Loading...
MINUTES - General Committee - 20200602 Town of Aurora General Committee Meeting Report Video Conference Tuesday, June 2, 2020 Attendance Council Members Mayor Mrakas in the Chair; Councillors Gaertner, Gallo, Gilliland Humfryes, Kim, and Thompson Members Absent None Other Attendees Doug Nadorozny, Chief Administrative Officer, Robin McDougall, Director of Community Services, Techa van Leeuwen, Director of Corporate Services, Rachel Wainwright-van Kessel, Director of Finance, Allan Downey, Director of Operations, David Waters, Director of Planning and Development Services, Michelle Outar, Acting Manager of Corporate Communications, Patricia De Sario, Town Solicitor, Michael de Rond, Town Clerk, Ishita Soneji, Council/Committee Coordinator This meeting was held electronically as per Section 20.1 of the Town's Procedure By- law No. 6228-19, as amended, due to the COVID-19 State of Emergency. The Chair called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. 1. Approval of the Agenda General Committee approved the agenda as circulated by Legislative Services, including the following additional item: • Delegation (b) Leslie Jennings & Dan Elliott, Residents (written delegation) Re: Item R2 – PDS20-005 – Aurora Heights Public School Student Safety Plan General Committee Meeting Report Tuesday, June 2, 2020 Page 2 of 8 2. Declarations of Pecuniary Interest and General Nature Thereof There were no declarations of pecuniary interest under the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.50. 3. Community Presentations None 4. Delegations (a) Phillipp Parkhomenko, Resident Re: Item R1 – CS20-001 – Fence By-law Exemption Request – 203 St. John’s Sideroad West Mr. Parkhomenko, representing the homeowner, spoke to the fence exemption request noting that the purpose of the fence is noise attenuation to mitigate ongoing health concerns expressed by the homeowner. He noted that trees would be planted along the fence to preserve the natural aesthetics of the property, provided details on the wrought-iron gate, and requested that the fence exemption be granted. General Committee received and referred the comments of the delegation to Item R1. (b) Leslie Jennings & Dan Elliott, Residents (written delegation) Re: Item R2 – PDS20-005 – Aurora Heights Public School Student Safety Plan Ms. Jennings and Mr. Elliott submitted a written delegation with respect to the student safety plan as recommended by staff and offered four amendments to the recommendation to ensure child safety and improve traffic flow on Kitimat Crescent. General Committee received and referred the written comments of the delegation to Item R2. 5. Consent Agenda General Committee Meeting Report Tuesday, June 2, 2020 Page 3 of 8 General Committee recommends: That the following Consent Agenda item, C1, be approved: C1. Memorandum from Councillor Gaertner Re: Resolution from City of Kitchener, Re: Universal Basic Income 1. That the memorandum regarding Resolution from City of Kitchener regarding Universal Basic Income be received for information. Carried 6. Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes None 7. Consideration of Items Requiring Discussion (Regular Agenda) R1. CS20-001 – Fence By-law Exemption Request – 203 St. John’s Sideroad West General Committee recommends: 1. That Report No. CS20-001 be received; and 2. That an exemption to the Town’s Fence By-law No. 4753-05.P to permit a non-compliant fence in the front and side yard at 203 St. John’s Sideroad West, be refused; and 3. That an exemption to the Town’s Fence By-law No. 4753-05.P to permit the non-compliant wrought iron gate with a height exceeding 2.0 metres, be approved, and the amending by-law be brought forward at a future date for enactment. Carried R2. PDS20-005 – Aurora Heights Public School Student Safety Plan General Committee recommends: 1. That Report No. PDS20-005 be received; and General Committee Meeting Report Tuesday, June 2, 2020 Page 4 of 8 2. That the student safety plan for Aurora Heights Public School comprise of the following elements: (a) A layby lane on the east side of Tecumseh Drive along the frontage of the school, subject to the York Region District School Board transferring property and/or easements at no cost to the Town; and (b) Prohibit parking at all times on the south and east sides of Kitimat Crescent from a point nine metres south of the beginning of the curb return to a point nine metres east of the end of the curb return adjacent to 25 Kitimat Crescent; and 3. That prior to the project being included in the 2021 Capital Budget, the York Region District School Board be asked to pay for the design and construction in the amount of $125,000, subject to recommendation 2(a); and 4. That the following be referred to staff for consideration, subject to the approval of layby lane on Tecumseh Drive: (a) Temporarily make Kitimat Crescent a one-way west/south bound street until the completion of the layby lane, and the necessary signage be installed from the project budget; and (b) Upon completion of the Tecumseh layby project, a traffic study be undertaken in the area during peak school drop-off/pick-up times to determine if the temporary one-way street restriction on Kitimat should remain long term or be lifted, and that such traffic study include a period of at least two weeks of two-way traffic on Kitimat for purposes of the study; and 5. That staff and the working group ask the York Region District School Board to consider rearranging the school bus and parent pick-up and drop-off points (Option C), should the layby lane be approved. Carried as amended General Committee Meeting Report Tuesday, June 2, 2020 Page 5 of 8 General Committee recommends: 1. That residents from surrounding streets be included in future working group meetings regarding the Aurora Heights Public School Student Safety Plan project. Defeated R3. PDS20-034 – Assessment on Various Options to Support Existing Traffic Calming Measures on Centre Street General Committee recommends: 1. That Report No. PDS20-034 be received; and 2. That Option ‘C’ be implemented by installing signage on Centre Street at Yonge Street advising that Centre Street is not a through street. Carried R4. CS20-012 – Transfer of Part III Prosecutions from the Province General Committee recommends: 1. That Report No. CS20-012 be received; and 2. That the attached resolution be approved to delegate authority to The Regional Municipality of York to enter into agreements with the Province, on behalf of the Town, that will amend the Memorandum of Understanding and the Local Side Agreement and transfer prosecutions of certain Part III offences under the Provincial Offences Act to the Region. Carried R5. PDS20-035 – Approval for Capital Project No. 42810 – Climate Change Adaptation Plan General Committee recommends: 1. That Report No. PDS20-035 be received; and General Committee Meeting Report Tuesday, June 2, 2020 Page 6 of 8 2. That this report satisfy Council’s conditional budget approval for Capital Project No. 42810 – Climate Change Adaptation Plan, in the amount of $100,000. Carried 8. Notices of Motion None 9. New Business Councillor Gilliland inquired about Capital Projects approved by Council thus far and requested that information regarding the budget allocations be provided prior to the upcoming budget reviews. Staff provided a response noting that the information is available in Attachment #3 of Information Report No. FIN20-007 – Capital Close Report as of December 31, 2019. Councillor Gallo requested that information regarding queries raised at a previous meeting on Information Report No. FIN20-007 – Capital Close Report as of December 31, 2019, be provided. Councillor Gallo inquired about the status of the report on efforts to mitigate budget deficits due to the ongoing pandemic, and staff provided a response noting that reports regarding water, wastewater and stormwater budgets and the tax levy budget are forthcoming to the June 16, 2020 General Committee meeting and June 23, 2020 Council meeting respectively. Councillor Humfryes referred to the absence of artists from the Aurora Farmers Market and Artisans Fair and noted that the absence is due to the regulations from Ontario Public Health permitting only essential services at this time. Councillor Gaertner referred to Item C1 – Resolution from City of Kitchener, regarding Universal Basic Income and expressed her appreciation for their initiative. Councillor Gaertner referred to residents’ concerns regarding disposal of grass clippings and costs to do so at other facilities, and inquired about the possibility of including this service in the Town’s services, and staff provided a response. General Committee Meeting Report Tuesday, June 2, 2020 Page 7 of 8 Councillor Gaertner expressed her sorrow towards the recent events that occurred in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Mayor Mrakas referred to the various task forces created during the COVID-19 pandemic and provided the following update and achievements: • Aurora Business Continuity Task Force: Developed a business continuity plan to encourage residents to shop local, developed a checklist for all business in Town to prepare for reopening when permitted, and developed a poster with Provincial and Regional COVID-19 and public health guidelines to be displayed at the businesses. • Aurora Cares Community Action Team: Donated thermometers to Aurora Resthaven Retirement Home, secured purchasing iPads for students and seniors who require access, developed a resource document for all residents, and working on Applications to Receive Funds received thus far. • Mayor’s Roundtable of Sport: Working and planning towards return to play when permitted, and working towards meeting quarterly with the sport organizations. Mayor Mrakas noted that a combined $100,000, all in donations, were utilized by the taskforces in order to help residents and businesses. Councillor Gilliland provided an update on the Arts and Culture Task Force, noting that there was a survey of cultural partners regarding the ongoing challenges faced by arts and cultural groups and as well as a resource document including details of funding released to the Arts and Culture industry thus far. She noted that an Ontario Live website is forthcoming wherein artists will have the opportunity to display their art and merchandise, and expressed her appreciation to staff and Councillors Gallo and Humfryes. Councillors Gaertner expressed her appreciation to staff and all involved with the various task forces for their efforts. Councillor Humfryes inquired about the availability of the Aurora Business Continuity Task Force resource document and checklist for businesses, and the Mayor noted that it would be available to all businesses and that staff will be reaching out to businesses in-person with the information. General Committee Meeting Report Tuesday, June 2, 2020 Page 8 of 8 10. Public Service Announcements Councillor Humfryes extended a reminder that The Aurora Farmers’ Market and Artisan Fair will be on Saturday, June 6, 2020. Councillor Gallo expressed his support and encouragement to all Aurora residents in the ongoing pandemic. 11. Closed Session None 12. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 8:59 p.m.