Peterborough city council will be meeting as general committee on Monday (March 11).
Following a closed session at 4:30 p.m., council will meet in council chambers at 6 p.m. for an open session.
Below is a summary of what’s on the agenda for Monday’s meeting.
Cross border servicing
City staff will present council with a proposed amendment to the city’s official plan that would allow the city to extend municipal utility and water and sanitary sewer services beyond the city boundary on a case-by-case basis.
The amendment would allow municipal water and sanitary sewer services to be extended to developments in the townships of Smith-Ennismore-Lakefield and Otonabee-South Monaghan.
Canadian Canoe Museum
Canadian Canoe Museum executive director Carolyn Hyslop will provide an update to council on the new museum at 2077 Ashburnham Drive.
The museum’s official opening is planned for the weekend of May 11.
Update on modular housing community
City staff will present a report to council on the modular housing community that replaced the tent encampment on Wolfe Street last November.
Constructed at a cost of almost $2.5 million, the fully fenced site includes 50 modular homes, a separate bathroom unit, 24/7 security, and an indoor community space at 210 Wolfe Street with a kitchenette and laundry facilities. Dinner is provided daily for all people living on the site, who also receive personalized care plans that support individual goal-setting related to stabilization, maintaining housing, employment, and health.
“In the initial 10 weeks, there have been minimal issues on site, with only four emergency service calls, demonstrating improved site stability compared to encampment scenarios,” the report states in describing “promising early successes” at the community. “People who moved into the community quickly adapted to their new homes, showcasing positive mental and physical improvements within days.”
In terms of neighbourhood impact, the report notes that there has been “an observable positive change in the Wolfe Street neighbourhood” and that the community liaison committee has indicated the neighbourhood “is feeling tidier, quieter and safer.”
City staff estimate the operating costs of the modular community are around $2 million annually. As council approved the project to operate for two years (until November 2025), city staff will provide council with a report in the first half of 2025 with recommendations on next steps.
Deferral or forgiveness of Innovation Cluster loan
City staff will present a report responding to a request from the Innovation Cluster Peterborough and the Kawarthas that the city defer or forgive an outstanding loan of $162,945.03.
The report, which includes a statement from the Innovation Cluster describing the economic benefits to the community that would result if the city were to forgive the loan, provides council with options for either deferring loan payments of forgiving the loan entirely.
If council decides to forgive the loan, city staff suggest the unbudgeted expense in 2024 of $162,945.03 be drawn from the existing future assessment loss reserve, which has a balance of $268,955.
Design and contract administration consultant for new Peterborough police facility
City staff will present a report recommending that Shoalts and Zaback Architects Ltd. of Kingston be appointed as the prime consultant for the Peterborough Police Station renovation design and contract administration. This includes the proposed new police administrative facility to be located at 1421 Lansdowne Street West as well as the existing police station located at 500 Water Street.
The fee to be paid to Shoalts and Zaback Architects Ltd. would be eight per cent of the estimated $3.2 million construction cost, or $416,000.
“Shoalts and Zaback Architects Ltd. is familiar with the existing police station at 500 Water Street and has provided other police station designs in the past, the work being proposed builds upon the work previously done,” the report states.
City staff are recommending that Shoalts and Zaback Architects Ltd., which was the same consultant the city hired in 2018 to evaluate the existing police facility and new space requirements, be hired without a non-competitive procurement process.
Contract renewal for Ontario Works client file digitization
City staff will present a report recommending that the contract with Nimble Information Strategies Inc. for the digitization of files for Ontario Works clients be renewed for an additional three years at a total cost of $232,818.
Cost-shared between municipalities and the Ontario government, Ontario Works provides money for food, shelter, and other costs to people in financial need who meet the eligibility criteria. A part of an electronic data management project to reduce paper files, with the goal of eliminating the need to store and pay for file storage off site, the province is supporting the digitization of files for Ontario Works clients.
“The digitization project with Nimble has been underway since the summer of 2020 and the company has performed as expected,” the report states. “Staff’s recommendation is to renew the agreement with Nimble for an additional three years as listed as an option in the 2020 agreement.”
“The extension of the project is necessary as the original estimate provided by the Province of the number of records to be digitized under the prescribed legislation was significantly underestimated and the initial contract was delayed as it was initiated during the pandemic.”
Delegated authority to deem events as “municipally significant”
City staff will present a report recommending that the city’s commissioner of community services be provided with delegated authority to deem events located at the Peterborough Memorial Centre and surrounding grounds as “municipally significant,” which would allow private organizations to sell specialized alcoholic products at that location.
Organizations that wish to sell alcoholic products at events are first required to obtain a public special occasion permit from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). These permits are limited to charitable and not-for-profit events that benefit the public at large or to events that are deemed as “municipally significant.”
A municipally significant event is defined as one that has local, regional, national or international historical or cultural significance, builds awareness of diverse cultures, or benefits the community at large.
The report states that, while the Peterborough Memorial Centre hosts around 50 special events each year, most do not sell alcohol products. However, an event scheduled to take place there in April (the “Peterborough I Heart Beer & Taco Festival”) will be selling alcohol products and must be deemed as municipally significant to proceed.
Applications to AGCO for a public special occasion permit must be accompanied by either a municipal resolution or a letter from a delegated municipal official designating the event as municipally significant. In the past, municipally significant designations would have been made by council resolution.
The report also recommends that, if other municipal facilities receive requests to host events that require a municipally significant designation, organizers be redirected to the Peterborough Memorial Centre or grounds to host the event.
You can view the full agenda with attached reports on the City of Peterborough website. Items endorsed by general committee on March 11 will be considered by council for final approval the following Monday. Council meetings are streamed live on the city’s website.
