Peterborough city council will be meeting as general committee on Tuesday (April 2).
Following a closed session at 5:30 p.m., council will meet in council chambers at 6 p.m. for an open session.
Below are some highlights of what’s on the agenda for Tuesdays’s meeting.
Physician recruitment action plan
City staff will present a report recommending actions to be led by the city for physician recruitment and retention.
According to the report, there were an estimated 13,000 to 15,000 unattached patients in Peterborough in 2022. The Ontario College of Family Physicians has indicated there are 32,000 people in Peterborough, Haliburton, and Kawartha Lakes who do not have a family doctor, with that number expected to double in the next two years
In prior years, Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development (PKED) has been supplying physician recruitment services on behalf of the city and county of Peterborough. Last November, city councillors expressed concerns that PKED’s physician recruitment efforts were not effective and voted to withhold $226,021 in funding for 2024 until PKED and city staff could report back on options for physician recruitment. The following month, PKED opted to no longer be involved in physician recruitment and city council asked for a staff report about hiring a physician recruiter for the City of Peterborough.
The city staff report is recommending the city establish a $580,000 budget for 2024 and 2025 “to implement a multi-pronged, pilot approach for physician recruitment and retention activities.” The approach would include continuing an existing financial incentive for family doctors that establish new practices in the City of Peterborough which provides them with $15,000 over three years, and creating a temporary physician recruitment coordinator position that would support a proposed “Whole of Village” incentive program.
Proposed as a pilot program, the “Whole of Village” initiative would engage local doctors, physicians, organizations, and businesses as part of recruitment efforts. Options for the program could include providing additional financial incentives to physicians based on the number of patients they roster (with a focus on current medical students in the city) and for local physicians who recruit other physicians to come to the city. It could also include a “Hometown Proud” financial incentive for Peterborough medical students studying elsewhere who agree to practise in Peterborough upon graduation.
The report also proposes consulting with the local family physician think tank about short, medium, and long-term actions for family physician recruitment and retention in Peterborough and developing and implementing an an advocacy plan related to the provincial health care system to support physician recruitment efforts.
2024 community grants
City staff will present a report recommending the awarding of the city’s 2024 community grants to eligible groups, with funding restored to both The Theatre On King and Artisans Centre Peterborough after they were denied funding in 2023.
The total funding for 2024 includes $20,965 in community project grants to 29 organizations, $136,170 in community investment grants to 18 organizations, and $82,900 in previously confirmed community investment grants multi-year funding (with one organization transferred to the service grant category).
A committee comprising city staff made the recommendations for the 2024 community project grants, and a committee comprising eight citizens and two city councillors made the recommendaitons for the 2024 community investment grants.
The community grants program provides financial assistance to local not-for-profit and charitable organizations that provide direct programs, services, or activities that enhance the quality of life for Peterborough residents in the areas of social services and health, arts, culture, heritage, recreation, or the environment through two grant streams: the community project grant and the community investment grant.
For community project grants, the city provides $250 to $1,000 for specific projects. For community investment grants, the city provides $1,000 to $15,000 for projects, events, programs, or operating budgets.
This is the last year of the existing community grants program. In October, city council approved a change to the community grants program in 2025. Instead of the existing two funding streams, the program will have three streams: community well-being grants, services delivery agreements, and an art investment fund to be administered by the Art Gallery of Peterborough in collaboration with Electric City Culture Council.
Below is a list of the organizations, by category, recommended to receive community grants in 2024.
Community project grants
Arts
Show and Tell Poetry Series – $1,000
Peterborough Pop Ensemble – $1,000
Nogojiwanong Indigenous Fringe Festival – $1,000
BLM Nogojiwanong – $1,000
Cathedral Hill Productions – $700
Hearts 4 Joy Skills Development Project – $675
The Electric City Players – $600
Maiden Lane Porch Concerts – $425
First Friday Peterborough Art Crawl – $300
Culture
Abraham Festival – $700
Peterborough Chinese Community Organization – $675
Environment
Bonaccord Garden – $1,000
Ashburnham Memorial Stewardship Group – $600
Sheet Seven Community Garden – $365
The Monarch Ultra – $1,000
Health
Tandemeyes – $1,000
Quilts for Cancer Peterborough County – $1,000
Food for Kids Peterborough and County Student Nutrition Programs – $1,000
Peterborough Community Medicine Garden – $625
ME/FM Association of Peterborough & District – $515
Social services
Peterborough Veterinary Outreach – $1,000
Peterborough Gleans – $1,000
Kawartha Haliburton Children’s Foundation – $1,000
Operation Catnip Peterborough – $1,000
Sports
Peterborough Wolverines Football Club – $700
Peterborough Swim Club – $550
Quaker Park Tennis Club – $535
Community investment grants
Arts
Kawartha Youth Orchestra – $15,000
New Stages Peterborough – $15,000
Peterborough Symphony Orchestra – $13,000
Artisans Centre Peterborough – $10,500
The Theatre on King – $10,500
Peterborough Children’s Chorus – $7,700
The Peterborough Singers – $1,000
SPARK Photo Festival – $1,000
Peterborough New Horizons Band – $1,000
Culture
Trent Radio – $9,900
Environment
Kawartha World Issues Centre – $7,000
Camp Kawartha – $5,500
Peterborough Bicycle Advisory Committee – $2,070
Heritage
P. R. Community and Student Association (Sadleir House Facility) – $1,000
Social services
Bedford House / Bridges Peterborough – $10,000
Telecare Distress Centre of Peterborough Inc. – $10,000
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peterborough – $6,000
Sports
Kawartha Komets Special Needs Hockey Program – $10,000
Previously approved community investment grant multi-year funding
Moved from multi-year investment grant to service grant
Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre (KSAC) – $15,000
Year 2 of 3
ReFrame Film Festival – $15,000
Public Energy Performing Arts – $9,900
B!KE: The Peterborough Community Bike Shop – $7,000
Peterborough Concert Band – $5,000
Year 3 or 3
The Peterborough Academy of Circus Arts – $15,000
Heads Up for Inclusion – $8,000
The Down Syndrome Association of Peterborough – $8,000
Zoning by-law amendment for 16-unit apartment building at 720 Vinette Street
City staff will present a report supporting a zoning by-law amendment to permit the expansion of an existing two-storey residential apartment building at 720 Vinette Street, located on the east side of the Rotary Greenway Trail north of Parkhill Road East.
The building’s owner is proposing adding a third story to the existing two-storey building, which currently has eight residential units, to create an additional six units. In addition, the building’s owner is seeking to have two basement units recognized by existing zoning and to obtain the building permits required to bring the two basement units into compliance.
Existing tenants of the building, which include tenants on fixed incomes, would need to be re-homed during construction.
Councillor remuneration and expense statements in 2023
As required by the Municipal Act, council will receive a city staff report providing an itemized statement of the remuneration and expenses paid to each member of council, and council appointees to boards and commissions, in 2023.
The report indicates that Mayor Jeff Leal received a total of $117,341.93 in 2023, with councillors Gary Baldwin, Lesley Parnell, Joy Lachica, Don Vassiliadis, and Keith Riel each receiving $38,138.17, Alex Bierk, Matt Crowley, Kevin Duguay, and Dave Haake each receiving $37,749.00, and Andrew Beamer receiving $35,582.17 (unlike the mayor and other councillors, Beamer was not paid a vehicle allowance).
Request for delegated authority to obtain liquor sales licences in city facilities
City staff will present a report recommending that council delegate the authority to obtain to obtain liquor sales licences for city facilities to the city’s CAO and the commissioner of community services.
The city currently holds an active liquor licence at the Peterborough Memorial and an expired license at Healthy Planet Arena, and are seeking one for the McDonnel Street Community Centre (operated by the city since 2023) to support facility rentals and programming.
Delegated authority would allow city staff to apply for the liquor licence for McDonnel Street Community Centre and, in the future, to renew existing licences or apply for new ones.
Other reports to be presented to council include recommended amendments to the Ombudsman Act, an update on government relations, recommended amendments to regulatory by-laws, an update on the city’s climate change action plan (“Pathway to Net Zero 2050”), a recommended increase in funding for the contractor hired for the Bethune Street flood reduction project, and recommendations for continuing a donation agreement with the Peterborough Rugby Union Football Club as well as a field use agreement.
Motion on pickleball court strategy at Bonnerworth Park
Town Ward councillor Joy Lachica will put forward a motion about the city’s proposed redevelopment of Bonnerworth Park at 560 McDonnel Street, which will include 16 new pickleball courts, a bike pump track, an expanded skatepark and associated landscape and lighting, and four new tennis courts.
The redevelopment plan proposes that the 16 pickleball courts can be located under 150 metres from residential areas. Councillor Lachica’s motion expresses concern about the noise and traffic impact of the new courts, as well as the impact on accessibility and safety for nearby tenants of Peterborough Housing Corporation and pedestrian park users.
Councillor Lachica’s motion asks that council review the proposed redevelopment plan for alternatives for the pickleball and tennis courts, with a report back to council before any work proceeds on the redevelopment.
Items endorsed by general committee on April 2 will be considered by council for final approval the following Monday.
Council meetings are streamed live at www.peterborough.ca.
