Monday January 28th Regular Town council meeting

Well, tonight’s meeting was pretty good. It was over and finished around 7:20. Only a few people in attendance…..reminded me of last term…..however, it very well may have been the weather that kept people at home tonight.

Council started out in-camera at 5:00 to discuss :

SPECIAL IN-CAMERA COUNCIL MEETING
That Council move into an In-Camera Meeting of Council at 5:00 p.m. pursuant to Section 239
of the Municipal Act, 2001, as amended, for the following reasons:
ITEM A – Section 239(2)(b) – Personal matters about identifiable individuals, including
municipal or local board employees

Pecuniary Interest

Councillor Prue declared a conflict since his wife was was an applicant for two committees.

DELEGATIONS
Request for plaque at Toddy Jones Park Pavilion – Jennie Lajoie

Ms Lajoie addressed council and said she is a volunteer with River Lights. She was requesting a plaque in honour of Mark and Karen Usher to be placed on the Gingerbread Warming House. She explained how the residents, sponsors and countless volunteers help make River Lights successful. She said that the Ushers work all year, during the cold and snow and through the warm weather too. Ms Lajoie also told us that there 60 contestants for the annual Gingerbread House contest. The Ushers are dedicated volunteers and Ms Lajoie requested a plaque in their honour.

There was a little bit of back and forth in terms of placement, type, size etc for the plaque, but eventually the motion for the plaque carried with enthusiasm.  Mr Usher then addressed council briefly and thanked the town for taking over the River Lights project since there had been a lack of volunteers. He felt so pleased that the town got involved and that the festival could continue. He spoke of how our local festival attracts families and show cases our history.

Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) Prevention Policy

This appears to be a policy regarding Health and Safety to implement a musculoskeletal disorder prevention policy for town employees. This appears aimed to improve ergonomics and reduce injuries. The $6,000 needed is included in the 2019 budget.

Councillor Prue asked about the unions and collective agreements and wondered why they were not included in the policy. The Human Ressources Department said that there is a union representative on each committee. Councillor Prue asked for some language about the unions to be included in the policy. This amendment carried and they added the wording.

Committee Appointments – Council Liaisons

This went through as proposed.

It looks like Councillor Renaud will be appointed to the Accessibilty Advisory Committee. Deputy Mayor Meloche will be appointed to the Co-An Park Committee. Councillor Simone will be appointed to the Heritage Committee. Finally, Councillor Courtney and Councillor McArthur will be appointed to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee.

2018-2022 Committee/Board Lay Members Appointments

Council made the appointments to the various committees tonight. It was a lot of back and forth, almost like an auction LOL. I took my notes by hand and I apologize if I made any mistakes with names or spelling…..I did my best.

Marilyn Morrison was appointed to the ERCA Board.

The rest of the committees required multiple names, so it was decided to name them one at a time.

Josh Mailloux, Dave Cozens, Don Shaw, Sherry Descendren and Terry Buchanan were named to the Committee of Adjustment.

Ron Sutherland, Bob Pillon, Brad Laramie, Bob Bezaire and Allan Major were named to the Drainage Board.

Robert Honour, Shirley Curson-Prue, Simon Chamley, Jennie Lajoie and Stephanie Pouget-Papak were named to the Heritage Committee.

Wes Ewer, Patrick Hetton, Shirley Curson-Prue, (Missed the first name) Laing and Brittan Charwin (I’m pretty sure I didn’t get that name right and I apologize) were named to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee.

For the Economic Development Committee……council made some changes and added an extra Councillor (Councillor Simone), so then also added a 4th lay member. On the Economic Development Committee will be Carolyn Davies, Jack Edwards, Tom Crawson and Larry Amlin.

Congratulations to all of our new committee members!

INFORMATION REPORTS

The information reports had been received and council was starting to move on, until Councillor Courtney said he had quite a few questions regarding the following information report:

Outstanding Receivables Amherstburg Festival Corporation – Resolution
#20181210-410

Councillor Courtney said he hates dragging up the past, however, he had questions. He asked when this debt was taken on by the town. The CAO said June 2017. Councillor Courtney asked why the debt was taken from the Amherstburg Police Service Board. The CAO said it was an unrecorded receivable and had to be recorded and this had been explained in the private and confidential memo provided to council. He said there was no record of that receivable. Councillor Courtney then wanted to know who authorized the claiming of this bill by the town. The CAO again referred to the private and confidential memo and said something about the financial accountability of the APSB and they didn’t have a policy for this. (There was a pause since Councillor Courtney’s computer was rebooting.) Councillor Courtney then asked based on the town’s policy what step we are at at the moment. The CAO explained it was at the collection agency phase. There was some back and forth between Councillor Courtney about dates and time frames. Councillor Courtney asked what can be done if the money is not claimed. CAO Miceli explained that as per the policy in place, after the receivable is listed with collections, then they could explore litigation but it would take a legal opinion. (**Flashback to previous council……off to the races……do we need to brace ourselves for multiple, expensive legal opinions???)

Councillor Courtney wondered if this item would come back to council to decide to proceed or not with litigation. The CAO explained that the policy deals with all of this as per the private and confidential memo. He said that council approves $200,000 for write offs per year and that is supported by council and the policy. Councillor Courtney asked how often and for how much were bills written off during the past 4 years. Ms Horrobin from administration said that in 5 years, outside of property taxes, one item was written off (no dollar amount given). (So it seems that one receivable was written off in 5 years as per the policy…...)

Councillor Courtney then wanted to know if any background checks are done to prevent losses moving forward. The CAO explained that moving forward, any “big ticket” items such as policing for a festival would be arranged through Windsor as per their policies and contracts. He said that in this particular situation there is no contract and no application that anyone seems to be aware of. CAO Miceli said that going forward that council could make a policy to do credit checks, but there is a cost involved.

Councillor Courtney then pulled out a big envelope and some papers and started quoting sales numbers for a few unknown entities from the Harvest Fest. (This struck me as somewhat odd and fragmented, but whatever….)

The CAO explained that the policy could be amended if council wished. So, Councillor Courtney made a motion to amend the policy only for this one receivable to have it brought back to council if looking to write it off. Councillor Prue seconded it. And it passed. (I can’t help but wonder what council’s big interest is in this one particular bill …..no interest in any other bills owed to the town, just this one? So, this one particular bill has to come back, yet none of the other bills have to? Why wouldn’t the whole policy be amended for every single bill? Just wondering out loud…..)

New Business

Councillor Courtney made a motion for a report about replacing the Lion’s Pool and ball diamonds and other amenities. There was some back and forth about a time line for this report. The CAO said he could do some location recommendations, indoor/outdoor pool recommendations and order of magnitude costing. He told council that there is no provision in the 2019 proposed budget for this. He did say however that the budget includes a master study at the Libro Centre which would touch on the aspect of an indoor pool. Councillor Courtney felt that there had not been any foresight about the loss of the amenities by the previous council. The CAO disagreed and felt there had been a lot of foresight, including the Parks Master Plan, which identified underused facilities.

Councillor Simone asked about the list of unfinished items from the previous council to have them brought back and up to date.

Councillor McArthur talked about a new national anthem to be used at the beginning of the meetings. He referenced some emails and cited that the music and pictures aren’t very stirring. He wants to see it changed. Councillor Prue pointed out that the new words for the National Anthem should be used and that since Canada is a bilingual country at least a few sentences should be in French. (I really liked all of these ideas!) So, it appears that Councillor McArthur, Councillor Simone and the Clerk will be spearheading a plan to come up with some new pictures and some new music for the National Anthem at the beginning of the council meetings. Also a lay person who had sent an email about this will be part of the team too.

The meeting wrapped up around 7:20. It looks like I’ll have a week off next week, then it’s time for another meeting and then a few days (possibly?) for budget deliberations. I think there’s a public consultation session for the budget this coming Saturday at 1:00 for those who are interested. I may see you then. 🙂

 

 

 

In preparation for Monday January 28th regular town council meeting

Well, I am pleasantly surprised….a nice, light 167 page agenda for Monday night. I also found a one page supplementary agenda. Here are the highlights for Monday nights meeting as I see ’em:

The supplementary agenda shows that council will be going in-camera at 5:00 to discuss :

SPECIAL IN-CAMERA COUNCIL MEETING
That Council move into an In-Camera Meeting of Council at 5:00 p.m. pursuant to Section 239
of the Municipal Act, 2001, as amended, for the following reasons:
ITEM A – Section 239(2)(b) – Personal matters about identifiable individuals, including
municipal or local board employees

And then, once the in-camera meeting wraps up, the regular meeting is set to begin at 6:00.

DELEGATIONS
Request for plaque at Toddy Jones Park Pavilion – Jennie Lajoie

It looks like Ms Lajoie will be addressing council on behalf of the River Lights Winter Festival Committee. It appears that Ms Lajoie will be speaking about Karen and Mark Usher and their devoted and tireless efforts towards creating the Gingerbread House year after year for 11 years so far. Ms Lajoie will be requesting a plaque at the Toddy Jones Pavillion designating it as the “Karen and Mark Usher Gingerbread Warming House”.

Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) Prevention Policy

This appears to be a policy regarding Health and Safety to implement a musculoskeletal disorder prevention policy for town employees. This appears aimed to improve ergonomics and reduce injuries. The $6,000 needed is included in the 2019 budget.

Kingsbridge Subdivision Phase 8B-1 – Acceptance of Infrastructure

This looks like some approvals regarding curbs etc. Nothing too exciting, pretty normal fare.

Committee Appointments – Council Liaisons

This report seems to be getting the committee structures ready for the new 4 year term set to begin.

If all goes as planned, it looks like Councillor Renaud will be appointed to the Accessibilty Advisory Committee. Deputy Mayor Meloche will be appointed to the Co-An Park Committee. Councillor Simone will be appointed to the Heritage Committee. Finally, Councillor Courtney and Councillor McArthur will be appointed to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee.

The parameters for each committee are laid out (example how many members of council and how many lay members etc). There also appears to be a Seniors Advisory Committee to be formed, but I didn’t notice a name for a member of council to be a representative.
2018-2022 Committee/Board Lay Members Appointments

This appears to be a fill in the blank type of form, quite literally. There are many positions to be filled with names of lay members and they’re all blank. I think council will make recommendations and then vote on this. I’ll be keeping an eye out to see who is named to the various committees.

It looks like they need one person for the ERCA Board, 5 people for the Committee of Adjustment, 5 people for the Drainage Board, 5 lay members for the Heritage Committee and 5 members for the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee.

Economic Development Advisory Committee and Audit Advisory Committee – Terms of Reference and Appointments

Since the current council is bringing back the Economic Development Advisory Committee, they have to approve the new terms of reference. It also seems that Councillor McArthur and Councillor Prue will be appointed as the council representatives to this committee. Council will then need to appoint 3 lay members to this committee.

And, the new council is also reviving the Audit Advisory Committee, so new terms of reference will have to established for this one as well. It appears that Councillor Simone and Councillor Prue will be the appointed council members for this one. And then only one lay member is to be appointed to this committee…..I hope I read that right. That seems odd….one lay member on a committee….But it’s Friday night and I’m tired, so maybe I misread this?

It seems there has not been enough applicants for several of the committees and they will be re-advertising to try to entice more applications. If you’re interested, here are the committees for which they’re still looking for people :

• Accessibility Advisory Committee
• Audit Advisory Committee
• Co-An Park Committee
• Fence Viewers
• Livestock Evaluator
• Mayor’s Youth Advisory Committee
• Property Standards
• Seniors Advisory Committee

Review and Status of Council Approved Policies and the Tabling of Policy Framework

Last year, the previous council hired a contract Policy Coordinator to review the town’s policies. Some were amended, some need minor to major changes and some have been revised and in the final stages of approval by council. Some new policies needed to be created due to legislative changes as well. There is still much work to be done and administration is looking for council to approve a policy framework that outlines the direction required to deal with the town’s many policies.

INFORMATION REPORTS

Outstanding Receivables Amherstburg Festival Corporation – Resolution
#20181210-410

The previous council tried twice (maybe even 3 times?) to get a report regarding an outstanding receivable amount. The first time, then-Councillor Pouget asked for it, I think it didn’t get voted on. At the next meeting, it was voted down. Then, it was voted on again and approved, however, the motion did not follow procedure so there was no report.

Now, Councillor Courtney made a motion in December asking for “Administration BE DIRECTED to bring a report back regarding outstanding receivables for the Amherstburg Festival Corporation.”. Councillor Prue seconded it and admitted that he had no idea what Councillor Courtney was requesting. Well, the motion went through and it seems that council will be getting a private and confidential memo with the details on Monday night.

I have attended probably hundreds of meetings. Never once have I witnessed an accounts receivable item up for discussion. It seems to me that that would go against privacy legislation. In fact, the previous council adopted a policy about this on February 28, 2016. It clearly states that : “Town employees may not discuss a debt with anyone other than the debtor unless required by applicable law.” The report goes on to say that “details of the amount outstanding may not be discussed in a public meeting.”

I wonder why the previous council would continually try to make motions that went against their own policies? Seems odd to me. I can see that perhaps the new council was not aware of this policy and hopefully they will learn from this experience. One can only wonder if by breaking their own policies and trying to circumvent procedure could they leave themselves open to possible litigation?

There are a few other information reports, but nothing really stood out.

Overall, a 167 page agenda is basically like a wind-fall in a council world of agendas lol! I am anticipating a relatively quick meeting this week, but I’ll bring my seat cushion this time. I won’t be fooled again. See you Monday. 🙂

 

 

Monday January 21st Special Town Council meeting

Well I’ve been attending council meetings for over 4 years now and I made a rookie move tonight. I left my seat cushion at home. I figured the budget presentation would take about 20 minutes and the cannabis retail store debate would take about 40 minutes and that it would be all said and done by 7:00 ish…….well, the budget presentation did take about 20 minutes, but the cannabis retail store debate took about an hour and a half……looks like the new council seemed to take on a few (bad?) habits of the old council…..oh well, here’s a brief resume of the meeting…..I’ll try to stick to the meat and potatoes.

It was good to see about 30 or more residents in attendance tonight.

2019 Operating and Capital Budget

The budget overview was presented to council tonight. I took a paper copy…..it’s 318 pages (2 sides!) in about a size 3 font. (Just kidding….some if it is in a size 11 font….) I won’t be dissecting it tonight. I’ll give you a brief overview of the presentation that administration made to council. The Clerk reminded council before the meeting that the budget was simply being tabled tonight and there would not be any questions or discussion.

Cheryl Horrobin, Director of Corporate Services spoke first. She explained that the 2019 Operating and Capital budget is based on the strategic plan with a look toward the future and a path to move forward. The budget is titled “Transitioning Towards the Future”. (I like that title, very fitting.)

I took all my notes by hand and as the days go on, I can go check for the specifics in the 318 page double sided document……so here are the highlights.

Mr Rousseau, the Treasurer spoke. There is a 1.93% proposed tax increase, however the budget could rise by 2.65%. (I know that’s all anybody cares about…..the big bad number lol). That would equate to $78 per year for a house valued at $250,000.

There is also a 2.5% proposed increase to the water rate and a 1.5% increase to the waste water rate. That would equal to $18 per year for the average Amherstburg home.

There was a Police transition cost quoted of $930,000 but Mr Rousseau said that administration has a strategy so that it won’t impact the tax rate. He did explain this, but I didn’t catch it all. I guess later when I have more time, I’ll try to find the answer somewhere in the 318 page double sided document……some light bed time reading? yikes

Yes, there are some proposed new positions, but I’d have to go digging to get them all…..one caught my eye – Communications Officer for $105,000. It didn’t catch my eye in that I’d be interested in that job, but only in that I think town hall could use to communicate more effectively I guess.

Both levies are proposed to continue as is.

Mr Rousseau also presented a slide comparing the infrastructure that Amherstburg has per resident compared to surrounding municipalities. Basically our cost is $18,846 for assets per capita (I hope I got that right). It seems we have the highest value of infrastructure to enjoy however it is the highest value to maintain it and repair it compared to other areas. Also, this does not include enhancements, simply maintenance and repair to the infrastructure.

Mr Rousseau laid out the time line for the budget. Council will have 3 weeks to review the budget, ask questions of senior administration and talk with the residents. The budget will be available on line tomorrow (for those that didn’t grab a paper copy tonight). Public consultation is scheduled for February 2nd and council will deliberate the budget the week of February 11th.

All in all, the budget presentation did take about 20 minutes…..then we moved on to…..

DELEGATIONS
Windsor-Essex County Health Unit – Nicole Dupuis, Director Health
Promotion

Ms Dupuis addressed council on behalf of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit. She spoke about the dangers of cannabis use and the health effects of non-medical cannabis. She pointed out that the restrictions for the placement of a retail store is 150 meters from a school and that is the only location restriction. The Health Unit recommends 500 meters. She went through more elements of her presentation, but in a nut shell, the Health Unit recommends opting out at this time.

There were many, many questions from some members of council……and much back and froth between certain councillors and the people from the Health Unit. I’m going to make this blog more brief than the meeting was. I’m confident that our local news sources will report the details for those who are interested. At the end, council received the presentation.

Cannabis Retail Storefronts – Cannabis License Act

Then council moved on to the administrative report about cannabis retail shops. Mr Galvin, Director, Planning, Development and Legislative Services (Yes, I just went to look up his title, because I have messed it up almost every time….) spoke first. He was the acting CAO tonight since Mr Miceli was not in attendance. Mr Galvin thanked Ms Rubli, Manager, Licensing and Enforcement for her work on this report and the task force that began in 2017. He cited the numerous rule changes throughout the process and recognized the balanced view that was presented. He cited the public open house, that only had a hand full of people in attendance and the Talk the Burg Survey. He pointed out that the majority in attendance at the public consultation were in favour of retail cannabis and the same for the survey.

Phase 1 of retail cannabis stores will be starting in the spring based on a lottery system and only for towns with more than 50,000 population. Amherstburg won’t see a store until next year at the earliest, even with an opt in.

Each member of council spoke on this issue….some of them repeatedly and at length……I will try to sum it up in a nutshell for each one of them. Again, I’m sure the local media can provide the details of it all.

Deputy Mayor Meloche spoke about the funding available by opting in and the tax revenue.

Councillor Simone asked about monitoring the location and the guidelines.

Councillor Prue asked about the “sensitive areas” mentioned in the report. Council can identify sensitive areas where there should not be a retail store. Ms Rubli cited an example as Brentwood in Windsor. She said that a daycare could be labeled a sensitive area to prohibit a store near a day care. Councillor Prue spoke quite a bit about the funding that is being offered by upper levels of government. (We’ve gotten some money and the ones that opt in will get more…..)

Mayor DiCarlo asked about how the county would benefit or not based on a municipalities decision. It seems that if a municipality opts out, then the county loses out of that portion of the funding.

Finally, Deputy Mayor Meloche made the motion as presented to proceed with opting in to cannabis stores and Councillor McArthur seconded it. (I thought finally! They’ll vote and we’ll all go home……but no…...)

Councillor Courtney spoke about being worried about laced drugs on the streets but was also looking at the money available for opting in. He felt that we’re trying to become a tourist town and working on re-branding and that a cannabis shop is an issue. He felt that some people are nervous about cannabis stores and that they have to be considered. He was concerned with the strangle-hold put on the municipality.

Councillor Prue said he’d be supporting the recommendation, but proposed an amendment to the motion. There was some wording added about administration bringing back a policy to council. Councillor Prue felt that council should be involved every step of the way.

Councillor Courtney spoke again. He had questions about the funding and the income. He felt that other than the business revenue and a few jobs that the rest of the funds from the government were earmarked. Ms Rubli pointed out that the town will get big funding from the province if we opt in. Councillor Courtney said he’d be opting out for now to opt in later. He said he’s listened and had emails and phone calls and that he felt he’d only be compromising grant money. (Disclaimer from this “council watcher”……last week Councillor Courtney felt he had to go with the majority on social media about the proposed logo…..that he had read what they wrote and most did not like the logo, therefore he voted against accepting the proposed logo…..yet this week, social media exploded with people wanting to opt in to cannabis retail stores…..but that didn’t matter? He would not be supporting the motion to opt in.  Does what is written on social media only count if it lines up with what you want it to? Just a rhetorical question and something I’ll be keeping an eye on going forward…..)

Councillor McArthur spoke in support of opting in. He felt that the revenue would be a great opportunity for Amherstburg. He felt that it will help overall with commerce, people stopping to shop at other stores, do other shopping etc. He felt that if we’re looking at having a transient marina, that a store front will help with tourism. Like last week, Councillor McArthur cited social media and public opinion polls…..while acknowledging that social media was only one factor and should be taken with a grain of salt, he cited all of the polls on Twitter, Facebook, Talk the burg and the comments were overwhelmingly in favour of opting in. He also talked about the black market and that having a legal store will help clamp down on the black market.

Deputy Mayor Meloche talked in favour and referred to it as a “sin tax” much like alcohol, gambling and tobacco.

Councillor Renaud spoke in favour of opting in. He felt strongly about trying to starve out the black market since he knew of someone that regularly used marijuana and was sold a marijuana cigarette that was laced with something and the young man died because of it.

Councillor Simone said she’d be supporting the recommendation for many of the reasons cited and thanked administration.

Finally, it went to a vote (not a recorded one but I watched)……everybody voted in favour of opting in except Councillor Courtney. His hand did not go up. Mayor DiCarlo did not vote either, since it was not a tie vote, nor a recorded vote.

So, there it is…..it’s official, council voted to opt in for a cannabis store.

And I just realized I typed a lot more detail than I intended to. I hope you made it to the end of this with me LOL.

See you next week!

In preparation for Monday January 21st Special town council meeting

Well, there’s another meeting coming up on Monday. It’s a special council meeting and the agenda is only 48 pages…..however, it’s some big items on this short agenda. Here’s the preview :

2019 Operating and Capital Budget

There is no information for this portion, however, since I have a few years of attending council meetings under my belt…..I believe the CAO will present the 2019 budget to council. After this, council will have to start reading…..and reading….and reading some more…….Budget deliberations are set for early February. After this presentation, I believe the proposed budget will also become public, so  we will be able to start reading through it too……if we want to…….hours and days worth of reading right there……yikes.

DELEGATIONS
Windsor-Essex County Health Unit – Nicole Dupuis, Director Health
Promotion

Cannabis Retail Storefronts – Cannabis License Act

There looks to be a delegation coming before council from the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit about the current retail store possibility for cannabis. The presentation lists the risks involved with cannabis consumption. They also list the restrictions for the store fronts (there are many, but among some of the restrictions, private stores have to be stand alone stores only, nobody under 19 allowed etc.).

I found this in the presentation : “Due to supply shortage, province will initially allow only 25 storefronts to operate starting April 1st through a lottery system.

• Only permitted in municipalities with population of 50,000 or more.”

So, it seems that Amherstburg will be unable to get a retail cannabis store in the near future. It also seems that municipalities only have until January 22nd to opt-out if they chose to. (That’s the day after the meeting, so I don’t think deferral will be an option?? LOL) It looks like council can decide to opt-out but can decide to opt-in later. However, if council does not opt-out, then the province considers that the municipality has opted-in.

According to the report, 3 communities have opted-in so far : Essex, Kingsville, Leamington.

According to the report, 3 communities have opted out : Lakeshore, Lasalle, Tecumseh.

At the moment Windsor and Pelee Island have not made a decision on this issue.

Administration is recommending to council to opt-in to have a cannabis retail store. According to the survey results from the town, the majority of residents want a cannabis retail store, citing tax revenue. There were 110 respondents, of which 82 supported a retail cannabis store. (I’m already betting there will be far more than 110 comments on social media about this issue……I wish more people would participate in the town’s surveys and public consultation……)

Overall, only one debatable item on Monday’s agenda, but it’s a big one. Here’s the link to the agenda for those who want to read the full report. It’s not too long.

Click to access 2019%2001%2021%20-%20Special%20Council%20Meeting%20Agenda%20Packet.pdf

I wonder if Monday night will be a full house again like last week?

 

 

Monday January 14th regular town council meeting

Tonight’s meeting was a full house. It was very nice and refreshing to see so many people in attendance for the council meeting. I wonder if any residents made a New Year’s resolution to attend council meetings? LOL

Council met in-camera first at 5:30 to discuss:

SPECIAL IN-CAMERA COUNCIL MEETING
That Council move into an In-Camera Meeting of Council at 5:30 p.m. pursuant
to Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001, as amended, for the following
reasons:
ITEM A – Section 239(2)(h) – Information explicitly supplied in confidence to the
municipality or local board by Canada, a province or territory or a Crown agency
of any of them; Section 239(2)(i) – A trade secret or scientific, technical,
commercial, financial or labour relations information, supplied in confidence to
the municipality or local board, which, if disclosed, could reasonably be
expected to prejudice significantly the competitive position, or interfere
significantly with the contractual or other negotiations of a person, group of
persons, or organization; and, Section 239(2)(k) – A position, plan, procedure,
criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or to be carried
on by or on behalf of the municipality or local board.

The public portion of the meeting was called to order around 6:15

The Clerk read a report out about the Item above that was discussed in-camera and said there was nothing further to report. She also said they discussed Item E, which was an item with the Mayor and council supports the Mayor regarding the Municipal Act. (I got that all by hand, and that’s all I got…..what that means, I do not know.) I couldn’t find an Item E on the agenda.

DELEGATIONS
Lions Pool at Centennial Park – Tiffany Cote and Yvette Erickson

Ms Cote and Ms Erickson both spoke. They both want to see the pool along with all of the other current amenities replaced. They feel that it’s centrally located and mentioned St. Bernard’s school or Purdie Park. They mentioned the possibilities of donations or service groups to fund the new pool. They feel that there are limited things for kids to do in town. They also pointed out that a privately-owned pool is not able to provide Jump Start funding. They expressed their disappointment with the idea of another splash pad and they felt if Amherstburg doesn’t have a pool to offer that families would be forced out of the community to use one. They expressed the importance of replacing the pool for the community and did not want it to get forgotten.

Mayor DiCarlo told them that the pool has not been forgotten and there are currently options being looked at. Councillor Courtney said he had advocated for the pool and felt that it has to be replaced. Councillor Prue questioned how much money was in the park land dedication fund. There is currently $2,119,000 in it. There was much back and forth about how money gets raised to go into the park land dedication fund. Councillor McArthur said that the pool issue came up on the campaign trail and felt that council has to make it happen. He said that a blogger put them on the spot with a question about the pool. (True story LOL. Here’s the link if you’re interested to see what the candidates said about the pool before being elected.)

https://amherstburg2.wordpress.com/2018/09/21/candidates-responses-regarding-centennial-park-and-replacing-the-lions-pool/

Deputy Mayor Meloche asked if administration had look at potential costs. The CAO said an outdoor pool would run between 1 Million and 2 Million dollars. An indoor pool would run between 7 Million and 8 Million dollars.  The CAO confirmed for Councillor Courtney that he and the Mayor have had discussions with a third party regarding the pool. The possibilities are endless and it finished on a positive note. I got the feeling that we will eventually see a pool, just not sure when and where.

Police Reports

There were no police reports but the CAO introduced Dave DeLuca who is the Staff Sargeant from Windsor Police who is now in charge of the Amherstburg Detachment.

PRESENTATIONS
Amherstburg Branding Strategy, Logo Design – Bronwyn Mondoux and
Andrea Dyer, Cinnamon Toast New Media Inc.

Amherstburg Branding Strategy – Logo Design

As you may be aware, in December 2017, the previous council had made a motion for a branding strategy for the Town of Amherstburg. Through the RFP process, the council of the day had made a motion to hire Cinnamon Toast New Media Inc (I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ll mention it again...I LOVE the name of their company) to come up with a branding strategy for the town. I went to one of the public consultation meetings this summer and found their presentation and idea-gathering strategies exceptional and impressive.

Ms Mondoux introduced herself and gave a very brief history of the company. They have over 10 years experience and have created over 100 brands. Creating brands is their favourite thing to do but also very challenging. She named several municipalities that they have rebranded. She said that this logo and tag line are among the first of their 5 deliverables as there is also a website and communications plan to come as well.

Ms Mondoux pointed out that a brand is not a logo, a product or service, it’s an emotional connection to your organization, community or business. It is about how we feel about the community as well as how visitors feel about the community.

She said it was very important to keep in mind the target audience…..families, millenials, investors, new businesses etc. She said that 383 people had filled out the online survey which was the highest amount of people to fill out rebranding surveys in their experience. (Shows how much we love Amherstburg!) There were 28 people who attended the engagement sessions. (I was one of them.) Ms Mondoux pointed out that the logo was not just about what Amherstburg is today but also where we’re going tomorrow and beyond.

She said the top 4 values were :

• historic
• scenic
• friendly
• unique

The tagline proposed is : “Born to make history” . She felt that Amherstburg’s brand needed to be unique and stand out in the crowd. They incorporated the waterway, agriculture, tourism and our history into the logo. They endeavored to create an edgy logo with rhythm and texture. She presented the various options available in horizontal or vertical.  She said that it is flexible and can be presented in various ways. She spoke of the importance of looking at the logo not personally but as if you are a person in the target audience.

Deputy Mayor spoke first and said when he first saw the logo he felt it was okay. He let it sit for a while and grew to like it. He finds it modern and edgy and it has grown on him.

Councillor McArthur said that he didn’t envy the company, that they have a very tough job and would be lucky to satisfy 50% of the people. He said he wanted to love it but didn’t. He did feel that it grew on him but it doesn’t blow him away. He said much of the feedback that he got on social media was that it was “busy” and that many liked the slogan better than the logo. He asked if there were any other options.

Ms Mondoux said that 2 other options had been presented to the committee.

Councillor Prue also felt that the logo was too “busy” and that it was trying to capture too much. He found the 7 different facets difficult.

Ms Mondoux pointed out that not often is a logo presented and every one says “oh my that’s the one!”. She said it’s very important to step out of our comfort zone when looking at the logo. People tend to pick what they’re comfortable with and it’s important to step away from the comfort. Ms Mondoux said we gravitate to what we know and people will chose what is familiar. She said it’s important not to chose on that makes you comfortable. People that go with the safe choices get left behind when it comes to branding.

Councillor Simone asked about some options about getting a different logo presented.

Councillor Courtney said that going from tradition to trendy is scary for a small community. (Boy is it ever in Amherstburg!) He said he read the comments on Facebook and felt the logo was missing an “emotional connection” and was generic. He wanted the public to have a say.

Councillor Renaud felt that they should see the other 2 concepts.

Councillor Prue wanted committee feedback.

This went around and around for quite some time…..

Finally, a motion was made to receive the presentation, to defer to a public consultation with the additional concepts and to have survey results available and committee comments available for the February 25th meeting. This carried. Translation: We will see the other 2 possibilities, vote on line and it may be decided on February 25th. Phew!

Consent Correspondence

There was a fairly lengthy debate about putting an advertisement in the Fire Service Women Ontario Magazine. This motion failed (no recorded vote).  Then there was another motion to put an advertisement in the OMFPOA Training and Education Symposium…..this was tied 3 to 3, then the Mayor supported it, so it passed. (No recorded vote here either). It seems so strange to me that so much debate happened about running an ad in a magazine, but who am I to judge? At least Councillor McArthur managed to throw some humour in there when he asked which logo we would use in the ad. LOL

Unfinished Business

Councillor McArthur brought forward a motion to reconsider about the development deferral agreement. He said he was new and battling nerves and felt he hadn’t asked key questions and would like to have more debate on the issue.

Here is what I wrote up about the development charges at the last meeting:

“The previous council deferred this item to the new council. Basically, this is an existing agreement with local home developers and builders that administration is recommending be continued. Council can defer payments for such things as roads and sewers until the builder/developer sells the house or properties. This helps the builder/developer with cash flow and helps encourage new construction in town. It seems to be a win-win relationship for both the town and the developer…..it encourages development and growth yet allows the developer not to have to pay big amounts up front before they get paid by their clients. On the other hand, there is a cost to the town for deferring these development fees and town administration is looking to “tweak” this system to lower some of the town’s costs.

Councillor Prue had questions and did not seem to be in favour of deferring the development charges for the builders. He spoke of the revenue lost to the town. The CAO explained that the town would be charging a new administration fee of $275 to defer the charges to help recoup some of the costs. There was some discussion about how long the development charges are deferred for, from 4 to 18 months. The CAO explained that this was something that the previous council supported, however, he would do whatever the current council wanted. (Either abolishing, changing, modifying or enacting the current recommendation.)

Councillor Courtney had some questions about what type of screening is done for the builders, for example, what type of financial review. He wants to stimulate growth in Amherstburg but also wants to ensure that the builder is obligated to pay the fees. Councillor Prue spoke again and felt that this was not a wise policy and that the developers are the winners and the town/taxpayers are the loser. (In my book, if a developer is creating development in my town, I’m not losing…..that’s a win-win…..)

Council then waived the rules of order to allow a local developer and home builder,  Norbert Bolger, to speak. Mr Bolger explained that they were satisfied with the $275 administration fee in order to defer the development charges. He explained that the builder doesn’t get paid until the house is complete and this deferral helps the developer to continue to develop property. He cited an example of building a model home and that can sometimes take up to a year to build and sell it.

There was a little more back and forth and finally council decided to amend the motion (allow the deferral of development charges and charge the $275 administration fee) but to add $275 at each four month increment. This would help to offset costs to the town if the builder takes longer than 4 months to pay the development charges.”

Back to tonight’s meeting:

Councillor McArthur felt that council’s motion may have had unintended consequences and effects and may have alienated developers.  Deputy Mayor Meloche seconded the motion.

Councillor Prue felt that the public was happy about the motion and that the developers have to pay. He felt this is a cost of business and that the developers are very rich people and felt that opening this up will not send a good message.

Councillor Courtney felt that the motion passed about the development charges was a happy compromise.

Deputy Mayor Meloche spoke and said he had concerns with not allowing the motion to go through as intended. He felt that the previous council had come up with a mutually acceptable agreement and the new council amended it. He felt this was a missed opportunity for tax revenue and that incentives to build homes has to be there. He felt that the town has to ensure reasonable growth. He cited examples that we have an arena that can serve 40,000 people but 20,000 people are paying for it…..and that we have water services that can serve 50,000 people but 20,000 people are paying for it…..he pointed out that LaSalle was able to take a zero percent increase in taxes because of growth and it would be nice if Amherstburg could do the same.

Anyway, there was more debate and then it went to a recorded vote. The motion was to reconsider the previous motion about deferring development charges.

Support : Councillor McArthur, Deputy mayor Meloche, Mayor DiCarlo

Opposed : Councillor Courtney, Councillor Prue, Councillor Renaud and Councillor Simone.

So the motion stands as is.

Then Deputy Mayor Meloche made a motion to proceed with the 2019 Committee structures without an Audit and Finance Committee and to re-evaluate at a later date. He felt that there is no need for an Audit and Finance Committee. He said that are two C.A.’s now on town staff and there is a lack of qualified applicants for this committee.

There was a lot of back and forth about this one too……it went to a recorded vote.

Support : Deputy Mayor Meloche

Opposed : everybody else

Then council had to get through some by-law motions…..the Mayor had to use the gavel since so many people in the gallery were talking. While it was wonderful seeing so many people at the meeting, I’m not sure if they realize when they talk among themselves it gets quite loud quite quickly. There was somebody sitting near me who spoke often during the meeting…..to the point that she complained she couldn’t hear how somebody voted……because she was talking while they voted! And another lady on the other side of the room let out a loud guffaw and comment during a another vote. Just an observation from somebody who has sat through over 4 years worth of meetings……

Then Council finished the meeting, like it started, in-camera :

SPECIAL IN-CAMERA COUNCIL MEETING
That Council move into an In-Camera Meeting of Council directly following
Regular session pursuant to Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001, as
amended, for the following reasons:
ITEM B – Section 239(2)(c) – A proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of
land by the municipality or local board; and, Section 239(2)(k) – A position, plan,
procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or
to be carried on by or on behalf of the municipality or local board.
ITEM C – Section 239(2)(c) – A proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of
land by the municipality or local board; Section 239(2)(i) – a trade secret or
scientific, technical, commercial, financial or labour relations information,
supplied in confidence to the municipality or local board, which, if disclosed,
could reasonably be expected to prejudice significantly the competitive position,
or interfere significantly with the contractual or other negotiations of a person,
group of persons, or organization; and, Section 239(2)(k) – A position, plan,
procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or
to be carried on by or on behalf of the municipality or local board.

(and this was on the supplementary agenda):

ITEM D – Section 239(2)(b) – Personal matters about identifiable individuals,
including municipal or local board employees; and, Section 239(2)(i) – A trade
secret or scientific, technical, commercial, financial or labour relations
information, supplied in confidence to the municipality or local board, which,
if disclosed, could reasonably be expected to prejudice significantly the
competitive position, or interfere significantly with the contractual or other
negotiations of a person, group of persons, or organization.

The meeting finished up around 8:15, so about two hours…..not too bad. Overall, I’m still quite impressed with the new council and am hopeful of good things to come.

 

 

In preparation for Monday January 14th Regular town council meeting

Happy New Year! And Happy Anniversary to me! It’s been 3 full years now that I’ve been writing this blog about town council meetings. Time flies when you’re having fun right? I’m happy to be back, it seems like we had quite a long break between the December meeting and now. I know that I enjoyed that! Allowed me some time to recharge my political batteries.

The new year for the new council seems to be starting out just right! An agenda of a mere 240 pages plus a small supplementary agenda…..not too bad….not too bad at all.

Here are the highlights as I see them:

First, council will be going going in-camera at 5:30 to discuss:

SPECIAL IN-CAMERA COUNCIL MEETING
That Council move into an In-Camera Meeting of Council at 5:30 p.m. pursuant
to Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001, as amended, for the following
reasons:
ITEM A – Section 239(2)(h) – Information explicitly supplied in confidence to the
municipality or local board by Canada, a province or territory or a Crown agency
of any of them; Section 239(2)(i) – A trade secret or scientific, technical,
commercial, financial or labour relations information, supplied in confidence to
the municipality or local board, which, if disclosed, could reasonably be
expected to prejudice significantly the competitive position, or interfere
significantly with the contractual or other negotiations of a person, group of
persons, or organization; and, Section 239(2)(k) – A position, plan, procedure,
criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or to be carried
on by or on behalf of the municipality or local board.

Then, the regular (public) portion is set to begin at 6:00 (but that really depends how long council spends in-camera discussing the item above).

DELEGATIONS
Lions Pool at Centennial Park – Tiffany Cote and Yvette Erickson

It appears that Ms Cote and Ms Erickson will be delegating to town council regarding the future of the Centennial Park. As I’m sure most are aware, the school board purchased most of the park land to build a new high school to replace General Amherst and Western Secondary. A portion of the land was not purchased (the hill and some of the track area).

It seems that Ms Cote and Ms Erickson would like to see all of the amenities, including the Lion’s pool replaced and in a central location.  It seems that the delegates have some ideas to try to raise funds to replace the pool without raising taxes. I am looking forward to hearing their delegation and to see what our new council has to say about their ideas.

PRESENTATIONS
Amherstburg Branding Strategy, Logo Design – Bronwyn Mondoux and
Andrea Dyer, Cinnamon Toast New Media Inc.

Amherstburg Branding Strategy – Logo Design

As you may be aware, in December 2017, the previous council had made a motion for a branding strategy for the Town of Amherstburg. Through the RFP process, the council of the day had made a motion to hire Cinnamon Toast New Media Inc (I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ll mention it again...I LOVE the name of their company) to come up with a branding strategy for the town. I went to one of the public consultation meetings this summer and found their presentation and idea-gathering strategies exceptional and impressive.

I took this from their presentation : “A brand is a person’s emotional connection
to your organization, community, or business. ”

While Cinnamon Toast will be offering a new logo for our town, they are also offering a slogan or tag line and a “new” web site focused on “selling” our town.

The proposed tag line is : “Born to make history”. (I LOVE THIS!)

As for the logo…..they’ve incorporated into the logo, the themes of waterway, agriculture, tourism and history. (And I LOVE the proposed logo too!)

Here is their rational regarding the symbols in the new proposed logo:

“A mutual nod to Amherstburg’s tourism appeal and rich history, this logo concept celebrates all that the town offers- past and present, across water and land. The stylized lighthouse at left is a tribute to the one found on Bois Blanc (Boblo) Island, while at right, the underground railroad signifies the town’s roll in some of Canada’s most significant
events. The rising sun symbolizes the future while the tree represents our scenic landscape and beautiful trails. Lastly, the house built atop is a celebration of the  welcoming town we know and love today- held up by a foundation which continues to illuminate our way.”

As for the logo itself…..I find it to be pretty current, unique and edgy. I really like it. I like the colours they’ve used and I see that they’ve presented it in a vertical or horizontal format with the tag line. In their presentation they provided the comparison to other area “brands” or logos as they did during the public consultation process. To me, it seems quite clear that our current crest is dated and “busy” and pales in comparison to surrounding municipalities. I think the new proposed logo and brand puts us heads and shoulders above our neighbours and is very impressive.

This is the conclusion I found in the report from administration :

“The new logo has the original qualities to attract a growing number of technology fluent
and creative individuals that will generate social cohesion, innovation and ultimately
continued prosperity for the Town of Amherstburg.
Through the new logo and branding strategy, Amherstburg has an opportunity to
promote itself with an inviting, captivating and progressive brand for investors and
visitors to consider investing their time and money in the Amherstburg community.”

As a side note……only 383 residents filled out the on-line survey and only 28 people came out to the public consultation sessions.

I also found this in Cinnamon Toast’s report and I found it interesting….” Challenges : When asked to describe the challenges that are facing Amherstburg, attendees most
commonly listed: a lack of infrastructure and new employment opportunities, resistance
to change, ambassadorship, and collective thinking amongst residents.” (Sing it sister! Hit that nail on the head right there!)

Amherstburg Emergency Response Plan – Update

It looks like our previous Emergency Response Plan was updated in 2017. It now seems that part of the plan has been revised and updated. The plan is extremely lengthy and full of fine print……will I read it all word for word? No. I’ve subscribed to the emergency response system and I trust that our experts in the top positions know what they’re doing.

Accessible 2018 Election (supplementary agenda)

This is an information report included in the supplementary agenda. It outlines the wide variety of ways that the October 2018 municipal election was made accessible for all. It seems that the Municipal Act requires that the Clerk prepare the report for council within 90 days after the election.

Finally, the meeting will end, as it began…..in-camera. Council will move in-camera gain to discuss:

SPECIAL IN-CAMERA COUNCIL MEETING
That Council move into an In-Camera Meeting of Council directly following
Regular session pursuant to Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001, as
amended, for the following reasons:
ITEM B – Section 239(2)(c) – A proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of
land by the municipality or local board; and, Section 239(2)(k) – A position, plan,
procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or
to be carried on by or on behalf of the municipality or local board.
ITEM C – Section 239(2)(c) – A proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of
land by the municipality or local board; Section 239(2)(i) – a trade secret or
scientific, technical, commercial, financial or labour relations information,
supplied in confidence to the municipality or local board, which, if disclosed,
could reasonably be expected to prejudice significantly the competitive position,
or interfere significantly with the contractual or other negotiations of a person,
group of persons, or organization; and, Section 239(2)(k) – A position, plan,
procedure, criteria or instruction to be applied to any negotiations carried on or
to be carried on by or on behalf of the municipality or local board.

(and this was on the supplementary agenda):

ITEM D – Section 239(2)(b) – Personal matters about identifiable individuals,
including municipal or local board employees; and, Section 239(2)(i) – A trade
secret or scientific, technical, commercial, financial or labour relations
information, supplied in confidence to the municipality or local board, which,
if disclosed, could reasonably be expected to prejudice significantly the
competitive position, or interfere significantly with the contractual or other
negotiations of a person, group of persons, or organization.

Overall, it looks like the new year for the new council will be off to a good start. Dare I hope that this meeting will also wrap up in under two hours?