[1:46] Good morning, everyone. Welcome to
Committee of the Whole for June.
[1:53] I'd like to ask any member to declare a
pecuniary interest now or where it may
[1:58] arise anytime during the meeting.
Councilor Lusby, please.
[2:02] » Thank you, Warden Merritt. I'd like to
declare conflict of interest on 4A AEMS
[2:09] Master Plan
and the closed meeting A B E M S Master
[2:13] Plan. And I've completed the necessary
paperwork. Thank you.
[2:16] » Okay. Thank you.
[2:19] Seeing no others.
Item number three, infrastructure and
[2:24] development management services
division.
[2:27] We have two information reports to
consider this morning unless there's
[2:31] questions. I'll look for a motion to
receive and file. Councilor Miller
[2:35] moves, Councilor Kay seconds. All in
favor. A question by Councilor Atkinson.
[2:40] » Thank you, Warden. Relating to item
three
[2:44] B
number A of B, the feasibility report
[2:49] study. I was just wondering down the
road, are other municipalities going to
[2:53] be allowed to be considered taking part
of this once it's uh
[2:57] the report comes back?
>> Okay, I'll ask Mr. Cole to respond,
[3:03] please.
[3:09] » Thank you through you, Mr. Warden. I I
think that's in the under the reports
[3:14] requiring a motion, the fire
um
[3:17] uh the fire services report.
Uh correct. Right. Thank you. Um and I
[3:23] the the goal out of this is is to uh
look and to whether or not we
[3:28] council wishes us to proceed in
considering options. So, if that's an
[3:33] option that um
uh is of concern whether or not other
[3:36] municipalities could participate in the
future, we could include that in the
[3:40] reporting back to council.
[3:44] » Motion to receive and file the two
information reports. All in favor.
[3:49] Opposed, that's carried. And 3B reports
requiring a motion. The first one
[3:55] is a report regarding the fire
prevention feasibility review.
[4:00] Look for a motion to approve the two
recommendations. Councillor Ferguson and
[4:04] Councillor Bushy.
All in favor?
[4:08] That's carried.
And 3BB
[4:12] report regarding Sarnia organic waste
collection.
[4:20] Councillor White
moves the recommendation. Councillor
[4:23] Sageman seconds.
All in favor?
[4:28] Opposed if any? That's carried.
[4:31] Item number four, public health services
division and the EMS department. We have
[4:37] uh
one information report regarding the
[4:41] Lambton EMS master plan update.
I'll look for a motion If there's no
[4:47] discussion, I'll look for a motion to
receive and file. Councillor White
[4:51] and Councillor Ferguson. You have a
question, Councillor Ferguson.
[4:56] » Yes, thank you, Warden. Looking through
there, there was talk at the time of
[4:59] putting a station in the Westbrook area,
Inwood. Is that still
[5:04] in the books somewhere?
>> Okay, Mr. Churchill, please.
[5:11] » Thank you for the question through you,
Warden. Um
[5:14] our Chief Stephen Turner is here, so
I'll ask him to respond to that
[5:17] question. Thank you.
>> Good morning, and through you, Mr.
[5:22] Warden. Um so, in master plan, the
master plan identified that the last
[5:26] stage of uh fleet movements and and
allocations would be to take a look at
[5:32] the Thedford or Thedford decoupling,
placing 12 hours of service from
[5:36] Thedford in Forest, and the other 12
hours we would take a peek at where the
[5:41] best and most appropriate seating was
for the that location. One of the three
[5:45] options that was identified in the
master plan was one putting in Sarnia as
[5:49] a day car. The second
creating a 24-hour vehicle in Sarnia if
[5:54] the need was required overnight and the
third was taking a look at the Ennwood
[5:59] Alvinston area as a possibility. So
those three
[6:03] are the last stage options of the
of the master plan and at that point we
[6:08] would take a look at where the need was
greatest and place those 12 hours of
[6:12] service at that point.
>> Okay and counselor White.
[6:16] » Uh thank you Ward Marriott.
Just want to have a comment really to
[6:20] Mr. Turner and and and and
Mr. Churchill and and the whole team.
[6:25] This is
a master class on how to implement a
[6:29] master plan. The progress made in this
very very very detailed and logistically
[6:34] complicated EMS master plan is
incredible and the progress with which
[6:40] you're moving forward is absolutely
commendable. So I just want to say you
[6:43] know thank you for the incredible work
that you're doing and
[6:46] and it really should be recognized as
something to to be very proud of for
[6:50] everyone here at the county. Thank
>> Thank you counselor White and thank you
[6:55] Mr. Turner and Mr. Churchill. Question
by counselor McRoberts.
[7:03] » Thank you through the chair. I'm just
curious on page two of the summary of
[7:07] the progress number eight reduce
unnecessary code eight standbys. Can you
[7:12] please tell us what that was why it
existed in the first place and then what
[7:16] deemed it to be unnecessary?
[7:20] » Certainly through you Mr. Chair.
The code eight standbys are a movement
[7:25] of fleet whenever we have a 911 call and
we have to move one of our ambulances
[7:30] and
and respond to an emergency. What that
[7:34] does is it leaves a gap in the coverage
and kind of the mesh of the network
[7:38] and I I like to Uh, liken it to
basketball uh, which just happens to be
[7:44] very timely right now.
Uh, instead of man-on-man, it's floating
[7:47] zone. So, when we move one ambulance, we
have to move another ambulance to cover
[7:51] the gap that's left. Uh,
when we took a look at the the outset of
[7:55] the master plan, we identified that a
lot of that fleet movement was
[7:59] unnecessary and often was detrimental.
So, we moved a vehicle, uh, I'll give
[8:04] you an example, um, from Brea to to
uh, to Corona. Uh, so, when the Corona
[8:08] station went out on a call, we would
move the vehicle from Brea to over to
[8:12] Corona because Brea has a lower call
volume. What that left was a gap in the
[8:16] south end of our county,
uh, and the
[8:19] uh, the split 50% of the time the call
would actually be back in Brea.
[8:24] Uh, rather than in the Corona area and
made a big run to get back to the call
[8:29] that was there. So, we took a really
deep analytic view of that and took a
[8:33] and identified that we could lessen the
number of standbys that we did, which
[8:37] was also a fairly significant component
of the workload of our crews. Uh, it
[8:42] also uh, on top of that, uh, added to
wear and tear on our fleet and
[8:46] significant fuel usage.
Uh, as a result, we've actually found
[8:49] that we've been able to reduce a code
eight standbys by about 50%, uh, save
[8:55] about $80,000 in fuel, a significant
reduction in uh, task times on our
[9:00] crews, uh, and have not have had a
negative effect uh, on our response
[9:05] times. We've continued to meet our
response time performance plan.
[9:09] » Perfect.
Thank you. Any other questions?
[9:15] Seeing none,
um,
[9:20] call of the We We have a motion on the
floor. Okay. All in favor of the save
[9:24] and file, opposed if any. That's
carried. Thank you.
[9:28] Any other business for
[9:31] Public Health Services and EMS this
morning?
[9:36] » Mr. Warden, if if I may, uh, I'd just
like to introduce Carol Moore.
[9:40] Identified in the master plan was our
reorganization. Carol Moore has joined
[9:44] us as our new deputy chief of community
programs and system quality. She started
[9:49] a couple weeks ago and we're very
fortunate to have her on board.
[9:52] » Great. Welcome, Ms. Moore.
[10:00] Okay, moving on to number five, cultural
services division. We have
[10:09] First report is regarding the revised
circulation policy. Look for a motion to
[10:14] approve the recommendation.
Councilor Sageman.
[10:19] Seconded by Councilor Atkinson.
Discussion.
[10:23] All in favor.
Opposed if any, that's carried.
[10:27] 5AB,
report regarding the Bright's Grove
[10:31] Library expansion project.
Look for a motion on the four
[10:37] recommendations.
[10:40] Councilor White.
Moves. Seconded by
[10:44] Councilor Atkinson.
[10:48] Question by Councilor White.
>> Uh thank you. Um
[10:52] I I know it's not clear yet when the
work is to begin, but um
[10:57] is there a plan on notifying notifying
the public uh of the impending closure?
[11:05] Temporary closure of the Bright's Grove
Library.
[11:08] And what would that plan look like?
Thanks.
[11:10] » Mr. Meyer, please.
>> Uh through you, Warden, and thank you
[11:14] for the question.
Um certainly the city staff are still
[11:18] confirming the timeline with the
contractor that was just engaged.
[11:22] Uh there is it is anticipated that
perhaps this summer
[11:26] work will commence. Once we've got that
date confirmed with their contractor, um
[11:30] we'll be reaching out to our card
holders
[11:33] as well as promoting the availability of
the other sites as outlined in the
[11:37] report.
So yeah, we're working with city staff
[11:40] to develop a communications plan
regarding the service disruption.
[11:43] » Follow up, Councillor White.
>> Thank you and obviously that's going to
[11:48] also
mean the gallery in the Grove is is
[11:51] included in that. Is there a temporary
plan for relocation of that of any
[11:57] potential
showings and the work that they do or
[12:02] will it just be on hiatus for a year
plus?
[12:05] » Mr. Mayor, please.
>> Through you, Warden.
[12:09] Similar to our approach, the gallery is
planning to close for the duration of
[12:13] construction just given the the limited
access and the work at the site.
[12:17] However, we as cultural services
division will be working with the
[12:20] gallery to
determine if we can accommodate some of
[12:23] their programs, their exhibitions at
other county sites.
[12:27] Looking to partner with the JNAAG,
perhaps certain library
[12:31] to ensure that some of their the
programming can continue.
[12:37] » Okay, call the question on the motion on
the floor. All in favor?
[12:41] Opposed if any, that's carried.
5 AC report regarding museums, gallery
[12:47] and archives collection management up to
April 2026.
[12:52] There's no Councillor Case moves
recommendation. Councillor Loosley
[12:56] seconds. All in favor?
That's carried.
[13:01] Is there any other business for cultural
services this morning?
[13:07] Seeing none, move on to six long-term
care.
[13:11] » [clears throat]
>> We have one information report to
[13:14] receive and file.
[13:17] For a motion for that, Councillor Hand
and Councillor
[13:23] Let's see, Cook. Sorry.
And you have a question, Councillor
[13:28] Cook?
No, okay. So, motion on the floor. All
[13:32] in favor?
Opposed, if any. That's carried.
[13:36] Any other
Any other business
[13:40] for long-term care?
[13:43] Okay.
Moving on to number seven, Corporate
[13:46] Services Division.
We have one information report here to
[13:52] receive and file.
Councillor Miller.
[13:56] Seconded by
Councillor Atkinson.
[14:01] Question by Councillor Ferguson.
[14:04] » Most of this is supposed to be
self-funded through the fines, etc., but
[14:07] it appears not going that way anymore.
Any comments from staff
[14:12] for the future to look for If we got to
fund this from the county general
[14:16] reserves, and if the staff's going to
negative number, what really happens?
[14:22] » Ms. Leger, please.
[14:26] » Yeah, thank you for the question,
Councillor Ferguson, through the Warden.
[14:29] So,
uh what has been happening? So, over the
[14:32] There's another report in the package
today that provides a a holistic view of
[14:37] the POA program and what's been
happening over the last 18 years, I
[14:41] would say. So, in 12 of those years, the
uh department has essentially been
[14:45] operating at a loss. So, the fine
revenue has been insufficient, like you
[14:50] said, to cover the operating costs of
the POA program.
[14:54] In those instances, it's been funded
either uh partially by reserves or
[15:00] through the general tax levy.
[15:05] » Any other questions before I call the
question? Uh Councillor White.
[15:11] » My uh question's similar in nature, um
and uh
[15:15] really it just comes down to, you know,
this is a mandated service. I get that,
[15:20] but uh is there ever a discussion with
the province about kicking in? I mean,
[15:24] this is the Provincial Offences
Act.
[15:27] Uh,
are they ever,
[15:31] you know, at the table in discussions
with picking up the, uh,
[15:35] the, uh, the tab?
>> Ms. Leger, please.
[15:42] » Yes, thank you, Councillor White. So,
uh, from the department's perspective,
[15:47] we've taken an approach in that, uh, the
goals and objectives of the department,
[15:52] uh,
looks to aim to address these
[15:55] challenges, the, particularly the
budgetary pressures experienced by the
[15:59] department. So, we're looking internally
as well as externally. So, we've really
[16:04] prioritized advocacy efforts, uh, as it
relates to our POA program, uh,
[16:09] particularly the rising court security
costs, and the province provides, uh,
[16:14] grant funding that partially offsets
those costs. So, advocacy efforts to,
[16:20] uh, work with the province in reviewing
those grant funding so that, uh,
[16:24] currently it partially offsets by about
40%. Perhaps there could be a review
[16:29] that the grant funding, uh, provides
more.
[16:33] And then also advocacy efforts around
the set fine structure and court
[16:37] administration fees. So, those efforts
are underway, uh, both through the
[16:42] regular county channels, but also in
partnership with other municipalities
[16:47] throughout the province. This isn't only
a land and, uh, POA court problem. This
[16:52] is a challenge faced by many, many POA
program programs throughout the
[16:57] province. So, we partner with
municipalities through our Municipal
[17:01] Court Managers Association, as well as
through AMO.
[17:07] » Any other questions or comments before I
call the question?
[17:11] Motion on the floor, receive and file.
All in favor?
[17:14] That's carried. Thank you.
7B,
[17:19] a review
regarding the policing grant
[17:22] consultation discussion or motion to
approve the recommendation.
[17:28] Councilor Case.
Okay, and do we have a seconder?
[17:34] Uh Councilor Atkinson, go ahead
Councilor Case, please.
[17:38] » So, I'm curious. I know that
consultation was to take place with the
[17:42] lower tier municipalities.
I didn't really notice anything and I
[17:46] apologize if it's in here and I didn't
see it on what the opinion of the lower
[17:50] tier municipalities on this. I know
Warwick did have an opinion on this
[17:53] and it was to continue with the grant
process. I understand the rationale why
[17:57] staff is asking us not to. But, I guess
my question is
[18:01] did every municipality weigh in on this?
I'd be interested to know what the
[18:04] results of that their opinion were on
that particular issue. Thank you.
[18:08] » Okay, thank you. Ms. Leger, please.
[18:14] » Yes, thank you. Through the Warden. So,
uh the consultation process started the
[18:19] beginning of May
um and all staff from member
[18:22] municipalities were invited to
participate as part of that process. Uh
[18:27] there were eight staff members through
uh the member municipalities that uh
[18:31] joined the participation, six of which
voiced their preference.
[18:36] Uh
all being in favor of eliminating the
[18:39] policing grant. And well, some said
either option. So,
[18:45] uh I'll back it up a uh little bit. We
had prepared uh in preparation for the
[18:49] consultation, we had suggested, knowing
the budgetary pressures of the POA
[18:54] program, we had suggested a gradual
phase out of the policing grant wherein
[18:59] it would continue for 2027, but then
thereafter it would reduce by 100,000.
[19:04] So, by 2033 the policing grant would be
eliminated. Uh so, that was what was on
[19:10] the table uh in terms of the
consultation process, but after going
[19:14] through the background information and
explaining the position of the POA
[19:18] program, staff from member
municipalities had voiced that they were
[19:22] in favor of eliminating the POA grant
effective 2027. While some had said were
[19:29] were
comfortable with either option, either
[19:32] gradually phasing it out or eliminating
it effective 2027. Uh there was no
[19:38] member municipality that had said they
wanted the grant to continue
[19:43] indefinitely though.
[19:47] » Councillor Loosley.
[19:50] Thank you, Warden Merritt, and I do
understand there were discussions. Um I
[19:54] have a concern cuz I still think
policing costs that are going up. An
[19:58] example, this year 11%. Petroleum
received $17,000.
[20:03] I cannot support cutting that out. I
think we need to continue to keep that
[20:07] going. And I will not support this.
Thank you.
[20:12] Councillor Ferguson.
May I like to ask her how much of the
[20:16] money is money we would pay into the
county and then get it back, money in,
[20:20] money out?
[20:23] Yeah, not sure. Ms. Lejeune, you want to
tackle that one?
[20:27] In in terms of the levy or can I ask
clarification in terms of the levy? Is
[20:32] that what you're referring to?
So a grant coming back
[20:37] from the county. How much has
we paid into that to start with?
[20:42] Is it just money that we pay in that
that is coming back to us?
[20:47] And we eliminate it because it's really
in the end of the day it's
[20:50] it's a zero in our books.
Ms. Lejeune, please.
[20:56] Yeah, so that was uh
at least as I understood it, that was
[21:01] one of the um alarming pieces from the
staff of the member municipalities in
[21:05] that when we provide the policing grant
out to member municipalities,
[21:11] but if we're budgeting a deficit for the
department, then we're essentially
[21:17] redistributing the funds back to the
county through the general tax levy
[21:22] process. So, it's
like you had said,
[21:26] somewhat of a wash or an exercise
rather.
[21:30] » Councilor Case.
>> So, we also had those discussions as I
[21:35] referenced earlier.
And the our discussions were not to to
[21:40] continue on with the grant, actually to
continue on with the grant. So, I don't
[21:44] know where the communication went wrong
from our standpoint because we were very
[21:49] much on the record saying that we wanted
this grant to continue. We look at it as
[21:53] we're paying in and we're getting out.
That's the same for everybody to a
[21:56] certain point. So, anyways, I'm not
going to support the recommendation of
[22:00] staff on this one. I do understand with
all due respect why they're trying to
[22:03] find the money.
By the same time, I think we should
[22:05] continue on with this grant as well as
Mayor Lusby has said. I agree with that.
[22:09] » Thank you, Councilor Case. Any other
questions, comments before I call
[22:14] Councilor Bradley.
[22:17] » Yes, Mr. Warden and County Council. The
city doesn't have any involvement in
[22:20] this obviously with their own police
service.
[22:22] Would it be wise to table this for a
year and continue the program into next
[22:27] year
and allow the new council to deal with
[22:30] what they are facing on a number of
financial fronts?
[22:34] And if there is support for doing that,
I would move to table it with the grant
[22:36] continuing at least through 2027.
>> Okay, is there a seconder for that
[22:42] motion to table? Councilor White
seconds.
[22:45] Councilor Hand, do you have a comment or
you're seconding it?
[22:54] » I was just putting my hand up to second
it. Thank you.
[22:56] » Okay, so I'll call the question on
tabling. All in favor to table?
[23:04] Opposed?
[23:07] I declare that uh
the motion is defeated.
[23:13] » I
I'm sorry, it's a bit late, but can I
[23:15] ask for a recorded vote?
>> Okay.
[23:19] Oh, it's committee of the whole, yes.
Sorry.
[23:22] » Okay. All right.
So, we'll save that for the next
[23:24] meeting.
>> Okay, Counselor Case.
[23:28] » I will make the motion that we continue
with the funding in the grant process as
[23:33] we have for many years. I'll make that
motion that we continue on with the
[23:36] grant process.
>> Okay. Do we have a seconder by Counselor
[23:39] Loosely seconds.
Uh we had one motion on the floor though
[23:43] already.
[23:46] So
[23:50] Yeah, we did.
Yeah, two.
[23:54] Yeah, that was your your motion,
Counselor Case, so if you want to
[23:57] withdraw the first one.
>> I made the motion that we put it on the
[24:00] floor for this session. I will withdraw
that motion.
[24:03] » Okay.
And now you're making a motion to
[24:07] keep it.
[24:10] Any discussion?
[24:14] So, call the question. All in favor of
the motion.
[24:17] Opposed, if any.
[24:20] The motion carries.
[24:29] Okay, 7 BB regarding report regarding
the municipal election restricted acts.
[24:36] Look for a motion to uh
approve the recommendation on this.
[24:41] Counselor Ferguson.
Counselor Loosely.
[24:45] Seconds.
Any discussion?
[24:48] All in favor.
Opposed, if any. That's carried.
[24:53] Any other business for corporate
services division this morning.
[24:59] Seeing none, moving on to number eight,
find finance facilities and
[25:04] acquisitions. We have no agenda items.
So, look for open it up for other
[25:08] business.
[25:13] Seeing none, moving on to number nine,
Social Services Division.
[25:17] » [clears throat]
>> One report regarding the child care
[25:20] facility development
update. Look for a motion to receive and
[25:24] file this.
[25:29] Councillor Bushy.
Seconded by Councillor Atkinson.
[25:33] All in favor.
That's carried.
[25:39] And
nine
[25:43] AB, information report regarding
the affordable housing update.
[25:52] I guess this we could have included that
with
[25:55] uh Councillor
McRoberts, please.
[26:01] » Thank you, through the chair. I do have
a question that uh came up in Sarnia
[26:06] Council.
Can we please get a definition
[26:10] of affordable housing,
also a definition for supportive
[26:14] housing,
and if we could, is the George Street
[26:19] build going to be within dwell, going to
be supportive housing or affordable
[26:24] housing? Thank you.
[26:28] » Ms. Fitzpatrick, would you be able to
address that, please?
[26:33] » Thank you for the question and through
you, Warden. So, as far as the
[26:35] definitions,
affordable housing, we can consider
[26:40] affordable or deeply affordable or rent
geared to income. So, with affordable
[26:44] housing, it's considered 80% of the
average market rent as set by CMHC.
[26:50] Deeply affordable is rent geared to
income. so it's assessed based on the
[26:53] individual's income.
Supportive housing is generally rent
[26:58] geared to income with intensive
supports.
[27:01] So, it's it's not only the financial
supplement that makes the um
[27:06] housing sustainable, it's also the case
management supports that allows the
[27:10] person to remain successfully housed. In
terms of the George Street project, it
[27:15] is the intention that it will be
supportive housing with uh deeply
[27:19] affordable rents.
[27:24] » Any other uh Counselor White?
>> Again, just two things uh I'd like to
[27:29] highlight in this report because
and we know that the negative likes to
[27:35] stick
uh in the public narrative, but here we
[27:38] are with two uh very good good news
stories here, both with the uh
[27:44] the uh
Aboriginal housing
[27:47] uh
operation that uh that is open
[27:50] on Confederation Street along with the
10 uh rent supplements that the county
[27:54] is providing to make some of those
affordable units even more deeply
[27:58] affordable for those
uh who otherwise wouldn't be able to
[28:01] handle that uh in their budgets. And of
course, the on time uh and on budget uh
[28:07] construction at Kathleen Avenue is a
very good news story
[28:11] uh as we're expecting that to be online
later this year.
[28:14] Uh again, I just want to highlight
the the positive here. Great great work
[28:18] to staff um and uh and thank you for
your ongoing commitment to making sure
[28:23] that these priorities are met.
>> Thank you.
[28:28] Look for a motion to receive and file
this report.
[28:34] Counselor Sageman, Counselor Ferguson,
all in favor.
[28:38] Let's carry. Thank you.
[28:42] And 9B,
report regarding closure of emergency
[28:46] overflow shelter and expansion at Inn of
the Good Shepherd.
[28:51] There is uh
There is four recommendations
[28:56] here.
Councillor Bradley
[28:59] moves.
>> Yeah. Well, I wouldn't move it forward,
[29:01] but the one
one that's missing ingredient, I'll ask
[29:05] this question to staff, is that there's
um
[29:09] no public engagement.
Are you going to uh have what you did
[29:14] elsewhere
uh on George and elsewhere, this type of
[29:17] open house where these people can come
in and deal with the facts and not what
[29:21] they're hearing through other sources?
Is that part of the plan cuz it's not in
[29:25] the uh report or the recommendations?
>> Okay, I'll look for a seconder first.
[29:29] Councillor White seconds.
Um and I'd ask uh Ms. Fitzpatrick to
[29:34] respond, please.
[29:37] » Through you, Warden, to Councillor
Bradley. So, with the expansion of the
[29:42] Good Shepherd's Lodge as proposed,
I mean, public input is certainly
[29:46] important in many planning decisions.
However, with an expansion, the zoning
[29:50] is already in place, and as part of
municipal municipal planning, municipal
[29:54] consultation is not a requirement.
So, in the essence of time and moving
[29:59] this project forward in a timely
fashion, we wanted to get it in front of
[30:02] council as soon as possible, which uh
the details are in the report today.
[30:07] Certainly, as we proceed through this
project with pre-development um
[30:12] minor variances, we could engage with
the public to inform them of the plan,
[30:17] but in the interest of time and moving
the project forward and ensuring a
[30:21] timely solution to permanent shelter
beds and being able to wind down the
[30:24] overflow operation, we did not
preemptively um
[30:28] initiate public consultation, so to
speak. But, certainly, we would be happy
[30:32] to share the plan if approved by this
council with the public moving forward.
[30:38] » Follow up, Councillor Bradley.
>> Well, I understand that and I understand
[30:42] that from our meeting last week that uh
that there's not a need for a rezoning
[30:46] which would start a whole public
process. However, I do think
[30:49] watching all the stuff on social media
and the first casualty is usually the
[30:53] truth.
I think it's really important to bring
[30:56] this forward as soon as possible just to
inform that neighborhood. And also, I
[31:00] know you have regular meetings for the
Melrose neighborhood and as part of our
[31:03] discussion last week, I personally would
prefer that that exit is much shorter
[31:08] than what's predicted. But can you say
on the record here now
[31:12] what is happening at Melrose Place on
Melrose Street, the actual number of
[31:16] people using it has decreased
significantly and I think that's
[31:19] important for people to know.
>> Ms. Fitzpatrick, please.
[31:24] » Through you Warden to Councillor
Bradley, I mean yes, you are correct
[31:28] with the Melrose overflow shelter. The
usage is on average for the past couple
[31:33] of months around 15 people a night. Of
course, giving times of the month, it
[31:38] may be a few more or a few less, but
there's 25 beds available, but on
[31:42] average we've been using 15 of those 25
beds.
[31:46] Certainly activity is significantly
lower than it was this time last year.
[31:50] We continuously, on a regular basis,
every two to three months, we meet with
[31:55] the Melrose neighborhood. They reported
the same to us. They're they're happy
[31:58] with the changes. Of course, they want
to see it um eventually close, which
[32:03] again, that is also the wish of staff.
I I with regard to the timeline of
[32:09] closing overflow, it is the intention
once the lodge expansion project is
[32:13] complete, it will result in the closure
of the overflow. However, closing it
[32:17] prematurely as as we all can appreciate,
there is not enough capacity at the
[32:22] lodge on its own to meet demand, so we
will need to
[32:25] maintain that for the foreseeable future
to meet shelter need. We'll continue to
[32:30] to monitor monitor though on a monthly
basis and wherever possible, look to
[32:34] minimize the operations at the Lower Lee
Church.
[32:38] » I appreciate that. Now, can I just go
back for a second and ask on this idea
[32:42] at least informing the neighborhood
through an open house of exactly
[32:45] what this is and it is an extension of
existing service which is is positive.
[32:51] I I think there's a need to do that in
that commercial area and that
[32:53] residential area uh
that they've informed as soon as
[32:57] possible the details. And we went
through that on George Street. Uh once
[33:01] that got rolling the um
the misinformation was enormous.
[33:06] And I think we should do everything to
bring it down knowing that that's not
[33:10] always possible.
And I'll leave that with you. I'll leave
[33:12] that with your judgment on your timing
and when you would do that.
[33:17] » Okay. Councillor White.
>> Uh thank you, Warden.
[33:20] Through you to Ms. Fitzpatrick. In the
past um there were conversations about
[33:26] the possibility of expanding services on
this particular site and
[33:30] uh if I if my memory serves me correctly
the conclusion was that there just
[33:35] wasn't enough land uh available to make
any sort of real difference in in
[33:41] expanding that. Uh there's limited
parking for staff and and visitors and
[33:46] and the building itself takes up a
fairly large
[33:49] uh portion of the property. So, what
what has changed or what what allowed uh
[33:54] a creative reconsideration of that
option here?
[33:58] » Ms. Fitzpatrick, please.
>> Through you, Warden, to Councillor
[34:02] White. So, we did engage with Gloss
Engineering and Architect.
[34:06] They they did the feasibility study for
us.
[34:09] So, the expansion of the lodge operation
it's it's really one dorm room. So, if
[34:14] you're if you're facing the lodge from
Confederation Street, it would be the
[34:18] east side of the building uh between
that and the Salvation Army.
[34:21] So, it's it's it's one dorm room on that
side, a little bit of office space, and
[34:27] some interior renovations of existing
spaces. So, being able to convert an
[34:31] existing boardroom into a female dorm.
So really using their creativity and
[34:36] their expertise
the the net result is 1,700 square feet
[34:41] that falls within building code
requirements. So it is a it is a viable
[34:46] project on the existing site.
[34:51] » Thank you. Any other questions before I
call the vote?
[34:55] Okay, so I have a motion on the floor to
approve the four recommendations.
[34:59] All in favor?
Opposed if any?
[35:03] That's carried.
Any other business for social services
[35:07] this morning?
[35:11] We have no agenda items for our office
of the CAO unless there's other business
[35:16] to be brought up.
[35:20] Seeing none.
Brings us to item number 11 in camera.
[35:24] I'll look for a motion to go in camera
for the items listed on the agenda.
[35:29] Councillor Lusby and Councillor Sageman.
All in favor?
[35:32] That's carried.
[38:24] » Mhm.
[40:19] » Mhm.
[44:09] » Mhm.
>> Okay, before I call for a motion to
[44:14] adjourn, we have a couple invitations
I'd like to note. Uh the first one being
[44:19] Marshall Goulding Manor
has a family barbecue on Saturday, July
[44:23] 25th at 5:00 p.m.
And the second one is a Northland and
[44:28] Lodge family barbecue, Thursday, August
6th at 5:00 p.m.
[44:34] Look for a motion to adjourn.
Councilor Loosely
[44:39] and Councilor Ferguson, all in favor.
Let's carry it, thank you.
[44:45] Oh, yeah, and the audit committee meets
upstairs immediately following
[44:50] the uh
this meeting.
[44:53] Oh, no, we're doing it in the council
chambers, sorry.