Council Info July 5, 2023

The following is a summary of major discussion items presented at Council and Committee of the Whole on July 5, 2023. Please refer to the website for the complete and official records of the meeting including consent agenda items, motions of Council, communications, detailed reports, and attachments.

You can watch Council meetings live on Rogers TV Channel 6, on demand at www.rogerstv.com, or stream here. Council is also broadcasted live on Bruce Telecom TV.

(Note: if there is a technical interruption during the live stream you may find meetings on YouTube).

Visit our website at www.kincardine.ca or follow us on social media to receive updates on Council and Committee of the Whole meetings.

• Council meeting
• Committee of the Whole meeting

Facility Booking (Non Profit) Policy By-law 

Council deferred this motion “Facility Booking (Non Profit) Policy By-law” to a meeting in October 2023.

Vesting of Failed Tax Sale Properties, Financial Services-2023-21

The purpose of this report is to seek Council approval to vest eligible lands with the municipality and to write-off corresponding property taxes.

Council authorized the vesting of the vacant property with Roll No. 4108-220-002-11700-0000 in accordance with Section 379(7.1) of the Municipal Act; and Council authorized Staff to write off taxes in the amount of $39,015.22 on lands vested by the municipality for the vested properties listed in Schedule A, in accordance with Section 354(2)(a) and (3) of the Municipal Act.

Election Signs By-laws Review, Legislative Services-2023-14

The Municipality of Kincardine regulates election signs through the Election Sign By-law No. 2022 - 023, reviewed and adopted by Council in the spring of 2022. On May 8, 2023, Council directed Staff to “bring forward for Council’s consideration, amendments to the Election Sign By-law to prohibit the use and placement of all election signs on all public property.” One of the main reasons for this request was to reduce the environmental impact of elections signs.

After a review of this by-law including a comparator review, advice from legal counsel, and consultation with internal stakeholders, Staff are recommending that the Election Sign By-law remain unchanged in order to continue to support candidate’s right to freedom of expression as guaranteed under section 2(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedom.

Instead, Staff are recommending that during upcoming elections, the Municipality endeavor to promote environmentally friendly election sign materials and develop and disseminate educations materials around the reuse, recyclability and disposal of election signs. In addition, they recommend that the Municipality demonstrate leadership by reducing or eliminating the use of similar temporary signs as a method of communication.

Council received the Report Legislatives Services 2023-14; and directed staff to review the Election Sign By-law prior to the 2026 Municipal Election and directed staff to investigate and promote environmentally friendly election signs in future elections.

Council also supported that the Municipality demonstrate leadership and reduce with a view to eliminating the use of similar temporary signs as a method of communication.

Community Investment Grant Policy, Legislative Services-2023-15

Proposed changes to the Community Investment Grant policy were presented to Council at the Monday, June 5, 2023, Committee of the Whole meeting. Committee of the Whole members had questions about modifying the eligibility requirements for the Community Investment Grant.

The Community Investment Grant Evaluation Team met on June 20, 2023 to discuss the questions and concerns from Committee of the Whole and is recommending that the proposed Policy presented to Council on June 5, 2023 be adopted without any changes.

Council passed a by-law to adopt the updated Community Investment Grant Policy including the application form and statement of accountability.

At Fault False Alarm By-law, Legislative Services-2023-13

Staff have drafted the At Fault False Alarm By-law. The By-law is to address concerns raised by the Kincardine Police Services Board on the increased occurrences and subsequent calls for service to the South Bruce Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), related to false alarms.

The At Fault False Alarm By-law will provide a mechanism to address At Fault False Alarms. The intent is to decrease these calls for service and allow officers to focus their efforts in other areas. It will be done through education and, where non-compliance or continued police services calls occur, imposing fees.

Council passed the At Fault False Alarm By-law as presented in Report Legislative Services 2023-13; and amended the Rates and Fees By-law to include fees for At Fault False Alarms - $300 for second occurrence and $500 for subsequent occurrences.

Draft Procedure By-law and Governance Review Implementation Timeline, Legislative Services-2023-18

The purpose of this report is to update Council on the work that has been done since Council received the Governance Review Final Report on June 5, 2023, and to provide an implementation timeline.

Delegation of Powers and Duties (Signing Officers) By-law, Legislative Services-2023-17

In reviewing various Municipal delegations of powers and duties, it has come to Staff’s attention that there is no formalized appointment of signing officers by-law. The authority has instead been given within each individual by-law. As a housekeeping matter, Council is being asked to formally appoint signing officers.

Council approved the “Delegation of Powers and Duties (Signing Officers) By-law.

Sale & Disposition of Land Policy Update, CAO General-2023-20

Section 270 of the Municipal Act, 2001 (the “Act”) requires that all municipalities adopt and maintain a number of specific policies which provide a basis for decision-making to support clear and consistent implementation processes.

Section 270(1)(1) of the Act requires the Municipality of Kincardine to adopt and maintain a policy setting out how it will sell and dispose of land. The draft policy presented for Council's consideration is updated to align with corporate goals and comparator municipality practices.

Council repealed By-law 2008-141 being the Disposal of Land By-law; and approved the updated Sale & Disposition of Land Policy, as presented; and further adopted the by-law. 

Pregnancy & Parental Leave for Council Members Update, CAO General-2023-18

Section 270 of the Municipal Act, 2001 (the “Act”) requires that all municipalities adopt and maintain a number of specific policies which provide a basis for decision-making to support clear and consistent implementation processes.

Section 270(1)(8) of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c.25 requires the Municipality of Kincardine to adopt and maintain a policy setting out pregnancy leaves and parental leaves of members of Council.

The draft policy for Council’s consideration is substantially the same as the existing policy, with the most significant update being the new template.

Council, approved and adopted the by-law and updated Pregnancy & Parental Leave for Council Members Policy, as presented. 

Other Areas of Responsibility

Advertising Revenue Generation Policy, Recreation and Community Programs-2023-09

The Advertising Revenue Generation Policy provides direction for the sale of commercial advertising media and space on municipal property as an appropriate revenue source to offset the costs of municipal business by supplementing user fees and reducing taxation.

The Policy will come to Council on July 10^th for consideration.

Consent Agenda

Items listed under the Consent Agenda are considered routine and are enacted in one motion as a Matter Arising. The exception to this rule is that a Council member or the Chief Administrative Officer may request one or more items to be removed from the consent agenda for separate discussion and action.

Request for Noise By-law Exemption - Event

That Council authorize the request of Brad Kirkconnell c/o Lighthouse Blues Festival for an exemption from the provisions of the Noise Control By-law No. 2008-076; beginning at 4:00 p.m. Friday, July 14, 2023 to 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, July 16, 2023 for the Blues Festival being held at The Bruce. 

Statistical and Information Reports

Recommendation: Receive and file statistical reports.

Quarterly Procurement Report, Financial Services-2023-20 

The purpose of this report is to provide a quarterly update to Council on contract awards, renewals/extensions and amendments valued at $50,000 or higher that were undertaken since the previous report and to report on the status of contracts valued at $1,000,000 or higher.

This is a requirement of the updated Procurement Policy GG.2.17 which was approved on March 22, 2022. This report includes all contracts awarded from April 1 to June 30, 2023.

Strategic Initiatives Department Quarterly Report - Strategic Initiatives Quarterly Report-2023-01

This report provides an update on the activities completed or that are in progress this past quarter by the Strategic Initiatives Department.

Q2 Quarterly Update Community Services - -2023-22, Community Services-2023-22

This report provides an update on the activities completed or that are in progress this past quarter by the Community Services Department.

Corporate Services Q2 Status Update Report - Corporate Services Quarterly Report-2023-01

This report provides an update on the activities completed or that are in progress this past quarter by the Corporate Services Department.

CAO Department - Quarterly Update (2) - CAO General-2023-19

The information contained in this report is intended to provide Council with an overview of the activities and operations of the CAO Department for the specified reporting period of April – June 2023 (Quarter 2).

Closed meeting

Mayor Craig reported that a closed meeting for the purpose of considering litigation or potential litigation, including matter before administrative tribunals (two Human Resources Matters), pursuant to Section 239 (2) of the Municipal Act, 2001. Direction was provided to Staff on one Human Resources Matter and the other Matter was for information only and no direction was provided.