if anybody on

13:48council or myself has any intentions that they're thinking about maybe bringing forward whether they

13:54want to potentially add something back in the budget or delete something from the budget they

13:59can just state their intentions at the end of the night so that staff go and the citizens

14:04and us as a team get a little bit of a heads up about what might be coming because there could

14:09be a little bit of a lot of math that our staff have to do depending on what the intention is

14:15and then between now and next week uh city clerks the deputy CAO's and other uh our budget buddies

14:23and such will help with any of the wording that might be required for the intention to bring

14:28forward as an amendment opportunity at the budget on the 26th okay so there's kind of the flow

14:33of how the evening will go um I was given a list of all the delegations here uh some of them are in

14:43you know sort of themes of what we might expect or what I might expect of some of them that might

14:48be coming forward um just just as a little bit of a a preamble on one specific sort of theme if I

14:57could call it that there there was like with anything there's kind of things that are moving in and

15:02moving out throughout the process and one thing around arts and culture I just want to say this

15:09really upfront um everything that was originally not going to be the in the budget is actually in

15:15the budget now it's there it's in the budget so if you were coming here and you're gonna you know

15:22you've probably practiced you know your five minutes and you're wanting to come forward and

15:25you're thinking please put this back in the budget it's actually already in the budget okay so just

15:30to make everybody know that upfront arts culture all those things are actually in the budget already

15:38okay uh we'll hear from some from some people around community programs transportation obviously

15:44that's a big one and some others others as well there's a lot of correspondence that was sent to

15:50all of us too uh with that let's kick things off then everyone good yes I see lots of heads

15:58nodding thank you uh let's let's kick things off with Melissa is here from the golf community health

16:04center and is it just you coming up Melissa I don't have my glasses on here are you oh okay and

16:11Stonehenge is coming down too that's great are you sharing the five minutes okay it starts whenever

16:25you're ready go for it good evening mayor Guthrie and members of council thank you for the opportunity

16:31to speak here today my name is Melissa Kwiatkowski CEO at the gulf community health center and I'm

16:37joined by Kristen Kerr CEO of Stonehenge therapeutic community we're here today as leaders in health and

16:44social services and as proud members of the heart hub partnership to urge council to fund the proposed

16:50daytime drop-in space outlined in the joint submission from stepping stone and royal city mission

16:56this proposal is not just a service it's a lifeline it's a community centered evidence informed

17:02response to a growing and urgent need people experiencing homelessness in Guelph to serve

17:09safe dignified and accessible spaces during the day spaces where they can rest connect to housing

17:16supports access food washrooms showers and health care spaces where they are treated with compassion

17:23and respect we know that homelessness is not an individual failure it's a systemic issue

17:30people are unhoused because our systems allow it and while we work towards long-term housing

17:36solutions which we are we must also meet people where they are today the daytime drop-in space is a

17:43critical part of that continuum it helps prevent further harm support stabilization and builds trust

17:50trust that is essential for people to engage with services that can help them exit homelessness

17:58the proposal from stepping stones and royal city mission leverages the strengths of both

18:03organizations and it's designed to share responsibility between them the organizations

18:08will split the hours to ensure that no single organization carries the full weight of this

18:13complex work this model promotes choice reduces barriers and creates a healthier more sustainable

18:21system importantly having a consistent daytime space also makes it easier for health and social

18:29service partners like the heart hub to integrate care and make services more accessible when people

18:35know where to go and when they can expect support it allows for smoother referrals better coordination

18:42and timely interventions it's a foundation for a continuity of care and it helps us to reach the

18:48people that we need to when they're in crisis we understand that budgets are tight but the cost

18:55of inaction is far greater without this space people will continue to use shelter and public

19:01spaces in unsafe ways disconnected from supports hospitals police and crisis services will bear

19:08this strain businesses will feel the impact and we will miss a vital opportunity to make real progress

19:14in our community this proposal is ready the partners are ready the community is ready and

19:21we're asking that council be ready too so we ask for you to please fund the daytime drop in space

19:27it's the right thing to do for our neighbors for our city and for our future thank you thank you both

19:34and councillor Allt has a question for you thank you very much mayor guthrie through you to the

19:39delegates and thank you very much for speaking i have no issues with the request to fund the

19:46drop in center but there's a couple of specifics i was wondering if you could please share with us

19:53what is it in in specifics is to be funded and where first of all i think we're asking that the

20:01proposal that was brought forward in the staff report is approved yeah it's more for the public's

20:07information than for anything else the public might not be aware that's why i'm asking oh i see

20:12okay um there are two locations that services are being shared between in the proposal and that's

20:19what we're supporting and which are those locations uh one one is that royal city mission and one is at

20:27uh stepping stone at 23 gordon okay and thank you and then the next question i was just wondering if

20:33you could just break out the time frame uh because there's two locations when is it operating and at

20:39which location at which time morning i think it's split exactly equally um so the morning would be at

20:48the stepping stone location and the afternoon at the royal city mission location looking to my

20:54partners here are we getting it right okay i see a bunch of hands that are up okay thank you very

20:58much yeah i think for for clarity our organizations wouldn't be the ones who would be providing the

21:03service rather be connecting with to providing health services in connection with for the client so

21:08hence the question thank you and since we're on the topic saturdays would be taken by 23 gordon

21:17sundays would be taken by royal city mission okay thank you since we're trying to get the

21:23stuff out into the public there's the answer okay thank you there's no more questions so thank you

21:28very much thank you is parent here okay come on down by the way if i skip a name if anyone sees it

21:37it's because they've withdrawn okay so i'm not skipping on purpose or anything welcome parent

21:48thank you and whenever you're ready go right ahead okay okay great thank you thanks for the

21:52opportunity my name is parent valley i'm here on behalf of stepping stone and royal city mission

21:57to speak to the same issue of the daytime shelter program for the past 12 years i've

22:03practiced as a criminal defense lawyer here in the city of guelph and in my capacity as defense

22:08council i've supported many people suffering with addiction and mental health issues and

22:13experiencing homelessness and poverty i'm in the midst and will as of january be taking over as

22:21the executive director at stepping stone and gail hooch drew is the current ed will remain with us

22:26and will partner me as our director of services and operations so i am here to advocate on both

22:32stepping stone and rcms behalf and ask you to fund a comprehensive daytime space program and i have

22:40four key points i want to make some of which my community partners have made for me but i'll

22:45some of them bear repeating but in essence we just want to remind this group that there is a key

22:51service gap in this community around this issue and we do not have a comprehensive daytime space

22:58available for all days and times of the week and in recognition of this this council just six months

23:04ago directed city staff to issue the rfp that stepping stone and rcm have responded to despite

23:11issuing the rfp and receive receiving our proposal which has been reviewed by the city staff committee

23:17recommending we proceed there's no funding currently in the budget for this program and that's

23:21a concern frankly as cold weather approaches we all know that the current situation is not sufficient

23:29it's not acceptable frankly my second point is that daytime space is critical not just for those

23:36who are homeless so when we look at the social and community impact of a comprehensive day program

23:42we have to remind ourselves that it's actually also a key benefit to those who are housed but

23:49are suffering with housing precarity or poverty or social social isolation and they benefit

23:55significantly from a program like a comprehensive day space program my third point is that a day

24:04space a daytime space program is not just an emergency response as my call my community

24:09partners indicated it's part of a comprehensive continuum of supports part of a comprehensive

24:15strategy to reduce homelessness in this community and a well-funded comprehensive daytime space is

24:21a key preventative measure that can avoid those who are precariously housed from losing their housing

24:27and entering into homelessness also a comprehensive and well-funded program can reduce emergency room

24:34visits and crisis interventions through the provision of on-site supports and connections to

24:38healthcare mental health and addiction services and can thereby decrease um or increase community

24:46safety lastly i'm aware of some strong preferences to have the daytime space programming away from

24:55rcm's kebek street site through stepping stones involvement and the sharing of the program across

25:04two sites we would be reducing the pressure on the kebek street site significantly without placing

25:10the entirety of that pressure on stepping stones 23 gordon site so as you've heard our proposal

25:17would see that stepping stone take on half of the hours at our 23 gordon site monday through

25:23friday eight a.m to two p.m would be at 23 gordon and then two p.m to eight p.m would be at kebek

25:29street on saturdays which is a key commerce day for businesses downtown we would have the service

25:35operated at the 23 gordon site and sundays at the rcm site and that is insensitivity to concerns

25:48from businesses downtown who are who are facing increased pressure and impact from the status quo

25:56so in conclusion you have two organizations who have the existing capacity sites and infrastructure

26:02to offer comprehensive fully accessible low barrier day programming

26:09in areas of the city where the high needs for these services are needed you have a proposal

26:15that will reduce the pressure on local businesses on kebek street in particular on saturdays

26:21you have a proposal that staff have recommended and that brings with it the support of other

26:27key community agencies in the community so i'd ask you to continue in your leadership on this issue

26:32and on community wellness and to fund in this budget a day comprehensive day fund a day space

26:40excuse me thanks so much thank you perrin let me just see if there's a follow-up

26:46there is not at this time so thank you very much and by the way on behalf of council

26:50congratulations on you getting that job thank you good job uh okay i am going to now scarlet

26:59rizinski i hope i'm saying that right steve donnelly are you here okay yeah come on down

27:03and you're from the arts and culture advisory committee thank you

27:23all right good evening obviously um some things have changed as you mentioned

27:28my name is scarlet rizinski i'm the executive director of silence here in guelph and also a

27:33member of the arts and culture advisory committee hi there i'm steve donnelly i'm a phd student

27:39husband and a father and i'm a member of the ac ac as well oh i like it um we're here to

27:48delegate on behalf of the arts and cultural advisory committee um you were coming to uh to um

27:55ask for the reinstatement of the arts and residency program and to further emphasize the

27:59importance of the investing in the cultural sector and from what you've just said those

28:03have been reinstated so we're going to focus on the importance of continuing to invest in the

28:07cultural sector um a recent economic impact study released by the ontario arts council determined

28:13that arts and culture in ontario directly contributes 20 is 27.5 billion dollars to the

28:18provincial economy the return on investment for arts and culture is huge and there are many ways

28:24that investment in arts and culture drive economic development municipalities indirectly like attracting

28:29and retaining workers 65 percent of skilled workers surveyed in the same study revealed that a thriving

28:35arts and culture scene was something that they would look for when considering moving to a new

28:40community but we didn't really come to stay facts and figures that we've probably all heard before

28:47or repeat anything that's been said already uh we've all been here before we were here last this

28:53time last year where uh work advocacy work by delegates helped inform your decision to restore

28:58funding to the community grant program and to redistribute funds to some culture or some sections

29:04of the culture plan um i was here in 2019 at the culture pulse check meeting where artists literally

29:10cried in frustration um about issues that are still facing the sector today um so we kind of want to

29:17know why we're still here obviously some things have been reinstated but there is a precarity

29:22a precarity to arts and culture funding that we seem to continuously have to defend um so yeah so

29:30we keep asking ourselves why are we treating the arts like a decoration when we know it is

29:34integral to well-being belonging and economic growth why do we seem to only respond to a crisis

29:40when it's already arrived instead of investing in a community that prevents one and why don't we

29:45celebrate the talents and uniqueness in our city the way other uh cities and cultural epicenters have

29:52oh that's me sorry recently i visited the london ontario canada's first unesco city of music

29:59sorry i messed that up i attended a conference where representatives from cities from the unesco

30:04creative cities network spoke about various projects that have resulted from increased

30:08investment in culture in their communities it was unbelievably inspiring from north shopping

30:12sweden where they've built an entire neighborhood of municipally supported venues theaters and

30:17community spaces or liverpool uk where music contributed more than 450 million pounds to the

30:24local economy i now have a list of non-major cities i want to visit in europe and japan and all across

30:32the world um i feel i left the conference wondering why don't we have those stories and initiatives

30:37we could these cities made choices to invest to nurture to recognize and be recognized to be the

30:43first at the things they know and do well and we can make those choices too yeah we have choices

30:50you know when festivals are forced to downsize when organizations are forced into smaller spaces

30:55and have fewer staff and events when vital programs like the artists and residency program are cut

31:00or put back in and then cut and then put back in um we all begin to lose guelph loses because art is

31:06uh art does more than just entertain it reminds us that we are medicine for each other the full

31:12reinstatement of the air program is hopefully the first step of of a continued joint endeavor to

31:19uplift the city um yeah we will write the sort of the cancellation of a program that continues to

31:26attract world-class artists and excited audiences not just in guelph but across the region could

31:31have had a serious detriment to guelph's reputation as a city that believes in itself and the power of

31:36its creative citizens and just to be clear we're not asking for charity uh we're here we're continuing

31:42our commitment to offer partnership expertise drive passion and hard work we're repeatedly asking

31:49and telling you what guelph is good at and what we're doing is asking again to work together to

31:56continue making the city the beautiful and vibrant place to live in that we all know it is they say

32:03to have a village you have to be a villager so we ask you if you are villagers here in guelph

32:09when you are revisiting the budget you have the power to choose to build a city that culture

32:12thrives where culture fuels both our economy and sense of belonging and you can build a city where

32:16culture isn't fighting to survive but is supported to flourish thank you great thank you both and uh

32:24there's any question hold on oh i'm sorry you can go either sorry all right thank you very much

32:32evan gordon you here it's evan here no okay what about uh pre-turn is pre-turn here yeah okay

32:49pre-tim sangupta i believe i'm saying that right okay you hear a lot of the same i think all right

32:58welcome and start whenever you're ready okay thank you i'd like to thank city staff and elected

33:03officials for your efforts in building a stronger community here in guelph i've lived here for nearly

33:0820 years and despite not always agreeing with the decisions made by the city i continue to love

33:13this community and hope that i can be part of it for a long time my name is pretam i'm a son a brother

33:19an uncle a friend a storytelling singer-songwriter an arts administrator regular blood donor and a

33:25lifelong learner i appreciate everyone in the community who's taken the time to either be here

33:30to delegate this evening send in written remarks or somehow otherwise engage in tonight's proceedings

33:36i'm very fortunate to be an artist who is employed in the sector and the organization i'm employed by

33:41stands united with a number of other arts organizations in our city whose thoughts and

33:46feelings have been expressed in writing to the mayor and city council through nathan law who is

33:50unable to attend this evening due to illness i implore you to read those words as that collective

33:56voice of those many organizations and our united belief of arts and culture as an economic driver

34:01that provides a significant return on investment for a municipality whose courage

34:05could provide a blueprint for others in our region or in the province or in the country

34:11i'd expect innate to be here to speak far more eloquently than i did but but saying that has

34:16kind of led into how i plan to originally delegate this evening i actually want to celebrate

34:22i want to commend the city for its activating community's micro grant pilot project in 2023

34:27and 2024 with a bonus round happening as we speak here in 2025 through a granting system that was

34:34carefully and intentionally built to reduce barriers to access by the end of three years the city will

34:40have funded over 150 arts and neighborhood activation projects organized by individuals and

34:46collectives to bring life to our community people can do a lot with a little and sometimes 500 to

34:52$2000 is enough to take an idea from concept to fruition or at least instill the belief that someone

34:59else namely the city of gulf in this instance believes in that idea too which can be enough

35:04for someone to try to see it through through that program we've seen some projects that were funded

35:09with up to $1000 in 2023 now actively planning for their third or fourth annual offering the

35:16economic and community impact of that investment continues to grow and may continue to do so for

35:21years to come wearing my arts administrator hat i was invited to an out-of-time symposium in 2024

35:27to speak about that micro grant program sitting on a stage alongside representatives from provincial

35:33and national arts heritage and tourism funding bodies feeling more questions than anyone else on

35:38that panel on account of the minimal investment required by municipalities or regions in order

35:43to offer a program like the one we had in gulf another larger municipality actually copied our

35:49program word for word to offer in theirs gulf was a trailblazer and that's worth celebrating

35:55especially as the difficult budgetary decisions put before you this year likely make this year's

35:59round of the program the last one as an artist i found our city to be very difficult not to crack

36:05when i first began my artistic journey but i realized that a lot of the protectionism i seem to be

36:10facing came from a number of people in the sector struggling and feeling under supported in a city

36:15that very much enjoyed a reputation of being arts and artist friendly i know there's no malice on

36:21the city's part it's part of the blessing and the curse of the artist community being as resourceful

36:25as we are like i said we can do a lot with a little and there's enough punk rock in our sector to

36:31make every effort to succeed in the face of what looks like being taken for granted no one would

36:36suggest that arts and culture should take money away from things like food security and other

36:40necessary services but investment in our sector will whether that's now or eventually help

36:45prevent additional people from needing those services or having to leave the community outright

36:51i know that you have difficult decisions ahead of you and that you've already had to make many

36:54up to this point and i thank you again for all the consideration you've given to those decisions

36:59i believe in the power of arts and culture to shape a city's identity like i mean really shape it

37:04like when i travel across the province the country or the world i'd love to say i live in guelph and

37:09for people to know that despite not being an official creative city that guelph is a creative

37:15city and that guelph can be where artists feel welcome and supported to live in practice we're

37:20all sectors in our community celebrate arts and culture with the kind of pride and support that

37:25can trickle down from municipal leadership who make brave decisions in viewing our sector as

37:30investment rather than expense and who recognize that even in kind partnership and support can help

37:35guelph earn guelph respect as a leader in arts and culture around the world thanks

37:42great thank you very much for your delegation too is there any follow-up at this time

37:48there isn't but again thank you very much thank you yep appreciate it all right is uh alex uh

37:54delishka here oh i think actually maybe by video i think uh alex might be joining by video no okay

38:09what about uh claire from the guelph tool library is claire here oh i don't need to put my glasses

38:15on there you are all right welcome and thanks for coming thank you so much uh good evening

38:22mayor Guthrie and city counselors uh my name is claire kawin i am the chair of the guelph tool

38:27library board of directors and i am here to delegate in support of the community benefits agreement

38:34currently in the budget for three years of funding for interrupting waste creation through

38:38reuse repurpose mending and lending um the guelph tool library works really closely with the

38:44city of guelph solid waste management department and we are very excited to see the continuation

38:52of this cba it means that the guelph tool library can continue to work with the solid waste management

38:57department and do some incredible work in the past year the guelph tool library has saved the

39:03guelph community over five hundred and ninety eight thousand dollars with our tool lending we

39:09have diverted six hundred and eighty kilograms of waste from landfill through our recycling programs

39:15we have diverted seven hundred and fifteen kilograms of landfill through our repair cafes

39:19and fixing programs through our free hub community bike center we have repaired 450 bicycles and we

39:28have adopted out 1889 bikes to those who need them through our stitched together program um we've

39:36repaired 118 garments and it is one of our most popular programs people are really getting into

39:42mending their own clothes um and we are really excited to continue this work next year we're

39:49excited to continue our partnership with the solid waste management department and we appreciate the

39:53leadership that the city has taken in supporting this community benefit agreement and focusing on

39:59waste reduction great claire thank you very much is there any follow-up for claire at all

40:07there isn't so basically you're like keep it in yes okay we hear you thank you all right uh

40:14dire mira are you here okay come on up uh dire from the wolf on park stewards

40:22now maybe just like i also said at the beginning about the arts and culture the park stewards program

40:29is in the budget just so everyone understands that i think i see someone else might want to come and

40:34speak to that so it's it's in the budget okay as okay that's good to know okay so over to you thank you

40:41so hello everyone thank you for listening today i'm here in support of the park stewardship program

40:48my name is mira adren and dire and i have been a park steward for 13 years

40:53while requiring minimal support from the city this grassroots programs allows all of us to meet

40:58environmental and community goals so what do we do and who are we well there's currently 12 park

41:03stewards across the city this number has the potential to grow we organize community events to

41:08remove invasive species and plant native ones and we partner with other organizations and draw on the

41:14local community to help park stewards increase our native plant cover and help meet the city's

41:21goals of being a bee city a bird city an increasing tree canopy so park stewards remove invasive

41:27species at a minute level supplementing the invasive species removal program that the city

41:32already has for example every year at wolf on park since 2012 we scour the property pulling

41:39garlic mustard small buckthorn lily of the valley in english ivy for the last five years

41:45we have been covering gout weed with plastic then mulch the mulch is necessary because plastic is

41:49ugly and also it helps that to make sure that it's not used for building material if it's hard to get

41:56at so after we remove the plastic then we plant native plants into the area we also organize a

42:03garlic mustard pool competition so community members come and pull as much garlic mustard as they can

42:09they bag it children get prizes and everyone gets snacks without this work will fond park would be

42:14primarily gout weed and garlic mustard as a ground cover now while not perfect it is asters a wide

42:20variety of golden rods supporting over 175 different species some flowers and enemies

42:26strawberry supporting 96 may apple and blood root just to name a few as you can see park stewards

42:33organize events to plant native species maria surgio at burns drive park does park stewardship

42:38events twice a year how it park is similar as well as many of the other stewardship groups

42:43what makes these events special is that due to the highly localized nature of the volunteers

42:49the plants are cared for watered and monitored well after the planting event at springdale park

42:54they've done a lot of they put a lot of effort into protecting their plants wolf on park has

42:59recently reached over 1500 trees and shrubs planted and this number is growing how it park plants

43:06100 trees shrubs and ground cover each of its two events they're well planted and honestly

43:11it's free labor these events are educational and encourage the community to bring environmental

43:16stewardship into their own backyard we teach volunteers how to plant and about the role of

43:21native plants and ecosystems i dress up as a massive monarch butterfly and greet members and

43:28teach them about the vital role of native plants and supporting creatures like me and i often have

43:34children come dressed up as their favorite pollinator so sometimes we have a theater group come

43:39and perform songs about the environment for children so how is this grassroots well at

43:44how it park they get 40 to 50 volunteers out twice a year this is similar to will fawn park and other

43:50parks who its events the ages range from two to 70 years old um and people work together to help

43:57the local environment we also work with other community organizations including uh the gardens

44:03opyrg and trees for gulf the other thing that it helps with is that it reduces the issue of

44:09gorilla gardening because it provides an avenue for people to get involved in a way that the city

44:14supports the park stewardship programs allows us to do our work easier and provides a lot of labor

44:21at very minimal cost so at wolf on what we ask for is plastic mulch and plants the city turns the

44:28water on and lends us some extractivators for pulling out the uh buckthorn we partner with opyrg

44:34they cover our insurance uh they bring the tools and the snacks the lowest paid member of your staff

44:40can come and deliver these items we run the event we advertise and bring out a very local community

44:46who will not necessarily go to events outside of the area burns drive park led by maria Sergio

44:51really appreciates the support from the city to select and provide native trees and tools each

44:56park has a little bit different needs i've been doing this for 13 years jenn mason from how it park

45:01has been a steward since 2005 this predates the program it's true however we both agree that we're

45:08able to do so much more now that we have the support of the city i used to have to source plastic

45:13from a lumber mill in bankcroft the plastic was not as good and it was a lot of hassle so i'm going

45:19to skip over some of this but i just want to say that at a time when it can be difficult to find

45:23ways to help the environment the park stewardship program provides an opportunity for community

45:28to have environmental stewardship that builds relationships and helps our local environment

45:32and we really appreciate the continued support thanks great thank you very much you got it in

45:40under the wires there nicely that we can see hear you speeding up yeah is there any is there any

45:45follow-up question there isn't so thank you very much you're welcome yeah we're also i can only

45:51speak for myself but we're learning a lot more what happens in sort of each park so thank you very

45:54much yeah yeah i'll have to dress up though right yeah okay um cindy cindy uh cindy mclean is here

46:07and then the hospital gang is in the wings you're up next okay hi cindy welcome yep it's okay yep

46:24you take your time it's all good i think we're there okay good evening mayor Guthrie members of

46:58council and city staff my name is cindy mclean and i'm here on behalf of the community group

47:04leading the g2g gulf gateway trail project this community led city supported initiative

47:12is committed to creating a safe inclusive off-road route from woodland road to silver creek parkway

47:19a route that welcomes users of all ages and abilities this connection is a critical missing

47:27piece of the godbridge to gualf rail trail known as the g2g first i want to sincerely thank you for

47:35your leadership and your ongoing commitment to this project we recognize that you've had to make

47:41difficult funding decisions and we deeply appreciate that you've prioritized this investment

47:49and keep moving it forward the financial support included in the upcoming budget is essential

47:55for advancing the trail into the design phase a critical step that will transform a long-held

48:01community vision into a detailed buildable plan it's exciting to see this project move to the

48:09next stage of development since it's been a priority for both the city and the community

48:14for many years we've already made meaningful progress with through engagement with city staff

48:21landowners community organizations and other stakeholders we've heard from walkers cyclists

48:29mobility aid users and multi-generational families all eager for the day when they can begin their

48:36g2g journey at the covered bridge follow the downtown trail to the new gjr trail and then

48:44continue safely on a fully accessible off-road route to the g2g silver creek trailhead this new

48:52connection will be a valuable addition to guelph's trail network it will enhance regional connectivity

48:58while significantly improving safety and accessibility compared to the current on-road route

49:06this is especially important as our community works to prevent pedestrian and cycling tragedies

49:12a dedicated off-road corridor will give everyone regardless of age or ability a safer more inclusive

49:18way to enjoy outdoor recreation and connect with nature currently many users begin their g2g

49:26experience on the outskirts of guelph once complete this trail will make guelph the gateway to the

49:33to one of ontario's most significant act of transportation and recreation corridors the g2g

49:40rail trail already sees more than 800 000 visits annually generating millions in economic impact

49:48as the gateway city guelph stands to benefit supporting local businesses encouraging tourism

49:55and reinforcing our reputation as a vibrant connected and forward-thinking community your

50:04leadership and the financial commitment of council is what will make this connection possible

50:10on behalf of everyone involved in the g2g guelph gateway trail thank you for partnering with the

50:18community for championing this this project and for investing in a trail that will benefit residents

50:26visitors and generations to come thank you thank you cindy for your delegation as well

50:33is there any follow-up from anyone right now no we're good we'll see you on the trails thank you

50:39all right uh let's see here all right yes they're already coming down so

50:45lea kapasin kapasinski mark walton alex fergusson all from the guelph general hospital and the

50:51guelph family health team physician recruiter uh proposal team so welcome and thank you very

50:59much for uh for coming and whenever you're ready you can start right away okay welcome

51:06table here a little bit yeah just so everyone knows this is in the budget okay very good

51:27through you mr mayor thank you members of council thank you for the opportunity to speak and i do

51:31want to say thank you for the funding that you've already provided to us for the last two years in

51:35this regard my name is mark walton i'm the president and ceo at guelph general hospital along with me

51:41today in partnership is lea kapasinski the ceo of guelph family health team we're here on behalf

51:48of our respective organizations but speaking also on behalf of the guelph wellington ontario health team

51:55and our citizens and residents to explain why continued physician recruitment funding in this

52:00year's um budget is an ask and what we believe it delivers to guelph residents you've been very

52:07kind enough to provide this to us before we want to talk a little bit about the impact that it's had

52:12so that you have some assurance and some confidence moving forward that is money well spent just to

52:16give you a sense of the current environment right now there's about 269 000 people in guelph wellington

52:22served by about 172 family physicians roughly 10 percent of our residents do not have a family doctor

52:29and we already need about a 36 additional family doctors just to meet current demand

52:35by 2051 we expect that to grow to about 136 doctors that we don't have and we need to bring to guelph

52:43and to wellington my chief of staff at guelph general hospital says that across our surgical

52:49and medical programs ggh currently needs about 25 to 30 physician fte's right now even with and not

52:58accounting for some of the attrition the retirement and the slowdowns that we expect over the next

53:02little while and when you layer on top of that bill 23 we are expected to add new housing units

53:09over the next nine years level of growth alone requires approximately 35 additional primary

53:15care physicians above and beyond what we will replace because of normal retirement and attrition

53:22so if residents can't access primary care they'll end up in my emergency departments

53:27our shelters our crisis services on wait lists that are already too long i'm going to have lee

53:33talk a little bit about what we've done and some of the impact we've had thank you councils earlier

53:39investment alongside wellington county has allowed us to develop and begin implementing a coordinated

53:44guelph wellington physician recruitment strategy in 2024 ontario health team partners recruited

53:5175 new physicians and 57 residents across guelph wellington including family doctors

53:58psychiatrists hospital specialists and others this recruitment effort is not an accident but the

54:04result of intentional coordinated efforts however there still remains a gap in our strategy wealth

54:11does not yet have a dedicated citywide physician recruiter or a stable funding base for this position

54:18wellington county has invested in a recruiter since 2008 with a clear governance structure and

54:24sustained municipal funding and the results are are proof of the efforts our strategy's number one

54:31short-term goal is to hire and sustain a guelph based recruiter backed by a coordinated regional

54:37plan and shared reporting back to the city the budget asked in front of you this evening a $50,000

54:44per year for the city matched by the county will fund that recruit recruiter the technology

54:51travel and engagement work needed to compete with other communities for scarce physician resources

54:57it is modest when you consider that other communities are investing between 100,000

55:03and over 300,000 annually in similar programs however this is not just a health investment

55:09it is an economic and city-building strategy every dollar spent on physician recruitment has

55:15been shown to generate nearly $200 in regional economic activity and physician offices contribute

55:22to the GDP through jobs wages and local spending residents and employers deciding whether or not

55:29to come to guelph are asking two critical questions can i find a home and can i find a doctor therefore

55:36housing and health care have to move together our ask this evening is simple that council maintain

55:43and confirm the city's physician recruitment funding in this and next year's budget so that we can hire

55:49and retain a guelph based recruiter grow our physician workforce and ensure that as well

55:54grows so does access to high quality health care services so there you go thank you so much thank

56:04you very much is there a follow-up at all in regard okay uh councillor billings through you mr

56:11mayor um my question is for president and ceo wilton and your ask is totally understandable so

56:18so that's all good but i just thought while we have you uh you know the hospital levy again is

56:25there and i know the mayor has reached out to many uh concerning our financial pressures

56:30and i was just wondering um if there was a way if it's possible could we smooth that out over

56:37two years or or where where are you at uh through the mayor and thank you for your question uh the

56:44mayor and i have actually already had this discussion and recognizing the great partnership

56:48that we have with our city we as the hospital we'd be more than happy to help split that out over

56:53calendar years if that is of assistance to the city in managing some of its tax rolls and for us it

57:00actually works well as well because we work on a different fiscal year and can receive the monies

57:05in a in a manner that does not impact on our foundation or our operations and helps the

57:11city at the same time so through the mayor yes we would be happy to do that that's great thank you

57:17thank you so much and that's it and mr mayor i guess that's an intention you've done the hospital

57:24intention every year so right we have to okay so no problem thank you very much um is there any

57:30questions though on anything else here i don't think so thank you very much for your delegation

57:36we appreciate it okay margaret middleton is coming up the rixon park stewards and is migan

57:46lewis here okay you're in the wings okay so perfect margaret thank you for coming over to you thank

57:55you um we appreciate that the park stewards has returned to the budget i wanted to give a little

58:02bit of the flavor of my park which is rixon park um as uh as we said all the parks are a little

58:09different one of the things that is important at my park is that we have a lot of different

58:16uses of the park so not only are we managing plantings and invasive species and cleaning up stuff

58:23but uh we have playing fields in our park we have about two different elementary schools

58:30and we have a lot of university students who live in the area as well and there's a leash

58:35free dog park thrown into the mix so over the past couple of years since we've had formal

58:43stewards here not only have we managed to plant a large number of trees and native species and

58:50beautify the area but we've also been given a mechanism by which we can work more effectively

58:59with the university we've had a landscape architecture graduate student reach out to help and

59:05was able to be connected with us to help us look at some of the things that we want to do there

59:11we're uh talking with gene little who wants to put in a community garden and need somebody who

59:17can help take care of it through the summer when the kids aren't there um we have a way of figuring

59:23out that oh look the signage for the leash free zone isn't has gone missing and isn't very effective

59:30at letting people know why there's a bunch of dogs running around here and other things like that so

59:37we're really appreciative of the program not only to help us with the plantings and the mulching

59:43and all of those great things but to give us that mechanism that allows us to have a way of

59:51communicating with our the other partners in our park so thank you thank you very much uh or you

59:58and your volunteers do is there any follow-up question here any there isn't so thank you very

1:00:04much and uh keeping on the park stewards theme megan's coming down we can louis and then is

1:00:12virginia anderson uh here okay you're good you're up next okay thank you welcome whenever you're

1:00:30ready go right ahead thank you very much my name is megan louis and i'm here to speak on behalf of

1:00:39the park stewardship group um for springdale park in the west end of guelph and i'm speaking in support

1:00:48of the continuation of the park stewards program um the park steward program has become an integral

1:00:55part of our community for the past two years since it began and of course for even longer before that

1:01:03for the some of the wonderful folks like mira who helped to inspire the program it has encouraged us

1:01:10to become more deeply connected to the green spaces in our neighborhoods by allowing us as a community

1:01:16to take meaningful action by caring for these spaces this program provides an important framework

1:01:23to educate collaborate and build connections between the city of guelph park staff and the residents

1:01:30that use these green spaces every day it enables us as uh the the neighbors to these parks to have

1:01:37the proper tools to care for them it ensures the folks that are eager to volunteer in the community

1:01:45that we have access to the right pathways to do so the removal of invasive species

1:01:54clean and green litter cleanup initiatives increasing biodiversity with native trees and

1:01:59shrubs and wildflowers and growing our tree canopy cover are very important parts of the city's

1:02:05climate goals the fact that some of these some of the work can be completed by volunteers is

1:02:11beneficial for both the city and the community the program has helped to further facilitate the

1:02:18connection between the environmental groups in the city such as trees for guelph and the guelph

1:02:24community garden network we've been able to use these connections to work with the elementary

1:02:28school in our neighborhood we started an adopted tree program to teach the children about the

1:02:35diversity of species around them and why are why they are so important and why we need the

1:02:40children's help to protect them um this has really helped to reduce the damage caused by vandalism

1:02:47to our tree plantings which is actually kind of what spurred our group to start was to help to

1:02:53protect some of those new tree plantings and teach the children about why they weren't just

1:02:59little sticks growing from the ground and why they were actually so important and it's really really

1:03:03helped this program is within our parks but it goes much further than that it gives agency

1:03:10to community members with the important education that is gained on how to responsibly care for

1:03:15and steward all of our land public and private one of the things that I found the most rewarding

1:03:20about this program is seeing how community how members of the community have taken some of the

1:03:25knowledge gained at the community parks hands-on events like the tree plantings and the invasive

1:03:30removals and applying it to their own homes thank you so much for the continuation of this important

1:03:38program I look forward to being a part of it for years to come thank you may and really appreciate

1:03:46that and your volunteerism too just making sure there's no follow-up question for you there isn't

1:03:50keep walking you're good okay Virginia come on come on down andry I think I saw you earlier yep

1:03:58you're in the wings and welcome and start whenever you're ready okay yeah so dear mayor and members

1:04:13of council first I want to apologize for my tone of voice because I am suffering a bad cold and I

1:04:21am glad that I'm able to be here but bear with me as I talk um so again I appreciate the opportunity

1:04:29to speak and this night full of delegations thank you for listening I am Virginia Anderson I am a

1:04:37mother of a 20-month-old a pedestrian a cyclist and the chair of the board of directors for the

1:04:45Guelph community for active transportation a little about my family my husband commutes to work by

1:04:52bike he takes our 20 month old today care in our bike trailer and I don't currently commute but I

1:05:02cycle for errands shopping and community events throughout the year tonight I want to highlight

1:05:08three important reasons for investment in active transportation infrastructure and maintaining this

1:05:14infrastructure year-round including increasing safety increasing equity and accessibility

1:05:23and increasing affordability in our community I hope to be a voice for individuals that are

1:05:30affected but don't have the time or other resources to be here tonight starting with safety I want to

1:05:40give a moment of silence for the two recent losses on our roads a cyclist at the end of august

1:05:46and a pedestrian in september I highlight that we are all pedestrians or a mobility device users

1:06:03I ask how did we all get here tonight we may have driven but we certainly walked in the door

1:06:09or rolled into the door pedestrians and mobility device users first and cyclist second

1:06:19are together the two most vulnerable groups by transportation mode coupled out with age

1:06:25such as children and senior incentives people are facing heightened risk on the roads that are not

1:06:32designed as a legacy to present to protect them I applaud the city's commitment to vision zero

1:06:40but these cuts to active transportation infrastructure and maintenance move wealth

1:06:46backwards from reaching reaching achieving its vision zero goal of eliminating traffic related

1:06:53deaths in serious injuries moving on to equity and accessibility many people including including the

1:07:02young and the old low income families and newcomers walking and cycling and using mobility devices

1:07:09are their essential means of transportation of getting to work to school shops community spaces

1:07:15and removing the option to cycle and bike lanes during the winter can mean a senior or a mobility

1:07:22device user cannot independently travel through the city half the year and going on to affordability

1:07:33so I ask what is the cheapest mode of transportation walking what is the second most cycling

1:07:41and I will add what is not really affordable in today's environment owning a car and the average

1:07:49cost of owning a car in Ontario is over 16 grand annually I will add that high quality winter tires

1:07:59can alone cost over a thousand dollars coupled with the cost of housing owning a car is out of

1:08:05reach for many lacking safe year-round infrastructure increases barriers for those who already face

1:08:12financial inequities so I'm asking council to take three specific actions for this 2026 budget update

1:08:20first restore winter bike lanes no more rule to ensure year-round safe travels for cyclists

1:08:28second to reinstate dedicated funding for sustainable uh transportation including sidewalk

1:08:34construction cycling pavement marking and sustainable transportation programming and finally

1:08:41add funding to vision zero to compensate for the loss of funding a few final points these services

1:08:53I would argue are the meat and potato services of the city I understand that there's many

1:08:59responsibilities downloaded from the province and I understand the bind that the mayor and

1:09:04councilors find ourselves in but infrastructure and maintenance of the city's roads is not a case

1:09:10of this downloading and I think I have ran out of time so that's okay I did on a good good point

1:09:17there okay I'll have to stop you there but thank you and thank you for struggling through we we feel

1:09:21your goals yeah I apologize no no it's fine no you did a good job is there any follow-up right now

1:09:27at this time there isn't but thank you and we hope you feel better thank you okay uh Andrea you're

1:09:34coming up as well and is uh Sonia here yeah okay great you're in the wing Sonia Andrea welcome

1:09:52whenever you're ready go right ahead hello everyone um last year I stood here and it was

1:09:59approximately two months after my hit and run collision and I asked you guys a simple question

1:10:07with a lot of more words than this but essentially are we doing enough to keep people safe

1:10:13tonight I'm back walking a lot much better my shoulder a little more mobile but still working on it

1:10:19and carrying a new volunteer title by school mayor of Guelph which I genuinely appreciate council

1:10:25support on my application this year internationally that role exists to help cities increase

1:10:31cycling trips and to meet their mode share goals I'll be honest the current international standard

1:10:37school of 50 percent by 2030 target is much out of reach and I don't have confidence of us uh getting

1:10:46there any anytime soon at this point uh I still believe I can make quite a dent and in some places

1:10:54I have at my workplace alone we're sitting close to 15 percent fair fair weather bike commutes

1:11:01and that shift has happened through encouragement visibility resources and support

1:11:09while residents push forward making changes to their lives from cutting down on one car

1:11:15for one family or taking a few extra bike rides Guelph is worryingly suggesting that we move

1:11:20backwards it doesn't all fall on municipal shoulders eventually we are also throwing a

1:11:27lot of wrenches into the ring on many fronts revision zero I was here when you adopted vision

1:11:35the vision zero action plan that vote was a promise that we do not accept parental

1:11:41preventable injuries or deaths on our roads through any mode of transportation since that vote

1:11:47as Virginia has said we have had multiple tragic collisions and tragedies and I thought that would

1:11:54have ignited some urgency some accountability or something yet somehow despite this loss and such

1:12:02grief that I've seen in the community it is not quite enough fire to push us to do something to

1:12:09protect these people with the seriousness that it deserves cuts to winter maintenance cuts to

1:12:16sustainable transportation programming and education and engagement these all directly

1:12:22contradict our goals that we have made we can't shift that mode share together by removing the

1:12:29very resources that actually help people feel safe enough to change how they move and those on the

1:12:34fence to continue or we may even push those who are again on the fence but still cycling away

1:12:40from cycling despite appearances for me my bike for several weeks of the year is essentially a

1:12:51mobility device just depending on how my skeleton feels it is the only transportation that fits and

1:12:59adapts to my body my pain levels my energy and my budget if we cut winter maintenance if we defer

1:13:08more safe infrastructure we are reducing mobility and independence for people like me and for countless

1:13:14others that you probably won't see at this podium and this part does hurt to say but volunteers

1:13:22like me and many in the room I don't think we should be holding such a burden to make up for some

1:13:28of the municipal spending that we're planning to cut we need to reflect on if us as volunteers are

1:13:36enhancing what the city provides in terms of services and working with the city or are we slowly

1:13:43replacing services with that labor I don't think we can build a safe accessible city on volunteer

1:13:51burnout I think we can pass a budget that contradicts the policies and promises that we've made over time

1:14:02or we can choose the direction that aligns our spending with the future that we said we wanted

1:14:09and please don't make Guelph the city that looks at their volunteers and ask them to do even more

1:14:15with even less services thank you all right thank you very much your delegation as well Andrea

1:14:23and is there any follow-up right now okay Councillor Busuttil has a question for you

1:14:28thank you thank you for being here Andrea just a quick question I've had a few conversations

1:14:33today about this budget item so really you and the previous GCAT delegation is asking to keep

1:14:40that in the budget the snow clearing some of the themes I picked up from your delegation is

1:14:46you know it is not about recreation cycling I'm retired I'm going to have some fun cycling

1:14:52it's about accessibility mobility equity and affordability would you echo that those are

1:15:00paramount and when you mention the volunteers if you could just expand a bit I don't understand

1:15:06what you're saying about the volunteers sure just to do the volunteers real quickly it was

1:15:13pointed out at a recent advocacy committee when we had a visitor from Cycle Waterloo that

1:15:20some of the programming that I do much single-handedly or with a handful of volunteers is already

1:15:26municipally supported run and funded such as they have had their bike bus for example running for

1:15:34quite a while now and it is municipally supported as well as their pride ride as well and I've

1:15:42done two successful years so far not that I want it taken away by a municipal

1:15:50but it is just one example of how our neighbors are supporting kind of similar things that are

1:15:58volunteer run here as in terms of cycling as transportation personally again I can't afford

1:16:10a vehicle I do drive I have a license I rent as needed but even the cost of a rental can be too

1:16:16much especially with my own health spending and I'm certainly not the only one in that situation

1:16:22um for me it allows me to get to work my medical appointments all of my errands and food security

1:16:34and I'm certainly not the only one that I've met many people who uh too similarly thank you and

1:16:41through the mayor thank you and I appreciate everything you do Andrea thank you thank you

1:16:46councillor Busuttil thank you Andrea thank you for your delegation and uh we're going to move along

1:16:51to Sonia is here and is uh James uh Fedesov here okay James okay sorry I didn't see it thank you

1:17:00welcome to the both of you you and whenever you're ready go right ahead sure uh my name is Sonia

1:17:25Ogilvy thank you so much for hearing us tonight members of the community um here in Guelph we

1:17:32like to say that we're moving towards sustainability we say we want to be leaders in change and an

1:17:39example to other Canadian cities of how to make meaningful shifts in lifestyle and impact on the

1:17:45environment but here we are again considering deferring active transportation cycling and

1:17:52trail projects and on top of that we are considering not even providing year-round maintenance for

1:17:58the cycling infrastructure we do have I'm a long-time Guelph resident graduate of the University of

1:18:04Guelph and a car-free mother of three I live in Ward three close to Willow Road and I have many

1:18:11friends and neighbors who either cannot afford a vehicle or are not able to drive one I take my

1:18:18three children all under the age of six to school doctors appointments social events preschool and

1:18:25religious gatherings by bike bus or walking now anyone who has been a caregiver of small children

1:18:33knows how difficult it can get to be anywhere on time and that's even with a car catching a bus

1:18:40that only comes once every 30 minutes with three little ones can seem nigh impossible especially

1:18:46if a missed bus means waiting at a bus stop for 30 minutes in the dead of winter flexibility is one

1:18:53of the main reasons that I choose to bike even in the snow if our city stops winter maintenance

1:19:00of cycling infrastructure cyclists like myself will have to choose between being forced off the road

1:19:06that's mine buddy forced off the road for the season or um or having to ride in the car lanes

1:19:17for myself biking not being able to bike in the winter has often mean meant I'm trying to push a

1:19:22stroller through deep snow or over the slick ice while also dragging unwilling children behind on

1:19:29foot it means risking throwing out my back and being unable to get out at all for days or weeks

1:19:35and it means a lot more anxiety and stress for my family as a whole when we're trying to get to a

1:19:39bus stop on time not to mention city restrictions on double strollers wagon strollers and jogging

1:19:46strollers on the buses means that I can only ever see one of my three children for an outing that

1:19:52requires a bus ride it means that when all the obstacles are added up I often choose to stay home

1:20:03too often in the winter and that can mean facing isolation and depression is it really a wonder

1:20:11that more people in our city don't consider alternative methods of transportation as viable

1:20:17many of the routes I take when cycling on roads are already narrowed car lanes to make space for

1:20:23bike lanes but if in the winter yeah but if in the winter those bike lanes are full of snow I will

1:20:29have to bike with the cars on lanes that are now too narrow for the cars to safely pass me

1:20:35drivers are already annoyed enough by cyclists and cycling infrastructure please don't put us at

1:20:41odds more by first removing space for car traffic and then pushing cyclists back on to what has

1:20:48been left for the cars I'm deeply concerned about the budget reductions that have been suggested

1:20:53for the 2026 budget both to our cycling and our active transportation programs these cuts tell me

1:21:01that our city does not actually prioritize equity safety and climate action as it pertains to

1:21:06transportation and who's going to take the breadth end of these cuts residents who are fly rely on

1:21:13affordable sustainable ways to travel especially though those who are facing financial and social

1:21:19equities I have chosen to live without a car but for many in our city a car was never even an option

1:21:26now is not the time to pull back on our commitments to safer streets how many more people need to die

1:21:33walking across the street before we're going to take this seriously active transportation is a

1:21:38necessity not a luxury wealth has the capacity to become a place where people of all ages

1:21:46life stages income and ability can safely and reliably move through our city so the question

1:21:54in the end is not whether is whether we will choose to pay the upfront costs of creating this

1:22:00kind of environment or if we're going to stand by and allow the death toll the gaps in transportation

1:22:07equity and the harm to our planet to continue to grow so I'm asking council to please take

1:22:12three specific actions first restore winter bike lane snow removal second reinstate dedicated

1:22:21funding for transportation sustainable transportation and to please invest in the loss to compensate

1:22:28for the loss of automated speed enforcement cameras and develop thank you no problem to the

1:22:35both of you thank you I would see if there's a follow-up for your delegation as well okay

1:22:42there is not at this time but thank you very much okay James yeah come on down and is

1:22:48Steven petrick here okay Steven okay sorry yeah yeah come on you're in the wings thanks James

1:23:00and just start whenever you're ready okay how tall does this sucker go let's all find out together

1:23:22good evening mayor Guthrie council staff my fellow delegates I'm speaking this evening regarding

1:23:27the suggestion to eliminate from the budget all snow removal services for on-street bike lanes

1:23:31and I apologize in advance for how my tone might wander and for how I worked up I may seem about

1:23:35this because it's something that I live every day as an owner of speed ripper bicycle just over on

1:23:40Wyndham street I've been there for 10 years now and I can tell you that there are only two types

1:23:46of people who find themselves riding a bike on city streets in the winter one those who

1:23:51due to one circumstance or another do not have a choice and to those who do and who made the

1:23:56very conscious decision to commit their money and their time to being someone who's not in an

1:24:00automobile I know this because I talk with both of these types of people every day their stories

1:24:06are remarkably similar they don't feel seen and they don't feel safe and the numbers will back

1:24:10that up according to the 2021 city of gulf collision report one cyclist is struck by a driver in our

1:24:16city every 11 days and that is in addition to one pedestrian being struck once every nine days

1:24:22so I get it 650 000 to plow bike lanes seems like a lot of money and what I don't get and what I

1:24:28certainly don't envy is you all having to decide what gets to stay in this budget and what has to

1:24:32go but what I'm telling you as a cyclist and a driver myself and as someone who has lost friends

1:24:37and customers to traffic violence cutting winter maintenance for bike lanes you already paid to

1:24:41install is not where the money should be saved. Marigot three since your tenure began in 2014

1:24:47the councils you have led have suggested and then passed countless plans and documents that

1:24:51require our city to experience a modal shift away from the automobile to name a few gulf's official

1:24:57climate plan the gulf trails master plan the gulf transportation master plan the official plan

1:25:04several of these guiding documents set explicit mode share targets these are not rhetorical they

1:25:09are documents that are integrated into the planning mechanisms that direct council and staff

1:25:16in just march of this year council passed an update to vision zero gulf an action plan for

1:25:20safe streets when you adopt a policy like vision zero you're signing up to make decisions like this

1:25:25one down the road honor your commitment to it don't abandon it now to save a buck one way of

1:25:31looking at the weekly accidents I just mentioned as through the very sobering human lens these

1:25:36people have had a horrific accident that could very well scar both the driver and the cyclist for

1:25:40life if it hasn't taken theirs but since it's budget night another way of looking at it is by

1:25:45the literal cost how much are we spending on police fire and ems to attend these accidents

1:25:51how much does this slow down traffic if the life-saving aspect isn't compelling to you what about

1:25:55the convenience one what about the budgetary one well since i'm a nerd i crunched those numbers for

1:26:00you uh based on publicly available collision reporting data we spend approximately 2.3 million

1:26:06per year responding to all collisions in our city that's not the societal cost which for the

1:26:11record is 100 million annually it's the actual price our city pays in the form of police fire

1:26:17reporting reconstruction so on 2.3 million dollars if we divide that 2.3 million dollars by the

1:26:23number of collisions only involving cyclists and pedestrians we get an oddly familiar number

1:26:28it's 640 000 that's right if we achieve vision zero and we have a year with no vulnerable road

1:26:35user accidents we effectively plow the bike lanes all winter for free it's almost like it's a feedback

1:26:42loop of some kind to recap over the last 11 years you've passed numerous numerous official plans

1:26:48it's literally called the official plan for our city that direct you to provide safe cycling

1:26:52infrastructure eliminating snow removal from the budget has a substantially detrimental impact on

1:26:58the safety of all road users and lastly and hopefully most importantly how are you going to

1:27:03feel if a cyclist has hit this winter in a live lane of traffic with an unplowed bike lane

1:27:08directly to their right mayor got through you have the power to save both money and lives and

1:27:14i'm encouraging you to please do the right thing and put winter snow removal back in your budget

1:27:19thank you for listening to me great thanks james i appreciate your delegation too is there a

1:27:24follow-up for james at this time there is it thank you very much thank you and steven come on down

1:27:31your steven petricks coming down and is uh maryan burrows here hi maryan okay perfect you're in the

1:27:40wings and just so everyone knows uh we have one two we have seven more uh delegations just so

1:27:52everyone knows so i think we'll just stick through to the end okay and we'll and then we'll maybe

1:27:55take a quick break after that thanks steven and welcome and start whenever you're ready okay okay

1:28:01uh good evening uh my name is steven petrick i am a member of the transit action alliance of guelph

1:28:06imagine a nurse rushing home after a long shift only need to miss her child's bedtime because of

1:28:13transit delays as brett tonerham says uh city's true goals are revealed in its budget not vision

1:28:21statements the current budget claims to advance progress but instead funds stagnation delaying

1:28:28transit brings immediate costs lost time longer commutes and missed opportunity opportunities

1:28:34we must invest now to cut travel times and support our community we hope you read our

1:28:39correspondence uh for suggestions that aren't going to be covered in this speech the last

1:28:44minute decision to delay funding for route 98 speedville is detrimental if route 98 is stalled

1:28:50the entire future 90 series of the grid network will also face delays this will also hamper

1:28:55ridership growth and betray community expectations these cascading effects threaten the integrity

1:29:01and timeline of the quality transit network the future ready plan is already a lengthy commitment

1:29:06delaying the qtn by three years will only increase costs due to inflation new delays

1:29:12risk pushing upgrades into the mid to late 30 20 30s jeopardizing the mode share target are we

1:29:19truly prioritizing the future ready plan or just saying so my name transit delays harm

1:29:25residents business and city goals reliable public transit is the foundation for higher

1:29:30density housing and climate goals cutting or delaying funding makes both impossible we hear

1:29:36the constant frustration around about high taxes but the current state of our service is an

1:29:41anti-fortability policy that pushes people into debt the site of a standing room only bus

1:29:48or a bus that is constantly late is not a sign of success it is a tax on time and a deliberate

1:29:54discouragement of potential riders transit inconvenience unreliable infrequent overcrowded

1:30:00service is a direct procured predictable result of decades of neglect inconvenience is a policy

1:30:07choice people won't choose a system built to fill them to the thousands of residents who ask how to

1:30:13save money we must build a transit system that helps them achieve financial freedom the cost of

1:30:18owning a second or third vehicle payments insurance fuel and maintenance can easily exceed

1:30:2416 000 a year an investment that makes transit reliable frequent enough for to allow families

1:30:30to drop just one car is by far the most powerful affordability measure this city can offer we are

1:30:37debating thousands of dollars in annual savings for every household for council focus on the bottom

1:30:44line know this delaying transit is an economic liability investing in transit directly reduce

1:30:51reduces citywide gridlock which costs our businesses and economy millions of dollars in lost productivity

1:30:58strategic investment in the qtn for example immediately drives higher property values near

1:31:03transit corridors and creates a more efficient workforce ultimately relieving pressure on

1:31:08residential taxpayers the return on investment is not measured in fare as collected but in

1:31:13property value uplift reduced congestion costs and a more efficient local economy

1:31:20the new battery electric buses costing around 1.27 million dollars are essential for long-term goals

1:31:26while we wait future fleet deliveries we must deliver immediate relief focus on high impact

1:31:33low cost solutions like transit signal priority measures which come through the qtn especially

1:31:39in the 99 mainline installing tsp at a bottleneck costs as little as 20 000 for the price of one

1:31:47deferred bus we could equip nearly a hundred intersections with tsp this delivers immediate

1:31:53return on investment by improving reliability and cutting travel times make these basic

1:31:59investments now they are balanced careful spending with real progress showing transit is essential

1:32:05today to truly prioritize progress restore funding to route 98 and the qtn and allocate part of that

1:32:132024 surplus which was 3.8 million dollars which is unheard of in a transit agency to help reduce

1:32:21fares we urge you to commit to these strategic investments to meet the mode share target and

1:32:27build a viable future act now to invest in efficiency equity and the city's future

1:32:33mayor and council we face a choice today not a constraint the budget you approve

1:32:39must answer one question are we building a city where a nurse can get home to her children

1:32:44or funding more missed bedroom bedbed types the cost of delay will always outweigh a short-term

1:32:50savings we urge you to make the right investment thank you thank you steven for your delegation

1:32:57as well is there a follow-up at this time from anyone there is it but again thank you very much

1:33:07maryan is coming on down thank you is greg hinds here okay great you're in the wings okay and

1:33:18welcome maryan thank you very much for coming thank you over to you dear mayor and council members

1:33:24and community members i'm before you as a grandmother concerned about the world my

1:33:30grandchildren are going to inherit if we continue to to with business as usual instead of getting

1:33:36down to the work of reducing our greenhouse gases emissions councils in a hard place right now

1:33:42wealth is impacted by the u.s. tariffs unemployment is rising our food banks are setting records

1:33:49and homelessness is going up too the easiest way for wealth to tighten its budget is to slow down

1:33:55expenditures on special projects to do business as usual we understand that challenging decisions

1:34:02must be made but wealth is going is going to fail to meet its 2030 greenhouse gas emissions

1:34:08reduction goal to put it simply that 2030 goal is 416 000 tons of co2 emitted annually

1:34:18right now we should be at about 730 750 000 tons but we're actually at the 2018 level of 920 000

1:34:30it really hasn't reduced at all in six years 30 of these emissions comes from the transportation

1:34:37sector traffic congestion in wealth is a real problem here and the streets of wealth are not

1:34:43built for so many vehicles in 2022 this council hired esteemed city planner brent totterian

1:34:51to study wealth's unique situation and give recommendations regarding climate change actions

1:34:57his recommendations were enhanced protected bike lanes and walking infrastructure

1:35:03move public transit to a grid system with a 10 minute frequency increase the tree canopy

1:35:10all of these measures are being slowed once again in this current budget its business as usual

1:35:19in transit frequency is freedom if the next bus is coming in 10 minutes all you have to do is go

1:35:25out and catch it it's easy remember that when the 99 mainland white mainline frequent bus was

1:35:32first implemented a few years ago ridership for wealth transit went up 45 percent aside from

1:35:40the 99 wealth's public transit system is not working for its riders but the wealth already has

1:35:48a good plan the wealth transit future ready action plan is frequent and it focuses on the

1:35:54university on the college on high schools hospitals rec centers shopping districts

1:36:00and industrial basins places that people need and want to go a toronto transit executive once

1:36:07said something that really stuck with me women will commute on transit if it is safe clean and

1:36:14frequent as my colleagues have suggested that would save families or an individual up to 16

1:36:21thousand dollars a year not needing a second car could really save women will take transit if it's

1:36:30clean if it's safe and if it's frequent more people on the bus more people riding and protected

1:36:37bike lanes and walking on connected paths will help wealth reach its its climate goals it will

1:36:44also reduce the number of vehicles on the road and make driving more comfortable for those who

1:36:48choose to drive our city is not the only place where it's been business as usual the earth has

1:36:54now surpassed the 1.5 degrees celsius mark and scientists are saying that severe climate impacts

1:37:01are happening faster than they predicted i'm here speaking for my grandchildren when they're

1:37:08adults and living through major climate catastrophes they will be asking the people around this

1:37:14horseshoe tonight why did you not have the courage to act when there was still time thank you very

1:37:22much uh mariana and thank you for your delegation let me see if there is any questions as a follow

1:37:27up for you uh there there isn't so again thank you very much for coming and uh greg hinds is coming

1:37:34on down and martin collier are you here yes you're up next okay uh greg welcome to you and you can go

1:37:43whenever you're ready okay perfect thank you um good evening uh council i will be uh brief

1:37:50i'm here to speak on the issue uh this evening of cutting of snow plowing from a bike lane this

1:37:56winter and hopefully just help drive home some of the points that have been so well made by people

1:38:02previous to me uh this evening um i'm a volunteer at a local community bike shop and just to be

1:38:09clear i'm not in here as an official capacity or anything but i just want to talk about what i see

1:38:15during my volunteer work there uh the workspace is often busy um and for a lot of the people who come

1:38:22uh the bike is an important part of how they get around in the winter they may not have alternatives

1:38:29i just want to remind council that for some bikes are not just about fun there's something

1:38:35so much more important than that thank you great uh greg thank you very much and let me just see

1:38:41there's a follow-up uh there isn't right to the point thank you very much martin come on down

1:38:48and is claire here as we're claire braden i'm sorry is claire here no okay carol in from the food

1:39:01bank are you here yes you're in the front row you're up next after martin okay thank you just

1:39:12give it a go give it a give it an arrow over or whatever and then we'll start your time there

1:39:19all right okay uh i'm martin call your sustainable transportation planner cyclist founder of transport

1:39:25futures co-founder of gcat which i actually named and now spokes spokesperson for the residents

1:39:31for a safe speed veil avenue with the rsa we support sustainable transportation infrastructure

1:39:37that meets the mobility needs of the most people at the lowest cost but not in the case of the

1:39:42amoural bridge eeb and speed veil reconstruction which exasperate issues related to public safety

1:39:48our environment participatory planning and city finances especially in the covid altered and

1:39:54tariff altered world we live in the rsa there we go the rsa has two budget recommendations to

1:40:00allocate $50,000 for an independent public inquiry into the eeb fiasco in terms of planning

1:40:07transparency design overkill evaluating environmental impacts including net ecological gain and

1:40:14embodied construction emissions communications and consultant consultations with public and first

1:40:19nations there didn't seem to be much meaning behind the land acknowledgement you read at every

1:40:24public meeting finance the city said the bridge would cost about 1.13 million in 2015 and 2.6

1:40:32million maximum in march 2023 but it now stands at almost 7 million and i just heard this weekend

1:40:39that it may be closer to 10 million whatever the amount is at least 95 of this amount goes to non-wealth

1:40:45companies which brings us to community benefits up to 50 companies have been involved maybe two

1:40:51based in wealth heavily skewed to male employees i haven't seen one woman on the destruction site

1:40:57since march we also ask that you discope the scope to 40 million speed veil speedway designed by

1:41:03building a safe zone or road diet to save up to 15 million for other city priorities that you've heard

1:41:10tonight all right so first we are calling for a public inquiry into the eeb since we must make

1:41:17sure fiascos like it don't ever happen again as philosopher santiana said those who cannot remember

1:41:23the past are condemned to repeat it since the 2016 eba got underway the rsa say ask wealth

1:41:31council and staff to leave the speed river like it was in this slide the way it had been for centuries

1:41:37since our despite our detailed submissions discussions and ea bump up request this was not to be

1:41:44a lot on this slide graph a wealth brands itself is a progressive community making a difference

1:41:50environmentally and socially yet most politicians and some cyclists actually supported the eeb despite

1:41:56the fact that doesn't help the majority of vulnerable vulnerable road users traveling along

1:42:00and across speed rail avenue seven million dollars about has been wasted it is incredible to think

1:42:06we could have built more than 100 kilometers of on-street separated bike lanes with this money

1:42:12assuming a 50 000 per kilometer cost which is in toronto and i added an additional 20 000

1:42:19since everything costs more than wealth to add insult to injury the city hasn't built the eba

1:42:24eeb in accordance with the provincially as approved environmental assessment i'm going to have to go

1:42:30through these next slides pretty quickly but it gives you a good idea this is where we were before

1:42:34the destruction began watch those hydropoles disappear and here again that was prior and then

1:42:45you can see the hydropole is still there but destruction is definitely underway these big

1:42:51pile driving machines totally disrupted the neighborhood and it's unbelievable to go through

1:42:56this lucky if you aren't there and now the urbanization is well underway so from the other

1:43:02side what it looked like how you can see it's changed over this time this there's no

1:43:09net ecological gain in any of this believe me so we've checked out the just trying to whip

1:43:17through this really quickly we've we think that there should be a real look at how many GHGs have

1:43:23been spewed during construction operations from materials and equipment transportation the 50

1:43:29companies we've counted um all driving we we one one driver from uh stratford i think we've

1:43:38calculated about 243 000 bikes bicycle and pedestrian bridges bridge trips would have to

1:43:45be made to recover emissions all right so this is fun some nice pictures come on up and see it

1:43:54all these emission the guys who brought this thing down from kebac couldn't believe how crazy

1:43:58it was to do that from kebac city they said say it's crazy and we agreed and these are the

1:44:06nice trucks that have come from all places except for guelph so this is the destruction and the

1:44:11river as we may have not we have these recommendations and anyways we have road

1:44:17diet we've done it a few times over the last few years and there you go all right we appreciate

1:44:26your delegation except for the part that alleged things of our professional staff so at this time

1:44:35before i go to anybody on my with my colleagues on council i'd like to ask if anybody on staff would

1:44:42like to comment to some of the allegations that were made that the bridge was done incorrectly

1:44:49maybe through to our acting deputy ceo yes certainly thank you through you mayor guthrie i can

1:44:56certainly confirm that the city hires professional engineering staff third party engineers and

1:45:01professional consultants to do this work the bridge is designed to meet all appropriate

1:45:06provincial standards municipal standards and uh all the the normal and and proper public processes

1:45:13followed thank you now is there any questions as a follow-up to the delegation no so thank you very

1:45:20much martin and i will look forward to seeing everyone at the grand opening of that pretty soon

1:45:27and we're done martin thank you we're we're all we're all done thank you have a good day

1:45:33okay claire are you coming down here claire oh no claire wasn't here carolyn you're coming down

1:45:42and is uh shabam uh savalia here oh yeah okay nice to see you thank you for being here you're

1:45:51going to be up next okay all right carolyn thank you hello and thank you for having me tonight

1:45:57thank you um so carolyn from the guelph food bank um last year at about this time i co-op students

1:46:03at the time and myself delegated here for requesting some funding for guelph food bank

1:46:09this was the first time in our over 35 year history that we were asking our local government for help

1:46:14as we rely solely on donations from the public private business and granting institutions for

1:46:18funding we have incredible support through our memberships with feed ontario and food banks canada

1:46:23for both grant funding and food procurement and we are very grateful for our food distribution

1:46:28partnerships with organizations such as the guelph neighborhood support coalition several church groups

1:46:33and independent organizations allowing us to get food closer to where people live

1:46:39unfortunately with so many requests by so many worthy organizations our requests to be included

1:46:43in this budget to help us support our growing network of satellite locations has been currently

1:46:48denied so i'm here on another request as a partial solution to reduce barriers to food access for those

1:46:55facing food insecurity in our city with now almost 40 growth since january alone and climbing

1:47:03our decentralization project will take at least another year as we currently have more people

1:47:07coming through our doors at our 100's crime ash street location than we did when we started this

1:47:12project five years ago however i'm happy to report that since january we have secured four more

1:47:18satellite locations and four more are currently in the initial or proposal stage we still have

1:47:24a lot of work to do to meet the needs of those facing food insecurity closer to where they live

1:47:29removing the barrier to food access due to lack of transportation this means that travel to our

1:47:35crime ash street location for so many is still difficult or a barrier altogether public transportation

1:47:42is quite affordable if you have the means but for so many of our neighbors in need this is far from

1:47:47the truth for example this summer a gentleman with a newborn baby and a new mom at home walked just

1:47:53over an hour to get food at our location he had barely made rent and desperately needed to get

1:48:00groceries he has a job but with the cost of living and a new family at home he didn't even have enough

1:48:06to take the bus so he walked he then had to get his food home and in the heat of the summer uh with

1:48:13his frozen meats and fresh foods like milk eggs and produce that needed to go into refrigeration

1:48:19the walk home meant that his food might spoil before he makes it there and just last month two

1:48:24mothers of large families walked their empty baby strollers just over a kilometer which doesn't seem

1:48:30that far to the food bank to get their groceries home one with a family of five the other was six

1:48:36the strollers were not adequate for the amount of food they received yet they did their best to pile

1:48:42it on tied their bags to the handles and rails a balancing act with an attempted defy gravity

1:48:48to get their groceries home this was good in good travel weather now imagine trying to treach these

1:48:54strollers through the snow with cold winds blowing against you their fresh produce freezing along the

1:49:00way running unusable by the time they can get at home these are just two of the many stories of those

1:49:07who need a helping hand requests for a bus stop in front of the food bank for adequate access

1:49:12started decades before my time at the guava food bank and now it's my turn to give it a go

1:49:17my request my inquiry was answered by two senior members of the scene of the transportation department

1:49:23who came last month for a tour of the guava food bank so they could see for themselves

1:49:27what we do but also the challenges our neighbors in need face in order to get their groceries home

1:49:33with over 800 households now and growing at our location alone who need to access food at least

1:49:40one third are in need of transportation and cannot afford a single ticket let alone a bus pass that

1:49:46means over almost 300 households are in need of a ride to and from the food bank with 200 of those

1:49:52households being single individuals with two visits a month bringing the total to about 500

1:49:57to and from necessary rides with the new route plan for enver road with a stop at crimeea street

1:50:05in 2027 being pushed back to 2028 and our need to help people without closer access

1:50:12to and from their homes safely with their groceries today as we continue our decentralization plan

1:50:18the request is for $35,000 in bus tickets for one year of transportation for all of these people

1:50:25that's 500 visits a month to and from at a cost of 285 per ride over the course of a year we are

1:50:33able to track each one of these collect the data and share with the city results monthly for usage

1:50:38and budget tracking our team and our partners are working really hard to make sure that people

1:50:42are fed we are asking the city to help us get them to and from the food bank safely in all types of

1:50:48weather and keeping the food that we are able to provide them safe as they get them home and keep

1:50:54it safe for consumption when they get there thank you great caro and thank you very much for your

1:50:59delegation too is there any follow-up at all with carolyn oh wait i'll start alphabetically okay alt

1:51:06all right who's going to be c thank you very much carolyn i appreciate your input on this

1:51:16i was wondering you said $35,000 bus tickets and i'll contact staff to find out the viability of

1:51:21that i i cannot get yeah 35,000 where did the number come from the number came from the

1:51:27transportation department which um they worked out the 285 times two each way um and then by the

1:51:35number of people that we would need um and so that's that's the number we were looking at thank you

1:51:41with uh as i say input from staff if this is considered to be viable i'll um hopefully be

1:51:47able to put something forward thank you okay thank you and uh busatil please thank you and through

1:51:52the mayor's welcome carolyn thank you uh just a question in your presentation you talked about

1:51:57you know the vision and the movement of the guelph food bank to decentralize into the satellites

1:52:03and so my question is if that is the vision of where you're going crimeeo will not be servicing

1:52:08or supporting households and individuals what is the timeline for that vision to be operationalized

1:52:16well our plan was this year and and with the growth we don't even see that that will be happening and

1:52:23even within the next year so a 2026 deadline of december 2026

1:52:30uh i'm hoping we can we can manage that we're trying to get a um um partnerships in every single

1:52:39um neighborhood um so that each neighborhood can meet the needs of their neighbors where they live

1:52:46um so we are working at that um i've got probably 12 more locations to go um so for now

1:52:54four in the works and then uh another six to eight to go in order to satisfy the needs of every

1:53:00single neighborhood can i do that um within the next year that would be lovely if we could actually

1:53:07manage that and that's looking for partnerships and locations throughout the city that are able to

1:53:12support that um but that also means that um each location needs to be supported by their own neighborhood

1:53:18and which groups are going to run it we do not have the means to be able to pay people to run those

1:53:22which is what we delegated for um for the budget um last year um and so it might take some additional

1:53:31time in order to find those support groups that can manage a food pantry on behalf of the Guelphu

1:53:38Bank we support it with food and so therefore we are looking for space and groups to be able to run

1:53:44those thank you i i understand them all yes and so yeah if we can do it within the year fantastic

1:53:51but we're probably looking at two years to be able to complete the project so in the meantime

1:53:55can we get people to and from um with transportation um to our location until we're able to completely

1:54:02decentralize okay and the last question is about the decentralization or sorry the distribution

1:54:09vision is that for the whole of city city of Guelph working with other partners and so on

1:54:14i i know you've got the space and and so on is that kind of the vision is that is the vision the

1:54:19vision is become the crimey street location to be the food hub we bring in the food we and then

1:54:25we distribute it to the locations in order to distribute it to the people in need so um that

1:54:31is our that is our goal that is our focus right now and i'm hoping to be able to do that in shorter

1:54:37time um but again with the incredible growth that we've seen um especially this year it's the fastest

1:54:44growth we've seen in our history um it's going to delay our um our deadline thank you thank you

1:54:54okay thank you i just have a quick follow-up and like councillor Allt and i have a just a follow-up

1:54:58to with staff unless someone else asks it before me but i'm just a little bit curious as to like the

1:55:05need for the sort of free bus pass um and as i said i'm totally curious about it so don't get me

1:55:11wrong but last year council made the decision in the budget to approve the there's three tiers

1:55:19of the affordable bus pass depending on how much you make sorry that's four right um we we made the

1:55:26decision to make the bottom two lowest tiers free right so they're they're so i i'm just trying to

1:55:34understand why you would need like if you're explaining that people are in need which no

1:55:39one's going to argue with that right um and that they need food no one's going to argue with that and

1:55:43transportation no one's going to argue with that but i'm just wondering why you need free

1:55:48what why why you're asking for free transit tickets for people that are struggling fair but the

1:55:54bottom the bottom two people like that that would meet that criteria the affordable bus it's it's free

1:55:59for them already so where are you where are you connecting the dots for for new free transit passes

1:56:07above and beyond the bottom two things that are already free right so i mean sorry uh do you

1:56:12understand yeah no i totally understand um so i believe there is a barrier for people being able

1:56:17to access those free passes though um i understand that they need to bring a tax their income tax returns

1:56:26um so if i am being correct i would love to be corrected on that yeah and so therefore there are

1:56:32so many people who are not able to act to to gain access to that so if we can remove those barriers

1:56:40on being able to access a free pass um because of their income um that would be fantastic then my

1:56:49my request is moot um so what we're trying to do yeah so if we can identify that and we can fix that

1:56:55that would be fantastic and i know where it's on the fly here this question so i appreciate that

1:57:00i think what we'll do is we'll definitely you know maybe councillor Allt could ask that a question for

1:57:05me as he's asking staff later on just to get a bit a bit drilled down on that a little bit

1:57:09and we can consider it further than okay so thank you i don't see any other

1:57:13questions so thank you caroline okay thank you so much all right uh come on down uh shabam

1:57:21shabali hi i hope i'm saying that right did i did i do okay all right good and then alex

1:57:29pervs are you here alex okay you're in the wings so over to you and thank you very much

1:57:36for coming here we appreciate it hello members of council my name is shubham savalia and i'm here

1:57:47i'm the associate vice president internal of conestoga student in corroborated representing

1:57:51conestoga student who rely on gulf transit every day specifically i'm here to request that funding

1:57:58be restored in the 2026 budget for route 98 speed well to fully implement it including

1:58:04extend hours and seven days a week service when council approve the future ready action plan in

1:58:112021 the route 98 was designed as a new core cross town spine connecting gulf central station

1:58:18northwest neighborhoods and employment areas and conestoga's campus in that plan route 98

1:58:24operates seven days a week from early morning to late evening with the frequent service that

1:58:29student and the community can rely on representing a modern full day transit spine that riders could

1:58:35plan their lives around today route 98 operates connecting conestoga spine dwell downtown with

1:58:41a limited stop service running from approximately 7 a.m to 4 p.m monday through friday students

1:58:49appreciate route 98 but the current service is limited and was implemented a year later than

1:58:54originally planned for a student with the 6 p.m lab or community member with a 6 a.m shift start

1:59:01anyone with the evening or weekend shift route 98 currently doesn't support the community or

1:59:07fulfill the planned route in the future ready plan additionally gulf chendol hospital's new image

1:59:13imaging clinic is scheduled to open at conestoga's gulf campus in 2026 this regional healthcare

1:59:20clinic will help reduce wait time and bring diagnostic service closer to where people live

1:59:25route 98 is the need transit connect to that site route 98 would help patients without the car

1:59:34reaching imaging appointment affordably and reliably support low-income residents seniors people with

1:59:40disabilities who are more likely to spend on transit and provide a consistent option for hospital

1:59:47and clinic staff who work early late and weekend shift if route 98 remain as is we will be building

1:59:53a vital healthcare facility without the necessary transit service to make it accessible to the

1:59:58community this past year gulf chendol CSI and college collaboratively pursued and secured funding

2:00:04for a dedicated conestoga express route with the star with the said goal of understanding an express

2:00:10connection between downtown gulf and conestoga in the draft 2026 budget instead of a standalone

2:00:18conestoga express route the budget proposed among merging the express into route 98 we understand

2:00:25that our enrollment is down and we agreed with the gulf transit that this would be a better use

2:00:30of its resources knowing an enhanced route 98 was coming in 2026 this was a compromise to a

2:00:37dedicated express route that students hope to receive with the u pass but no one meddled with

2:00:44the understanding of the upcoming enhanced route 98 with the mayor's 2026 budget update differing

2:00:52those route 98 enhancement to 2027 student have lost the conestoga express and the community has

2:00:59lost enhanced enhanced route 98 without this funding it further delay other improvements

2:01:05to the transit network such as route 97 and delay achieving a grid like transit system

2:01:12many student really relies only on public transportation in our most recent students

2:01:17survey 50 percent student at our gulf campus reported using public transit as their primary

2:01:23method of transportation especially international students women and those with disability classes

2:01:28exams and employment don't fall between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. and and then the buses don't run

2:01:36early enough late enough or on weekends student are forced to turn down shift leave work early or

2:01:43pay for taxis or ride say which they can't afford it also under undercut the city's goal around

2:01:50climate moods if economic development and equity equity so tonight i'm asking you to restore the

2:01:562026 investment for route 98 speed while allowing the plan enhancement to move ahead next year aligned

2:02:03with the future ready xn plan with seven-day service all-day operations and improved frequency

2:02:09that make it a real alternative to drive for students and the broader community csi has been a

2:02:15strong partner of gulf transit collaborating on the you will you pass supporting funding application

2:02:20and accepting a compromise where our express route would be delivered through route 98 instant

2:02:27please do not make students or future patient of gulf channel imaging clinic at konosuga until

2:02:34wait until 2027 please resort to funding in the 2026 budget and come in commit to fully implementing

2:02:41route 98 as it was meant to be thank you for your time a right on the die perfect thank you very

2:02:49much for coming down and delegating we appreciate it is there any uh follow-up at all oh no surprise

2:02:56councillor Allt thank you very much mr. savalier um i there are certainly no promises on on this

2:03:02route but i will be asking staff about it i believe that this might be a challenge not just financially

2:03:09but there might be other issues associated with that so i'll certainly follow up and we will

2:03:14find out i'm a fan of 98 and a grid system but i also know that we have infrastructure issues as well

2:03:22sure is that okay yes okay i'll let that one go councillor Allt got to have questions who what

2:03:31where when why let's start with that okay uh thank you very much for coming and we appreciate your

2:03:37your advocacy okay thank you very much thank you all right alex here you're up next and then finally

2:03:43we have scott farderick who's going to be on video and then we'll uh we'll get prepared for a little

2:03:49break just for a second after that all right welcome and whenever you're ready go right ahead okay

2:04:12first of all i want to be able to thank through the mayor uh opportunity to be able to come and

2:04:16just i'm not don't have any notes whatever i just want to share from my heart and i know that all

2:04:21of you are stuck between a rock and a hard place right now as far as having to make a lot of decisions

2:04:27it doesn't matter which way you go there are going to be some people that are going to be upset

2:04:32and but the bottom line is is dollar figures now one thing that i like about is the fact that

2:04:38is in the 15 months time is that wealth is celebrating its 200th anniversary and through

2:04:45that john galt had a blank check from the canada company that when he started founding wealth

2:04:53is that you know the roads and everything else it was a canada company that basically

2:04:58end up giving him the money to be able to do that now imagine today if we had still had a canada

2:05:04company that would pay for everything that would make your jobs a lot easier unfortunately we don't

2:05:11is that we have to rely on federal government to appoint provincial government to appoint

2:05:17but most we have to rely on our fellow citizens and that's tough you know we've heard about the

2:05:24food bank you know numbers going up we find about bankruptcies are going up as well you have many

2:05:31businesses that are struggling right now to be able to keep afloat especially if you're starting a new

2:05:36business like it is a risk starting to do business and whether it's going to be able to carry through

2:05:41or not so basically you know as far as everyone here i don't envy you at all but i want to just

2:05:50share some numbers or since 2022 just to be able to remind everyone where we're at and what we could

2:05:59possibly do going forward because first of all as far as the capital budget is that in 2022 the

2:06:07capital budget was at 151.9 million dollars the projection for 2027 is that it's going to go up

2:06:16with 481.7 million dollars that's an increase of 216 percent now these numbers are going to bore

2:06:26a lot of people but it's important because 216 percent increase in five years that's a lot of

2:06:36money secondly is the fact that when we're you know i appreciate through the mayor and in mayors

2:06:44that you made it an announcement a couple of two three weeks ago about deferrals and that you're

2:06:49going to be deferring roughly about 111 million dollars or whatever and that's a good step is

2:06:55if that was included in this year's budget i would hate to know what that final number would be

2:07:04when it does come down so the deferrals were nice but we need to remember they're deferrals

2:07:10they're not cancellations they're not eliminating they're just setting aside for one or two years

2:07:17and then they're going to be added but it was a great step in the right direction next thing as

2:07:24well is that when we're talking about as far as just property taxes in general you know over the term

2:07:31of this group right here is four years that our property taxes are up 26.1 7 percent everybody

2:07:39knows that a lot of people are just wondering how are they going to pay for that and they keep that

2:07:45in perspective the average home in gualas is roughly $770,000 every year the property tax they're

2:07:54paying is $10,700 based on that average over four years that works out to just under $43,000 the time

2:08:06that you guys are in office for four years the average home is 43 just roughly about $43,000

2:08:15that they're paying in property taxes in four years now going forward another four years and we know

2:08:23that everything goes up in price whether it be inflation cost of living everything is going to

2:08:28go up including property taxes there's a strong likelihood that it would just be so of $100,000

2:08:39that that couple or that family is paying in property taxes in one year in eight years sorry

2:08:48now the last thing I want to talk about as far as the operating budget is operating budget in 2022

2:08:53was $481 million the projection for 20 27 $684 million that's an increase of 42.2 percent

2:09:05what I would like council to be able to do is lead by example and you know these are tough

2:09:11decisions you need to make but you need to know the numbers hey thank thank you Alex and thank you

2:09:17for coming and delegating is there any follow-up at all there isn't but again thank you very much

2:09:24and our last everybody is going to be on video Scott Frederick is going to join us

2:09:30so Scott if you can is Scott available yeah hear me uh you can try your camera and unmute for us

2:09:42okay sorry about that okay I'm Scott Frederick um I just want to zoom out to get a higher look

2:09:51level look at what we're trying to do with a budget in a budget we're trying to express our

2:09:57values as a community ideally we would have had a discussion of values first but here we are

2:10:05always at budget time we hear from people who claim that they can't afford to pay their taxes

2:10:12they may seem like I can't afford to pay more than inflation or if my taxes are raised I'll have to

2:10:17leave wealth no matter what tax level is chosen there will always be people who can't afford to pay it

2:10:26if people can't afford their taxes that's an issue that needs to be dealt with in some way but we can't

2:10:31begger the city to accommodate those least able to pay can't have our funding raised to the bottom

2:10:37because there is no there is no bottom property values have doubled in the last 10 years anyone

2:10:44who owns property has done very well lately and so in many cases it's not a matter of I can't pay my

2:10:51taxes it's a matter of I don't want to pay taxes I can't afford to pay my taxes I can afford to pay

2:10:59more and I wouldn't complain as long as I thought that I got value for those increases

2:11:06I moved to golf in 2011 previous to that I've done a rural valley in the interior of BC

2:11:13my property taxes there were 450 dollars per year that's considerably less than I pay here per month

2:11:21but for that 450 dollars a year I got a school that my kids could go to and the road plowed

2:11:28that's about it to get drinkable water I had to get together with my neighbors and build a community

2:11:33water system it cost a lot in time and money because of this and other experiences I know the

2:11:41value of being able to turn a tap and get drinkable water it isn't free if you didn't pay for it somebody

2:11:48else paid for it so after about 15 years of that I decided to move to a more urban environment I

2:11:55wanted to take advantage of urban amenities like culture and educational institutions convenient

2:12:01public transportation and so on I chose to live in wealth because of the amenities that property

2:12:08taxes fund when I came here I didn't have a job or a place to stay I came here because of the kind

2:12:14of place that it was when I came here I benefited the city I brought capital and I made elsewhere

2:12:21I started a business I hired people to do work I contributed to the community but the things that I do

2:12:28I can do anywhere I don't have to do them in wealth or any other city if it's if wealth stops being

2:12:35the kind of place that attract me here or the city can no longer provide the amenities that property

2:12:40taxes fund I can leave just like the people who don't want to pay their taxes they can leave too

2:12:47I want to talk a bit about deferrals which was as I mentioned a couple of times there's a lot of

2:12:52deferrals in order to keep the budget below an arbitrarily set number room is to transit are

2:12:59deferred active transportation is deferred other items have been deferred problems with this approach

2:13:05is that the conditions that exist this year will probably be repeated next year so if an item is

2:13:12deferred this year it'll probably be deferred again next year evidence of this is that any of the

2:13:18currently proposed deferrals were also deferred from last year without change a so-called deferral

2:13:26is actually a cut good example of this is the repeated deferrals of improvements to transit

2:13:34time lines are extended and the next year extended again it's like some promised land of improvements

2:13:40that we can never reach as it exceeds ever further into the future let's fund our city properly

2:13:50this concludes my delegation okay thank you scott for your delegation and your thoughts

2:13:57is there any follow-up for for scott at all no okay thank you again have a good night

2:14:04night all right everybody that's our delegations for tonight thank you very much everyone for coming

2:14:12so we are going to take a break but just before we do just so we can get an idea of

2:14:18um counselors and and either myself too that might have a question for staff can I just see

2:14:26is it everybody or is it just a does everyone have questions for staff or who does have questions

2:14:32for staff okay I'll just start a list okay um kate and alt I know does does anyone else have any

2:14:39other questions for staff uh karon and downer okay and howzer as well okay and we can we can

2:14:50do the budget board and other questions as well if we have to okay so when we come back we'll have

2:14:58kate and alt uh karon downer and howzer and then we can do the intentions as well after that

2:15:06and call it a night so it's 806 right now uh why don't we come back at 815 okay and thank you very

2:15:13much everyone who came up we appreciate it okay everybody this is your one minute warning okay

2:25:08okay everybody thank you very much sorry we were delayed blame the mayor um let's go

2:30:30couts or kate you're up with any questions for staff and you know what since I got a list

2:30:37if you have uh you can do questions and if you have like an intention at the same time to say it

2:30:42you got the microphone so let's go all right um my question is for transit staff I don't know if

2:30:51anybody needs to shuffle around uh to through the mayor um with the deputy CAOs and CAO are here

2:30:58tonight we don't have any of the general managers here so we will do our best to answer any questions

2:31:02but we will likely have to refer you to the budget board for specifics so I will take crack at the

2:31:07question thank you uh through the mayor to you um I was just wondering about the route 98 so I was

2:31:15looking on the gulf transit site and from what it looks like the 98 currently kind of goes only

2:31:24partly on speed veil and then it kind of heads down towards London and then into the downtown is

2:31:30that right uh through the mayor yes that's the correct that currently that is the uh route

2:31:36what is on the website is correct okay and so the expansion that is proposed to be deferred

2:31:44actually brings it all the way into ward one so we would actually get another bus route you know

2:31:51not too far into ward one but it would go over and then down through Aramosa so we would have an

2:31:56extra route along John F. Ross for the kids getting tuned from school to make it easier

2:32:01because I hear a lot about parents and their kids not being able to get to school so we'd have it

2:32:06an extra route there and it would go all the way into ward one is that correct so through the mayor

2:32:11we'll get the specific details on the budget board for you because I don't want to answer

2:32:15incorrectly the eventual goal for the 98 is that will be it will be a crosstown route that crosses

2:32:20speed veil uh completely but it is being done in phases partly because of the construction that is

2:32:25happening on speed veil and so this is an enhancement to the route 98 it is not I don't believe it's

2:32:32the final iteration of the route 98 we are doing that enhanced sort of expansion of that route in

2:32:37phases but we'll get the specifics posted on the budget board for you okay great um and so then I

2:32:45guess for my intentions um through the mayor uh I'm interested in the day shelter rfp response funding

2:32:54um a moving of the Stonehill park build into 2027 and rather than 2028 and kind of reiterating

2:33:04that the design will be done in 2026 potentially the two tech positions uh the speed and the speed

2:33:12veil uh bus route thank you great thank you and just so everyone knows and staff you can jump in if

2:33:24if I am wrong but just so everyone knows the route 98 was already uh proposed as an enhancement

2:33:30starting in September and so when it says deferred to 2027 it's from September into 2027

2:33:38so it's not all it's not like all of 2026 being deferred okay I just want to make sure everyone

2:33:44understood understood staff I'm good by saying that yep okay good uh alt and then run thank you very

2:33:51much uh for that mayor Guthrie because that clarification I think is very important interestingly

2:33:56enough some conestoga students have been following this online and wrote about it um I said to them

2:34:03it will be on the bullet the budget bulletin board so hopefully they can follow on that it cuts out

2:34:08one of my questions the next question however is the intriguing one about the food bank and the

2:34:15$35,000 for bus tickets I was wondering if staff could please outline what the challenges are what

2:34:24the potential is for that and where we might be or not be on that particular issue so through the

2:34:30mayor to council there's really two I would say separate but very connected issues um that I think

2:34:35the delegate for the food bank uh was articulating one relates to the affordability of bus passes

2:34:42and I think um Ms. Sales and I will take it away and we'll have a further conversation because

2:34:46certainly the affordable bus pass is what we want people to be using that we're looking to streamline

2:34:52that application process I believe it's being digitized in 2026 as well we have other options

2:34:57for people in terms of well we do need paperwork um to to validate um eligibility um we certainly

2:35:05want to make that program as accessible as possible so we'll take that away and have follow-up

2:35:09conversations the second issue related to the the food bank is that there is not currently a stop

2:35:14immediately adjacent to the food bank location on Crimea and if you look at our Guelph Transit

2:35:19route map we've got great coverage across Paisley and great coverage across Waterloo

2:35:23but that is a bit of a walk to the food bank eventually with the addition of the Route 97

2:35:29spine up and down Edinburgh again if you look at our map it'll become pretty obvious that that Route

2:35:3497 when it connects will become much more um much better located for the Guelph Food Bank

2:35:40in the interim that's where we've been talking about some options whether a dedicated on-demand

2:35:46stop at the food bank might be something that's viable and I think that's where that potential

2:35:51two-ride pass came from was if we are looking at a dedicated on-demand stop at the Guelph Food Bank

2:35:57at certain times of day that then we might do a dedicated pass for that purpose so I think

2:36:03we will get more information on the budget board and we'll follow up with the Guelph Food Bank

2:36:07as well as as I say through Miss Sales and then of course with Mr. Marcus at Guelph Transit.

2:36:13Thank you very much for that. Appreciate that those answers. Mayor Guthrie I only have one

2:36:19intention at the present time and it is not specifically related to the budget but it will

2:36:24be a motion as business arising from the budget on budget constraints and intergovernmental affairs.

2:36:30I do want to thank staff for assistance in framing this. I'm assured it will be in front of us all

2:36:35seen for us to consider. Thank you very much. Uh Karan then Donner. Yes thank you Mr. Mayor.

2:36:43My question has been addressed so all I have left is intentions. Do you want me to do those now?

2:36:48Okay um winter maintenance for cycling infrastructure. I do uh um I do have some thoughts on that

2:36:55matter in terms of the potential unintended consequences of putting bicycle traffic into our

2:37:01traffic lanes. I have some intent to look at restoring a portion of the 100RE reserve money. I

2:37:09know that uh $950,000 was cut. I'd like to put some back to support ongoing decarbonization of

2:37:15our city fleet and facilities with which would be offset in future multi-year budgets by with

2:37:21savings. Um transit route 98 um Conestoga program the healthcare program. I think that there's some

2:37:29expectation that they'll be able to reach their classes and their um their curriculum locations

2:37:37and then I am going to be looking at further at the Bicentel Ningo funding in the multi-year budget.

2:37:43We had 351,000 in 2026 and I understand um thank you Mr. Mayor. You have restored 150k so I just

2:37:50want to better understand what that's for but I and I may or may not increase that number.

2:37:55And then of course I will also be supporting funding for a day use facility in our downtown

2:38:00through Stepping Stone and Royal City Mission. Great thank you very much and Downer Thanhouser.

2:38:09Thank you uh through you two staff. So the if the Speedfill one is delayed the 98 by three months

2:38:18and that will that be an automatic delay for the Edinburgh one the 97?

2:38:26Through the Mayor to Councillor Downer. So what is currently proposed is if the money is being

2:38:30removed out of 2026 um and then uh it is it would then come back for your consideration through the

2:38:372027 budget process but I think the intent is that it would then come online in early 2027.

2:38:43But then we would have to look and obviously work through the budget process to see if that then has

2:38:49an impact pushing everything forward because right now um that would then put more of the

2:38:55financial pressure for the Route 98 into 2027 which I believe if I'm correct Route 97 is in 2027

2:39:03now so um I don't know if Ms. O'Dwyer we'll get the answer for you on the budget board because

2:39:10I want to make sure that we're we've got that mapped out for you properly um so we'll get you

2:39:14that answer on the budget board. So it you know there's an opportunity there may be an opportunity

2:39:18for this next council to not fund the 98 if there's budget constraints. To the to through the Mayor

2:39:29yes of course and it would I think there there is putting both the 98 and the 97 in one fiscal year

2:39:38would have a significant budget impact for sure. Yeah yeah I'd be looking at an intention around

2:39:44that too. I mean I've talked before about making plans and the wheels coming off the bus um as we

2:39:51as we get to budget time so um I'm still I want to be pretty consistent on that.

2:39:58The other thing too is I do have a concern about you know the more I'm hearing about it the the

2:40:03removal of snow clearance on bike lanes so I'll be talking to some colleagues about about what

2:40:10we could do about that and just to thank you Mr. Mayor for putting the parks stewardship program

2:40:15back in and also the arts and finding a way and working with staff to finding a way to to deal

2:40:21with the arts funding as well arts and culture funding so I appreciate that that's gone back in.

2:40:28Great thanks to you and Hauser then Klassen. Thank you I just had a question of just to

2:40:37clarify for the winter maintenance on the bike lanes so the trails they're being maintained that

2:40:44doesn't change the protected ones are not being maintained but the ones that are just painted

2:40:50on the side of the road those are also not being maintained? Through the mayor yes it would be all

2:40:56of the on-road bicycle lane all of those those bicycle lanes would not be maintained through

2:41:02the winter months. Can I follow up? Is there any way like doesn't the plow just go there anyway?

2:41:12Like I don't I'm sorry I'm just very very confused like I understand that the ones that are barriers

2:41:18are more difficult to maintain I watched them all last year get smushed and they weren't passable

2:41:24but the ones that are just on the road I'm confused. So through the mayor first I

2:41:30I just want to correct my earlier answer not all of our parks trails are winter maintained but the

2:41:34ones that are currently winter maintained will remain winter maintained so I just want to make

2:41:37sure I haven't left the impression we do not do winter maintenance on all of our parks trails

2:41:42but the ones that are there's a small section of our parks trails that are maintained in the

2:41:47winter and those aren't impacted. In terms of the the bike lanes Arsenal plus have to do multiple

2:41:53passes of every road and so we would not be prioritizing getting curb to curb we would be

2:41:59get prioritizing getting to the edge of where the driving lane ends eventually if we have the staff

2:42:05time available we will probably then go back in and do a cleanup at a much later date but we would

2:42:11be notifying the public that the bike lanes are not being maintained and therefore are closed.

2:42:18Thank you for clearing that up. Thank you. Our class on the busitile. Yes thank you through you

2:42:27Mr. Mayor to staff. I have a question with regard to one of the delegates requests. It was with

2:42:35regard to the the funding gap that the cameras the the automatic cameras is leaving I just was

2:42:43wondering if you could speak to that gap and and how that might be filled? Through the mayor I'll

2:42:53start and then Mr. Gaman might want to add in. So we are this is going to be some work to do

2:43:00to analyze that gap that is something that we are going to have to take away and bring back through

2:43:06next year because there's revenue impacts there's expenditure impacts and then the net transfer

2:43:12into that transportation reserve is ultimately then the funding source for some capital projects

2:43:20and so all of that is very interconnected and is going to need some work. What we can say is that

2:43:26there's enough money in the transportation reserve fund to fund the planned expenditures in 2026

2:43:35and so then we have that time to do that work and bring that back to you.

2:43:40Okay thank you and so I'm assuming then at some time in 2026 we'll hear we'll hear back about the

2:43:48impact. Through the mayor yes. Okay thank you. I second of all would just like to say thank you

2:43:57to the mayor for reinstating some of the funding around arts and culture and the and welcoming

2:44:05streets as well and then a number of the items that I would have typically advocated for were already

2:44:12in the budget so I'm happy things like the remediation of some sites like the Surrey lot

2:44:19G2G and the Guelph Tool Library so I won't go on too much about the things because we're not

2:44:24talking about those right now but as far as my intentions I would like to support potentially

2:44:32the removal of snow from bike lanes and then potentially something with regard to the council

2:44:42education budget and I think that my colleagues have touched on a few of the other things that I

2:44:50had intended to talk about so I'll stop there. Thank you. Okay thank you and Busatil and Gower.

2:44:57Thank you and through the mayor just I'm going to start first with clarification

2:45:01from staff again it's about one of the delegations around the bus pass costs just a clarification

2:45:08that we have free bus pass category A and B based on LICO is that is that correct does that still

2:45:14exist? Through the mayor to council Busatil yes that's correct and in your response I think earlier

2:45:22what I heard is that there's going to be easier processing digitization and so on

2:45:29and does that include easier ability for income verification whether it's a Canada Child Tax

2:45:36Benefit or is there still the expectation the individual bring that information?

2:45:42Through the mayor to council Busatil the digitization will be for all of the city subsidy

2:45:46programs though the affordable bus pass is the largest of those of course we are still working

2:45:50with our IT partners on what that solution looks like so I don't have the details for that for you

2:45:55right now we can absolutely keep council apprised as that project moves forward and as you can

2:46:01appreciate we will require income verification and an accepted variety of documents as we do now

2:46:07our goal is to make it easier and not harder through the digitization process but there will

2:46:11still be some verification required. Thank you my final question on that delegation is

2:46:18I heard that the the long-term kind of strategic vision for the site on Crimea is a distribution

2:46:25center and the costs for a stop there if clients are there is it easy for staff to not have a stop

2:46:33there I don't know it seems I'm all that worried about investing in something if the long-term

2:46:39vision is to not have it as an access point. Through the mayor to council Busatil again I'll

2:46:48follow up with our transit staff but I think that's why they were looking at a more temporary option

2:46:51like an on-demand stop long term that site will be best served by the route 97 spying up and down

2:46:58Edinburgh. Thank you and last question and then I'll just say some of the things that I'm thinking

2:47:05about just for staff you know we went through the renovation by-law I don't think the costing

2:47:11is in the budget is is that it is okay it okay through the mayor to counciler Busatil staff

2:47:20are still finalizing the full cost of implementation as directed by council at the committee of the

2:47:26whole and you will see a memo before the end of the month with the details on that as part of the

2:47:32mayor's updated proposed budget I think I have the language correct then there was an item that

2:47:39noted that the funds in the affordable housing reserve it's four hundred thousand dollars

2:47:43those funds are going to be redirected in 2026 to do some of the policy work there are additional

2:47:50funds that will be required to do the full policy work but we will bring forward in the memo a

2:47:56proposed funding source for council's consideration. Thank you and the last thing I too would like

2:48:01to see the day use facility the proposal funded thank you. Okay thank you and councillor Coller has

2:48:08indicated that I think some of his questions have been answered and councillor Billings I think you

2:48:14earlier mentioned the split of the hospital levy okay we'll write you down for that okay is there

2:48:24anything more anybody no okay so it's next I don't know what day it is it's 26 I don't I forget what

2:48:32day that is but whatever day that's on that is nine o'clock in the morning and just like last time

2:48:40we'll just we'll have we'll have the list of the motions and we'll go through we'll go through the

2:48:47motions of like adding or deleting or whatever it is and then the non-monetary one similar to what

2:48:52you brought up councillor Allt will come out after that and just so everyone knows that to say it out

2:48:59loud right now you know there's this hole under the strong mayor stuff there's this hole I can take

2:49:07my time to consider vetoing and then and then there can be more days where you got you know where

2:49:13council can consider to override the vetoes if they want to and I've talked to many of you I don't

2:49:19want to do that I if there's a if there's a veto moment it would be best that we just it's taking

2:49:29care of in the moment and then if council wants to override a veto we take care of it in the moment

2:49:35and then we call it a day and and and so that's that's where we go if we have to go there I don't

2:49:40really want to but I'm just saying was we had that kind of set up for last year and we didn't even

2:49:45have to get there so same same kind of process I don't want to be political and have a like

2:49:51ride it out for 15 days or something let's just let's just get it done and go home just be aware

2:49:58to that the outside boards we are now looking to reschedule them for February okay and so

2:50:06I've talked to some of them already they've been actually appreciative of that just to give more

2:50:12time that they are able to kind of relook and consider what they want to do you know be prepared

2:50:18be prepared and it's okay but you know I've been taking my list down on what everyone's

2:50:23intentions are but you know if there's seven votes for all of these you know we're we're going to be

2:50:30over well over 4% just for the city and then the outside boards are if they can't do anything

2:50:36they're 4.6% so we we are you know the citizens and businesses of our city are now looking at

2:50:42an over like an 8.5 8.6% tax increase so just you know just be aware as we try to

2:50:50you for me say balance the affordability and value sort of balancing act just be aware I

2:50:58will say I'm personally a little bit concerned about that but we will get it all figured out

2:51:04on on the 26th okay thank you to staff that said that they will um get more on the budget

2:51:11board for us as well okay is there anything more I just want to make sure everything's covered

2:51:16yeah okay I think that's good then this has been a good process actually I really appreciate staff

2:51:22and council and everybody it's good I think we're going to be I think we're going to be pretty quick

2:51:28actually on on budget day to be we we're one of the quickest last year so I think we'll be

2:51:33even quicker this year it's because of all the heavy lifting till now right so

2:51:37appreciate all of you okay we have some bylaws in front of us

2:51:45and I don't know some people who haven't spoken tonight who wants to do this goller okay

2:51:51oh it says billings I'm sorry it doesn't has no name on my agenda so billings and goller is

2:51:57willing to second so go ahead billings if you want to read those out that bylaws 2025-214-2025-21145

2:52:07and 2025-21168 through 2025-21174 be approved subject to section 284.114 of the municipal act

2:52:19all right and goller has seconded those so thank you very much and is there anything on that or

2:52:27can I call the vote I'll call the votes anyone against the bylaws nobody that's unanimous

2:52:35and how will goller you do adjournment how about we reverse it billings will second adjournment

2:52:41all right anyone against adjournment okay and keep talking to that's it we're done but keep talking to

2:52:48to everybody and we'll try to work stuff out together before next week okay thank you very much

2:52:53have a good night