Owen Sound Committee - Operations Meeting Transcript — April 23, 2026

00:00:17 speaker_unknown: At this time, I'll call the meeting of the Operations Committee to order for the month of April.

00:00:23 speaker_unknown: I'm just going to start and look to my right to Member Jordan, and if we can just take. a moment and introduce ourselves through the microphone, I'll just go around the horseshoe.

00:00:35 speaker_unknown: My name is Graham Jordan, and I'm a community member of the board for the committee. Michelle Hawkins, public member. Arlene Blueindo, public member. Scott Craig, deputy mayor. Alida Scherder, public member. John Farmer, councillor.

00:00:59 speaker_unknown: Carol Merton, Councillor Donald Anderson, Community Member Dave Crane, Deputy Treasurer Mason Bellamy, Manager of Public Works and Engineering Laura Woodfield, Director of Public Works and Engineering Bryce McDonald, Manager of Water and Wastewater,

00:01:24 SPEAKER_142: and I'll just note that Councillor.

00:01:27 SPEAKER_142: Hamley is not joining us this evening.

00:01:30 SPEAKER_142: Everyone else is in attendance. Item two: additional business.

00:01:35 SPEAKER_142: Are there any items of additional business?

00:01:37 SPEAKER_142: Councillor Farmer, and then member Anderson.

00:01:41 SPEAKER_143: I'll bring in item of additional business to let folks know that Owen Sound was featured in a YouTube video about public transit. Thank you, member Anderson.

00:01:54 SPEAKER_143: I have two. items of information the committee may be interested in: one about guide dogs and one about volunteerism. Thank you.

00:02:03 SPEAKER_143: And looking to staff, not seeing any, nothing to my right. Okay.

00:02:07 SPEAKER_142: Declarations of interest, item three: Are there any declarations to be declared at this time? Not seeing any.

00:02:15 SPEAKER_142: And if one should arise, you can raise it at that point.

00:02:19 SPEAKER_142: Item four is confirmation of the minutes the operations committee meeting held on March nineteen.

00:02:23 SPEAKER_142: Meeting held on March 19, 2026.

00:02:25 SPEAKER_142: These were approved by council, without any change or comments.

00:02:29 SPEAKER_142: Was there any questions from committee member Jordan? Is so moved, receipt.

00:02:34 SPEAKER_142: And not seeing any questions, all those in favor of receipt, that's carried unanimously. Thank you.

00:02:42 SPEAKER_142: There are no deputations before us this evening.

00:02:44 SPEAKER_142: Item six is public forum, and we welcome everyone here this evening.

00:02:49 SPEAKER_142: And this is a moment where individuals can. approach committee and and speak for upwards of three minutes and raise any items of concern before us, so I do welcome anyone to approach the podium. Okay, perfect.

00:03:13 SPEAKER_142: So my name is Laura Campbell.

00:03:15 SPEAKER_142: I didn't prepare anything, but felt like I should come down.

00:03:19 SPEAKER_189: I live on Fourth Avenue. so this is in relation to the reconstruction project.

00:03:24 SPEAKER_189: We live right at Fourth and Seventeenth, so it would be like right on our street.

00:03:29 SPEAKER_189: I have two little kids.

00:03:31 SPEAKER_189: I have a little three-year-old and an eighteen-month-year-old that are both learning to ride their bikes, and we walk in strollers and we have a big chariot,

00:03:43 SPEAKER_189: and we take up a lot of space on the sidewalk.

00:03:46 SPEAKER_189: So I am fully in support of a multi-use. path, I think it would be the safest option.

00:03:53 SPEAKER_189: I think it would be the most accessible option for my family, for the daycares, for the schools, but also for the seniors that live in the area.

00:04:02 SPEAKER_189: I think it would be an exceptional resource to the community.

00:04:06 SPEAKER_189: So I would like to express my support for it.

00:04:10 SPEAKER_189: I think I also have a bit of a bias because we live on a corner.

00:04:13 SPEAKER_189: We have access to parking up our street, so that's not an issue for us at all.

00:04:19 SPEAKER_189: So I understand if any of my neighbors don't want to lose their parking.

00:04:24 SPEAKER_189: I understand that, but I do think the benefit for the community outweighs that that loss, especially because it's not a no. It's a no parking, not a no stopping.

00:04:37 SPEAKER_189: So folks could still be dropped off as needed, which I think helps with accessibility and for elderly folks and people who might not be able to navigate. from a side street,

00:04:48 SPEAKER_189: so that's a point that I wanted to make.

00:04:51 SPEAKER_189: I also work at Keystone in the area, so I would love to be able to suggest to my clients to come bike to their sessions, walk safely to their sessions.

00:05:01 SPEAKER_189: Like I think that would be really, really lovely.

00:05:07 SPEAKER_189: But at this point, asking a youth to bike on the road would feel really, really dangerous.

00:05:09 SPEAKER_189: When I bike with my toddler, I'm like on the road and he's on the sidewalk.

00:05:12 SPEAKER_189: It feels very far, but he. loves to bike to daycare, and daycare is right at the bottom of Ten Street.

00:05:18 SPEAKER_189: So, like, to go all the way to Kelso wouldn't make good sense for us.

00:05:23 SPEAKER_189: It's already a huge thing to ask a three-year-old to bike to school.

00:05:27 SPEAKER_189: So, I think you know it would really change my life in a big way.

00:05:30 SPEAKER_189: And I love the project.

00:05:32 SPEAKER_189: I think it looks great.

00:05:33 SPEAKER_189: So, I wanted to come down and say my support. Yeah. Anything? That's good. Okay. Okay. Thank you very much. Any.

00:05:42 SPEAKER_189: Anyone else wishing to speak? Please step up. Yes, sir.

00:05:56 SPEAKER_189: Okay, I live in Fourth Avenue, right across from the school.

00:06:00 SPEAKER_189: I've lived there since one thousand, nine hundred and ninety-eight.

00:06:02 SPEAKER_189: The road is a racetrack.

00:06:04 SPEAKER_190: They've got a little wee thirty going in and a great big fifty going out.

00:06:08 SPEAKER_190: I've talked to the mayor and I've talked to chief police. at Rotary, and questioning, and they say the police are supposed to be downtown.

00:06:15 SPEAKER_190: And then every once in a while, the police show up.

00:06:19 SPEAKER_190: Somebody gets nailed doing seventy, eighty on that street.

00:06:23 SPEAKER_190: There needs to be clearer markers.

00:06:25 SPEAKER_190: The things that they're blind.

00:06:26 SPEAKER_190: I even catch myself sometimes.

00:06:29 SPEAKER_190: There needs to be clearer markers, and if you're going to make that road narrow, how how narrow is it going to be with the snowbanks?

00:06:36 SPEAKER_190: Because it's also very narrow.

00:06:38 SPEAKER_190: When the in the When in the middle of winter, if it gets narrow, you're going to be crammed going down there on the racetrack.

00:06:47 SPEAKER_190: So the width is adequate.

00:06:48 SPEAKER_190: I think should stay that way.

00:06:53 SPEAKER_190: The other issue I have, I sent Carol a memo about the tree in front of my place.

00:07:00 SPEAKER_190: I have an open work order since 7th of July last year. They came.

00:07:05 SPEAKER_190: Yes, that's going to trim this stuff because it keeps falling on my. driveway, and when I had three vehicles there, several years before, a branch fell down and dented my friend's car,

00:07:17 SPEAKER_190: and it cost me five hundred bucks because they refused to pay it because the insurance company said, "Oh, you haven't done anything."

00:07:24 SPEAKER_190: So there's logs sitting on the boulevard from this tree.

00:07:27 SPEAKER_190: So is that tree going to exist in this here plan, or are you going to come and get that thing off off my driveway?

00:07:35 SPEAKER_190: Because Mr. Berry. cleaned them all out beside me, because at one point they were saying, "Oh, well, it could be that tree."

00:07:42 SPEAKER_190: Well, no, there's no trees there.

00:07:44 SPEAKER_190: He took them all, so this thing keeps falling down.

00:07:49 SPEAKER_190: So I haven't—I sent that was a couple weeks ago. It sent to you.

00:07:52 SPEAKER_190: I sent last fall and they said they were doing ash trees, and and said, "Okay, well, fine. Hope nothing falls."

00:08:00 SPEAKER_190: So I'd like some kind of resolution on that because.

00:08:05 SPEAKER_190: Oh, sorry, I I cut you off.

00:08:06 SPEAKER_190: You'll just have to turn the the mic on again. There. Am I done?

00:08:10 SPEAKER_190: I can stop because that was my two issues.

00:08:17 SPEAKER_190: The racing, the buses are the worst ones in the morning.

00:08:21 SPEAKER_190: They come down there and a big train, woof, you know, and then people tailgate you if you do in thirty, you know, because the police aren't there.

00:08:29 SPEAKER_190: And then they show up and peo people get nailed. Okay. Okay.

00:08:36 SPEAKER_142: I I should just get your name and place of residence too, and then we'll be able to a little more accurately identify that tree in question as well.

00:08:46 SPEAKER_142: If you could provide that, I didn't ask you for that initially.

00:08:49 SPEAKER_142: If you could just turn the mic on your name and yeah, the arborers and everything said yes.

00:08:59 SPEAKER_142: This has to be done. Hello.

00:09:03 SPEAKER_190: Oh, yes, Kenneth Paul Thompson, seventeen fifty Fourth Avenue West. Okay. No, that's good. Okay. Okay. Thanks, Paul. Okay. Good evening.

00:09:21 SPEAKER_190: My name is Rachel Patterson.

00:09:37 SPEAKER_190: I am not a resident of Owen Sound, however, I am employed in Owen Sound, and I am one of the tireless volunteers of Owen Sound.

00:09:45 SPEAKER_190: However, I am feeling a little bit tired, to be perfectly honest.

00:09:49 SPEAKER_190: For those of you who don't know me, I am the sole queer-focused staff in Gray Bruce.

00:09:57 SPEAKER_191: I work at Moiwicwadong Indigenous Friendship Centre.

00:09:59 SPEAKER_191: Innis Friendship Center, where I am employed as the Building Gender and Sexually Diverse Communities Program Coordinator.

00:10:05 SPEAKER_191: I'm also a member of Great Bruce Pride and have been leading it for several years.

00:10:11 SPEAKER_191: And I'm very grateful for those of us that are part of the Great Bruce Pride and Block Party Planning Committee that are here today.

00:10:18 SPEAKER_191: We are here out of concern for the bylaw amendments, looking to raise the fees for street closures and volunteer-led. events.

00:10:30 SPEAKER_191: So, for those of you who are not familiar, for the past eight years now, we have had a Pride Parade in Owen Sound.

00:10:39 SPEAKER_191: Typically, our standard fees for the Owen Sound Pride Parade are about three hundred in permits, and then any additional permit fees for vendors.

00:10:47 SPEAKER_191: And if we were to have a large tent, an additional permit fee.

00:10:52 SPEAKER_191: Anything else doesn't go to the city.

00:10:56 SPEAKER_191: Now. with the proposed bylaws of eight hundred dollars for having multi-charge locations of road closures for having fifteen dollars per barricade,

00:11:08 SPEAKER_191: and we require about forty barricades and the additional two hundred and fifty dollars for detouring.

00:11:16 SPEAKER_191: Last year we also had to pay for policing, which is fifteen hundred dollars for three hours of policing.

00:11:22 SPEAKER_191: Last year we had a tornado, so thankfully it was only fifty.

00:11:29 SPEAKER_191: So, thankfully, it was only fifteen hundred dollars this year for our parade.

00:11:31 SPEAKER_191: If it lasts the entire duration of that eight hours, we might have to pay four thousand dollars for policing.

00:11:35 SPEAKER_191: With your proposed bylaw amendments, it would now cost us roughly four thousand dollars to pay to the City of Own Sound for us to have a Pride Parade,

00:11:47 SPEAKER_191: for us to have visibility within community that is so greatly needed, and. that is something that us as a nonprofit cannot absorb.

00:11:57 SPEAKER_191: On top of that, we pay washrooms and everything else.

00:12:00 SPEAKER_191: So we are looking at roughly eight thousand dollars out the door just to go and have the street closed and provide washrooms and policing.

00:12:09 SPEAKER_191: That doesn't include any of the entertainment or anything.

00:12:12 SPEAKER_191: So for you who are sitting here, I think you recognize that it is your volunteers that are the heart of your community. It's also Volunteer Week.

00:12:20 SPEAKER_191: I heard Donald say so. you know, we are here working tirelessly to make sure that there is safety within community.

00:12:27 SPEAKER_191: And having fees like this would terminate pride. Okay.

00:12:34 SPEAKER_142: Thanks for those comments, and we received some excellent correspondence as well to the committee regarding proposed changes, which would take effect July one st. So, just a note for for this year. Any further questions? Any. Questions? Anyone interested in approaching?

00:12:51 SPEAKER_142: My name is Kate Bester.

00:12:55 SPEAKER_142: I'm also a resident of Owen Sound.

00:12:57 SPEAKER_142: I live on Fourth Avenue West and Sixteenth, and I'm also a business owner downtown Owen Sound.

00:13:03 SPEAKER_192: And I'm also here to speak in support of the proposed multi-use path.

00:13:35 SPEAKER_192: I agree, it's a racetrack on our street, and I think actually narrowing the street will do wonders to improve that, making it a more appropriate place for families to bike, walk,

00:13:45 SPEAKER_192: and use the space appropriately.

00:13:46 SPEAKER_192: It is there's two schools, daycares, and a nursing home all right on Fourth Ave or right off Fourth Ave, and it's a primarily residential neighborhood.

00:13:48 SPEAKER_192: So being able to use that space as community again, it's right close to a park as well.

00:13:49 SPEAKER_192: So just being able to integrate more of like the the residential family lifestyle into that street would be hugely beneficial.

00:13:51 SPEAKER_192: The street speed did go down, but people continue to use it.

00:13:57 SPEAKER_192: You know, as described by my neighbor here, as a racetrack.

00:14:00 SPEAKER_192: And you know, my dear friends live just up the street.

00:14:06 SPEAKER_192: I'd love my nephews to be able to to bike to my home safely.

00:14:10 SPEAKER_192: And the highlight of our city of living in this city is really the beautiful nature. and access to that.

00:14:19 SPEAKER_192: So, I think anything we can do to highlight that really highlights what we have to offer to newcomers to the city and the families already living here. Thank you.

00:14:28 SPEAKER_192: Okay, thank you for those comments. Oh, step up. Hello, everybody. My name is Corey. I am Laura's neighbor.

00:14:42 SPEAKER_192: I live very close to Kate.

00:14:44 SPEAKER_192: Hi Kate, I'm Paul's neighbor as well.

00:14:46 SPEAKER_193: I'm I'm here to talk about the fourth Ave reconstruction as well.

00:14:51 SPEAKER_193: You know, maybe doesn't seem like the most important issue, but I am very in favor of doing everything we can to make the road as safe as possible for pedestrians.

00:15:01 SPEAKER_193: I I realize that the the main purpose of the road is thoroughfare of the vehicles, but all the people living in that neighborhood really need access. and safe access,

00:15:15 SPEAKER_193: whether they have like little children or elderly people.

00:15:19 SPEAKER_193: I just, yeah, I I had heard like through the scuttlebutt of town that there was consideration of like sending this back, potentially changing some of the options, redesign fees, everything like that.

00:15:35 SPEAKER_193: I work as an architectural technician.

00:15:38 SPEAKER_193: I'm very well aware of what's required when. projects like this change nature and change scope, kind of at the last minute?

00:15:47 SPEAKER_193: I'm also not really for public waste.

00:15:54 SPEAKER_193: I think this is going to waste a lot of money having the city go back and and basically redo the project from the ground up,

00:16:02 SPEAKER_193: just to set us back to the conditions we currently have, and I'm opposed to that. So. that's basically it.

00:16:12 SPEAKER_193: Ideally, I would love for there to be a multi-use path on Fourth Avenue.

00:16:19 SPEAKER_193: Hopefully, I can come and speak to you in the future.

00:16:24 SPEAKER_193: I probably should do more of that as a member of the town.

00:16:28 SPEAKER_193: And thank you for having the, you know, open forum and making it easy for people to come and speak.

00:16:36 SPEAKER_001: So, thank you very much. Sorry, Corey.

00:16:40 SPEAKER_001: Can you just repeat your name there? Yeah, it's Corey Campbell.

00:16:44 SPEAKER_001: Yeah, and I live on Fourth F West. Okay.

00:16:49 SPEAKER_142: Thank you for the comments, and it's great to have so many people joining us for the meeting this evening, and and showing interest too.

00:16:58 SPEAKER_142: So, item no. During public forum, we take the information. and then we will will deal with both matters because we do have reports coming.

00:17:11 SPEAKER_142: So, item seven is correspondence.

00:17:15 SPEAKER_142: We have no correspondence items before us this evening, so we are down to the first report from city staff, which is regarding the 2026 operations fees and charges update.

00:17:31 SPEAKER_142: I will pass it over and welcome David to the meeting to present it.

00:17:34 SPEAKER_142: Thank you very much, Chair.

00:17:43 SPEAKER_142: So, the fees and charges are reviewed annually in the spring.

00:17:48 SPEAKER_194: The new bylaw takes effect July 1st.

00:17:51 SPEAKER_194: In accordance with Council direction, each standing committee reviews the departmental fees and charges annually before they go to Council for the final approval.

00:17:59 SPEAKER_194: Committee feedback will be considered and incorporated into the final proposed fees and charges schedules. which was presented to council in May.

00:18:07 SPEAKER_194: The user fees and charges generate approximately ten percent of the revenue, which is considered in the city's operating budget. Excuse me.

00:18:15 SPEAKER_194: In two thousand and twenty-five, as part of service review four C three, all fee schedules were divided into three annual cyclical review cycles.

00:18:23 SPEAKER_194: So this approach just ensures every fee is reviewed at least once every three years,

00:18:28 SPEAKER_194: while also considering staff capacity and allowing for more in-depth review of fees. two thousand and twenty-six is the first year of reviewing the fees through the review cycles.

00:18:36 SPEAKER_194: As previously, all all fees were reviewed each year.

00:18:41 SPEAKER_194: Just to jump into the analysis and options, so any proposed in the attachments, any proposed fees or increases that differ from the standard three percent have been highlighted in green in your attachments.

00:18:52 SPEAKER_194: Any proposed fee removals have been highlighted in red.

00:18:55 SPEAKER_194: Administrative charges to fee titles or notes have been redlined.

00:19:01 SPEAKER_194: And. then, when we jump into different departments, so with regards to engineering, the majority of the engineering fees simply increased by approximately the CPI annually.

00:19:12 SPEAKER_194: Jumping down to public works, a couple fees were removed that are no longer applicable, and then new fees were added relating to events where road closure and detour setups are required from operations staff.

00:19:23 SPEAKER_194: New fees were also added relating to the use of barrels and barricades for events.

00:19:29 SPEAKER_194: No. changes to the transit fee structure.

00:19:32 SPEAKER_194: With regards to waste, an additional fee for replacement green bins has been added in cases where the green bin was damaged due to misuse or whatnot.

00:19:41 SPEAKER_194: The fee just basically covers the price that the city pays to replace the bin.

00:19:45 SPEAKER_194: And then the bag tag fee was originally listed for review in two thousand and twenty-six.

00:19:48 SPEAKER_194: However, with the new green bin program and expanded recycling coming into place within the last year,

00:19:53 SPEAKER_194: we're going to push that fee out to two thousand and twenty-seven and review it after we get a better idea on how. the new system is working, so the recommendation is that,

00:20:03 SPEAKER_194: in consideration of staff report CR twenty six zero four zero, respecting the twenty twenty five operations fees and charges update, that the Community Services Committee recommends that City Council receive the report for information purposes. Thank you. Okay, thanks, David.

00:20:20 SPEAKER_194: I'll go to Councilor Merton first. Through you, Chair.

00:20:26 Marion Koepke: We have received. a fair amount of correspondence regarding this particular issue, and I find it interesting that we will be communicating to the public what the fees will be.

00:20:40 Marion Koepke: But I think there may have been a missing piece, and that is speaking and engaging with the public, especially in the nonprofit and charity organizations, to to ask what is the impact,

00:20:53 Marion Koepke: how will this affect your event.

00:20:55 Marion Koepke: How will this affect your events?

00:20:56 Marion Koepke: How will this affect the future and your future plans?

00:21:00 Marion Koepke: So that communication process may be something that we may want to revisit in the future as we go through these cycles.

00:21:08 Marion Koepke: There are a couple of things that have come to my mind as I reviewed this and the correspondence and the comments today.

00:21:12 Marion Koepke: There are some changes that we now have.

00:21:17 Marion Koepke: We do have the opportunity through the municipal accommodations tax to have a certain percentage of. money that can be used for events, tourism, anything that promotes people to come,

00:21:31 Marion Koepke: and and it would be helpful to be able to get feedback on can this support the initiatives, including the non-profits and the charities, so that we could consider offsetting some fees through through an opportunity.

00:21:48 Marion Koepke: So that's information that I would find very helpful to receive. before I was comfortable making a final decision.

00:21:57 Marion Koepke: The other is around other events and activities.

00:22:00 Marion Koepke: We use a private security company from time to time, which is charged back to the specific functional center or department.

00:22:11 Marion Koepke: Is there a standard of ratio between private security and police for these events?

00:22:17 Marion Koepke: Because if it's less expensive to have a proportion of private security, understanding that that we policing has a role,

00:22:25 Marion Koepke: could we look at the ratio for for our communities to be able to say we can look at this to offset the expenditure that would be required in the total security cost,

00:22:40 Marion Koepke: and and I don't know that we have that standard in place, but I think this is important information as we go forward. we want these events.

00:22:51 Marion Koepke: These events are important for everyone in our community, and it's important to demonstrate that we are inclusive within our activities.

00:23:00 Marion Koepke: So there's some unanswered pieces for me before I feel comfortable making a decision about some of the charges that are outlined. Thank you. Thank you, Councilor Farmer.

00:23:16 SPEAKER_143: Thank you, through the first, I guess, a procedural. question: If committee does want to see changes to the proposed fees and charges schedules as included in the report, does that require motions,

00:23:28 SPEAKER_143: or is this a more informal conversation to provide feedback, and that will inform the version of the report that eventually goes to council?

00:23:37 SPEAKER_143: If if we could clarify the process, that'd be great.

00:23:41 SPEAKER_142: How about I suggest if I had a motion to put the report. on the floor, and then made each change through an amendment, and then we could track it that way.

00:23:54 SPEAKER_001: So, currently, the recommendation is just to receive for information purposes.

00:24:04 SPEAKER_001: So, if there instead of doing amendments and having to vote on amendments,

00:24:09 SPEAKER_001: I recommend that if somebody has a change or a fee to any of the fees that are in the proposed structure. make a motion.

00:24:17 SPEAKER_001: In that way, when the minutes go, that they'll be in there, and we'll remove them from the final.

00:24:26 SPEAKER_001: Except we have to receive the report first.

00:24:32 SPEAKER_001: We have to put the report on the floor before having. Not approving it. Why?

00:24:43 SPEAKER_142: What if we had a motion receiving the report with the changes approved by committee, all in one motion, so we can make those alterations and then just adopt that within the same recommendation?

00:25:05 SPEAKER_001: Sure, you can do that.

00:25:07 SPEAKER_001: Yep, have all of the amendments in one motion.

00:25:09 SPEAKER_001: You mean any changes to the schedules altogether? Yep. Altogether, yeah, that works.

00:25:14 SPEAKER_143: Does that work for you, John?

00:25:17 SPEAKER_143: Through the chair, anything works as long as I'm clear on the rules.

00:25:20 SPEAKER_143: The okay, so I guess I I gather from the chair's preference that were I to move a motion to receive for information with motion with amended motions as passed by committee,

00:25:31 SPEAKER_143: if that sounds suitably formal to to meet the needs. as amended, I think, is will be fine.

00:25:45 SPEAKER_143: Yep, I so move to receive for information purposes as amended, and now questions and comments.

00:25:53 SPEAKER_143: So first, if I could just ask staff, we're once for what we see for new fees, we're staff working to a particular percentage increase for fees. or budget recovered through user fees,

00:26:12 SPEAKER_143: or is ten the ten referenced?

00:26:15 SPEAKER_143: Is that the current status quo, and we're shooting for something else, or are we?

00:26:20 SPEAKER_143: Yeah, is there a particular benchmark we're aiming for? Director Woodfield. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

00:26:30 SPEAKER_145: Through you to Councillor Farmer.

00:26:34 SPEAKER_145: The changes that we're proposing are trying to get as close as possible. to cost recovery as we can, where it's reasonable.

00:26:44 SPEAKER_145: Anyway, the the costs for the events we know that those are still not quite one hundred percent cost recovery, but we didn't have fees in the schedule for those at all.

00:26:55 SPEAKER_145: So it's it's a starting point at least, with the engineering fees and the various other ones.

00:27:03 SPEAKER_145: As you as the chair noted, no. sorry.

00:27:06 SPEAKER_145: As my colleague noted, the the green bin, for example, that's literally just cost.

00:27:12 SPEAKER_145: I think cost plus like a small amount for flowing the money through through our accounts.

00:27:22 SPEAKER_145: We don't make profit on our on our fees.

00:27:23 SPEAKER_145: So, we where we're not consciously subsidizing costs at council's direction.

00:27:27 SPEAKER_145: We try to be as close as possible to cost recovery as Through the chair,

00:27:33 SPEAKER_145: will the proposed fees for events also apply to events run by the City of On Sound Tourism or the River District?

00:27:51 SPEAKER_145: Through the chair, so these are fees that Council could consider applying.

00:27:58 SPEAKER_145: Whether they get applied is another story.

00:28:01 SPEAKER_145: These are just the fees for. consideration at this point in time.

00:28:06 SPEAKER_145: So you know everything has a process.

00:28:10 SPEAKER_145: We have fees for all kinds of things.

00:28:12 SPEAKER_145: Whether they get charged is a totally different topic.

00:28:18 SPEAKER_145: So I think maybe that I hope that answers your question. Good enough. Through the chair.

00:28:28 SPEAKER_143: I so my as someone who has. at various times in my life organized stuff just because I think the thing is good, I'm really sympathetic to the cost of putting on an event,

00:28:40 SPEAKER_143: and I'm worried that on Schedule J the new costs being applied under Events in points sixteen through twenty one on the chart make it way more expensive to do things that are already really expensive to do.

00:28:55 SPEAKER_143: Having been a volunteer with Summerfolk for.

00:29:00 SPEAKER_143: With summer folk for for years, I know that their costs through the pandemic, just as one example, for an organization that I've seen a little bit of the internal workings of,

00:29:09 SPEAKER_143: rose by an like an eye-watering percentage,

00:29:13 SPEAKER_143: and I'm worried that by including these additional charges for events that are free community events in many cases that draw people from outside of Owen Sound into Owen Sound, that activate the downtown,

00:29:27 SPEAKER_143: that we're making it. more expensive for volunteers to provide a service that, in other places,

00:29:32 SPEAKER_143: we are actively dedicating city budget and staff time to doing by having the River District Coordinator putting on events and supporting the River District Board with that,

00:29:42 SPEAKER_143: by having a tourism department that puts on free community events throughout the year, and if if we're considering applying fees like this universally to get to a cost recovery basis,

00:29:56 SPEAKER_143: I. think that we we risk having the right hand make it harder for the left hand to do what it wants to do,

00:30:03 SPEAKER_143: which is make this a vibrant and safe and inclusive and fun place to be, and not just be, but visit and run a business and connect with humans. And I'm not seeing.

00:30:17 SPEAKER_143: I don't know how this works into that.

00:30:20 SPEAKER_143: If we're also not considering charging fees for things like snow plowing and like the. other basic services that apply to the community at large,

00:30:29 SPEAKER_143: were there to be more specifics around whether fees would apply to like for-profit or corporate events, I think that there's room to make that explicit.

00:30:40 SPEAKER_143: That if someone's coming into our community to make a whole bunch of money on something, that they could cover the cost of the city supporting that.

00:30:49 SPEAKER_143: I don't see that nuance there. and like I'm totally for the Acme Anvil Company running an Anvil Festival downtown.

00:30:58 SPEAKER_143: So, but if they're making money off that, great.

00:31:03 SPEAKER_143: They should pay for that.

00:31:04 SPEAKER_143: If folks are doing, if folks are adding to the buffet of events and activations that beyond what the city itself has, like can cook up on our own,

00:31:16 SPEAKER_143: then I don't think that we should make it impossible to do that.

00:31:19 SPEAKER_143: And I don't know how to provide the nuance. in the report to say that these fees would only apply for for-profit companies.

00:31:27 SPEAKER_143: I also recognize the accounting benefit of being able to say every barrel costs fifteen dollars.

00:31:32 SPEAKER_143: So if tourism is doing that, we can shift the money from the tourism budget over to like public works in the same way that we account for staff time differently between different activities.

00:31:44 SPEAKER_143: And I would move like my initial instinct is to move. that items sixteen through twenty one on schedule J be struck from the from the recommendations.

00:32:04 SPEAKER_143: But I would also like if if it's easier for staff to say that those fees would only apply for for profit events, I'm also happy with that nuance.

00:32:14 SPEAKER_143: So I think I'll move.

00:32:14 SPEAKER_143: Yeah, I'll say I'll do the second one.

00:32:16 SPEAKER_143: I will move that. the new fees proposed in Schedule J for events apply only to for-profit, yeah, for-profit events.

00:32:24 SPEAKER_143: Okay, thank you very much, Councillor Farmer, and that's good.

00:32:32 SPEAKER_143: We've got some clarity here.

00:32:33 SPEAKER_142: I would just ask staff if this were to pass, is it perhaps most opportune that staff maybe just bring a report back in the future that would address some, Councillor.

00:32:45 SPEAKER_142: Would address some of Councillor Farmer's concerns about being able to, because it's pretty tough to just respond in the moment, being tonight.

00:32:52 SPEAKER_142: But perhaps the ability to respond in the future to some of the the concerns about is it for a profit versus a volunteer organization.

00:33:03 SPEAKER_145: Does staff wish to comment on that? Thank you, Mr. Chair.

00:33:08 SPEAKER_145: I did want to, as as Councillor Farmer was talking, I did sort of think of some comments that I would like to. add,

00:33:17 SPEAKER_145: and I think what you're what you're grappling with is exactly the question the council needs to make, and this this committee needs to make a recommendation to council one way or another.

00:33:28 SPEAKER_145: And whether council overrules that or or chooses to follow it is what council is going to do.

00:33:34 SPEAKER_145: So we've provided costs, and if if council like so staff can't choose who. we're going to charge.

00:33:46 SPEAKER_145: Really, we provide the costs.

00:33:49 SPEAKER_145: Council can tell us who pays, who doesn't pay.

00:33:54 SPEAKER_145: So that would be the decision.

00:33:56 SPEAKER_145: I think that you need to make as a committee that you want to recommend, and as council is going to direct staff.

00:34:04 SPEAKER_145: That yes, these are the fees.

00:34:06 SPEAKER_145: These are fees that we will continue to calculate.

00:34:09 SPEAKER_145: When I give a year-end report, saying these events cost the city this much money, just. for your information.

00:34:15 SPEAKER_145: But you know, at the end of the day, if council chooses not to charge those fees, then that's council's prerogative.

00:34:25 SPEAKER_145: Okay, thank you, Member Anderson. Go ahead. Through you, Mr. Chair.

00:34:33 SPEAKER_145: As a person who's involved in not-for-profits, I don't think it's a secret that I am involved in quite a few in our community.

00:34:39 SPEAKER_145: I, again, would support John's. motion.

00:34:42 SPEAKER_197: I am concerned about how this has been presented, and how it could impact.

00:34:46 SPEAKER_197: Not intentionally, not for profits and community events where volunteers are very important, and we really don't work to make money.

00:34:54 SPEAKER_197: I also have two other questions about the fees.

00:34:58 SPEAKER_197: One is around the fees increasing for our chip wagons, and the other one is around the cost that we recoup when charging businesses when they don't remove their snow downtown.

00:35:16 SPEAKER_197: Would staff like to try to address those questions? Go ahead, David.

00:35:29 SPEAKER_194: Through through you, Mr. Chair. You're talking. Sorry, Member Anderson.

00:35:35 SPEAKER_194: You're you're speaking about the food truck licensing. increase that I don't believe that's part of this fee structure.

00:35:42 SPEAKER_194: It was presented to Corporate Services.

00:35:44 SPEAKER_194: It was a different committee, but just I can discuss it because I presented that report as well.

00:35:50 SPEAKER_194: Conveniently enough, all we were trying to do there was get closer in line with what our comparable municipalities are doing.

00:35:58 SPEAKER_194: The food truck fee is a one-time fee.

00:36:01 SPEAKER_194: It is not an annual fee that they pay, and so we just wanted to kind of get more comparable. with that fee to other municipalities. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

00:36:10 SPEAKER_194: Thank you, Dave, for clarifying that.

00:36:16 SPEAKER_197: The other one I was curious about was the, and I might not get this terminology correct, but when downtown businesses don't clear the snow, the city charges them for that service,

00:36:26 SPEAKER_197: and I was surprised at how low that rate is, and I think it could be increased.

00:36:34 SPEAKER_142: I see. staff nodding, and they've located it.

00:36:38 SPEAKER_142: So I'll pass over to staff to comment to that concern. Apologies.

00:36:50 SPEAKER_142: This fee does predate both Director Butterfield and I. To our best recollection,

00:36:54 SPEAKER_198: this is attached to an existing bylaw we have on file that businesses are responsible for shoveling the snow in front of their storefronts.

00:37:03 SPEAKER_198: I can't answer too much about that.

00:37:06 SPEAKER_198: This fee doesn't get applied regularly since my time here.

00:37:10 SPEAKER_198: As we do provide snow removal in the mornings downtown, so that's the best answer I have now.

00:37:15 SPEAKER_198: But we we can look into it at the committee's. Okay, David.

00:37:17 SPEAKER_198: Sorry, through through you, Mr. Chair.

00:37:25 SPEAKER_194: These fees for the downtown snow removals will be reviewed in two thousand and twenty-seven as part of that cyclical cycle.

00:37:34 SPEAKER_194: Thank you for clarifying the answers. Thank you, Councillor Farmer.

00:37:41 SPEAKER_194: Point of order, just I think I got the right one through the chair.

00:37:44 SPEAKER_143: My intention was to move that amendment at the time, which I thought would place that on the floor for a vote, or comments or a vote, if we're dealing with point by point for amendments.

00:37:55 SPEAKER_143: But I looked at the chair and staff to clarify.

00:37:59 SPEAKER_142: I've got yours noted. here, and and that's if there's any other ones would include and then separate, as opposed because we decide at the start we wouldn't go amendment by amendment.

00:38:14 SPEAKER_142: So right now I'm just listening to are there any other concerns on any other line items? Member Steger.

00:38:25 SPEAKER_142: Through the chair, I have two questions for you. The first one.

00:38:29 SPEAKER_142: Is around the special services application that was doubled in price, I believe, something like that.

00:38:37 SPEAKER_200: Admin fee that was doubled in price from 125 to 250.

00:38:41 SPEAKER_200: I honestly tried to find the application for special services, and it hasn't been updated since 1992.

00:38:51 SPEAKER_200: I wondered if there was a process in place to update that procedure or application before increasing the fee. Go ahead, Laura. Thank you, Member Shooter. Through you, Mr. Chair.

00:39:03 SPEAKER_145: Yes, we actually were currently working on that.

00:39:06 SPEAKER_145: We're moving the application ideally online so that we can provide more assistance.

00:39:12 SPEAKER_145: And I think in one of the reports that will be in front of you this evening, we do refer to.

00:39:20 SPEAKER_145: Oh, was it on a previous agenda?

00:39:22 SPEAKER_145: Might have been a previous agenda.

00:39:24 SPEAKER_145: We're splitting up the the. servicing process.

00:39:28 SPEAKER_145: So, for the very simple ones that are essentially like the equivalent of like a single-family home service for water and sewer, we have the SSA process.

00:39:39 SPEAKER_145: And then anything more complicated than that, we're developing a servicing agreement, light, if you will, so that it's not as elaborate and labor-intensive as the contracts we enter into with developers.

00:39:49 SPEAKER_145: But it it does protect the interests of the city, and it makes it very clear what the developers or well, the the builder, let's call it that, is required to do.

00:40:03 SPEAKER_145: Like for smaller smaller sites that are bigger than a single family home, but not a big giant apartment building or something like that.

00:40:15 SPEAKER_199: Through the chair, just for clarification, then the goal is to make another fee that will be more like smaller for those single family.

00:40:23 SPEAKER_199: For those single-family homes, and this fee would be the the larger build. I apologize. I missed that part.

00:40:29 SPEAKER_145: The so the the small ones we're actually going to be putting the responsibility for hiring the contractor on the person that wants it.

00:40:38 SPEAKER_145: So there won't be essentially a construction fee for those. Perfect. Thank you.

00:40:47 SPEAKER_145: And through the chair, I did also want to comment on the event.

00:40:52 SPEAKER_200: Items that were all added there, as a person that works for or volunteers for non-for-profits and has chosen to move my events out of Owen Sound, probably eight times in the last two years,

00:41:05 SPEAKER_200: because of the process for events and the fees and the administrative structure, I think this is just another loophole that people are going to have to jump through,

00:41:14 SPEAKER_200: and I think it needs to be reviewed before it's passed. Member in. Member Indo.

00:41:23 SPEAKER_200: Just had a question too through you, Chair, on the event. 16 to 21.

00:41:30 SPEAKER_200: Are these all new, or are they just increasing? I'll go to David.

00:41:38 SPEAKER_142: There, anything in the green is a new fee proposed for this year.

00:41:48 SPEAKER_142: So. other years, they didn't have to pay for any of this.

00:41:54 SPEAKER_142: Okay, so who pays for that?

00:41:56 SPEAKER_142: Where does the money come from?

00:41:58 SPEAKER_142: Just out of their individual budgets for each department, or? I'll go to David.

00:42:07 SPEAKER_194: It would come from the operating budget, so it would be the tax base.

00:42:17 SPEAKER_202: And. just a clarification: the nonprofit, like if if this the council, I guess we recommend it and council approve it.

00:42:27 SPEAKER_202: Who decide the nonprofits would have to be a registered charity, would they, or is it just any event?

00:42:33 SPEAKER_202: But we don't have that answer yet. We could speculate.

00:42:41 SPEAKER_142: I'm not sure we want to speculate right now.

00:42:44 SPEAKER_142: Let's just probably focus on.

00:42:47 SPEAKER_142: Does committee want to proceed with recommending these new fees for consideration for 2026, or not?

00:42:57 SPEAKER_142: As opposed to trying to decide how we determine what's charity, what's not charity, status, and so forth. Just okay. That's.

00:43:08 SPEAKER_202: I thought it was he was recommending that nonprofits be excluded.

00:43:14 SPEAKER_202: Did I misunderstood your motion, probably, or amendment? Yeah.

00:43:22 SPEAKER_143: Through the chair, my my motion was to have the fee only apply to for-profit events, which would exclude community groups, non-profit.

00:43:31 SPEAKER_143: Like, in, but for the CRA's eyes, if you're going to have write someone a tax receipt as a non-profit or a charitable organization, that's a particular definition.

00:43:42 SPEAKER_143: There are lots of small. grassroots groups that are never going to have a board and audited financials to qualify for something like a charitable number,

00:43:51 SPEAKER_143: and I would hate to include the the grassiest of the or greenest of the grassy roots events with that.

00:44:00 SPEAKER_143: So my motion was to only have that for organizations that are coming in to specifically make money from an event in a public space in Owen Sound.

00:44:13 SPEAKER_142: Okay, I'm glad you clarified that.

00:44:15 SPEAKER_142: I thought your motion was initially just to remove it for consideration this year in its entirety from all groups, but you wish to leave it and then determine who qualifies through the chair.

00:44:30 SPEAKER_143: Yeah, I think staff wouldn't have included that if there wasn't some utility in knowing how much these services cost, and even just from an accounting perspective, I think that adds to the. clarity,

00:44:41 SPEAKER_143: so that we can we can say like is Owen Sound supporting community events?

00:44:47 SPEAKER_143: Yes, with in-kind support for fifteen dollars for every barrel or barricade, and there was forty barricades,

00:44:54 SPEAKER_143: and so I think that helps to also make the support of Owen of the city of Owen Sound for community groups clearer by being able to track that,

00:45:03 SPEAKER_143: even if we don't send a bill at the end.

00:45:05 SPEAKER_142: And okay, and I see Christine. nodding.

00:45:09 SPEAKER_142: So you you got that.

00:45:11 SPEAKER_142: I'll go to Member Hawkins and then Member Jordan. Three, Mr. Chair. Two questions for staff.

00:45:22 SPEAKER_203: Wondering if there has been any correlation from the tourism boost from the Pride Parade.

00:45:33 SPEAKER_203: Like, has there been any being able to say we've had. this parade, and this is how much money the city has brought in. That's question number one. Go ahead, Laura.

00:45:42 SPEAKER_203: Through the chair to Member Hawkins.

00:45:43 SPEAKER_203: No, we we haven't looked at that.

00:45:54 SPEAKER_145: These fees are like essentially, you know, it's.

00:45:59 SPEAKER_145: I hear that there is a lot of hesitation to charge them, but in the past we've been asked for these fees, so. we're providing them, and we didn't look at whether or not, like,

00:46:11 SPEAKER_145: we didn't do an economic analysis. No. Thank you.

00:46:17 SPEAKER_203: And three, Mr. Chair, wondering if we can be clear on who the decision maker will be for waiving fees for these services as well.

00:46:27 SPEAKER_203: I'll go back to Laura there.

00:46:33 SPEAKER_203: I'll go back to Lara there. Through the chair,

00:46:37 SPEAKER_145: it would well our like my my sort of I guess right now it would be council like we would wait for council's decision on whether or not we are directed to come back with another

00:46:56 SPEAKER_145: report or try to establish a policy or if council or committee is come.

00:47:18 SPEAKER_145: Or committee is comfortable to provide a specific definition of what you want that to be.

00:47:28 SPEAKER_145: There are different options, but ultimately it's council's decision on whether it gets waived or not.

00:47:29 SPEAKER_142: Okay, yeah, it would have to be twofold.

00:47:31 SPEAKER_142: It would either be clearly identified in the motion and applied equally, or each group would have to send correspondence that would have to.

00:47:33 SPEAKER_142: Respondents that would have to travel through council for yay or nay.

00:47:34 SPEAKER_142: Did you have your hand up before I go to member Jordan? Go, go ahead, John.

00:47:39 SPEAKER_143: Through the chair, just to clarify, my understanding for that would be we get to make the recommendation now with how we want that to work and lay out the rules.

00:47:47 SPEAKER_143: And if the fee applies to an organization that doesn't want it to apply to them, that as the chair said, they get to ask for that.

00:47:55 SPEAKER_143: But that ultimately, like we're we're making this all. up, so we we get to do it as first as committee with recommendations.

00:48:04 SPEAKER_143: Council gets the final say; they can adopt or come up with a different solution than what committee recommends.

00:48:10 SPEAKER_143: But we get to make the rules for our own community. Okay, Member Jordan.

00:48:18 SPEAKER_143: I heard the term economic analysis used, and I guess my question draws from that.

00:48:23 SPEAKER_205: These event fees in green are controversial, to say the least.

00:48:29 SPEAKER_205: I just got thinking of four major road closure events that we have every year: being the Santa Claus Parade, Festival of Northern Lights, Hottest Yard Sale, and Remembrance Day.

00:48:42 SPEAKER_205: So, are all of those now susceptible to these increased or these new fees?

00:48:49 SPEAKER_205: And as as that part will that be part of your analysis? Go ahead, sir.

00:48:59 SPEAKER_145: Go ahead, through the chair. The Christmas ones, yes.

00:49:04 SPEAKER_145: Remembrance Day, I assume so.

00:49:09 SPEAKER_145: But that's a small, fairly simple one, so it probably wouldn't be as much as the others.

00:49:16 SPEAKER_145: Hottest Street Sale, I again, I would assume that we would charge ourselves.

00:49:22 SPEAKER_145: I think that's technically the city's event. then there's also the the like car one that they run in the summer time as well, like same same kind of thing.

00:49:35 SPEAKER_145: The the river district does a bunch of closures for their own like you know economic development purposes.

00:49:43 SPEAKER_145: Theoretically, those would apply as well if if we applied these fees to everybody. Nothing further.

00:49:56 SPEAKER_205: So you're saying that for some of these events, the city just slides it to the books in and out.

00:50:02 SPEAKER_205: You're paying, charging yourself, and get back that way.

00:50:05 SPEAKER_205: So the River District they have they will be charged for some of these fees that they weren't getting before.

00:50:13 SPEAKER_205: And like, is the is the Legion going to get charged?

00:50:16 SPEAKER_205: You're not sure about that one.

00:50:18 SPEAKER_205: And Santa Claus Parade that's a pretty big event that takes up a lot. of street space. Okay.

00:50:27 SPEAKER_205: Do we need a response there? Yeah.

00:50:28 SPEAKER_205: I think you're good, Jim Graham. Okay. Councilor Merton. Through you, Chair.

00:50:37 Marion Koepke: As we are going around the table and discussing this, there there is an impact, and it's more than financial.

00:50:45 Marion Koepke: There's a huge impact on relationships, established history.

00:50:50 Marion Koepke: When you talk about the Kowanas Parade, they've been part of our community, and I, I'm wondering, Councillor Farmer, at this point, whether you might consider an amendment, to ask for staff to review the implications,

00:51:10 Marion Koepke: the cost, the equity in application, and bring back to committee a report.

00:51:16 Marion Koepke: First, at this point, there's more questions.

00:51:20 Marion Koepke: I don't feel that we have a lot of information to make an informed decision, but certainly I've heard the concerns,

00:51:27 Marion Koepke: and I think this this decision about this particular section around events has potential significant impacts on our community, our organizations, and where we move forward.

00:51:44 Marion Koepke: I I request an amendment to bring this. back for additional consideration based on further evaluation and staff report, because there's some unanswered questions. I'll be brief.

00:51:58 SPEAKER_142: I would just love to see us remove items 16 to 21 at this time for consideration in its entirety, and see a subsequent motion come back,

00:52:09 SPEAKER_142: allowing staff the opportunity just to address some of the concerns they've heard here today.

00:52:15 SPEAKER_142: Every pretty much every. event that this is applied to is, off the top of my head, is a cause for concern.

00:52:22 SPEAKER_142: Legion, Kowana's Pride Festival, like so.

00:52:26 SPEAKER_142: I don't think I don't sense there's any appetite in moving forward with this at this time, and I just would be happy seeing committee just recommend to council to remove sixteen to twenty one.

00:52:39 SPEAKER_142: We approve the rest of the fees and charges for council to consider,

00:52:42 SPEAKER_142: and if someone wants to make a subsequent. motion to ask for a staff report back to speak to a little bit more of the specifics, I think that would be great.

00:52:52 SPEAKER_142: But I'll just go to Councillor Farmer before I call the vote.

00:52:56 SPEAKER_143: Through the chair, my concern with that with that is that we, the city, has been working to have a better sense of what things cost and what we're spending on what.

00:53:07 SPEAKER_143: I phrased the original amendment the way that I did, knowing that it would apply, that it would effectively. exclude every like street closure that we've been able to think of and mention so far,

00:53:19 SPEAKER_143: and if staff supports the longer term vision of being able to appropriately identify and track costs, my understanding is that my amendment would support both the desire to exclude everything we've thought of so far,

00:53:37 SPEAKER_143: and the desire to effectively track what we're spending on what and why.

00:53:42 SPEAKER_143: Depending on what, and why, but now I don't know if we're voting on an if the most I don't know how this works procedurally now because there's an amendment to an amendment,

00:53:51 SPEAKER_143: but an amendment can't be amended. What do we do? Ah, Christina.

00:53:58 SPEAKER_001: It might be helpful if I just reread John's original amendment here, that as I have it down, and confirm me if I'm if I'm wrong, John.

00:54:09 SPEAKER_001: So it would be the addition. of a note to the event fees section, items sixteen through twenty-one, in Schedule J, to clarify that these fees are only charged to for-profit events.

00:54:30 SPEAKER_142: I see heads nodding in agreement. Everyone's clear on that.

00:54:34 SPEAKER_142: And at this time, I will call the vote. All those in favor. And that's carried unanimously.

00:54:42 SPEAKER_142: Okay, thank you very much.

00:54:45 SPEAKER_142: Thanks to staff for working with committee on that.

00:54:48 SPEAKER_142: This is, as, for committee' sake, this is part of a report and it was noted.

00:54:55 SPEAKER_142: This used to go to council as I don't fifty five or seventy six pages once a year,

00:55:00 SPEAKER_142: and then you were trying on a Monday night to determine that I don't like item J under subsection two a.

00:55:06 SPEAKER_142: Subsection 2A, on page 51,

00:55:12 SPEAKER_142: and and I thank staff for what they've done the last couple years in in sending this to committees because it does provoke more community input and more transparency as opposed to our old system.

00:55:22 SPEAKER_142: So, but I will move on at this point. Oh, it was.

00:55:33 SPEAKER_142: I thought we were receiving the report.

00:55:38 SPEAKER_001: We are receiving the report as, as amended. Was the original?

00:55:42 SPEAKER_001: Either way, since it was an amendment, we first have to vote on the amendment and then on the amended motion, which will now be to receive it for information with the addition of that line. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

00:56:18 SPEAKER_145: I won't spend too long talking about this.

00:56:22 SPEAKER_145: Just an intro context for the committee.

00:56:25 SPEAKER_145: When our minutes were presented to Council, there were questions that were brought up. so procedurally, because the report was just accepted for information, there was no actual resolution recommending a particular option.

00:56:44 SPEAKER_145: So they requested that it be referred back to the committee so that you could approve or like recommend to council a specific option.

00:56:54 SPEAKER_145: So, the report has been written recommending option three, and.

00:57:01 SPEAKER_145: I would be happy to answer any questions that you might have. Okay, thanks, Laura. Member Anderson. Through you, Mr. Chair.

00:57:12 SPEAKER_197: As my committee members know, and as staff know, I am a very meticulous reader of all the reports that come, even though they are sometimes challenging.

00:57:21 SPEAKER_197: I want to commend Laura and her staff on the work they did.

00:57:25 SPEAKER_197: Especially, I was impressed by the supplementary information that they provided.

00:57:29 SPEAKER_197: I am well aware of universal access and how that theory and practice works.

00:57:34 SPEAKER_197: As a person with a disability, I greatly am impressed with the work the staff have done on this report.

00:57:41 SPEAKER_197: Okay, thanks for those comments, Councillor Farmer.

00:57:44 SPEAKER_143: I'd like to move the recommendation that, in consideration of staff report OP twenty six zero one two, respecting the preliminary design options for the Fourth Avenue West construction, Fifteenth Street to Twentieth Street,

00:57:57 SPEAKER_143: that the Operations Committee. recommends that city council approve option three, integrating a multi-use path as the best combination of value for investment, due to its positive impact on active transportation, safety, and ease of maintenance.

00:58:11 SPEAKER_143: I, I think this splits the difference.

00:58:13 SPEAKER_143: It's not on its face personally like what I would want if I was designing that myself, but I recognize that it balances the variety of constraints and needs,

00:58:24 SPEAKER_143: and as we look to the the city that we want to create, the argument against including a path like something like the multi-use path that in this iteration is just on its own.

00:58:38 SPEAKER_143: One of the constant critiques that we hear is it doesn't connect to anything, but it is connected to our road network.

00:58:44 SPEAKER_143: It points south in the direction of the multi-use path that was incorporated into the Alpha Street project,

00:58:51 SPEAKER_143: and it builds on the long-term philosophy that the city can't. afford to just rebuild everything tomorrow to make the city that we want, and that instead, when we come up with big ticket projects,

00:59:03 SPEAKER_143: we will make incremental improvements so that in a hundred years we're closer to what we would have wanted.

00:59:08 SPEAKER_143: So our grandkids, should we have them, can enjoy them.

00:59:12 SPEAKER_143: And I really think that we need to listen to the values of the Vision Twenty Fifty plan that the city just approved, that includes wanting a. city that moves, where people can get around safely,

00:59:26 SPEAKER_143: where people can be connected in their communities, and also all the best practice that staff have incorporated professionally in terms of traffic calming.

00:59:36 SPEAKER_143: We know that it's easier to think that something is a racetrack if you've got a lot of elbow room, and that when things are constrained, people drive more slowly because they're afraid of hitting stuff.

00:59:47 SPEAKER_143: And the widths of the roads, as provided, as reflecting standard lane widths across.

00:59:53 SPEAKER_143: Owen Sound and I think Ontario.

00:59:54 SPEAKER_143: I don't think staff just made this up for us.

00:59:57 SPEAKER_143: That there's enough room for vehicles to get by.

01:00:00 SPEAKER_143: You got to drive carefully, and that's what we want.

01:00:02 SPEAKER_143: We want people to drive carefully.

01:00:04 SPEAKER_143: We also know that staff have been very clear that the width of that path will change over its length, because there are places where the houses are parked real close to the street,

01:00:16 SPEAKER_143: and they're going to be a little bit more narrow there.

01:00:19 SPEAKER_143: But that that helps us to. reduce what is a very real safety concern for folks when there's different speeds.

01:00:27 SPEAKER_143: Like that's the the big thing and resources that I've seen, especially from strong towns, that when you've got traffic flow of different speeds, that's where danger is.

01:00:36 SPEAKER_143: So it's people cycling when folks are driving.

01:00:40 SPEAKER_143: It's people walking slowly when people are going by quickly.

01:00:44 SPEAKER_143: And a multi-use path helps us to get the greatest amount of separation that we can. between user groups moving at different speeds. It's also not perfect.

01:00:54 SPEAKER_143: We've heard feedback from community members that are really worried about what reducing their seasonal parking is going to mean for Thanksgiving or the Super Bowl party.

01:01:03 SPEAKER_143: But from a day-to-day livability perspective, I think this balances both cost and the age-friendly kind of design that we've aligned ourselves with in other policies.

01:01:17 SPEAKER_143: But the policies. only really matter if we apply them project by project, and I think this is an opportunity to do that.

01:01:23 SPEAKER_143: Which is why I made that motion. Okay, Councillor Merton.

01:01:30 Marion Koepke: Through chair to the staff, we've heard the concerns from the community.

01:01:37 Marion Koepke: We're moving forward with an initiative that we hope and plan to resolve those concerns.

01:01:44 Marion Koepke: But how do we know at the end? How will we?

01:01:46 Marion Koepke: measure whether it actually has achieved?

01:01:49 Marion Koepke: Are we planning to do a community survey?

01:01:52 Marion Koepke: I mean, I think it's really important.

01:01:54 Marion Koepke: People have commented, engaged, shared their concerns. We need to measure.

01:02:02 Marion Koepke: Did we meet those expectations as a result of this project?

01:02:06 Marion Koepke: So my question is: Is there a plan to measure afterwards to to be able to say we heard you, we did this, and this is. the result.

01:02:19 SPEAKER_145: Through the chair to Councilor Merton, yes, definitely.

01:02:22 SPEAKER_145: The most, you know, technical part of that is that we've we've done some, you know, before construction traffic counts and speed testing, and then we're going to do some after,

01:02:36 SPEAKER_145: and that also includes like the streets around the area too, because I myself. am very interested in seeing how it affects the traffic in the area, whether it get just causes bypass onto another road,

01:02:50 SPEAKER_145: or ideally people will use Eddie Sargent Parkway because that's supposed to be the main conduit for moving traffic.

01:02:58 SPEAKER_145: But you know, we could we could get something different out of that.

01:03:03 SPEAKER_145: But then, yeah, I suppose sort of like a satisfaction survey component would be would be helpful, and I'm sure the easiest. sources would be to head back to the the school and and the daycares,

01:03:20 SPEAKER_145: but we could probably also do another survey out to the general community as well.

01:03:28 SPEAKER_145: Okay, anyone to my right, Member Jordan.

01:03:32 SPEAKER_205: Through the chair, I have a question of engineering to an item that's not on the agenda.

01:03:36 SPEAKER_205: When I could bring that up. That. would be outs.

01:03:41 SPEAKER_205: That would be additional business.

01:03:43 SPEAKER_142: If yeah, any further questions? Not seeing any.

01:03:49 SPEAKER_142: I do have one question.

01:03:50 SPEAKER_142: It was noted earlier in design that some hydro poles would have to be relocated.

01:03:56 SPEAKER_142: I think back several years ago, we reconstructed Twelve th Street East from two hundred while the two hundred block, Second to Third Avenue.

01:04:04 SPEAKER_142: There was a hydro pole there that was a significant constraint, and we. as much as we did not like it, and we would have rather moved it,

01:04:12 SPEAKER_142: it is still situated right in the middle of the sidewalk.

01:04:18 SPEAKER_142: That's the way it was.

01:04:19 SPEAKER_142: We determined that it wasn't the course of the path of action that we were going to choose.

01:04:25 SPEAKER_142: How many hydro poles are we still considering relocating to facilitate the path?

01:04:30 SPEAKER_038: Through the chair, or sorry, to the chair.

01:04:40 SPEAKER_145: Thank you for the question.

01:04:42 SPEAKER_145: So we have an approximate number, but we still need to do a walk through with Hydro One to confirm what they want, because it's it's a two way street on that one.

01:04:52 SPEAKER_145: But you're right, and actually, there's a more recent project than that.

01:04:57 SPEAKER_145: Ninth Avenue at Sixth Street.

01:04:58 SPEAKER_145: We had a very problematic hydro pole, but that one in particular had. lines in all four directions. They were high voltage.

01:05:09 SPEAKER_145: We don't have anything like that on Fourth Avenue, so they should be fairly straightforward.

01:05:15 SPEAKER_145: And as noted in the report, there would need to be hydro pole relocation with even essentially the status quo because we would need to redo the the curves at the intersections.

01:05:29 SPEAKER_145: Some of them are too close.

01:05:33 SPEAKER_145: So to give you an order of magnitude, we're looking at about a handful, between a handful and ten,

01:05:38 SPEAKER_145: like in that in that range of hydro poles that are still going to need to be relocated. Okay, thanks for that.

01:05:47 SPEAKER_145: Not seeing any other questions. Motion has been moved.

01:05:51 SPEAKER_142: All those in favor, and that's carried. Thank you very much.

01:05:56 SPEAKER_142: We are down now to two last reports under water and wastewater.

01:06:01 SPEAKER_142: First one, and both of these are. over to Bryce.

01:06:04 SPEAKER_142: Is the regarding the bulk water sales and application? Thanks, through you, Chair.

01:06:12 SPEAKER_207: So yeah, the first report here tonight is just with regards to our bulk water sales application.

01:06:20 SPEAKER_207: Essentially, this report is for information purposes only and to provide an outline of the change in process that we are. we're proposing,

01:06:33 SPEAKER_207: which will be our previous our previous procedure didn't formally have an application or have a contract or an agreement with our bulk water users.

01:06:45 SPEAKER_207: So a lot of them are legacy users, and we don't even have up to date contact information.

01:06:51 SPEAKER_207: So this is really a way for us to gather current contractors and customer information. maintain that database, ensure they have proper insurance,

01:07:04 SPEAKER_207: and they understand the rules and responsibilities and the risks related to using the the facility.

01:07:13 SPEAKER_207: It will also allow us for better future communications as we look to relocate the bulk water fill station offsite to address some of the operational constraints at the public works facility. Okay. Thank you, Bryce.

01:07:29 SPEAKER_142: And this report has a recommendation that operations committee recommends that city council receive the report for information purposes.

01:07:36 SPEAKER_142: Do I have a mover?

01:07:38 SPEAKER_142: Member Anderson is so moved. Any questions? Go ahead, member Shooter.

01:07:44 SPEAKER_200: Through your chair, just one question for this one.

01:07:47 SPEAKER_200: There's a definition of a potable water haulers in your application.

01:07:49 SPEAKER_200: Is it the intention of the city to track potable water haulers, and if they are inspected, certified potable water haulers? Go ahead, Bruce.

01:08:03 SPEAKER_207: Through you, Chair, Committee Member.

01:08:05 SPEAKER_207: No, the city doesn't intend to track the potable water haulers, as mentioned in the application.

01:08:15 SPEAKER_207: It will be deemed that we do not guarantee the potability.

01:08:19 SPEAKER_207: Pass the backflow prevention device, which is a slight change, but that. is industry standard now, unless you're incorporating a rigorous backflow protection device inspection program for vehicles, or incorporating an overhead fill system,

01:08:39 SPEAKER_207: which is a natural air gap, which that is not conducive with the vast majority of customers' fill setups.

01:08:49 SPEAKER_207: So water will be deemed non-potable past or.

01:08:54 SPEAKER_207: Pass or sorry, downstream of the backflow prevention device, because of a common hose being used to connect those vehicles, we can't ensure portability at all times.

01:09:04 SPEAKER_207: Councilor Martin, through you, Chair.

01:09:09 Marion Koepke: I think this process and the application is a really positive step forward.

01:09:14 Marion Koepke: Getting the the current application information is so essential.

01:09:20 Marion Koepke: Can you just refresh my memory?

01:09:22 Marion Koepke: There's a fee and a license. Is this adjusted annually? Refreshed annually?

01:09:32 Marion Koepke: How will you be moving forward with this in the future?

01:09:39 SPEAKER_207: Through your chair to Councillor Martin. Yes.

01:09:43 SPEAKER_207: So there is a bulk water volumetric fee that is applied,

01:09:47 SPEAKER_207: which I believe is is double double the volumetric rate plus there is a seventy-five dollar a month administration fee that is applied to the users that use that account that month.

01:09:59 SPEAKER_207: So it's a one-time administration fee for that month.

01:10:02 SPEAKER_207: But we are in the process of reviewing that bulk water fee because we want to, and this is down the road,

01:10:09 SPEAKER_207: present to council a cost recovery method for the bulk water fill station that's going to be relocated, and then there might be future changes. to that bulk water rate,

01:10:21 SPEAKER_207: so it's not on the general rate payers.

01:10:24 SPEAKER_207: It's on the customers who are going to be benefiting from that bulk water system.

01:10:30 SPEAKER_207: Okay, thank you, Member Jordan.

01:10:35 SPEAKER_205: I have a question with regards to some something that was kind of buried in the depth of your report on the potability of water from hose bib to hose bib.

01:10:46 SPEAKER_205: Oh, yep, that's the next one coming. Yep.

01:10:49 SPEAKER_142: Okay, and it'll be a good one.

01:10:51 SPEAKER_142: All right, I'm not seeing any further questions. Motions on the floor.

01:10:55 SPEAKER_142: All those in favor, and that's carried. Thank you.

01:10:59 SPEAKER_142: And now we'll get down to Graham's question here in a moment.

01:11:02 SPEAKER_142: So I'll go back to Brace to introduce the frozen water levels of service update. Thanks, through you, Chair.

01:11:12 SPEAKER_207: So yeah, this this report really came about. this this winter as we were beginning to plan for the potential of frozen services, as you know we've seen some extenuated cold weather patterns,

01:11:28 SPEAKER_207: and we were dealing with you know ice in the harbor, water main breaks, and so on and so forth.

01:11:34 SPEAKER_207: And as we were continuing to monitor our cumulative degree days with and our frost depths, we started reviewing procedures in case we had to. enact some of our emergency response plans, in doing so,

01:11:49 SPEAKER_207: we realized that a lot of the procedures, although we they learned we learned a lot from the two thousand and fourteen, two thousand and fifteen frozen service events.

01:12:00 SPEAKER_207: I was in the city of Guelph at the time, but we experienced similar there.

01:12:04 SPEAKER_207: A lot of lessons were learned, but not a lot of processes had changed or formally changed and were documented.

01:12:11 SPEAKER_207: And when we started reviewing these. we realized that it was more accounting for what we did at that time, not accounting for what we should be doing, what we should be doing going forward,

01:12:24 SPEAKER_207: or what is the most practical.

01:12:27 SPEAKER_207: So that's the reason for this report: is to have committee and council understand that these changes in levels of services are so we can better deliver services consistently. equitably,

01:12:43 SPEAKER_207: and ensure that our staff are not scrambling at the time of of a future event.

01:12:52 SPEAKER_207: Dave, thanks, Bryce, and I will look to my right to Member Jordan.

01:12:54 SPEAKER_142: He's I'm pretty certain he's got a question for this.

01:12:57 SPEAKER_142: My question: When I you talked about the potability of or maintaining potable water. standards from hose bib to hose bib.

01:13:13 SPEAKER_205: I go back to when Alpha Street was being reconstructed.

01:13:16 SPEAKER_205: I live down 13A, and we were provided with temporary water through garden hoses.

01:13:22 SPEAKER_205: And I'm wondering, is that the same practice that's going to be applied when Fourth Avenue West is done, or how is that potability factor dealt with now as opposed to in the past?

01:13:37 SPEAKER_207: Through your chair. to Member Jordan, the the process is slightly different.

01:13:47 SPEAKER_207: As in, when you're installing the temporary lines for a construction project, there is you know an AWWA standard and commissioning plan that is followed for connecting those services.

01:13:56 SPEAKER_207: So there is disinfection of the temporary water main, flushing, chlorine residuals taken from each of the hose bibs or each of those the service lines, and there.

01:14:06 SPEAKER_207: Service lines and they're connected, in most cases now generally to to the curb stop, or if they are through the hose bib, then there's verification that it's not going through any treatment system, water softener,

01:14:12 SPEAKER_207: or something else that may interfere with it.

01:14:21 SPEAKER_207: But in the case of these temporary house to house connections, you're running water through a private residence and then through another private residence,

01:14:33 SPEAKER_207: and for the city then to take ownership. and understand where that internal plumbing goes in those residents is not advisable.

01:14:49 SPEAKER_205: Oh, just get you turn your mic on, Graham. Sorry, thought I did. So through the chair.

01:14:53 SPEAKER_205: So the situation I lived through on 13A is not what you would do nowadays.

01:14:57 SPEAKER_205: Then is that what you're saying? Go ahead, Bryce.

01:15:03 SPEAKER_207: So just to clarify. you said that was during the a construction project, right?

01:15:13 SPEAKER_205: Yes, Alpha Street was being rebuilt before your employment here, and so there was water and sewer, and we were going any houses that were still connected to the city water supply.

01:15:24 SPEAKER_205: We would take our water from them through through a hose, garden hose, and there was. at that time, no inspections.

01:15:36 SPEAKER_205: So they just dropped a 50-foot garden hose off your house and said you hook up to the neighbor.

01:15:41 SPEAKER_205: When the construction project moved on, then we were properly connected to city supply.

01:15:47 SPEAKER_205: But there was never any inspections of garden hoses as supplied then.

01:15:51 SPEAKER_205: And I just wondered, is that a practice that's no longer applied?

01:15:57 SPEAKER_142: All I can say on these construction projects.

01:16:00 SPEAKER_142: As Bryce noted, it's different, and those temporary systems are tested, and it is potable once it's verified through the testing process.

01:16:12 SPEAKER_142: We're talking hose to hose during frozen waters.

01:16:15 SPEAKER_142: I can, I can certainly recollect being one of nine very frightened councilors in two thousand and fifteen when it was minus thirty four on Family Day weekend,

01:16:25 SPEAKER_142: and the main trunk main is. is freezing in front of the the police station on Second Avenue West, and those are scary times.

01:16:35 SPEAKER_142: That certain there's a lot of people don't want to relive.

01:16:39 SPEAKER_142: So there's some good updates in the report here. Any questions, Councillor Merton?

01:16:47 SPEAKER_142: And if you could move the the recommendation, perhaps that's outlined as well. Through you, Chair.

01:16:54 Marion Koepke: Would you like me to move the recommendation?

01:16:56 Marion Koepke: I I move the recommendation as. presented, and I do have a question through you, Chair, to the staff.

01:17:04 Marion Koepke: On page seven of nine in the report, it talks about the billing process and that there's an anticipated increased potential work volume.

01:17:16 Marion Koepke: I think it's really important that we track those changes because it has a costing, and wondering if there how that might be done.

01:17:27 Marion Koepke: You indicate there are processes in place.

01:17:30 Marion Koepke: However, there's an additional potential for human resource demand for the billings.

01:17:36 Marion Koepke: So, is there a way that that can be monitored or tracked so we get a better idea in the future of what's what the cost is around those HR?

01:17:47 Marion Koepke: You know, not just the people who attach the pipes, but the people who do the billing process. Go ahead, Bruce.

01:17:55 SPEAKER_207: Yes. through chair, the councillor Martin.

01:17:58 SPEAKER_207: Yes, and generally when we get into an event like this, one of the first things is establishes a work order dedicated to that specific event.

01:18:07 SPEAKER_207: Something that we know is going to last a prolonged period of time or require significant amount of staff resources.

01:18:14 SPEAKER_207: That's where we would charge that time to the.

01:18:19 SPEAKER_207: We we didn't see we don't see the need, and we didn't see the need then. to add additional staff to help address this emergency.

01:18:29 SPEAKER_207: You can imagine we don't know how long something like this is going to last.

01:18:33 SPEAKER_207: And by the time you would ever train somebody up to speed on your processes, it wouldn't it wouldn't be beneficial.

01:18:40 SPEAKER_207: So it would be done by staff that we we employ at the time.

01:18:45 SPEAKER_207: We would just make sure we're accounted for the total cost of that event. Councilor Farmer.

01:18:53 SPEAKER_143: Through the chair, there are some recommendations for providing things like access to showers that would only apply in the case of a declared emergency.

01:19:02 SPEAKER_143: I'm wondering if staff could just clarify for us the threshold between we're dealing with frozen pipes and using this policy, and we are declaring an emergency. How do we?

01:19:13 SPEAKER_143: What should we know about that difference?

01:19:21 SPEAKER_145: Through the chair to Councillor Farmer, so we had a three-second conversation just now, and like emergencies are declared, I think generally in consultation with the Municipal Emergency Control Group.

01:19:38 SPEAKER_145: So it would be a discussion at that level, and it would have to be quite a few properties that would be affected. But even for places.

01:19:47 SPEAKER_145: For slightly smaller ones, depending on the circumstances, we could we could potentially make arrangements for people.

01:19:56 SPEAKER_145: It all depends on what the situation is at the time. You're good.

01:20:03 SPEAKER_145: Okay, Member Schuder, through your chair, I just noted in a couple, I think specifically the thawing services.

01:20:10 SPEAKER_200: It talks about specialized equipment, and then you're no longer offering these services.

01:20:14 SPEAKER_200: So, what is the plan for the city to like?

01:20:17 SPEAKER_200: Are we keeping specialized equipment for something that we're not offering?

01:20:24 SPEAKER_207: Through your chair to Councilor Shooter or Member Shooter, sorry.

01:20:27 SPEAKER_207: We we we we do have some specialized equipment that that doesn't get used as frequently as like, for example, these emergency types pieces of equipment.

01:20:39 SPEAKER_207: It is important for us to have availability of equipment and to keep. staff familiar with how to use it.

01:20:48 SPEAKER_207: In this case, the the the efficiency of using this equipment, in my experience and experience of operators, you know, and sound from this previous event, is very low success rate and very time consuming.

01:21:03 SPEAKER_207: So we don't think in if we're planning for an emergency or significant numbers of customers that it's the right way to allocate our resources to spend time trying to thought individual service lines.

01:21:17 SPEAKER_207: Having said that, we do keep some specialized equipment that we don't use on as frequent a basis as as as other equipment.

01:21:27 SPEAKER_207: But we do also, as in a couple pieces of equipment that we did, like gov deals or retires sort of thing.

01:21:35 SPEAKER_207: That if different technology comes in and there's more efficient. ways to do it than we do.

01:21:44 SPEAKER_207: We move that equipment from our asset inventory. Anything further? Okay, you're good.

01:21:55 SPEAKER_142: Okay, not seeing any further questions, and motion's been moved.

01:22:00 SPEAKER_142: So all those in favor, and that is carried. Thank you.

01:22:05 SPEAKER_142: So we are through our reports this evening.

01:22:08 SPEAKER_142: We've got no matters postponed.

01:22:10 SPEAKER_142: Motions for which no postponement.

01:22:12 SPEAKER_142: Motions for which notice was previously given. There's none. Correspondence.

01:22:14 SPEAKER_142: We've got a few items of discussion of additional business.

01:22:18 SPEAKER_142: And if I may, I will start with Member Anderson.

01:22:20 SPEAKER_197: You had two, three, Mr. Chair.

01:22:25 SPEAKER_197: Just to draw our attention to that, this week is Volunteer Week.

01:22:29 SPEAKER_197: It's a very important event.

01:22:31 SPEAKER_197: I think for some of us here, since there are volunteers on this committee, and I'm very proud to say that I'm very thankful for their changes of experiences, their lives.

01:22:40 SPEAKER_197: Of experiences, their life skills, and their abilities to share the information with fellow committee members.

01:22:44 SPEAKER_197: So I'm very pleased to have them with us.

01:22:47 SPEAKER_197: Also, I want to draw attention that I'm wearing my medal that I got from King Charles for all my volunteer work.

01:22:54 SPEAKER_197: I think that as recognition in the city that for our volunteers is always important.

01:22:58 SPEAKER_197: So whether we get it through the city or through other organizations or the people we work with as volunteerism progresses, it's nice to know that we're all appreciated.

01:23:06 SPEAKER_197: The other event I just want to draw to our attention is that Tom.

01:23:09 SPEAKER_197: Want to draw to our attention is that on April 29th, it's International Volunteer Day, International Guide Dog Day.

01:23:15 SPEAKER_197: So it's a recognition of across the world for guide dog users in different countries around the world.

01:23:22 SPEAKER_142: Okay, thanks for those notes, and I would say that volunteers have always been worth their weight in gold, and gold is far more valuable today than it even used to be.

01:23:33 SPEAKER_142: So, Councilor Farmer, thank you. Through the chair.

01:23:37 SPEAKER_142: If if Christina could bring up, I just want to flag for folks.

01:23:41 SPEAKER_143: I became aware this week that, yeah, I guess that's nine or ten days ago now.

01:23:48 SPEAKER_143: A video was posted to YouTube that outlines a this couple took a trip from Hamilton to Owen Sound on public transit, and it is adorable.

01:23:59 SPEAKER_143: It uses maybe some swear words as well, so maybe not for all aged viewers.

01:24:04 SPEAKER_143: Although it made me feel old. because it references memes that I am unfamiliar with, with the new internet they've got these days,

01:24:11 SPEAKER_143: but it it specifically talks about how great it is and surprising it is that Owen Sound has access to the ghost bus from Guelph to Owen Sound.

01:24:21 SPEAKER_143: But he also geeks out about Owen Sound's bus system, and it it really celebrates Owen Sound.

01:24:29 SPEAKER_143: And multiple times he's like, I didn't know there was so much here.

01:24:30 SPEAKER_143: We we should plan to spend more time because they rode the bus up. and an hour and a half later they rode the bus back, and yeah,

01:24:39 SPEAKER_143: I just want to highlight that folks not from Owen Sound are celebrating the access to transit that we have, and I think that's really important because it literally brings people to Owen Sound.

01:24:51 SPEAKER_143: So watch it if you've got fifty-five minutes to kill.

01:24:57 SPEAKER_142: All right, thanks for that.

01:24:59 SPEAKER_142: We've got no other items of additional business. I will go back. We'll go back.

01:25:04 SPEAKER_142: Oh yes, an engineering question.

01:25:05 SPEAKER_142: I will entertain that at the last minute. Go ahead, Grant.

01:25:09 SPEAKER_142: Through the chair to engineering.

01:25:11 SPEAKER_205: Is there an update on the finishing of the construction work on Sixteenth Avenue East? Through the chair. Yes, there is.

01:25:26 SPEAKER_209: City staff was in discussion with our consultant this week.

01:25:30 SPEAKER_209: We did some. exploratory work last week to identify some constraints that we have moving forward, and we will be in touch with the contractor in the next couple weeks,

01:25:39 SPEAKER_209: hoping to get them back on site and soon, so we can get that road repaired in short order here before we get into summertime.

01:25:47 SPEAKER_205: Thank you for that update, and the shock absorbers on my vehicle are thanking you also.

01:25:54 SPEAKER_205: All right, thanks for that.

01:25:56 SPEAKER_205: And item thirteen is in motion, Councilor Farmer.

01:26:00 SPEAKER_143: Mr. Farmer, I'll have a notice of motion, I believe, seconded by Member Hawkins, for consideration at the next meeting.

01:26:05 SPEAKER_143: Whereas the City of Owen Sound receives annual collision statistics identifying the intersections with the highest numbers of collisions,

01:26:12 SPEAKER_143: and whereas it is widely accepted by organizations ranging from the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers to Strong Towns and the Owen Sound Police Services that street design is a contributing factor to rates of collision and injury,

01:26:24 SPEAKER_143: and whereas the City of Owen Sound currently has no mechanism by which to examine. the common design or operational factors that contribute to higher numbers of collisions at certain intersections,

01:26:34 SPEAKER_143: or to identify possible safety interventions.

01:26:37 SPEAKER_143: And whereas Strong Towns has developed a tool called the Crash Analysis Studio to assist municipalities and individuals in identifying and addressing patterns and contributing factors to crashes.

01:26:48 SPEAKER_143: And whereas the City of Oceanside has updated the board and committee structure for the next term of council to simplify the striking of working groups to assess and bring recommendations to. address specific problems on set timelines.

01:27:00 SPEAKER_143: Therefore, be it resolved that a the operations committee requests that following the two thousand and twenty-six municipal election, Owen Sound strike a crash analysis working group for two thousand and twenty-seven.

01:27:11 SPEAKER_143: B that the working group consists of three to five members.

01:27:13 SPEAKER_143: C that the working group analyze contributing factors and identify potential safety interventions for the three intersections with the highest numbers of reported collisions in two thousand and twenty-five, which are a Tenth Street and.

01:27:25 SPEAKER_143: Ninth Avenue East, with fifteen collisions.

01:27:28 SPEAKER_143: B Sixteenth Street and Ninth Avenue East with fourteen collisions.

01:27:32 SPEAKER_143: C Tenth Street and Fourth Avenue East with fourteen collisions, and D that the working group deliver their final report to the September two thousand and twenty-seven committee meeting.

01:27:42 SPEAKER_143: Let's talk about it next month. Okay. Thanks, John.

01:27:47 SPEAKER_143: And it is six fifty-seven, and I declare at this time we are adjourned. Thanks, everyone.