Good evening. Welcome to the regular meeting of the council of the corporation of the city of elliot Lake, dated tuesday, november 12th, 2024, 7 p.m..
we'll call to order. Roll call, all members are present.
are there any declarations of conflict of interest? Going once.
twice. Okay. Adoption of previous minutes.
may have a motion that the following minutes be adopted. The october 28th, 2024 regular meeting and the october 31st, 2024 special meeting.
mover? Councillor bull seconded councillor seidel.
any questions on the regular meeting? Or comments?
any questions on the special meeting or comments?
okay. All in favor? That's carried.
there's no public input sessions. There are no public presentations.
introduction and consideration of corporate reports 7.1 report from the director of Information technology regarding subscription
renewal with escribe software limited. May I have a motion that the report of the director of information technology be received And that the council of the corporation of the city of elliot lake pass the appropriate
bylaw to renew the agreement with escribe software limited, a mover?
councillor flintoff seconded councillor lefebvre. Mrs. Scott, please.
thank you, your worship. This is basically a housekeeping item.
we've been working with these escribe since 2013. And we've augmented some of the services over the years.
the purpose of the agreement of this is because of the bylaw we need the bylaw in order To for contracts over $20,000 for the mayor and clerk to be
specified by the for the bylaw.
financial impact. There won't be any on this year's budget, as the contracted services budget is currently Under impact and the amount that we're looking for the renewal is
$44,052.78. Okay.
thank you. Any questions? Councillor flintoff.
thank you, your worship through you to mrs. Scott. So since we only budgeted for $30,000, I know that we were lower on the contracted Services for 2025 budget.
will we now increase like the escribe portion? Like we'll put like escribe $45,000 just to.
yes. In the previous years, you noticed that in 2023 we had budgeted the $43,000.
so I think that maybe it was just.
an oversight. Right? Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Okay.
any other questions or comments?
all in favor? That's carried.
7.2 report from the assistant director of public works regarding installation of boiler At the elliot lake wastewater plant.
may I have a motion that the report from the assistant director of public works dated November 5th, 2024 be received and that the
contract san 2024-04 for the amount of $63,535, exclusive of
taxes be awarded to s&t electrical contractors limited, and that the funds be withdrawn From the water and wastewater reserve.
a mover? Councillor mann seconded councillor bull.
mr. Doyle, please. Well, thank you and through you, your worship.
just a bit of background on this here, the city of elliot lake wastewater treatment plant Utilizes anaerobic digestion as a critical component of the treatment process.
controlling the temperature in the digester is necessary to promote proper decomposition Of solid waste, of waste solids, and to aid in the production of the methane gas used to
offset heating costs at the facility. The city of elliot lake wastewater treatment plant houses two dual gas, low pressure and Hot water boilers.
these boilers constitute an integral component in the anaerobic digestion process at the Facility.
in addition to providing heat for the majority of the buildings on site, the boilers are Designed to operate on both natural gas and methane.
so an audit of the internal tubes using magnetic particle testing was completed by Northern industrial services in january of 2024,
and at which time it was noted that that 31 of the vertical tubes and 20 of the elbows Were inspected, and all of the inspected vertical tubes
have cracks as well as 13 of the elbows. Ultrasonic testing was to be performed after this, but it was not done due to the Inspection failure.
staff looked at the possibility as well as replacing the tubes, but a quote for the Replacement of just four complete tubes was
$27,144.88. So a tender 20 2404 was generated to secure quotations
for the removal and replacement of one of the existing dual gas train boilers.
specs for the appropriate direct replacement model were secured from from the Manufacturer.
the tender was advertised on bids and tenders website, but due to the nature of the work And due to the nature of the work a mandatory site visit was held on wednesday, october
23rd, 2024 with four services for service providers attending bidders for this contract Were
requested to submit complete pricing for the work as outlined in the tender document.
the pricing associated with the boiler was to include installation, commissioning and and Training.
all of the required inspections were to be called in by the successful bidder.
these here inspections would would include tsa, esa and the boiler manufacturer.
all four of the companies attending the site meeting submitted bids. Pricing for the boiler was consistent between the firms, with a notable difference in That some of the bidders were able to to to do all the work with their own forces, and no
subcontractors were required. Price breakdown and totals were as follows s&t electrical contractors limited $63,535, Exclusive of hst.
and there were no subcontractors on this bid as her own forces were to be used.
ainsworth incorporated $69,888.64, exclusive of gst as well.
there was no subcontractors on this bid as their own forces would have been used.
mike witherill mechanical limited was $98,201.73 exclusive of gst or of hst.
there were no subcontractors on this bid as well.
and mcleod brothers mechanical incorporated was $98,920 exclusive of hst and there were Two sub two
subcontractors on this bid. There was initial there was an initial estimate of approximately $150,000 to install and Commission the boiler.
the above quotes reflect that many of the valves and peripheral components are still Functioning and and serviceable.
the 2024 budget did not include a replacement of the cleaver brooks boiler. Replacing the boiler is essential to ensure reliable heating for the anaerobic digester And improve microbial activity and lower the operational costs.
so, in summary, the existing boiler has been in use for approximately ten years and Proving the recommendation presented in this report will secure a local service provider
with removal and replacement of the boiler system at the wastewater treatment plant.
if there's any questions, I'll be glad to answer them. Thank you, mr.
boyle. Councillor mann. Thank you, your worship through you to mr.
doyle. Thank you for your report. My only question, I know we've we've talked about the wastewater plant a bit this year.
the second boiler when would you anticipate having it up for replacement?
through you, your worship once this once once this boiler here.
are you talking about the the other boiler? That sort of. So once, once this boiler is up and running and we're confident that it's Going to it's it's going to keep going probably in in the spring we'll
take a look at the other boiler and put it through the testing etcetera.
okay. Thank you. Any other questions?
councillor bull. Thank you, your worship, to mr. Doyle. So during that time, from january to october, were both boilers running or do they Alternate or how did we
operate? Because I assume you did your test in january and you did another one in October.
so was the boiler running at the time or did I miss that?
through you, your worship, we had done some, some testing in january for for the boiler.
that's, that's that's what we've done, the magnetic testing.
and then from there I'm not sure.
can you repeat the question? I guess I can ask you. Yeah. I'm sorry. Yeah. No. That's all right. I'm just wondering were both boilers operating during this Time, or was that one that failed shut down?
so the in roughly january, the boiler started leaking.
so then we had we had done some tests on it, and then we shut that boiler down.
so then we've only been running with one boiler. Okay, that was my question.
and you're going to replace the other one next year. What we're going through your worship what we'll do is come spring once once we're, we're Confident that the other boiler is going to be up and running the new one and that that,
that has been commissioned. What what we'll do is we'll we'll call on the company to, to do some testing on the other Boiler and see what type of condition that one is in.
okay. Thank you. Councillor flintoff.
thank you, your worship. Through you to mr. Doyle. Just so I sort of understand where this is.
so you did a test, and then you got a quote for four tubes, and it was, like, $27,000.
and so you said this isn't going to work because there's a lot of tubes in this boiler.
so then you got it inspected and the person installing it so any bad tubes, plus the Installation of the boiler itself is going to be a grand total of
$63,000. Like will they be changing any of these tubes that you said were bad when they Do the boiler.
[inaudible] through you your worship. No, no. These this is your boiler that's being exchanged out.
this is a new boiler going in. So these here tubes will will not be changed out. So this is a whole new boiler that's going.
and the and a new boiler has tubes. Yes. Okay I didn't I didn't know that.
[inaudible]. Thank you. Your worship through you to the members of council.
just for some clarification here, you will recall back I believe it was in maybe in july Or june.
I came forward with a report recommending the purchase of a new boiler. And this is just a follow up to the information that was provided to you at the time.
so I think where some of the confusion may, may lie is the fact that there's the two Different dates in here.
the testing was actually done at the beginning of the year. The october date is making reference to when the contractors who were actually going to Install the boiler came on site to do an inspection to cost out the job for the
installation. Okay.
okay. Councillor morrissette. Through you, your worship for, mr. Doyle? How long of a process will it take for everything to be changed over to the new Boiler?
through your worship. So as of tomorrow, the boiler or the boilers arriving on site tomorrow morning at 8 A.m..
we'll unload the boiler. S&t will if s&t is successful, they will be there to unload the boiler with us.
and from there it's just a matter of getting permits et-cetera.
so I did talk to them briefly today. I would like it installed before christmas.
so that's that's kind of the goal.
any other questions? Councillor lefebvre.
thank you. Your worship through you. So you just confused me on your last one.
so the 63 535, does that include the cost of the boiler and to replace and decommission Or just to replace and decommission the older boiler?
so through your worship the boiler was purchased as as mr.
debartoli said a few months back, the the cost of the boiler was $991
plus hst. The boiler install is roughly well, not roughly $63,535.
so did that kind of answer it or. Okay. Thank you.
okay. Any other questions? I just have a quick one. How often are these boilers inspected?
is it a two year, three year thing or when they start leaking?
no through you your worship. We did have the boilers inspected I think it was around 3 or 4 years ago.
we we had a had a company come in and there was no, no issues with, with the boiler at That time.
okay. Thank you. Okay. No other questions.
we'll have a vote. All in favor? That's carried.
7.3. Memo from the director of clerks and planning services regarding resolution 319/24.
report from the ombudsman on the december 18th meeting of the finance and administration Committee.
may I have a motion that resolution 319/24 is hereby rescinded, and that council affirms Its commitment to adhering to its
responsibilities under the municipal act 2001, including ensuring that all closed Sessions are in full compliance with
the statutory exceptions outlined in the act.
may I have a mover? Councillor mann seconder councillor bull.
miss bray. Thank you, your worship.
so the memo is in response to the ontario ombudsman report on the closed session held by The finance and administration committee in december of 2023.
in that report, the ombudsman had made two key recommendations, as noted in my memo, Essentially that council members should ensure the municipality complies with the
municipal act, and that closed session should only address matters that meet the Statutory exceptions outlined in the act.
so in response to that report, council passed a resolution in september to receive the Report.
however, after further discussion with the ombudsman's office, additional steps are Recommended to enhance transparency and ensure full compliance as per changes to the act.
so, to our credit, we have not had an investigation with the ombudsman's office since Those changes took effect, except one last year where that decision was reversed.
so it has been normal practice for council to just receive these reports historically.
but moving forward and in order to comply with the act, it's recommended that council Rescind resolution 319/24 and adopt a new resolution affirming our commitment to the
municipal act, including strict adherence to the rules governing closed session.
thank you, miss bray. Any questions or comments, councillor mann? Thank you, your worship. Just a comment and I think miss bray covered it with her, with Her remarks.
you know, clearly it has been our practice to receive after getting correspondence from From outside agencies or bodies.
I don't think it was any oversight that we didn't, you know, further ratify or or Reaffirm the comments of the ombudsman's office, but
obviously note taken and we'll ensure that we do that moving forward.
thank you. Councillor mann councillor flintoff.
thank you your worship through you. Just a comment. I will support this resolution.
however, I really feel that this council already ensures that all closed sessions are in Full compliance with the statutory exception outlined in the
act. I feel like this council does our utmost, our utmost to do that, and we are doing That.
and to me, this sort of feels like the ombudsman has to have the last word on this.
so I thought I'd say something. Thank you. Thank you councillor flintoff.
any other questions or comments?
okay. Let's vote. All in favor? None are opposed.
that's carried. 7.4 report from the special projects manager regarding fox drive hydro one networks, Inc.
multi-service connection cost agreement. May I have a motion that the report from the manager of special projects be received and That installation of electrical services proceed for the fox drive phase three
project in accordance with option a of the multi-service connection cost agreement Between hydro one networks, inc.
and the city of elliot lake. And that the appropriate bylaw be passed to enter into the multi-service connection cost Agreement between hydro one networks, inc.
and the city of elliot lake, and that costs related to the multi-service connection cost Agreement be drawn from the land
sales and purchases reserve. A mover? Councillor morrissette seconded councillor flintoff.
mr. Goulding, please. Thank you. Through you, your worship council may remember a very similar report coming Forward in december of 2022, where
I presented an almost identical multi-service cost connection agreement for Consideration.
at that time, council approved moving forward with that contract and that contract Obligated city staff and hydro one to work
together to meet some administrative conditions in order to move forward with the Project.
and at that time I made some comments to council where this has been an
issue going on between staff and hydro one networks for a very long time, spanning years And years, predating this council's
involvement by quite some time. And at that time, I was asked, why is this such a difficult thing to accomplish?
and I'm going to give you much the same answer tonight. And it's that at a high level hydro one isn't isn't really used to working with Municipalities.
and normally the, the way that these services are installed is that they're, they're Commissioned by a private entity, a development
firm that's received lands from municipal municipality.
and it's better to accommodate the needs of hydro one in doing business.
and so for the last two years, it's been it's been a task on my list, as well as the two Gentlemen
sitting next to me to try and navigate dealing with a lawyer on our side and hydro one Trying to to sort out
how we can work together. And frustratingly, we can be given some hints by lower level staff at hydro one on how to Accomplish that goal.
but they're unable or unwilling to commit to firm courses of action forward to sort out Some of these administrative issues.
and their legal department doesn't really weigh in there. They're dealing at arm's length.
it's not huge, insurmountable problems that we're having in administering this it centers Around the city granting
access to these lands via easements to hydro one to actually affect the work.
the complication has been that the city has put easements in place for itself when it Disposes of the lands whenever we did so, I
believe it was in 2018 or thereabouts.
and revising those agreements would entail going back to each of the purchasers of the Land to amend the agreements after the fact.
and it's not an activity that the city really has a big appetite to engage in, nor do the Purchasers of the of the parcels, I believe.
so in lieu of that, we've taken great strides to try and transfer our rights to access The lands, to do work to
hydro one so that they can affect changes. And hydro one is not really in a great position to tell us if that will satisfy their Needs or not, because that's an unusual thing for them to do.
however, we believe that tact will work, and we have some indication from hydro one Through our legal counsel that that's a way
forward. And we're looking forward to doing that as soon as we as soon as we can.
however, the agreement in front of you tonight is in place because the previous agreement Has timed out.
there was a there was a date at which the agreement was no longer valid.
so this report and this agreement being put in front of council tonight is to effectively Reset the clock so that we can get this done.
thank you, mr. Goulding. Any questions or comments?
councillor seidel. Thank you your worship through you. So if we approve this tonight, when can we expect to have hydro on fox drive where we can Tell
the proponent to purchase the property they can start to build.
thank you. Through you, your worship. So we're certainly hoping that the answer to that is by the spring, because we're making Commitments to fednor and others for the installation of our
lift statement station in that area by now.
but strictly speaking, the answer to your question is that we're able to resolve these Issues with hydro one before such time.
the hardest part in this by far is not installing the the equipment.
I'm sure hydro one is very capable at doing so. And this isn't a huge installation, it's more an administrative hold up between the two Organizations.
okay. Good. Thank you. Any other questions or comments?
councillor lefebvre. Thank you. Your worship through you.
so the fednor grant that was announced recently, that's for the lift station. And none of that goes towards this, right?
thank you through, no the projects that are tied but they're distinct projects, this is Distinctly providing
electrical power services to the area. And the lift station is its own separate project.
that depends on that hydro. But the fednor is engaged in just that portion.
so the grant application is for that we received the funding for is going towards the Lift station and none of it goes.
okay. Perfect. Councillor flintoff.
thank you your worship through you to mr. Goulding. Just a question on the resolution we passed back on february 13th, 2023 we Passed a resolution for option a
for the city to pay an expansion of positive $86,543 before the date of june 5th, 2023 So did we
pay that expansion deposit? Thank you through you, your worship.
no, we didn't, because along with that contract was criteria that a schedule of criteria That the city had to meet, which involved
allowing access to hydro one to the land to affect the repairs.
so since we weren't able to jump over that hurdle, we didn't move forward with enacting The terms of the contract.
and so, as you noted, in june of 2023, that contract expired.
in the time between hydro one informed me through staff, indicated well to me personally That they didn't have an appetite to
amend the agreement because largely this amendment has to do with cost increases with the Equipment that's being installed.
so they need a bigger deposit and they pay us back in different amounts to reflect that Bigger deposit.
they were happy to just let that lie and carry on status quo until we were able to, to to Get over
this administrative challenge. But now there's been enough time lapse that they want to reflect approximately another $10,000 in increased costs to enact the
project. And just to follow up, as councillor seidel just said, so do you think we're Through the administrative challenges and we're
we're getting closer. Thank you. Through through you, your worship.
yes. I really do think that we're through it. We were able to have some meaningful conversation between our lawyer and their the hydro One representative saying like this.
there's no real reason that this shouldn't work. We should be able to transfer our rights over to their organization.
we've gotten a soft yes from them saying, everybody just wants this to to happen on both Sides.
it's just that it's an unusual situation for both entities to engage in a practice like This.
and as I said two years ago, if we have the option of engaging in a behavior like this in The future, I really would recommend against it.
this is this is really for other people to do.
okay. Thank you. Councillor lefebvre.
thank you your worship through you. So in your summary, then you're saying that the executed hydro agreement would come back To council.
so is it safe to say that this money would only be sent once we execute that contract and We need that execution to come back to council sooner than later?
thank you. Through your worship. Not exactly. When when council approves this contract, staff will carry through with Executing the terms of its that it contains.
so so we'll carry on with dispersing funds for the, for the deposit once that hydro Initiates
that response saying, yes, you've met the criteria we we require and now give us your Deposit.
okay. Any other questions or comments?
so moving forward, the lesson for the city is don't get involved in this again in this Particular fashion.
thank you. Through you, your worship, it's worth offering some clarity on this. So in our in the capacity of dispersing the lands this way.
the city effectively made itself responsible for things over which it has no control.
so when we sold these lots, we sold them to the purchasers, saying that, yes, we'll Provide you with sewer and water.
that makes sense, because we're we're a utility company that provides sewer and water Services.
but we also said to these purchasers that we would provide them with electrical service, And we're not in that business, and nor does hydro one expect
us to be equipped to deal with them the way that they normally are dealt with.
so more conventionally, a large parcel of land would be sold off to a
developer that would then subdivide that larger parcel of land and deal with all of this Kind of site servicing themselves.
and that's what's most commonly done. And my sense, after having dealt with hydro one for two years on this issue, is that this Whole project is unique and foreign to
them they don't understand, the idea of hypothetical connections, because we can't speak For what each end user
of the service will actually require in terms of power requirements.
and the engineers at hydro one really don't like that idea, and they don't want to over Spec their connections.
we've gotten over that hurdle with the design criteria that took quite a long time.
and then there's the additional issue of making sure that all of the land purchase and Sale agreements meet the criteria
that hydro one needs to actually do their work.
and we kind of put the cart before the horse in that instance, in this, in this situation.
okay. Thank you. Any other questions or comments?
let's vote. All in favor? None are opposed. That's carried.
there's no presentation of committee reports. No outside board and committee reporting.
no unfinished business, no petitions, no correspondence.
no notices of motion. 14 council reports and announcements.
councillor flintoff. Go ahead. Yes. Just mr. Brunet asked me to announce it's the last chance for the early bird discount for your ski Membership at mount dufour.
it ends on saturday the 16th. Save some money.
it should be a good ski year. They just got a brand new state of the art snowmaking gun donated by retirement living to Help with the snow making and it's over on saturday.
you can still get your memberships. It'll be at a different price. Thank you. The city of elliot lake will be hosting a free snowmobile information session At the collins hall on thursday,
november 14th, 2024 at 6:30 p.m..
opp constable phil young, along with officers from the elliot lake bylaw department and Members from the local elliot lake snowbirds snowmobile
club will be on hand to discuss safe riding tips, rules and regulations involved in safe Riding, club memberships and other topics
of interest. Admission is free and open to anyone who enjoys riding and wants to learn more about safe Riding and rider awareness.
we hope to see you there! Napa powersports will also be on site showcasing their products and answering questions.
get your 2025 pet tags beginning friday, november 15th.
you can purchase your pet tags at city hall or online.
please take advantage of the special reduced rates if purchased prior to january 15th, 2025.
please note that the pet tags will no longer be available for purchase at pet value.
they are only available at city hall or online through the city's website.
for further information, please call the bylaw enforcement office at (705) 848-2287, Extension
2119, or visit elliot lake.ca.
the air date for the still standing episode featuring elliot lake is coming up soon.
johnny and the team will be showcasing our city and some of our wonderful residents.
please tune in to cbc on november 19th at 8:30 p.m.
or go to cbc gem all day. You can access gem on your smart tv through the app, or by visiting gem.
cbc.ca. And it's that time of year.
join us friday, november 29th at 6 p.m. For elliot lake's 45th annual santa claus parade.
this year's theme is christmas in hockeyville. Displays will be judged by theme, look, lights and spirit.
prizes will be awarded for the best overall float, most creative float and the fan Favorite float.
winners will be announced december 2nd and for more information or to register your Business or group, please visit elliot lake.ca/
parade. And then one final announcement not from council, but from mr.
debartoli would like to provide an update on the arena financials, mr.
debartoli. Thank you, your worship through you to members of the council. As you recall the october 31st meeting of special meeting of council when we were Discussing the the new approach to solidifying the footings at the
arena councillor lefebvre did request some information regarding the expenditures to date With regards to the work being done at the arena site.
obviously it's been a moving target as we're all quite familiar with in terms of costings And whatnot, but rather than provide a very,
very detailed report, which at this point in time would be very hard to compile, given The number of outstanding items and the expenses yet to be determined, I thought a
high a high level approach to give you an estimate of what we've spent to date so far Would satisfy the request for now.
so basically, we've had a couple of balls in play at the arena. We've had the actual structural restoration project, which has been, pretty much led by Dr.
tingley and his team at wrd and also timber restoration services, and that's included the Restructuring of the the timbers in
the arena, as well as the work to be completed with respect to the footings.
so what we've expended to date in terms of monies put towards the actual structural Rehabilitation of the arena is
$6,938,192 and that covers the work.
that's been the manual work that has been done by trs on the wrd side, which is heavily Involved in the design aspect of it we've
expensed $824,000. Sorry, $824,764.
so the grand total there is approximately $7.7 million.
we as you recall, we committed to the estimate that was provided by dr.
tingley at the last special meeting of council, and that was in the amount of Approximately $1.6 million.
so to date, we have expended and have committed to expend approximately $9.4 million on The restoration of the facility or the
rehabilitation of the of the facility. In terms of its structure, as far as rejuvenating the building in terms of replacing the Roof, we committed to a contract through
jci, that amount was in the was $1.479 million.
and we have commissioned the work on the sprinkler system, which is of notable quantity Of money as well, it's $83,736.
so our total expenditures with regards to the roof and the sprinkler system are just Slightly over $1.5 million.
and so to date, the total amount of funds committed and or expended is approximately $11 Million.
okay. Thank you. Any other announcements?
okay. There are no addendums.
16 introduction and consideration of bylaws. 16.1 bylaw 24-108 being a bylaw to authorize the entering into an agreement with s&t Electrical contractors
limited for the dual gas train boiler replacement.
may I have a motion that bylaw 24-108 be passed? A mover. Councillor bull seconded.
councillor mann. All in favor? That's carried.
16.2 bylaw 24-109 being a bylaw to authorize the entering into a cost agreement with Hydro one networks, inc.
for the multi-service connection for the fox drive phase three project.
may have a motion that bylaw 24-109 be passed.
a mover. Councillor morrissette seconded councillor mann.
all in favor? That's carried.
closed session. There are two items for closed session this evening.
there's a memo from the manager of economic development, possible acquisition of land on Oakland boulevard, and a report from the director of finance and
director of it municipal software update.
may I have a motion that council proceed into closed session as per the provisions under Section 239 of the municipal act, at the hour of
07:39 p.m.. A mover. Councillor seidel seconded.
councillor flintoff. All in favor? That is carried.
okay. May I have a motion that council return to open session at the hour of 9:03 p.m..
mover councillor mann seconded councillor flintoff. All in favor?
it's carried. Confirmatory bylaw 18.1 bylaw 24-110 being a bylaw to confirm the Proceedings of council at its regular meeting held
on tuesday, november 12th, 2024. May I have a motion that bylaw 24-110 be passed?
mover councillor seidel seconded councillor bull. All in favor?
that's carried. Adjournment. May I have a motion that the meeting adjourned at the hour of 9:04 p.m..
mover councillor morrissette seconded councillor lefebvre.
all in favor? That's carried. Thank you very much.