March 28, 2023March 28, 2023 amherstburg2

Monday March 27th Regular town council meeting

Before I start the summary of tonight’s meeting, I think it’s time, again, to clarify some things. If reading this blog is going to cause you to think about me all week, please don’t read it. You are under no obligation to read this blog or any blog for that matter. There are other blogs out there on the internet that I don’t particularly enjoy so put simply, I just don’t read them. You are free to do the same. I wrote in my blog two weeks ago not to read it if you couldn’t handle it but it seems that some of you ignored the warning. A blog is by its very nature an opinion piece. At the top of my blog it clearly states : “Thoughts, opinions, concerns, kudos before and after Amherstburg Council meetings.”

Secondly, my blog is a preview and then a summary of town council meetings. I take my notes by hand during the meetings. I can not write down every single word that every single person says. It is just not possible. The blog is written from my perspective as someone observing the meeting, someone that has read the reports and has been diligently following the issues since 2015. This is the third council that I am watching and following. This blog is nothing new and has existed since 2016. Often my post-meeting blogs are quite lengthy since the meetings are also very lengthy….anybody that wants to know EXACTLY what happened at the meeting will need to watch the meeting in its ENTIRETY! I believe I have often encouraged my readers to watch the meetings and I will continue to do so. I firmly believe that residents should follow the goings on in town and watch the meetings. I also understand that most people don’t want to sit and watch a three or four hour meeting every two weeks. If my summary is not adequate for your needs, please, go watch the ENTIRE meeting! Oh, and don’t read this blog.

Last warning. Do not read this blog. Nobody is forcing you to read this blog.

Council was scheduled to meet in-camera at 4:00 to discuss :

SPECIAL IN-CAMERA MEETING

That Council move into an In-Camera Meeting of Council pursuant to Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001, as amended for the following reasons:

Item A – Update on Matter Before Administrative Tribunal affecting the Municipality Section 239(2)(e) – Litigation or potential litigations, including matters before administrative tribunals, affecting the municipality or local board; and, Section 239(2)(f) – Advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including communications necessary for that purpose.

Item B – Proposed or Pending Disposition of Land

Section 239(2)(c) – a proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land by the municipality or local board

Item C – Striking Committee Information

Section 239(2)(b) – Personal matters about an identifiable individual, including municipal or local board employees.

Item D – Proposed or Pending Acquisition of Land by the Municipality

Section 239(2)(c) – a proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land by the municipality or local board

Then at 5:00, council has a planning meeting. I don’t generally follow those.

I arrived at town hall about 5:45. The planning meeting was still going but it wrapped up around 5:50.

The regular meeting started at 6:05.

***Councillor Courtney was in attendance via Zoom. He appeared to be at work.****

The gavel was passed I think 4, maybe 5 times throughout the night. I’m not sure, maybe more. Once, it was passed and stayed with the Deputy Mayor for an entire item since Mayor Prue had a conflict of interest on that item. This was perhaps the first time the floating gavel stayed put for a while right through to the end of the item.

Councillor Pouget declared a conflict about the fee waiver request for St John the Baptist Church. Mayor Prue declared a conflict about the removal of the H symbol for Boblo Island since it was the result of a court decision that derived from before he was in office. He also declared a conflict about the appointees for the Parks and Recreation Committee since his wife was an applicant.

Fee Waiver Request for Good Friday Procession – Anna Donatucci, St. John the Baptist Church

Ms Donatucci delegated to council. She explained that she and her husband were parishioners of St. John the Baptist Church and had organized the Good Friday Procession since 2016. It seems that this procession has been happening for almost 50 years. Ms Donatucci named the streets that the procession uses to move through town. She felt that up until this year there had not been any fees involved for the procession. She noted that there were no records of invoices. She felt that she understood that there were permits required and off duty officers required to help with keeping the procession safe. She said that she was before council on behalf of St John the Baptist Church and the community and would be grateful if the fees could be waived.

Councillor Courtney asked if they had been previously able to do the procession with no cost from the town. Ms Donatucci said that they had organized the procession since 2016 and that she had presented to council before but thought it was simply to have the event approved. She said that the original organizers had said that there wasn’t a cost. She felt that she understood that there are fees and thought that maybe they were always there but that they just didn’t appear. She wanted to proceed with no costs.

Councillor McArthur made a motion to waive the fees but Mayor Prue felt that questions should be asked of the delegate or of administration first.

The Clerk said that there were two town fees involved. One fee was $59 and the other fee was $250. He said the fees for policing would be from Windsor Police Services and wasn’t sure what that amount would be.

Then Councillor McArthur made the motion to waive the towns fees and that Mayor Prue would ask Windsor Police Services to waive their fees since he has an advisory position on the Board.

The motion carried.

Fee Waiver Request for Development Charges – Lori Quaggiotto

Ms Quaggiotto addressed council next. She was there representing the Farm House Market. (Side note, I shop there often! Love that store!) She requested that the development charges be waived for their retail store located on agriculturally zoned properties. She noted that she paid development charges when their home was built and that they also pay commercial taxes for their store. She said she had read the administrative report and agreed with the recommendation.

Development Charge Exemption Request for Agricultural Retail Uses

The staff report on this item was brought forward. Councillor Crain moved the recommendation that was in the report :

It is recommended that:

1. Council APPROVE the exemption of Development Charges for all agriculturally related retail stores located within the Agricultural (A) Zone up to a maximum size of 232.3 m2 (2500 ft2 ).

Deputy Mayor Gibb explained that this is standard practice and this was not a special situation. He just wanted that clarified for those watching at home.

The motion carried.

Request to Extend Interim Control By-law 2022-111

It looks like this has to do with the site plan for the Howard Avenue Industrial Park District. It seems that an extension is required to complete regulated studies.

The rules of order were waived. Mayor Prue mentioned that Mr Bezaire didn’t get his paperwork in quite on time. Then, Mr Bezaire delegated to council. He seemed to support industrial development in the area. He felt that there was nothing like this type of development anywhere else. He seemed to oppose the interim bylaw extension. He felt that it sends a message that Amherstburg is closed for business. He wondered if the interim bylaw was necessary.

Councillor Crain thanked him for the delegation and then proceeded to ask some questions that were in Mr Bezaire’s email. He asked first if the purpose of the interim control was necessary. Ms Osborne, Deputy CAO said that yes it was necessary. She proceeded to explain why but I’m not going to lie here….I had a hard time grasping all of the technicalities behind this and I took my notes by hand. (I think I may have mentioned that before?) She did note that this interim control would allow the town to study the area as a whole for the highest and best use of the land. As well, it would check the compatibility with the surrounding agricultural and residential areas. She also mentioned something about the application process could still be followed even with the interim control in place. There was some more back and forth with questions and answers but ultimately Deputy Mayor Gibb made the motion for the recommendation in the report and Councillor McArthur seconded it.

It is recommended that:

1. Council EXTEND Interim Control By-law 2022-111 until August 31, 2023; and,

2. By-law 2023-048 being a By-law to extend the interim control By-law 2022-111, be taken as having been read three times and finally passed and the Mayor and Clerk BE AUTHORIZED to sign same.

The motion carried.

The next few items moved along quite quickly and I was starting to get hopeful.

Additional Extension of Part Lot Control Exemption for Part of Meadowview Estates Subdivision

There was no discussion on this item and it carried.

Canard Valley Estates Phase II Subdivision Street Name Request Heritage Follow-up

Does anybody remember a few months ago when there were two street names proposed for the Canard Valley Estates Subdivision? The names were Gertrude Drive and Garnet Crescent. The debate went on and on at council and it was decided to send the names to the Heritage Committee. Well, the Heritage Committee looked at the names and are recommending them to council.

And you know what happened? Nothing. LOL! The motion was made to approve the names and it carried. No discussion at all.

Major Planning Policy Studies – Request for Proposal Results

This is a fairly lengthy report. In a nutshell, the town is working on the Official Plan and they are working on a Heritage District within the planning department. A Request for Proposal went out for this work and the prices that were submitted were higher than what was budgeted for. It seems that this is a regular occurrence, or at least fairly regular? Anyway, here’s the recommendation, it’s a long one :

It is recommended that:

1. The consulting services for the Official Plan & Zoning By-law Update BE AWARDED to Dillon Consulting Limited based on results of the Request for Proposal (RFP 2023-004);

2. The Chief Administrative Officer and the Municipal Clerk BE AUTHORIZED to execute an agreement with Dillon Consulting Limited for the consulting services to complete the Official Plan & Zoning By-law Update for an amount not to exceed $213,240, plus applicable HST, satisfactory in financial content to the Chief Financial Officer, and technical content to the Director of Development Services;

3. The consulting services for the Heritage Conservation District Study BE AWARDED to MacNaughton Hermsen Britton Clarkson Planning Limited (MHBC) based on the results of the Request for Proposal (RFP 2023-005);

4. The Chief Administrative Officer and the Municipal Clerk BE AUTHORIZED to execute an agreement with MacNaughton Hermsen Britton Clarkson Planning Limited for the consulting services to complete the Heritage Conservation District Study for an amount not to exceed $120,925, plus applicable HST, satisfactory in financial content to the Chief Financial Officer, and technical content to the Director of Development Services;

5. That Council CONFIRM use of the $125,000 previously approved by Council for these three projects and funded from the Plans and Studies Reserve (0072) and;

6. That Council APPROVE the following additional funding sources to address the $253,353 shortfall in funding required for these projects to proceed:

a. $164,903 from Development Charges – Community Based Services Administrative Studies (0128) and;

b. $88,450 from Plans and Studies Reserve (0072)

And, once again, no discussion! The motion was made and it carried. I was getting so, so hopeful that this whole meeting would be efficient and productive and wrap up in about an hour or so……until….

Removal of Holding Zone for a portion of the South End of Boblo

Since Mayor Prue had declared a conflict on this item, since it involved the Ontario Land Tribunal decision and he had spoken at that meeting years ago, Deputy Mayor Gibb chaired this portion of the meeting.

Councillor Pouget had numerous questions. She asked about the Ontario Land Tribunal situation and if the town had taken a position. Ms Osborne, Deputy CAO, said that Dr Aspila, Manager of Planning Services, had provided an affidavit. Councillor Pouget wondered how he had attended the hearing. Dr. Aspila explained that he had written a reply. He said that he was required due to his position as a Registered Professional Planning to provide a reply. He noted that all of the applicant’s obligations for the development had been met and that he agreed with the applicants request. He also went on to say that the applicant had made a request to the County of Essex but that they did not respond. Therefore the applicant appealed. There was some back and forth between Councillor Pouget and Dr Aspila. He said his opinion was based on what is best for the town of Amherstburg and as a registered professional planner.

Councillor Pouget’s questions continued. Then CAO Critchley had to jump in. She explained that Dr Aspila’s response was a written affidavit in regards to if the planning requirements had been met (they had). She noted that certain things are needed by the town and certain things are needed by the county and that now the developer is working with the county. She noted that the town is continuing to work with all of the parties.

Councillor Courtney asked about any changes being made after 2018. CAO Critchley said that there were some amendments in the plan of subdivision but that that would be before council on April 11th. (Note to self, prepare for an extra long triathlon meeting on April 11th because it seems that whenever Boblo is on the agenda some members of council seem to want to make things as difficult as possible……each and every time……). There was more back and forth between the CAO and Councillor Courtney about why Dr Aspila had to provide his opinion. CAO Critchley made it clear that he had not signed the amended subdivision agreement and that it was coming back to council on April 11th.

Councillor Pouget started asking more questions about why this didn’t come back to council. CAO Critchley said AGAIN that the amended plan of subdivision was coming back to council on April 11th. Councillor Pouget went on and on and she seemed to think that Dr Aspila had approved an agreement? The CAO again stated that he had not approved anything, that he gave his professional planning opinion as he is required to do.

Councillor McArthur asked why Dr Aspila’s affidavit hadn’t come to council even as an information report. CAO Critchley said that it was her call and that she did not think it was necessary since Dr Aspila was attesting to what had already been done and that the final plan was coming to council on April 11th for council approval. (Are you all grasping this? I was grasping this, but council did not seem to be grasping this……The planner provided an opinion, as required to the Ontario Land Tribunal and final approval for the subdivision would be coming to council on April 11th……why the litany of questions? And the same questions over and over…..?) The Clerk noted that the town had taken all of the required steps since the matter was before the tribunal. Councillor Crain said that if staff had provided a report during the process, then that would be micromanaging. He noted that Dr Aspila is a professional planner and that he agreed with the CAO and the Clerk.

Councillor Pouget continued on…..rinse and repeat, same questions, same answers….

Finally, Councillor Crain made the motion as per the report :

It is recommended that:

1. By-law 2023-044 being a by-law to amend Zoning By-law 1999-52 to Remove a Holding Zone for a portion of the South End of Boblo Island be taken as having been read three times and finally passed and the Mayor and Clerk BE AUTHORIZED to sign same.

Councillor Allaire seconded the motion.

It went to a vote. The Deputy Mayor declared it carried 3-2.

(I had watched the vote…

In favour Councillors Allaire, Crain and McArthur. Opposed Councillors Courtney and Pouget.)

Then, AFTER the vote, Councillor Pouget requested a recorded vote. Deputy Mayor Gibb turned to the Clerk. The Clerk said the vote was already taken. The Deputy Mayor said to Councillor Pouget that the motion had passed 3-2 and then he said he would “gladly” pass the gavel back.

And, by the way, from what I understood from the report, the Ontario Land Tribunal ruled in favour of the applicant (Boblo)…..and council is a lower level of government than the province, sooooooo…….hmmmmm……why the questions? Why the debate? Two members of council voted against removing the H symbol when the provincial government had ruled in favour of the applicant?

2023 Special Events Approval – Part III

Some more great events are coming up for approval for 2023! I love events! Here are the recommendations :

It is recommended that:

1. The following events BE APPROVED:

a. Woofa-Roo Pet Fest – June 24 & 25, 2023

b. Amherstburg Freedom Museum Ribs & Ragtime – June 10, 2023

c. 2023 Rocks and Roads Race Series – August 13, 2023

d. Good Friday Procession – Way of the Cross – April 7, 2023

2. An exemption from table number 3-1(2) of Noise By-law #2001-43, as amended with respect to the operation of any electronic device or group of connected electronic devices incorporating one or more loudspeakers to allow for music BE GRANTED for the following events:

a. Woofa-Roo Pet Fest – June 24 & 25, 2023

b. Amherstburg Freedom Museum Ribs & Ragtime – June 10, 2023

c. 2023 Rocks and Roads Race Series – August 13, 2023

d. Good Friday Procession – Way of the Cross – April 7, 2023

3. The following events BE EXEMPT and PERMITTED for road closures to begin prior to 5pm: a. Amherstburg Freedom Museum Ribs & Ragtime – June 10, 2023

b. 2023 Rocks and Roads Race Series – August 13, 2023

c. Good Friday Procession- Way of the Cross – April 7, 2023

4. The Special Events Resource Team BE DIRECTED to confirm that the requirements identified by the Committee are met prior to the event.

Councillor Crain noted that many events come back year after year and asked if there were a way to approve them in perpetuity, as long as there weren’t any changes. (Yes!!! Good idea!!! I’ve been watching each of these events come before council year after year…..when this process first began around 2016, the organizers would often show up biting their fingernails, just to have council approve the event anyway…….it is pretty redundant….) Anyway, CAO Critchley said that administration is looking at the processes and that if it’s the same event with no significant changes that they are working on bringing something forward to council.

And with that, the motion carried. Events approved!!!!! I love events!! (And I really love Open Air! Great event!)

Advisory Committees and Terms of Reference

It looks like council is ready to establish the Environmental Advisory Committee, the Economic Development Committee and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee. However, this item was held down until after an in-camera meeting that was being tacked onto the end of Monday night’s meeting.

The rest of the items went through relatively uneventfully, save some gavel passing.

NEW BUSINESS

Always, the wild card, new business….

Councillor Pouget said that she would be meeting with the Golden Age Club on Tuesday and wanted an update to the former ACS building on the corner of Victoria St and Richmond Street. Ms Baillargeon said that facilities staff are preparing the building and she will be setting up meetings with senior groups.

Then Councillor Pouget made a motion to reinstate the Senior Advisory Committee and advertise for it. She said that she has received numerous calls about this. She felt it was a successful committee in the past and that seniors are a large part of our population. Councillor Allaire seconded the item for discussion.

CAO Critchley explained the earlier reports and the reasons given not to strike this committee for this term. She spoke of an inclusivity grant that is being used for other forms of outreach for seniors and other groups and that the Amherstburg Community Services is also involved.

The Clerk, Mr Fox explained that the Inclusive Communities Grant program was not just for seniors. The intent was to identify needs in the community and serve various stakeholders in a year-long process. He felt that a committee creates challenges to capture the larger demographic and can end up being a subset of people. He felt that the town is at stage 1 of the process and wants to engage with a number of different groups.

Ms Baillargeon listed off various events that are being looked into for seniors, such as yoga, therapy walks and other activities, by way of this grant. She spoke of 9 domains that administration is working on within the grant and that there are long range and short range plans. She noted that they are working with Amherstburg Community Services. She suggested that council could get a report later this year in the fourth quarter with the various initiatives.

Councillor Pouget wondered how the Senior Advisory Committee would change any of this. Ms Baillargeon said that the town is working on initiatives for an inclusive community and the initiatives aren’t solely for seniors.

Councillor Crain wondered if the 2023 budget included funds for a Seniors Advisory Committee. The short answer was no.

Councillor McArthur felt that the grant was fantastic. But he was struggling to understand the harm of having a Seniors Advisory Committee. He wondered if it were financial or a workload issue for committees, the Clerk and staff.

The Clerk felt that was an excellent question. He noted the resourcing challenge that is ongoing at Town Hall. He noted that they had tried to consolidate the committees and that we currently have 23 different boards and committees. These boards and committees require a considerable workload and that there was a lot of overtime pay required during the last term of council.

Councillor Crain wondered if council were to strike a Seniors Advisory Committee then others could be concerned that there should be a youth committee.

Deputy Mayor Gibb addressed Councillor McArthur’s comments about what is the harm. Deputy Mayor Gibb noted that council had approved a new structure and that there was one year to try it out. He felt that they weren’t giving it a proper chance by trying to change the structure so soon. He felt that the accessibility grant could be used more widely to target perhaps people that don’t drive or people with mobility issues and that a Senior’s Advisory Committee would be geared to issues for seniors only.

Councillor Crain felt that it was important to make things equitable. He wondered if there are committees for seniors, then what about youth or middle-aged people. He wondered if to keep things equitable, council would have to make committees for all of the demographics.

Councillor Courtney felt that each committee is niche and has special interests. He noted that the previous council had tried a Youth Committee and he felt that it was an epic fail. Councillor Courtney felt that we pride ourselves on our aging demographic but he also noted the personnel shortage in town hall and that the Clerk is wearing multiple hats. He said he was trying to factor in staff stress and overtime. (And right there folks, I was impressed…..I was very happy to hear Councillor Courtney showing concern for town staff’s workload and stress. Kudos to him for looking at all angles on this issue.) He also wondered which other municipalities had a Seniors Advisory Committee.

Mayor Prue passed the gavel. (This may have been the 5th or 6th time but I had lost count a long time ago….) He noted that the Clerk’s Department is short staffed and it will take at least 2 months to get people into the open positions. He also noted that council had a budget to work with for this year. He felt that the Seniors Advisory Committee was a good idea but that it should be deferred until the fall to discuss at budget time. He told council that they shouldn’t do it until the town has proper staff and that the timing right now was not good.

Councillor Crain felt that council should wait until the budget debates and until proper staff resources were in place. He made a motion to defer and Deputy Mayor Gibb seconded it. And the motion to defer carried. Translation: no more talk about the Senior Advisory Committee until the fall when it’s budget time and it’s been brought up I think three times in the past three months. So, this should give some reprieve.

At 7:33 council voted to go in-camera. Mayor Prue said it was to discuss the committees and a proposed land disposition or acquisition. It looks like items C and D from the 4:00 in-camera meeting weren’t done in time for the 5:00 planning meeting to start on time? So they had to discuss those items now?

Anyway, I wasn’t sticking around and waiting for all of that, so I packed up and went home. I wrote a portion of the blog when I got home and I finished it up Tuesday evening.

So, I’ll have to check the RTT to see what happened with committees, or I can go back and watch the video if the curiosity is just too much. (It won’t be LOL.)

So that’s it, that’s all. All done for another week. It looks like the April 11th meeting will have more Boblo drama. I may watch that one from home. We’ll see.

Have a great week Amherstburg!

And if you are going to think about me for a week (or more?) or over-analyze what I wrote then you did not heed my warning at the beginning. Don’t read the blog.

March 25, 2023 amherstburg2

In preparation for Monday March 27th Regular town council meeting

Monday night may be another long one.

First, council will meet in-camera at 4:00 to discuss :

SPECIAL IN-CAMERA MEETING

That Council move into an In-Camera Meeting of Council pursuant to Section 239 of the Municipal Act, 2001, as amended for the following reasons:

Item B – Proposed or Pending Disposition of Land

Section 239(2)(c) – a proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land by the municipality or local board

Item C – Striking Committee Information

Section 239(2)(b) – Personal matters about an identifiable individual, including municipal or local board employees.

Item D – Proposed or Pending Acquisition of Land by the Municipality

Section 239(2)(c) – a proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land by the municipality or local board

Four items and they have one hour to do it…..

Then at 5:00, council has a planning meeting. I don’t generally follow those.

The regular meeting is set to start at 6:00. The agenda is 226 pages…..Here are the highlights of the meeting, as I see ‘em :

DELEGATIONS

Fee Waiver Request for Good Friday Procession – Anna Donatucci, St. John the Baptist Church

It appears that Ms Donatucci will be delegating to council since she is an organizer of the annual Good Friday Procession on behalf of St. John the Baptist Church. It seems that this is the first year since the pandemic that this event will be able to happen but it has been a regular occurrence in Amherstburg for almost 50 years. It looks like there are fees being requested for permits and off duty police officers to help with the safety of the procession. It seems that there are no records of invoices or receipts for these fees in the past. Ms Donatucci is asking council to waive the fees.

Fee Waiver Request for Development Charges – Lori Quaggiotto

It seems that Ms Quaggiotto will be delegating to council and requesting that development charges be waived for a retail store located on agriculturally zoned properties.

Additional Extension of Part Lot Control Exemption for Part of Meadowview Estates Subdivision

It appears that one of the semi detached buildings was not built exactly on the lot lines. It seems that everything is in place with the owners and the legalities of the situation however an additional extension is needed to extend the timeframe to allow for severance of the semi-detached unit for final registration.

Canard Valley Estates Phase II Subdivision Street Name Request Heritage Follow-up

It is recommended that:

1. The proposed street names Gertrude Drive and Garnet Crescent for Street A and Street B, respectively, of the Canard Valley Estates Phase II Subdivision BE APPROVED.

Major Planning Policy Studies – Request for Proposal Results

It is recommended that:

1. The consulting services for the Official Plan & Zoning By-law Update BE AWARDED to Dillon Consulting Limited based on results of the Request for Proposal (RFP 2023-004);

5. That Council CONFIRM use of the $125,000 previously approved by Council for these three projects and funded from the Plans and Studies Reserve (0072) and;

6. That Council APPROVE the following additional funding sources to address the $253,353 shortfall in funding required for these projects to proceed:

a. $164,903 from Development Charges – Community Based Services Administrative Studies (0128) and;

b. $88,450 from Plans and Studies Reserve (0072)

Request to Extend Interim Control By-law 2022-111

It looks like this has to do with the site plan for the Howard Avenue Industrial Park District. It seems that an extension is required to complete regulated studies. Here is the recommendation :

It is recommended that:

1. Council EXTEND Interim Control By-law 2022-111 until August 31, 2023; and,

2. By-law 2023-048 being a By-law to extend the interim control By-law 2022-111, be taken as having been read three times and finally passed and the Mayor and Clerk BE AUTHORIZED to sign same.

Removal of Holding Zone for a portion of the South End of Boblo

It looks like a portion of the south end of the Boblo development is ready to proceed. Whenever a development is in progress there is a Holding Zone ( H symbol) placed on the development. Once all of the proper procedures and laws have been met, then council has to remove the H symbol from the development. This is basically a housekeeping measure. However, since this involves Boblo Island, I anticipate a long drawn out “discussion” or Q&A session, even though all conditions have been met from what I can see in the report. I hope council does their due diligence and just removes the H symbol as per the planning act. This is from the Risk Analysis of the report :

“The recommendation for h removal in this report presents little to no risk to the municipality. The proponent has met the obligations of the Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw 1999-52, with regard to addressing servicing and orderly development. Should Council decide not to remove the Holding Symbol the Town faces a high risk of exposure to litigation by adding delay to a development that has received Draft Approval by the Ontario Land Tribunal.”

In a nutshell, all conditions have been met for development, remove the H symbol and move on with the meeting….who wants to bet that that may not happen on Monday night? I anticipate endless “questions”…..

Development Charge Exemption Request for Agricultural Retail Uses

This item appears to have to do with Ms Quaggioto’s delegation (above). Here is the recommendation :

It is recommended that:

1. Council APPROVE the exemption of Development Charges for all agriculturally related retail stores located within the Agricultural (A) Zone up to a maximum size of 232.3 m2 (2500 ft2 ).

2023 Special Events Approval – Part III

Some more great events are coming up for approval for 2023! I love events! Here are the recommendations :

It is recommended that:

1. The following events BE APPROVED:

a. Woofa-Roo Pet Fest – June 24 & 25, 2023

b. Amherstburg Freedom Museum Ribs & Ragtime – June 10, 2023

c. 2023 Rocks and Roads Race Series – August 13, 2023

d. Good Friday Procession – Way of the Cross – April 7, 2023

a. Woofa-Roo Pet Fest – June 24 & 25, 2023

b. Amherstburg Freedom Museum Ribs & Ragtime – June 10, 2023

c. 2023 Rocks and Roads Race Series – August 13, 2023

d. Good Friday Procession – Way of the Cross – April 7, 2023

3. The following events BE EXEMPT and PERMITTED for road closures to begin prior to 5pm: a. Amherstburg Freedom Museum Ribs & Ragtime – June 10, 2023

b. 2023 Rocks and Roads Race Series – August 13, 2023

c. Good Friday Procession- Way of the Cross – April 7, 2023

4. The Special Events Resource Team BE DIRECTED to confirm that the requirements identified by the Committee are met prior to the event.

Downspout Connections By-law

It looks like there are some changes coming in regards to downspout connections for new construction and for major renovations that require permits. Here is the recommendation :

It is recommended that:

1. The report from the Manager of Licensing and Enforcement dated March 27, 2023 regarding a new Downspout Connections By-Law BE RECEIVED; and

2. By-law 2023-046 being a By-Law to regulate downspout connections within the Town of Amherstburg be taken as having been read three times and finally passed and the Mayor and Clerk BE AUTHORIZED to sign same.

Advisory Committees and Terms of Reference

It looks like council is ready to establish the Environmental Advisory Committee, the Economic Development Committee and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee.

For the Environmental Committee, it looks like they will need two representatives from council and then council will also name 5 laypeople from the list of applicants.

For the Economic Development Committee, it looks like they will need once again, two representatives from council. Then, they will have to name 5 laypeople from the list of applicants for that committee.

Finally, for the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, two members of council and 5 laypeople for that committee as well.

As well, council will be adopting the terms of reference for the Amherstburg Environmental Advisory Committee, the Audit and Finance Advisory Committee and the Heritage Committee

INFORMATION REPORTS

Council has two information reports to receive.

Annual Treasurer’s Report – 2022 Council and Appointee Statement on Remuneration and Expenses. This report shows how much each member of council earned in 2022 as well as any members of committees or boards that have paid positions.

Amherstburg Water Treatment Plant Submission of the 2022 Annual Summary Report. This is an annual report to council about the Water Treatment Plant.

CONSENT CORRESPONDENCE

There are 9 consent correspondence items for council to receive. They can choose to take action on any of the items or they can simply receive them.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Council can ask about any items on the unfinished business list.

NEW BUSINESS

And council can bring up pretty much anything during this section of the meeting…..anything at all….and it can tie up the meeting…..random emails, random phone calls, things that do not need to be brought up publicly, can all be brought up here…..once in a while, this part of the meeting goes quickly. Once in a while.

On that note, the weekend will go by quickly, so I am going to enjoy it! I’ll be back likely on Tuesday or Wednesday evening with the summary of Monday night’s show. I mean meeting. Have a great weekend Amherstburg!

March 14, 2023March 16, 2023 amherstburg2

Monday March 13th Regular town council meeting

Well I decided to attend Monday night’s meeting in person. Part of me regrets that. The meeting was tense and some people in the gallery were aggressive and rude. I find it stressful to sit and be surrounded by negativity and complaints, much of which was not done politely. Some people in the crowd heckled members of council and were rude (thankfully Mayor Prue put a stop to it) but one person, when leaving, used the F word (twice!) as he left while the meeting was in session. There was a serious lack of decorum for the most part. I couldn’t write up the blog last night, even though time-wise I could have. I had to step back and decompress from it all. For those of you that watched from home, you know. If you didn’t watch the meeting and you feel that I’m exaggerating, you are welcome to watch the video of the meeting that is posted on the town’s website and see for yourself. You may or may not be able to hear some of the heckling.

The meeting didn’t start until 6:15 because the 5:00 planning meeting went into overtime. The gallery was full. Thankfully, I managed to get a seat.

The meeting started and then there was a 5 minute recess due to technical difficulties. They were having a hard time getting the live stream to function properly.

After the recess, things got going. Finally.

RECOGNITIONS

Festivals and Events Ontario (FEO) – Town of Amherstburg Awards and Achievements

Congratulations Amherstburg!!! This is such exciting news!

Amherstburg just received the following awards :

Top 100 Event for Open Air
Top 100 Event for River Lights
Achievement Award for Sponsor – River Lights for Enbridge
Municipality of the Year for the population under 50,000

Ms Rota addressed council on behalf of the Tourism Department. She said it had been an exciting week for Amherstburg to have received these four awards from the FEO. She explained that the FEO is a provincial organization and that these four awards make Amherstburg a destination of choice. She thanked the residents and the tourists for their support.

Mayor Prue said that he had had the privilege to be in Niagara Falls and to see the awards be presented. He felt that it was very exciting! I agree!!

There was a photo op for the awards.

Here is a great newspaper article explaining about the awards we won and how Open Air ranked as the number one destination in the top 100 destinations by Festivals and Events Ontario. Windsor Star Aburg’s Open Air Weekends Tops list of Ontario 2023 festivals

Remember this article later during the meeting when some members of council proceeded to vote against Open Air.

Then Mayor Prue said that he had another special presentation. There was a plaque that had been prepared for Ron Giofu (the reporter at the River Town Times, although I think everyone knows that?) in honour of his 50th birthday. He read the plaque and another picture was taken. Happy Birthday Ron!

DELEGATIONS

Public Boat Ramp – Rod Ferriss, AMA Sportsman Club

Mr Ferris addressed council requesting a public boat ramp. His delegation started by explaining an agreement from 1984 between the Township of Anderdon and Allied Chemical Canada. (This struck me as odd since neither of those entities exists anymore. If I have an agreement with a company and they close, do I really have an agreement with them?) Anyway, he went on to explain the history of how a previous council had voted to sell the Ranta Marina. Mr Ferris had said that he had come before town council in 2022 to request a plan for a ramp at the former Ranta Park and that council had agreed. (They had, but the motion said nothing about financing the ramp…..so…..I guess technically, they agreed to a ramp….but didn’t give direction of how they would pay for it…..). Mr Ferris noted that in the report about the boat launch it required a significant financial commitment from the town. He felt that a boat launch should be a priority for administration. (Side note, it’s council that sets the priorities, not administration.) He thanked the members of council that he had spoken to about the need for a boat launch.

Walter Ranta Memorial Park Proposed Boat Ramp Information Report

The report that administration had prepared about a boat ramp at Ranta Park was brought forward since it was the reason for Mr Ferris’ delegation.

Councillor Courtney spoke first and thanked him. He noted that council has the authority to make the boat ramp happen. He then made the motion as per the report :

1. Council DIRECT Administration to proceed with necessary Archeological Assessment, geotechnical and survey work required for re-development of Walter Ranta Memorial Park;

2. Council DIRECT the studies be funded from the Ranta Memorial Park Bequest Reserve to a maximum of $170,000; and,

3. Council DELEGATE authority to the Chief Administrative Officer to award and issue purchase orders and or sign and execute any agreements or contracts as may be required to execute the scope of work for the Archeological Assessment, geotechnical and survey work including any soil sampling, satisfactory in financial content to the Chief Financial Officer, and in technical content to the Director of Parks, Facilities, Recreation and Culture.

Councillor Crain seconded the motion.

Councillor McArthur noted his support for a boat ramp and asked administration about the timeline since he felt it was important to manage expectations. Ms Baillargeon, Director of Parks and Facilities said that the soil sampling, archaeological assessment, and the geotechnical work would take some time. She mentioned that a minimum of 2-3 months would be required for the sampling.

Deputy Mayor Gibb noted that Amherstburg was founded on the river and that public access to the water was very important. He noted that the boat ramp is asking a lot of staff since there is also work being done on the Duffy’s waterfront property as well. He asked the Sportsman’s Club for patience and noted that council is moving forward with the boat launch but that it will take some time. There was a round of applause about this……so I thought that everybody was happy since, well, the organization was getting what they had requested……And I thought that there would be a vote and we would move on but…..

Then Mr Ferris started talking about the sale of the marina some 20 years ago…..Mayor Prue basically cut him off, since, well, I guess it’s irrelevant now.

Councillor Crain inquired about funding in the budget. Ms Baillargeon said that the ramp was not in the 5 year capital budget but that council could shift priorities. (They’ll be debating the 2024 budget in November, so about 8 months.) There were questions about what if the project moves faster and monies are required to advance it…..CAO Critchley explained that should that happen, there are reserve funds that could be made available or financing options.

Then a hand in the gallery went up and the rules of order were waived to allow Mr Deslippe to speak. He said that he had been talking with Anthony Leardi and that there was federal funding available for a marina. He felt that council should ask the federal government for money and not use taxpayer money. (Ironically, even if another level of government gives us grant money, it is still taxpayer money…..but I digress…..) Mayor Prue explained that Amherstburg always applies for grant money when it is available. Mr Deslippe felt that Mr Leardi said that grant money was available for a marina. (Important note, council had approved a boat launch to move forward, not a marina….) Mayor Prue felt that Mr Leardi should check his facts.

Councillor Courtney took a moment to reread the motion to Mr Deslippe and noted that it included grant applications. Ms Osborne, Deputy CAO, noted that administration always monitors for grants.

And finally, the motion carried unanimously. The boat launch is moving forward! Great news for anybody that wants this amenity and that will use it. (Just a side note, that this is an amenity that I have never used and will very likely never use…..but I am happy that those that will use it will get something that they want!)

OPEN AIR

The debate about Open Air was long and heated. For the record, for those of you that know me, I am a huge fan of Open Air weekends and I think that they are great for Amherstburg as a whole. I realize there may be a few inconveniences for some, but I am a big picture thinker and the event has been a huge success for Amherstburg, a town that I love! That being said, read the rest of my take on how this item was discussed at your own risk, if you’re not an Open Air fan. I sat and bit my tongue while everyone expressed their opinions that did not line up with mine during the meeting. I sat and listened last night. But my inside voice will be speaking during this portion of the blog. A lot. So if you can’t take it, please don’t read it.

Open Air Accessibility – Linda Saxon

The first delegate was Ms Saxon who addressed council via zoom. She explained that she was speaking as a person with disabilities. She felt that Open Air does not comply with AODA legislation. She felt that she had complained publicly about this issue by writing emails and letters. She felt that Ontario has blatant and overt discrimination with barriers for those with disabilities. She felt that if Open Air was approved as is, then council is excluding those with disabilities.

The delegation was received.

Delegation re. Open Air Weekends – Caroline O’Brien

Next it was Ms O’Brien that addressed council. She said that she was proud to have been born and raised in Amherstburg. ( ME TOO! I’m not sure why people say that…..does it mean their opinion matters more if they were born and raised here? So was I…..yet my opinion differs from Ms O’Brien’s….does it matter more or less? Should be the same…..we’re both taxpayers…I think…..) She explained that she runs a business in Amherstburg and it was built during hard economic times. She felt that she is an Open Air supporter regardless of what others may say. She felt that Open Air has divided the businesses in the downtown core. She felt that her business loses money because of Open Air. She suggested a huge kick off to Open Air on July 1st and then to end it with a family centered Labour Day weekend. She then felt that Open Air should be from 3PM on Saturday and through to Sunday evening only. She felt that that would be fair across the board.

Opening the floor and waiving the rules of order

And this moment, right here is where things started to go downhill. And fast. Council waived the rules of order to allow members of the public to speak. Ms Saxon and Ms O’Brien had followed proper procedure and had submitted their delegation requests on time in order to be allowed to speak. Many others did not and were allowed to speak anyway. What kind of message does this really send? Think about it.

Once the rules of order were waived (and literally all sense of order seemed to fly out the window), one after another, the hands went up. The first to speak was Ms Cote, owner of Lavender Hair Salon. She felt that Open Air is solely for the bars and restaurants. She felt that 50% of the business owners were not in favour of Open Air. (I had included links in my pre-meeting blog to the report and will include them again later…..that percentage doesn’t line up with what was in the report.) She felt that the times and the footprint should be adjusted slightly. She felt that her out of town clients had been disrespected by the bylaw department. She questioned how the students were counting people with the clickers and wondered if walkers were being counted as Open Air visitors. She mentioned she had checked the FEO website that there is a $100 fee to enter and be considered for an award. She also felt that they had opened up awards to non members and wondered how much we paid for the award. She noted some mistakes in the FEO website about LaSalle and Kingsville being in Georgian Bay.

Mayor Prue noted that she had passed the 5 minute time limit for a delegation. Council waived the rules again, to allow her to continue.

Ms Cote continued that there is a parking problem and noted that the 150 employees at Richmond Terrace park on Rankin Street and all over downtown. She felt that there should be monthly passes for parking availability. She also wanted Open Air to run Saturday at 3PM until Sunday at 10PM, but she wanted the footprint changed to keep Dalhousie Street open for traffic at all times.

More hands went up. Ms DeLuca addressed council next. She started out saying that she had a question but I never did hear her ask a question. She explained that she ran a downtown business that had thrived for 40 years. She felt that the businesses always got along but now the businesses were divided. She felt that businesses were suffering. (I believe that the footprint of Open Air was modified last year in order to accommodate her business….) She felt that eight businesses were suffering. She felt that some members of council are touting Open Air as the best thing but she felt that it is not. She spoke directly to Councillor McArthur and felt that he did not have any business experience and it’s not fair that he’s making decisions about business. (I felt that that comment was waaaay out of line…..He ran for council and won. That’s his job as a councillor to make decisions for the town as a whole….) She then spoke directly to Councillor Crain and asked him how many businesses he thinks should have to struggle because of Open Air. I felt that both her question and her tone were unfair but Mayor Prue interjected and told Councillor Crain he did not have to answer her question. Ms DeLuca insisted somebody answer it but Mayor Prue instructed council not to answer it. There were then call outs from the gallery and things became even more disrespectful. Mayor Prue spoke again for people to stop calling out from the gallery. Ms DeLuca continued and finished by asking for consideration.

Again, more hands….Ms Gibb spoke next. She was from Country Bliss. She spoke about how much she loves Amherstburg. She feels that the footprint is dangerous. She shared her opinion about what she feels is a lack of parking. She felt that there has to be a benefit for everybody. (Side note…..This isn’t Utopia…..there will never be one single thing that benefits everybody….) Ms Gibb went on that she felt that every weekend was too much. She felt that council shouldn’t just listen to people that are new and wished that they could see how things used to be. (Sigh….I saw how things used to be……I’ve lived here my whole life…..times change, people change, society changes, the world evolves…..why strive for a time that is gone and be what we used to be? Why not evolve into the present and embrace the future…..I’d be typing this blog on a typewriter and making photocopies of it to drop in people’s mailboxes I guess, if I focused on how things used to be…..Don’t get me wrong, I can be nostalgic and love taking walks down memory lane, but I’ve learned there is a difference between being nostalgic and being stuck in the past…..Boblo closed, Allied Chemical closed, Honeywell closed, SKD closed…..there have been many businesses that have closed over the years…..Amherstburg used to have large, thriving businesses that employed a lot of people….they’re gone now…..so please tell me, how things used to be……)

The next person to speak was Ms Wood. She said she has been a downtown resident for 19 years and loves living downtown. She always knew parking was an issue but felt that there were safety issues on Ranking Avenue on the weekends. She noted that Saturdays are the busiest days for hair salons.

And next up, Mr DiPasquale spoke. He felt he was a staunch supporter of Open Air and felt that we should share our community with others. He talked about how he owned a business in the 80s and how tough it was. He felt that there should be a compromise. He felt that by keeping Dalhousie Street open to traffic and putting activities on the side streets would help the flow of traffic.

Next, Mr Deslippe from the Perch Pit read an email that he sent to council. He noted that his family had been in Amherstburg since the 1800s and had helped to build the town. (Again, ironically, ME TOO!!! In fact, my family roots in the area can be traced back even into the 1700s…..does this matter? Nope, not at all….) Anyway, he read the email and felt that he was not against Open Air, just against the frequency. He felt that Open Air is only busy on Saturday from 5PM until 7PM. He felt that it would be better if it were one day only. Mr Deslippe felt that Open Air had divided the town. He felt that once per month would be great and that festivities could be hosted in the Kings Navy Yard Park rather than on the street.

And finally all of the “delegations” were received. Kudos once again to Ms Saxon and Ms O’Brien for following proper procedure and submitting their requests to delegate.

Open Air Weekends 2023 Options

Now this report was pulled forward on the agenda since the delegations spoke about this item.

Councillor Pouget thanked the delegations. She thanked them for giving the other side of the story and she felt that there had to be a way to compromise and make everybody happy.

Councillor Courtney then spoke and said he hadn’t slept the night before. He felt that Open Air has divided the town. He felt that himself and Councillor McArthur had brought it forward in 2020 (I’ll have to check that….I know Councillor McArthur did…..but not so sure about Councillor Courtney…..) when the only way the restaurants could operate was outside only. He started to speak about the frequency of Open Air and how it is in issue. Mayor Prue interjected and said that it was time for questions about the report only, not for discussion. Then Councillor Courtney asked about the report. He wondered what the pros and cons were overall for the event.

Ms Rota, Manager of Tourism addressed council. She said that this will be council’s decision. She felt that it was mostly hair salons that were affected and she noted that she has also been in business personally. She said that the footprint should remain the same since it is tried and true. She felt that whatever council wanted, whether one weekend per month, Saturday only etc was fine, that they would do it.

Ms Baillargeon, Director of Parks explained that the pros and cons are subjective. She noted that Open Air just won an award. There was heckling from the crowd about that.

Then, for some odd reason, Councillor Courtney expressed that Kingsville also had won an award. (Soooo……which community does he represent? He can’t let Amherstburg shine and bask in the glow of a well-deserved win? He has to minimize our victory by noting that a neighbour also won an award? wow) Councillor Courtney felt that council would have to make a decision about Open Air and then the issue has to be done. (I did agree with that…..make a decision once and for all….)

Ms Rota then spoke and addressed some comments made from the hecklers. She said that saying we paid to win an award is a slap in the face. She noted that Amherstburg has been a member of the FEO for 17 years and that the $100 fee does not mean a win. With the membership, the town receives trends and tips and all types of things regarding tourism. She noted that the Tourism department works very hard and that she had to say that on behalf of staff. (And I couldn’t agree more. To demean and diminish a well-earned and well-deserved award is shameful in my opinion. Just shameful.)

Here is a copy of the table with the various costs that was provided to council, for your reference :

Options	# Weeks & Dates 2023	Cost Share between Public Works Roads Staff & Tourism	Total Cost	*Economic Impact (EI) TREIM Model**
#1. Status Quo 20 weeks	20 weeks May 19 – Oct 1 (3 pm Friday to Sunday )	PW/Roads $17,000 Students $24,882 Program $22,000	$63,882	$13,261,204
#2. Shorter Time Frame (Most Effective for ROI ) 16 weeks	16 weeks May 19 – Sept. 3 (3 pm Friday to Sunday)	PW/Roads $13,600 Students $19,906 Program $17,600	$51,106	$10,608,963
#3. Shorter Time Frame (14weeks)	14 weeks June 2 – Sept 3 (3 pm Friday to Sunday)	PW/Roads $11,900 Students $17,417 Program $15,400	$44,717	$9,282,843
#4. 1 day Saturday only (20 Weeks)	May 19-October 1 (Saturdays Only 11am to 10pm)	PW/Roads $23,574 Students $8211 Program $11,000	$42,785	$4,376,197
#5. Every Other weekend – 12 weeks	May 19-October 1 (Every other weekend 3 pm Friday to Sunday )	PW/Roads $10,200 Students $19,035 Program $11,000	$40,235	$7,956,722

Here is the formula used by the province to figure out the Economic Impact :

*Tourism Regional Economic Impact Model (TREIM) visitor count (OA) results:

• 122,020 total number of Open Air Visitors

• 18% > 40 km = 21,964 visitors X $253 per day = $5,556,892

• 82% < 40 km = 100,056 visitors x $77 per day = $7,704,312

According the TRIEM model $13,261,204 in Return on Investment (ROI) was realized during Open Air Weekends 2022 in the Town of Amherstburg.

Councillor Allaire inquired about the cost of Friday and Saturday only. Ms Baillargeon noted that it would be comparable to option 5 but with a difference of about $13,000 in economic impact. (It was hard to get exact figure and such – I take my notes by hand). Councillor Allaire wondered why the costs in comparison to previous years were so different – they had gone down. Ms Rota explained that equipment had been purchased already and even wages had gone down since in the early years they were developing the program. It has been improved and refined each year.

Councillor Allaire provided her personal opinion and some suggestions in regards to the barricades but Ms Baillargeon, Director explained that the barricades that were being used were being used for safety and other reasons. (And this is where two worlds collide…..members of council aren’t elected to figure out the minutiae of “how” to implement events or other things….they’re elected to provide direction to get things done and then administration figures out the logistics……council is there for the big picture…..hence, this is probably why the meetings last for hours and hours….council doesn’t seem to understand their role and the role of administration….but again, I digress…..)

Councillor Pouget asked about opening up Dalhousie Street and changing the footprint. Ms Baillargeon said that that was not recommended and there was a lack of room for set up on the other streets. Mayor Prue said that he did not want to get into debating the footprint since that requires careful planning and legal issues etc. Mayor Prue reminded council that the questions before them were more-so the number of weeks…..20 weeks? 14 weeks? He felt that those were the questions.

Councillor McArthur then spoke. He said he was not going to be the most popular person in the room with what he had to say. (True, in terms of “in the room” since most in the room were not fans of Open Air…..but popular nonetheless…..second highest votes and popular among the many, many fans of Open Air. They just weren’t in the room, other than me LOL, doesn’t mean they don’t exist….) Councillor McArthur said that while he was out campaigning and knocking on doors that people told him they love Open Air. He acknowledged that he heard the people in the room but that he also heard the others as well. Councillor McArthur asked Ms Rota why Saturday only did not bring the costs down much. Ms Rota explained that the costs are in the set up and take down and that there are collective agreements in place. Councillor McArthur asked Ms Rota about the frequency and how that would affect marketing. Ms Rota explained that every other weekend would be a nightmare since people would have to check to see if Open Air was on or off. Ms Rota felt that she liked Option 2 or maybe Option 3 that either of those might help. She noted that option 2 provided the best value and return on the investment.

Councillor McArthur also noted that the mistake on the FEO website about Kingsville being in another county was not Amherstburg’s fault. He also felt that it wasn’t council’s or Amherstburg’s job to tout other municipalities. (I hope Councillor Courtney heard that…..I was still baffled how he had to acknowledge another municipality’s award during an Amherstburg town council meeting…..If we were to do something the exact same way as another municipality, then why would people come here? There’s no sense to do it “the same”…..it’s necessary to be different for success…..)

Deputy Mayor Gibb spoke about how he commends the business owners. He is also a business owner and knows the stress of lying awake at night. He acknowledged that half of the downtown businesses don’t like Open Air and the other half do. He noted that half of the downtown residents don’t like Open Air and the other half do. He spoke about knocking on doors during the election and how much residents love Open Air. Deputy Mayor Gibb referred (again) to advice he was given by a former local politician…..just do what you think is in the best interest of Amherstburg as a whole. He acknowledged how money earned by employees is money spent all over town, downtown and elsewhere in town. He noted that people are looking to the tourism industry for exciting and interesting ways to spend their money and places to visit. And again, the money generated is spread around the entire town and moves around. Deputy Mayor Gibb also acknowledged the community building aspect and how he and his wife are at Open Air every weekend all summer long. He noted that in the past we all worked together, went to school together and worshiped together, but those times are gone. We need to welcome the growth and the new residents and create a community.

Deputy Mayor Gibb then made a motion for Option 2 as presented, Open Air for 16 weeks from May 24th weekend to Labour Day weekend. It was seconded by Councillor McArthur. *****There was a motion on the floor.*****This is important and you will see why soon.

Councillor Pouget said that she would vote against this motion.

Councillor Courtney said he was trying to look at it all with an open mind. He kind of spoke in circles and I really wasn’t sure what he was getting at….then he said he would say no to this option.

Councillor Allaire made a general statement that she had received many emails from people that support Open Air and she thanked people for speaking up. She wanted a compromise but she would say no to sharing the streets.

Councillor Crain noted that he is currently self-employed and understands the stress involved. He said that he would support the motion. He felt that just coming in that he didn’t even think Open Air should be up for debate. He felt that 16 weeks instead of 20 weeks was a compromise. He said he knocked on over 4,000 doors and that maybe only about 50 people were opposed to Open Air. He noted that you can’t please everybody. He felt that Open Air promotes walkability and human connection. He felt that Open Air shouldn’t be discussed every year and there are so many positives. (I agree…..so many municipalities are hosting events that are walker friendly and opening streets to pedestrians….)

Councillor McArthur started to speak about having to make decisions for the best interest of Amherstburg as a whole. (Somebody from the gallery yelled out that he was wrong…..wow…..) Councillor McArthur noted how when he was on the campaign trail in 2018 everybody was talking about the need for a hotel. In 2022, everybody was talking about how much they love Open Air. He noted that there were hundreds and even thousands of people that were not in attendance at the meeting that wanted Open Air to continue. He felt that it is best for the town. While he was speaking several people in the crowd were heckling him. Mayor Prue had to ask them to stop. He noted that nobody on council heckled them while they spoke and that they needed to stop heckling members of council. (Kudos to Mayor Prue for putting a stop to the rude behaviour.) Councillor McArthur felt that Open Air would be an economic driver and would create the proper conditions to allow a hotel to open and flourish. He said he would be supporting the motion.

Then Mayor Prue passed the gavel……get ready….He spoke about knocking on all 9,500 doors and talking to a lot of residents. He learned a lot and he learned that people want Open Air. He noted that council has changed it every year to make it bigger and better. Mayor Prue then spoke about how he had campaigned on bringing consensus to council. (He did talk about that at his inaugural speech…..seems odd that suddenly he’s trying to bring consensus 5 months into the term, at the final hour before a vote…..shouldn’t that be something worked on consistently from the beginning? How many tie votes did he have to break during the budget meetings?) He felt he wanted to create a mood for compromise and go with option 3 which would bring Open Air down to 14 weeks – starting at the beginning of June. He noted that parking is atrocious and that staff and business owners are parking in the best spots first thing in the morning. He wondered if the two sides could compromise and go with option 3…..

AND THEN……WITH A MOTION ALREADY ON THE FLOOR……Mayor Prue made a motion to approve Option 3. And sought a second. Councillor Crain seconded the motion. In the meantime, I was having a minor heart attack at this blatant breach of the rules of order…..You can’t make a motion when there is already a motion for consideration on the floor!!!!! He didn’t request a “friendly” amendment, he just made the motion and got a seconder! I was floored (pun intended LOL) that the Mayor did this.

The debate raged on….and on and on……Councillor Courtney said he could not support the motion for 14 weeks…..Councillor Allaire said the same and so did Councillor Pouget…..It was clear who was willing to “compromise” and who was not…..

Councillor Crain felt that the status quo was the way to go, then council looked at 16 weeks and now it was down to 14 weeks….he felt that eventually it would get so small and that council would shrink it too much. (Yup, remember the great recipe analogy I made in the pre-meeting blog….and you change it too much and it’s no longer great? Yup, like that….)

Deputy Mayor Gibb then spoke and referred to this new motion as a “hostile amendment”. Considering that Deputy Mayor Gibb had made a motion for option 2 and it was seconded by Councillor McArthur long BEFORE Mayor Prue passed the gavel and made another motion on top of the first motion. (I’m really going to have to look in Robert’s Rules and see how this works. I think it was a big mess up personally.) Anyway, Deputy Mayor Gibb said that he would support the 14 week scenario for the sake of compromise. (Even though Option 2 was a better value and a better return on investment.)

At this point, a resident stood up to leave and yelled a few sentences and mixed in the F word (loudly) twice. I was disgusted by the behaviour.

Councillor Pouget felt that it wasn’t a compromise. She felt a compromise would be Friday and Saturday from July 1st on. (Ironically, there would still be unhappy people with that…..). Councillor Crain felt that there will never be an adequate compromise. (And I think he is spot on….there will never be a compromise that will make everybody happy…..) He said that somebody always won’t like it and that only so much could be done without taking away too much from the event.

Councillor McArthur pointed out that he had seconded the motion and he hadn’t been asked about an amendment. (LOL Nope, he wasn’t because another motion simply was made on top of an already duly seconded motion that was on the floor….) He also noted that for a Friday/Saturday compromise many of the businesses that oppose the event aren’t even open on Sunday. He also felt that the parking issues should be addressed. He wanted to make a decision for the betterment of Amherstburg.

Mayor Prue felt that he had passed the gavel and made the amendment. (But that isn’t what happened…..) Councillor McArthur pointed out to the Mayor that he made a motion on top of the motion.

Councillor Pouget made a comment (and almost seemed to encourage?) about possible litigation for jeopardizing businesses or human rights. That was troubling.

Mayor Prue said that he had received more emails in favour of Open Air (and he had also noted the positive feedback on the doorsteps during the campaign.)

So option 3, Open Air, Friday 3PM, all day Saturday and Sunday until 10PM from June 1st weekend to Labour Day weekend (14 weeks)…..went to a recorded vote :

Support : Councillor Crain, Deputy Mayor Gibb, Councillor McArthur, Mayor Prue

Opposed : Councillor Allaire, Councillor Courtney, Councillor Pouget

And in that moment, something hit me…..the four that voted in favour of Open Air were the top 4 vote getters in the last election. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.

Notice who compromised about Open Air. Again. Those that love it. After the first year, the hours were compromised. After the second year, the footprint was compromised. After the third year, the duration was compromised and shortened from 20 weeks to 14 weeks.

The crowd was grumbling, so a ten minute recess was held. I used that time to check my phone which was exploding with messages from friends watching at home. I also needed that time to calm my frayed nerves a bit…..It is difficult sitting among such tension. It’s also difficult watching the rules of order getting bypassed repeatedly…..and the “hostile amendment” is something I’ll have to look into. I think all this gavel passing creates more chaos than it’s worth.

After the break….I had a hard time concentrating, not going to lie….so the rest of this blog will be brief.

2022 Final Approved Operating Budget

Council had debated the budget during 4 sessions. Each section had been approved in principle so this is pretty standard practice to now give it a final approval.

Councillor Pouget then announced that she’d be voting against the budget. She listed off all of her reasons. Speaking of standard practice, I believe she voted against each of the budgets the last time she was on council.

Anyway, it went to a recorded vote. Everybody supported it and only Councillor Pouget opposed it.

Shoreline Improvements – Ministry Approval Update for King’s Navy Yard Park Extension (Duffy’s) / Grant Application Approval for Infrastructure Canada Disaster Mitigation Fund

This item is for the Duffy’s property. It has an extremely long list of recommendations in the motion. (I included it in my pre-meeting blog if you’re interested.) Anyway, it carried. This will move forward. Great news!!! The shoreline work process will begin.

There were a few more items but everything went through quite quickly.

I apologize for the length of this blog and if you made it to the end, I truly commend you. I really tried to capture, with a certain amount of detail, the chaos of Monday night’s meeting.

Open Air lives for another year!!! Great news! (Although it barely survived, just by the skin of its teeth sadly). Worse yet, it seems that Open Air will have to fight for its life every year. What a shame. This reflects poorly on our beautiful town. Ultimately, four members of council saw the big picture that Open Air is great for Amherstburg as a whole. All I know for sure is that I will happily support this wonderful event all summer long….14 weeks this year, instead of 20. I guess I’ll just have to jam pack the fun into a shorter time frame. 😀

March 10, 2023 amherstburg2

In preparation for Monday March 13th Regular town council meeting

Well Monday night may be a long one…..but I plan on toughing it out! There is a 347 page agenda. Council will meet at 5:00 for a planning meeting and then the regular meeting is set to start at 6:00. Here are the highlights as I see ‘em :

RECOGNITIONS

Festivals and Events Ontario (FEO) – Town of Amherstburg Awards and Achievements

Congratulations Amherstburg!!! This is such exciting news!

Amherstburg just received the following awards :

Top 100 Event for Open Air
Top 100 Event for River Lights
Achievement Award for Sponsor – River Lights for Enbridge
Municipality of the Year for the population under 50,000

This is such fantastic news for us!! Very exciting!!!

DELEGATIONS

Public Boat Ramp – Rod Ferriss, AMA Sportsman Club

It looks like Mr Ferris will be addressing town council on behalf of the AMA Sportsman Club. It appears that they are supportive of a public boat ramp to be located at the Ranta Park. I didn’t see anything in regards to funding in the delegation form.

Open Air Accessibility – Linda Saxon

It appears that Ms Saxon will be addressing town council in regards to Open Air. Her delegation form consists of statistics from Statistics Canada Census data with data about persons with disabilities.

Delegation re. Open Air Weekends – Caroline O’Brien

It appears that Ms O’Brien will be delegating to council about Open Air weekends. She seems to have some suggestions for Open Air in regards to hours and shortening the number of weekends.

Policy Suspension – Vaccination Policy

During the pandemic, the town had adopted a vaccination policy for town staff. Administration is now recommending the suspension of the policy. The policy has been reviewed and readjusted the past few years.

2022 Final Approved Operating Budget

Well budget deliberations are over and the budget has been adopted in principle throughout the budget debate process. Now it’s time for its final approval. I believe the tax increase is sitting at 3%. Here are the recommendations :

It is recommended that:

1. The 2023 Operating Budget BE ADOPTED and the 2023 total own purposes tax levy of $28,344,970 including $26,974,122 general levy and $1,370,849 special capital levy, BE APPROVED; and,

2. The 2023 5 year Capital Budget BE ADOPTED, with $27,863,400 in capital projects for 2023 BE APPROVED, with expenditures in years 2024 to 2027 approved in principal; and

3. Administration REPORT BACK with a Final Levy By-law for adoption of the 2023 tax rates, based on the approved 2023 own purposes tax levy.

Shoreline Improvements – Ministry Approval Update for King’s Navy Yard Park Extension (Duffy’s) / Grant Application Approval for Infrastructure Canada Disaster Mitigation Fund

Well it looks like administration is trying to move things forward with the old Duffy’s property. Council now needs to give some direction to see if we can FINALLY get this project off the ground. There are a lot of recommendations, since there are studies and approvals needed for the property…..and then there is money needed to actually get it done!!! For those of you that are like me and have been waiting and waiting to see this move forward, take a read through the recommendations :

It is recommended that:

1. Council APPROVE a sole source to an upset limit of $100,000 including a $25,000 contingency to hire Landmark Engineers Inc. for the preparation of construction tender package, to apply for all necessary permits and ministry approvals required to carry out and construct shoreline work and other required ministry approvals in and related works in accordance with their proposal submitted under Appendix C;

2. Council DELEGATE authority to the Chief Administrative Officer and Clerk to negotiate, sign and execute an agreement with Landmark Engineers Inc. or any such agreement, declarations or approvals required for the implementation of the Shoreline Project, satisfactory in financial content to the Chief Financial Officer, and in technical content to the Director of Parks, Facilities, Recreation and Culture;

3. The Chief Administrative Officer and Director of Parks, Facilities, Recreation and Culture BE AUTHORIZED to apply to the 2023 Infrastructure Canada Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF) for the King’s Navy Yard Park Extension project located at 290, 296 and 306 Dalhousie;

4. Council DESIGNATE the $3,060,000 in funding identified in 2025 in the recommended 2023 5 year capital budget for the Kings Navy Yard Extension project (PAR-003-23) as placeholder funding for the Town’s matching portion of the grant submission;

5. Council DELEGATE authority to the Chief Administrative Officer and the Director of Parks, Facilities, Recreation and Culture to approve the project scope and deliverables to maximize use of the grant;

6. Council APPROVE the following recommendations upon written confirmation of the Town being awarded the grant funding;

a) The Chief Administrative Officer and Clerk BE AUTHORIZED to sign and execute any agreements, declarations or approvals required resulting from receiving funding under the Infrastructure Canada Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund grant, satisfactory in financial content to the Chief Financial Officer, and in technical content to the Director of Parks Facilities Recreation and Culture;

b) Council DELEGATE authority to the Chief Administrative Officer to award and issue purchase orders and or sign and execute any agreements as may be required for the necessary services to execute the scope of work for the grant projects, provided they are within approved funding;

c) Should the matching Town funding be required in 2024, Council DIRECTS Administration to pull forward the 2025 funding to 2024 as follows:

$581,400 – Parks Development Charges (0124);
$1,518,600 – General Lifecycle (0400);
$310,000 – Parks Reserve – (1010);
$650,000 – Parkland Dedication Reserve (2005) and further;

d) The Town’s matching funding be deemed as APPROVED for immediate use

This is very exciting stuff! IF council can actually make a decision…..we shall see…..

Walter Ranta Memorial Park Proposed Boat Ramp Information Report

This is the report regarding a boat ramp at the Walter Ranta Memorial Park. I’m guessing that this item will be moved up when Mr Ferris delegates about it. It seems that a motion was made during the prior term of council but no funding amount was associated with the motion. (Hence, hard to do something if nobody tells you where to take the money from…..)

From the report : “Administration contacted several contractors to inquire about pricing for an access road to the water with turn around and parking lot for approximately 10 to15 trailers. The basic cost to install a gravel access road with turnaround and parking area ranged between $250,000 and $300,000 depending on soil conditions and the amount of stone required. Cost to install a basic concrete boat launch on top of the access road ranged from $60,000 plus depending on the engineering required and soil conditions at the launch access point which was undeterminable. Other factors that will affect this cost will be studies and testing that are required prior to the commencement of work.”

It also appears that administration is recommending to council that they proceed only with the Duffy’s project for the moment, rather than have two separate waterfront projects on the go at the same time.

However, if council really wants to proceed right now, administration has the following recommendations for council (from the report) :

“However, should Council wish to proceed with re-development of Walter Ranta Memorial Park in any capacity, Administration recommends some investigative work be executed including an Archeological Assessment, geotechnical and survey work including soil testing and sampling. This will provide greater clarity and direction for Administration to formulate a plan and next steps regarding park re-development and the following resolutions would be appropriate:

That:

1. Council DIRECT Administration to proceed with necessary Archeological Assessment, geotechnical and survey work required for re-development of Walter Ranta Memorial Park;

2. Council DIRECT the studies be funded from the Ranta Memorial Park Bequest Reserve to a maximum of $170,000; and,

So I guess we will have to wait and see how this plays out Monday night, boat ramp now or boat ramp later or no boat ramp at all?

Open Air Weekends 2023 Options

For those of you that follow my blog, you know that I am a huge fan of Amherstburg’s Open Air Weekends!!! They have been a smashing success! In fact we just won an award for Open Air Weekends!! Congratulations once again!

During the budget debate, a report was requested for options in regards to Open Air. Well, the report is here. Before I continue, I think it’s important to note that after the first year of Open Air, the hours were compromised and changed. Then after that second year with the compromised hours, the footprint was compromised and changed. And now here we are with more possible compromises and changes. (It seems worth noting that whatever the current recipe is is an award winner, so I hope council is careful about changing the recipe…..just sayin’ )

Here are the options :

Options	# Weeks & Dates 2023	Cost Share between Public Works Roads Staff & Tourism	Total Cost	*Economic Impact (EI) TREIM Model**
#1. Status Quo 20 weeks	20 weeks May 19 – Oct 1 (3 pm Friday to Sunday )	PW/Roads $17,000 Students $24,882 Program $22,000	$63,882	$13,261,204
#2. Shorter Time Frame (Most Effective for ROI ) 16 weeks	16 weeks May 19 – Sept. 3 (3 pm Friday to Sunday)	PW/Roads $13,600 Students $19,906 Program $17,600	$51,106	$10,608,963
#3. Shorter Time Frame (14weeks)	14 weeks June 2 – Sept 3 (3 pm Friday to Sunday)	PW/Roads $11,900 Students $17,417 Program $15,400	$44,717	$9,282,843
#4. 1 day Saturday only (20 Weeks)	May 19-October 1 (Saturdays Only 11am to 10pm)	PW/Roads $23,574 Students $8211 Program $11,000	$42,785	$4,376,197
#5. Every Other weekend – 12 weeks	May 19-October 1 (Every other weekend 3 pm Friday to Sunday )	PW/Roads $10,200 Students $19,035 Program $11,000	$40,235	$7,956,722

Here is the formula used by the province to figure out the Economic Impact :

*Tourism Regional Economic Impact Model (TREIM) visitor count (OA) results:

• 122,020 total number of Open Air Visitors

• 18% > 40 km = 21,964 visitors X $253 per day = $5,556,892

• 82% < 40 km = 100,056 visitors x $77 per day = $7,704,312

According the TRIEM model $13,261,204 in Return on Investment (ROI) was realized during Open Air Weekends 2022 in the Town of Amherstburg.

I am anticipating a long and drawn out debate….unfortunately. Only in Amherstburg can we win an award, host a massively successful event and rather than appreciate it, we will sit and hack it up and pick it apart over and over again…..

Here are the links to the full report for those who are interested :

https://pub-amherstburg.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=10393

https://pub-amherstburg.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=10394

https://pub-amherstburg.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=10395

Roster for Drainage Engineering Services 2023-2024

The town recently issued a RFP for a pre-qualified list for engineering firms in regards to drainage work for the coming year. Here is the recommendation :

It is recommended that:

1. The Proposals from the following respondents to RFP 2022-050 for Drainage Engineering Services BE ACCEPTED:

i. N.J. Peralta Engineering Ltd.

ii. R. Dobbin Engineering Inc.

iii. Dillon Consulting Ltd.

iv. RC Spencer Associates Inc.

2. These proponents BE INCLUDED in the Town’s prequalified Engineering Services Roster (Roster) for Works under the Drainage Act (Act) until December 31, 2024.

McCurdy Area Watermain Replacement Engineering Services – Request for Proposal Results

The request for proposal was sent out last year for the McCurdy area water main replacement. The prices are in and here is the recommendation :

It is recommended that:

1. The Engineering Services for the McCurdy Area Watermain Replacement BE AWARDED to Hrycay Consulting Engineering Inc.;

2. The Mayor and Clerk BE AUTHORIZED to execute an agreement with Hrycay Consulting Engineers Inc. for the McCurdy Area Watermain Replacement Engineering Services.

Transit Service – Provincial Gas Tax Program Funding

As it stands, our current transit service is a pilot project. It seems that we would be eligible for gas tax funding if we were to take on the transit service permanently.

From the risk analysis of the report : “Although ridership has been positive, expenses related to municipal transit services far outweigh the revenue generated by ridership. If a municipality is not able to leverage funding from upper levels of government, transit service would be born entirely by the taxpayers and the pilot project may not be a success.”

It looks like administration is recommending that council take on the transit service permanently. Overall, it seems that this will save us money. Here is the link to the report for those who are interested : https://pub-amherstburg.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=10408

2023 Special Events Approval-Part II

We have a special event coming up very soon on Monday March 20th! Here are the details :

It is recommended that:

1. The following events BE APPROVED:

a. BagPipers in the Burg Parade – March 20, 2023, Rain Date – March 21, 2023

2. An exemption from table number 3-1(2) of Noise By-law #2001-43 with respect to the operation of any electronic device or group of connected electronic devices incorporating one or more loudspeakers to allow for music BE GRANTED for the following events:

a. Bagpipers in the Burg Parade – March 20, 2023, Rain Date – March 21, 2023

3. The following events BE EXEMPT and PERMITTED for road closures to begin prior to 5pm: a. Bagpipers in the Burg – March 20, 2023, Rain Date – March 21, 2023

4. The fee waiver requests BE APPROVED as follows:

a. Bagpipers in the Burg

5. The Public Events Committee Chair BE DIRECTED to confirm that the requirements identified by the Committee are met prior to the event.

As I read further in the report I saw that this event is being organized by the CBC show “Still Standing”. So, if you’re interested in being on TV and want to show community support for Amherstburg, be sure to be in downtown Amherstburg on Monday March 20th! The parade starts at Fort Malden and then marches down to the clock at the Kings Navy Yard Park. Here is the map : https://pub-amherstburg.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=10407

More exciting stuff for Amherstburg!!!!!!!

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Council can ask questions about any unfinished business items.

NEW BUSINESS

And time for a little roulette! LOL! Anything can happen when it comes to the “new business” section of the agenda…..random phone calls, emails, things of very little importance, medium importance or high importance can all be brought up for the public show, I mean portion, of the meeting……

And that’s it folks! I’m guessing Monday nights meeting will be a long one…..so I’ll be back sometime Tuesday night with the rundown from the meeting…..with the good, the bad and hopefully no ugly…..See you then!

March 3, 2023 amherstburg2

Budget meeting #4 February 28th 2023

This blog is written by guest blogger Lori Wightman. It is a summary of the Tuesday February 28th, final budget meeting. A HUGE thank you once again to Lori for writing this up for all of us to enjoy! It is very much appreciated!

Capital Budget deliberations – Day 2

The day started with the last item in the Parks section which was the Jack Purdie Park redevelopment. This was funding that was deferred by the last council and includes a phased in approach over the next 5 years.

Councillor Courtney wanted it on record that the council would have to discuss the pecking order of what’s happening and when in different parks (Remember this for later, folks)

No other discussion on this item – it was approved.

Next was Recreation item 001 which was the Conversion of Indoor Turf to Indoor Sports Court. – $75,000. It seems that the title of this item is a little misleading only because the first phase of this at a cost of $75,000 would be a sports’ need study, assessment of current infrastructure and requirements for a retrofit.

The Deputy CAO explained that with demands for volleyball, basketball etc, the turf reaching the end of its life and the issue with track users vs. turf users this is a good time to take a look a the LIbro Centre and its flaws and configurations as well as what people want so that we can maximise the use of the Libro to accommodate as many user groups as we can.

Councillor Courtney wanted to know if this couldn’t be included in the spatial needs analysis that’s being done instead of hiring a special consultant. He stated we should also look at the joint use agreements with the school boards. He said he’d rather see this in with the other consultant.

The Deputy CAO explained that the spatial needs analysis wasn’t meant to determine how we use things from sports and rec perspective, this consultant would need that special expertise. Spatial needs is usually an architect with a background in ergonomics who determines how offices should be sized, arranged etc

Parks & Rec director Baillargeon said we could put both in an RFP and a subconsultant could possibly be brought in by whoever wins the tender.

(It seems iffy at best to hope we find someone who can do both and cross our fingers that the cost falls in line instead of approving two consultants with vastly differing skills and expertise)

Councillor Pouget moved to strike the $75,000 for study about indoor turf at the Libro.

Deputy Mayor Gibb asked if this study would give us info to decide what user groups would need/use.

Director of Parks Baillargeon said we can do that in house with surveys etc. We will have to be strategic though because we can’t have everything everywhere. We need to create hubs of parks. Deputy Mayor Gibb agreed that we need a plan for our parks and Libro because we are all over the map. We need to figure out what needs to be where. (Note – that is now the second time someone on council has said something like this)

Councillor Courtney said we already did that with H. Murray Smith and Purdie parks conceptual drawings. We need infrastructure to take care of our residents – “I’m not worried about anything outside of that.”, he said.

Just an aside – ‘infrastructure to take care of our residents’ would, I assume, include fire service so then why do we have parks expenditures being approved while fire department expenditures are questioned, deferred and debated endlessly?

Aside #2 – the H. Murray Smith plan was not approved by council, I remembered that it wasn’t but I looked it up to be sure. – see Councillor Courtney’s own motion from the August 15, 2022 meeting

Councillor Courtney questioned Ms. Baillargeon about something he thought she said the night before about us having to wait 18 months to see what happens with the track but that we could do something on the other side without impacting the final design. Director Baillargeon cautioned that no plan for H. Murray Smith has been approved and she would hate to see us put something in and it not ultimately be in the right place.

Councillor Courtney concurred with the Deputy Mayor that “we all need to get on the same page” (3rd time for council to suggest planning is a good idea)

The motion to strike this item was put to the vote and passed unanimously.

The Mayor then pointed out that council had now cut two things and we had $150,000 to either leave in reserves or put toward other things (up to a max of $150,000). CAO Critchley said that some of the funding for the Libro Trail was from Capital funding but was eligible to be funded from Development Charges – Park fund. If council wants to move that funding source it would free up an additional $163,000.

Next we moved on to the Proposed Plan for 320 Richmond (the Hub or the old St. Bernards school for those who need reference points) and 179 Victoria (the old ACS building on the H. Murray Smith park property). The proposal is as stated:

It is recommended that:

1. Council DIRECT that all proceeds from the sale of lands at 320 Richmond, as approved on January 23, 2023, be directed to complete the work identified in this report at the 320 Richmond site and;

2. Council APPROVE a portion of the realized proceeds, up to $100,000, from the sale of the parcel to Arch Corporation for immediate use on the 320 Richmond project identified in this report in order to be in a position to tender the work in Fall 2023 and;

3. Council APPROVE and DIRECT Administration to proceed with work required at 179 Victoria to provide for the space and amenities required for community and seniors programming at a project cost not to exceed $140,000 to be funded as follows: a. Redirection of $94,000 previously approved in the Parks Reserve (1010) for Centennial Park and; b. Use of $49,000 from the Parks Development Charge reserve (0124)

4. Council DIRECT that up to $94,000 of any surplus funding from the sale of lands less the costs to complete the changes identified in this report for 320 Richmond, be returned to the Parks Reserve (1010) and identified for use at Centennial Park;

5. Council DELEGATE authority to the Chief Administrative Officer to award and issue purchase orders and or sign and execute any agreements as may be required for the necessary services to execute the scope of work for 320 Richmond and 179 Victoria, provided they are within approved funding and subject to technical approval by Director of Parks, Facilities, Recreation and Culture and financial content to Chief Financial Officer or delegates;

6. Council DIRECT Administration to bring back a report and business model in late 2023 on what seniors programming will be offered at 179 Victoria, ensuring the recommendations are based on information gathered from engagement in public discussions and forums and working with the Fort Malden Golden Age Club and Amherstburg Community Services at a minimum to understand how their services may align with these needs

Essentially the proposal is to demolish part of the unused/unfinished Hub so that there is less roof to repair and building to upkeep and more room for parking which will be needed once the long term care home goes in and to sell off two parcels of land fronting onto Victoria as residential. It is anticipated that the sale of the additional lands at 320 Richmond will generate sufficient funds to complete the work required at the HUB. Also this proposal covers renovations or retrofits to the old ACS building so that it is optimum for community and seniors programming ($140,000)

There was a long discussion of the ACS building portion of the proposal but no questions about the Hub proposal. Councillor Courtney started the discussion by giving kudos to staff for a well constructed, well thought out plan.

Councillor Pouget wanted to know why it would take so long to adapt the ACS building (not finished until 2024) as when she and Councillor Allaire went to the site some time ago they were told everything was in good shape and would just need a facelift with painting etc.

The CAO explained that that was when we were looking to rent space to Ontario Clean Water Association and just keeping part for seniors but if we are converting to an exclusively seniors/community plan the Fort Malden Golden Age Club and seniors said they wanted all the walls to come down and all the carpet to come up etc. That is more costly than just a refresh. Councillor Pouget said she wasn’t so much concerned about the price as much as the time delay. The CAO explained that we have to go through the procurement process and the availability of tradespeople – admin would rather err on the side of caution with the time estimate but it will get done as quickly as possible.

Councillor Crain asked if the Fort Malden Golden Age Club was contributing financially to any of this and if we had paid for any other renovations of any other organisation at the Hub. The answers were no and no. (Interesting…)

Councillor Pouget said there were grants obtained for the Libro construction that were tied to senior programming and that was why the Fort Malden Golden Age Club was moved there and that they come to the town yearly to get grant money and they donate money back to the town.

Dep. CAO said this building is also for community programming as well so we need to figure out who can use what and how.

Councillor Courtney asked about public park access washrooms and why aren’t we doing the retrofit now and move ahead with a final template for the park.

Deputy Mayor Gibb said this was a great idea for seniors but that he’d like to see it be a true senior centre for all and not just one group and since we haven’t landed on plans for the park we can still adjust things.

Councillor Courtney said we do have the conceptual drawing for H. Murray Smith (but it hasn’t been approved, remember?)

The Mayor pointed out that it hasn’t been approved.

Councillor Courtney asked the clerk for the actual motion, what was the wording?

The clerk said he would quickly look it up.

(Gotcha beat – It was Councillor Courtney’s motion on August 15, 2022 that we give unnamed, unknown people an 18 month chance to raise funds for a track and if they do we go with option 1. If they don’t after 18 months we can go with option 2)

Mayor Prue wanted to know if the $140,000 would include improvements to the gravel parking lot. Basic improvements would be included.

Councillor Pouget wanted to know why we were paying for parking lot improvements when the highschool construction used it for a staging area. Director Baillargeon said it was because it was the town that used it as a staging area for road work which was a town project.

Councillor Crain motioned to approve the proposal as recommended…(light at the end of the tunnel, yay! But alas no….)

There were more long, long discussions about if this funding was enough and if we could use community builders like how Habitat for Humanity operates. ”Can we not do something so that it doesn’t have to be tendered out to the select few that bid and that seem very overpriced a lot of the times” Councillor Courtney asked. Councillor Allaire wanted to know why we couldn’t just hire local builders/businesses (sorry, but tell me you don’t know how the tendering process works without telling me you don’t know how the tendering process works.)

The CAO explained that legally we have to open up the bid to all tenders, Canada wide. It is unconstitutional to limit it to only local bidders.

And with that the clerk found the motion regarding H. Murray Smith park. It is as follows:

Moved by Councillor Courtney

Seconded by Councillor McArthur

That:

Council APPROVE the Conceptual Master Plan for Jack Purdie Park as presented in Appendix A:
Funding for the phased implementation BE DEFERRED to the 2023 budget deliberations as this project is expected to be phased in over a number of years:
Council APPROVE Concept 2 inclusive of a track, if community funds are able to generate money to put the track in without using taxation dollars, and if at such time there is no advancement on that, Concept 1 BE IMPLEMENTED with a passive trail system:
Funding for the phased implementation BE DEFERRED to the 2023 Budget Deliberations as this project is to be phased in over a number of years:
Council declare that Jack Purdie Park and Centennial Park are NOT TO BE CONSIDERED as surplus properties of the Town:
The former Amherstburg Community Services building on Victoria Street South BE KEPT and BE USED for community use, senior’s space, and washrooms for park users; and,
The name Jack Purdie Park and Centennial Park (S. Ralph McCurdy track) BE RETAINED to honour those who built the parks and track if a track does not get built then the former Amherstburg Community Services building BE NAMED after S. Ralph McCurdy.

Councillor Courtney said that we know from these motions that the track will be there in some form (Um, no we really don’t) and the hill may be reconfigured. Director Baillargeon said that the hill change could come into play.

Then we started to talk about sponsorships and naming rights and could we, should we, would we do that, now or later or whatever. (So far off topic, not in the realm of the proposal being debated…. No wonder council meetings are often marathons.) The CAO explained that they were working to get a policy and sponsorship package together so that it would be a level playing field for any interested parties. More and more discussion about can we do sponsorships prior to RFP for the actual building and would it be better to focus on sponsorships for tennis courts. (sighhhhh…)

Anyway, finally the vote came and the proposal was passed unanimously.

Mayor Prue did state that any municipality can offer a charitable receipt for any donation. (Totally unrelated..but if they can veer off, I can too…if the town can offer receipts and Bellevue is a town property then why did the Bellevue Conservancy, during a delegation to council last year, say they couldn’t accept donations because they were unable to issue receipts when the Amherstburg Community Foundation asked them to get their own charitable number. Curious.)

And now we returned to the actual Capital Budget as we were finished with the issue papers. It seems this was the opportunity for everyone to bring up everything.

Councillor Allaire wanted to know if we could move the $3 million allocated in 2025 for the Navy Yard extension to 2024 to get that started because everyone is in agreement that we want Duffy’s completed.

Deputy CAO said there was a report coming regarding a submission to Disaster Mitigation & Adaptation Fund (I’m not sure what that is) and if there were a path to moving the funds up we could, but that at this time we are not sure we could even begin construction.

Councillor McAthur brought up the fire station, which we were told was a priority and now there is no mention of it.

(Right? Filling our to-do list with wants like parks, community/senior buildings, and Duffy’s but nickel and diming our needed fire services every time they come to the table.)

The Deputy CAO said council requested a rework of the design and that it should be ready in the next month or so. It was not in the 5 year Capital because it was not capable of being funded out of the capital plan. The original funding source was debt.

Kind of out of nowhere, Mayor Prue brought up some of the ideas that were discussed in regards to the remaining funds – there was some discussion about doing something at Ranta, some talk about gravel roads and a security system at Bellevue.

Then we returned to the talk of the firehall – Councillor Pouget pointed out that the budget has $10 million dollars allocated on the 2023 column of the budget and wondered what she was missing. Why was that there? That column was on the list of projects that were unfunded. A separate report would be coming to council about that.

(I was getting very tired of it all by this point but I persevered …sort of. My notes were becoming less detailed which I’m sure some of you appreciate.LOL)

Councillor Courtney talked more about park plans and how administration should be looking for grants, were they looking for grants, could they look for grants (Of course they could and do!)

He spoke about how we needed a priority list (Is that the 4th time someone on council has said that or the 5th?) He said we may have to look at debt to get amenities back for residents maybe inclusive of a pool, maybe not (I’m sorry but taking on debt to fund a pool that will cost likely millions to operate seems an exercise in irresponsibility especially when so many other things NEED to get done but maybe Councillor Courtney knows something I don’t)

Then there was a discussion about Bellevue and how people have broken in and that we should use some of the money freed up to purchase a security system. It seems there were items in the building that were earmarked to sell, antique furniture, pottery and such but they were ruined and stolen.

Councillor Crain asked if the Conservancy would cover some of the cost and the Deputy CAO replied that the Conservancy felt that security of the site is the responsibility of the town. There is currently no power to Bellevue so a security system may not even be possible. Both Deputy Mayor Gibb and Councillor Courtney spoke of their campaign promises of no taxpayer dollars for Bellevue – Deputy Mayor Gibb said he will stick to that promise while Councillor Courtney said we couldn’t let the building deteriorate. He had wanted to use a more colourful phrase apparently “wanted to swear” but didn’t.

Councillor Crain asked if everything of value has now been removed. Mayor Prue said not yet. (Whaaat? Why the heck not?) Mayor Prue said the conservancy can only enter the property with permission of the town and with a town employee and the Deputy CAO said the conservancy has been told they can contact Parks and Rec and get anything they need out whenever they need to.

Vote to provide up to $25,000 for security at Bellevue

YES – Councillor Crain, Councillor McArthur, Councillor Courtney

NO – Deputy Mayor Gibb, Councillor Allaire

Conflict – Councillor Pouget

Then Councillor Allaire spoke about making a motion to add a basketball court in town. As her motion would have needed a dollar amount she asked the Director of Parks to give a dollar amount for at least one hard surface court and “maybe” 2 pickleball courts. The ballpark amount for one fenced court would be $250,000. Councillor Allaire then spoke about how she looked at some catalogue (I’m not clear on what she was talking about here) and that there was a multi-purpose court for $75,000. But Director Baillargeon said each court – 1 basketball, 2 pickleball would be $250,000 all in. (I think Councillor Allaire often misunderstands what is involved when implementing things. It’s not like you can go buy a basketball court kit and just put it up – there is site plan work, drainage, site prep etc – all the preparation that also adds to the costs)

The Mayor then pointed out that we didn’t have that much money to work with right now. Councillor Allaire said she understood that but that we approved 2 biking amenities so we could move one of those funding amounts to make basketball/tennis courts. Mayor Prue pointed out that those funding items were in 2025. Councillor Allaire said she understood that but….

(I was confused, council had just debated and voted on those items. Why would we revisit them to change them at this point for something totally different?)

The Deputy CAO stepped in and said that if council chose to redirect the $163,000 from the development charge fund they could do that but it would exhaust all available funding.

The CAO then reminded council of the risk of doing things like this on the fly, the costs are approximations without any kind of report tied to them. (Remember the 197 times during this meeting when one councillor or another spoke about the need for a plan, the need to prioritise etc etc. this is the polar opposite of that)

Councillor Allaire struck her motion and spoke about the Anderdon courts and the Malden courts and ultimately said she would take a moment to think.

Councillor McArthur spoke about how we don’t have enough money to do everything we want. If we invest a few million in Centennial and then a few million a mile away at Purdie and then a few million a mile away at the Libro – that’s money NOT being invested in our rural areas. All staff is telling us repeatedly in different ways over the last 2 days to be careful in what we do (in other words, make a plan, stick to the plan). He said he’d like to put money in a reserve for Parks but we should be reluctant to do it just because of political pressure, we shouldn’t let political pressure (or personal dreams) let us make a decision that comes back to haunt us.

Councillor Allaire wanted to make a motion to put this money into reserves for parks but that she also wanted a report as quickly as possible about the plan.

The CAO asked if council wanted to transfer the $163,000 into capital new fund and leave LIbro trail to be funded by the development charge fund.

Councillor Courtney was confused as he thought council was just talking about the $150,000 freed up. The CAO explained about the funding for the Libro from the Capital New fund that could be funded instead by the Development Fund which freed up $163,000 in addition to the $150,000 cut from the capital budget.

Motion to put aside the $125,000 (the $150,000 minus the $25,000 for Bellevue security) and request a report on how it could be used for parks and to leave the $163,000 for a future report.

Councillor Pouget asked about getting the H. Murray Smith sign back up with some flowers and a bench. Councillor Crain asked that we stay on track. (Thank you, thank you, Councillor Crain!)

Then a long discussion about whether admin is actively seeking grants, are we grant ready, do we need to be shovel ready to get grants. (Asked and answered already – this is part of the micromanaging that bogs down council – we have experienced, qualified people on staff – stop asking them if they are doing their job, how they are doing their job and telling them how they can do their job better, in your opinion.)

Then Councillor Pouget said she had a way to reduce the budget by $40,000 – she began asking questions about an arborist that she said was supposed to be only a one year thing in 2018 for $20,000 but that’s it’s been ongoing for 5 years at $200,000

The Director of Engineering and Public Works said it has come to council every year in the operational budget and that it costs us $20,000 but the $40,000 is in the budget in case we need it – the remainder becomes surplus.

Then I became very confused as Councillor Pouget started asking about an employee that works full time for Amherstburg but then also works for another municipality. That the deal in 2018 was that they would for that year only work in Leamington or Pelee Island. She said that he works two months elsewhere and that plus his vacation… (Were we still talking about the arborist – I don’t know)

The CAO explained its a contract we have with Pelee. Mr. Chamberlain provides drainage work to Pelee and Pelee pays Amherstburg. It’s a revenue stream for Amherstburg. The following exchange was really weird.

Councillor Pouget: Was this approved by council every year because it was supposed to be only one year.

CAO: It was approved

Councillor Pouget: They were aware of it?

CAO: Correct

Councillor Pouget: No

CAO: Yes.But I’ll defer to Director Giofu

Director Giofu explained it was a 5 year agreement with Pelee and it was coming to an end and that he did not spend 2 months working on Pelee, he worked 1-2 days a month, if that.

Mayor Prue said in any event it was a contract and it’s going to end. Council can discuss it at that point. That’s not for today. (Thank you, thank you!)

Councillor Pouget said she questioned it because they were told it was only for one year and the Mayor said he has known about it since he’s been on council and that no one questioned it before today. (but it’s money coming in??That’s good isn’t it?.)

And with that the budget was done.

3% tax increase which is $78 for each $250,000 of assessed value, or $1.50 per week.

Answers to questions from Councillor Pouget:

Our total debt is $28 million

Our total reserves are $22.8 million

Gas Tax for 2019-2022 is $6.3 million

Before adjournment Councillor Pouget spoke about a motion from council that directed administration to correspond with County Council regarding our dissatisfaction with the council level tax increase. Council also directed the mayor and deputy mayor to speak against it.

The Mayor said he moved several motions to try and reduce the amount but couldn’t get a seconder. Deputy Mayor Gibb said that the county had massive reserves and that they moved some money from there to lower the rate.

Councillor Pouget then seemed to reprimand the Deputy Mayor saying that that was no excuse and that council gave direction and that she thanked Mayor Prue for following direction. She asked why didn’t the Deputy Mayor second the Mayor’s motion. (The fact that NO ONE seconded it is telling) “That’s what you were directed to do.”

Deputy Mayor Gibb said that the Mayor moved to spend less on roads and that’s not the way to reduce taxes – we’ll just have increased spending in the future to make up for it. (He’s correct)

Councillor Pouget said it wasn’t the Mayor’s motion it was “our” motion. Deputy Mayor Gibb said County Council does the budget like we do here – just working your way through it.

Councillor Courtney said they are doing a massive amount of road work and maybe there will be saving through pricing changes

(This exchange was a little disturbing – To chastise our representatives on County Council for seemingly not doing what they were told is unseemly. As our council themselves have seen and done when you are in the midst of deliberations information can come up that may change your plan of action. Also because I’m curious and Councillor Pouget said more than once that they/he didn’t follow direction – I looked up the actual motion and watched the video from the meeting during which it arose.

It’s from the December 5th 2022 meeting and the motion is as follows:

Request that our Mayor and Deputy Mayor address County Council at their next meeting regarding County Council’s proposed 2023 budget 4.7% tax increase.

Councillor Pouget then spoke about how she felt it was important that “you to speak to this issue at County Council before their budget is presented.”

Mayor Prue said he cannot promise something he can’t deliver but that he also agreed that he thought the tax rate was too high.

Deputy Mayor Gibb said that they will speak to it – were there any specifics council could supply, that would be helpful and that perhaps reserved funds can be released to reduce the rate. “We will do our best.”

AS far as I see both the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor did exactly what they said they would and exactly what was asked of them…to speak to the issue. Councillor Pouget’s scolding of the Deputy Mayor was unwarranted and unnecessary in my opinion.

And with that I am done with the budget for another year. I will reiterate my closing statements from the last blog as I saw no real improvement (in fact Councillor Courtney showed up to deliberations twice in a hoodie)

So far Amherstburg’s tax increase is the lowest in the entire county including Windsor and like I said before, in my opinion, council needs to remember their job is not to bring back the lowest tax rate, their job is to ensure the financial health of our municipality, to secure the future of our town as a whole.

Council should also strive to be more prepared for meetings, many questions and concerns should be brought up prior to the meeting. Clarification should be asked for of staff if you don’t know or understand something. Let staff do their job, don’t try to do it for them – council members making phone calls and thinking they’ve solved a problem does no one any good. Council needs to remember, as well, that administration are the experts, who should be listened to. And again – I would really like to see a return to decorum. The use of first names only, the language used (“I want to swear here”), the attire and the way delegates are spoken to undermines the seriousness of the job. You are entrusted to make decisions for the residents of this town, you represent us on the greater stage – that is something to be done with diplomacy and professionalism.

March 1, 2023 amherstburg2

Budget meeting #3 February 27th Capital budget

There was a special meeting of council on February 27th. After posting the two budget meeting blogs, I didn’t have a chance to write up a pre-meeting blog for the Special Meeting on Monday February 27th. Overall, it was mostly the rest of the budget debate, but the capital budget at this point.

As it stands, after the debate for the operational budget, the tax rate sits at 3%. From what I understood from the capital budget debate, any changes made for that portion would not affect the tax rate. So it looks like 3% it is!

I watched the meeting from home since it is easier to have the budget documents open in another window while I watch the meeting.

**Councillor Courtney was in attendance via Zoom. He appeared to be at work**

Councillor Allaire declared a conflict of interest regarding the indoor turf at the Libro Centre and regarding Jack Purdy Park since she lives across the street.

Community Based Strategic Plan Development – Selection of Consultant

At this council’s very first meeting, there was a motion made to create a RFP for a Community Based Strategic Plan. Well, the prices came in and the one that met the criteria came in under the upset limit of $70,000. From the report : “As a result of the review process, the successful proponent was Strategy Corp. Inc. and the proposed fee of $62,625 is within the allocated budget.”

There were a couple of small questions but this carried. The plan will move forward for a Strategic Plan. And boy do we really, really need one!

Information Report – Howard Industrial Areas Update

This was simply an information report that council received. For any of my readers that are interested in this issue, this part of the report is interesting : “In accordance with the Planning Act notifications to inform the public that the matter will be discussed at the March 27, 2023 Council meeting will be sent so that any delegations on the matter can be heard during that meeting. As noted above the area of notification on this matter is 1000m as per Council’s direction.”

Walter Ranta Memorial Park Proposed Boat Ramp Information Report

There was an information report to be received about a proposed boat ramp at Walter Ranta Memorial Park. Councillor Courtney immediately made a motion to defer this item to the next meeting. Councillor Pouget seconded it. And it carried. Item deferred to the next meeting.

2023 Five Year Capital Budget

And then the debate began for the capital budget. Here is the link for anyone that is interested https://pub-amherstburg.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=10228

Council handled the capital budget in a similar fashion that they handled the operational budget. They deal with it one issue paper at a time. The page numbers they were quoting did not line up with the document that I had found on line but once I got it all figured out I was good to go!

Ms Osborne, Deputy CAO, presented the Five-year Capital Budget. (This is something new for Amherstburg). She explained that she had prior experience with asset management with a $6.1 Billion dollar plan that she managed. She noted that the proposed plan had been vetted by Senior Management. She explained that the capital budget would be approved in principle up to 2027 but that there was a chance to change things in 2024 as items come forward. Ms Osborne that reserves are used for long term savings for items that will need to be paid for. She did note that the current council reduced the transfer to reserves from $250,000 to $170,000 in order to lower the tax rate (just last week). She also explained that capital projects are funded either from reserves or debt.

I won’t be going through each and every item that council discussed….I’m going to try to hit the highlights. Almost all of it was approved…..and frankly, many of the questions were…..hmmmm….how can I put this delicately? Unnecessary perhaps? I think there are a few on council that like to hear themselves talk. What’s the sense of a gazillion questions if you’re just going to approve everything anyway?

They talked and talked and talked yet approved it all…..new printers, upgraded storage servers, training props for firefighters, radios for firefighters…..take a wild and crazy guess how long the fire department issues were discussed! LOL A gazillion questions, a million comments and it all was approved in the end. The list went on…..bridge maintenance programs approved, Surface Treatment Program for certain roads approved, Bridge and Culvert Replacement and Rehabilitation Program approved, Sidewalk Replacement Program approved (lengthy discussion about which sidewalks and why…..UGH).

Several roads will be getting re-done or refurbished. Several rural roads are being done, portions of the second concession this year with others planned for next year and the years after. (The gavel was passed for those that find it irritating, just a FYI). The Urban Road Rehabilitation Program was also passed AND……drum roll please……this year, FINALLY, Angstrom Court will be re-done!! Woo hoo!! (No, I don’t live on Angstrom Court, I don’t live anywhere near Angstrom Court, but that street is a real disaster and it will be done this year!!) There are other streets scheduled in the upcoming years. More approvals….The County Rd 10 Multi Use Trail, The Mill and Pave Program for 5 roads this year was approved, the Watermain Upgrade and Replacement Program (Ventnor Avenue this year) was approved, the McGregor Lagoon Expansion – Environmental Assessment was approved (it will be split with the Town of Essex), Sanitary Sewer Upgrades and Replacements (a few being done this year), Lakewood Drive Pumping System was received for funding for 2024, the McLeod Sewage Treatment Plant Upgrades and Replacements was approved for this year, the Union Street and Water foam Street Storm Sewer Improvements were approved, the Amherstburg Water Treatment Plant Expansion Environmental Assessment was also approved.

The Water Treatment Plant Upgrades and Replacements were approved to the tune of $10,190,000. (This was discussed briefly but items that were costing $30,000 were discussed ad infinitum…..but I digress. Obviously the water treatment plant upgrades have to be done, just noting some idiosyncrasies, that’s all….)

Speaking of discussion ad infinitum…..next was the Fleet Replacement Program. Administration is trying to transition to a 10 year replacement cycle for our fleet vehicles. Councillor Allaire wondered about a 2016 vehicle and a few others that were being replaced since they weren’t quite 10 years old. It was explained that they were close to the end of their life and some had very high mileage. Councillor Allaire asked what a ladder apparatus was….From the report : “2009 Ladder Apparatus – will be 20 years old in 2029, $2M required to replace, $600K is start of funding in advance to enable the preparation and issuing of a tender. Remaining funding of $1.4M required in 2028.” (It’s a fire truck by the way….) Anyway, Chief Montone explained that the truck is due for replacement in 2029 but that based on the experience of neighbouring municipalities the wait time for receipt is in excess of two years. He noted that Windsor had just paid $1.86 Million just recently for the same truck. Councillor Allaire questioned some other vehicles that weren’t quite 10 years old yet. Administration explained that studies show that a 7 year replacement was optimal for fleet vehicles and that we are still trying to transition to a 10 year replacement time-line. Some of the vehicles have very high mileage. And after all of the discussion and questions and what not, it was all approved.

After approving the Backhoe Replacement program, council decided to take a 10 minute break. I took advantage and took a break myself and got a few things done around the house.

When I came back to my computer, the meeting was back in progress. Councillor Allaire was talking about getting different prices for Zambonis (it seemed she called the place herself?) and wanted a price on an electric zamboni. Ms Baillargeon, Director of Parks and Facilities explained that administration had to follow the procurement process. She noted that if they were to eventually get an electric zamboni they would also have to look into the attachments that would be necessary. Anyway, once again, a lot of discussion that didn’t mean anything at all really…..the new Zamboni was approved for $260,000 for this year.

Asset Rationalization – Facilities Condition and Needs Assessments

This item generated a lot of discussion. (Bear in mind that we have a massive asset management deficit at the moment…..i.e. Tons of assets and not enough money to maintain it all…..)

From the report :

“2023 -$200,000

Hire a consultant to perform a spatial needs study for all Town service areas in order to determine existing and future needs. This is a project that will involve every department and staffing at every level in order to determine the Towns future spatial needs and requirements. A consultant will be required to look at existing data that has been collected as part of the Facility Condition Assessment and formulate a plan moving forward that captures all capital building infrastructure based on location, use, priority and replacement costs providing a road map for the Town regarding what assets should be kept and what assets are deemed surplus or redundant whereby amalgamation of services can be realized.

This is a large project and will consist of the following scope of work:

1. Review the facility condition assessment for each building to determine projected costs to upgrade and or maintain buildings in their current state.

2. Meet with every division of the Town to determine current spatial needs, and required spatial needs for the future.

3. Assessments of existing Town property to determine current market value of the property

4. Spatial needs and configuration of space amalgamation of services for efficiencies throughout the Town

5. Cost estimates of proposed buildings and configuration of space for all properties and Town Assets (what should go where and how much will it cost)

6. Investigative work engineering and environmental factors that may affect current property owned by the Town

7. Projected amalgamation of property cost saving and strategies to move forward a new plan for all Municipal Capital Building infrastructure.

8. Report to council”

Councillor Courtney wondered if the Asset Management coordinator could do this. The CAO explained that the town needed a spatial needs coordinator which generally has an architectural background. Councillor Pouget wondered if anyone on staff could do this work instead of spending $200,000 on a consultant. CAO Critchley explained that this is specialized work and that it can not be done on the side of someone’s desk. The CAO also said that this position would consider what to do about the current town hall and what to do about a new town hall. The person could make a plan regarding the sale of properties and how to fund new items going forward. Ms Baillargeon explained that this is a very large undertaking. She noted that just that very day -the same day as the meeting – that staff had buckets out since water was running down the walls.

Councillor Allaire felt that “holy cow”, it was a lot of money. But then mentioned she would approve it. She asked if a report would come to council. (Note #8 above for the answer to that question.) Mayor Prue passed the gavel again and noted that the situation about town hall was urgent since it had to be accessible for 2025. So, after a bunch of blah blah, the expense was approved.

LIBRO – Water Recirculation System Modifications

Deptuy Mayor Gibb said that this item had been discussed and not approved by the Audit and Finance Committee. He felt that it did not make sense to spend $75,000 on a study to see how to fix a water recycling system that would save the town only $6,000 or $7,000 per year. Councillor Crain wondered if the Libro still held its LEED certification as it once had when it was built. Ms Baillargeon felt that no, it no longer had the LEED certification since the maintenance had not been kept up.

There was a motion made to strike this item from the capital budget. It carried. Mayor Prue mentioned that council could decide at the end to do something else with the $75,000 since the capital budget is a balanced budget. Deputy Mayor Gibb mentioned that the money could also just be left in reserves.

HVAC / Electrical Upgrades and General Maintenance- -Tourism Information Centre(s)

There was $30,000 in this year’s budget and next year’s budget about required upgrades to the Tourism Information Centre. This was debated ad infinitum.

From the report :

“2023 – $30,000

The current electrical configuration within the building requires reconfiguring to include lighting and proper wall mount switches at the front of the building for safety reasons.

In addition, the existing wall mount AC unit is undersized and does not provide sufficient cooling for the building.

The proposed new HVAC unit will be energy efficient, properly sized and can be used to both heat and cool the building.

It should be noted that the current basement electric heat is inefficient and is underwater during power outages when the basement floods.

The new system will act as a backup to the electric heating system in the basement.

Cost includes HVAC unit, electrical components, material, labour and restoration of finished surfaces.

2024 – $30,000

Funding will be used to repair and lift interlocking brick walkways and add some new concrete flat work and fix grading issues where settling has occurred resulting in trip hazards.”

Councillor Crain wondered if this building would be part of the spatial needs study. (It will be.) Deputy Mayor Gibb asked about the basement flooding and how it was affecting the electrical system. Councillor Courtney wondered where the water was coming from since the building is above the river. Administration explained that there are drainage issues and when it rains, the building floods. There was more discussion about safety and finally Councillor Crain made a motion to approve the amount in the budget to get the repairs done. It carried.

Emergency Services Back Up Generators

Councillor Courtney had an almost endless list of questions and commentary about the backup generators for Town Hall and the Libro Centre. Chief Montone explained that the one for town hall would be just to power specific necessary systems. He noted the importance of beginning to put money away for the Libro since it is used as a cooling or heating facility when there are long term power outages. He also noted that the Libro is for emergency use for the Long Term Care Home in Amherstburg should something happen at their facility. Councillor Courtney droned on. Chief Montone felt that there was a public expectation and a moral obligation since the Libro is used for emergencies.

Anyway, after more debate yada, yada, yada, it was approved.

Parks Master Plan Update/Secondary Plan for Libro

In January 2021, the old council was presented with a beautiful Libro Master Plan. They never adopted it. They decided to just let it sit on a shelf. (I wonder how much money was spent to create that plan and do that study and then they just cast it aside….?) So here we go again…..looks like they’re looking for $100,000 in 2024. From the report : “2024 – $100,000 The Parks Master Plan update will require hiring a consulting firm to review planning strategies within the document and tie them into the Town’s Official plan which will also be updated in 2023. This exercise will require a significant amount of work in order to tie the document into other legislative and Town documents. In addition, Administration would like to include planning and design services for revisiting the Libro Secondary Plan. This project is eligible for DC funding and as such $9,000 from DC funding is allocated to this project.”

Councillor Crain mentioned how the Libro Master Plan was not approved by the previous council. He wondered if it could be retabled in order to save costs and not have to spend yet another $100,000 for a study. (Good idea!!!) Ms Baillargeon felt that this Libro Master Plan would have to tie in with the new Strategic Plan. Councillor Crain asked why the previous Libro Master Plan was not approved.

Councillor Courtney offered this “explanation”. He felt that the Libro Expansion Master PLan was based on a $50 Million grant application that we did not receive. (That’s not accurate, but more on that soon). He felt that it was a mega city with a pool etc….(Because people don’t want a pool??? weird….) He felt that it was tied in with the Duffy’s property (not accurate either but I digress….) and he felt that when the town found out we weren’t successful with the grant application that it just was not feasible. (I believe that the grant application he was referring to was in regards to the Duffy’s property and the Belle Vue Property…..)

Anyhoo, Councillor McArthur offered that Councillor Courtney was partially right. (Note “partially”). Councillor McArthur noted that at the time the parks (Centennial) and the skate park were still in question. Councillor McArthur felt that it was a mistake not to approve the Libro Master PLan. He noted that with a plan there can be grant funding but because the plan was not approved, it closed the door for any grant funding. He noted that the Libro Centre was not developed as significantly as it could have been because the previous council didn’t approve the plan. He felt that now council is piece-mealing things together.He felt that we need a plan and that a pool should be part of the plan. He wondered why wait until 2024 to fund this instead of now in 2023. Ms Baillargeon wanted the Libro Plan to be closer to the Official Plan update in order to tie it all in together.

Mayor Prue passed the gavel again. He felt that the big reason the former Libro Plan wasn’t approved was because of Centennial Park and what would happen there. He felt that council stood back and said no and that the time is better now than it was two years ago.

So after listening to what to seemed to be a somewhat deluded walk down memory lane….I went looking for what happened that fateful night that the Libro Master Plan was not approved……so here is my blog from the January 25, 2021 meeting with how it all went down….play by play…..take a read if you don’t remember because I sure remember! And if you’re still unsure how it all played out, the meeting date is noted, you can go and watch the video, if you can manage to stomach that tragedy again. Anyway, here’s the blog if you’re interested https://amherstburg2.wordpress.com/2021/01/27/monday-january-25th-regular-town-council-meeting/?fbclid=IwAR2Wt0n-wbrWoq81ooR4CS4fxHXOOyYkmH0TTqP15scbBhMn-ZtJTtVXY8E

Oh, and after all of the song and dance, twist and spin, the $100,000 was approved for another study for the Libro for next year…..Talk about Deja vu…..

Kings Navy Yard Extension

This budget item was in regards to the old Duffy’s property. From the report :

“2023 – $150,000

Phase one after ministry approvals; shoreline stabilization including hiring a consultant to finish design and construction tender documents and drawings for rock revetment, steel sheet pile wall and tie backs, concrete cap, railings and onsite drainage is required prior to proceeding with construction. Given the ministry approvals are now expected end of 2023 early 2024 this funding is in place to ensure this work can commence immediately upon ministry approvals.

2025 – $3,060,000

Construction of all necessary works resulting from ministry approvals and final design and drawings. Given ministry timelines for completion it is expected the design and drawings and RFP will be completed in 2024 allowing for construction to commence late 2024 or early 2025. The timing of this funding will be revisited in the 2024 capital budget development to determine if some of the funding should be requested in 2024 should it be feasible that construction would begin in 2024. This project is eligible for DC funding, as such $80,021 in DC funding has been allocated to this project

Phase 2 shade structure – $210,000

BEYOND 2025 Additional elements of the park will be revisited once the shoreline has been addressed and the park open for use”

Councillor Pouget asked why the Ministry was taking so long with the environmental assessment. Administration explained that they were following all of the processes and doing the best they could. Deputy Mayor Gibb said that he and others had met with MPP, Anthony Leardi and had asked for help with the situation yet had received nothing.

Councillor Courtney asked if the $3 Million was just for grass and a path. CAO Critchley explained that it was for the shoreline wall. She noted that the previous council had received a report that Amico was doing similar work on the adjacent property he owned for the barge area. He had proposed doing the work together at that time at a cost of $2 Million to the town since it would create synergies of the work that needed to be done. The previous council did not decide to work with Amico and get the work done for $2 Million. Now, on our own, it would cost about $3 Million.

There was a lot of crying and gnashing of teeth about the costs to get the shoreline fixed up at the old Duffy’s property. (Had they bitten the bullet last year, the work would be underway and it would have saved us $1 Million……memories seem to be real short for some of our members of council that sat on council previously…..) At least Councillor McArthur’s memory is clearer….he said that the old Duffy’s property is already going to open 10 minutes later than it would have. LOL He noted that $3 Million wasn’t even close to get it all done…..once you factor in a marina, shade, grass, trails, maybe an amphitheatre, the costs would be much much more. Ms Baillargeon said that they would stretch whatever money they got as far as they could. But she noted that a marina was quoted some time ago at $8 Million and in today’s dollars it’s even more. She noted that the town could create synergies from the site approvals that Amico already had in place.

Mayor Prue passed the gavel AGAIN….he noted that Amico is building shore line walls during the winter since work can not happen on the shoreline when fish are spawning.

And again, yada yada yada, the motion was made and carried. $150,000 this year and just over $3 Million for 2025…..what is really the point of all of this “discussion” when everything just gets approved anyway? What am I missing?

It went on and on and on…..

There was endless discussion about Centennial Park, pickleball courts, basketball courts, tennis courts…..all sorts of things that we don’t have money for, but hey, let’s just keep this meeting dragging on and on and on….

Councillor Courtney felt that Centennial Park would be “good debt”. He felt that long term debt with debentures is good debt. Interesting…..There are still people upset that we took on debt for a new arena all those years ago…..what about necessities that could require debt, oh I don’t know, like a fire hall? That’s looking to be a lot of debt! But I digress….

Finally, there was a motion to recess at 10:00 PM. The meeting would resume on Wednesday morning. I was not able to watch Wednesday’s meeting, but I may have a summary of it for you from my guest blogger and saviour…..covering these triathlon budget meetings is just not possible if one has to do it alone…….

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