City Council

11:31All right, good morning everyone. It is 9 o'clock. It is December 16th, 2025. We're meeting here in

11:38council chambers for our council meeting and right off the top we do have a request to go in camera

11:49and it is under I think four items. Yep, the chief administrative officer, 2025 year end

11:56performance review which is section 239 to BND of the municipal act regarding personal matters

12:03of an unidentifiable individual including municipal or local board employees and labor relations or

12:09employee negotiations. The second is closed December 25 public appointments to advisory

12:15committees of council. Section, let's cut off on my screen 239 to BND of the municipal act regarding

12:24personal matters about an identifiable individual nine. Yep, doing the right thing. Include municipal

12:29or local board employees. Number three is expression of interest 170 Stephanie drive section 239 to C

12:35of the municipal act regarding a proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land by the

12:41municipality or local board. And the last is affordable housing property acquisition section 239

12:48to C of the municipal act regarding a proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land

12:53by the municipality or local board. Before I ask to see if we want to move in camera on those items

13:00does anyone have any disclosure of pecuniary interest or any general nature thereof for those

13:05items? Hearing and seeing none would someone be willing to move a motion to move into closed?

13:12Kate and Richardson and I'll call the vote. Is anyone against moving into close on those items?

13:18No, okay, that passes unanimously for anyone watching online or in the gallery here interested.

13:24I'm going to guess maybe about 45 minutes roughly and then we'll be back. Okay. Thank you. Hi everyone.

13:38Thanks for your patience. Just to let everyone know we are going to start at 10 15 so like in two

1:20:14or three minutes. Okay, so just give us a minute just to get settled. Okay. Thank you. All right.

1:20:19Thanks everyone for that extra few minutes. We appreciate it and we'll call the meeting back to

1:26:59order out here in the public. So thank you very much. I will quickly just ask that we I'll do the

1:27:07summary in just a moment. But please if you can stand if you're able to please join us as we

1:27:12recognize our national anthem. Okay. Thanks everyone. And just as we move forward just a moment of

1:28:45silent reflection. Thank you and our territorial acknowledgement as we gather. Let us take time

1:29:01to reflect on our privilege to live and work here in Guelph, a city that's built over rich

1:29:05indigenous histories as guests here. We should reflect upon the land and the responsibility

1:29:10to care for this land, the people who live here today and the generations to come. If our actions

1:29:15today can move us towards reconciliation, we should take pause and make those decisions with

1:29:20intention and gratitude. This place we call Guelph has served as traditional lands and a place of

1:29:26refuge for many peoples over time, but more specifically the Anwarak and the Hone Shoni.

1:29:32This land is held as the treaty lands and territory with the Mississaugas of the

1:29:36Credit First Nation and Guelph lies directly adjacent to the Haldeman track. It's also part

1:29:41of a long established traditional hunting grounds for the six nations of the Grand River. Many

1:29:46First Nations, Inuit and Métis people who have come from across Turtle Island call Guelph home

1:29:52today. Thank you. Are there any disclosure of pecuniary interest, any general nature thereof

1:29:59from any members of council on the items in front of us today? Seeing and hearing none, I'll

1:30:05consider that matter closed. I did indicate I would give a quick summary of our closed

1:30:12session. We went and closed session under four items. So the first one was the Chief Administrative

1:30:18Officer 2025 year end performance review and council did give direction on that matter.

1:30:27And the other one, I'll save the other one to the end there, but the other one was an expression

1:30:32of interest on 170 Stephanie Drive and we did give direction on that item as well.

1:30:40And the other one was affordable housing property acquisition. We also gave direction on that matter

1:30:46as well. And then on the last one, which is the closed December 2025 public appointments to advisory

1:30:55committees of council. I'm going to ask that councillor Allt please bring forward what has come

1:31:01from the closed session. Thank you, Mayor Guthrie. Clerks, would you like the whole thing read out or

1:31:08sorry? Okay. Thank you. Moved by me, seconded by a counselor, a house, the public appointments to

1:31:19the advisory committees of council are as following in three areas, accessibility advisory committee,

1:31:25economic development, tourism advisory committee and transportation advisory committee.

1:31:30We're happy to take any questions, but I think it's straightforward. Thank you,

1:31:34councillor. Yep. Any questions on this or can I call the vote? Okay, I'll call the vote. Does

1:31:39anyone against those appointments? That's unanimous. Thank you. Thank you very much to everyone that

1:31:45put their name forward. We appreciate that very much. So thank you for doing that work for us.

1:31:53Moving right along, we have a consent agenda with the first one and only one being the 2025

1:32:00external audit plan and it's the recommendation of receiving the KPMG's external audit plan. Does

1:32:08anyone, do they miss the minutes? Oh, okay. I did the minutes. Sorry, I missed the minutes.

1:32:15Let me go back to the minutes. Thanks, Kathy. Sorry, councillor Downer. The minutes are for the

1:32:21council open council meetings November 12th, 18th and 26th for 2025 and the open minutes of the

1:32:27committee, the whole meeting on November 4th, 2025 to be confirmed as recorded and without being

1:32:33read. Since you caught my mistake, I'll let you move it. Thank you. Move it. Seconded by, okay,

1:32:39Boussatil. Thank you. Is there anything more on those minutes? No. Okay, I'll call the vote. Is

1:32:45anyone against? That's unanimous as well. Sorry about that. Thank you. Good catch. 2025 external

1:32:52audit plan is the consent agenda for council. Does anyone need that poll? No. Councillor Caron,

1:33:01I think you're willing to move the consent. Thank you and Billings is willing to second.

1:33:05Thank you. I'll call the vote then. Is anyone against that? No one. Okay, so I consider that

1:33:12matter closed and that's unanimous as well. So now we're into our items for discussion

1:33:18and right off the top, we have a final design presentation of the St. George's Square and

1:33:25so we're going to have some staff do some presentations for us. We've got three delegations

1:33:29as well that have signed up and we'll see what we do from there. So we got Kyle and Stacey from

1:33:44our staff that I think are going to come forward and I'll turn it over to you. Good morning, Mr. Mayor

1:34:05and Council. After significant community engagement, we are excited to present the final plan for St.

1:34:11George's Square for approval. My name is Kyle Gibson. I am the acting general manager of Engineering

1:34:18and Transportation Services. Attending with me today are James Goodrum, Stacey Lachlan, Andrew Miller

1:34:25and Red Russford. The reimagining of St. George's Square as part of the downtown renewal program

1:34:32of work aligns with strategic goal 12 make downtown a vibrant place for everyone. The approval of the

1:34:39final plan for St. George's Square means that another milestone in the overall downtown renewal

1:34:45program of work has been reached. The reconstruction of St. George's Square will be part of phase one

1:34:51of the work which will include Wyndham Street from Wellington Street all the way up to Woolwich Street.

1:34:58Based on the proposed construction sequence, surface works in St. George's Square

1:35:02will be completed at the end of phase one in late 2027 with the final touches or as Reg likes to say,

1:35:09the icing on the cake happening in early 2028. Downtown renewal, the reimagining of St. George's

1:35:18Square and the upgraded streetscape will provide the foundation for community success over generations.

1:35:31I think I pressed the wrong one. In July, Council approved this design concept for the square.

1:35:54This concept was inspired by Guelph's unique landscape and designed as a vibrant year-round

1:35:59destination at the heart of the community. It proposed a durable flexible layout with paved areas,

1:36:06adaptable seating and open spaces that could easily transform for festivals, markets,

1:36:12performances and gatherings. It was designed to be an active hub for connection, play and celebration,

1:36:20inviting people of all ages to come together and experience our downtown. At the July meeting,

1:36:26Council provided direction that the final design of St. George's Square should increase flexibility

1:36:31to support seasonal patios and community events. Council also requested that the final design

1:36:38reflect the heritage and character of downtown through the integration of natural materials

1:36:43and heritage inspired elements. In September of 2024, Council also provided direction that the

1:36:50downtown infrastructure renewal program of work, including St. George's Square, should provide

1:36:55an enhanced level of streetscaping for the most efficient operating budget. The Downtown Business

1:37:02Association also passed motions regarding the design concept. In September of 2025, the DGBA

1:37:09requested the concept plan for St. George's Square be modified to ensure that design reflects

1:37:15and enhances Guelph's unique heritage character while supporting a vibrant downtown for public

1:37:21space. To incorporate the placemaking initiative proposed by Barb Manette related to Robert Munch's

1:37:31Paper Bag Princess and to find more discreet location for the public washrooms. I'm now going

1:37:37to pass a presentation over to Stacey so that she can outline the changes to the plan and how those

1:37:42changes address what we have heard from Council, the DGBA and our community. Thank you, Kyle.

1:37:57So during engagement with the community, key interest holders and Council, we heard that the

1:38:02concept plan should include a wow factor. It should also have more natural materials, including

1:38:08more trees and native plantings and less concrete. The design should also be more flexible in order

1:38:13to provide space for events and to accommodate business. We also received comments that the

1:38:19design should be more sympathetic to the heritage character of downtown Guelph. We received mixed

1:38:24feedback regarding the public washroom, some in support of it, others were requesting that it be

1:38:29removed and still others requesting that it be relocated elsewhere downtown. We also received

1:38:35mixed feedback regarding the placemaking structure or the area for play. The feedback ranged from

1:38:41support and desire to see it expanded to those who think it was unnecessary to those who were

1:38:46suggesting it be relocated within the square. And then during our September open house, a community

1:38:52led idea for a tribute to Robert Munch in the form of a paper bag princess statue was brought

1:38:58forward for consideration in lieu of the potential interactive placemaking structures that were

1:39:03proposed. Some of the public feedback also requested reconsideration of the need for gateway features

1:39:11at the entrances to the square. And there were also requests for space for outdoor patios to be

1:39:17located and businesses to operate, additional lighting and more opportunities for shade and seating.

1:39:28So the final plan that we are presenting to you today directly responds to what we heard from

1:39:34the community, key interest holders including the DGBA and council over 2024 and 2025. In particular,

1:39:42the final plan addresses what we heard in response to the concept design that was presented to council

1:39:47in July and the more detailed plan presented to the public in September. This final plan balances

1:39:54the needs and desires of the business community with the needs and desires of residents, visitors,

1:39:59and downtown customers. It recognizes the existing heritage character of downtown. It also reflects

1:40:05our community and that we value the environment and nature. And we would also like to highlight that

1:40:11this plan is flexible to accommodate day-to-day use as well as being able to accommodate larger

1:40:17events and evolve over time. Elements that are not currently proposed or included in the design

1:40:23can be added to it. So this fly-through you can see in the northwest corner of the square that

1:40:31there is an open area for the future place making initiative. Trees and planters and soil cells to

1:40:36provide a balance between a natural setting and an open area to accommodate events. The trees also

1:40:42provide shade along with the movable umbrellas. In the southwest corner there's a flat area that

1:40:48can accommodate a temporary stage for different events. The trees and umbrellas provide shade

1:40:53for everyday use and the existing transit stops are also maintained on both sides of Windham

1:40:57Windham Street. On the easterly side of Windham Street the family fountain is located so that

1:41:03is highly visible both within the square but also to those traveling toward the square.

1:41:09Wide stairs are proposed that provide informal seating opportunities as well as a natural stage

1:41:14area if needed. The DGBA's Big Heart is accommodated and frames the view along Douglas Street

1:41:20towards St. George's Anglican Church. So again this video is just looping so this is the second

1:41:26time through and you're seeing the southwest corner here and then over to the easterly side

1:41:35of Windham Street. So to help identify and define the square and to add that wow factor we have added

1:41:58emphasis to the promenade that surrounds it. The width of the promenade has been increased and will

1:42:04be a minimum of six meters wide and maybe up to eight meters wide in some areas. The promenade

1:42:09will include overhead lighting supported by a wood structure that complements the heritage

1:42:13character of downtown Guelph and Guelph's natural heritage. The promenade will accommodate private

1:42:18patios or public seating as well as a pedestrian sidewalk that is intended to help drop pedestrians

1:42:24to the edges of the square to access the businesses that surround it. By defining the edge of the

1:42:29square ample flexible space is maintained for events as well as day to day use. In these images

1:42:35you can see the promenade lighting at night in the top left corner how the promenade can

1:42:40accommodate private patios in the top in the bottom right corner and then how the promenade

1:42:47still allows for the central portion of each quadrant to be used for events when needed.

1:42:56To increase flexibility the planters have been reduced in size and shifted toward the edge

1:43:01areas of each quadrant of the square. This revision allows for different configurations of the square

1:43:07to be used to accommodate events of different sizes including each quadrant to be used individually.

1:43:13The westerly side of Wyndham street to be used as an event space if you close down a portion of

1:43:17Quebec or using the square in its entirety with the option to close down the streets using the

1:43:22proposed removable ballards. As I mentioned during the fly-through a stage area is located in the

1:43:29southwest corner of the square near the current location of RBC. This stage area will be a flat

1:43:36space that it can accommodate temporary stages of different sizes with each event bringing in the

1:43:41size of stage that best fits their event. For day to day use or events that do not require a stage

1:43:47this is a flexible flat area. On the easterly side of Wyndham street the family fountain has been

1:43:54shifted further toward old Quebec street shops to create more flexible space between the fountain

1:43:59and Wyndham street. The lower basin of the fountain will be reduced in size by approximately 1.2 meters

1:44:07while generally maintaining the existing shape. The location shift and reduction in size also

1:44:12creates the opportunity for the area at the top of the stairs to be used as a natural stage

1:44:17with room for an audience at the bottom of the stairs. And in these images you can see how we've

1:44:23also tried to show how events such as Spirit of the Season can be accommodated in the revised

1:44:28design that's in the sort of right-hand side bottom picture. To introduce more natural materials

1:44:39and better reflect the heritage character of downtown we've added more trees and modified

1:44:43materials. Trees in soil cells and planters have been grouped to replicate the edge of a small

1:44:50forest in each quadrant of the square. This helps to provide a more natural feeling in the area

1:44:54and reduce the impact of the proposed hardscaping all while maintaining flexibility.

1:44:59The addition of more trees also increases the amount of shade that will be provided.

1:45:04Again the lighting structure that's part of the promenade has been designed as a wood structure

1:45:11and has an organic shape which is to be reflective of sort of that natural materials and the heritage

1:45:16character of Guelph. With the introduction of the lighting structure and the additional trees

1:45:23we have proposed to remove the shade structures because it created conflicts between the elements

1:45:28but if the shade structures are required in the future they will be designed to fit into the space

1:45:34constructed of wood and similar to the lighting structure. For the planters we're looking at

1:45:40the use of limestone or something that is a limestone appearance. The design of the planters has

1:45:46also been modified to no longer have any ramped edges which then allows for more public seating

1:45:51as part of the planters. As I briefly mentioned earlier the public feedback regarding the

1:46:01placemaking structure was mixed. Some community members expressed enthusiasm for family and child

1:46:06friendly elements within the square. Others expressed concern about creating an area for play within the

1:46:11downtown and then again that community led idea for a paper bag princess statue did come forward

1:46:18in September. So with the mixed feedback on the interactive placemaking structure as well as the

1:46:25new idea the revised plan for St. George's Square protects space for one or both of these elements

1:46:31to be installed in the future. The protected space is located in the northwest corner of the square

1:46:36to be more directly linked with the new public library and that's to help support people moving

1:46:42between the two areas. The community led paper bag princess suggestion is currently proceeding

1:46:49through the approved proposal process identified in the city's public art process. So we've set up

1:46:54our plan to be able to accommodate that should that public art process decide to to put it in the

1:46:59square. So additional lighting has been added to the design. A catenary lighting structure has been

1:47:17added to the promenade which adds a significant amount of lighting. The lights themselves will

1:47:21have a more traditional appearance while being appropriately shielded to direct light downwards.

1:47:27And again as I've mentioned a couple times we've looked at the design of that structure

1:47:32made sure it's built out or proposed to be built out of wood and that it has a more of an organic

1:47:37shape to reflect Guelph's natural heritage. So the top left image on the slide shows that

1:47:43lighting structure at night. Area lights which can be seen in the top right image are proposed

1:47:51all around the square and these are additional lighting on taller poles to ensure that we have

1:47:56appropriate lighting levels throughout the square. These lights will be the same as those that are

1:48:02proposed for the Baker district. The shape of these lights is somewhat organic and whimsical

1:48:07informed to play nicely with the design of the promenade lighting structure and the shape of

1:48:12the planters and the natural elements within the square. The lights can also accommodate

1:48:16specialized lights that can project shapes or images as part of enhancing the placemaking

1:48:22aspect of the lighting. In the bottom two images you can see clusters of light sticks have also

1:48:28been introduced into the square and they provide visual interest and add some dynamic lighting

1:48:34and the size and color of these light sticks will vary. We have been and continue to explore adding

1:48:40more string lights to connect to the catenary lighting structure and other elements within the

1:48:45square. In order to connect string lights to things they have to be able to withstand the weight of

1:48:51the cable and the lights both in normal conditions but also on windy days and during winter weather

1:48:57that include ice and snow. So those requirements have created some technical challenges but we

1:49:02will be adding more if it's technically feasible. And then planter lighting which you can see in

1:49:08the top left image and then around the base of the family fountain you can see in the bottom

1:49:13right image. We've added lighting to those elements to again add lighting to the square and visual

1:49:20interest. For all of the lighting within the square the fixtures used will be dark sky friendly to

1:49:25ensure that light shines down towards the square rather than up to the sky. So other modifications

1:49:34to mention in the July design concept there was a self-cleaning automated public washroom proposed

1:49:40as council is aware from the October 31st information report. Staff undertook some additional

1:49:46consultation with other municipalities that have experienced operating self-cleaning public washrooms.

1:49:52The feedback we received highlighted that there are both benefits as well as operational

1:49:56supplier and maintenance challenge with those facilities facilities right now. This feedback

1:50:03together with the mixed feedback we received from the public on the proposed washroom within the

1:50:07square has resulted in it being removed from the plant at this time. Well we still feel it's important

1:50:14to pursue a public washroom within or close to St. George's Square. So we are going to install the

1:50:21underground infrastructure to accommodate it in the future but we are also going to continue to

1:50:26explore other options. It could be a more traditional washroom either a standalone one or in a store

1:50:32front or we'll continue to monitor the technology that supports the automated public washrooms

1:50:38to be in a position to install it in the future. So in these images on the easterly side of

1:50:44Wyndham Street you can see that the public washroom has been removed. I also briefly mentioned that

1:50:50the gateway features have been removed and again that was due to sort of the conflict between the

1:50:56elements when we added the added the promenade lighting structure and the additional trees.

1:51:00It created too many sort of vertical elements in one location and created those conflicts

1:51:05in the similar situation for the shade structures. So as Kyle mentioned at the beginning of this

1:51:14presentation there has been extensive internal and external consultation on the design of the square.

1:51:21In 2024 we focused on collecting ideas and opportunities about the square. In early 2025

1:51:27the project team worked through various design options and evolved that design from multiple

1:51:32options to a design concept which was presented to council in July. Since July we have received

1:51:38valuable feedback which has led to the design evolving into the final plan before you today.

1:51:44As council is aware one of the key interested parties in downtown is the DGBA. In late November

1:51:51the DGBA reviewed the final plan and passed a motion recognizing that the final plan addresses

1:51:56the board's previous motions and concerns and the board also passed a motion supporting the final plan.

1:52:03In addition to engaging with members of the Guelph community the project team has met and

1:52:08shared information with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation about the downtown infrastructure

1:52:12renewal program and specifically about the proposed design for St. George's Square.

1:52:18Following council approval of the concept in July MCFN provided some ideas into how the indigenous

1:52:24history of the lands could be recognized and honored in the final design. These ideas include

1:52:30the utilization of the planters and the plants within them as a method of teaching the First

1:52:35Nation stories and the value of green space. Another suggestion was to use text or symbols

1:52:41within the promenade area to recognize that St. George's Square is a long travel path as well

1:52:46as being a destination. So as we finalize the technical details of the design discussions with

1:52:52MCFN will continue. So the changes to the plan between the concept that you saw in July and the

1:53:05final plan results in changes to the cost to construct the square. Some of the changes reduce

1:53:11the cost some of the changes increase the cost and technical details related to the final plan

1:53:17as well as how the family fountain will function when it's reinstalled are still being developed

1:53:22and refined. However given the nature of the changes both increases and decreases we don't

1:53:28anticipate a substantial change to the project budget to accommodate the final plan. So as directed

1:53:34by council in July if there are any budget impacts stemming from the final plan staff will report

1:53:40back through the 2026 budget monitoring process or the 2027 budget update. So in conclusion we are

1:53:48recommending that council approve the final plan that is being presented today recognizing that as

1:53:54the technical details of the design are worked out minor details may be slightly modified. However

1:53:59the overall final plan of the square will remain. This final plan addresses what we heard from various

1:54:05interested interest folders and groups again over 2024 and 2025. In particular it addresses what we

1:54:12heard in response to the concept design presented to council in July and the more detailed plan

1:54:17presented to the public in September. So again we feel that the the final plan balances the needs

1:54:24and desires of the business community with the needs and desires of residents visitors and

1:54:28downtown customers. It recognizes and honors the existing heritage character of downtown.

1:54:34It reflects our community and in that we value the environment and nature and it can and will

1:54:39evolve over time. Elements such as gateway features and public art can be added to it.

1:54:44So the reimagined St. George's Square will be an active urban plaza and central gathering place

1:54:50that provides flexibility to accommodate a wide range of events and activities including daily

1:54:55use and self-activation as well as larger events and festivals. Thanks. Thank you both very much.

1:55:05And to the team that worked on this too. I mean it was a lot of work and engagement

1:55:12and a lot of refinement and you know just right off the top I just want to say thank you for

1:55:21listening to the community and what you've presented here today. You know this I get so upset

1:55:28sometimes when I hear people say oh staff never listen. Exhibit A you know right here you did that

1:55:37and so thank you very much for for presenting that to us. We do have as I mentioned off the top

1:55:45three delegations so why don't we go to the three delegations then if there's questions back to staff

1:55:50as well we can go. Uh Sia I think my glasses on. Sia here oh there's Sia. Sia Vanguiste is coming up

1:56:04and then is Alex Purves here in the room. Okay you're going to be coming up next. So just so

1:56:10everyone knows no more than five minutes you'll hear a chime at the four minutes and 30 second

1:56:16mark which is your warning that your microphone will be cut off at five minutes so don't get there

1:56:22because we want to hear everything you're saying. All right so go right ahead the time timer starts

1:56:26when when you start Sia go right ahead. Thank you Mayor Garcia and thank you Council and thank you

1:56:35the staff at City that park is so impressive that's going to be an absolutely amazing drawing card.

1:56:42I'm here to address the amendment to include paperback princes and Robert Munch. Now we all

1:56:50know a lot of the statistics about Robert but behind that data those that want us to reflect a

1:56:55little bit what the implications are. For instance the whole idea that uh uh there are over 87 million

1:57:05million uh Robert Munch books uh Worldwide Soul has already been sold. Think of the implications

1:57:12of that that means all over this globe so when my husband and I were traveling in Japan we

1:57:18imagine our delight that here in the show window was the paperback princesses in Japanese or being

1:57:25in the Netherlands and seeing the enormous suitcase there. So everybody around the globe knows Robert

1:57:32Munch and just to reflect a little bit on some of the implications that we've seen in Guelph itself.

1:57:38So when I'm a member of the Guelph Guild of Storytellers and we organize a number of events

1:57:45and every time we have Robert Munch on the agenda there's startling things that happen.

1:57:50Just this past year Robert had hoped to be at Canada Day and he was able to be there. We had

1:57:57over 700 people in the shelter in Riverside Park. That same year earlier in the summer we had a

1:58:05children's event organized in the enabling garden our our staunch partners and again over 700 people

1:58:13in that enabling garden and that was the last time we had Robert Munch on the agenda and did

1:58:18nothing but but have them in the shelters. Road to eat uh Trilliums, Ribfest, the Saturday morning

1:58:26event that we had for children. Now think of this over 1200 people came in that park. So there we

1:58:33were in that front of that central stage and all these people are just coming so I don't need to

1:58:39tell us just how significant Robert Munch is in Guelph but the important part is he's a draw.

1:58:45If you go to Copenhagen nobody in the right mind would leave Copenhagen and not visit the little

1:58:51mermaid. It's a real tourist draw and Robert Munch and everything that he represents is going to be

1:58:57that draw. That's going to be translated into economic kinds of advances as well. I love the

1:59:04idea of the paperback princess and then organizing that and linking that to the new Guelph public

1:59:10library because they want to enhance that collection as well because as Robert Munch said in his recent

1:59:16interview on CBC that that's where his collection is going to go. So the value of having the arts,

1:59:25the rich arts of Guelph we are and amazingly blessed with the most profound authors and I'm not sure

1:59:33we're giving them enough recognition to tell the honest truth and I think budget wise even we should

1:59:39think about that. I hope that the cost of this would not be an issue. Just imagine if you put out a

1:59:46crowdsourcing oh my goodness we'd have millions of dollars guaranteed or corporate sponsors that we

1:59:51would have in Guelph. So I urge us to recognize that and recognize that for its artistic impact

1:59:59and influence but also economically and for the dollar ones.

2:00:07We know that Robert is recognized globally in terms of his awards. Do you know that he's been

2:00:13nominated a number of times for the Astridge Lindberg Award which is the richest word for

2:00:21children's literature. It's 750,000 Canadian dollars. It's an award that globally recognizes

2:00:30a children's author in a story and Robert has been nominated by Canada for a number of times to be

2:00:37a candidate in that award. He's going to get that someday absolutely guaranteed. Think back in the

2:00:4470s when the New York Times first calculated the highest selling children's authors and they were

2:00:55amazed. There's what there's there's a book called Love You Forever and it's by whom it's by Robert

2:01:02Munch who is he. We haven't even reviewed this book so they were amazed and beat out all these

2:01:07profound children's literature books. So Robert has an amazing man. He has an amazing influence

2:01:15and I think we all know that and but I want us to think of that in a larger context of the arts

2:01:23and I know budget's a huge issue here and I must say that in the last budget I was a little bit

2:01:28taken aback by the lack of emphasis in the arts. Okay. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks so much. Sorry I

2:01:41had to cut you off there but I didn't want to cut you off thanking staff so that's a good part.

2:01:45Thank you. Is there any questions for this delegation at all? Councillor Caron.

2:01:52Yes thank you and thank you to the delegate and an excellent presentation and I know that you have

2:01:57a history of being passionate about literacy in our city and the new public library near that space.

2:02:04So my question was actually about your role as a storyteller. When you look at the design of the

2:02:09whole square not just the area where the public art project will be located do you see this as an

2:02:17area where the wealth guild of storytellers might be able to have some of their events? Is there

2:02:22event capacity there or are you speaking just to the public art piece? Actually I was looking for that

2:02:29and I'm glad you mentioned that because I thought there was a little there could be almost a little

2:02:35more inviting designated space for storytellers. We know that Indigenous concept of stories

2:02:42circles and I think it'd be wonderful to have that invitation and even clearly marked so that we

2:02:48invite international tellers, local tellers, the storytelling guild who focus on storytelling

2:02:54and I think that would be a lovely feature and I could see that as being part of encompassing

2:03:01Robert Munch's Paper Bag Princess and having that very much an integral part and just even an

2:03:06invitation for families to even sit down and listen to stories. Have a storytelling bench,

2:03:12have some children around there so yes absolutely integrate that as part of the concept.

2:03:18Thank you. Anything else further from council?

2:03:27Nothing more. Sayah thank you so much and all the best in the holidays. Thank you.

2:03:32Okay we have Alex Perves coming up and good morning everyone. First of all as far as Robert

2:03:53Munch is everything that she said I would 100 100% agree with except for one thing is to have a bust

2:04:02or a statue or a bench named after him in St. George's Square. We could do so much more.

2:04:08We have Jean Little has a public school named after her. Ken Danby has a school named after them.

2:04:15I know this is not within your jurisdiction to be able to do that and I know that in 20 29 2030

2:04:22that the school board is actually coming forward and they're revisiting their renaming of schools

2:04:28and everything else so I would more imagine with Robert Munch there would be more of an ideal

2:04:34of having a school named after him and the impact that would have on that community.

2:04:39And all likelihood that school in 2030 2032 with the growth of Guelph there will be a new school

2:04:47down in the south and in Ward 6 probably being being built and everything else. That would be

2:04:53the ideal time to be able to really put pressure on the school board and for those that are really

2:04:59interested if they want to honor the man named in the school after him where hundreds of kids will

2:05:05come through that door on a daily basis and families and that entire community that would have a

2:05:10bigger impact of who this man was and knowing more about what he is. Now talking about St. George's

2:05:16Square there's just one thing that that I would like you guys to consider and it wouldn't cost it

2:05:23to the city a penny is that up to now is that we've looked at the layouts of the square there's been

2:05:29revisions and changes and everything else and that's great but the one thing that's missing is

2:05:35why would people want to come down to the square? All you're doing is moving pieces around right now

2:05:41you're adding a few trees you're putting in a lot more tables but that's basically it. I've been down

2:05:48during the summertime almost every second third day going down grabbing a coffee at the

2:05:54beast throughout the square getting a suburbia or getting a sausage and bun from Moe's and there's

2:06:02always been those three tables that are there they've always been empty or only one of them's occupied

2:06:09in the drawing that you have you have 40 of these tables throughout the entire square. To me that

2:06:16seems like an overkill first of all you don't need that many because most of them are always going

2:06:21to be empty. The three that we have now the majority times when you walk by they're empty during the

2:06:28summertime that's before construction so that's the first thing. The second thing is is that when

2:06:34you've been down there in the mayor you were down there about three weeks ago when when they had the

2:06:39lighting ceremony and and Roger you were there as well is that the stage is facing towards the royal

2:06:47bank is that it's three quarters of the stage the back is against it is what I would suggest is move

2:06:56the power box right into the corner where the royal bank is and more importantly stop with the

2:07:01temporary stages you know it costs taxpayers money every time that you end up fronting the stage

2:07:07bringing it in you then you got to bring in all the technicians and everything else and hook everything

2:07:11up have a permanent stage in that corner have a power box there a permanent stage that corner

2:07:19and don't let the city pay for it there has to be corporations people from the music community

2:07:26maybe one of the financial institutions maybe an individual would be willing to be able to fund the

2:07:31money to be able to have that stage there so that when when you are having storytellers or you are

2:07:38having things like the downtown golf and association has as far as their friday concerts or if you want

2:07:44to do bigger things like as far as the memorial cup or as far as the bicentennial is that that stage

2:07:51is pointing out to the entire square it's overlooking the entire square you're not segregating a small

2:07:59section of the square but you have the opportunity to be able to fill that entire square up for things

2:08:05like the bicentennial for maybe a new year's celebration for maybe something like the memorial

2:08:10cup and it gives you a second option what's happening at the marketplace right now at the

2:08:16marketplace oftentimes you end up shutting down the street and you end up bringing in staging and a

2:08:20whole bunch of things again that costs money if you had a permanent stage in that corner that gives

2:08:27you a second option as far as to be able to have a lot of bigger events or smaller events but it

2:08:34gives you that option and let the community have an opportunity to be able to pay for that to be able

2:08:40to fund that and give some recognition on their behalf so it doesn't cause taxpayers a single penny

2:08:46that's basically all I have to say fine thank you very much and let me see if I have a question

2:08:54from any of my colleagues on those suggestions no but thank you very much we appreciate it

2:09:01and Morgan dandy is going to be joining us I believe by video yep and we see you popped on the

2:09:14screen Morgan but just uh you might need to turn your camera on if you wish it's just slow

2:09:31okay no problem we can hear you okay um if it comes up great if it doesn't my

2:09:40computer's just not that great oh it's okay we we see and hear you now okay perfect go ahead thank you

2:09:50good morning mayor council members staff and fellow ball fights when I viewed the final concept

2:09:56drawings for st. George's Square I noticed some things that we may wish to change before these

2:10:03drawings are used in telling the good news story about the redesign of our downtown the

2:10:10predominance of bimo the windows of the bimo building and the stairs in front of the cibc

2:10:20the bank of montreal will shutter the downtown location in the spring

2:10:25do we truly want a defunct business to be prominently featured in our good news

2:10:33additionally the artist depiction of the windows is a misrepresentation of reality

2:10:39I also wonder why the sidewalk in front of the cibc is now stairs I have mobility issues

2:10:46and being able to get to douglas without needing to walk out to windham first is something

2:10:54I believe would benefit many including parents with strollers in July and again this morning

2:11:02when I rewatched the july meeting as I listened to the delegations I was gobsmacked about their

2:11:10stands on the location of the public washroom in the downtown the dgba is talking about adding

2:11:16more events following the renewal and have already begun use of social media influencers

2:11:24to bring in thousands of people yet they don't support the installation of a highly visible

2:11:2924 7 public washroom in the square the guelph labs report on access to public washrooms in guelph

2:11:38was clear on in its conclusion that a 24 7 public washroom in the downtown core is a necessity

2:11:49if the tgba wants to have events centered on st. george's square I would think they would be the

2:11:57biggest proponent of installing bathroom facilities for these visitors stating that the washrooms at

2:12:04the library are not far away and should be the place people go confuses me since the library is

2:12:10not open 24 7 there's already plans for washroom facilities at the transit building to be built

2:12:16at transit at the central station and when they mentioned the fact that the washroom facilities

2:12:24outside seahall are rarely open I remembered an encounter with a visitor on cargan street

2:12:31when he was trying to find somewhere to go to the washroom and having to tell him that we didn't

2:12:36have any that were regularly open that his only options were to go to the port of parties in the

2:12:42macdonald lot the old kebac street mall if it was open or to purchase something in a business that

2:12:50had a toilet I was embarrassed to give that response in the new concept drawing it's not

2:12:57indicated where access to the infrastructure for fountain will be I originally love the idea of

2:13:03colloic cating the infrastructure for the fountain washroom and transit shelter until I realized

2:13:10that the chemicals used for self cleaning would mean I wouldn't be able to use either the washroom

2:13:16or the transit shelter when I was a member of golf environmental justice collective we spoke

2:13:23with miss laughlin a few times regarding the access to sanitary facilities in the downtown

2:13:28and had conversations with the lead of the golf labs as staff continue to explore options for

2:13:35providing a public washroom including a more traditional not automated public washroom

2:13:42I have a suggestion the traditional washroom facility outside city hall that is rarely open

2:13:50the washroom facilities at the new transit building and the needed washrooms in the area

2:13:56of st. George's square could all be clean on a rotational basis in a similar manner to provincial

2:14:02and conservation area parks if there were a dedicated position we need easily accessible public

2:14:10washrooms if the dgba is going to draw more visitors to the downtown and I believe this could

2:14:17be an avenue to achieve that goal thank you for your attention thank you very much morgan

2:14:27and is there any follow-up for morgan on questions for her presentation

2:14:32there isn't and again thank you for joining us and have a good holiday to yourself as well

2:14:44we are back to us everybody and so right off the top can I maybe look to my colleagues that are

2:14:52in the downtown to move the to want to move the motion yeah I think that makes sense so clausen

2:14:58and galler will will move in second the recommendation and yep I'll put you second on the list I have

2:15:07councillor Allt first and then go to clausen and I can make my way around the room if necessary okay

2:15:14thank you mayor guthrie through you to staff we heard from delegates about final design concerns

2:15:21and I only have one and I'm being somewhat careful in the way that I present this there was comments

2:15:28about some sort of a recognition of robert munch and I have two concerns that I that I need to raise

2:15:35I understand from public uh from public uh statements that the library will become a

2:15:42depository for robert munch's papers at some point and so number one I wonder whether a more

2:15:48appropriate place for some sort of a recognition of munch might be at the library similar to what

2:15:55glen gould uh how glen gould is recognized in toronto um in front of the cbc that's the first

2:16:01start but the other concern is I recognize how important munch is um I love munch forever but

2:16:09the other thing is we have many people and in literature we have for example gene little as

2:16:14well who has significance um in in the same uh genre but we also have artists as well like

2:16:21ken damby who we remember because of the carousel and in music there's edward johnson and maybe even

2:16:26james gordon we have four nobel prize winners that we've never acknowledged uh publicly in guelph which

2:16:33I think proportionately to any other community in canada perhaps in the world that's a heck of a

2:16:38number uh including james or binski who received the nobel peace prize for medicines on frontier

2:16:44and then we could get to one of the most important things downtown which is drinking

2:16:50and there's george sleiman who has been identified as having been a tremendous city booster and

2:16:56builder and let's not forget premier george drugh as well so with all these things how will

2:17:04taking this to the arts uh council uh for consideration how are we going to address this

2:17:10to see which would be the most important I recognize a paper bag princess would be fabulous

2:17:15but I recognize other uh recognitions would be important as well so I'm actually I'm going to

2:17:22answer the question over here councillor Allt through the mayor um because this is about our public

2:17:25art process so we have a council approved public art process and policy which was approved a couple

2:17:30of terms of council uh go um and so through that policy all um any public art that comes onto city

2:17:37owned property or in city owned buildings comes through our what used to be called our public

2:17:41art advisory committee that has recently been renamed our arts and culture uh council appointed

2:17:46advisory committee and so to your point the proposals that you've heard mentioned today those

2:17:50will and I don't want to get into specifics of proposals that may be in the works because I

2:17:54don't think that's what we're here to talk about today but um citywide not just in the downtown

2:17:59core any proposals that come forward come through that committee and they get vetted uh and and

2:18:04considered um the city we do not currently have uh money earmarked to go out and commission new

2:18:12public art ourselves simply because of budget constraints we do when we look at new buildings

2:18:17look at opportunities for where we can do public art however the public art advisory committee

2:18:22I should now call it by its new name the arts and culture advisory committee uh this is not a

2:18:25process that's new to that committee the exact same process uh occurred when we did the john

2:18:30necres statue that's at gulf museum so a community group came forward they fundraised they expressed

2:18:35interest in the proposal and then they worked through the public art advisory committee so

2:18:39what I can say is that both for downtown for st georgia square for the library we're already in

2:18:44conversations with those organizations or those individuals who are interested we will um work

2:18:49through the process with them um but it really in this instance it's about individuals in the

2:18:54community coming forward and bringing that proposal forward so that the committee can then

2:18:57consider it and decide next steps and thank you very much for that thorough answer I think that

2:19:02clarifies everything that that there is a a process and that the community can be involved but the

2:19:09the city very clearly has a an important role in establishing where and when anything might be

2:19:14erected okay clausen please thank you yes uh thank you through you mr. mayor um and I will just say

2:19:23I wanted to say thank you to staff um mr. mayor already said it but I I just I did want to say

2:19:31thank you because there has been so many opportunities for public input or along the way I've been at

2:19:36lots of those and there's lots that I haven't been at as well and I know that there's so much

2:19:41that has that has gone into this and I do appreciate all of your efforts and I know that

2:19:47there has been a lot of changes from the original from their first presentation until now and I do see

2:19:52those reflected did we all get everything we wanted perhaps not but I certainly think that

2:20:00this is a really good way forward and I just I also wanted to say that you know this space

2:20:06addresses those core functions of engineering of transportation but I think that it's going to also

2:20:13provide a really great opportunity for the public for everyone to be able to come down and use that

2:20:18space and also for the community to present more um and higher frequency of public events

2:20:25the spirit of the season I hope that everyone had the chance to go down but I really think that it

2:20:30you know it drew a lot of people to our core from both locally within our community and from beyond

2:20:35and I think that having a space like this that can accommodate and welcome um more more people will

2:20:43certainly be a benefit to the wider community for multiple reasons um and so with that said I

2:20:50this is question so I will withhold any further of my comments but um one of the delegates alluded

2:20:56to this um but I believe it was removed from the the final design there was at some point I thought

2:21:01there was a stage that was integrated into the design or maybe it was naturally built into like a

2:21:06stair structure and I just wanted to ask if you could clarify why why that change was made and

2:21:12and and how the stage will be integrated going forward through you Mr. Marietta councillor

2:21:18class and yes the July concept did propose um a stage area in the I would say the northwest

2:21:24corner of the square sort of where uh Royal sorry Bank of Montreal and Canada post meet and that

2:21:32was a function of how the natural grading worked and it became sort of a natural stage

2:21:37we heard through the consultation that there was a strong preference for the stage area to be in

2:21:43the southwest corner of the square so again we don't have natural grades there that would facilitate

2:21:49a stage so the idea was to create a flat flexible area for you know that could accommodate day to

2:21:57day activities you saw in some of the images umbrellas there and things like that which then

2:22:02can be moved out of the way to accommodate a temporary stage um we did also hear a lot about

2:22:09flexibility and maybe not having a permanent stage because the use of that on a day to day

2:22:14basis isn't very good or some events don't need a stage um so we have that for an option for certain

2:22:21events that could bring in temporary stages and then what we did on the easterly side of Wyndham

2:22:27Street um there are stairs there because there is a natural grade to make up there is an accessible

2:22:33route as well but there are there does have to be stairs there instead of having a retaining wall

2:22:37as we do today it's a wide open staircase to increase the ability to move through that area

2:22:43but it also creates a natural stage should you want to use that side of the street so we've

2:22:48tried to provide options and flexibility for stage areas within the square

2:22:54okay thank you for that explanation I appreciate it um so another question I had was with regard

2:23:01to another delegate but another question that came up for me as well during the process was that

2:23:05some of the community members had talked about our community's art scene and you know this is also

2:23:11kind of touching on what Kelsler Alt said um but but they wanted to see them themselves and the

2:23:17arts community reflected within the square will there be future opportunities um for you know public

2:23:23art or for um you know I don't know that's only the only the only thing but for animation and

2:23:31opportunities for the arts community to contribute to this space uh through you Mr. Maradon,

2:23:35Councillor Klassen, sort of building on Colleen's answer yes there this square sort of sets the

2:23:42stage or like creates that canvas so that we can then have those opportunities in the future so

2:23:48we've designed it so that it's flexible enough so that it can evolve over time and we can add

2:23:53things to it so it we've removed the gateway features but there could be potential gateway

2:23:58features that are also public art in the future those are the types of things that can be added

2:24:02over time thank you I appreciate that um and then through you Mayor another question and

2:24:11it's with regard to the Robert Munch structure and and thank you for the delegates and for

2:24:16Councillor Allt for for talking about all of the great um you know contributed to the arts in

2:24:21in Guelph and particularly Robert Munch we're hearing a lot about right now um it has been

2:24:27shared with me that friends of the Guelph Public Library have also been working on a tribute to

2:24:32Robert Munch within the new Guelph Public Library uh and it it's a bit of a nod to their fundraising

2:24:39efforts they they raised a million dollars for the new public library which is no small feat

2:24:43and so my question is is there going to be an opportunity for the city

2:24:47and for the committee to work with all of these stakeholders who have been kind of coming forward

2:24:52with you know similar seemingly similar proposals so through the mayor yes as I indicated the arts

2:24:58and cultural advisory committee who you appoint is who will do that work we we do know that there

2:25:03is more than one sort of there there are a couple of discussions going on about potential ways

2:25:08to honour Robert Munch so again I don't want to get into the specific details here because it

2:25:12hasn't come to the arts and culture advisory committee yet for their review we're still in

2:25:16that proposal stage but to answer your question yes the opportunity will be there and we will look

2:25:21to bring forward for the committee's consideration any of the proposals that come forward.

2:25:26Thank you um and Mr. Mayor through you two more um will staff continue their work on sourcing

2:25:33public washroom spaces for the downtown. Through the mayor to you Councillor Klassen yes we are

2:25:41going to continue that work. Okay thank you very much um and then lastly um one of the one of the

2:25:50the motions that were brought forward at the previous time this was brought forward to council

2:25:55was with regard to sort of including um heritage and I think in indigenous elements within within

2:26:01the square I was just wondering you did elaborate on on what we could be seeing with you know the use

2:26:07of um native plants for and and different ways of potentially storytelling that could be potentially

2:26:14approved as well but I was just wondering if you could speak to some of the heritage and natural

2:26:17elements that are within this current iteration of the design. Through you Mr. Mayor to Councillor

2:26:23Claeson um again the use of limestone materials for the planters or something that um has the

2:26:30appearance of limestone those are the types of things that we're considering um to bring in that

2:26:34natural element and then we really did focus on increasing the number of trees to really focus

2:26:40on the natural aspects of it um to respond to some of the comments that there was a lot of

2:26:45concrete so trying to balance that need for flexibility which requires paving stones and open

2:26:51areas um and then the natural elements of um like green space and having things in planters and having

2:26:58the trees so we focused on that and then adding in heritage elements where possible.

2:27:04All right thank you Mr. Mayor those are all of my questions. Thank you uh Councillor Pousatil is next.

2:27:13I do see Koran and uh Kate and sorry just to let you guys know you can save your hands.

2:27:25Thank you and through the mayor um to build a bit more on Councillor Art's question about uh

2:27:32what else? Alt. Alt's. You mean the Mona Lisa? Alt's the Annika. Um process about public art um

2:27:40not disrespecting Robert Munch who was a neighbor and our family is a funny story of how we're in

2:27:45one of the books but I do have a question about the process. Is this an open process or is it

2:27:53individuals who come with money in hand and I guess I'd just like to ask a question of equity

2:28:03in the process and I assume the committee the advisory committee would take that into consideration.

2:28:10Through the mayor yes that's part of the terms of reference and I can certainly send them around

2:28:13to council if you would like to see those the terms of reference both for that advisory committee

2:28:18as well as our public art process that council approved we have had public art um installations

2:28:24come through two mechanisms one where the city has a funding to contribute um the the the public

2:28:30art installation that's near the farmers market would be an example of that um and so then when

2:28:34we bring the funding forward and we ask the public art committee again now called the Arts and

2:28:38Culture Advisory Advisory Committee to go out and commission art we have also had the circumstances

2:28:44where a group comes forward with in the case of the McCrae statue an existing vision for a statue

2:28:49and the funding to do it in the in essence donated to the city both of those processes still go through

2:28:53the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee it is uh it is a council appointed advisory committee so their

2:28:58process is open and transparent um and so I can certainly send out to council the information

2:29:03about the terms of reference as well as the process. Thank you very much for outlining that.

2:29:09I just have two more through the mayor quick questions one of the delegations

2:29:13to the staff raised about the stairs and access to Douglas where the stairs are located next to

2:29:21the CIBC can you just comment on that and then I have one final question. Through the mayor to you

2:29:27councillor Boussatel there is a great change there so we do have to make up that great change

2:29:34and there's a combination of stairs as well which exists today in front of CIBC

2:29:40and then there is an accessible path it would require traveling out a bit towards Windham

2:29:44Street to get around but again to make up that great change it is necessary what we have done to

2:29:51improve sort of movement through that area is instead of having a retaining wall that everybody

2:29:55has to go around is opening up those stairs and making them wide so they also provide seating

2:30:00opportunities um they're intended to not be quite as steep so that it provides an easier way to get

2:30:07through that area but with the grades as they are today and as they will be into the future

2:30:13based on where buildings are we will need stairs in that location. Thank you so I did I did hear

2:30:19the piece about the retaining wall so there's no kind of Zed access for accessibility built into

2:30:25the stairs. Through you Mr. Mayor that's correct. Thank you my last question is just a clarification

2:30:33during your presentation around the washrooms I thought I heard you say that infrastructure will

2:30:38be built in and my question is has a location of that already been predetermined? Through the

2:30:46mayor to you councillor Boussatel at this time we intend for it to generally be in the location

2:30:53that we presented in July but we are not fully committed to that because it will also depend on

2:30:58where the mechanical elements of the fountain go and again if we proceed if we think we're

2:31:05proceeding with that standalone washroom so when we get closer to it would generally likely be on

2:31:11that easterly side of Wyndham Street is where we're looking at but we have we don't have a specific

2:31:17location for you today. Thank you that's all. And my apologies to my friends on screen but I did

2:31:25forget councillor Downer and she's closer to me to throw something at me so I'm going to go

2:31:29to her first and then I will go to the screen thank you. Thank you Mr. Mayor through you to the staff

2:31:35just also ditto thank you for doing such a great job engaging with everybody again going back out

2:31:42and I think through that you've certainly reached a lot more consensus and what I would say it's the

2:31:52this is such a great platform for so many events I don't know if any of you made it down to Spirit

2:31:56of the Seasome the last two weekends but I was volunteering thousands of people it was absolutely

2:32:03incredible and not just Guelphites who were raving about it but you know we met people from Sarnia

2:32:12Tottenham they do they'd heard about it through probably through those influencers but they heard

2:32:16about it and so it's a great platform for a lot of events for celebrating in Guelph but also just

2:32:25you know showing off our city and being a welcoming place for other people. So I just want to I do

2:32:32have one final question though because it keeps coming up at the the GBA too the heart you know

2:32:38looking at the design like is there a reason why it has to be moved or because most of those pictures

2:32:44like there's 24 seven people like getting their pictures taken in front of that heart but I noticed

2:32:50and this year I noticed it was the dogs that they brought their dogs to have their picture taken

2:32:55in front of it. Is it and the background actually of Quebec Street or Quebec Street mall with the

2:33:03lights and everything was was quite catching in the pictures is there a reason that has to be changed?

2:33:10Through you Mr. Miranda, Councillor Downer with the current location of the heart it would conflict

2:33:16with the proposed location for the family fountain. I don't see why we couldn't explore having it in

2:33:25that same area we just have to see what kind of conflicts what might be created for all the other

2:33:30things. We did try to place it in a location where you still have sort of that interesting vista

2:33:36behind it with St. George's Church and we had a lot of comments through the public process about

2:33:41how Douglas Street is sort of a jewel within downtown so it frames that view and St. George's

2:33:47Anglican Church so the intent was to keep that sort of Instagram view for all of those people that

2:33:53use it for that purpose but again it is an element that is relatively easily moved so through

2:34:00yeah through the technical details we can look if it fit. I mean even with the fountain in the

2:34:04background and the Quebec Street mall I mean it would there's lots but anyway I'll leave that to

2:34:08you but I would put that as something that to to further explore but and again thank you it's a

2:34:14great work. Okay for real this time Councillor Ciaran then Councillor Caton. Great thank you

2:34:21echoing all of my colleagues great work I always find that you know especially when you're looking

2:34:26pictures of your kids you see their evolution only when you look back at those first photos and you

2:34:33see where we've come from and where where they've gone and I looked back at the first iteration of

2:34:38this square and where we'd come and I think you've you've got that wow factor and listening to the

2:34:43community was certainly part of that so so thank you for that. More questions of clarifications I

2:34:48think I heard it in your presentation really quickly but the edge treatment along the street

2:34:53I see just these planters there is that because it wasn't in the scope of the St. George's square

2:34:59design and that will be part of the Wyndham Street design. Through you Mr. Brande, Councillor Caron,

2:35:08so just to clarify along the edge of the like the curb where the road meets the square I just see

2:35:18these planters in the renderings and yet when we did the Wyndham Street design we talked about

2:35:25good better best on street trees so I'm just wondering whether that's that interface where

2:35:31curb meets road is part of a different project. The two projects are combined there are bollards

2:35:39in in locations to again provide that distinction between where cars are to drive and where people

2:35:44are to walk there are street trees along Wyndham Street and we have when you get into the square

2:35:50it's not exactly sort of regular street trees at every interval because we've moved into that more

2:35:56natural setting for the trees so along Wyndham you'll see street trees in both soil cells and

2:36:02planters more at regular intervals and then within the square you see a lot of trees actually we

2:36:09have increased the number of trees but they're just not at that regular interval along the street

2:36:14so it fits in with the overall design of the square. Okay so on the on the on the renderings

2:36:20that we saw today wherever there's a planter it might not necessarily be just a planter with

2:36:26flowers it could it could be a tree. Agreed yes it could be. Great thanks. Thank you Councillor Caron

2:36:37and to Kate and please. Thanks through you to staff again like everybody else kudos on a very

2:36:47large project in tech we have a term that we say committee by design and and how horrifying that is

2:36:55on the the layer of people who have to actually create the design to take the feedback from

2:37:01a million different people and everyone's got a different idea of what they think is the best thing

2:37:06and so I know that that's a very very hard project and a onerous process and you all did a great job

2:37:13um I personally like the other design a little bit more but I am not everybody

2:37:19so I appreciate that you had to kind of do what you needed to do um I personally would really

2:37:26like to hear more about the the washroom as time goes on because I think um for usability

2:37:33and accessibility that's really necessary I know that the self-cleaning washrooms themselves are not

2:37:39as accessible with the types of chemicals they use their environmental impact and things like that

2:37:44so I I do understand and appreciate not going with that particular option right away um but I'm

2:37:51just wondering when we'll hear back about the potential for the washroom inside a building

2:37:58versus other places what's the timeline on that? Through you Mr. Mayor to Councillor Caton I can't

2:38:07give you a specific timeline today as we've worked through the details of this project to get to this

2:38:11point um but it is part of our 2026 work plan or my 2026 work plan to continue uh to explore options

2:38:20and opportunities to bring that back so I can't give you a specific timeline only to commit

2:38:25that work is continuing. Great thank you so much. Awesome and Councillor Chew do you have a comment as well?

2:38:35Our question. Thank you through you Mr. Mayor um yeah just the whole team here great work Stacey,

2:38:41Andrew thanks for meeting with me and Mike on a personal meeting uh I just want to address some

2:38:47of the comments that I made during my consultation with you guys which I feel like got captured

2:38:52I really appreciate the attention to the detail with the paving materials I think that really

2:38:58makes the biggest difference um just the variation um and also the alignment towards Douglas Street

2:39:05I personally like the heart where it is lining up to Douglas Street as a photographer myself

2:39:11and many others I think this will be a great thing to capture that subculture and niche that

2:39:17would patronize downtown. I also think this the steps by the CIBC is it'll correct me if I'm wrong

2:39:26but it will serve as a natural amphitheater of sorts for um for future events um I guess you can

2:39:36that is our attention yes okay yeah so I think like that kind of solves the stage issue from my

2:39:42perspective and I think it frames Colbeck Street better especially for all the storm games that

2:39:48happen it's a natural staging I'm from Vancouver and in Rogers Arena where the Canucks play

2:39:55there's a natural staging that happens before the queue up and I think this this area where the

2:40:01fountain is it'll naturally help frame a lot of those community conversions so great work I feel

2:40:09like for the first time with community engagement a lot of my comments have been captured so I really

2:40:14appreciate the thoughtfulness and I know a lot of people in the landscape architecture community

2:40:18also appreciates your work and I also just want to say the tapering of the the herb and the plancher

2:40:26that was a nice touch as well and to sub to add the heart there to really define that corner

2:40:33that honestly will make the biggest difference in draw so great work thanks councillor Chew

2:40:41all right I think we're ready to call the vote which staff would appreciate

2:40:47so uh I'm going to call that right now because I think I've given my comments off the top about

2:40:52how thankful I am too so I'll call it right now is anyone against this new design for st. George's

2:40:58Square nobody we'll get a shovel let's go all right perfect thank you very much

2:41:11uh we've already done the next thing on the agenda which was the public appointments

2:41:17and so what I'm going to suggest is that we do the third quarter budget monitoring report we have

2:41:22one delegation to that and then I then we're going to have a break and break for lunch a little bit

2:41:28okay so it's just the way the just the way the day is going so then we'll come back and do the

2:41:35Grand River Conservation Authority bill 68 item and then go on from there so we have a delegation

2:41:44a Christopher plumber okay welcome Christopher and I'm sorry I don't know if you've been here

2:41:58sorry I don't have my glasses here I don't know if you've been here for the other delegations but

2:42:02you have up to five minutes uh four minutes and thirty second mark there'll be a time okay

2:42:07that will ring to give you a thirty second warning and you're here to talk about the 2025 third quarter

2:42:14budget monitoring report so go right ahead okay first off um thank you uh to uh to Mayor Guthrie

2:42:22and Council uh I must also commend Council on Staff for putting in the work um in regards to

2:42:31a grant that will be uh perceived in this report um a total of 11 million from the community support

2:42:41or community sport and recreation infrastructure fund uh 10 million which will go directly to improve

2:42:50the facilities that are sorely needed in the South End Community Center uh this grant writing is

2:42:56truly laborious but uh with this windfall has absolutely paid off very well for the city

2:43:03now budget monitoring usually will contain some reference to the city's north star the city's

2:43:10strategic plan and more on this in a bit uh given that the improvements of the South End Community

2:43:17Center will soon see uh thanks to this uh grant from the CSRIF uh I would like to show my concern

2:43:27and curiosity on how this relief will be used to best serve the community as a whole um

2:43:365.5 million of this is intended to enhance the project and potential revenue generation it also

2:43:42diverts 4.5 million into other much needed projects within the city's budget that may help um a

2:43:50vulnerable part of the population to access said facility um to reference the 2025 second quarter

2:44:00budget monitoring report uh it did find that the Rhodes Division of the Operations Department projects

2:44:07um uh projects a winter controlled deficit of 900,000 at year end um this basically states that a

2:44:17single department's first quarter overshadows the entire budget allocated to the fractional part

2:44:24of maintenance of which is a part of the city's north star the city's official plan

2:44:31um transportation master plan and vision zero um that one in particular should be on every city

2:44:42and corporation's top priority uh and quite frankly the public is weary of these commitments being

2:44:48pushed aside um this now is the time to take count and use these funds um available to

2:44:57the city and this opportunity to make things right now i think it's pretty apparent that

2:45:06i'm actually speaking um to win their maintenance of bike lanes but i will see the floor after this

2:45:13one last point um 65.2 million so far is a lot of money to uh this much needed south end project

2:45:22um but so is 10 million um and it could really go far to cover even a measly 650,000 as well

2:45:36that uh that about concludes what i do have to speak to cancel about thank you very much

2:45:45all right thank you is there any questions as a follow-up

2:45:48well there isn't thank you very much we appreciate it thank you ma'am um so can i have someone move

2:45:57the move this this one i'll boost it till and uh ritchardson thank you and uh i think i just because

2:46:06of the delegation's comments i think i would like to just ask staff to confirm clarify uh

2:46:17what was brought up was basically a difference between capital and operating and a grant that

2:46:23comes from the government is specified for certain capital improvements not ongoing operating costs

2:46:32so there's no correlation there at all am i correct uh yes to you mr. mayor you are correct this grant

2:46:38was very specifically intended for capital in recreation facilities yeah and so that is what

2:46:42it's being used for okay thank you for that clarity okay so it's been moved and seconded

2:46:49and i'll call the vote is that okay with everyone yep okay i'll call the vote is anyone against

2:46:56no one okay so that's unanimous as well so as i said we are going to take a break right now um

2:47:03and we'll come back here for

2:47:06uh let's make it uh

2:47:1112 okay um 12 30 okay we're gonna have a lunch break until 12 30 okay we'll see you then thank you

2:47:22well mr. mayor oh sure yeah before we break um because i can't see the gallery um but is uh

2:47:31cao uh samantha loson in the gallery to answer the questions from members of council because

2:47:38if she is is it necessary could we not do the uh g rca motion before a break um like if she's in

2:47:49the gallery i'd like to know but i don't know no everyone i'm not looking for her yeah i know okay

2:48:01i'm looking for our other delegations as well okay and they're not here so um i understand where

2:48:08the conversation is going and that is fine so why don't we do that but i i'm trying to honor that

2:48:15we have a delegation that has also signed up who was supposed to be here in person and he was not

2:48:20here so um maybe what we could do is a two-parter i'm trying to make it up on the fly so um no because

2:48:32then we're gonna yeah you know why don't we just do a little bit of a shorter break okay so we're

2:48:38not waiting as long and so why don't we come back for what did i say originally i'm sorry

2:48:44i said 12 30 okay let's make it 12 20 okay when we get 12 20 to come back here i'm just sorry i'm

2:48:50just trying to balance that we yes we have someone in the audience but we also have someone that's

2:48:53supposed to be signed up as a delegate too okay so uh we'll come back here for uh for 12 20 okay thank

2:49:00you okay for my councilmates online i think we're just doing the one minute warning okay we are

3:33:10calling the meeting back to order so thank you so much for uh for coming back we do have this item

3:33:18is the grand river conservation authority bill 68 which is a plan to protect ontario act and because

3:33:27this was uh asked to be brought for by councillor billings all this allow councillor billings to

3:33:32speak to the item uh just to kind of set the stage and we have a couple delegations that have

3:33:38also signed up as well and so councillor billings i will turn it over to you thank you mr marrick

3:33:47do you want me to put the motion down first before or or what what is your preference for order

3:33:56no i i'm giving you the opportunity to kind of the grace just to allow um you to you know table what

3:34:03you're looking to try to do to set the stage and then we'll allow the delegations to go any questions

3:34:09and then and then we'll we'll come back to you to formally put it on the floor at that point

3:34:14okay okay mr marrick okay so the the province announced a new provincial body intended to

3:34:20strengthen and the coordination and oversight i.e governance and and this body is called the

3:34:25Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency and the province is proposing to consolidate 36

3:34:32conservation authorities into seven larger regional bodies and many uh c.a.s and municipalities

3:34:42have passed motions with respect to this matter um and essentially uh part of their their motion is

3:34:50they're rejecting the seven larger regional bodies that are being proposed so in summary which is

3:34:58from the attachment mr marrick uh the g rca is unique in that they're offering an alternative

3:35:05to the provincial proposal and the g rca board believes the the province's modernization and

3:35:12goals can still be achieved more effectively through a refined right-sized regional model

3:35:18aligned with the scale of the existing source protection regions that we have so i asked

3:35:28for this motion to be placed on the agenda for council's approval to support the g rca's bid

3:35:34to have the source protection regions be the boundaries instead of the proposed seven larger

3:35:41bodies so okay that's that's the stage okay thank you very thank you very much and uh

3:35:53uh just so you know like from a emo point of view with me being on the emo board and such

3:36:00there's a lot of municipalities that are passing these types of support motions in various similar

3:36:04fashion so i think it is important that we look at this and uh it's also timely we sort of have to

3:36:10get get these things done prior to the break so thank you councillor billings and we do have two

3:36:17delegations as i said the first is susan watson and the second one is dr. hu whiteley

3:36:22and susan is here in person and then dr. whiteley will join us online

3:36:28and i think you would both know but just because i always say it it's up to five minutes with the

3:36:34chime at the four minute and thirty second mark and just stick around in case any of my colleagues

3:36:39or myself have any questions i do want to just reiterate that we are speaking to what's been

3:36:47tabled by councillor billings and in regards to bill 68 as much as possible please okay thank you

3:36:54very much susan over to you yeah mayor guthrie and members of gulf city council i'll start by saying

3:37:00that i completely support the resolutions brought forward by councillor billings and i encourage all

3:37:05of council to vote in favor of them it's clear that bill 68 is going to have a massive impact on

3:37:11levies governance and accountability but bill 68 also appears to have very serious implications

3:37:17for current g rca assets including infrastructure financial reserves and land in his letter to

3:37:25you john chaloner says the following the g rca maintains significant watershed specific infrastructure

3:37:33reserves and land assets including infrastructure financial reserves and land

3:37:42sorry the g rca maintains significant watershed specific infrastructure reserves and land assets

3:37:47built through decades of watershed investment key concerns include the potential redistribution

3:37:52of well-developed g rca reserves to support capital needs in other watersheds that have not made

3:37:58comparable investments clear assurances are required to ensure these resources remain dedicated to

3:38:04the watershed communities they were intended to serve so the g rca is clearly concerned about what

3:38:10is going to their happen to their assets i want to speak about the implications of bill 68 for the

3:38:17eight hectare field which was once part of the former frank court right waterfowl center which is

3:38:22at risk of being sold off and developed back in july of this year staff and the mayor were assuring

3:38:29the public that they were on this file there was supposed to be a public report back in the fall of

3:38:34this year and it's now december 16th but just a couple of weeks ago the mayor stated in a ctv

3:38:40interview that the ultimate fate of this land is not up to the city the g rca determined that it was

3:38:46deemed surplus they will control the process on what happens with those lands this is a complete

3:38:52abdication of council's responsibility in the 1970s the city of guelph contributed hundreds of

3:38:59thousands of tax dollars towards the assembly of land for the future handland creek conservation

3:39:04area part of which was the purchase of the former frank court right waterfowl park i've provided you

3:39:10with a historic documentation that proves that guelph contributed 30 to 40 of the purchase price

3:39:16the mnr 50 to 60 percent and the g rca only 10 percent that original investment is now worth millions

3:39:26former civic leaders norm jerry ken hamill and eileen hamill advocated for this contribution so the

3:39:32g rca could hold these lands in trust for the city of citizens of guelph in perpetuity i obtained a

3:39:41copy of the mnr grant letter via an foi and it contains this statement please refer to the

3:39:48attached copy of the report to management board for further particulars and conditions of approval

3:39:54the g rca was unable to locate this document in their files and at the july 16th council meeting

3:40:01councillor billings asked staff if they were going to try to obtain that document from the archives

3:40:07of ontario and the answer was that the legal department was working on it it's now five

3:40:12months later has that document been retrieved what does it say because that document could have

3:40:18potential legal implications around the ability of the g rca or any other conservation area to

3:40:24sell those lands and you also need to fix the problem that you created i would not advise depending

3:40:32on any assurances from the province margoth reasserted in his ctv interview that the city

3:40:39understands the importance of parkland how is it then that in 2017 under margoth re's leadership

3:40:46the city removed open space parkland zoning for eight hectares of conservation land within the

3:40:52city's boundaries i still don't have a clear understanding of how or why that happened and

3:40:59and this is in a context where we're on track to incur a massive parkland deficit by the year

3:41:052051 a shortage of 174 hectares relative to projected population by riverside parks

3:41:14whilst city council changing the zoning of this land jacked its value into the stratosphere

3:41:21and the temptation was simply too much for the g rca they fabricated a false acquisition narrative

3:41:28about the he spler dam project to justify declaring it surplus and cashing in with the looming

3:41:35conservation area amalgamations as anyone's guess now what could happen to that land in a couple of

3:41:40months you will have the opportunity to correct this historic error and protect this land when an

3:41:46official plan update comes to council in february 2024 you need to act on that opportunity and

3:41:53change the zoning back to open space parkland thank you thank you very much for your opinions

3:42:00and uh is there any questions at all for the delegate no seeing hearing none thank you very

3:42:06much thank you and now we have uh dr. Hugh whiteley going to join us by video looks like he's joining

3:42:13us now just got to turn on your video if you can hear all right we do see a hue we just need you to

3:42:22unmute i unmuted once so i'll do it again all right we can we can hear and see you so your

3:42:34five minutes will start whenever you're ready thank you thank you mr. Guthrie and council members

3:42:41for this most important issue being presented to council for some action i want to focus attention

3:42:52exclusively on bill 68 because it represents an extraordinarily

3:43:00lead damaging act by the provincial government to remove local involvement in conservation

3:43:10activities and i want council to be aware of how extensive is the background of the city of

3:43:21guelph in the formation of the original conservation uh authorities act the record is clear that it was a

3:43:311941 conference held in memorial hall at the university of guelph that triggered off the

3:43:39recognition that southern ontario conservation depended on the formation of conservation authorities

3:43:48um the motion from that 1941 meeting pointed out that deterioration in the natural resources

3:43:58in southern ontario was so severe in the 30s and early 40s that the future sustainable

3:44:08prosperity of the communities of that area were at risk and to answer that difficulty

3:44:17the meeting called for the formation of voluntary municipal coordination on a watershed basis as the

3:44:31way that governance could properly give attention to conservation of natural resources

3:44:38this call was taken up by the provincial government under the leadership of george true i'm

3:44:45interested to learn that he's a favorite of one of the council members as the only

3:44:52wealth-based premier of ontario anyway george true recognized the importance of forming these

3:45:00communities led municipally coordinated conservation authorities and the essential

3:45:10feature of them is that they are voluntary the province did not force municipalities to form

3:45:18conservation authorities it allowed them to recognize the wisdom of gathering together

3:45:26and operating on a watershed basis to produce good conservation policies

3:45:33this was further strengthened by another conservative premier leslie frost in his longest

3:45:43period of leadership in ontario leslie identified himself as an environmentalist

3:45:51and quite properly strengthened conservation authorities activities

3:46:00the overall outcome from this is that it's been an outstanding success and the city of

3:46:07gulf in particular has benefited more the probably than any other municipality

3:46:13were having conservation authority basis for natural resource management we not only have

3:46:21outstanding conservation areas in gulf lake and rockwood and i would point out that the reason

3:46:30that there is a rockwood conservation area is that a gulf leadership personality or a smack

3:46:42was strongly in favor of forming it and created it in addition the gulf gulf has benefited from

3:46:55a huge amount of natural area retention there's the 775 acres of the

3:47:06hanneland creek conservation area that has developed from gulf-based

3:47:14operations within the conservation authorities framework to acquire that land and i don't know

3:47:22that council members are aware that two other very important conservation areas in the vicinity of

3:47:32gulf starkey hills and the smith property on the aramosa river both of those were reached

3:47:42hi hi hu it's it's maric gothree and i'm sorry that you just went over your five minutes there and

3:47:48so the the time stopped for you my apologies but thank you for your your presentation let me just

3:47:55ask if there is a follow-up question from any of my colleagues uh yeah councillor Caron please

3:48:03i think we were about to get information on the history of the smith property and how it parallels

3:48:09with the g rca land uh history and i just wondered if we could give another 30 to 60 seconds to

3:48:18dr whiteley or i'll ask it as a question dr whiteley what is the history of the smith property

3:48:24as it relates to this agenda item okay just so everyone knows we don't usually allow that anymore

3:48:34to use a question to help someone continue on on a delegation but i'm charitable and it's the

3:48:41holiday season so i'm going to allow it right now as the chair i'm going to make that ruling

3:48:46but please in the future we shouldn't use this as an opportunity to allow people just to continue

3:48:50on just from a process point of view dr dr whiteley go ahead and answer that question for

3:48:55councillor Caron okay and us thank you hey dr whiteley i'm going to give you your time back here

3:49:04you just you're still muted could you unmute for us can can our clerks unmute for him yeah okay sorry

3:49:24yeah dr whiteley did you want to try one more time after i was all charitable there and letting

3:49:29answer the question uh it's not working darn it sorry dr whiteley it's it's just not working

3:49:42another another five seconds give it a try i'm so sorry dr whiteley it's just not working

3:49:54by all means we know you're good with email if you want to maybe just send a

3:49:58council a quick quick email with that story i found another lucky i kept talking there you go

3:50:04another section okay keep going you answer that question for councillor Caron the city of

3:50:11gulf undertook with the g rca the gulf valley lands project the first three pieces of land that were

3:50:19on city of gulf request list bought by the g rca were the smith property the very first property

3:50:28the second was the hanlon creek um estate property and the third was the starkey hills

3:50:37200 acre urches all right you got a thumbs up from councillor Caron and all of us here

3:50:48thank you very much and thank you for your delegation okay yep thanks dr whiteley have

3:50:54a good holiday bye bye all right councillor billings i'm going to turn it back to you if you want to

3:51:01state anything uh and i know you would love to move the the motion as well so i'll turn over to you

3:51:09so mr maro i'll move the motion and it's seconded by councillor chou do you do you want me to read

3:51:17the entire motion i really don't um but we're gonna ask we're gonna ask uh the clerks to throw it up

3:51:26on the screen at least just maybe uh just as you speak about the importance of this we can have it

3:51:34at least up there for everyone to see okay so so essentially mr maro you know the g rca board

3:51:42believes that you can still modernize like the province wants us to do while preserving local

3:51:49responsiveness and using the source protection regions would be in my mind uh well it would make

3:51:58sense and it would be more effective and and manageable uh where i feel that what the province

3:52:05is proposing would be nonsensical under the now therefore be it resolved which is the third clause

3:52:13i i added that clause because well stated in the attachment municipalities are to fund all or a

3:52:21portion of this new agency's operation so it really means municipalities pay and have no say

3:52:30but by the way this is a precedent setting method for funding a provincial agency which in my view

3:52:37is just wrong on so many levels so hold on okay so so you're saying i don't have to read them the

3:52:51entirety of the motion no you can if you wish just that there's a lot of a lot of one too there's a

3:52:59lot i think everyone could read it yeah okay i'm seconded by councillor Chew and you still have the

3:53:08floor go ahead yes and just quickly uh ceo samantha lawson uh i believe is uh in the in the gallery

3:53:17and she's here um to answer any questions from from members of council with respect to this matter

3:53:26actually i'm going to invite you to the microphone for a moment because you have been here

3:53:30would you like to just validate or clarify speak to the importance of what you think

3:53:37gulf council is looking to vote on sorry if you hope that's okay everybody give me the

3:53:42ability to do that you've been here thank you okay thank you very much for the opportunity

3:53:48i think just to um further highlight the recommendation from the provinces to

3:53:54basically consolidate 81 municipalities so that would be the number of municipalities

3:53:59that would be in the new proposed regional conservation authority that the g rca would

3:54:03be included into so that's going to run basically from guelph right to winzer so it's a fairly large

3:54:11landscape and i think most of the municipalities can recognize that the the success of conservation

3:54:17authorities is because of the local focus and the local input that happens to create the programs

3:54:24and services that we provide so the g rca is proposing um recognizing um as cancer billings

3:54:32had mentioned that there are some needs to modernize the system um and that can come through consolidation

3:54:39but at a much smaller scale so the g rca is proposing um the source protection regions which would

3:54:45consolidate four c a's into one but it's already a proven governance model and it um is at a size

3:54:53that we feel can still um it doesn't dilute the local input or opinions or programs and services

3:54:59that it would provide um the other item too um that was mentioned was the new provincial agency

3:55:07and that is something new for the province and so that is to provide greater provincial oversight

3:55:13to whatever the new conservation authorities um are and that would include governance as well as

3:55:19operational items it's also a tool the province is using to help standardize um and advance some

3:55:25of the tools that the conservation authorities um could utilize so increasing greater capacity for

3:55:30permitting and managing the variety of programs and services that we have so um really appreciative

3:55:37of the opportunity and and the support from the city as well as the other watershed municipalities

3:55:42and happy to answer any questions thank you very much i'm going to go to alton busatil and then

3:55:49up to ferron please thank you very much mayor guther and thank you to the delegate for or

3:55:55standing here in front of us to clarify some things um with regards to the 81 municipalities

3:56:00and the various conservation authorities how many of them are expressing similar concerns to what

3:56:07we are discussing here um through you mayor to council all of them there we go that's a great

3:56:14answer nice and short um the other concern that i have is with regards to uh i think it was a comment

3:56:20by uh councillor billings and also clause three about um uh downloading of costs to municipalities

3:56:27could you unpack that this is a big concern to me we can't afford any more downloading

3:56:33i'm through you mayor to council so um the amendments to the conservation authorities act

3:56:38that were tabled in bill 68 have been enacted so the bill was passed the one part of the

3:56:44amendments that was not enacted was the ability of the agency to levy the conservation authorities

3:56:50for costs associated to their operations so the province has is still doing consultation on the

3:56:57amalgamation or consolidation of the conservation authorities and at those sessions they've said

3:57:02that the first term of the agency will be funded by the province so the first term is three years

3:57:09starting uh effectively i think uh 2026 um and that they won't be utilizing their powers to levy

3:57:17the conservation authorities in that time i will put heavy caveats around it that's what they've said

3:57:24so uh they also mentioned too that in the spring they will be issuing regulations to more formalize

3:57:31the responsibility of the agency relative to um the new proposed conservation authorities because

3:57:37the relationship is still not clear either how much oversight and input they will have

3:57:43into the management of the new conservation authorities but yes they have put in there the

3:57:48ability to levy the conservation authorities for the costs and operations of the agency

3:57:53thank you very much so what i understand just to try to break it down is from 2026 to 2029

3:57:59this might be revenue neutral from 2029 onward which is a year before uh the the the next municipal

3:58:09election after this one it would be incumbent upon uh the conservation authorities and the

3:58:16municipalities to fund further the conservation authorities therefore putting a a greater

3:58:23tax burden on the municipalities is that a correct assumption um through you mayor gut three i yes i

3:58:30think so because the um agency has the ability to levy the conservation authorities who in turn

3:58:36apportion the municipalities and just to follow up and it also sounds like without any

3:58:44significant oversight over the the the new uh whatever they are conservation authorities

3:58:50whatever is that correct yeah so through you mayor the um legislation states that they will

3:58:55be provincial appointments to the board that governs the agency sounds like fun thank you very

3:59:01much thank you and then spooce atil and then karan and then shoot thank you and through the mayor

3:59:12thank you for for staying thank you for staying so i want to first acknowledge and thank uh

3:59:18councillor billings for raising the governance concern and putting it into emotion it's a huge

3:59:24concern about the centralization of decision making um and to councillor absolutely about

3:59:30the downloading on the local residents i just he asked a number of my questions just a quick

3:59:35question around has this resolution uh similar resolutions been shared with you know public

3:59:42health ontario other kinds of bodies and agencies uh to kind of raise the concerns um through you

3:59:50mayor a g r c specifically hasn't shared it with other public agencies but we have shared it um

3:59:57with the local m p p's first nations and all the watershed municipalities thank you thank you

4:00:04very much uh karan then shoot uh thank you through you mr mayor and thanks to the delegate for

4:00:13sticking around as well um two of the previous delegates talked about the risk of um land

4:00:22acquisitions over a long period of time that were funded in part by the city of guelph being at risk

4:00:29with this consolidation plan is that is that a risk that you the g r c a is talking about and a risk

4:00:35that you share uh and then the second question is about the the document from the 1970s that that is

4:00:43still being um searched for just wondered if you had an update on what that document might contain

4:00:52okay so to answer the first question about the concern what will happen under consolidation to

4:00:59all of g r c a's assets uh yet that is a significant concern of the g r c a um again it's it's not

4:01:07clear what the process is for the consolidation or how that's going to happen um g r c a is seeking

4:01:13legal advice um to best prepare us um for that um from the g r c a's perspective i think it's it's

4:01:21fairly similar that we don't um necessarily want you know the authorities been around for 80 years

4:01:29and has built up reserves and has a very sophisticated program particularly in terms of our management

4:01:34of our water infrastructure and our concern is that that similar sort of longevity of the organization

4:01:40but also approach is not matched with some of the other ca's that potentially could be consolidated

4:01:46with the authority and our concern is that g r c a priorities would not surface as high

4:01:53based on a regional context so there's a lot of concern around a number of assets that the authority

4:01:58has um in regards to the 1970s document um i think the delegate mentioned we didn't find a copy of

4:02:07that report um uh in our files um and we have not asked for it um from the province but um

4:02:18my understanding is the city has okay thank you councillor crown two please

4:02:26thank you through you mr mayor uh sam thank you for coming to gulf council on this matter

4:02:31i'm just curious uh based on the working group conversations uh at g r c a um how much emphasis

4:02:38in advocacy has there been around preserving the source water protection regions uh in the

4:02:43administrative boundary changes um so g r c was one of the first conservation authorities to formally

4:02:50table detailed comments um to the province as well as our other um agencies um i think the province

4:02:59has been clear in some of the roundtable discussions that we've had that uh we will not have 36

4:03:05conservation authorities after 2027 um they're flexible in the the seven or appear to be flexible

4:03:12in the seven um i think uh around the table with other um conservation authorities considering that

4:03:20there is already a framework in place and a governance model in place at the source protection

4:03:24level um i think some of my colleagues would agree that that's a more of a logical step versus

4:03:31the large-scale regional consolidations okay and we are one of the largest

4:03:36c a's in ontario is that correct um geographically yes we're the largest okay and can you very quickly

4:03:43speak to some of the i guess cultural and governance issues uh perhaps some of the smaller c a's and

4:03:49rural c a's compared to the structure and culture that we've had here at in southwestern ontario

4:03:57yeah so i think the province actually highlighted at one of the sessions that

4:04:02the toronto regional conservation authority has a budget of 177 million and that there are a number

4:04:08of c a's that have budgets of less than two to three million so you know i do think that there

4:04:14are capacity issues when it comes to offering programs and services um i think that the province

4:04:20is recognizing and some of the municipalities in the province have also requested that there needs

4:04:26to be uh more capacity in certain areas and some of the conservation authorities and the programs

4:04:32and services that they deliver given the importance of natural hazard management so the flood

4:04:37mitigation management as well as source protection and some of the other programs that the conservation

4:04:42authority offers um i think one of the other items too that the province is really concerned about is

4:04:50is also the consistency in terms of standards across um conservation authorities and i think

4:04:55that speaks again to some of the capacity of the smaller conservation authorities um to have more

4:05:02modern policies in place um you know the ability to have digital systems in place for for managing

4:05:09permits and that sort of thing so i think um you know there is some agreement around the table that

4:05:16there is some benefits to consolidating and modernizing the programs um and yeah i'll probably

4:05:23leave it at that yeah i just bring that up because uh there are conversations that you guys have within

4:05:30like eerie um source protection regions and perhaps that could be maximized further from a

4:05:37governance lens to kind of address uh the consistency component uh moving beyond just

4:05:43source protection conversations but also operational issues um and maybe that could be a takeaway as well

4:05:51and i'm finished thank you thank you councillor shoo that's it i think for questions to you thank

4:05:58you for sticking around as well thank you we appreciate your work too thank you it's i must

4:06:02be trying times with with the whole announcement and everything when the province so we wish you

4:06:08all the best okay thank you for what you do yeah thanks okay uh councillor downer has a question

4:06:15for uh staff and i do see councillor gibson and okay you can do questions or comments just so we

4:06:22can get to the end of this item are you miss me yeah and thanks to council rulings for bringing

4:06:26this forward i think it's a like a really important issue um the one i have a question for staff and i

4:06:34notice jody's not here but uh in the information items that we get uh under intergovernmental

4:06:42consultation it says on this issue um that staff may prepare a letter for submission via the

4:06:49environmental registry of Ontario did we do that so through the mayor to councillor downer so staff

4:06:57are working on that right now so the idea is to have that posted uh this friday in the information

4:07:01packages and so that that work is to come but what i can say um is certainly staff overall are

4:07:07fundamentally aligned with with what's in front of you today um you know our perspective in that

4:07:12water is paramount and with golf being a drinking water uh groundwater based drinking water community

4:07:17the the watershed work here is is imperative it's of utmost importance to us and so you'll see that

4:07:23type of commentary reflected in the staff um documentation perfect thank you yeah because

4:07:28i know the deadline i think is the 22nd for this consultation so that's perfect um the other thing

4:07:34i would add i wonder if councillor billings would mind if i added one uh amendment to number four

4:07:41which would be to include amo in this circulation the association of municipalities of Ontario

4:07:50okay so could i move that as an amendment do you need it you don't need it in writing to you

4:07:55no and councillor billings will second that and i'm going to call the vote on amo if that's okay

4:08:01are we talking about the amendment councillor crown number four who the circulation is

4:08:10uh yes i had an amendment to the amendment so i do that now i're waiting for this to pass

4:08:15because i was going to add the other other g rc a member municipalities i guess that would

4:08:20be covered in amo if amo circulates it to everyone well i think that you can do that too

4:08:27i amo won't be circulating it yeah circulating it to okay so i'll add an amendment and other

4:08:34g rc a member municipalities hope it's okay and it's seconded by councillor chou on the amendment

4:08:50okay councillor chou uh just through you to um councillor um caron i i just wonder if that

4:08:57would be redundant to add g rc a member municipalities because virtually all the

4:09:03municipalities are doing a similar form as we are today and they're tabling their own motions so

4:09:08i'm just saying they're already doing that so i wonder if we need to add that piece

4:09:13um you know what as the chair i will just say that it doesn't hurt so i say we support councillor

4:09:19crowns amendment to the amendment and we move on okay can i yeah can i uh can i call the vote on

4:09:27the amendment to the amendment of adding g rc a member municipalities good is anyone against that

4:09:34nobody good we're back to the amendment now of councillor uh councillor downers about adding

4:09:41amo it's already been seconded any questions on that no i'm going to call the vote anyone against

4:09:47adding amo as an amendment nobody that's unanimous awesome we're back to the main motion as amended

4:09:57now and on my list i did have billings and then Gibson and then that is it so through you mr mayor

4:10:06i mean uh the question i had uh councillor downer asked it so to staff when the staff do the posting

4:10:15is it going to be clear that we are like the city of Guelph is supporting the source protection

4:10:22regions and to make that extremely clear through the mayor to council of billings i can tell you

4:10:30certainly that staff's um position and perspective so as a takeaway we'll make sure the language is

4:10:35reflective of the comment thank you thank you so much thank Gibson please yeah thank you

4:10:43not a question comments i just wanted to applaud the conscription 30 and everyone who works with them

4:10:48i think aligning with source water protection is a logical approach as an alternative to the

4:10:52province i know in working with um advocacy with the province like you don't always appreciate the

4:10:58direction the province wants to go but you acknowledge that they have the ability to do that so you have

4:11:03to offer them alternatives and i just want to say it's a sound argument i'm glad that um the

4:11:10conservation authorities seem to be broadly adopting it um and i think it's wise the one thing that i

4:11:15have observed from this government over the last eight years is that he's the premise famous for

4:11:20saying i'll put water in my wine sometimes if he if he gets too far ahead of his skis and sometimes

4:11:24they want to move the ball you know they want to move the ball 20 yards down the line but they

4:11:28realize they can really only get five or six and still achieve what their objectives are but it's

4:11:33not what they first proposed so i've seen that in multiple times and i just again i applaud the

4:11:40the advocacy because it's it's worthwhile and i think it i think it would be successful okay thank

4:11:47you i'm gonna call the vote then okay everybody this is on the main motion as amended okay is anyone

4:11:54against nobody okay that's unanimous too awesome okay motion to adjourn just kidding

4:12:09come on a little a little a little levity right just just a little levity okay by the way my council

4:12:19colleagues uh online i there's a few people in the audience that's who i was speaking to there

4:12:24there's a lot to see if you can't see them okay um just just one second everybody just one second

4:12:29i was actually in the middle of just doing something okay um we are at the bylaws probably the most

4:12:47exciting bylaws we've ever had since uh since i've been mayor anyways so uh look uh can i just

4:12:57have some grace for a moment for everyone to just to speak for a moment thank you thank you i found

4:13:06a way to figure it out okay dylan do you happen to have the strong mayor order it's a compromised

4:13:18position council may like it or not because it's on them but here it is i using the strong mayor powers

4:13:29i'm increasing the operating budget by 650 000 to reinstate the snow removal services for the on

4:13:36street bike lanes of which 349 118 will be funded by increasing the 2026 tax levy and 300

4:13:458882 will be funded from the environment and utility contingency reserve one time in 2026

4:13:53resulting in the remaining 300 000 tax levy impact into 2027 in other words this will be ongoing

4:14:00it's not just a one year removing the addition of the two bylaw officers included

4:14:07all associated office operating expenses which will decrease the net tax levy by 991 17

4:14:16and decreasing the operating budget by 250 000 by decreasing the transfer to the 100 re reserve

4:14:24reducing the tax levy and decreasing the capital budget for capital project gb 026100

4:14:31re initiatives by 250 000 in each year from 2026 to 2035 capital budget and forecast i'm just

4:14:39pausing on that moment for a second that can always be amended year by year but moving into 2026

4:14:44it will be taken out i have signed this main mayoral order and it's signed by the clerk which means

4:14:51it's done you have the bike lanes back maintained starting today okay now i want to give i want to

4:15:05give some context and no notes in front of me you all know me well enough i don't have notes

4:15:11usually at all maybe i get in trouble for that but um this has been extremely difficult to figure out

4:15:22there are some of you may be listening online some of you in this audience that i have not

4:15:28maybe been contacting you back which is not like me and i've been straight to the point and some of

4:15:34my responses of thank you for your feedback it's because all of my time has been trying to figure

4:15:41this out okay there were a lot this is new ground and i'm going to blame i'm going to blame the

4:15:52strong mayor powers for the situation we have found ourselves in because the strong mayor powers

4:15:59do not allow any of my colleagues to do a notice of reconsideration on emotion

4:16:05if that didn't exist then anyone in my colleagues that had a change of heart on an issue could come

4:16:12they could present a notice of reconsideration they could we could figure it out we could debate it

4:16:17we could approve it okay but they're not allowed because of the strong mayor powers it's all on me

4:16:26and it shouldn't be a shock to anybody that i don't like raising taxes that's what i've been as the

4:16:34mayor and a counselor for years it shouldn't be a shock but i've been trying to figure out a way

4:16:41to get this to work while making it no impact on property taxes which is what i figured out okay

4:16:50so in the absence of a notice of reconsideration it is my duty as the leader as the mayor to

4:17:00acknowledge my council colleagues and the public but my council colleagues who are rightfully coming

4:17:06with concerns changes of heart differences of opinions saying i do i ignore that as the as a

4:17:13leader do i ignore that as the mayor is that good governance is it me to say well too bad for you

4:17:22so here i am using the strong mayor powers in this way which i kind of said i would never do

4:17:27in which i might add many of my colleagues around here have written extensively and told me extensively

4:17:33that it would be undemocratic and that i should never use them but there has been some unity around

4:17:42using them in this way and i believe that to do the right thing i have found a way forward which is

4:17:52taken me through many un-maintained bicycle lanes to get here and i want to explain the situation

4:18:03then because i have signed the mayor order it means that the bylaw that is on here now is mute

4:18:13it has to be removed because as the mayor i have i have directed that this be funded so it is out

4:18:25now there's more to this process though council technically has 21 days from right now

4:18:33to confer with the clerk and say i would like to challenge the mayor's strong mayor order

4:18:42they have the you have the authority to do that but i'll be blunt if you do that then you are raising

4:18:49taxes and i'm not here for that so this is a compromise we're getting this done starting today

4:18:59that certainty is then given to the public and to all of us but there's a compromise built in on

4:19:04this for one year where we're reducing a little bit because i do not want to raise taxes i'm not

4:19:10like that and i hope you understand as the mayor with the authority to do this under this

4:19:15strong mayor legislation this is the way i move forward and if you want to challenge that then

4:19:20you go ahead but i think this is a good compromise and all of it can be on the table for another term

4:19:27and another year and i want to thank my council colleagues who have fully and respectfully

4:19:36talked to me for the entire last week about this topic and raised very valid points

4:19:43and some of those valid points have come from the public too thank you some of them i thought went

4:19:49a little overboard but i hope you understand my position and the frustration that i had in trying

4:20:01to uphold unity amongst council banging my head against the municipal act banging my head against

4:20:08the strong mayor powers trying to figure out how not to raise taxes to land at this compromise today

4:20:14so with that i don't think there's really much more to say

4:20:21unless someone wants to jump in because i'm being hospitable but um i want to thank staff too

4:20:30because let me tell you staff have this is all new territory right this is all new territory

4:20:38i hope i've landed at a good place for everybody i really and honestly and authentically do

4:20:43and this has been a really tough budget okay we have to make our city affordable

4:20:56and it means everything has to be on the table sometimes this shouldn't have been one of them

4:21:06and i acknowledge that i think leaders sometime needs to say i'm sorry so i'm going to say it

4:21:14i'm sorry and i mean that i can understand the reasons why this should be funded more so than

4:21:26i knew a few weeks ago okay so i'll i'll no clapping even though i would love that but please

4:21:34no clapping in the chambers all to then boost it till thank you mayor guthrie on a point of

4:21:39personal privilege i would like to extend my thank you to you for as i said to you three or four days

4:21:45ago a road to Damascus moment i don't think there were bike lanes on that particular road so you

4:21:51were probably walking it but for many people and go off this will indeed be perceived as christmas

4:21:57coming early we all understand that this was a safety issue that regrettably became a a challenge

4:22:03at budget time it takes a lot to take a step back and do what you did and i know that many many many

4:22:10people in guaff appreciate this thank you if you could please capture everywhere councillor Allt has

4:22:17said and put that in the minutes that would be awesome uh yeah councillor boosted till and then

4:22:22how's her thank you you know ditto to what councillor Allt said but i also want to acknowledge

4:22:29publicly you don't see this but you know i'm texting cam i'm calling cam and he's like in

4:22:35meetings if you can picture like a big ball of wool all tied tied together with the legislation

4:22:41and the regulations and the acts and kudos to the mayor for you know taking the time hours and hours

4:22:47you don't see the bruises on his head just trying to sort through this but the other thing you don't

4:22:52see i had the privilege after the chamber breakfast i calmed cam into buying me lunch but anyway so

4:22:59we went and had lunch at the delta and i didn't see these emails as a councillor but there must

4:23:04have been a dozen emails that the mayor received from senior citizens about affordability in the

4:23:12city and just his breaking heart around this so many talks about affordability this is sincere

4:23:18these are people who and i do lots of community work who can't afford housing you know and can't

4:23:24afford food so we're trying to find the balance given as you heard earlier with more downloading

4:23:31coming on us as a city trying to do more with last so thank you thank you to the mayor thank you

4:23:37councillor buschett house or um i also wanted to just um express my uh gratitude for finding this

4:23:44compromise um and i do have a takeaway from this whole process um so the amendment period exists

4:23:52so that people can reconsider and go back and look at things and i would suggest strongly to any

4:23:56future council to not waive the amendment period that's all thank you amen to that

4:24:05that's right well you said road to demacus so okay uh clausen and then uh chie and then kipson

4:24:14yes um ditto to what all my colleagues are saying and and thank you for all of the members of public

4:24:21who reached out with their personal stories of their need to ride their bikes every day their need

4:24:27to use bike lanes for motorized scooters and other mobility devices i think it makes a difference

4:24:33when we hear all of those stories um and i'm grateful for those and i also just want to say thank

4:24:38you to my colleagues who reconsidered um particularly councillor gibson um because i think that you

4:24:45put it before us in a in a way that i think many people started to ask questions um about how uh what

4:24:52a process to bring back the winter maintenance of the bike lanes and what that could look like um and

4:24:57it might be different from our you know some of our other reasons but i do appreciate that you did

4:25:02reconsider that with your uh residents in mind and finally thank you for cam for finding that compromise

4:25:09um it again isn't the compromise that all of us want but i also appreciate that you uh apologized

4:25:16and and and and took took the accountability for that so thank you for finding this thank you i'm

4:25:23sorry i didn't uh was it to chew and then gibson and then i see katin as well um coran as well

4:25:30yeah thank you through you mr. mayor thank you for bringing this forward so we have a chance to

4:25:35publicly comment and yeah we appreciate all your efforts uh i don't think look public policy at the

4:25:41end of the day there's black there's white and there's all the gray in between and i think sometimes

4:25:47especially in the last budget conversation a lot of us were zeroing in a lot of the policies and some

4:25:52of the organizational challenges that we face and at the end of the day i just want to share a lot of

4:26:00us were in the position that we needed to stabilize some of our services so some of our local roads

4:26:06can get attention because we have a lot of inclement weather events that are beyond our

4:26:10staff's ability and i think about the folks on tolton i think about the folks on dallen

4:26:16mcnulty hunt street we have a lot of insular communities especially uh outside the downtown

4:26:23core that often don't get attention that they need um we have a policy where uh stone plows get out

4:26:30when it's eight centimeters or more sometimes our those roads don't get seen much more after that so i

4:26:39think this is a good conversation i met with many of you in the downtown community in particular

4:26:45and it's a great opportunity that i had to share with you some of the operational issues that we

4:26:50face that outside the core and i hope in your advocacy that you could share some of those stories

4:26:55from uh some of our insular streets and communities where winter maintenance is very difficult and

4:27:04again we're we have a city that's over 200 years old uh a downtown core that's over 200 years old

4:27:11and that's it juxtaposed by some of the urban communities that have been built up with them

4:27:16the last 20 years so we have a lot of challenges to meet to bridge those service gaps that we have

4:27:21but i just want to commend staff on their work uh again we're trying to build a culture of

4:27:26material solutions on this council and i think this is a good uh step to help um

4:27:32help us have more productive conversations uh that don't pit you know issues against issues

4:27:37because again public policy there's the black there's the white and then there's all the

4:27:42grain between that require all of us to work together so thank you mr mayor for your work

4:27:46as well in particular okay thank you i think i said gipson and then uh uh karan and katin

4:27:53sure yeah thank you mr mayor and i do appreciate you bringing this forward i i sincerely do um

4:27:59i i i want i'm not gonna do any storytelling but i did share this with a few counselors earlier

4:28:04today um you know a couple of issues over the years have been perceived very black and white at

4:28:09the beginning but end up becoming very reconciled with different opinions and i go back to the

4:28:15driveway issue it was a like and my my my ward mate um councillor Caton we didn't agree on why

4:28:22we needed to relax the driveway issue but we agreed that we did and there was different reasons for it

4:28:27i come back to online voting the decision i'll cancel her down and i we have different reasons

4:28:32why we supported online voting but we both did for our various reasons in this situation

4:28:36there are multiple reasons why we need to maintain um we need to maintain maintenance of our corridors

4:28:42throughout the winter my reasons may not be particularly aligned with every single person's

4:28:46reasons but they are aligned in the fact that we do need to maintain the service um so mr mayor thank

4:28:51you you took my calls i know you have 13 different people to listen to and in china managed through

4:28:58but you you did take my calls and you did work very hard on this issue and you for full credit for that

4:29:07to achieve a restoration of service with no impact to the tax base is a win i think for everyone around

4:29:12the horseshoe uh from every angle so thank you all right thank you and caron and then katin

4:29:18yeah just echoing my my colleagues so much of leadership is collaboration um and i know you

4:29:25made a lot of phone calls yesterday uh in an attempt to collaborate but until i saw what was on the

4:29:32screen i was not aware that this was coming when i asked for the bylaw to be pulled so i didn't get

4:29:37to read the entire document of where all of the pieces were coming from and where the offsets were so

4:29:44if you could forward a copy of that to members of council i know it goes on our website

4:29:49but if i if we could get a copy of it as your colleagues um via email that would that would be

4:29:54great and then we can we can move past this and dust off our dust off our bikes no problem it's part

4:30:04of the process that it's actually emailed to all of councils so the clerks is doing that

4:30:09in regards to timing uh this was figured out by me at 12 30 12 45 so this idea came to me

4:30:23while eating so so uh anyways um because up until just yesterday i honestly did not know

4:30:33up a path forward until i figured it out just an hour and a bit ago so uh it's sometimes a

4:30:40little bit easier with some people that are in the room just to be able to talk to you a little bit

4:30:44with those that are online and so i apologize if you didn't catch wind of it but it literally

4:30:48happened within the last hour and a half uh and then i'm sorry oh katin go ahead thanks uh through

4:30:55you mr mayor so i i wanted to to thank like i i've been one of the people who is against strong

4:31:01mayor powers and i understand that uh specifically with the budget the the province didn't give mayors

4:31:10um it wasn't doing you a favor i don't think to like put all of that on the mayor's shoulders um

4:31:17and when we got ourselves into the situation that we were procedurally i think that that was

4:31:23the only path forward so i appreciate that you used it in this moment and um i wanted to thank

4:31:29all of the folks who have been contacting us and bringing up the issues and um and i want to

4:31:36thank my council colleagues because there has been a lot of conversation in this past week

4:31:41and we don't always vote on the same side of things and like councillor gibson said we all

4:31:44have different reasons for that um but it was really good to be able to talk through these issues

4:31:51with you all and um kind of bring forward those thoughts and the community's thoughts together

4:31:59and i'm very happy with the outcome of the resolution overall and i also want to thank snow

4:32:05because i think that without seeing it in action uh i don't think we would have been able to kind of

4:32:11visualize the actual impact there's a lot of things that i didn't think of until i saw it and

4:32:15i was like oh yeah that um so i appreciate everyone and i'm happy that uh it's come about in this way

4:32:23thanks okay thank you i don't think i see anyone else so thank you oh okay billings go ahead thank

4:32:32you mr mayor yes ditto um however just one thing i want to mention and that is thank you so much

4:32:39procedurally because voting against the bylaw is horrible governance and it was very disturbing to

4:32:48meet um to do that so thank you thank you for doing this so that that we were not put in that

4:32:55in that terrible position thank you yeah i did owe to that um okay um so may i ask someone to

4:33:09please move the bylaws without that one bylaw counselor downer will do that oh i'm sorry i

4:33:18didn't have the sorry counselor downer will move all except for or have you already fixed it it's

4:33:24been removed okay okay go ahead do you want me to read this all or do you want to buy a lot of

4:33:29no that's good i'm going to buy a lot seconded by counselor out okay any questions i hope not

4:33:37all right i'll call the vote is anyone against the bylaws all right thank you um

4:33:48guys confer with the clerk for a moment everyone just one second everybody um there is one option

4:34:13that i want to i want to speak to you all about and that is uh you can i just i didn't know what

4:34:20was going to be said around the room here it seems like there is a lot of unity here around this issue

4:34:25so i throw it back to my council colleagues um there is a motion that can be tabled right now

4:34:31if you want to throw it up on the screen dylan just so council can see it that you we could right now

4:34:39stop the 21 day period and accept my mayoral order right now and then that way we're done

4:34:46or you can take 21 days and try to figure it out and and consider your next moves but yes

4:34:53we ask a question of clarity yes of course if we don't accept this amendment will it delay the

4:35:00implementation of the winter maintenance it will not and i'm going to have a calling

4:35:06wco clock bush confirm that publicly right now thank you through the mayor we in fact have already

4:35:12updated our public notice to say that the winter maintenance of the bike lanes has been restored

4:35:16and we will resume that work immediately so i you know we could we could table this motion we could

4:35:25see if it passes and then we we are done um and then there's no sort of our clerks waiting up to

4:35:3121 days which is your right by the way of no pressure but 21 days and then also there's

4:35:37scheduling of meetings like in the new year early in the new year whether or not we have to come back

4:35:42and decide all that um so i leave it to my council colleagues if there's someone that wishes to

4:35:47consider moving and seconding it okay linda busatil and and and councillor howzer will okay so that

4:35:54motion has been moved and seconded is there anything more on that then before i call the vote

4:36:01no okay i'll call the vote is anyone against limiting the 21 day just goller okay so that

4:36:10considers the matter then then done okay thank you everyone i am looking for a motion to adjourn so

4:36:16we can all bike i mean go home uh who's going to move that all right uh gibson and uh billings

4:36:25and is anyone against adjournment no okay um have a good christmas and holidays everybody

4:36:34and how you celebrate and have a great rest of the day thank you very much