Special Council Meeting - Budget

1:24One good evening

1:26Everybody and welcome to our special city council budget meeting its delegation night

1:32So welcome to all the delegations welcome to my colleagues and staff. It is November the 15th

1:382023 it is six o'clock. So as I said, let's call the meeting to order. I have not been told about any official regrets and

1:46So let's start as is stated on the agenda with recognizing our national anthem stand if you're able, please

1:53Thank you. And as we continue we'll just have a moment of silent reflection

3:37Great, thank you and our territorial acknowledgement as we gather

3:41Let us take time to reflect on our privilege to live and work in Guelph a city built over rich indigenous histories

3:47We're guests here and we should reflect upon the responsibility to care for this land the people who live here today and the generations to come

3:56If our actions today can move us towards reconciliation

3:59We should take pause and make those decisions with intention and gratitude

4:03This place we call Guelph assert as traditional lands and a place of refuge for many peoples over time

4:09But more specifically the Anaheiman Rick and the Haudenosaunee

4:13This land is held as the treaty lands and treaty with the Mississaugas of the credit First Nation

4:20Guelph lies directly adjacent to the Haldunban tract and is part of the long established traditional hunting grounds for the six nations of the Grand River

4:28Many First Nations Inuit and Métis peoples who have come from across Turtle Island call Guelph home today

4:37Thank you, is there any disclosure of pecuniary interest or any general nature thereof?

4:42Yeah, is that I was supposed to ask that is there a reason why all of our monitors are off here

4:47Are they just all been turned off for what's that?

5:07Yes, so I had to hit my power button twice to make it go on you're good. Okay

5:14Almost had to put 12 new monitors in the budget

5:19All right

5:21And

5:22Councillor Richardson has indicated that she is a part of this she's listening in her seven big camera problems

5:28But she's with us. Okay, so just want to make sure everyone knew that

5:32We are at delegation night as I said right off the top so welcome to our delegates

5:38Here's the lowdown you get five minutes each you can't go over five minutes

5:43You will hear a chime at the four minute and thirty second mark

5:48So that's your warning. That's your thirty second warning

5:51Don't go over the five minutes because then unfortunately I got to tell you to stop and I don't want to tell you to stop

5:57So, please don't make put me in that position

6:00So you got your five minutes make sure you stay in that a lot of time

6:03you don't need to take the whole five minutes, but that's what you got and

6:08Stick around especially if you're here or on camera or by phone

6:13Don't like hang up right away just in case one of my colleagues or even myself may have a follow-up question

6:19Just so everyone's aware we have a budget board where counselors and myself are

6:25Posting questions so you may prompt something with what you've said tonight. We're a counselor or myself might take it away

6:33Talk to staff about it post questions on the budget board

6:38So just be aware. We appreciate you coming

6:40You may prompt something for us to take away and you may have that might happen sort of outside of here

6:46but it's still public so thank you very much for again being here and

6:51so we're just going to go through the list and

6:53and

6:54We're going to start

6:56Just so counselors know as well

6:58We're going to treat this like we're getting through all the delegations

7:03All first okay. No like delegations then staff questions and we're going through all the delegations

7:09If there's some follow-up after that so be it

7:12But again, we're really just focused here to listen and to acknowledge our delegations here tonight

7:19so let's begin in

7:22The first one here. I have is Stephanie Clark from the Guelph

7:28tool library

7:31And in the wings is John Dennis

7:34Also from

7:36The Guelph tool library. Are you guys going to be doing something separate?

7:40Or did you want to do it together? Is it separate?

7:49Clark got sick and she's not available tonight. Okay, so welcome. Just be myself speaking. No problem. Thank you for coming

7:57John it's right on over to you. The time will start when you start. Okay. All right ahead

8:03Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight

8:05I'm coming to you as the chair of the board for the Guelph tool library

8:10The Guelph tool library started in 2016. We currently have just under 800 members

8:16We are about to reach 30 000 loans

8:19We have 200 volunteers that help us out some every day some

8:24occasionally when we do public events and

8:27We have eight employees both full-time and part-time. I'm here because

8:31We have advocated and worked with the solid waste department

8:36To get funding to support our work in the community and this is done through a community benefits agreement

8:42and

8:43This is a work that

8:45Is ongoing for the community

8:47I'm asking you to support this effort

8:50We have a history of success with the Guelph tool library. We've done some really amazing things in Guelph

8:55And it's really made

8:57What we do in this community and what we do for Guelph really stand out

9:01And we're well known for the work that we do quite frankly right across Canada

9:05People are always surprised and excited to hear about what we do. Some of the great things we've done

9:10We had our first zero waste festival

9:13Just before the pandemic started. We had almost a thousand people attend

9:17We do repair cafes every other month all over Guelph

9:20We repair items for free. We keep them out of the landfill since we've started nearly

9:2510 tons of waste has been diverted

9:27We run a circular store. It's a thrift store in the downtown

9:30But it's also unique recycling center and it's outreach center

9:34So we have people that could come in they can access items for free

9:37And it's what we deem to be a dignified experience people come

9:41They get items that they really need and they could do it at an incredibly low price

9:47And we have the Guelph seed library

9:48So we distribute seeds to the public library as well as at the tool library

9:52And there's over 3,000 people in Guelph every year that take advantage of these free seeds

9:57And it also was a way for us to keep local species and local seeds available through the community

10:02I'll ask that the council supports our efforts

10:05to get this funding and

10:08Hopefully with success we'll be able to expand and grow our programs and be able to serve Guelph

10:14As we have been doing and with new programs that we want to

10:18Undertake and I want to thank you for your time tonight

10:21I'll thank you so much. Just let me see if there is a follow-up at this time

10:26Nope, and thank you very much really appreciate it

10:29All right. Next up is Steven Petrick, who is the chair of transit action alliance of Guelph. Steven. I think I saw you here. Yep

10:38Come on down

10:40You're no stranger here. You know how this works. So thank you for coming and that your time will start whenever you start

10:45Okay, go ahead

10:47Thank you, mr. Mayor and members of council. I'm here on behalf of

10:50Try to transit action the lines of Guelph

10:53Here to urgently highlight the critical issue of delayed transit investments in the draft 2024 2027 city budget

11:00Today's decisions hold the power to mold Guelph's transit future and in turn impact the well-being of our community

11:07Acknowledging the city's budget pressures and challenging challenging decisions you face

11:11We firmly believe that post-pending parts of Guelph transit service enhancements is short-sighted and could be detrimental to our community

11:19Guelph's approach towards transit requires a shift

11:23Moving away from treating it like a business and towards acknowledging its status as a public good with universal benefits

11:29The suggestion of potential transit cuts, especially with low priority for service enhancements in 24 25 is alarming

11:36Given the housing affordability challenges. Why are we not prioritizing affordable and high quality transportation?

11:43Transit investments offer significant economic returns with each dollar invested

11:49Generating up to five dollars in benefits. This encompasses a wide range of advantages including job creation

11:56Reduced financial burden on residents congestion relief health care costs reduction improved traffic safety

12:01Economic efficiency and innovative solutions for addressing parking minimums and land use

12:07Recalling Brent Tonerham's words in the transportation master plan Guelph is not as green as it thinks it is

12:14Urgent action is needed to address this reality

12:17Delaying transit investments not only makes the city more vulnerable to environmental challenges

12:22But it also agorates air pollution and worsens traffic

12:25congestion it also height heightens greenhouse gas emissions

12:30Making it a car-centric culture and hindering progress towards a sustainable urban development and environmental goals

12:37Recognizing the dedication the city have city staff

12:40We also see value in seeking external

12:42perspectives from top experts to identify areas of improvement

12:46And potential oversights this collaborative approach combines internal expertise with a diverse range of external insights

12:52Integrating both viewpoints in a thorough examination can help

12:56Facilitate the development of a simplified and affordable plan with quicker implementation

13:01This dual effort with sense a sense of urgency

13:04Valuing both internal and external contributions ensures a comprehensive solution

13:09Aligns with our communities evolving needs

13:11In terms of the gas tax for transit lets it use use it more wisely increase service hours acquiring new vehicles

13:18High frequency routes and upgrading our infrastructure

13:21This aligns with our climate goals and can actually meet the c40 city's call for doubling public transit used by 2030

13:28increased ridership means more gas tax revenue and reducing costs

13:32During the election we highlighted a substantial disconnect between departments in the future ready plan

13:38There's an urgent need to break down silos and streamline processes

13:42Consolidating departments including transit transportation fleet economic development building services parking and tourism under a united

13:49Unified leadership can enhance collaboration efficiency and strategic

13:55Coronation and city planning development and services

13:58Investing in robust public transit is vital for a low-carbon affordable and accessible city

14:03Cities like Edmonton Brampton charlottown and bc transmit exemplify success through high frequency bus corridors

14:09Expanded fleets express routes and transit signal priority

14:13Learning from diverse city sizes and not just our comparable cities will allow us to serve surpass the most basic of industry standards

14:22So we urgently implore city council to reconsider delaying some of these investments

14:27The well-being of our communities at stake. This is not merely a plea. It is a call for immediate impactful action

14:35Transit can no longer be the sacrificial lamb for short-term savings

14:40Particularly in the face of a declared climate emergency and housing crisis

14:44We respectfully request prioritizing a thorough review of proposed transit cuts for serving vital service enhancements

14:52such as sunday on demand service seeking perspectives from top experts and the community

14:57Prioritize affordable and high quality transportation to address housing challenges and boost economic growth

15:03maximize our gas tax use

15:05And act on our call to break down bureaucratic silos

15:09We cannot afford to extend this plan up to 15 years

15:12It deviates from industry norms puts us even further behind

15:17Jeopardizes our future of our city and the staff pointed out it'll actually cost us more money

15:24Now more than ever it's time for a bold visionary decision

15:28Let us seize this opportunity together to make transit the centerpiece of everything we do in this city

15:35Ensuring a prosperous sustainable and accessible Guelph for all residents. Thank you for your attention and consideration

15:43Thanks, Stephen. Any questions for this delicate?

15:47Seeing none. Thank you very much for coming down appreciate it

15:51And adam donaldson is next coming all the way from the media desk

15:58And I would imagine adam you know how the drill goes here. So you yeah, yeah, it's your first time

16:04I will let you go and your time starts when you speak go ahead

16:08Thank you, mayor Guthrie. I just want to say first of all ditto and thank you to uh, steve

16:13He's been a champion for transit here in Guelph

16:16And I just want to say and this this comments directed to my in particular if there's a

16:20150 year old wall somewhere in the middle of nowhere in the city

16:23You can find 100 people who will stand up and fight to the death for that wall

16:26But you can't find 10 people in Guelph who will fight for transit. So that's real

16:31Uh, we're here tonight about two years to the day after council approved a 10 year transit review and uh schedule strategy

16:37I was one of the delegates that night

16:40Uh, and there were a bunch of a dozen of us and we all had the same message

16:43We all had different ways of going about it going about saying it but the message was the same

16:48The 10 year plan was inadequate 10 years from now

16:51It's inadequate for today and it was probably inadequate 10 years ago

16:54Which means that this plan was 20 years behind

16:58By the time it was finished

17:00Now it's going to be 25

17:02It's about this time last month many of us were there ground was broken on the south end community center

17:07I was there too cost me $50 an uber to get there and back

17:12Because that was the choice

17:14$50 an uber or three hours on Guelph transit to go 12 kilometers down the street and 12 kilometers home

17:25I'm just going to quote a couple of things

17:28A couple of weeks ago mayor Guthrie shared a social media post reminding everyone that

17:32Guelph storm transit uh Guelph storm

17:35People go into the Guelph storm game

17:38Uh can ride free on Guelph transit if they have a ticket good program. I support that program

17:43I think that offers a valuable service

17:46But there were three posts and I don't know if mayor Guthrie saw them right right underneath boom boom boom

17:50We're not taking Guelph transit for an hour to get to the storm game

17:53There was a woman here last week delegating against the development of victoria mccalister and I'm going to quote her directly here

18:03She said public transit for this neighborhood is severely lacking. However at this point in time transit is not needed for this neighborhood as there is no demand for it

18:11As a side note public transit is already subsidized

18:15Which is an interesting choice of words. I never hear that word applied to soccer fields

18:19So to add another route to this neighborhood will be likely little used by existing residents and will largely be funded by our tax

18:28dollars

18:29Which will put additional strain on the city budget

18:32You know what i'm throwing in with this woman. Let's get rid of transit. It's clearly a drain on our budget

18:36Clearly not working right. Nobody wants to use it

18:40Clearly in need of improvement improvements are not a priority. They're going to be delayed five years

18:45Let's get rid of it. Actually, I don't want to get rid of it

18:49But the message is clear. That's the message. I think that is getting out in the community. I don't think that's the message

18:54This council wants to send

18:56So I was going to come here tonight originally with a

18:59I don't know a point plan something to offer some suggestions to help improve it

19:05Instead I just asked me for one of two things tonight just one of two things

19:09First thing is easy leave transit alone for god's sake leave transit alone. I don't know why once every council it seems

19:16That the path to fiscal

19:18Solvency passes through gulf central station if someone can explain that to me. I'd appreciate it deeply

19:25Option number two is that it should be the policy of this city

19:28To just take the words environmentally friendly out of every single piece of media this city puts out

19:3426 of our greenhouse gas emissions come from

19:39Transportation and they don't mean the diesel buses

19:43They mean your tailpipe counselor Chu. They mean your tailpipe counselor clasin. They mean your tailpipe

19:48counselor caron

19:50Your tailpipe your tailpipe your tailpipe your tailpipe your tailpipe. I see you there quite darn

19:57but

19:59He tried to hide

20:02Look a promise was made

20:04Make the modal shift get on the bus take transit reduce your carbon footprint reduce the

20:10Parking demands

20:13We're gonna give you if you do all this we're gonna give you a transit system

20:16That you can use not only that you can use but you will want to use it

20:20Not begrudgingly you will want to get out there and get out to the bus stop and get on gulf transit

20:25I've held up my end for 20 years

20:28I have believed in that promise for 20 years

20:31But not a week goes by in this city where I don't think to myself

20:35If I got a license and bought a car

20:37Boy would my life be easier to get around

20:41One more thing

20:44I know that's not the environmental legacy. This council wants to leave so I just to to implore you one last time

20:50Just leave transit alone. Thank you. That's my speech

20:53Thank you. Is there a follow-up at all?

20:56Seeing none. Thank you very much

20:59And is it uh Ronak Patel am I saying that right?

21:04Uh in person I've been Ronak Patel

21:10No

21:12Okay, we're gonna skip then and go to uh, Nelson, uh, Chukama

21:18Thank you. Thank you for coming

21:26And no tailpipe darman. You are in the wings

21:30Okay, uh, so Nelson welcome and thank you very much for coming. Thank you for having me. Yeah, and I'll mute and you can start right away

21:39Awesome. Um through the chair. Hello members of council

21:43My name is Nelson Chukuma and I am the president of conestoga students incorporated

21:47The official student association of conestoga college

21:50We represent over 40,000 students including over 2000 at our glove campus

21:55Today, I'm here to voice our concerns regarding the potential delays to transit improvements

22:01Now like many municipalities throughout the province the city of guelph is facing a difficult budget process

22:07And we understand that there are many things that may have to be delayed reduced or entirely removed from the budget

22:15However, we believe that the delays and referrals in funding to guelph transit not only increases the timeline

22:22And future costs to implement improved transit throughout the city

22:26But it will have far more reaching impacts on other city priorities than may appear on the surface

22:33One of these key impacts is housing

22:36Now while the city of guelph has acknowledged that once future housing is built

22:40transit will need to service new developments and job areas

22:44However, this ignores that improvements to transit in the presence also increases the current housing availability

22:52By providing access to new neighborhoods

22:56For many who depend on transit entire neighborhoods are simply not an option because to get to work

23:02School and other necessary places. It means transferring routine buses or trips that are unnecessarily long and out of the way

23:12By having transit that can holistically serve guelph

23:15More neighborhoods become viable options for students and community members alike to live in

23:21Because they know that they can rely on transit to get them where they need to go

23:25efficiently

23:27Transit improvements further allow for people to expand their housing search throughout the city

23:31Are supposed to be entrapped within transit corridors where housing availability is already stretched to capacity

23:39Therefore by not improving transit now guelph limits the effectiveness of its housing initiatives

23:46In addition to impacts on guelph's housing priorities

23:49The city of guelph has outlined making it easier to get around under city building as a priority

23:54Here priority is related to transit fleet maintenance

23:58Electrification and ridership are outlined

24:02However, this fall conestoga college students have already been running into issues with accessing transit because of high ridership

24:11But limited because of high ridership, but limited route options and frequency

24:17In compare in october 2022 to october 2023

24:21post-secondary boardings have risen almost 400 percent from 10,500 boardings to 52,000

24:29With this kind of increase it is little surprise that students and other transit riders have been left waiting at bus stops due to overloaded buses

24:38Something that has caused students to not only be late to class or have to change

24:43Their personal schedules, but we've heard stories from students who have been reprimanded at work for being late

24:48Simply because the buses they rely on are full

24:52It is clear that guelph transit

24:54Is no longer a capacity. It has exceeded capacity

24:58If guelph is invested in continuing to expand ridership as outlined in the budget presentation

25:03There must be room on the buses for riders

25:07This is why improvements transit like the introduction of route 98 to service the conestoga college campus cannot be deferred

25:14This route will not only provide more direct transit for students and other riders

25:19Heading towards guelph's industrial area, but it will also help to alleviate ridership on routes 17 and 18

25:26reducing the presence of overloaded and overcrowded buses

25:30In guelph budget discussions

25:32The focus has been on maintaining levels of service to address affordability concerns and I applaud the city for this focus

25:40However, the issue of maintaining levels of service in growing demands for transit

25:45Is that maintenance currently and functionally means reduction

25:49As demand grows buses become overcrowded and overloaded impacting everything from class to work and more

25:58Without improvements the level of service will continue to deteriorate and in guelph transit case

26:04increasing service levels is maintenance

26:08As guelph and conestoga colleges population can continue to grow

26:12All transit riders will continue to face issues without these improvements

26:16And those who cannot afford to use private transportation may switch to it increasing carbon footprints

26:22Those who can afford to switch who are more likely to experience forms of systemic oppression and be from lower socioeconomic classes

26:29Racialized senior young adults are not women will continue to face barriers

26:33Transit is ultimately an issue of equity climate change and housing

26:38And by deferring real improvement the city of guelph implicitly defers equity barriers climate change and ongoing housing crisis

26:46And that's why csi is here today consular got three. Um, okay. I'll stop you there

26:51That sounded like a sentence to there. So that that sounded like a close to the end. So sorry about that

26:56But no, it was okay. No, you did great. Thank you very much for coming and just is there a question as a follow-up here at all

27:01No, thank you Nelson. Thank you so much for you and uh, and the team coming appreciate you. Thank you very much

27:09Uh, Mike darman, you're up adrian savattor. You are in the wings. Okay

27:15and uh

27:17Mike welcome you as well know the drill here. So you go right ahead. Thanks. Uh, good evening mayor guthrie counselors and city staff

27:24My name is mike darman and i'm a director and chair of the gcat advocacy committee

27:28I fully realize that this budget will be one of the most difficult to deal with as a city counselor

27:33And tough decisions will have to be made so the living costs will not be increased drastically

27:38Especially for those least able to afford them attractive active transportation and transit options can reduce overall living costs

27:45And provide more money money is available for housing costs

27:48I hope you consider the importance of making our mobility system more equitable

27:52And safer for all users, but especially for those walking biking and using mobility devices

27:57I need to remind you of the tragic and very recent deaths of two active transportation users by vehicles at crossings

28:04Improving safety of road crossings helps protect our most vulnerable road users and advances our vision zero goals

28:10However, we should always look at incorporating the safest and most enjoyable route options when we look at choosing at projects

28:17We mainly advocate for at projects that enable you to commute or get to a get a task done without using a car

28:23Projects like active transportation network trails are not only economical to build but are an economic driver for the city of guelph

28:32Many of you were present at this chamber budget breakfast meeting where cao scott steward talked about building community

28:38And mary guthrie spoke about how atn trails make wealth attractive and attract people to live work and play and visit guelph

28:45I had the opportunity to ask a question on the city budget

28:48Mary guthrie had correctly pointed out in his remarks that our city budget reflects our city vision

28:54He is definitely correct and I quoted the original wording

28:57He was referring to from city planner brent jedarian whom the city recently hired to advise and I believe inspire us

29:03Quote the truth about a city's aspiration isn't found in its vision. It's found in a budget end quote

29:10Investments in at and transit also make us better able to compete against cities like kitchens and waterloo who have made

29:16wise investments in both and are reaping the benefits according to the 2023 reactive transportation and trails and kitchens progress report

29:24Quotes with the adoption of kitchens award-winning cycling and trails master plan in late 2020 kitchens are focused on the immediate priority of installing

29:32three kilometers of protected cycling and infrastructure

29:35In the heart of us downtown known as the downtown cycling grid

29:39This combined with 27 kilometers of new trails multi-use pathways and supporting cycling routes in just two years

29:46Since the plan was approved has positioned kitchens as a city invested in sustainable future

29:52As kitchens continues to grow and meets the growing urgency of the housing crisis and affordability challenges

29:58It is even more critical that the city's active transportation network continues to expand to meet the needs of new residents and the most

30:05underserved underserved communities

30:07Developing world-class walking rolling and cycling infrastructure will make kitchens a city for everyone

30:13And by creating a trail like experience in the heart of the downtown the the grid attracts

30:17People who would like to bike more but don't feel comfortable riding in busy traffic

30:22And when combined with walking and light rail transit the grid provides a viable alternative to car ownership for the up to 5000 people

30:30Moving downtown in new homes currently under construction

30:34End quote

30:35So the report quotes are by the general manager of development services and the general manager of infrastructure services and kitchener

30:41Imagine if we had this infrastructure in place now for the near for the near future 5000 new students and staff at connoisseur

30:48college moving to gulf

30:51One current city park project

30:53We have been advocating for that mimics kitchens already existing infrastructure as just described involves a collaboration between parks and sustainable transportation staff

31:02Along with active transportation news users like gcat who understand what is needed to increase modal share from the experience of boots

31:09On the pedals and on the ground by the way, we have built a collaborating trusting relationship with city staff

31:14And I happen to see our advice being valued not just in words, but in respective budgets

31:21The extension of the current trans-canda trail project from downtown to victoria road will be a game changer for increased active

31:28Transportation mode share this protected at an extension project would be the lowest cost easiest to implement and highest return on investment

31:35With regard to increased mode share of any active priority project in my opinion

31:42This project will not only provide a protected at corridor to existing residents

31:45But also provide convenient adjacent at options to the thousand new residents of the woods development between duke and huron street

31:53And the future 6000 residents of the fusion homes gid a fusion homes representative spoke to us at the chamber budget breakfast

32:01And stated that they are still committed to their vision

32:04of a walkable city within the city

32:06And are excited by our vision of connecting them by safe a to to at to the gid

32:13In conclusion even in tough times

32:15We must remember to keep our long-term strategic vision goals in mind, but most importantly fund that vision. Thanks

32:22Thank you

32:23Well timed mike

32:26Right on the right on the bell

32:28Is there any follow-ups for mike at all?

32:31Okay hearing and seeing none. Thank you very very much adrian. You are up next

32:35And john fischer is john here

32:40Yes, okay. You're in the wings john. Thank you

32:42And adrian welcome i'll turn it over to you

32:48Good evening mayor guthrie respected members of council esteemed city staff and my fellow residents

32:54My name is adrian salvator and i'm here today as the chair of the guaff coalition

32:58for active transportation

33:00There is no doubt that a 10.3 percent budget increase is not acceptable

33:05In a time when household finances are tight

33:08Council should be working to reduce the burden on our neighbors and families

33:12It is imperative that council work collaboratively to alleviate this increase

33:18Council must be careful how it handles this tough situation

33:22Though we know that our city is not alone in facing financial pressures. We must still be asking. How did we get here?

33:29Though not unreasonable questions of what can we defer are a knee-jerk reaction

33:35What must triumph is longer term thinking

33:38How do we ease the burden on residents while providing services that we want and need?

33:43How can our city be more resilient in the future?

33:46We know the answer our city staff have done excellent work

33:50Mapping and analyzing tax density across guaff. I'm sure most of you know

33:55mixed use

33:56denser areas produce the most value per unit of land

34:00All while generally coming with lowered per capita infrastructure costs

34:04This type of building plainly uses land better

34:08Providing more homes more commercial area

34:11It leaves more land available for other uses such as parks and community space

34:15It offers closer amenities and services

34:19What is a prerequisite to supporting more mixed use and denser neighborhoods?

34:23a reduction in car centerism

34:26And a shift in our transportation modes to more active transportation and more transit

34:35We also know that providing and maintaining car-centric transportation infrastructure is extremely expensive

34:41We are happy to see this recognized in the draft budget with projects like the york road widening being revised and victoria road widening being deferred

34:51It is also worth noting

34:53That vehicle parking continues to see subsidy in the range of a million dollars a year

34:57All the while the city undercuts its own investment in parking structures by offering free parking on the street

35:04With respect to active transportation projects, we are saddened

35:08To see deferrals though. We understand that some projects must wait to help reduce the amount of the levy increase

35:15We appreciate that in the draft budget. There is clear recognition of the value

35:20Of active transportation projects

35:22These projects will longer term enable us to build a more affordable community

35:27That places less tax burden on residents and enables us to support valuable services in our community

35:34Supporting active modes also helps us reduce the burden on household budgets

35:39In 2019 stats canada reported that the second largest proportion of household spending is transportation

35:46Providing active modes gives residents an option for reducing this burden and a choice that many are taking advantage of

35:53The guave coalition for active transportation urges council to keep the positive financial impacts of supporting active transportation in mind

36:01When they are looking to create affordability in the budget

36:04And remember that your decisions do not just impact guave next year

36:09But will be felt for decades to come

36:11Thank you. I appreciate everyone's time

36:14Thank you. Adrienne. Appreciate your your delegation too. Is there any follow-up questions?

36:19Okay, seeing and hearing none. Thank you again. Thank you really appreciate it and john you're on your way and

36:26Did is Ian here yet?

36:30No, okay, so we might skip Ian

36:32And so in the wings would be

36:35Maureen mccaffrey

36:38Maureen are you here maureen?

36:43Okay, john you go ahead and we'll have to we'll skip a couple others here, but you go ahead john. Thank you

36:49um, mr. Mayor counselors

36:51City staff golf taxpayers fellow delegates

36:56My name is john fisher president the gulf hiking trail club

36:59And a council approved member of the tourism committee

37:03I represent the voices of over 450 club members

37:07community organizations businesses and taxpayers

37:10Who want the g2g gulf trailway to be completed?

37:15However, i'm not here asking for money

37:17In fact, we are offering to help council achieve their key strategic objectives

37:23They're approved master plans

37:25improve their regional and governmental

37:28relationships

37:29And generate revenue for businesses at no cost to taxpayers

37:33We want to simplify the difficult deserving fiscal choices council being are being asked to consider tonight

37:40The current city plan for the number one city building trail project known as trans canada trail north

37:47Is not to build it

37:49The justification for the no build plan

37:53Guelph for guelph complexity cost

37:56uncertainty

37:58Doesn't resonate with passionate trail users who find that decision short sighted and unacceptable

38:06The guelph community has a history of finding the best way to find the best way to find the best way to find the best way

38:10financially supporting and volunteering to support amenities they feel strongly about

38:17Recent outdoor recreation examples include guelph lake

38:21are called mountain bike parks the gallows again crane park bridges

38:25guelph lake lake rotary trail

38:28and guelph hiking trail club recreational trails

38:32They were all funded and are managed by people who value those amenities

38:36But they are available to every citizen to use and enjoy

38:41And so we are asking council to direct staff to let the community spearhead the g2g trailway project

38:51Specifically we are asking that this project be designated as a community led city supported project

38:59a category identified by the council approved

39:032021 trails master plan

39:06Give the community permission to demonstrate

39:10g2g's importance by letting them lead manage and fund the g2g trailway project with city support

39:19There is precedent for this

39:22At the 2021 trails master plan council meetings

39:25council directed staff to accelerate the Hanlon underpass to imperial road trail connections

39:32Six months later the parks department recommended the council

39:37That the guelph hiking trail club would be the best choice to provide an interim solution

39:43The club has since installed an improved recreational trail under the Hanlon

39:47and side trails to imperial and fife road

39:51The local community is gradually learning about this trail and increasing its use

39:55If you grant us permission to lead the community in a city supported

40:01Trans Canada trails north initiative

40:03We commit to an open and transparent process that would inform council and staff

40:09With regular informational updates of the project

40:13We would also be respectful of staff time

40:16We are very conscious of the narrow lens we bring to this project

40:20Compared to the myriad projects and responsibilities of city staff

40:24Our laser focus on this one project is why we will be successful

40:32We are all familiar with the quote attributed to Thomas Payne

40:36Lead follow or get out of the way

40:40The multi-year budget process has already informed trail users and businesses

40:46That the city does not want to lead this project

40:50Pragmatic trail users don't want the city to get out of the way

40:54We need your support

40:56So please follow the community's leadership

41:00And allow the trans-craneter trail north project

41:03Be community led

41:05And together we will celebrate a new g2g trail 12 trailway by 2027

41:12Thank you very much John. Is there a follow up for John at all?

41:17Seeing none. Thank you very much for coming out and on offering that. Thank you

41:21Yeah, Ian. I just saw you walk in and you're actually next

41:25Lucky you

41:26Should try to stop you from walking the stairs

41:32But your timing is impeccable so you can come right up

41:36So thank you for joining us and as soon as the mic starts for you your time will start and no more than five minutes

41:41Okay, go right ahead. Thank you

41:45Mr. Mayor and counselors, thank you for for hearing me today. I am here on behalf of Gualt

41:52Wellington Ontario health team and is emmy here

41:58I

41:59emmy Perkins was was hoping to be here and mark

42:03Walton from from the hospital. We're also hoping to be here

42:07We are here presenting our request for funding for a physician recruitment strategy

42:13And I will outline it here for you

42:16as you know, Gualt Wellington Ontario health team is

42:20One of the 57 approved Ontario health teams across the province

42:24And we're a collaboration of health organizations who are working together to improve health for our residents and

42:32Maintain the function of health services within gulf and wellington

42:35I'm an emergency physician at gulf general hospital and I'm here on behalf of

42:41Gualt Wellington physician association and we are one of the

42:46One of the founding supporters of gulf wellington ontario health team

42:51So we're here to ask city of gulf for a two-year funding envelope

42:56to develop and activate a physician recruitment

43:00strategy for

43:02Our region and to attract new physicians to our region

43:05So as you know, uh, physician recruitment is a critical issue across ontario

43:11Currently, there's about 2.3 million ontarians

43:15With no family doctor and this is expected to increase to four million over the next few years

43:21In gulf and wellington county a significant portion of

43:26Citizens do not have a family physician and

43:31Consequently must use walk-in clinics and emergency departments as their health resource

43:37Similarly, there is a shortage for certain specialty services in in all regions across

43:43Wellington county and across the city and as

43:47Of course, you know as council members

43:49We're facing a big surge of new arrivals to town with 18,000 new bills anticipated

43:54We are anticipating somewhere around 35 new physicians will need to be recruited

44:00In addition to what we would normally have had to recruit

44:03With with usual rollovers in the county. They're expecting another 25 physicians required in addition to regular recruitment

44:11So we're looking at a big

44:13A big surge of requirements

44:16For our physician recruitment

44:18And at the same time physician recruitment in our province is becoming a lot more competitive

44:25Um, as we've described in the submission all of the neighboring regions around us are in a process of recruitment

44:33And working with their

44:36Communities to have all of community comprehensive recruitment plans and we're missing this right now in gulf and wellington

44:43There's a lot of great recruitment activities going on in all of the individual places

44:48But we don't have a whole of community approach, which is why we're

44:54Seeking support for this so we're

44:56I'm using the analogy that we're sort of the center of the donut with all the donut around us doing doing recruitment and

45:03Guelph is missing this currently

45:05So since march of this year guelph wellington, ontario health team has been working together with local partners including

45:13The city and county of wellington chamber of commerce

45:17Um, and others to develop a sustainable physician recruitment

45:22Strategy and we have developed the business case, which is in front of you

45:27The specific ask is that we are asking for

45:31$43,445 per year from the city of guelph for two years

45:37To work towards this project. This will support

45:41Funds and in kind support from the county

45:45From the chamber of commerce from the guelph wellington oht partners and for a total proposed annual budget of about $130,000

45:56These funds will be used to go towards a coordinated strategy

46:00One team approach to recruit physicians

46:03including marketing communications

46:06increased national and international recruitment

46:09engaging potential candidates here and

46:14increasing

46:17And increasing

46:18Recruitment opportunities for medical students and other learners

46:22We know there is a business case for new physicians coming here for every dollar that

46:27A physician for every dollar spent on physician recruitment. It's estimated that there's an additional 200 dollars in regional economy

46:35Access to highly qualified health services is an expectation for many industries and businesses and physicians who come here are

46:43consumers employers and support the local business economy, so we thank you for

46:48supporting this

46:49request

46:51Great. Thanks. Councillor coller has a question for you

46:54Thank you and through your worship. Thank you for your presentation

46:58As outlined in the in your presentation in the um the submission

47:02There is the request has been divided into three parts. Do you have a sense as to whether the chamber of commerce and wellington county

47:09Are in favor of this? Yes. Thank you. Uh wellington county

47:13in endorse this in at the end of october under the

47:21Under the expectation that the gulf city council would also come on board as would the

47:28The chamber the chamber is coming on board with

47:31In kind and some financial supports and we're working through that with them right now

47:36But there is definitely support for it and they've been at the table from from the beginning perfect. Thank you very much

47:41Thank you and councillor cron

47:44Yes, thank you. Thank you for your delegation and you certainly have made an excellent case for the growing community

47:50Your request was very specific and you described to council galler what other partners are involved

47:56If we were not able to fund the full amount would there be the same

48:01Outcome or would you what would be reeled back? What would be the impact of partial funding? So?

48:07This has been in development to uh to try and determine

48:11I once to answer your question. We will uh

48:15We would accept a reduced amount if the budget was we know you're under a lot of pressures

48:20This is a reasonable budget to hire the right

48:25individuals to go to recruitment fairs to have a

48:29a budget for for new marketing and

48:33To to use the the best services we have available

48:37And yet we are still in it is still dependent on what funding comes in in order to do it

48:43But we know the city's under fiscal pressures and we also know with

48:49All these new people coming here and with the current

48:53backlog of

48:55Of physician pressures. We would

48:59Certainly want to to boost this as far as possible this this year and start it going

49:03Thank you

49:05Great. Thank you. Thank you so much. That's uh, that's all the questions. Thank you very much for your delegation. Thank you

49:09Appreciate it

49:13Now I thought I saw someone walk in sort of when you were speaking there. Is there someone else kind of in

49:19Just want to make sure i'm not skipping over people that might have just been showing up. No

49:24So again, Maureen mccaffrey is not here

49:28No, okay, is barb minette here

49:33Yes

49:34Come on down barb. Thank you for coming

49:38And uh mike salisbury you are in the wings. Okay

49:44Hi barb. Thank you for coming appreciate it. Go go right ahead whenever you're ready

49:48Good evening everyone

49:50Thank you for listening to me once again

49:53My name is barb minette and I started the bookshelf 50 years ago

49:58On october 5th, I delegated to the police service board

50:02To describe the situation that we face as stakeholders in in downtown and to basically plead for more useful funding

50:10If you are interested in the graphic details of my concern, I encourage you to go to youtube and put in october 5

50:17wealth police board

50:19I know that you're all aware of food insecurity and housing insecurity

50:24But I ask you also to be aware of burgeoning downtown insecurity everywhere

50:30Inner cities are literally falling apart

50:33In the last couple of years

50:35I've read as many articles as I could about the intractable

50:40Worldwide reality of the unhoused and the proliferation of substance abuse and mental illness

50:48Housing is certainly part of the solution and as a city we are working slowly towards solving that

50:55But opinions keep changing about helping those caught in the trap of addiction and the realities of life with mental illness

51:03Of course safe injection sites prevent death. That seems to be irrefutable

51:08But there are also those who think that they enlarge the population of people using drugs

51:13I have no idea. I just know that opinions are in flux and substance abuse is a growing a growth industry

51:22The most successful constant strategy though

51:26Seems to be having a mental health professional

51:29A company police when mental health and or drugs are the issue

51:34Mental health professionals are more able to help stream some folks into services

51:39Which could help avert calls to 911

51:42Which bring police fire and ambulance to to the scene and this is very expensive

51:50sometimes

51:52Mental health professionals if they have services that support them even help the individual open a door to wellness

52:02That is why I support this part of the police budget

52:06I I think I think this is part of the police budget. I'm not exactly sure but if it isn't

52:12This is what I would like to see

52:16To fund at least three

52:18Doutown community officers and a dedicated downtown mental health professional

52:24Perceptually friendly officers will make visitors to the downtown feel more relaxed

52:30Also, these officers will get to know some of our more unlucky citizens. This is a relationship that is not to be underestimated

52:39I chatted with kevin coghill this week executive director and pastor at royal city mission

52:46He has some interesting observations and I encourage the police to work closely with him

52:52For instance to target these services for the best results possible

52:55He would say employ staff during the peak trouble hours, which are 11 a.m. To 7 p.m. Six days a week

53:02Anxieties brew and boil over as the day progresses hours between 8 and 11 in the morning are fairly quiet

53:09Kevin has also given me permission to tell you that lately cars from other cities

53:16Have been dropping off unhoused people on his doorstep. He fears that this will only grow

53:22Obviously dedicated downtown community police the mental health workers

53:27Will not solve the bigger societal problem of growing inequality

53:31But this initiative may bring some relief to those suffering and also help downtown stakeholders do their job

53:38To welcome people to a downtown that we all love

53:42I've made it a habit to talk to people who sit on the bench outside of the bookshelf

53:46People who use the royal city mission

53:48Many of them are also dismayed and sometimes frightened by all of the drug use on display constantly

53:55Please stand up for a downtown and all of its citizens by approving this part of the police budget

54:01Remember that the downtown of wealth is the most revenue dense in the city for taxes

54:07The whole city benefits from us. We are in this together

54:12Well, thank thank you very much barb and let me see if there's a follow-up question

54:17There there is

54:19I almost said there is not but there is councillor or work. Thank you, mirica through you to miss minette first

54:24Thanks very much for your correspondence and for your delegations previously and tonight. They're illuminating

54:32There's a number of things in the current budget that should help to address homelessness

54:36So there's an additional four million dollars

54:39An increase to the police budget part of which will increase

54:43police presence downtown

54:45There's also an addition for an additional welcoming streets

54:49worker and I'm wondering if you have any reflections on

54:53The so if we have the additional police officers and we have additional impact workers

54:57I don't know if they're on the street or if they're at dispatch to respond to those calls. I don't know how that works

55:03But I'm wondering if if you can comment on

55:08On the the usefulness of having an additional welcoming streets person if you're able to

55:12Okay, so

55:14Sorry, I'm just going to jump in just to make sure that the correct information is being asked

55:19There is no additional welcoming streets worker

55:22But the police board did approve an extra

55:26Funding of an impact mental health worker to accompany the downtown officers

55:32So it's a dedicated downtown impact mental health worker. Okay, so you're saying the same question

55:38I'm sure I understand. I just want to make sure it's very clear. It's not another welcoming street

55:42So from all of my reading like all of it

55:46It is the mental health professionals being present for the people who are in need of

55:53Help

55:55Sometimes I'm afraid like if you listen to my police services board

55:59It's some of the things that I've personally experienced are quite frightening and and I'm not really sure whether

56:07Welcoming streets are always

56:10Trained enough to handle the complexity of the situation

56:14It's pretty daunting. I know welcoming streets

56:18People do help make

56:20People in need feel a bit more relaxed, but sometimes it's out of their realm

56:25Thank you, I appreciate that

56:28And just before you go councillor Alts has a question for you actually it's more of a thank you than anything else

56:33Um in uh, sorry

56:38Thank you for coming here then

56:41Okay, thank you. Thank you bar. That's it then for your delegation. Thank you very much

56:46uh

56:48I almost said councillor Salisbury

56:50but

56:51But I'm gonna say it anyways

56:54So thank you, uh, mike for coming. Uh, we appreciate it and uh, you're here on behalf of gulf center for visual arts and

57:01Thank you, you know the drill before I get started though

57:04I just wanted to express my gratitude for the work you're doing

57:08Facing down a double digit budget increase must be stressful and challenging and probably no matter how you land on it

57:15A pretty thankless job. Sounds like a good time to be a politics

57:20But I did want to say thank you for the work that you're doing

57:23I'm here tonight as the chair of the golf center for visual arts to make two requests

57:30Now, I know this is not the year to be asking uh city council for money. So I'm not here for that

57:35I've provided to clerks that proposed motions along with relevant background information for your convenience

57:40They should be in your package

57:41Specifically, I'm requesting two items that council recognize the drill hall project as an ongoing and active

57:48Tier two capital project in the multi-year capital budget

57:52And the council upgrade the drill hall project to full project status in the downtown renewal program

57:57I'm making these requests for two reasons first words are an essential

58:01Uh to the future success of the drill hall project and its ongoing funding partners

58:06Please keep the status of this project as active

58:10ongoing and a full project because these are the words that demonstrate the city's continued an active commitment to working with its

58:17Community partners towards a successful future for the drill hall these changes keep it from being considered a stranded asset

58:24By designating the drill hall renewal to full project status and maintaining an open budget line item until its completion

58:31The city council eagerly clearly signals

58:34Of its ongoing support to see this abandoned building converted into a community asset as was originally envisioned

58:40Now these actions are largely symbolic in nature, but the community can't

58:45Raise funds to complete this project if it doesn't exist. We can't come to the table if you don't set one for us

58:53Both the chamber and the gulf cva proposals for the drill hall seek to leverage

58:57Collaboration in order to realize their vision both proposals identify federal and provincial funding opportunities as well as grants

59:04foundations support from businesses and individuals in the community

59:07By demonstrating continued support for the completion of this project

59:11You're empowering our community leveraging the entrepreneurial spirit to open up an entire myriad of financial resources

59:18That do not impact municipal taxes. My second reason is this

59:22What progress has been made to stabilize the structure the capital the capital work isn't finished

59:27Whereas the 2023 second quarter budget report indicated that the building has been stabilized

59:33We're a long way from repurposing it for any community use yet

59:38We understand the primary structure is considered sound and water type, but the building is unusable

59:42One could argue that the obligation to metro links has been fulfilled

59:45But I would suggest that council's expectation for the project has not been realized

59:50The drill hall will remain a stranded asset until further action is taken

59:55Both the chamber of commerce and the gulf center for visual art proposals indicate the city's completion of the building renovation is necessary

1:00:01To bring the drill hall to a starting point where proponents can undertake interior modifications

1:00:07I understand that some of the renovations were paused until final use for the building could be determined to avoid unnecessary expenses

1:00:14And I'd like to say that I think staff have done a great job navigating this very complex project with many moving parts through some very difficult times

1:00:22However without formal council acknowledgement that the project is still in process

1:00:27It runs the risk of falling off the books

1:00:30It runs the risk of becoming a five million dollar boondoggle and a public liability in the core of our city

1:00:36The six hundred thousand dollar line item in the long term capital budget is now closed and that's problematic

1:00:41A token contribution be it a hundred dollars or a hundred thousand dollars

1:00:45Whatever you feel is appropriate to activate the project again signals a commitment to this vision and begins to leverage these proposals

1:00:53incredible support within our community

1:00:56The drill hall is currently a little more than an unfinished wooden barn with no parking

1:01:00And at first I wondered why would the chamber of commerce be interested in such a building?

1:01:04But in working with them it became obvious the chamber consists of entrepreneurs and business people

1:01:10They can see the value of this building beyond its current conditions and recognize the opportunity that it presents

1:01:16Because of its location the drill hall could be a crown jewel in downtown real estate

1:01:22In short the drill hall is good for business

1:01:24The same can be said with the community arts space proposal 3300 instagram followers in 90 days

1:01:3087 letters of support including individuals organizations and institutions

1:01:35The community came out in force

1:01:38Because they can see the value of a cultural center in the heart of our city the most densely populated neighborhood in guelph

1:01:45In short the drill hall is good for people

1:01:48So in closing I implore council to leverage this city's creative and entrepreneurial spirit

1:01:53Empower our community members and maximize the return on investment and see this project through to completion

1:01:59A critical next step is to make these two recommended changes and the drill hall renewal project status. Thank you

1:02:08Thank you mike really appreciate it and

1:02:11And nice to see you again. Thank you very much. And is there any questions? Oh, okay. Oh, countercron sorry

1:02:18Thank you. Thank you

1:02:19For your passion on this project

1:02:22you mentioned the community partnerships and leveraging fundraising and and

1:02:27An expanded partnership outside of just the center for visual arts. What stage is that ad?

1:02:34I mean, are you are you ready to start fundraising once a decision is made?

1:02:39Or and how long does that process takes is it one or two years first off? I must I must say that the process

1:02:47The procurement process or the selection process is currently before staff and staff have not made a decision

1:02:52As to whether or not they're accepting this our proposal or

1:02:57The chambers or in fact looking for an alternative to that. So I think it would be premature to really talk about

1:03:04the project

1:03:05The reason I'm here tonight though is because

1:03:08Regardless of what we choose to do with that other than sit on it

1:03:13If we allow it to simply disappear off the books

1:03:17I think you're looking at a much longer

1:03:19climb up the road to finding a way to to engaging the community

1:03:24to to fund that

1:03:27renovation or their part or to move it from a stranded asset into a usable

1:03:32Community space or an asset to the community

1:03:36As far as whether we're ready. Yeah, absolutely

1:03:40Okay, great. That's what we needed to hear because

1:03:43Yeah, I'll leave it at that great. Thank you and uh councillor downer

1:03:50Thank you through you mr. Merrick to mr. Salisbury

1:03:54um

1:03:56I don't want to sound too presumptuous or anything or not that I'm discounting anything you said but I just want to

1:04:00Is is it you think there's ever a possibility?

1:04:03Of doing something like what the gymc did so they took a barn

1:04:08it was

1:04:10a warehouse

1:04:11And through fundraising and volunteers they've created a gym

1:04:16um

1:04:18I think the only thing the city contributed at that time was uh reduction in development charges or something

1:04:24Do you ever see something like and I think of other?

1:04:27I don't know the only other project is the um

1:04:30The boathouse, but but it was a private sector person that took that on

1:04:33Um, but it was basically I think you recall what that looked like

1:04:37um

1:04:38So do you think there's ever an opportunity for the community to take on that building in that way and take it from what it is now to

1:04:46Through fundraising and volunteers as I mean they used um

1:04:51There was the class from the college height school that came in and there it was all done in that that way very creatively

1:04:58Absolutely and to be clear i'm not speaking on behalf of the golf chamber of commerce

1:05:02so anything that I say as far as to answer your question is from the perspective of the uh

1:05:09Golf center for visual art and the the proposal we put together because that's what I know

1:05:13um

1:05:14absolute to answer your question absolutely really I think where we're at is the project

1:05:20uh

1:05:21Is ready to move forward, but it it's it's uh, it needs that that piece it needs that community engagement when we started our

1:05:30Uh our proposal we reached out to hundreds of organizations not just arts organizations

1:05:36But cultural organizations and the chamber of commerce that's how we started to work together, is uh, we were looking for advisory

1:05:43People who could serve on our advisory board part potential partners basically who wants in under the tent?

1:05:48and

1:05:49through that process

1:05:51the amount of the amount of interest was was humbling

1:05:56Absolutely humbling I mean just wouldn't have thought you'd you'd you'd you'd you'd you've got to the end of it there'd be more

1:06:01and um

1:06:03And there's endless examples in communities around us of exactly what you speak of.

1:06:08Nothing that we're proposing as far as a community art space hasn't already been done.

1:06:13And probably already been done, you know, in the best way possible.

1:06:17There's Gawkel Street, 44 Gawkel in Kitchener that we went and toured and it's a very similar

1:06:25situation. This proposal that was, this Crest proposal asked for ownership

1:06:32options. In our case we provided two, but we think in similarly to the Chamber we suggested that

1:06:39the city continue to hold on to that asset because it's the best person, the best partner to facilitate.

1:06:46What needs to happen is, you know, the project in the downtown plan, what is it, the

1:06:56downtown renewal program currently lists it as an all, as an other consideration.

1:07:01And so what we're talking about is just saying, look, elevate it up to full project status,

1:07:05keep a line item open so that we can begin to leverage exactly that, leverage the opportunities for

1:07:11funding from different levels of government, grants, foundations, and even the community

1:07:17and businesses that are eager to participate in this.

1:07:23Great, thank you, Councillor, and thank you, Mike.

1:07:26Thank you very much for having me.

1:07:27Nice to see you again.

1:07:30Julie Grady, you're in the front row and you're coming up next along with Jess Haines, thank you.

1:07:35And let me see who's in the wings here.

1:07:40Lindsay Sprague and Corey Gillis or Giles, I'm sorry if I'm saying that wrong, but you guys are in

1:07:47the wings after, after 10C here. So welcome and I'll turn it over to you.

1:07:55Then slides here before us. Do I just go green? Yeah, perfect. And then red is back. Excellent. Thank you.

1:08:03All right. Good evening, Mayor Guthrie and members of Council.

1:08:06I'm Julie Grady, the Executive Director of 10C Shared Space, and I'm co-presenting with my board

1:08:11chair, Dr. Jess Haines. In 2022, 10C took on the operations of the Gwell Farmers Market with a promise

1:08:19to activate. Market attendees are now in the 2,500 to 3,200 range and we have 21 vendors on a waiting

1:08:26list. By adding other activities, 10C has already created a 62% increase in the usage of the market

1:08:33facilities. 10C has been a committed partner to the City of Guelph. In the first year of this

1:08:39relationship, 10C secured over $800,000 in new capital external funding as part of our commitment

1:08:46to activate the market building and the grounds. This brought us into a design and engineering phase

1:08:52within which we discovered the full scope of work required at the Farmers Market.

1:08:57We are underway on a phase construction project with a cost of $2,080,000 of which $1,120,000

1:09:06has been raised and implemented to date. Our request is for a contribution of $960,000 in

1:09:12capital improvement funds to complete the program of work of which 10C is preparing to fundraise

1:09:18and repay $460,000. At the outset of this collaboration, 10C recognized a key challenge

1:09:26around the building's occupant load. Pre-COVID, the Saturday market was often packed elbow to elbow

1:09:33well over the 233-person occupancy with 300 to 500 attendees at a single point in time.

1:09:40As we worked through the City of Guelph permit process, we learned that there was not adequate

1:09:45HVAC or washroom servicing for active and increasing uses up to 500 attendees.

1:09:52This slide summarizes some of the HVAC, washroom, accessibility and electrical work required.

1:09:58City staff have noted that these life-changing upgrades are leasehold improvements and have

1:10:02not provided a clear path to support the capital work. We are here to clarify the intent of the CBA,

1:10:08responsibilities and a confirmation of current and future capital funding to be in a position to

1:10:14successfully complete this work. As background, the City's own refreshing our tradition business

1:10:20plan and governance report notes the City's plan for $225,000 towards a new Wilson Street entrance

1:10:27and siding. The November 2021 negotiation update package also noted $700,000 in funding planned

1:10:34for the market including HVAC and electrical upgrades. With this in mind and in the spirit of

1:10:40collaboration which was the intent of the community benefit agreement,

1:10:44TENSEE included both programmatic and building infrastructure in the scope of the work under

1:10:49discussion. At this point, TENSEE has received and implemented $1.1 million of this project

1:10:55and has resolved the pre-existing HVAC issues to ensure an adequate supply of fresh air which we

1:11:01know is so important for respiratory safety given COVID realities. We have also added two new accessible

1:11:07all-gender washrooms which successfully brings the building into a 500-person occupancy range.

1:11:14However, prioritizing the aging building's electrical, structural, HVAC and accessibility issues

1:11:20has come at an expense of the programmatic work which will drive the project forward. Considering

1:11:27that much of the project works adds to the long-term value of the property, TENSEE would like to see a

1:11:33scenario that looks more like the next slide. TENSEE is proposing a balanced funding concept that

1:11:39has the city and TENSEE bringing forward similar amounts of funds with TENSEE engaging in further

1:11:44outreach to bring in other grants, community donations and sponsorship opportunities. Part one

1:11:50of the request is $500,000 in non-repayable funds to recognize the significant long-term value that

1:11:56these upgrades have to the building and part two of the request is $460,000 in repayable funds from

1:12:03reserves or from another appropriate source to support timely completion of the full scope of work.

1:12:08In this more balanced capital funding scenario for every $1 of capital improvement that TENSEE

1:12:14has brought forward, the city contribution is only $0.37. So with support from the City of Guelph,

1:12:21TENSEE can successfully complete the current scope of planned and permitted work by the fall of 2024

1:12:28and that's in today's dollars. We can continue to champion this project and engage in outreach to

1:12:33bring forward valued community participation and our project has been endorsed and supported by

1:12:38many stakeholders including the Guelph Chamber of Commerce who supports the work that TENSEE has

1:12:43been doing to activate and elevate the market. They believe it has potential to drive both

1:12:48local economic development and tourism activity. Thank you. Thank you. Really appreciate your

1:12:57delegation. Is there any questions at all for this delegate at this time? Councillor Coran please.

1:13:03Thank you and thank you for the presentation. Thank you for all the background materials as

1:13:07well because it was really helpful to go back in time not just pre-COVID when this relationship

1:13:14was first contemplated but also the 2021 report that Council approved as direction to staff

1:13:26to negotiate agreements. That agreement has an expectation of a 50-50 contribution for capital.

1:13:38You're only asking for 37 percent. Is that because you're recognizing budget challenges and you're

1:13:44being generous to us or is it that you've been able to identify more grants and you've been able to

1:13:52leverage other sources of funding and you no longer need as much city support? I mean you've

1:14:00gone from a 50% expectation to 37 so I wonder if you could walk us through. Yeah that's a great

1:14:05question. Thank you Councillor Coran. The CBA identified that TENSEE should seek

1:14:13matching funding from other levels of government and we would discuss on a case by case basis.

1:14:18There was never a 50% written into the document and what we're learning is that

1:14:24the matching right now is 13%. So to have to hear no in a lot of the core infrastructure is a real

1:14:34challenge for us and we're looking to work really collaboratively with the city on all of these

1:14:41projects. Where we got into it was that when we we rewarded federal funding which had a one-year

1:14:49timeline it needed to be implemented very rapidly so we needed to go into an integrated design and

1:14:54building process which then revealed the full scope of work and in the construction process we needed

1:15:01to start with all of the core plumbing HVAC components which then left a lot of the programmatic

1:15:08work the kitchen and call it trim work of all the vendor booths to the side and for later. So we are

1:15:15here to just ask for consideration for the amount of core infrastructure that TENSEE

1:15:20has put into that property. Okay and a follow-up question is that I think the amount that you put

1:15:28in your presentation was 779,000 for all that work is that in 2021 the the estimated amount

1:15:38was 700,000 is it labor materials is it just inflation is it is the scope of the work changed

1:15:46what's changed since 2021? Yeah good question there the negotiation I'll call the document

1:15:53the negotiation update we had asked staff for whether there was any capital already allotted to

1:16:02to the market and the answer back was that there was already $700,000 allotted to

1:16:08some form of capital upgrades when we asked what those capital upgrades might be it was retaining

1:16:13wall some electrical panel upgrades and not much else at that point and then so we were under the

1:16:21impression that there was $700,000 that could be available and then to date the city has put in

1:16:28$279,250 one last question so did I mean a lot of the HVAC stuff is related to COVID and air

1:16:42circulation as it are the requirements more stringent now post we put in a I think this is a

1:16:53factor of submitting a building permit of a site plan and building permit on a very old facility

1:17:00that has not had a lot of core pain and stun in the past not saying the building was not maintained

1:17:08but when we open a building permit then that also brings you up to current code so a lot of our

1:17:13process was for some things like putting in lighting for the back parking lot because there is not

1:17:20adequate lighting to code that now somehow falls on 10c as a tenant bringing the HVAC up to a 500

1:17:29occupancy because the building right now is 233 people then also fell on to into the scope of

1:17:37this work which then needed higher level of air circulation and the cost and that was about $230,000

1:17:44the higher level occupancy also then necessitated the washrooms so a couple more toilets but then

1:17:52also the level of accessibility in that facility is reprehensible actually like we don't really have

1:18:01until now we don't really have accessible washrooms and now we have a universal washroom

1:18:06and a barrier free washroom in addition to the like old gendered washrooms so there were a lot of

1:18:11core parts that we needed to dive into simply by opening up a building permit and it's not like

1:18:19we could do any of these updates off permit because we were we were really wanting to add

1:18:25core infrastructure okay and I think I'll stop my questions there because I think you had indicated

1:18:32Mayor Guthrie that that anything else regarding the agreement has to go into closed session

1:18:41yeah thank you uh Councillor O'Rourke no okay all right that's it thank you very much I appreciate it

1:18:51so Lindsay and Corey is Lindsay and Corey here yes hi come on down

1:18:58who's in the wings Pat Pat Fung you're in the wings welcome to the both of you and you're here on

1:19:08behalf of the Seguin Health Center more specifically the the the van the health van yes thank you very

1:19:15much for coming go right ahead okay thank you I'm good evening members of council my name is Lindsay

1:19:20Sprague and I'm here with Corey as well as the rest of our van team on behalf of Sanguine Health

1:19:25Center trying to figure out how to there we go um Sanguine Health Center provides health and social

1:19:37care for people who face barriers to accessing traditional supports including people who experience

1:19:42homelessness use drugs and are living with hepatitis C many of our services are mobile such as our

1:19:48Guelph Wellington community health van we provide access to health and social services in seven

1:19:56rural communities in the county of Wellington and five urban stops within the city of Guelph

1:20:02currently our van program is funded through a three-year Health Canada Substance Use and

1:20:07Addictions Grant the goal of our health van is to improve the delivery of health and harm reduction

1:20:13services to people in urban areas who've traditionally been marginalized due to their drug use mental

1:20:19health their poverty or HIV and hepatitis C status and face barriers to accessing services

1:20:29just to touch briefly on harm reduction because it is a key component of what we do at Sanguine

1:20:35harm reduction is a set of practical strategies with the goal of meeting people where they're at

1:20:40to help them reduce harm associated with everyday activities examples could be things like seatbelts

1:20:46sunscreen helmets and using condoms and it can also be distributing um injecting drug equipment

1:20:54and naloxone harm reduction helps people to stay alive long enough to make choices around

1:21:00their health and wellness as you know we are in the midst of an opioid poisoning crisis

1:21:07we do know through research and our work that the risks associated with using drugs can be

1:21:12reduced through harm reduction interventions harm reduction helps to relieve other relieve other

1:21:18health services such as emergency room visits paramedic services police and the cost associated

1:21:24with treating preventable preventable infections harm reduction also provides provides us with

1:21:30tools to keep people safer in their drug use these are some examples of harm reduction and

1:21:38outreach services that we provide through the community health van overdose prevention training

1:21:44naloxone distribution needle exchange safer drug use information often delivered through

1:21:50peers which are individuals who have lived experience or living experience of substance

1:21:55use or homelessness we also provide pathways to detox and treatment services nursing care and

1:22:02sexually transmitted and blood-borne infection testing and treatment the following numbers speak

1:22:09to the impact of our service in both the city of guelph and the county of wellington from july 1st

1:22:15to september 30th we provided over 4 000 interventions off our van we saw over 2000 unique individuals

1:22:23we saw 120 individuals for the first time 188 patients received medical attention or treatment

1:22:32and we conducted over 900 harm reduction education encounters through the van

1:22:39we couldn't do this work without um our partners i'm going to skip through some of the slides sorry

1:22:44yeah um so we work very closely with wellington dufferin guelph public health

1:22:50arch which is our hib aids service provider here in guelph and wellington the legal clinic

1:22:57guelph midwives the guelph community health center and the hub and the other services listed here

1:23:04our partnerships are so important to the van we rely on them to enhance the experience for every

1:23:09single person who comes to access our service through our partnerships we can provide housing

1:23:14support access to food banks health care service vaccines and testing partnerships also help us

1:23:22to keep up with the growing need in each community we serve they enable the team to keep the van

1:23:27stocked and offer supports to many varying community needs such as supplementing food bank visits

1:23:33providing elderly populations with nutritious meals and outdoor survival gear

1:23:38through the last three years we have developed a network of 100 different workers from a wide

1:23:43range of social food and health support services who work with us on the van through um these are

1:23:53some of the services sorry i'll skip that one um we're here today because we anticipate a

1:23:59shortfall in our funding after march 2024 as i mentioned we're funded currently through health

1:24:05canada and that grant will finish at the end of march um we are very fortunate to have received

1:24:11a grant from the city of guelph for both 2000 and 223 and 2024 but we're requesting the city to

1:24:19consider further support of our service great thank you very much for your presentation and

1:24:26coming here tonight is there a follow-up at all count sir busatil please yes thank you very much

1:24:32and i heard your presentation at the county social services meeting as well um can you tell me how

1:24:37long have you been providing this service within this city of guelph we've been providing the van

1:24:44service since 2016 i believe june 2016 yes thank you and and so in 2016 how were you funded at that

1:24:54time we were funded through a trillion grant thank you and so i i know from the county the

1:25:02presentation the march 24th deadline and so i'm just curious knowing that there's a deadline coming

1:25:09what kind of contingency plans and sustainable funding uh did you start working on even when

1:25:15you applied for the funding knowing that was three years um we've explored many different funding grants

1:25:23through agencies such as united way through trillium um as you know with some granting programs

1:25:30they're looking to fund pilot projects and not provide ongoing ongoing funding we've also applied

1:25:38to pharmaceutical companies who offer grants for health services that we deliver

1:25:45we also recently submitted a proposal to the ontario health team um back in the spring

1:25:52thank you and so i didn't hear an amount that you're asking for and and i thought i heard you

1:25:57say that the city of guelph is funding 2023 24 currently um we received a city of guelph grant

1:26:05for 2023 and 2024 for 11 000 each year and we are currently um facing a shortfall of 90 000

1:26:15dollars for 2024 thank you or work and then alt please thank you margoth 33 your delegates

1:26:28i'm just wondering can you give us an idea of where the van provides services and so how

1:26:33frequently it's going to be in guelph i understand you serve all of wellington county as well

1:26:37yeah i'll let kori speak to that so currently in our guelph locations we serve five different

1:26:43locations throughout guelph um some of them are close to downtown and some of them are more outside

1:26:48of the downtown core and we go on a rotating schedule so um we do i can list the exact locations

1:26:55if that'd be helpful um we do housing complexes as well as like um we we piggyback on like current

1:27:01like services so we provide services um behind royal city mission we provide services in another

1:27:08downtown location and then we there's two other housing locations that um we've been working directly

1:27:13with uh county of wellington housing and they have recommended locations so through you margoth 33 um

1:27:20i'm just wondering so in a given week the proportion of your time is spent in guelph as

1:27:24opposed to throughout wellington county um so when we break it down like hours of the week we do

1:27:30eight hours in wellington county and we do eight eight hours in guelph okay thanks thank you and to

1:27:35alt thank you very much margoth three i'm just following actually following up on both my colleagues

1:27:41you'd made reference to both public and private solicitations for grant and and financing support

1:27:49and honestly just asking how successful have you been on these so far um we have been successful

1:27:56at um obtaining a TD investment grant which is worth um 50 000 for three years but it's

1:28:05split between water the region and guelph wellington because we also operate services in water the

1:28:09region um as i mentioned we received the city of guelph grant um and we currently have applications

1:28:18into the rotary club and united way guelph wellington and um uh yeah and the county and that was part

1:28:27of my next question actually so you are essentially uh you're not seeking provincial or federal grants

1:28:34at this point you have they been exhausted or you still aren't yes we are um we are not able to apply

1:28:41for an existing program with health canada at this time there is an open call for proposals and we

1:28:47will be submitting a grant but it will be um for a peer development program it will enhance our

1:28:55van service but it won't provide operational costs okay thank you and i just because i'm not entirely

1:29:03familiar you're operating under the auspices of the canada health act and the ministry of health

1:29:08is that correct we are we are a hepatitis c funded we are a hepatitis c funded agency through the

1:29:14ministry of health okay now i have to ask another question what does a hepatitis funded

1:29:21organization mean uh it means we receive base funding uh for our hepatitis c clinical services

1:29:29so we run a clinic out of the c hc downtown guelph and a clinic in water the region um

1:29:36through that funding we're able to enhance our hepatitis c work on the van but it is

1:29:42separate funding it's not directly for the operation of our community health van okay thank you and

1:29:48thank you for the work the sanguine does thank you and i i just want to confirm just for councillor

1:29:56all but for everyone i think i was at the meeting so i think was it 90 000 or 100 000 dollars at the

1:30:02county last week i can't remember uh the county has made a recommendation to fund 90 718 yeah yeah

1:30:09thank you very much okay just so everyone knows that okay great thank you very much for coming

1:30:14again appreciate it uh pat fung you are up next and uh dustin davis is i think uh in the wings but

1:30:25on video will be going after pat so uh come on down pat thank you very much for coming

1:30:32and uh five minutes uh when you are ready yeah we used to have a video i guess we don't have that

1:30:38anymore no it's it's it's unfortunately not working at this time are you are you working

1:30:43off of your correspondence you sent in though well i got two things i'll sort of wing it okay yeah

1:30:48because we do have the correspondence for sure in front of us here yeah so i'll just wing it yeah go

1:30:52ahead okay um as you all thank you for having me here but as you all know i'd like to compare us with

1:30:58barry um in 2017 we were at 405 million of operating costs in 2022 guelph was at 515 million

1:31:09barry went from 357 to 410 so barry was still spending slightly more than we did five years ago

1:31:16the difference between the two cities is now 104 million we provided essentially the same services

1:31:22but we're costing 25 percent more don't understand why um recently at a micro level now

1:31:33guelph recently lost the print edition of the tribune so we used to do stuff in the tribune

1:31:39i don't know three pages a week must have caused us money we've had people writing stuff for it

1:31:44what's happened to those people are they out of the budget are they in the budget

1:31:47um on the bma report which you guys have seen lots of times there are many areas where we

1:31:58spend more than the provincial average on a per capita basis um and if you were to look at the

1:32:07the top areas where we spend general government fire waste collection waste diversion social

1:32:15housing parks library cultural and planning if we were to extrapolate the numbers on a per capita

1:32:23basis we spend just in those areas alone 39 and a half 34 and a half million dollars more than the

1:32:29average municipality in ontario i don't understand why um but there it is the result of our high

1:32:42spending has resulted in guelph paying on average more taxes for a detached bungalow a two-story

1:32:51home a senior executive home a multi-residents per unit high rises per unit commercial dollars per

1:32:58square foot office dollars per square foot neighborhood shopping on a square foot basis

1:33:03industrial on a square foot basis an industrial vacant land on a per acre basis it's particularly

1:33:10interesting on the industrial per acre land on vacant wealth charges 8402 in acre the average is

1:33:194689 and the median is 2815 in guelph 4.3 percent of our household income goes to taxes the average

1:33:30in the province is 3.9 percent the median is 3.9 percent so i think we're just spending way too much

1:33:36money in guelph it's the taxes are contributing to the high cost of living in guelph we've got to

1:33:44lower it the introduction to the budget said that the council only has 4.9 has control over

1:33:54only 4.97 percent of the spending i think that's totally wrong if the base is 100 percent the city

1:34:03council certainly must have control over the 100 percent so last year 2022 we spent 514 million

1:34:11dollars this statement literally says we have no control of the 514 we want to get spending on the

1:34:19control you've got to attack the base i've worked in a bureaucracy before dump counselor or rork and

1:34:25i worked at a previous agency about nine years ago they cut 10 percent of its staff it still marches on

1:34:332016 the city of branton had a major restructuring of management flattened the organization and

1:34:40it did not affect the services so what the city of guelph has got to do is look at the behind the scenes

1:34:46work that it that it does the stuff that doesn't affect outward services i went through the sunshine

1:34:54list project managers in guelph we have 17 of them there are five in barry that's 12 people at an

1:35:02average of about including benefits 150 000 dollars a person that's a lot of money we could fund a lot

1:35:08of these things that people are asking for we have fewer people in the bureaucracy i think that's it

1:35:15thank you great thank you is there any follow-up at all to the delegation not hearing or seeing any

1:35:23thank you very much i appreciate it uh dustin davis from the guelph and district association of

1:35:30realtors i believe is now joining us by video and there you are well done that was the fastest

1:35:36i've ever seen somebody jump on the screen thank you are you and can you just make sure you unmute

1:35:41there dustin oh you think i'd be used to that by now okay um we can barely hear you so maybe just

1:35:48speak up a little bit as you start your delegation but we can hear and see you so just speak up for

1:35:53us and you go right ahead okay wonderful uh good evening thank you watch up and members of council

1:35:59i'm sorry i couldn't be there in person tonight but i do appreciate the opportunity to speak with

1:36:02you my name is dustin davis i am the chair of the guelph and district association of realtors

1:36:08government and external relations committee for those of you who don't know gdarr is one of the

1:36:12reasons largest professional associations we represent over 660 real estate salespeople and

1:36:18brokers here in guelph wellington county gdarr is here tonight to speak on behalf of the nearly

1:36:2360 000 households in our city who will be hit the hardest by the 10.3 tax levy increase as outlined

1:36:30in the proposed 2024 budget in the middle of a historic affordability crisis we urge council to

1:36:37reduce the proposed punitive tax increase and do the hard work of making difficult choices to hold

1:36:43the line on spending reduce costs and revisit some assumptions underpinning the proposed 2024 budget

1:36:50before we get to jihad's recommendations let's start with some context right now in homes across

1:36:55our city many families are wondering how they can balance keeping a roof over their heads

1:37:00food on the table and gas in their cars inflation interest rates and soaring prices have made the

1:37:05cost of living unbearable for many families and seniors these families need relief and they're

1:37:10looking to their civic leaders for solutions to help make ends meet as a stakeholder holder who cares

1:37:16deeply about our community gdarr is here today to offer recommendations we hope council will consider

1:37:21to mitigate the proposed 10.3 tax increase first off staff have requested funding for at least 11

1:37:29new positions in 2024 costing on average over 100 000 per position we encourage the city to consider

1:37:35a hiring freeze or at the very least a reduction in the total number of new staff being added excuse

1:37:42me we think our city staff do a tremendous job and we know how important their work is to our

1:37:47community we're not suggesting that they couldn't use additional resources we're simply suggesting

1:37:51that 2024 might not be the right year to do it given the affordability crisis facing residents

1:37:57secondly we note that the 2024 budget includes measures to address the impact of bill 23 and

1:38:03potential loss development charge revenue however this is still an evolving issue of which we don't

1:38:08yet know the final impact we think it's preliminary to build such a large contingency into the budget

1:38:13until you have the final direction from the province on whether or not you'll be made whole

1:38:18the province is expected to announce the results of its municipal audit at the end of 2023 so we

1:38:23would hope that this matter would be deferred until we know the full scope of that decision

1:38:28finally we encourage council to look for cost savings and efficiencies inside the city's corporate

1:38:33and governance service portion of its budget staff are proposing to increase these expenses

1:38:39as a percentage of the total city budget from 6.3 percent in 2023 to 6.6 percent in 2024 now for

1:38:47for most businesses administrative expenses are the first area we look to reduce spending if the

1:38:52environment calls for it so as such we ask the city to do the same this also includes professional

1:38:57development spending as we note the budget requests 49 000 of additional tax dollars over and above the

1:39:03existing training and development budget to allow for all members of council to attend fcm and

1:39:09AMO meetings at a time when so many golf residents are struggling to pay the bills asking for more

1:39:14money to attend conferences and events is not leading by example and while we understand that

1:39:18these kinds of events offer benefits to counselors and to the city and perhaps the dollar amount

1:39:23itself isn't massive the timing is poor given the landscape in closing we know these are difficult

1:39:29deliberations and a number of factors have led us here but as elective members of council

1:39:34voters have entrusted you to take on these challenging issues and we urge you to exercise

1:39:38restraint and make sensible decisions for the betterment of our community and its residents

1:39:43it is our hope that going forward you will craft a budget that meets the needs of families who are

1:39:47struggling under the supportability crisis while also allowing for maintenance of and building in

1:39:52key areas key areas to protect our city and its residents future thank you and we look forward to

1:39:58questions or comments thank you very much dustin appreciate your time to be here tonight is there

1:40:04any follow-up for uh dustin okay hearing and seeing nine uh we still really appreciate it and thank you

1:40:11again Shakiba Cheyenne president and chief executive officer of the gulf chamber of commerce and then

1:40:21it's Craig dual here no okay so Shakiba looks like you're our last lucky you all right go ahead

1:40:30good evening mayor gathry counselors and city staff my name is Shakiba Cheyenne and i'm the

1:40:35CEO at the gulf chamber of commerce i'd first like to thank all of you for the hard work to date

1:40:41and your leadership in difficult circumstances i share many of your frustrations i'm here to

1:40:47represent a business perspective not on any particular line item but on budget deliberations

1:40:52as a whole businesses are part of this community indeed they are an essential part of this community

1:40:59and these are challenging times for our community and for our businesses our businesses are

1:41:06navigating many local and global challenges as noted by barbannette of the bookshelf there are

1:41:11ongoing challenges for main street businesses exacerbated by the acute challenges of mental

1:41:16health and addiction most visibly manifesting in our downtown core continued high rates of inflation

1:41:22and the escalating cost of goods labor challenges exacerbated by the housing crisis and of course

1:41:29the worrying economic slowdown now experienced by many sectors of the economy i must admit

1:41:35i struggle to figure out what the right delegation should be today i have many concerns most of which

1:41:40i'm sure you can anticipate i'm concerned that the size of the proposed tax increase will hurt

1:41:45businesses families and our community i'm particularly worried about the impact on people

1:41:51and businesses already on the margins i'm concerned that this tax increase is presented in a way

1:41:58in which i nor anyone else can really understand the analysis rationale or alternative options

1:42:04that this proposed increase is a numbers game without a decision-making framework or an easily

1:42:09understood long-term strategy around which of these considerations can make sense i'm concerned

1:42:16that this significant proposed tax increase is not a solution but only what feels like an

1:42:21installment of an ongoing series of tax increases that at least in the way that they're being

1:42:26presented aren't about future-proofing our community but in an effort to simply tread water

1:42:33as an example one of the strategic priorities of the city is dedicated to the environment

1:42:37to be a leader in climate action and to empower the community to help create a sustainable city

1:42:43i cannot however determine from this budget what resources are applied to this priority

1:42:49nor the efficacy of those resources nor whether those resources could be applied to other priorities

1:42:55or whether we might pursue this priority through other means last year i delegated and and i'd like

1:43:03to quote what i said then that while we appreciated that the 2023 budget tax raise of 4.96 percent

1:43:11was lower than the anticipated 517 we are worried about how the trajectory of wealth's

1:43:16increasing fee and tax rate continues to risk our competitive advantage the truth is i don't want to

1:43:22come back next year and the year after that with the same lament about the unsustainable levels of

1:43:27taxation so my message for today is simple i want to work in earnest on breaking the seemingly

1:43:34inevitable and unending tax increase cycle that merely allows us to tread water this is a critical

1:43:41imperative we have unprecedented challenges and challenges we cannot expect to solve by in the

1:43:47wise words of albert einstein quote doing the same thing over and over and expecting different

1:43:52results like always i and the chamber network are committed to building a community that values

1:43:58and creates shared and sustainable prosperity we are your partner and an enduring essential part

1:44:04of this community thank you great thank you shekiba is there any follow okay yeah we'll start with

1:44:12or work ron alt thank you margaret through to mishawani um appreciate your delegation tonight

1:44:20in the past couple of years you've you've come to delegate to support housing which is a four

1:44:27million dollar add to this budget in addition to other permanent supportive housing and housing

1:44:32initiatives so there's a direct impact on the budget of council and the city's response to that

1:44:40similarly you were here to support the transit 10-year plan which is a full one 1.3 percent

1:44:47on an annual basis every year for a number of years um so i i understand what your reaction is

1:44:56to the number because we're hearing it from businesses in our community and people in the

1:44:59community so i'm wondering as somebody who is supportive of the transit 10-year plan

1:45:04which your chamber members consider that it's it's reasonable to try and do it over 12 years

1:45:10as opposed to the 10 if that can soften the blow for taxpayers at this particular time

1:45:18thank you councillor through the mayor um this good question and um you know i'm here today because

1:45:24i having a hard time answering that question specifically you heard um yes we of course support

1:45:31those important investments into community i stand by those positions and delegations in fact you

1:45:37heard our name uh mentioned in other delegations this evening as well we do believe that everything

1:45:44that was mentioned is important my concern and my hope for this council um and our community

1:45:51is that we can figure out how to uh you know plan for and understand the implications of

1:45:58so why less or more in any given line item for example and that's what's unclear to me is what

1:46:04happens when we decrease spending in a b and c what are the implications of decision x y or z inside

1:46:12of a lot of master plans a strategic plan and a community plan and so that lack of line of

1:46:17sight is is the concern that i'm speaking on tonight okay um through you america just curious about

1:46:23two more questions you mentioned that uh you don't see a lot in terms of the the environmental

1:46:28impact in this budget so i'm just wondering where it is that you would like to see greater investment

1:46:35um thank you councillor so just to clarify um my comment about the um

1:46:41becoming an environmental leader was just an example to to name one of the objectives in

1:46:46your strategic plan to which it's to me unclear how the investments in our budget might meet those

1:46:54objectives and so that could be about any one of the um objectives and key outcomes that are

1:47:00identified in the strategic plan but it's unclear you know um what it would look like if we said

1:47:06yes to more or less investment and the impact or implication it would have in any one of those

1:47:12and i was just using the environment as an example okay great and my last question through america

1:47:16through we are hearing from a lot of uh residential um rate payers and i'm wondering if you can

1:47:23illustrate for us their reaction from small business in particular small business and i'm just

1:47:28thinking i'm at the gym last night the constituent you know who lives in my ward owns this gym and

1:47:35i'm concerned about the flow through of the 10 on his home and the 10 on his business and so he's

1:47:40going to be impacted in a number of different ways so i'm just wondering what you're hearing from the

1:47:45business community thank you councillor um i would agree that that is the shared sentiment and that

1:47:51many of our uh business owners who will be feeling that impact on the kind of the business tax rate

1:47:57implication are constituents who live here who send their kids to school here contribute to community

1:48:04and so on so you're right it is a compounded effect for those folks uh caron please in the alt

1:48:11thank you and great follow-up questions as well um the impact as you know um the our CAO and our

1:48:20mayor were at the chamber breakfast last week and lots of slides and photos and you know how

1:48:24what percentage of the budget impact is outside of the city's control so the role that you play

1:48:32an enduring partnership i like that i like the terminology of the relationship um

1:48:39kind of vibe that goes goes with that and we we recognize that and value that um you also have

1:48:46a relationship with other chamber of commerce's commerce is is commerce is a plural commerce i

1:48:53the uh ontario chamber of commerce network um and they're all talking about the same thing that we

1:49:00have to get to the bottom of the provincial impact can you tell us what you are doing your

1:49:06what the wealth chamber is doing to network with your colleagues across the province to

1:49:13you know ensure that the province is held accountable for these huge impacts that are

1:49:19affecting business growth in our community thank you councillor caron through the mayor

1:49:25absolutely so you've named a couple of the ways in which we advocate to through and with

1:49:32our counterparts also in provincial and federal government on how they need their role and their

1:49:39contributions in creating the conditions that we need for successful communities and so we work

1:49:44and inform the work that you'll see regionally provincially and even nationally with the

1:49:49Canadian Chamber of Commerce on our positions accordingly um and really um we what we know

1:49:55will create the greatest impact although those large associations carry a lot of weight uh what

1:50:00i would really like us to do is actually come to the table locally together to present a to present

1:50:05different options and to try a different approach for example i think that we could tackle community

1:50:10collective advocacy in a different way that could create some win win win situations for constituents

1:50:17the municipality the province and the federal government for example and i and i you know we're

1:50:21keen to do that and come to the table as a partner to do so okay that's great to hear because i think

1:50:27we all have to it isn't just a wealth issue we need to make this larger um also it's what's not a

1:50:34wealth issue is um the kind of philosophy behind business development is when you thrive we thrive

1:50:41and the richard florida approach that that businesses want to locate in cities that invest in

1:50:47themselves and so investing in ourselves does have our why but it means that taxes go up so

1:50:55are you struggling with that same um dichotomy that we we need to for example downgrading our

1:51:02investment in the downtown renewal it's a hundred year project from from better to good

1:51:08is going to have business impact in the kind of investment that we get from the private sector

1:51:15so i'm you know i know that you struggle with those same questions so i wonder if you could address

1:51:23how we need to leverage good investment to help you thrive so that we can you know it takes 10 15

1:51:31years for that to pay off for us but in the end it's worth it thank you uh counselor um if i can

1:51:38double back on the the last question that you asked first very quickly just to say that um

1:51:43certainly we want to be the another messenger and to carry those strong messages to all orders of

1:51:49government on what's necessary for us to be successful and i one of the questions i asked

1:51:54myself was you know if we if the province or the the federal government came and said here's a hundred

1:51:59million dollars my concern is that i'm not sure what the answer to what it is we would do with

1:52:05that and what it would result in is and i think that that's for example the kind of work that i

1:52:09would like to come to the table and help support to create to get us there and so absolutely um

1:52:16businesses communities families the municipality i really do sympathize with the challenges we're

1:52:22all facing in figuring out how to um you know to to drive desirable outcomes for ourselves

1:52:30with less resource and so absolutely it's a challenging dichotomy and i think that you know

1:52:36what behoove is all of us is to try a different approach to rethink and reimagine the concept of

1:52:44getting this done differently and um and because that that is you know like i as quoting you know

1:52:49albert einstein the idea is we can't just do the same version of what we know and how to do that

1:52:55and expect us to see progress um and there's some different work to be done and we'd like to be

1:53:00partners at the table to do so thank you all to is my last thank you very much miss shahani um

1:53:09there are a couple of comments that you made that that i think staff might have some concern about

1:53:15you made statement that uh we're treading water and i actually think we're 3.37 percent below water

1:53:22but you said you can understand the strategy of the analysis and i was wondering if you could

1:53:27please provide me with some concrete and specific examples so that i can understand where you're

1:53:32coming from sure thank you councillor alt through the mayor i um so right now we know we have a sense

1:53:41of what it is the city of guelph as a corporation as a municipality wants to accomplish as outlined

1:53:47in your strategic plan um i think there's six or so priority areas um and some um activities that

1:53:55are named inside of that we also know that there's a budget um and it's a large number of operating

1:54:02and capital expenditures and that uh creates an implication on our tax space what's not clear for

1:54:10me and for many of our stakeholders and our community members is that overly of under so so if

1:54:16we you know in any project if i were just to oversimplify it when we're when trying to um

1:54:23create uh outcomes we would say here's what we're trying to accomplish here the activities it would

1:54:29require us to conduct to get there and here are the resources that are necessary to get those

1:54:34activities done and and that um kind of logic model is is that the piece that i i think is missing

1:54:40and so not to suggest that perhaps it doesn't exist but without that analysis it's really difficult

1:54:46to then wonder what implications are of a little more here or a little less there um and and so

1:54:51that's the challenge that i that i was presenting this evening so then following up when you're

1:54:57talking about coming to the table for advocacy uh is that the piece where you're saying could make a

1:55:03potentially better budget and how yes so um counselor a good question so i mean look we can

1:55:13get into the tactics of how to do that at the table together um and i you know again respectfully would

1:55:19certainly look to the expertise of city staff to i know that information exists it's just about how

1:55:24we look at it what we do with it and then implement differently and so there's lots we can do um and i'd

1:55:30be happy to provide examples um when we're brought to the table to be able to support that but

1:55:35absolutely i think like i said in my example let's just say premier Ford says here's a hundred million

1:55:41dollars Shakiba i'm sure you know what are we going to do with that i i can't articulate what it is we

1:55:49would do and there and what and who would be better off for doing that so i there's just work to be done

1:55:56thanks so what i'm hearing you say is that you're supporting the principle of community-based

1:56:00budgeting who else besides the chamber of commerce should be present at that table social services

1:56:05organizations housing just particular organizations or is it just specifically to the chamber and its

1:56:11members thank you uh counselor alt um i don't think we're the only ones that should be at the

1:56:18table certainly not i think it depends on what we're talking about what we're trying to accomplish

1:56:22and um the collective um kind of agenda that's set i think anyone who has an interest um and

1:56:29and wants to advance the agenda with us we would want at the table thank you very much thank you

1:56:37thank you oh counselor Gibson online here thanks uh mr. mayor to you miss shahanny thanks for coming

1:56:45today um the city is starting as you likely know uh the multi-year budget process this is the first

1:56:53budget of four that we're sort of adopting and i guess it's approving in principle i think there's

1:57:00going to be a confirmation style meeting for each year subsequent for the next four are you hearing

1:57:05anything from the business community on their thoughts or their outlook or their concerns

1:57:12positive or negative on uh on the next four years rather than just looking at a one time

1:57:18one time point in time budget thank you counselor Gibson i'm never sure where to look now but i'll

1:57:25just look into at the screen it's a good question um so absolutely it's not lost on i think community

1:57:33and business in particular that you know that we're looking at multi-year budget and in fact that the

1:57:38projected tax increase over multiple years is quite substantial um you know we're looking around the

1:57:4435 percent range of increase over a four plus year time period um and we do recognize and acknowledge

1:57:52that there is the opportunity for the nimble adaptability of an annual check-in um and so you

1:57:59know we have we're hoping that that that will be an opportunity to continue to adapt as we move

1:58:05forward but it's certainly not lost on all of us i i'm sure that um that that number is not just 10

1:58:10percent but in fact quite higher over the next several years the tax i appreciate that i appreciate

1:58:17that answer just because in years past we've been as a council we've been so fixated on the

1:58:22one on the one number right in front of us and um a little bit reluctant to take a bit more of a

1:58:27horizon look at what the budget looks like in subsequent years but with a multi-year budget

1:58:32i'm hoping that um maybe as a council we can set direction for what those next few budgets look

1:58:37like it will be allowed to because we are approving a multi-year budget um thank you miss shirney can i

1:58:44respond to that mayor gathry of course yes add a question mark at the end yeah okay thanks thanks

1:58:51councillor i just want to say absolutely i know i also stood here several years ago um to state that

1:58:57you know we were really glad that that was the recommendation um from staff and council to move

1:59:01to multi-year it's best practice it's good governance and so we commend um the the municipality and

1:59:08moving in this way and we just have to recognize that the the climate that we're in and the landscape

1:59:14that we're working inside of um also requires nimbleness and adaptability as we go the interesting

1:59:20thing is and again just to come back to the kind of intention of my delegation this evening around

1:59:25a lack of ability to connect um investment with outcomes is that i think some of the questions

1:59:31we do get asked is so what is the sufficient investment amount in a particular area to just get

1:59:37the job done so i'm not suggesting that anyone's saying well let's just increase taxes this year by

1:59:4350 but if that meant that something was going to in particular be accomplished um where the

1:59:51invest the return on investment was really clear we might actually have a different conversation so

1:59:56i look to my colleagues in media not to quote that i'm suggesting a 50 increase um in a one-time uh

2:00:04you know process um what i'm suggesting is that we don't have the information to be able to make

2:00:10an accurate decision um accordingly okay i could i could i could come back in and

2:00:18add and have another point there which i completely agree with michel any thank you we we make a lot

2:00:23of decisions based on the soon ROI but do you have a question don't always ask for the results of

2:00:29those ris thank you all right perfect perfect um no you can't go away i think you've prompted me

2:00:40prompted me to have a couple questions um so kiba does does the chamber did you the the kind of

2:00:51team and the and the um the chamber membership do they at least recognize that this year is the

2:01:01first full year of and i'll just i'll just say two things the province not keeping us whole

2:01:08like that's just a reality and um like the county of wellington shoving an extra 4.6 million dollars

2:01:17due to homelessness on our plates both of these are out of our control completely is their recognition

2:01:25from the chamber that we can get into the other parts of the budget i'm happy to do that but is

2:01:32there a recognition that that's what we're that's what we're facing thank you mayor gathry

2:01:40absolutely a real recognition that we're in an impossible situation a frustrating situation and

2:01:46and that a lot of the funding requests even this evening that have come forward usually might live

2:01:53somewhere else and ought to be funded differently um and so my comment around um a different approach

2:01:59to advocacy would be so that we could um ultimately reduce if not eliminate the need for a pill for

2:02:06example so absolutely okay and i appreciate that actually i think i really appreciate that so um i

2:02:14will stop myself from making a comment i'll say it later uh but uh it's nice to have that recognition

2:02:21um yeah i guess i just i just want to i just want to maybe just ask another question just to dive

2:02:29down a little bit i don't mean to put you on the spot but i'm just i'm struggling a little bit with

2:02:34the commentary or just around you can't sort of connect the dots like this is in the budget but

2:02:39what's it going to so like i don't even have the budget in front of me and you know maybe yes i've

2:02:43been living it since november the third so maybe i'm just digesting it a little bit more but you

2:02:49know like when i see in the budget like all the money that's going to baker street uh reconstruction

2:02:57a south end rec center multiple millions of dollars to unlock housing infrastructure

2:03:05within the city like i i can like point to stuff in the budget and do a direct line to where like

2:03:12stuff is happening so where where is the disconnect that you're bringing forward tonight

2:03:18based on your membership not saying it's purely on you is there do you actually think

2:03:25my question is this do you actually think that there is a disconnect between a dollar amount

2:03:29and and an outcome or do you think maybe there's a disconnect in the communications between the

2:03:35dollar amount and what the outcome is how it's being communicated to not only your membership

2:03:41but to the city thank you uh marica three that my simplest response to that is it's probably the

2:03:49latter but it i couldn't tell you because of that yeah okay thank you thank you very much and then

2:03:58that's fair i am i'm putting on the spot putting everybody on the spot today but but i i appreciate

2:04:02that just one follow-up from councillor downer please yeah following up on uh through miss mirth

2:04:07to the mayor's question it's sort of like you've you've talked about that do you're confused about

2:04:13a number of things in the budget and how it's presented have you reached out to our staff i mean

2:04:18in a partnership way to ask them to sit down explain that to you before you came tonight

2:04:24thank you councillor downer through the mayor we work with city staff regularly on many projects

2:04:32we're partners on the delivery of lots of great services and and creating different opportunities

2:04:38and conditions in the community so i have not explicitly on every item you know the 80 service

2:04:45areas for example and the 500 million dollar plus budget done that work directly but i think part of

2:04:53what's i'm advocating for here this evening is that you know what would it look like if that was

2:04:58brought to the community at large in a way that was understandable and digestible that didn't

2:05:05require someone like me who is actually often under the hood and in the weeds with city staff

2:05:10and yourselves as well to be able to do that sense making and so i think that if that's conducted

2:05:16it would be in service not only to myself my organization and our members but to the community

2:05:21at large and and probably support the deliberations that you'll be conducting and and because i have

2:05:28the mic i do want to acknowledge that i do recognize personally the investments that are in this budget

2:05:33and i do know of the alignment around you know enabling the housing growth targets that i advocate

2:05:40for for example are inside of that budget that we have different capital projects that are

2:05:47being unlocked because of the investments in there you know i see the sewer line waterline

2:05:54infrastructure investments and i know that has a direct impact on the housing that we can

2:05:59increase supply on and we're investing into the request from the county of wellington to meet

2:06:05some of the homelessness challenges that our community is facing but i'm looking for something

2:06:11a bit more robust and easily digestible by the community at large okay great thank you very

2:06:19much thank you appreciate it thank you for your time okay um and again craig duel you're not here

2:06:26just want to make sure nope okay um council that first of all thank you to all the delegations

2:06:34i sincerely appreciate it plus there was some correspondence as well and you know we appreciate

2:06:39that i i know that there's more correspondence probably to come in as we move to the 29th so

2:06:44thank you very much um as i said at the beginning there could be a lot of takeaways of what we've

2:06:50heard tonight uh both to acknowledge but also maybe on the budget board later if there's follow-up

2:06:55questions is there anything though that council has to ask tonight right now at this moment to staff

2:07:03okay seeing none um thank you again this is a great night and we are going to look forward to the

2:07:0822nd uh this is to heads up the 22nd for those that don't know uh is going to be a workshop for

2:07:15council public uh to to watch uh and it is uh going to be like options night if i could call it that

2:07:23for uh staff have kind of gone away to see if there's options on what we

2:07:27could look at to reduce the budget impact so we'll see what that is that information will

2:07:32be released and that workshop will happen and on that night is when we will do intentions night

2:07:39and so for those who have been following me since i became the mayor i've been going around the room

2:07:44sort of normally we would do it on this night night actually and ask for intentions about what

2:07:50councilors might want to do and propose for the 29th which is budget night but because we have

2:07:55added that 22nd meeting we're going to wait on intentions until we're fully informed on the

2:08:0122nd so that's what will happen there and then we'll keep moving forward towards the 29th uh if you

2:08:06do want more information for anyone kind of joining us online and watching or now or later

2:08:12please go to excuse me gulf.ca slash uh budget uh if you go to have your say which is our um can

2:08:20i just ask uh i'm so sorry uh tera or shanna can do you do you know what the website is for have

2:08:27your say i'm sure if you google to have your say gulf it would come up oh can you just use your mic

2:08:34i i believe you've got it there it's it's have your say at gulf.ca i think so yeah sure okay we'll

2:08:40go with that just wanted to hear you can also get to it on budget gulf.ca uh slash budget and it'll

2:08:46take you there too okay thank you your feedback is welcome through there and before i do adjournment

2:08:54there is town halls coming up might as well take the time now i'm sorry to put everyone on the spot

2:09:00we had one already for ward six went well we had one for three i know i'm so sorry

2:09:11but ward three went well i heard uh as well so thank you to the council we have full

2:09:15complement of counselors doing it this i think that's like a first it's awesome that you're doing that

2:09:19who who's who's got some coming up here okay go ahead goer uh through your worship comes

2:09:26the ward two town hall is being held here at city hall um in the room next door on

2:09:32monday the 20th at 6 30 p.m okay thank you and ward five is coming up i think i was coming up

2:09:40tomorrow night november 16th at seven o'clock at harkert united church um at which is at 87

2:09:49dean avenue and we'll have staff presenting and we'll all be involved in a q and a and i

2:09:55my understanding is chief copi will be in attendance as well great thank you ward uh ward four

2:10:05ward four counselor buildings and myself are hosting on thursday november 23rd from seven

2:10:11till nine at the west end rec community center in the lion's den room perfect and uh my ward one

2:10:20friends who is it dan or erin which might want to mr. mayor uh council cat and i will be hosting

2:10:26town hall budget meeting on monday november 20th so this coming monday five six thirty p.m at the

2:10:33vick road rec center cedar room awesome thank you all to count on council for doing that

2:10:39and with that i'll look to adjournment please uh councillor alt will move adjournment seconded by

2:10:46a chew councillor chew is anyone against adjournment hearing and seeing none thank you again everyone

2:10:53stay safe thank you