[0:17] Hi everybody and welcome to our council
[0:19] meeting. We're getting through. It's the
[0:21] middle of August. The weather is great
[0:23] and council you see before you
[0:26] an agenda and I don't see anything out
[0:28] of the kid. Although I do some see some
[0:29] messaging about e-bikes and e-scooters.
[0:31] Should be a good conversation hopefully
[0:32] tonight. So to adopt the agenda I need a
[0:35] motion and moved by Councillor Fry.
[0:36] Thank you and seconded by Councillor
[0:38] Deputy Mayor Lock. All in favor? Those
[0:40] opposed? And that's carried. Um
[0:44] in recognition of the city of Mount
[0:46] Pearl's commitment to foster respectful
[0:48] and collaborative relationships with
[0:49] indigenous peoples here in the city of
[0:51] Mount Pearl and beyond.
[0:53] We hereby acknowledge that the land on
[0:55] which we gather is the ancestral and
[0:57] unceded territory of the Beothuk and the
[0:59] Mi'kmaq. Mount Pearl and the broader
[1:01] metro region continue to be home to
[1:03] diverse indigenous peoples including
[1:07] First Nations, Inuit and Métis.
[1:12] Once said a minute's there an action
[1:13] report from July 26th before we discuss
[1:17] any business arising council need your
[1:19] approval for these minutes. So any
[1:22] errors or omissions?
[1:25] All good?
[1:26] Everybody good?
[1:28] All right. Calling for motion moved by
[1:30] Councillor Rice and seconded by
[1:31] Councillor Antle that we approve those
[1:33] minutes. All in favor?
[1:34] And opposed? And that's carried.
[1:36] Business arising please quote the number
[1:39] in the minutes or the action report.
[1:45] No business arising tonight. There is no
[1:47] proclamations. There's no presentations
[1:50] or correspondence but we do have
[1:52] corporate services
[1:54] and I believe taking the lead there will
[1:55] be Councillor Antle. You're yours.
[1:58] >> Thank you, Your Worship. And now we have
[2:00] to pay our bills. We have a lot of work
[2:01] to do in the city.
[2:03] And the first one is our payment
[2:04] register for August 18th,
[2:07] 2026. And for the payment register for
[2:10] July 1st to the 31st, 2026 for the for a
[2:14] total of 4,572,818.56.
[2:18] And the purchase card report from May
[2:20] 28th, 20 May 28th, 2026 to June 25th,
[2:25] 2026 for a total of 445,060.59.
[2:30] And if you look at your kit there on the
[2:33] uh
[2:35] items to pay, there's a few large ones
[2:38] there, one in particular for Dexter
[2:39] Construction for $797,000.
[2:42] That's up there on Jackman Drive.
[2:44] And there's three different to the city
[2:45] of St. John's for our regional services,
[2:47] and they total for $700,000 or
[2:49] thereabouts. And you can see in your
[2:51] kit, and they're all good, and I so
[2:53] move.
[2:54] >> It is moved by Councillor Antle and
[2:56] seconded by Deputy Mayor Lock. Any
[2:58] questions?
[3:01] Hearing none, I'll call for approval of
[3:03] the payment register and purchase card
[3:04] report. All in favor? Contra-minded?
[3:08] Thank you. Carried.
[3:09] >> And number two has to do with
[3:11] professional development. And you know,
[3:13] with professional development, I guess I
[3:14] stated there last uh 2 weeks ago, it's
[3:17] so good for us to be able to travel
[3:18] around to different parts of the country
[3:19] to see what other communities are doing,
[3:21] what other councilors are doing.
[3:23] And this one has to do with economic
[3:24] development, and that's for myself. And
[3:26] the Economic Development Association
[3:28] this year is going to be held in Moncton
[3:30] from September the 14th to the 7th from
[3:32] September 14th to 7th, 2026. And I so
[3:36] move.
[3:37] >> Thank you for the motions, Councillor
[3:39] Antle and Deputy Mayor Lock. This is in
[3:40] accordance with policy, and even though
[3:42] it's not routine, it does come It is
[3:44] routine, but it does come to this table
[3:45] for approval.
[3:46] All in favor?
[3:48] And those opposed? And that's carried,
[3:50] thanks.
[3:53] » And our next professional development,
[3:55] this is really good to see. It's for
[3:57] Deputy Mayor Locke for the Atlantic
[3:59] Planners Institute and this is held in
[4:01] PEI and it's really good to get together
[4:03] with other planners and I'm sure our
[4:05] planners will learn this is a great
[4:06] conference to take an effect and it
[4:08] starts from October 7th to the 9th, 2026
[4:11] and I so move.
[4:14] >> Again, moved by Councillor Antle,
[4:15] seconded by the Deputy Mayor. All in
[4:17] favor?
[4:18] Opposed? Nets carried as well.
[4:22] » And uh number four is a professional
[4:25] development request. This is for Mayor,
[4:27] Deputy Mayor and all counselors, I would
[4:29] think. Well, no, I'm sorry, it's for
[4:31] Counselors Fry and Antle and this is for
[4:33] MNL here in St. John's. All right, and
[4:35] this is a great conference on November
[4:37] 5th to the 7th and we're very lucky to
[4:39] have the uh Vice President of MNL here
[4:41] in our chambers as well as Councillor
[4:43] Fry. This is a great uh
[4:46] opportunity for us to chat with other counselors and this
[4:50] goes from November 5th to the 7th and I
[4:53] so move.
[4:55] >> Again, moved by Councillor Antle,
[4:56] seconded by Deputy Mayor for these four
[4:58] members of our council to go to MNL in
[5:01] the fall. All in favor?
[5:03] Opposed? Carried, thanks.
[5:10] » And another professional development
[5:12] request for our CAO, Cassie Rideout, to
[5:14] attend the same conference, MNL here in
[5:16] St. John's and I so move.
[5:19] >> Moved and seconded. All in favor?
[5:21] Opposed? Thank you, carried.
[5:25] >> And number six is another professional
[5:27] development training and again, it's a
[5:28] fabulous to see. It's for our Director,
[5:30] Jason Collins, to handle a
[5:33] recreation and community safety event at
[5:35] Sombra 2026
[5:37] in Shediac, New Brunswick from September
[5:40] the 8th to the 11th and I so move.
[5:43] >> Again, moved by Councillor Antle,
[5:45] seconded by Deputy Mayor Locke. All in
[5:46] favor?
[5:47] Opposed? Again, carried, thank you.
[5:50] That's everything for corporate
[5:51] services, your worship. Thank you.
[5:53] Going to move on to the public works
[5:55] report, and that is Councillor Fry,
[5:57] please.
[5:59] >> Thank you, your worship.
[6:01] Our report this evening is just for
[6:03] information purposes, just to give
[6:05] everybody an update on what our crews
[6:07] have been doing cuz they're very, very
[6:08] busy and they work very hard.
[6:10] Our roads division, the repairs on
[6:12] maintenance holes, catch basins, curbs,
[6:15] sidewalks, lawn, and and asphalt
[6:17] continues.
[6:19] And street sweeping is ongoing. For our
[6:22] parks division, there's of course
[6:24] maintenance on our our sports fields,
[6:25] that continues. Our flower plant
[6:28] planters and baskets have been installed
[6:30] and they look amazing, too, by the way.
[6:33] Uh our commemorative bench installations
[6:35] and required maintenance, providing
[6:37] ground maintenance for summer
[6:39] tournaments, and that's busy this
[6:41] summer.
[6:42] Grass cutting throughout the city is
[6:43] ongoing, providing support throughout
[6:45] the summer for community events, court
[6:48] resurfacing projects are underway and I
[6:50] think people have seen those on social
[6:52] media, they're doing a great job there.
[6:54] And playground structures for Farrell
[6:56] Drive and Branscombe Pond have arrived
[6:59] and the installation will start uh soon
[7:01] in late summer.
[7:03] Our fleet division is ongoing uh ongoing
[7:05] service and maintenance, and our UTM
[7:08] division of course have their general
[7:09] calls, their water and sewer repairs,
[7:12] leak detection, which is always
[7:13] important, fire hydrant inspection and
[7:16] maintenance are ongoing, the water main
[7:19] valve servicing and exercising, the lift
[7:21] station inspections and maintenance,
[7:23] catch basin and storm sewer cleaning,
[7:26] and as always, you can see in your kit
[7:28] here the water levels of Bable's Big
[7:30] Pond as of August the 10th, taken a
[7:33] little bit of a dip, but still quite
[7:35] healthy.
[7:36] And that's it for our report, your
[7:37] worship.
[7:39] Thank Thank very much. Now we're going
[7:40] to turn to recreation and in the absence
[7:44] of the Deputy Mayor Kylie, I should say,
[7:47] who is on a leave of absence and without
[7:49] Councillor Lane, I'm going to turn to
[7:51] Councillor Fry and Councillor Rice.
[7:56] » Always happy to talk about our
[7:57] recreation department.
[8:00] Okay, so we have a request for milestone
[8:03] funding for an event for Ladies
[8:05] Auxiliary Knights of Columbus for their
[8:07] 50th anniversary and they're planning on
[8:09] having an anniversary dinner.
[8:12] Be it resolved that the requested
[8:14] funding of $3,500 through milestone
[8:16] event funding be released to the Ladies
[8:19] Auxiliary Knights of Columbus once all
[8:21] receipts have been submitted for their
[8:23] 50th anniversary celebration dinner on
[8:25] October the 24th.
[8:28] So, the Ladies Auxiliary submitted a
[8:30] request advising that they will hold a
[8:32] dinner to celebrate the past and present
[8:35] of the Ladies Auxiliary,
[8:37] which was founded in 1976 as a church
[8:40] ministry.
[8:42] The ministry involved volunteering with
[8:44] church functions, supporting food banks,
[8:46] and providing assistance to the Knights
[8:47] of Columbus with all their events.
[8:50] The Ladies Auxiliary Knights of Columbus
[8:52] is a long-standing and valued community
[8:54] organization with a significant history
[8:57] of contributions within the City of
[8:59] Mount Pearl.
[9:01] So, therefore, the committee recommends
[9:03] approval to provide the Ladies Auxiliary
[9:05] Knights of Columbus with written
[9:07] confirmation
[9:09] of the requested $3,500 for their 50th
[9:12] anniversary celebration dinner on
[9:13] October the 24th, 2026.
[9:16] And furthermore, it is recommended that
[9:18] the funds approved by council, $3,500,
[9:21] be released once all receipts have been
[9:23] submitted, ensuring the cost of the
[9:25] event is or exceed the requested amount.
[9:29] And I so move.
[9:31] >> Thank you. Moved by Councillor Fry,
[9:32] seconded by Councillor Rice. Any
[9:34] comments?
[9:35] Coming out of policy overdue, Councillor
[9:37] Anstey.
[9:38] >> Just a quick question. I'm a member of
[9:40] Knights of Columbus. Am I in a conflict
[9:42] on this, Your Worship? Thank you.
[9:43] >> Only
[9:44] if you are on the executive of the
[9:45] ladies auxiliary.
[9:47] >> I'm not, so I guess I'm good. Thank you.
[9:51] » Further?
[9:52] Call the question then. All in favor?
[9:54] And those who are opposed?
[9:56] None? Thank you. Carried.
[9:58] >> Finally, for the recreation department,
[10:00] is just some information notes here.
[10:04] Information for the for the attention
[10:06] and consideration of council and the
[10:08] public.
[10:09] Registration for swim lessons, the Mount
[10:11] Pearl Seniors Independence Group fitness
[10:13] programs, general recreation programs,
[10:16] as well as the time and care programs
[10:18] will open on the following dates.
[10:20] The Mount Pearl Seniors Independence
[10:22] Group fitness programs for Mount Pearl
[10:24] residents is August 25th at 1:00 p.m.
[10:27] And for non-residents, August 27th at
[10:30] 1:00 p.m.
[10:32] The general fitness programs, now of
[10:34] course, proof of residency residency is
[10:36] required for resident registration.
[10:38] Mount Pearl residents will register for
[10:40] general fitness programs on August the
[10:42] 25th at 5:00 p.m. and non-residents,
[10:45] August 27th at 5:00 p.m.
[10:48] The time program, and this program
[10:50] requires a referral before participants
[10:53] can register. For Mount Pearl residents,
[10:55] it's August 25th at 5:00 p.m. and
[10:58] non-residents, August 27th at 5:00 p.m.
[11:02] And our care program, this program also
[11:05] requires a referral before participants
[11:07] can register.
[11:09] Again, Mount Pearl residents will
[11:10] register on August 25th at 5:00 p.m. and
[11:13] non-residents, August 27th at 5:00 p.m.
[11:16] And swim lessons registration, of
[11:19] course, this one's always popular.
[11:21] And proof of residency is required for
[11:24] resident registration here as well.
[11:27] Mount Pearl residents will register for
[11:29] this one on August the 31st at 5:00 p.m.
[11:32] and non-residents September the 2nd at
[11:35] 5:00 p.m.
[11:36] As I mentioned, residents are required
[11:38] to provide a valid proof of residency
[11:40] prior to the registration date and
[11:43] participants are encouraged to register
[11:44] early as programs program spaces are
[11:47] limited and may fill up quickly.
[11:49] So, for more information, please visit
[11:51] the city of Mount Pearl website. And
[11:53] that's it for this report, Your Worship.
[11:56] Thank you.
[11:58] >> Thank you very much. Nothing for
[11:59] community safety, this meeting,
[12:01] engineering, Councillor Rice.
[12:05] >> Thank you, Your Worship. Our first one
[12:06] in our kit here tonight is a uh
[12:10] is a contract award for electrical
[12:12] maintenance services, which is our
[12:13] TP-26-017.
[12:17] So, uh the council uh approval is
[12:20] requested to award the contract for
[12:22] electrical services. This approval will
[12:24] allow the city to engage in preferred
[12:26] proponent
[12:27] to complete electrical maintenance and
[12:29] services throughout the city.
[12:30] The tender for the electrical
[12:32] maintenance services TP-26-017
[12:35] closed on July the 27th, 2026
[12:38] and four bids were received. The lowest
[12:40] qualified bidder was Pro Circuit
[12:42] Electrical Incorporated for the bid
[12:44] amount of $129,375
[12:47] HST included.
[12:49] So, this contract is for an initial
[12:51] period of 3 years from September the
[12:53] 1st, 2026
[12:55] until August the 31st, 2029.
[12:58] The city reserves the right to extend
[13:00] the contract by increments of 1 year for
[13:02] a period of up to
[13:04] not more than 2 years upon the same
[13:06] terms and conditions provided both
[13:08] parties agree.
[13:09] So, planning, engineering, and
[13:10] development recommends that the contract
[13:12] for electrical maintenance services
[13:14] TP-26-017
[13:16] be awarded to the lowest qualified
[13:17] bidder
[13:18] Pro Circuit Electrical Incorporated for
[13:20] the bid amount of $129,375
[13:23] HST included for the period of September
[13:26] the 1st, 2026 to August the 31st, 2029
[13:30] with the right to extend the contract by
[13:32] increments of 1 year period for the
[13:33] period of the not more than 2 years, and
[13:36] I so move.
[13:37] >> Move by Councillor Rice and seconded by
[13:39] Councillor Antle. Any questions?
[13:42] 3 to 5 years. It's like a sentence.
[13:45] But it's a tender.
[13:46] All in favor.
[13:47] Those opposed.
[13:49] Thank you, sir. It's carried. Over to
[13:50] you for plumbing.
[13:52] >> Thank you. Our second one is our
[13:54] contract award for a plum plumbing
[13:56] maintenance services TP-26-018.
[14:00] So, this one council approval is also a
[14:03] contract
[14:04] required or requested for the plumbing
[14:06] maintenance services. This approval will
[14:08] allow the city to engage in preferred
[14:10] performance to complete the plumbing maintenance and services
[14:14] throughout the city.
[14:16] Uh so, the background this one is the
[14:18] tender for plumbing maintenance services
[14:20] TP-26-018
[14:23] closed on July the 28th, 2026, and one
[14:26] bid was received. The lowest qualified
[14:28] bidder was King's Plumbing and Heating
[14:30] Limited
[14:31] for a bid amount of $60,375,
[14:34] HST included.
[14:36] Uh this contract is for initial period
[14:38] of 3 years from September the 1st, 2026
[14:42] to August 31st, 2029. The city reserved
[14:45] the right to extend the contract by
[14:47] increments of 1 year for period of up to
[14:49] not more
[14:51] to no more than 2 years upon the same
[14:52] terms and conditions provided both
[14:55] parties agree.
[14:56] So, the planning engineering development
[14:59] recommends
[15:00] that the contract for plumbing
[15:01] maintenance services TB-26-018
[15:05] be awarded to the lowest qualified
[15:06] bidder
[15:07] King's Plumbing and Heating Limited for
[15:09] the bid amount of $60,375,
[15:13] HST included for the period of September
[15:15] the 1st, 2026 until August the 31st,
[15:18] 2029 with the right to extend the
[15:21] contract by increments of 1 year for a
[15:23] period of not more than 2 years and I
[15:26] shall move.
[15:27] >> Moved again by Council Rice, seconded.
[15:29] Thank you by Council Antle. All in
[15:31] favor?
[15:31] >> Aye.
[15:32] >> Those opposed?
[15:33] Seeing no cut hands up and that's
[15:36] approved.
[15:42] » Our third one is our adoption of the
[15:45] National Building Code 2025 part nine,
[15:48] the energy efficient requirements.
[15:51] Just a little background on this one.
[15:53] The province of Newfoundland and
[15:54] Labrador has adopted the 2025 National
[15:56] Building Code. However, municipalities
[15:59] retain authority to adopt part nine
[16:01] residential energy efficiency
[16:03] requirements
[16:05] and determine the applicant energy
[16:07] performance tier one
[16:09] tier for one and two
[16:12] family dwelling units. Council must
[16:15] therefore determine whether the adoption
[16:17] section 9.36, which is the energy
[16:19] efficiency and establish an
[16:22] implementation approach for the city of
[16:24] Mount Pearl.
[16:25] So background on this one. The 2025
[16:28] Building Code and National Fire Code
[16:30] came into
[16:31] force in Newfoundland and Labrador on
[16:33] July the 12th, 2026.
[16:35] While the province adopts most
[16:38] provisions of the National Building Code
[16:39] part nine residential require
[16:42] part nine residential requirements
[16:44] related to one and two family dwellings
[16:47] remain subject to municipality
[16:49] adoptions. As a result, municipalities
[16:52] must independently determine whether the
[16:54] adoption section 9.36
[16:57] energy efficiency efficiency and
[17:00] establish the applicant applicable
[17:04] minimum
[17:05] compliance tier. So section 9.36
[17:09] introduced a five-tier residential
[17:12] energy efficiency framework ranging from
[17:14] tier one, which is the base compliance,
[17:17] to tier five, which is the net zero
[17:20] energy ready.
[17:21] Uh so, the city of Mount Pearl, just a
[17:24] second, I'll just get down to the bottom
[17:25] here. The committee recommends that the
[17:28] council adopt National Building Code
[17:30] 2025 part nine, including section 3.3
[17:34] 9.36,
[17:36] and the energy efficiency for one and
[17:38] two family dwellings within city of
[17:40] Mount Pearl, and establish tier two as
[17:43] the initial mandatory compliance
[17:45] standard.
[17:46] Staff further further recommended
[17:49] uh that council consider a future review
[17:53] of tier tier three
[17:55] implementation once municipal processes,
[17:58] industry readiness, and staff capacity
[18:01] have been established. Tier four and
[18:03] tier five are not recommended at this
[18:05] time, and I so move.
[18:07] >> Again, moved by Councillor Rice,
[18:09] seconded by Councillor Antle.
[18:11] Come to you, Councillor Deputy Mayor
[18:13] Lock.
[18:14] >> Uh thank you, Mayor.
[18:15] >> Thank you, Councillor Rice.
[18:16] >> You know, just just for clarity here, I
[18:18] know Councillor Rice indicated that
[18:19] there's up to tier five tiers in this
[18:22] particular uh part nine of the National
[18:24] Building Code, and it seems that we're
[18:26] only achieving
[18:28] tier two of a possible five. And the
[18:31] rationale for that, of course, is um I
[18:33] mean, this will be mandatory
[18:34] requirements if if and council discussed
[18:36] this at large with with staff and based
[18:38] on staff recommendations.
[18:40] If we were to adopt mandatory tier five,
[18:43] that would that would increase the cost
[18:45] of housing tremendously. That it
[18:47] wouldn't be it wouldn't be viable. So,
[18:51] um we figured the most prudent thing to
[18:52] do was tier up to tier two, which is
[18:54] still energy efficient. I don't want to
[18:56] get the I don't want the message out
[18:57] there that Mount Pearl is sort of
[18:59] reneging on energy efficiency and
[19:00] climate initiatives, because we are not.
[19:03] Uh so, we recognize, in consultation,
[19:05] you know, with the the builders, that uh
[19:08] most of the tier two requirements are
[19:11] already being undertaken. So, by making
[19:14] that mandatory in the city of Mount
[19:15] Pearl, we're not causing any undue
[19:17] hardship or any increased costs on
[19:19] potential home buyers. With that said,
[19:21] we have committed to review the
[19:23] requirements for tier three in
[19:25] consultation with the builders and the
[19:28] experts in the field and our staff and
[19:30] maybe we can move to adopt that in the
[19:31] years to come. So, I just want to make
[19:32] that point of a clarification there,
[19:34] Mayor. Thank you.
[19:35] >> Yeah, what's the staff? Director Bett,
[19:37] are we one of the first to do this and
[19:40] uh
[19:41] how far ahead of everybody else are we?
[19:43] Um I think it's a good thing as
[19:44] Councillor Deputy Mayor Locke is saying,
[19:46] but uh
[19:47] um I'm glad to see the initiative being
[19:49] undertaken by you and your department.
[19:54] » Yeah, I'm not sure if we're one of the
[19:55] first, but there's conversation around
[19:56] municipalities on Northeast Avalon.
[19:59] Um what approaches are being taken. Um
[20:02] at a staff level, we've been
[20:04] coordinating back and forth on where we
[20:06] believe is the appropriate path. Uh
[20:09] that's been communicated to the other
[20:10] municipalities as well. But, as
[20:13] Councillor Locke said, uh tier two is
[20:16] uh
[20:17] not far off from what we're already
[20:19] achieving with most modern homes. So,
[20:22] that's a good place to start with, you
[20:24] know, ambition to move forward uh as we
[20:27] understand the process more.
[20:29] >> Would this apply to uh renovations or is
[20:32] it just new builds? How does that
[20:35] carry itself through the processes?
[20:38] >> It is primarily new builds. Renovation
[20:40] would have to classify for a certain
[20:42] area to be renovated in order to comply.
[20:45] Otherwise, it would be I'd say
[20:47] grandfathered under prior building
[20:49] codes.
[20:51] >> Uh no, Councillor Angel, and then you,
[20:53] Deputy Mayor. Sorry about that. No
[20:54] worries.
[20:56] >> Uh just a quick question. I know this
[20:58] comes in effect in the province July the
[21:00] 12th. When is it effective for the city
[21:02] of Mount Pearl and does the builders get
[21:04] some
[21:05] a notification? Thank you.
[21:09] » Yeah.
[21:10] >> so after it's been adopted tonight, it
[21:12] would be into effect. However, we
[21:13] wouldn't we would give a grace period
[21:15] and a notification period to developers
[21:18] and contractors before we roll it out
[21:20] officially. Um I'm expecting probably
[21:22] late fall to make it uh a mandatory
[21:25] compliance criteria. It'll give us some
[21:27] time to get our forms and policies in
[21:29] order uh to check to make sure this is
[21:32] being achieved.
[21:35] » Uh thank you, Director. Uh just for the
[21:37] question, Mayor, based on on your
[21:39] question earlier, I know we we give out
[21:42] grants for people to upgrade, put in
[21:43] subsidiary basement apartments. And I
[21:46] I'm just thinking back to past years, if
[21:48] people wanted to if they had their
[21:51] apartment deregistered and then wanted
[21:53] to register it again, they'd have to
[21:55] upgrade it to existing standards.
[21:58] So, would that apply to the funding that
[22:00] we're giving, the grants that we've been
[22:01] giving out
[22:03] under the Housing Accelerator Fund, they
[22:05] would have to meet this new building code or this this
[22:09] national building standard here?
[22:10] >> Or is that just egress?
[22:15] » I believe they would have to meet that
[22:17] as well, but it's not an onerous
[22:19] standard to meet. Tier two is is fairly
[22:21] basic with most modern homes.
[22:26] » Further thoughts, anybody or everybody?
[22:28] Hearing none, I'll call the question.
[22:30] Then, all in favor?
[22:32] Opposed? And we've adopted it. Thank
[22:34] you.
[22:37] » Thank you. Our next one is I want to
[22:38] give an update on our capital work projects that's happening
[22:42] around the city.
[22:44] Uh so, this is just for information
[22:45] purposes only. So, Farrell Drive
[22:47] pumphouse upgrades construction is
[22:49] ongoing on that project is around 80%
[22:51] complete.
[22:52] Our 2025 concrete works
[22:55] uh construction is around 99% complete.
[22:58] Uh work is ongoing. Our White Boulevard
[23:00] upgrades construction is 85% complete on
[23:03] that project and work is ongoing up on
[23:05] that project. Our sewage lift station,
[23:07] which is on Mount Carson Avenue,
[23:09] construction is ongoing on that one.
[23:11] is around 99% complete. Jackman
[23:14] Drive upgrades, if you've been over in
[23:16] that area, you can certainly see that
[23:17] they're moving along with that project
[23:18] and that one is around 80% complete. Uh
[23:21] work is ongoing. Uh our water tower
[23:24] access road construction is 85% complete
[23:28] and work is ongoing on that project. Our
[23:30] water storage tank, which is our design
[23:32] build construction, is 64% complete.
[23:35] Work is ongoing on that project as we
[23:37] speak. Our Trailway Crossing
[23:39] Commonwealth Avenue construction is 85%
[23:41] complete. Work ongoing and hopefully
[23:43] have that open up in the next couple of
[23:44] weeks. Our 2026 our 2028 street markings
[23:49] is 85% complete. Work is ongoing on that
[23:52] project as well. And our 2026 asphalt
[23:55] services uh work is expected to start in
[23:58] August of 20 26. That's it for that one
[24:02] project. That's the end of the report.
[24:03] >> a question.
[24:05] Councilor Rice, yeah.
[24:06] >> Just a quick question. I'm sorry because
[24:08] I get this I I get this question almost
[24:10] daily and you know what I'm going to
[24:11] ask. I think Councilor Rice said it
[24:13] though. The Trailway Crossing, is it 85%
[24:16] complete? You said in a couple of weeks,
[24:19] so we we think we'll have it done before
[24:21] September 1st. All right. I know it's
[24:23] almost there. I I stopped doing some
[24:25] electrical work the other day, so I'm
[24:27] looking forward to see that done. But
[24:29] people do ask cuz one or two people
[24:30] watch.
[24:32] I want to know what to ask that
[24:33] question. Thank you.
[24:34] >> Is that a question or just commentary?
[24:39] » I have a question, but go you go first,
[24:40] Councilor Rice, unless you're continuing
[24:42] your report.
[24:46] » I can go back to you. Does it matter?
[24:47] No, I I just wanted to add to that one
[24:48] that we had some work there that Lake
[24:50] and Power had to do down in that area
[24:52] for uh
[24:53] because there are two uh poles that are
[24:55] going to go
[24:56] that's going to carry the uh I guess the
[24:58] sign is out over the street there. We're
[25:00] too close to the wires, but those wires
[25:01] have been moved. Moved up and uh so
[25:04] hopefully now over the next couple of
[25:05] weeks we'll get the uh pole bases down
[25:08] and everything will move along there and
[25:09] get the crosswalk put in. So, that's the
[25:10] next plan.
[25:11] >> Sounds good. No, I'm good. Thank you
[25:13] very much. Anybody else?
[25:16] Um let's move on, sir, to I guess you're
[25:18] going to occupancy. Are you?
[25:20] >> Yeah, okay.
[25:22] >> So, these are already pre-approved by
[25:24] our director of engineering. Uh so, I
[25:25] just want to uh
[25:27] just read that anyway. Occupancy permit
[25:29] listing from uh June the 1st to July uh
[25:32] 31st, 2026.
[25:34] You'll see four there in your kit.
[25:36] And that's that just for information
[25:38] purposes only.
[25:40] And our next one is our building
[25:43] I got to open up here.
[25:46] Next one is our building
[25:48] uh permit listing, which is also
[25:50] pre-approved. This one runs from June
[25:52] the 1st to July the 31st.
[25:54] And you see uh quite the substantial
[25:56] amount there. There's 85 listed off in
[25:58] our kit there.
[26:00] And they range in uh from accessory
[26:02] buildings
[26:03] to patio, decks, verandas, uh basically
[26:07] uh
[26:07] you know, home round Most of these are
[26:09] actually uh that are renovations or
[26:12] I guess they're uh putting new decks on,
[26:14] verandas, exterior renovations around
[26:16] their homes. As you know, Mount Pearl is
[26:18] an aging uh city. So, we got uh
[26:21] retaining walls and fences being
[26:23] repaired. It's nice to see actually uh
[26:25] residents keeping up their properties in
[26:26] the city. We got a certain standard here
[26:28] in the city and uh it's nice to see
[26:30] these 85. And I'm encouraging every time
[26:32] I uh
[26:33] you know, you're always got residents
[26:34] asking, you know, so you got to put in a
[26:36] permit for that, right? And you know,
[26:37] you got to put in a permit and get a
[26:39] permit and get it approved before you do
[26:41] it. If that's If that's a new shed,
[26:43] extension to a house, or fence,
[26:45] retaining wall, or anything that's to do
[26:47] with your property, you need to uh get a
[26:49] permit. And that's it for our report.
[26:51] Thank you, Your
[26:52] >> Okay, thank you very much. We're going
[26:54] to go to planning and development,
[26:55] Deputy Mayor Lock.
[26:56] >> Thank you, Mayor. Three items here. The
[26:59] first is stop development order
[27:01] confirmation.
[27:02] A council decision is required here
[27:05] to confirm an order to cease commercial
[27:07] activity at a residential property.
[27:10] Pursuant to the Mount Pearl development
[27:12] regulations, council has the delegated
[27:14] authority.
[27:15] Has the authority to delegate authority
[27:17] to an employee of council to issue an
[27:19] order in accordance with our
[27:21] regulations. And this order is required
[27:23] to be confirmed by a majority of council
[27:25] at the next public meeting on July 23rd.
[27:28] Our director of planning and engineering
[27:29] development issued the attached stop
[27:32] development order pursuant to a
[27:34] delegated authority resolution of
[27:35] council. So, here we're just
[27:38] recommending that council confirm the
[27:40] order to cease an unpermitted automated
[27:43] automotive-related business. And this
[27:45] activity is taking place at 20 Gadwall
[27:48] Place, and I so move.
[27:54] » Is there a motion required to confirm
[27:57] this order? I'm going to ask the
[27:58] legislative officer just to make sure,
[28:00] right?
[28:01] >> I think so.
[28:01] >> Because if we delegated the authority to
[28:03] the director,
[28:05] it still has to come here. Okay, just
[28:07] making sure.
[28:08] I'm going to need Councillor Fry, I
[28:10] think, to second that. And thank you for
[28:13] to both of you. Any further questions?
[28:16] Councillor Rice.
[28:18] » No, I'm glad this one is coming. This is
[28:20] happening happening quite frequently in
[28:22] the city now, and I know we got other
[28:25] areas in the city that that, you know,
[28:27] residents think they're sticking up
[28:29] right in a commercial or business out of
[28:31] their property, but that's not the case.
[28:32] I mean, we have several other areas as
[28:34] well in the city that that this is
[28:36] happening, and it's not allowed in a
[28:37] residential area. I'm glad this is
[28:39] coming through, and I drove over there
[28:41] this afternoon, and I just want to have
[28:42] a quick look, and there was five or six
[28:44] cars in the driveway in that area. So,
[28:47] something happening there and I'm I'm
[28:48] glad, you know, our inspectors and our
[28:50] municipal enforcement, whoever's doing
[28:51] the inspection on those are are
[28:53] traveling there and uh and reporting
[28:55] that back. Uh this stuff is not you
[28:57] know, if you want to operate a garage or
[28:58] something like that, you go to a proper
[29:01] location and set it up. So, uh that's
[29:03] just my view on that one.
[29:04] And I'm glad this happening. Thanks.
[29:06] >> Yep, well said. You uh live in a
[29:08] residential area, you should be able to
[29:10] enjoy living in a residential area, not
[29:12] living in a commercial area or have
[29:13] commercial activity.
[29:15] I'm going to call the question. All in
[29:16] favor? And those opposed? And that's
[29:18] carried. Thank you.
[29:22] » Uh thank you, Mayor. Uh the next item is
[29:24] the St. John's urban regional urban
[29:27] region regional plan amendment number
[29:28] 110 2025. This is an update here.
[29:31] And it's again it's for the attention
[29:33] and consideration of my members of
[29:35] council as well as the public. Um it's a
[29:37] public consultation summary regarding uh
[29:40] the St. John's urban regional plan
[29:42] amendment. No objections were received
[29:45] during the referral and consultation
[29:46] process
[29:48] of this urban regional plan uh which
[29:50] closed on August 10th of 2026. In
[29:53] summary, the city received four
[29:54] responses
[29:55] from our neighboring municipalities,
[29:57] CBS, St. John's, Bay Bulls, Portugal
[29:59] Cove, St. Philip's, and none of the
[30:00] responses raised any concerns nor
[30:03] objections regarding the proposed
[30:05] provincial amendment.
[30:07] We did, however, receive one email from
[30:08] a resident and they were seeking
[30:10] clarification
[30:12] as to how this might impact their
[30:14] individual residential property, but
[30:16] after discussing this with our staff, uh
[30:18] the resident did not express any
[30:20] objection again to this proposed
[30:22] provincial amendment.
[30:23] Now, next steps. It's a very thorough
[30:25] process as we know here trying to get
[30:27] our municipal plan uh Mount Pearl's city
[30:30] municipal plan updated. So, these are
[30:33] the required upcoming steps.
[30:36] Um we await confirmation from the
[30:38] province regarding this proposed St.
[30:40] John's urban region regional plan
[30:42] amendment. We're expecting that late
[30:44] August.
[30:45] Then we're going to resubmit a revised
[30:47] draft municipal plan and development
[30:49] regulations
[30:50] spanning 2026 to 2036. This of course is
[30:53] based on internal revisions, the outcome
[30:56] of the amendment that we just
[30:57] referenced, and response to general
[30:59] commentary and review comments from the
[31:01] province. Um so we're expecting this by
[31:04] mid-September.
[31:05] Then we're going to await section 15
[31:07] release
[31:09] for the um municipal plan development
[31:11] regulations 2026 to 2036 from the
[31:13] province. We're expecting that late
[31:15] September.
[31:17] Then we'll proceed with the adoption of
[31:19] our municipal plan development
[31:20] regulations by the by our public
[31:22] council. Again, late September, early
[31:24] October.
[31:25] Then we have to schedule and hold a
[31:27] joint public hearing. We're expecting
[31:29] that in mid-October. Then we'll await
[31:31] the public commissioner's report,
[31:33] council approval of our municipal plan
[31:35] development regulations, submit the plan
[31:38] and regulations to the province for
[31:39] ministerial register registration. We're
[31:42] expecting that in early November. Then
[31:44] we'll um
[31:45] await uh ministerial registration letter
[31:48] from the province. Again, late November,
[31:50] early December. And finally, publish the
[31:53] notice of registration in the
[31:54] Newfoundland and Labrador Gazette. And
[31:56] that's estimated at the end of December.
[31:58] This will then conclude the required
[32:00] process. And the Mount Pearl uh the new
[32:03] Mount Pearl municipal plan and
[32:04] development regulations for 2026 to 2036
[32:07] will officially come into effect on the
[32:10] date that the notice of registration is
[32:11] published in the Newfoundland and
[32:13] Labrador Gazette. So this is a very a
[32:16] fullsome and and thorough process here.
[32:19] And we are following due process. So I
[32:21] just wanted to provide that update
[32:22] there, Mayor.
[32:26] And the last uh for our report
[32:28] is the um development permit listing
[32:30] from uh June 1st to July 31st of 2026.
[32:35] And you can see that there are 11 listed
[32:37] there.
[32:38] And um we're open any questions should
[32:40] council have any questions on this.
[32:42] >> I think Councillor Antle does.
[32:45] >> Just a question and maybe uh
[32:47] we can answer this. I noticed this is
[32:48] just for our FYI,
[32:50] right? But it stated June the 1st uh to
[32:53] running through to July 20th. Is there
[32:55] any way we can have that earlier like
[32:56] instead of having
[32:58] already happened? What's going to
[32:59] happen? Is that a possibility?
[33:04] Well, no. Well, this is uh this is uh
[33:07] development permit listings that are
[33:09] happening like you know what? Open air
[33:11] assembly that happened on June the 16th.
[33:13] There were hockey tournament that
[33:14] happened over top the road. I didn't
[33:15] know that was happening. But if we had a
[33:17] known it if we have it beforehand. Is
[33:19] there any way you can have it beforehand
[33:20] like it's going to happen in September?
[33:23] No, I think things don't I'm asking
[33:25] instead of having it now as an FYI that
[33:27] already happened.
[33:28] Like is an FYI that already happened.
[33:30] I'd like to know what's going to happen.
[33:33] >> Well, I guess the only thing we could do
[33:34] is if is show permits have been approved
[33:36] right up to today I'll say to exaggerate
[33:39] the case perhaps.
[33:41] But we can't really forecast into the
[33:44] future unless you're talking about an
[33:46] activity that was approved
[33:49] that may happen in the future. But
[33:50] they're all future oriented, right?
[33:52] Because when the permit's issued it's
[33:53] about to you're about to do something.
[33:56] So, help me out here either director or
[33:59] CAO. I'm trying to answer Councillor
[34:01] Antle it would in a practical way, but
[34:04] uh
[34:05] could we get them earlier?
[34:07] Um or more up to date for lack of a
[34:09] better word. I don't mean that to be
[34:11] critical. Just asking the question.
[34:14] >> No, I mean listen. I we can certainly
[34:16] take it away. I I don't see um
[34:20] a procedural way to provide guaranteed
[34:23] advance notice of all permits issued
[34:25] because our permits are processed based
[34:27] on event date. So, or activity date. So,
[34:32] I I can't guarantee you that cuz we may
[34:34] not even be in receipt of the permit
[34:35] application 2 months out from an event
[34:38] happening. We may only be able to issue
[34:39] the permit in that appropriate time
[34:41] period. So, unfortunately, I think we
[34:43] have to take that away and give it more
[34:45] consideration as to how we can achieve
[34:46] and I know what you're asking for,
[34:48] but I I, you know, the it's a manual
[34:51] process to deliver that and so we have
[34:53] to give that more consideration.
[34:56] » Yeah, just to go back on that one. Like
[34:57] for the ball hockey tournament, that's
[34:59] one I was just noticed that was
[34:59] happening on July the 9th. You know, and
[35:02] this is a it was an FYI. Like I didn't I
[35:05] walked over it. I didn't know what was
[35:06] happening. Is there any way that we know
[35:08] if something's happening in September?
[35:10] It was going to be an FYI or October.
[35:12] Maybe it doesn't happen, but that'd be
[35:13] nice to know
[35:15] if it's going to happen. Something like
[35:17] >> That's the takeaway, I think. That's the
[35:19] one you've got to
[35:20] But I would ask this,
[35:22] um not for decision tonight, but to
[35:24] Councillor Angel's point, if the if the
[35:26] report is being prepared the Friday
[35:28] before the Tuesday, maybe the cut-off
[35:29] could be the Thursday before the council
[35:31] meeting. And the spreadsheet, which I'm
[35:33] assuming this is what this is, could be
[35:36] uh tabulated. The other issue, I think
[35:38] we're going to leave that in your hands
[35:39] until next meeting. Uh Councillor Angel,
[35:42] that work for you?
[35:46] Okay. Um that report was from Deputy
[35:48] Mayor Locker. You finished, sir?
[35:50] >> sir. Thank you.
[35:50] >> I'm going to move to round table.
[35:52] Councillor uh Rice, please.
[35:57] » No, just a couple things for me there.
[35:59] Uh I just wanted to uh
[36:01] just wanted to add about the city
[36:02] website. Uh also, there's a couple
[36:05] things I wanted to highlight actually,
[36:07] uh because a couple of people uh
[36:09] residents called me about a couple of
[36:10] things happening in the city and one of
[36:11] them was a citizen's alert about signing
[36:13] up for the citizen alert. Anything
[36:15] that's happening in the city, you get it
[36:17] through that uh
[36:19] through that, you know, process there
[36:21] because you you once you sign up and
[36:22] give your email, you'll get notification
[36:23] of it cuz a couple people mentioned to
[36:25] me that they didn't know what was
[36:26] something was happening, but if you sign
[36:27] up for that, you will get it. Also, the
[36:29] construction is notices are all up there
[36:31] as well on the city site. Very important
[36:34] because I know we got lots of
[36:35] construction happening now around the
[36:37] city. Uh you know, uh you over on uh
[36:40] you know,
[36:42] up around Farrell Drive area is a lot of
[36:44] stuff happening up in that area, so you
[36:45] know, uh same thing as well. And uh the
[36:48] other the other one I want to mention is
[36:50] the Hey Mayor Pearl uh
[36:52] Your Voice. So, you can go down that app
[36:53] and you can put actually on the Hey
[36:55] Mayor Pearl, you can actually click on
[36:57] the on the link there
[36:59] and you can go in and give your opinion
[37:00] on stuff, upcoming stuff in the city.
[37:01] So, I just want to That's it for me.
[37:03] Thank you.
[37:04] >> Yeah, citizen alerts really valuable,
[37:05] especially for service notifications or
[37:08] uh or emergencies.
[37:10] Um okay, so thank you, Councillor Race.
[37:13] Over to you, Councillor Fry.
[37:17] » Thank you, Mayor.
[37:19] There are two things I want to speak
[37:20] about tonight. The first one is
[37:22] something I think we'll all be
[37:23] interested in and that's of course,
[37:25] e-bikes and uh scooter regulations.
[37:29] As um
[37:30] as part of Municipalities Newfoundland
[37:32] and Labrador, I've been involved with
[37:34] meeting with the province and the team,
[37:37] Minister Goosney and his team there
[37:40] in terms of what how to go forward in
[37:42] terms of regulating this. Of course,
[37:44] this is all so new. It's new technology
[37:47] and we're still trying to trying to
[37:49] catch up with it.
[37:50] But, everyone agrees that regulations
[37:52] are needed for for a number of reasons.
[37:55] I mean, first of all, you've got a lot
[37:57] of young people using these. They don't
[37:59] know the rules of the road. They haven't
[38:02] applied for a permit and did a test and
[38:04] then did their driver's training and
[38:07] then had to do another test. Like, it is
[38:10] kids are kids and of course, as kids, do things that they probably
[38:14] shouldn't do. They don't have the fear,
[38:15] so we need regulations first of all to
[38:19] keep them safe.
[38:21] But, also, I know after talking to a lot
[38:23] of people over the last couple of weeks,
[38:25] especially, there are a lot of people
[38:27] who have had near misses with people on
[38:29] e-bikes and e-scooters. I know I have.
[38:32] And uh
[38:33] I can't imagine if I had hit somebody. I
[38:37] mean, I would never be the same again.
[38:39] It would You know, that's something that
[38:40] stays with you. So, we also, of course,
[38:42] need to protect the drivers as well. So,
[38:46] I think we're moving in the right
[38:47] direction. I I I'm so impressed with uh
[38:50] with Minister Goosney and his team. I
[38:52] believe they've taken this very
[38:53] seriously, and
[38:55] they've done a lot of consultations and
[38:57] a lot of research, and and that's
[38:59] including with e-bike manufacturers, and I've learned a few things about
[39:02] that, too.
[39:04] So,
[39:05] the province has now launched a public
[39:08] engagement survey, and this is focused
[39:10] on strengthening road safety, including
[39:12] the regulation and safe operations of
[39:14] e-bikes and e-scooters.
[39:16] So, I encourage people to go into that
[39:19] site
[39:20] and participate in the survey and share
[39:22] their views on how road safety can be
[39:24] improved for all users. And I do believe
[39:26] that we're going to get a lot of similar
[39:29] things, you know, like a lot of repeat
[39:31] things, but there's probably going to be
[39:33] one or two those little gems in there
[39:35] that's going to make a difference. So,
[39:37] everybody's Everybody's views are
[39:38] important there.
[39:40] And the survey can be found at
[39:41] engageNL.ca.
[39:43] And uh this stems from growing public
[39:45] discussions across the province
[39:47] regarding e-bike and e-scooter safety.
[39:49] And it includes concerns raised by
[39:51] municipalities, residents, and law
[39:53] enforcement. So, of course, the city of
[39:55] Mount Pearl will also complete a survey
[39:57] as it's open to municipalities as well
[39:59] as the general public.
[40:01] And uh I I'd strongly encourage people
[40:03] to uh to have their say. And this is new. It's kind of like when
[40:08] seatbelt regulations first came in. You
[40:11] know, nobody wanted it, but now it's
[40:13] just
[40:14] now it just keeps us all safe and it's
[40:15] just um
[40:17] a habit. So, we're at a place now where
[40:19] this is coming into play and it's
[40:22] something that people should should have
[40:24] their have their voices heard.
[40:27] So, that's one thing I wanted to talk
[40:29] about there. I don't know if anybody
[40:30] else wanted to comment.
[40:37] The other thing I wanted to talk about
[40:39] is um
[40:41] I've
[40:42] as you guys all know, I'm an animal
[40:44] lover.
[40:45] And I've had a number of residents reach
[40:46] out to me over the summer with concerns
[40:49] that our animal when when they call in,
[40:52] if they if they've captured a stray
[40:54] animal, when they call in, they're told
[40:57] that we don't collect stray animals
[41:00] if they're in custody.
[41:02] So, this got some people shaking their heads
[41:05] because I mean, if you see a stray cat,
[41:08] you're going to
[41:09] entice them somewhere,
[41:11] enclose them, and then call animal
[41:13] regulations and say, "Please come get
[41:15] this."
[41:16] But, they're being told now, "If you
[41:17] have If you have the animal,
[41:20] we're not coming to take it." So, this
[41:22] is something of concern. I just bring it
[41:24] forward because I've had a number of
[41:25] residents reach out to me on this.
[41:27] is the season when the you know,
[41:30] you've got a lot of animals roaming and
[41:34] they're we're coming into kitten season,
[41:36] and you don't want an excess of animals
[41:39] on the streets.
[41:40] Plus, you also don't want, you know, for
[41:42] the safety of the animals as well. So,
[41:44] this is something I just wanted to bring
[41:45] forward for future discussion. I just
[41:48] wanted to table it here today and and
[41:50] let residents know that this is
[41:51] something on our radar and we're going
[41:52] to revisit it.
[41:55] And that's it for me, Your Worship.
[41:56] Thank you.
[41:57] >> Yeah, I guess part of your plea is is it
[41:59] something new we're doing or not doing,
[42:01] whatever the case may be, but
[42:04] yeah, it's nice to be able to
[42:05] communicate that to residents.
[42:07] >> We used to We used to collect animals.
[42:11] Um and I believe it changed in 2019. So,
[42:14] I'm just asking that it be revisited
[42:16] because this is something, you know,
[42:17] like I said, we don't want we don't want
[42:19] animals on on the street and you've got
[42:22] all these good Samaritans who are
[42:24] collecting and are trying to save
[42:26] animals and trying to get them off the
[42:28] street. And if people won't come and if
[42:31] our if our
[42:34] bylaws say that we won't go collect
[42:36] them, what are they going to do with
[42:37] them? Put them back out on the street.
[42:39] And we don't want that. So, um I just
[42:41] wanted to bring it forward and have it
[42:43] revisited.
[42:44] Thank you.
[42:45] >> So, the direction is will staff take it
[42:47] away? I think that's what I'm sensing,
[42:49] right? That's your plea? Yeah, good
[42:50] stuff. Okay, thanks so much. Over to
[42:52] Deputy Mayor.
[42:55] >> Uh thank you, Mayor. Two quick things.
[42:56] Well, the first about the e-bikes, I
[42:57] won't go on at length because I'm uh
[43:00] Councillor Fry summarized it uh
[43:02] nicely there. I'm just delighted to see
[43:04] the province uh
[43:05] you know, taking an initiative and and reaching out seeking feedback, but
[43:10] as Councillor Fry said, I think there's going to be significant
[43:13] overlap um
[43:16] in the responses. So, I I await that. Um
[43:18] I also want to just extend the
[43:20] congratulations to the event Sunday, the
[43:22] uh
[43:23] the Sunset Market out here out front. I
[43:25] mean, people were just they were
[43:26] charmed. I got to say. Um so many people
[43:29] came and said, "What a lovely event." It
[43:30] was pop-up. Some people said, "I didn't
[43:32] know about it. I heard the music. I was
[43:33] over the tennis courts. I decided to
[43:35] drop down." The music was great.
[43:37] The um the food was great. The uh you
[43:40] know, all the vendors. So, I just want
[43:42] to extend congratulations Director
[43:44] Collins and others who were involved in
[43:45] that
[43:46] uh making that such a success. That's it
[43:48] for me, Mayor. Thank you.
[43:51] >> Thank you.
[43:52] And over to you, Councillor Antle, and
[43:54] uh let's talk about e-bikes. Go ahead.
[43:56] >> I I have a
[43:58] two things to talk about. One, I'll talk
[43:59] about e-bikes, believe it or not. I just
[44:01] filled out Engage NL.
[44:03] I have a call in to the minister. and to
[44:05] chat with the minister because I I am on
[44:07] a knee bike.
[44:09] And I'm I'm on the bike and trail every
[44:11] week every day.
[44:13] And I stopped talking to people most
[44:14] times to ask them about how they feel
[44:16] about e-bikes.
[44:17] And a lot of people do we have to
[44:18] there's distinguish between e-bikes.
[44:20] are pedal assisted e-bikes and
[44:23] e-bikes without pedals.
[44:24] And we got to make sure that we're not
[44:26] going to ban e-bikes that pedal
[44:28] assisted. I think I know minister even
[44:30] said we're not looking for a banning
[44:31] e-bikes with pedals. Pedal assisted
[44:33] bikes I mean we got to there's car what
[44:35] is two there's a big difference.
[44:37] And I won't go on about that too much.
[44:39] But you know Sunday when I went up from
[44:41] my house to CBS 90% of the bikers were
[44:44] e-bikers on the trails and they were
[44:46] following rules of the road.
[44:48] Now I'll get to my topic and I'll just
[44:50] get into that. I was up on uh
[44:52] Saint David's and I contacted a
[44:54] counselor Wednesday or Thursday last
[44:56] week with my grandchildren.
[44:58] And when I went there there was six
[45:00] youngsters and they were they were
[45:02] electric dirt bikes or whatever these
[45:04] called pedal they never had no pedals.
[45:06] And they were going across Saint David's
[45:08] field
[45:09] in the parkway and I'd say they were
[45:10] doing 40 or 50 km an hour. They were
[45:12] flying. I mean there was youngsters all
[45:14] over the field. My youngsters were
[45:15] there. My grandchildren were there.
[45:17] was other children there playing.
[45:19] We our parks and rec were playing with
[45:21] their kids. I contacted our CEO and I
[45:24] said this is terrible. I mean this is we
[45:26] have to do something. So I stopped I
[45:28] chatted with other parents while I was
[45:30] there.
[45:31] And a lot of people don't realize that
[45:33] these motor these e-bikes without motors
[45:36] are not legal here in the city of Mount
[45:38] Pearl. They can be confiscated.
[45:41] So one of our MEOs came by and I chatted
[45:43] with one of our MEOs and we talked about
[45:45] this like they can confiscate these
[45:47] bikes. I think what we have to do is let
[45:50] parents know like right up front they're
[45:52] illegal in the city of Mount Pearl and
[45:53] we can confiscate them. They're in our
[45:55] bylaws. We had them sent out today that
[45:58] our bylaw states that we can confiscate
[46:00] motorized vehicles within city of Mount
[46:02] Pearl. And e-bikes without pedals can be
[46:06] confiscated. I think what we need to do
[46:08] is put a on our website, on our
[46:10] Facebook, that we're going to start
[46:12] confiscating these bikes. Parents need
[46:14] to know they're illegal in the city of
[46:15] Mount Pearl. Somebody's going to get
[46:17] hurt. The bylaws, like Counselor Friel
[46:18] just said, the minister's working on
[46:20] something.
[46:21] But our bylaws are already in the city.
[46:23] Our MEOs can pick up a bike and
[46:26] confiscate that bike. Now, as regards to
[46:29] scooters, I don't know how the scooters
[46:30] work. But the scooters are just as
[46:32] dangerous as If they don't have pedals,
[46:34] someone's going to get hurt on these
[46:36] bikes. But right now, we already have
[46:37] the bylaws in our city that we can
[46:39] confiscate the bikes. I think what we
[46:41] need to do is put out a some kind of
[46:43] notification within the next 30 days or
[46:45] next 2 weeks, we're going to start
[46:46] confiscating. And I think that will stop
[46:48] people from using Parents don't know
[46:50] that they're illegal.
[46:52] Yeah. I was up in Costco
[46:54] a couple of days ago. They're selling
[46:56] scooters now for I won't say the price,
[46:58] but they're selling People are buying
[46:59] them all over the place. Parents need to
[47:01] know they're illegal in the city of
[47:02] Mount Pearl. And however we do that, we
[47:04] can put a sign on the beginning of We
[47:06] have signs all the times.
[47:08] Yeah.
[47:09] And And you know, that's uh
[47:11] me on e-bikes. So, anybody else?
[47:12] >> passionate. You're a bit of a cyclist
[47:14] from what I understand.
[47:14] >> I'm on the e-bike. I talked to lots of
[47:16] people in the city, right? You know, my
[47:18] age around the e-bikes, and I contacted
[47:20] I put on the Engage NL, and I put a sign
[47:22] my name, and I said you can give me a
[47:23] call. I talked to e-bikes. You can go
[47:25] down on the trail, and I just rode my
[47:27] bike across the walk, and I talked to
[47:29] people on the e-bikes.
[47:30] And I stress that. I think any of us are
[47:32] looking We don't want to ban e-bikes.
[47:35] Pedal-assisted e-bikes are what are
[47:36] safe. It's the speed and these motorized
[47:40] dirt bikes have to be banned. And we
[47:42] have the laws in place to confiscate
[47:43] them.
[47:45] And that's my rant on that one.
[47:46] >> Unfortunately, we don't Well, it depends
[47:48] on the classification. Electric dirt
[47:50] bikes, these little guys that go, you
[47:52] know what I mean? Like like the old
[47:53] Yammie, remember the old Yammies? They
[47:55] are classified as off-road vehicles in
[47:57] the city of Mount Pearl and they are
[47:59] enforceable. Right now e-bikes with
[48:01] pedals and e-scooters are permitted
[48:03] within the city because to see a sign
[48:06] doesn't always define what the
[48:07] regulation is and the regulations don't
[48:09] necessarily back that up and we're
[48:11] trying to coordinate with the province
[48:14] and
[48:15] I got the CAO and I saw the corner of my
[48:17] eye Deputy Mayor Lock. Can you expand on
[48:19] that as I know we had some notes done up
[48:22] and but Councillor is right, speed is
[48:24] the issue. I'm not sure I agree with him
[48:26] on the pedal assist bikes but e-scooters
[48:28] and e-bikes it's free range
[48:30] unfortunately. Is that a fair statement
[48:33] unless we ban them specifically just
[48:34] from our infrastructure?
[48:39] » Um listen, no doubt that this is a topic
[48:42] of interest particularly with the news
[48:44] as of late. So the city is working on a
[48:47] submission
[48:49] outlining many of the concerns raised
[48:51] here today but Mayor is right. It's very
[48:53] clear legislatively in our own
[48:54] regulations around e-bikes without
[48:57] pedals because they don't have to propel
[48:59] they cannot operate on a propel assist.
[49:02] So we do have regulations support that
[49:04] we do not have the support of
[49:05] regulations for e-scooters or e-bikes
[49:08] and so at this point in time
[49:11] any enforcement is limited in terms of
[49:14] what we can do as a municipality so we
[49:17] have to work with the province. We have
[49:18] to govern
[49:20] we have to work from a governance and
[49:21] advocacy perspective to find a path
[49:24] forward on that. So we're doing what we
[49:27] can. We are enforcing the regulations
[49:29] that are within our control. So for
[49:31] example helmets helmets are required
[49:34] under our current regulations and our
[49:36] municipal enforcement team have been
[49:38] enforcing helmet
[49:41] regulations and requirements more so and Director Collins has given this
[49:46] direction to his team
[49:47] to ensure that we are stopping we are
[49:49] working with youth
[49:51] for e-bikes e-dirt bikes, sorry. and It
[49:55] is all very complicated, but for e-dirt
[49:57] bikes, we are
[49:59] we have given the direction to our
[50:00] enforcement team to confiscate where
[50:02] appropriate, and if you're operating
[50:04] outside of that to call a parent and
[50:06] ensure the parent comes to collect the
[50:07] bike in those times. So, the challenge,
[50:11] you know, the challenge is around
[50:12] enforcement of e-scooters and and
[50:14] e-bikes that have
[50:16] um
[50:17] pedal pedals with them because our
[50:20] ability to enforce is limited. However,
[50:22] we are working more on an awareness
[50:24] angle right now, and we're we're going
[50:25] to work with the province to support
[50:28] better legislation that we can better
[50:30] enforce.
[50:32] >> I'm going to save you for last,
[50:33] Councillor Rental, because you started a
[50:34] great conversation, but I think we've
[50:36] got two colleagues that want to speak,
[50:37] and maybe more for all I know, but I'm
[50:39] going to go to Deputy Mayor Lock and
[50:40] then Councillor Fry.
[50:42] >> Uh thank you, Mayor. I just further to
[50:43] what Councillor Rental was saying, I I
[50:45] mean, he's dead on the money here,
[50:47] but I think we got to get into the
[50:48] semantics because we're using the term
[50:51] e-bikes, but and I think that's where
[50:53] the confusion comes, Councillor Rental.
[50:55] It's it's the e-motorcycle
[50:58] that we're we're concerned about because
[50:59] I know
[51:00] I mean, I was reading here today some
[51:02] information that was sent to us about
[51:04] micro-mobility devices.
[51:06] And then the examples that were given
[51:08] here, e-bikes, pedal-assist bikes,
[51:12] e-scooters, electric skateboards, and
[51:13] Segways.
[51:15] But to me, what distinguishes an e-bike
[51:17] from a pedal-assist bike? In my mind,
[51:19] they're the same. It's the e-motorcycles
[51:22] is what we're
[51:23] I think what what you're referring to
[51:25] here, right? But
[51:27] or electric dirt bike, right? But, you
[51:29] know, a bicycle a
[51:31] The pedal-assist is what we permit. As
[51:33] long as you got pedals that you can
[51:34] propel with your feet,
[51:36] that's what's permissible.
[51:39] Of course, and I said that a couple of
[51:41] weeks ago, that I'm on the trail
[51:43] sometimes, and people on
[51:45] you know, you know, mountain bikes that
[51:47] aren't e electric, they're exceeding the
[51:50] speeds on our trails. So, you know, but
[51:53] we need to we and I'm sure the province
[51:54] is going to do this, they need to
[51:56] clarify to your point, Councillor
[51:58] Randell, so that parents know what's
[52:00] legal, what's not.
[52:02] legal in the city of Mount
[52:03] Pearl. Thank you, Mayor.
[52:05] Councillor Fry. And Councillor Racey,
[52:07] are you next in the queue or you want to
[52:08] wait? You going to You're going to pass
[52:10] for now. I think it's all being
[52:11] discussed. Councillor Fry and then
[52:13] Councillor Randell.
[52:16] >> I just wanted to add because there was
[52:17] one thing that I I learned this week.
[52:20] These uh scooters, you know, the ones
[52:22] that kids have, they come in factory uh
[52:25] from the factory at set at 30 km/h.
[52:28] That's what is recommended, 30 km/h.
[52:30] But apparently, there's a way you can, I
[52:33] don't know, YouTube it or something and
[52:35] this is what kids are doing. There's a
[52:36] way to override that 30 km/h. So, now
[52:40] you've got these scooters that should be
[52:43] going 30 km/h and they're going much, faster. So, that's one of the
[52:48] things that we need to
[52:50] keep in mind, too, when you're talking
[52:52] about speeds and and e-scooters. Like,
[52:54] there's You've got the ones from the
[52:55] factory that are 30 km and then others
[52:59] that can go much faster.
[53:01] Uh I also wanted just to to I think
[53:04] uh CAO Rideout hit the ball hit the nail
[53:06] right on the head because in terms of
[53:09] regulation, we need provincial
[53:11] regulation. We need to keep it
[53:12] consistent across across the province
[53:14] across municipal boundaries. And by
[53:17] having provincial regulation, that will
[53:19] help in terms of enforcement and giving
[53:22] more more clout to enforcement. And uh
[53:25] that's all I just wanted to say. I just
[53:26] I was fascinated about the I was down at
[53:28] the e-bike shop and they have what they
[53:31] call moto bikes or something and they
[53:34] look really amazing. There was one there
[53:36] like $20,000.
[53:38] But it is I mean, there's the technology
[53:39] is there and one of something else that
[53:41] he said that I found was interesting,
[53:43] too. He said, "This is new here, but
[53:46] people tourist come and they want to
[53:48] rent these bikes because they've they're
[53:50] so used to having them in other parts of
[53:52] Canada that when they come, they know
[53:54] how to use them and that's that's their
[53:56] mode of transportation. So, we're just a
[53:59] little bit uh I guess a little bit later
[54:02] getting it here, but it's like the
[54:03] Cabbage Patch effect, you know, one kid
[54:05] gets it, everybody else wants one,
[54:06] right?
[54:07] >> Now, you're dating yourself.
[54:08] >> Yeah.
[54:10] >> Coun. Tilley,
[54:11] you stared at this.
[54:12] >> How do you want to finish, sir?
[54:13] >> Just on a high note. I talked to some
[54:16] kids that use scooters and I thought
[54:18] this was fabulous. Couple of scooters,
[54:20] like you can leave my house for any
[54:21] Mount Pearl now and you can take these
[54:23] scooters and that's what they're
[54:24] planning to do, go right to university,
[54:27] 10 km from Mount Pearl, 10 km on our
[54:29] trails and it's nice trails and they can
[54:31] take the scooters, put them in their
[54:32] backpack and put them in the locker. So,
[54:34] it's ideal for university students.
[54:36] There is a way we can keep these
[54:37] scooters and work with these. Like the
[54:39] mayor said, speed is the key. 20 km on
[54:42] our trails, that's it. If you do 20 km,
[54:44] with something director Collins, we both
[54:46] have e-bikes and you know, we do speed
[54:47] them at 20 km. It's no problem. I have
[54:50] an e-bike, my son has a regular bike, I
[54:52] cannot keep up with him. I have an
[54:54] e-bike, my bike tops out at 28 km, it
[54:56] won't go any faster in life.
[54:58] I can't keep up with Ryan. This is just
[55:00] impossible. It's just So, it's it's
[55:02] speed. Any other I'll go on and that's
[55:03] it. So, we can go on that. My last one
[55:05] is really uh it's good news.
[55:07] And I think we need to send out a letter
[55:09] congratulations to Read Music.
[55:11] Junior and Junior Reed are celebrating
[55:13] 35 years of successful business here in
[55:16] the city of Mount Pearl.
[55:17] Junior and Junior started our business
[55:19] off here on number three Commonwealth
[55:21] Avenue, all right? And one they had one
[55:23] little
[55:24] office there off Amulree Electric.
[55:26] That's where he started, a little tiny
[55:27] office. It was just They had a couple of
[55:29] guitars and a piano and they started off
[55:31] 35 years ago.
[55:33] And now you look at them, they're over
[55:34] on Topsail Road, they have the I think
[55:35] the top floor, they have classes. They
[55:38] have
[55:40] I've taught so many people how to play
[55:41] music here in City Mount Pearl.
[55:44] If any time we want any kind of
[55:45] donation, you call Junior and Janior and
[55:48] they're there right away. So, for 35
[55:50] years successful business here in City
[55:51] Mount Pearl, congratulations from
[55:53] almost, I'm sure, and a nice letter from
[55:54] the City Mount Pearl would be nice.
[55:56] And uh maybe we can drop over and uh
[55:59] drop it off to him. And that's
[56:00] everything from me, Your Worship. Thank
[56:01] you.
[56:02] >> Consider it done. I'm going to finish
[56:03] with a few thank yous. Thank you to
[56:05] Carrie Hotter in our community city
[56:07] communications for putting together all
[56:08] these great e-bike and e-scooter and
[56:11] e-messaging
[56:14] uh for the city. Thank you very much uh
[56:15] Carrie. Uh thank you to council and
[56:17] staff for um Mount Pearl putting the
[56:19] initiative in through MNL to uh put a
[56:22] resolution on the table so that
[56:24] Councillor Fry, who's the vice president
[56:26] of MNL and is also, I think, head of
[56:28] advocacy,
[56:29] uh could meet with Minister Goosney
[56:31] along with her colleagues at MNL. Um but
[56:33] I can also give you an update. I think
[56:35] the minister is very confident in the
[56:38] process and it's going to be very
[56:39] thorough, but there are timelines. And
[56:42] he, I believe, mentioned to me yesterday
[56:44] that they're hoping to bring in some
[56:46] legislation the fall. They're they're
[56:48] not dithering cuz he's not just hearing
[56:50] it, say, from the City of Mount Pearl. I
[56:53] think all quarters are are speaking to
[56:55] it.
[56:56] Um
[56:56] and I think CAO, we talked about
[56:59] setting up a meeting with Minister
[57:00] Goosney just to follow up our
[57:01] engagement. I believe we would have no
[57:04] trouble getting Councillor Antle to go.
[57:06] Yeah. So.
[57:07] With that in mind, uh
[57:09] thank you everybody for your attention,
[57:11] your discussion of the issues, and
[57:13] giving up um the evening of your Tuesday, which is
[57:16] a quite evening outdoors, and I'm going
[57:17] to now call for a motion, please, to
[57:20] adjourn the meeting. Moved by Councillor
[57:21] Fry, seconded by Councillor Rice.