[0:53] All right, folks, where do you get started on the
[0:55] agenda? As you can see, Colleen is not here. She's
[0:59] out somewhere in the cold, knocking on doors, and I'll
[1:03] be taking her place for now and perhaps into the
[1:06] next meeting. And depending on how well she does, perhaps
[1:13] for the rest of the term, I'm not. Quite sure
[1:15] about that. But anyways, first of all, what I like
[1:18] to do is welcome everybody. And to ask Chris to
[1:24] conduct the roll call. Thank you. Chair. Regional chair Redman.
[1:29] Present chair, Craig. Here. Councilor Erb. Councilor Foxton? Present. Councillor
[1:37] Harris is away. Councillor Huinink. Can you hear? Councilor
[1:44] Liggett here. Councilor McCabe. Councilor Novak, Councilor Salonen. Councilor Shantz.
[1:52] Present. Councilor Vrbanovic has regrets. Councilor Williams. Here and Councillor
[1:57] Wolf. Here. Like to start with the land acknowledgment. Like
[2:07] to acknowledge the land on which we gather today is
[2:09] their traditional territory, the Haudenosaunee. The Anishnawbe, and the
[2:15] Chonnonton peoples. We acknowledge the enduring presence of the
[2:19] indigenous people with whom we share the land today. Their
[2:24] achievements. And their contributions to our community. Any declarations of
[2:29] pecuniary interests from members of council. Okay, seeing none. Need
[2:38] a motion to go into open session. I need someone
[2:41] to move a motion. Councilor Foxton. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
[2:54] Councilor Foxton. My apologies. Yeah. Pardon me. All those in
[3:03] favour? Oh, it's escribed. My apologies. Yes, you, Escribe.
[3:20] Okay. Just. Councilor Wolf. Councilor Wolf. She's in favour.
[3:30] We'll get that case. Okay, it's passed.
[3:43] There are no presentations today. Delegations. We will now proceed
[3:47] with delegations as listed on the agenda. I'd like to
[3:50] remind all delegations of some of the guidelines of participation
[3:55] for those who are joining us in person, please proceed
[3:59] to the podium. When you are called upon to speak,
[4:03] please press the button on the base of the microphone
[4:06] to turn it on. And if the light screen, the
[4:08] microphone is on. For those who are joining us electronically,
[4:12] please leave your video camera turned on. And your microphone.
[4:16] Audio muted until you are called upon to speak. Okay.
[4:21] So we have a number of rules here. We just
[4:23] ask you to be mindful of interrupting. Counselors or staff
[4:28] or other delegations is not permitted. Derogatory statements. Turning your
[4:32] camera on off at inappropriate times and hate speech of
[4:36] any type or a deflamatory comments. Aren't appreciated or accepted.
[4:42] One last reminder for delegations. Please do not take offense
[4:45] if following your presentation. There are no questions from council.
[4:50] That happens periodically. We are interested, but we always. Don't
[4:54] always ask questions. This is Kelsey's time to really listen
[4:57] and reflect upon. The options. An idea shared with us
[5:02] from our community members. So we got Isaac Rensom of
[5:06] corporate affairs. Neuron mobility. Canada. Please welcome, sir. Have five
[5:12] minutes. Good afternoon. I think there's a presentation. Sure, if
[5:22] it's been circulated. There we go.
[5:32] Perfect. Good afternoon. My name is Isaac Ransom. I'm head
[5:35] of corporate affairs. It's great. To be back to share
[5:38] some information about. The progress of the shared mobility program
[5:44] in the region of Waterloo. And the partnering municipalities. Next
[5:50] slide, please. So today I'll just share some high level
[5:54] information around the progress of the program. There's some really
[6:00] encouraging trends. That we're seeing and so wanted to share
[6:06] that with you. And certainly if there's questions following, happy
[6:10] to answer those. So this year we've really started to
[6:13] see how the program operates, and we've seen a real
[6:16] shift in how people are using the service. On average,
[6:20] the trips just clock in under around 2 km. About
[6:23] twelve minutes to eleven minutes of riding time. Our writers
[6:28] this year traveled over 310,000 km. With over 172,000 trips.
[6:36] And most of the trips are rated just over four
[6:37] out of five stars. So at the end of the
[6:40] ride riders can provide some feedback, and that's one of
[6:42] the ways that they rate our trips, and we've continued
[6:45] to be out in the community doing safety events. This
[6:48] year distributing 500 helmets. With about, I think, 24, 25.
[6:54] Community safety activation events. Next slide, please. So we've seen
[6:59] a lot of upward trends this year. Near the tail
[7:02] end of the operating season. We go out and we
[7:05] survey our riders, and we ask a number of specific
[7:08] questions about how they're using the devices and some of
[7:10] the things that we're seeing happen. So there's some really
[7:13] interesting things that have happened this year as the program
[7:15] has matured. We've seen that rides. Replacing car journey. So,
[7:23] like, an Uber or taxi or personal vehicle has increased
[7:26] slightly. Commuting to work has jumped over 20% from last
[7:30] year, which is probably the biggest jump. So this means
[7:33] that people are using this specifically for a use case.
[7:36] So travel or study, which is very encouraging news. And
[7:40] similarly for things like running errands, we're seeing a large
[7:43] jump connecting to public transit when we surveyed, riders was
[7:48] nearly 24%, and this correlates with what we've seen in
[7:50] where trips end and start at transit stations. About 36,000
[7:55] trips started and 36,000 trips ended at transit stations, which
[7:59] is just over 20% of the rides. So this surveying
[8:03] data would be fairly accurate in about just over one
[8:06] in five rides are connecting to transit. Public transit, which
[8:10] is quite good. And certainly we're seeing people use this
[8:15] more to get around and go to appointments and that
[8:17] kind of thing. So very defined use cases are emerging
[8:21] in the region, which is what we want to see.
[8:23] And sustained ridership as well. So it's a very positive
[8:25] outcome this year when we start to see these numbers
[8:28] trend upward. The next slide, please. The last thing I
[8:32] want to share with you today, as you may have
[8:34] seen in the report, we are looking at our adaptive
[8:37] vehicle program here in the region of Waterloo. This will
[8:39] be the first of its kind that we're aware of
[8:42] in Canada. Where we'll be diversifying the fleet for vehicles
[8:47] for those with mobility impairments. Providing some other options for
[8:51] people to engage in the program. So we do have
[8:53] two vehicles that are coming to market. One is a
[8:56] hand cycle. Which you can see on the left side
[8:59] of the slide, and the other is an adult tricycle.
[9:02] Each of these provides a different need. And based on
[9:06] our conversations leading up to the development of this program,
[9:10] these seem to be the two most suitable devices to
[9:12] proceed forward with based on what we're hearing. So we
[9:15] are. Excited to bring these to market this year. And
[9:19] seeing. How they integrate with the demand in the fleet.
[9:25] So without all kind of wrap up. Those are my
[9:27] brief comments on the update for the year. I'm certainly
[9:29] happy to take any questions. Any questions? Delegation? Yes. Council.
[9:37] Your next first. Oh, I see elf there. Okay, Councillor
[9:42] Huinink, thank you. Chair, Craig. And thank you, Isaac. For
[9:44] coming today, and I want to thank neuron for. Their
[9:49] openness to exploring different mobility options. In my view, this
[9:53] is a pivotal project for us because it demonstrates equality
[9:58] between spending municipal dollars. Or reasonable dollars, I should say.
[10:04] On projects for people of various abilities, and so I
[10:06] hope that this serves as an example every time. We
[10:11] spend money on municipal projects or reasonable projects, we need
[10:14] to consider people of varying abilities. And so I don't
[10:18] know how much there will be uptake when this happens.
[10:22] Initially, but I plan to promote it widely, and I
[10:24] hope that you all will as well. And I'm happy
[10:28] to be used as an example for the hand bike.
[10:31] So definitely we'll be in touch. Thanks so much. Through
[10:35] your chair. Thank you for the comments, councilor. We're certainly
[10:39] excited to bring this. To market, and we'll certainly be
[10:41] keeping you updated as we get ready to launch the
[10:44] program. This year, so very exciting, and I think it's
[10:52] a huge step forward again for Waterloo. Being first to
[10:54] market and market leader on these sorts of projects, so
[10:57] we're very excited. To launch this program, and hopefully we
[11:02] will. Have. A lot of participation. In. These additional devices
[11:08] that we're bringing to the service this year. Councilor
[11:17] McCabe. Thank you. Thank you. Chair. Thanks, Isaac, for the
[11:22] update and report. And it's encouraging numbers for sure. And
[11:26] similar to what councilor Huinink said. Really pleased that you.
[11:29] I know we had talked about adaptive bikes. And before,
[11:34] so thank you for listening. To the concerns and questions
[11:37] from the community as well as from some of us
[11:39] here. My question is around the catchment area. Do you
[11:44] have the capacity? And I guess it's partly to staff
[11:46] as well, and I know some of the conversations have
[11:49] to happen at the local municipalities, but is there a
[11:52] capacity to expand the catchment area to just. The entire,
[11:57] like, the three cities. I know there's the townships. I
[12:00] mean, if you want. To have them out in the
[12:01] townships. I'm totally fine with that, too, but I'm. Partly
[12:04] wondering about your like, how many, how many bikes and
[12:08] scooters you actually have. Like, what is your capacity to
[12:11] expand the catchment area? Through chair. Mayor, councilor. We do
[12:20] have the capacity to do that. If there's a willingness
[12:24] to expand the area, it's always a discussion that we're
[12:26] willing to entertain. I know that. You've approached us on
[12:30] expanding to some areas, and we're already working on that.
[12:32] For Waterloo for this year. And. What it'll ultimately take
[12:37] to do that. Generally. This becomes a question around the
[12:41] number of devices that will be required. Right now we
[12:44] are struggling. To have good coverage throughout the region and
[12:48] the existing service area with the existing fleet. So we
[12:52] probably would be looking at requiring additional devices to meet
[12:55] that. And it's not that you'll necessarily see. All those
[13:01] devices being utilized at the same level that they are
[13:03] now, but it's very much that we need to provide
[13:05] a complete service and have scooters available in order to
[13:09] create uptakes. So, depending on. What that expanded service area
[13:14] looks like. You could be looking at a considerable number
[13:16] of additional devices. To meet the service area expansion. I
[13:22] don't want to speculate the number that I could be
[13:25] today, but I suspect that you're looking at a number
[13:28] of additional devices just to meet that at a base.
[13:31] Level beyond the 500 e scooters that are out there
[13:34] today and the permitted cap of 500 ebikes. I think
[13:38] the bike number is probably appropriate, but the e scooter
[13:41] one would have to be a point of discussion to
[13:43] expand on. Okay, thanks. Because. Part of my thought. There
[13:49] seems to be a lot of concentration of the scooters
[13:52] and the bikes where there's also pretty good service of
[13:56] transit, which I understand makes sense, but it's like my
[13:59] thought is also like, how do we, because we're always
[14:02] thinking about how do we get. People. In more of
[14:07] our neighborhoods as they go out from the course. How
[14:09] do we get them interested? In alternative or, sorry, multimodal
[14:14] transportation options. And so that's where my mindset is. And
[14:19] I know, again, some of this is the work that
[14:22] has to be done. In consultation with the local municipalities.
[14:27] But just something I think we should keep in mind
[14:29] because part of what the goal is is to encourage
[14:33] people to find other modes. And so if you're. In
[14:35] a suburb and could take a scooter or a bike.
[14:38] From this point, your house to the bus stop and
[14:41] then take the bus or the eye and the rest
[14:43] of the way. I think that makes a lot of
[14:45] sense, too. So I'll leave that with staff and you
[14:48] to sort through. All right, chair Ridmond. Thank you. Chair.
[14:55] Craig, thank you very much for coming. And this is
[14:57] obviously a good news story. In the past when you've
[14:59] come and presented, one of the things we talked about
[15:01] was helmets. And do you have a way of tracking
[15:05] if helmets are being worn? Future. Thank you, chairperson Redman.
[15:15] We do have some ways of tracking. When the helmet
[15:18] is released from the clip, so we know. When a
[15:21] rider. Has opted to take the helmet out of the
[15:25] clip and keep it out of the clip. We can
[15:26] track that. But what we found is that it's not
[15:29] a very good metric because. Some people will just end
[15:33] up putting it on the handlebar during their trip. They
[15:36] don't. Realize that they can put it back in the
[15:38] clip. So we don't know if the helmet is actually
[15:40] being worn or if it's just being put on the
[15:43] side of the handlebar until the trip ends. Some people
[15:46] do this for various reasons, like they may put it
[15:49] on. Take the helmet selfie to get the ride credit.
[15:51] And then keep it out of the clip to ensure
[15:53] that they get that credit. So there's. A couple of
[15:57] sort of things that aren't really necessarily foolproof with that
[16:00] technology. When we do survey riders around helmet use. We
[16:05] seem to see an overcorrection of people who perceive that
[16:08] they wear helmets, but they actually don't, which has been
[16:11] a problem when we look at the helmet issue. So
[16:16] we really don't have a good grasp from that perspective.
[16:20] What I can say safely is that we're probably looking
[16:21] at about. A ten to 20% compliance rate with helmets.
[16:28] Somewhere in that range. It's very hard to tell, though,
[16:30] based on the fact that. We don't know. The helmet.
[16:34] Selfie verification is a good indicator, but again, We don't
[16:38] necessarily know if it's staying on for the whole ride.
[16:42] So we do have these indicators, but it's always very
[16:44] difficult for us. And then there's certainly the aspect of
[16:47] just seeing what we see when people are outriding. Not
[16:51] wearing a helmet necessarily. Or having it on the handlebars.
[16:55] So, not to make this answer very complicated, but in
[16:58] short, there's a number of metrics that give us a
[17:00] good indication, but not necessarily. A good answer. I'm sorry
[17:04] I don't have more definitive information I can share. I
[17:08] appreciate your answer. Thank you. Councilor Henick, please. Thank you,
[17:12] Chair Craig again. Isaac the report, I think, indicated that.
[17:18] You encourage writers not to park on the sidewalk. And
[17:21] while I appreciate that there have been instances where I've
[17:24] seen scooters tipped over on the sidewalk. Is there any
[17:29] incentives we can offer? Or by further ways to encourage
[17:35] people not to leave the scooters in the way of
[17:39] people on the sidewalk. Through. Chair. Councilor, thanks for the
[17:43] question. I think at the very onset, I think most
[17:50] trips end, and in a very responsible way, I think
[17:52] we need to acknowledge that most people are trying to
[17:54] do the right thing when they park. And we do
[17:57] have a lot of first time riders that are out
[18:00] there who are students coming. To the region for the
[18:02] first time and that sort of thing. So we do
[18:03] have these issues. With parking. But as the operational period
[18:09] kind of prolongs through the year, these things should become
[18:11] a little more apparent to writers. We do have incentives
[18:15] for parking properly, we do have safety campaigns to park
[18:18] properly, and we can look at those in very targeted
[18:20] areas. If we know that. They're persistent parking problems. One
[18:25] of, and I shouldn't say this is an issue, but
[18:27] the general design of the program is controlled with geofenced
[18:30] parking, so riders have to end in a very specific
[18:32] area. And the capacity of those stations is sometimes. Much
[18:37] less than what ends up at those stations, which we
[18:40] end up with. Some of those results. Where people are
[18:42] leaving a scooter where they shouldn't or they're not. Able
[18:44] to park properly or they think they're doing the right
[18:46] thing, but it's impeding pedestrian traffic, which we certainly don't
[18:51] want to happen. So I think the best way to
[18:55] do this is continue on with the education that we're
[18:57] doing great. We do have two pieces of technology that
[19:00] are continually improving that are in the app now. One
[19:03] is our ar core technology, which means that. A rider
[19:08] periodically will be asked to scan the surrounding area to
[19:12] match. The imaging background. With what's in the background. With
[19:18] what is in Google Maps to ensure the scooter is
[19:20] in the right area. The other is the parking photo
[19:23] audit, which continues to improve with new technology and AI
[19:28] to better affirm that the scooter is in the proper
[19:30] area, so those technologies are becoming better. The other thing
[19:35] that we have been doing as well has been doing
[19:37] proactive rebalancing. Which is the process of having our patrollers
[19:42] out moving scooters at peak times. To move them off
[19:44] sidewalks as quickly as possible. It's kind of a cat
[19:47] and mouse. Game because scooters, common scooters, go so. We
[19:52] do try our best to do that as well. And
[19:55] the final thing that we do is that if these
[19:56] things do persist as issues with parking, Usually kind of
[20:00] that 2nd, 3rd strike. We do look at removing people
[20:03] from the platform and so that has happened as well,
[20:06] to try and send a message that improper parking won't
[20:09] be tolerated. It's one of these things that we try
[20:13] to do on a case by case basis. But in
[20:15] instances where it's a blatant. Disregard for the rules. We're
[20:19] going to make an example of those users. And finally,
[20:23] the last piece of technology which is there to make
[20:27] the situation. Less cumbersome or burdensome for people. In the
[20:31] unlikely event that there is an escooter kind of parked
[20:33] out of place is toppled technology, so the scooters trip
[20:36] can't end if it's on its side, so at least
[20:39] it will be upright. Which is usually a little easier
[20:41] to navigate if it is on a sidewalk in an
[20:43] inappropriate area. If somebody's ended their trip somehow with it
[20:48] being upright, so. There's a couple of pieces of technology
[20:51] that try to prevent that. I'm not saying it's 100%
[20:54] pool. Thank you for extremely Folsom answer. I by no
[20:58] means meant to blame you or neuron. And I realize
[21:00] that most people are doing everything they can to do
[21:03] the right thing. I just want to make sure that
[21:05] we are doing everything we can to be on top
[21:07] of it. So thank you very much. Well, thank you,
[21:09] sir. I have no more questions for you. Just want
[21:12] to thank you for your presentation today. To members of
[21:16] council. We have to move through the agenda because we
[21:19] possibly can lose quorum. We don't want to come back
[21:22] tomorrow. Okay? So I'm going to move through. This as
[21:25] speedily as possible. And Mr. Regier, you're going to be
[21:29] next in terms of strategic. Priority. Climate align growth. Okay.
[21:34] And you'll be dealing with the next item in peril.
[21:37] Go ahead. Thank you, chair. I actually am not responsible
[21:45] for this particular line of business. I'm going to hand
[21:47] it over to Commissioner Rose, who's actually going to carry
[21:51] the day here. Well, my apologies. I thought you would
[21:53] want to. I'm just a pretty face, okay? Just. My
[21:57] apologies. Go ahead, please. Thank you. Chair, Craig. And commissioner
[22:03] Regier. This report. We're bringing forward to you today is
[22:08] in response to questions around. The request for. 18 temporary
[22:16] staff for up to a two year contract to support.
[22:21] The new waste collection contract that's rolling out in March
[22:23] 2026. So, Jon Arsenault, our director of waste is here
[22:28] to provide a short presentation to provide you some extra
[22:32] context to the report. Yes, thank you. Through the chair.
[22:37] Thanks for allowing me to present today. As Commissioner Rose
[22:40] has mentioned. Last year was a pretty busy year for
[22:42] us in waste management. Lots of different reports, lots of
[22:44] approvals, lots of the changes. So we have a new
[22:46] collection contract coming on board, as noticed. March 2026 of
[22:51] next year. It's for eight years. With two one year
[22:57] extensions possible. It maintains a lot of the service level
[23:01] issues. We see as part of the existing contract in
[23:04] terms of biweekly garbage collection organics however, there's a significant
[23:08] change in the collection methodology as we're moving to cart.
[23:11] Collection. Which will impact. All eligible residents and obviously the
[23:17] downtown cores as well. That we're dealing with. I'd also
[23:22] like to note that a reminder that as the transition
[23:25] to the blue box occurred last year. We're no longer
[23:27] responsible for that. For the residential side, so it's not
[23:31] part of this contract. However, with the exception of downtown
[23:36] core collection, which has already been directed by council to
[23:38] look at. Next slide, please. So, as you can imagine,
[23:43] the magnitude of the work involved with this undertaking. Is
[23:49] significant. With this rollout, the new contract. We impact over
[23:54] 165,000 residential properties and growing, as well as approximately 1500
[24:00] designated downtown business improvement properties that will get service some
[24:04] of the key tasks. Just to keep in mind. We
[24:08] need to support the delivery of over 330,000 garbage and
[24:11] organics carts to all the eligible properties. Over a four
[24:15] month span that will occur later this year and into
[24:17] early next year ahead of the contract. We are embarking
[24:21] an engagement with the downtown business improvement areas and area
[24:25] municipal colleagues through working groups to determine cart sizes, number
[24:30] of carts, set out locations. And specific collection days. As
[24:35] well as introducing a brand new organics collection program to
[24:38] the downtowns so that all has to be finalized through
[24:42] these working groups. And in order to support. That obviously
[24:47] our existing staff are working on existing contracts. It's a
[24:51] lot of extra work, so we're looking to hire a
[24:53] number of temporary staff, most of which are proposed, are
[24:56] students and what we call community connector positions that would
[25:01] be out physically. In the community to connect with residents
[25:05] where they are, to help spread the understanding of what's.
[25:09] Coming and how this car program. Is going to impact
[25:12] folks as well as a lot of new community engagement
[25:17] outreach resources will be required. Next slide, please. So the
[25:23] implementation plan, as we've shown previously, is over four phases.
[25:28] Intended to start immediately. And. It's consistent with successful rollout
[25:34] programs that we've had here. In our own backyard that
[25:38] we've done through our own learnings, but we've also used
[25:41] jurisdictional scan. Understand what others have done specific to cart
[25:44] rollout programs that some good learnings to understand. How we
[25:49] best roll this out and communicate to the public. So,
[25:53] to summarize, we need to do a lot of awareness
[25:56] up front. Build the awareness, prepare the community, and how.
[26:01] It will affect them. Implement the change and then monitor
[26:04] the program moving forward. Next slide, please. I've got a
[26:08] couple of slides here of some of the key components.
[26:12] Just to provide a little bit of the scope. So
[26:14] initially we were going to start with some information in
[26:16] the community about the upcoming change. Again, why is it
[26:19] happening? Who's affected what's? Changing. As this will just not
[26:24] just be the resonance in the community, but again, the
[26:26] downtown areas and the bias that we're having to have
[26:30] discussions with. A lot of communications will occur throughout these
[26:33] phases and throughout the whole program. In terms of news
[26:35] releases and newsletters articles online. Wraps on trucks, advertisements. Lots
[26:42] of different things will be going up, as well as
[26:45] the intention to do pop up events and stationary displays
[26:50] again out in the community where people are. Trying to
[26:54] target local community centers. And libraries as examples and special
[26:59] events just to get the messaging out. There will also
[27:03] continue to be messaging about some of the exemptions and
[27:07] supporting services such as medical exemptions extra. There's still garbage
[27:11] bag tag program and assisted collection services. These will be
[27:16] promoted to assist residents who may require some additional help
[27:20] throughout the program with waste collection and. We've already initiated
[27:25] some contact with groups like the Grand river accessibility advisory
[27:29] committee and the Cambridge Accessibility advisory committees, amongst others, and
[27:33] we'll continue the dialogue with them to. Help assist with
[27:36] the program. As we get into phase two and prepare
[27:40] the community for the carts. As I mentioned. There will
[27:44] be the delivery between. October of this year and February
[27:48] of next year. Of over 330,000 carts to the community.
[27:52] So garbage cart and an organics cart to every eligible
[27:55] household, and then those that will be. Going to the
[27:58] downtown cores as well. And of course, we're going to
[28:01] be sharing information. So don't start early. Wait till the
[28:03] new contract because that becomes problematic. Again additional education. With
[28:09] cart set out. Where do you put them? How does
[28:15] it work when you're also putting out bulky items? Or
[28:18] yard waste. One of the other significant changes that we
[28:22] need to communicate, and communicate well, is we're switching from
[28:25] a five day collection week of Monday to Friday to
[28:27] a four day collection week from Tuesday to Friday. So
[28:31] some residents will see a change in their collection day,
[28:34] and we have to make them aware. And understand this.
[28:39] And again for the businesses during that phase. Later this
[28:42] year, we'll have a plan in place with the working
[28:44] groups of how many? Days. Or what days are collection
[28:49] and what number of carts and how that program will
[28:52] work and specifically try and address issues of new organics
[28:56] program and how that will be rolled out. Next slide,
[28:59] please. So once the program starts March 2, staff will
[29:05] again, a big focus will be at the curb to
[29:07] help folks and see how things are going and monitor
[29:11] things so we have, like, what we call a curb
[29:12] team to goat and education tools that we typically use
[29:16] and have been successful with stickers and just. Having conversations
[29:23] with residents will also be required to finalize a new
[29:26] waste bylaw that will come into play at that time.
[29:30] Customer support services through things like the service first Contact
[29:33] center will continue. And contract management with a new contractor
[29:38] coming on board. One of the unique things about this
[29:42] program is after six months, residents do have an option
[29:46] to exchange out their garbage cart if they find the
[29:49] ones too big and they want something smaller, so. There's
[29:51] a process there through website. And through the service first
[29:55] contact center to look at that, and we'll support that.
[29:59] Initiative. As it goes. And again continue to monitor. Across
[30:05] the board, the downtowns and throughout the cities. And in
[30:08] the final phase, it gets more to day to day
[30:12] operations. And what we'll see. And as you can appreciate
[30:16] right now, we'll get into our full first winter season
[30:19] next year. And if it's anything like this year, you
[30:22] can anticipate. There could be some challenges, and we want
[30:25] to be there to support the residents and understand how
[30:28] we operate a program like this? When we have the
[30:31] snow events and what have you. Next slide, please. So,
[30:36] again, it's an extensive program, a lot of work. To
[30:42] do all this, and we require a dedicated staff team
[30:46] to plan, implement, monitor the program throughout. So what you
[30:51] have before you in the report and the positions. There.
[30:56] Would be starting spring of this year and I broke
[30:58] it into three. We'd be looking at four temporary waste
[31:02] coordinators, up to two year contracts. These positions. Will review
[31:07] unique collection areas like laneways and one way streets, coordinate
[31:10] exemption programs, update policies, procedures gis software. And the waste
[31:17] bylaw and administer the cart processes the supporting of getting
[31:21] them out. And exchanges, as well as be integral in
[31:26] the working groups with the downtown BIA groups to make
[31:29] sure everything is understood. Where we're looking at out on
[31:34] the street. The support is utilizing up to ten students.
[31:38] At any given time. These would be post secondary co
[31:40] op students. We've had great success. In the past with
[31:42] them, and they would be kind of like the street
[31:44] team, and they would be complemented by up to what
[31:47] we call four community connectors that are part time positions.
[31:50] So if there's a certain event that we want to
[31:52] target, that. Needs a bit more people, we'd have more
[31:55] people go to it. But the intent there is to
[31:58] kind of measure out how much support and when we
[32:01] need it. But have folks go in groups of two
[32:03] or three and go out in the community and support.
[32:06] Our communication and outreach. Next slide, please. So as identified
[32:13] in the report. The estimated operating costs are approximately 1.25
[32:21] million in 2025, 1.49 million in 2026 and 452,027, we
[32:28] have an opportunity to offset those costs. Certainly in 2025
[32:32] by one time revenue associated with an agreement. We have
[32:37] to support the blue box. Transition with a contractor or
[32:40] with the producers. We are still receiving and managing the
[32:44] materials on their behalf and getting paid to do so,
[32:47] and that will occur up until the end of this
[32:49] year. At which time a private facility that's being built
[32:52] in north Dumpries will come online. And that will then
[32:55] take over. Costs associated with 2026 and 2027. We're looking
[33:02] to fund them from the waste management reserve. So at
[33:05] the end of the day. We're not looking for any
[33:08] additional tax levy impacts to be incurred. And included in
[33:12] these costs are various components of education and outreach. So
[33:15] again, The brochures, calendars. Truck wraps. And the resources, such
[33:22] as we need some vehicle rentals and equipment and temporary
[33:26] staff to support. The. Implementation. And I would suggest that
[33:30] when I look at the cost breakdown, It's about a
[33:33] third of it is for the non physical or the
[33:36] physical. Sorry, resources. And about two thirds is for human
[33:39] resources. Next slide. And with that, I think that's the
[33:43] end of my presentation. Any questions. Happy to answer. All
[33:48] right. Questions. Councilor Huinink, please. Thank you, Chair Craig. And
[33:54] thank you, Director Arsenault for the report. I'm interested to
[33:57] know what is a medical exemption? Who would need one
[34:01] and how. They qualify or how they get designated as
[34:04] having one. So through the chair. That would be. A
[34:10] seamless continuation of an existing program where anyone who. Has
[34:15] a requirement for. They have more like inconvenience paths, things
[34:18] like that need to come out to the waste and
[34:21] have in excess of the typical limits they can apply
[34:25] to get an exemption, and we provide bag tags at
[34:28] no charge to allow that to happen and keep it.
[34:31] Discreet and they would get collected alongside. With the card
[34:35] at any given time, so it's intended to be a
[34:38] seamless transition. Of what we're doing today. But adjusting to
[34:42] recognize it has to go with the cart. But beside
[34:44] the carts, it's bags. Of thank you. That's the first
[34:49] that I'm hearing of this program. So if we could
[34:51] be careful. To publicize that as we roll out the
[34:55] cards, that would be really important. All right. Councilor Salonen,
[34:59] please. Thank you. Through you chair. Thank you very much,
[35:02] John, for bringing this information forward. I'm going to be
[35:05] really honest when I read through the agendas I was
[35:08] pretty confused of this coming forward because I thought we
[35:11] had dealt with this budget. In particular, I'm talking about
[35:16] part C of the motion of adding the 18 temporary
[35:19] ftes. I thought that that was debated and discussed. If
[35:23] memory serves, I think we gave, like half of that,
[35:26] I think. Eight or nine ftes to execute this, so
[35:30] I'm a little confused how this is. Coming forward without
[35:32] a reconsideration. Also a bit confused why the business plan
[35:37] that's a little more hashed out in here wasn't included
[35:39] initially in budget or for that matter, All of this
[35:43] information included when we did our contract renewal. Because I'm
[35:49] not really loving. The new spends, even though they aren't
[35:53] levy impacting, they're coming from our reserves which do still
[35:56] impact. Our budget overall and how much money we. 've
[36:01] been asked. Commissioner Rose, please. We can answer that. Or
[36:04] respond to that. Thank you, Chair Craig to the counselor.
[36:08] So at budget time, we did discuss this 18 contract.
[36:14] Staff and it was asked at budget time for us
[36:17] to come back with a more fulsome. Description of what
[36:21] these 18 contract staff would be doing. And that's why
[36:24] we're bringing this report. Forward to you today. There was
[36:28] no discussion at that time for cutting the numbers. I
[36:30] believe that was for a different program. You had a
[36:34] question about why this work wasn't included in the report
[36:40] when we brought it forward. For the waste contract. Because
[36:47] at that time we had intended to bring it forward
[36:50] later in the fall of last year. However. Since. We
[36:56] received all this information and done her analysis. It coincided
[37:00] at the same time as budget, so. We decided that
[37:03] instead of doing a separate presentation that we would included
[37:06] in the budget and provide that information. Through the budget
[37:11] documents that council received. All right. Councilor Harris, please.
[37:21] Well, yeah, I think that there's maybe some still unanswered
[37:24] questions from councilor. Selman's question. But I had two questions.
[37:28] Thank you for the presentation. Maybe for. Those that haven't
[37:31] read in depth in the report. I know you said
[37:34] we've gone from five down to four days of collection.
[37:41] One of the major factors of that will people see
[37:44] their saying pick up dates is what they've experienced now
[37:47] over that change. Through the chart. That's certainly. One of
[37:54] the points of this communication plan. There will be changes
[37:57] at the curb for some resident. Some residents may have
[37:59] the same collection day, but they certainly will have a
[38:02] change. And that was part of the approval of the
[38:05] overall contract previously to go from the five to four
[38:09] in terms of it is a trend in the industry
[38:11] and the level of service. Okay, now, you did mention
[38:15] the transition of the blue box program. Going from a
[38:20] producer. Pay now from the municipal end of things. I'm
[38:25] just wondering what. Would have been the staff complement at
[38:28] the region to manage the recycling. Program, the legacy recycling
[38:34] program. How many staff, roughly, in your estimation, would we
[38:37] have? To oversee that program. So.
[38:48] I'm trying to understand. Your question a little more in
[38:50] terms of, I think because it hasn't fully transitioned till
[38:54] next year and. We haven't seen the full implications of
[38:58] the transition. We haven't seen or we don't have a
[39:02] different staff complement at this point. In time. If the
[39:06] question is. If that was included as part of this,
[39:12] we would probably have to look at additional staff on
[39:14] top of what's being here. To kind of. A couple
[39:18] more, possibly to help with that discussion about what's the
[39:21] recycling angle? Well, yeah, I guess once we've fully transitioned.
[39:26] Just to clarify, once we fully transition. To extended producer
[39:31] responsibility where they're responsible for the collection processing of the
[39:37] blue box contents. We would have managed that program. Up
[39:43] until transition. I'm just curious on. What the current regional
[39:47] staff complement would be within waste management to manage just
[39:52] the recycling aspect of things. So through the chair. We
[39:58] don't have specific staff that are specifically recycling. They might
[40:02] be working on garbage, recycling, all the different things. Within.
[40:07] That customer service unit. So I would say, since the
[40:11] transition has occurred, Are we receiving less phone calls? Because
[40:16] they should be going to the producers for blue box,
[40:19] yes. To some degree, but we are still getting a
[40:21] lot that we're having to action or push forward, and
[40:25] there's still a lot of. Legacy things, as you said,
[40:29] that we're still dealing with and we don't have. A
[40:32] full. Appreciation of what the overall outcome is until next
[40:35] year when we get to full transition. They're just a
[40:39] file. There may be additional staff resources that were spending
[40:44] a good amount of time on blue box. Collection, not
[40:49] just managing calls, but managing the overall. Collection of materials
[40:54] and processing of materials for the blue box that we'd
[40:58] have additional staff. Resources freed up to support. Other waste
[41:03] management programs, correct? Yeah, through the chair. That's correct. And
[41:07] certainly it is our intention as we go through. This
[41:10] coming year's process for budget and even our work area,
[41:13] we're looking at these things to see how is it
[41:16] changing and how are we going to make refinements? Going
[41:18] forward. It's still a little too early to understand the
[41:22] full implications. I would caution that because an element of
[41:27] that comes out, it's not always a one. For one,
[41:29] there's still a lot of. Other activities that we may
[41:33] not have gotten to. Even our staff haven't gotten to
[41:36] that. Working on some policy issues. For instance. So. We
[41:41] are cognizant of that and looking at those staff complement.
[41:45] All right. Good interview. Maybe follow up on as we
[41:48] discuss further transition. And thank you, John. Thank you very
[41:52] much. Councilor McCabe, please. Thank you very much. Through you
[41:55] chair. Thanks, John, for the presentation and just a quick
[41:59] note, I think. We're having a really different winter, sort
[42:03] of a traditional canadian winter, but as far as I
[42:07] see on my street, the waste management pickup has been
[42:10] still really good. So thanks to the people still monitoring
[42:14] running that contract. Just. A couple of things. I certainly
[42:20] support where councilor Harris was going with his question there
[42:23] and hope that in the fullness of time, there's some
[42:25] ability to maybe redeploy staff. Or in the fullness of
[42:31] time. I know that it's going to take a little
[42:33] bit for this to move through, because this is a
[42:35] big change. I think. With 18 part time staff or
[42:43] temporary staff may sound like a lot, but my perspective
[42:47] is that this is going to need some really heavy
[42:49] lifting on the communications and the outreach side because the
[42:54] more we do up front. The better I would expect.
[42:58] The uptake and understanding of residence is going to be
[43:01] on the back end. And so one of my questions
[43:04] is just on the advertising piece. Have you been connecting
[43:09] with or. Are you considering working with local municipalities? Because
[43:14] in our rec centers and places like that, and I
[43:17] know community events was on the list. But even, like,
[43:21] our neighborhood associations and that to just push out this
[43:25] information, because I think. This is a really broad, broad
[43:29] communications effort. So have you reached out to local municipalities
[43:34] to just check in on. Communications avenues we have that
[43:38] can be utilized for this. So through the chair. The
[43:42] simple answer is yes. And we continue. So I mentioned
[43:46] about the BIA in downtown working groups, and that's sort
[43:48] of specific. To those areas in a sense, but it's
[43:51] more of an operational issue to figure out. How that
[43:53] goes and working with economic development partners and what have
[43:56] you. But the broader sense, our communications folks, too, have
[43:59] reached out to all the area municipal communications folks because
[44:02] right now, We do continue to leverage, and it's a
[44:05] big part of our. So the bag tags. And things
[44:08] like that. For instance, we rely on our community partners,
[44:11] being area municipalities and others, to sell and provide those
[44:15] on our behalf as part of our program. So we
[44:17] try and work and lock step in those areas. So
[44:20] we see the benefits to continuing to do that to
[44:23] the point. Of getting outreach out there. Our focus is
[44:28] probably more so, not the big events that bring in
[44:32] tourists from the outside, but the smaller community events. And
[44:34] that's why community centered library things. That it's the local
[44:38] population that we want to target. So working hand in
[44:42] hand with area municipalities is very important on that. And
[44:45] I would add that we're in the throws. We've just
[44:48] started. The long term strategic planning under the waste management
[44:51] plan. And we will be going for community engagement as
[44:55] part of this, so. One of the, I think, great
[45:00] options for us here is to leverage the staff that
[45:02] are out. Doing these things. And combine that work and
[45:06] do some of the messaging there where possible. Great. Looking
[45:09] at different. Waste activities. Good. Thank you. I'm glad. It's
[45:13] really fulsome. My other question. Is with the containers themselves.
[45:18] Have you considered making the default container the first one
[45:22] that you distribute? The smaller of the options because there's
[45:26] a big in a small mid size whatever. With the
[45:31] idea that. If you give someone. Like a bigger container,
[45:35] they may just fill it up. And if you start
[45:37] them with a smaller one. And then, as you said,
[45:40] there's an option. Six months later, let them try the
[45:43] smaller. One first because. I say small, but they're not
[45:47] really that small. They're bigger than the green. BIN Container
[45:51] quite a bit bigger than that. Because we've been making
[45:55] such an effort over the past number of years to
[45:57] have people reduce. Is it two bags that you can
[46:01] set out right now? I'm not even sure, because. We
[46:03] never hit that limit. But to start. The point being,
[46:07] can we start with the smaller of the two options?
[46:11] To continue with that mindset of. Like less is more.
[46:17] Through the chair. Contractually, and I guess the way we
[46:20] had a level of service approved by this council before.
[46:23] We went out that had the larger ones and the
[46:26] smaller ones. As to potentially interchange. And that's how we
[46:30] went out for the contract. So that's. How. By default,
[46:33] that's how we start. I totally understand where you're coming.
[46:35] From, and I think that's where we may want to
[46:37] go. There is an initial process. As part of the
[46:40] contract where someone could get a hold of us and
[46:43] say, I want the smaller one. I don't want the
[46:46] big one right from the get go. But I think
[46:50] this is probably going to have to be a more
[46:52] fulsome conversation. About. A service level discussion because. What we're
[46:59] referring to is the bigger one. The 240 liter card
[47:01] is equivalent to roughly three bags. Three bags. And it's
[47:03] a three bag limit right now, every other week, so.
[47:06] It would be equivalent to the level of service in
[47:08] a sense of what a resident is getting. Today. But
[47:12] to your point, I think the intention is as we
[47:14] move forward, Can we go to lower smaller carts and
[47:17] drive that on the diversion side? Because we all know
[47:20] there's still a lot of stuff in that black bag.
[47:24] That's divertible. Either organics or something else. Okay, I'd like
[47:28] to move. On. If I may. Please, Councilor sean. Thank
[47:32] you. Just a quick question about. The sort of fte
[47:38] and co op piece. Do we anticipate these positions filled
[47:43] for the whole two years, or how does that play?
[47:46] Out, so through the chair. What's presented is kind of
[47:51] that high end scenario. There is a potential where and
[47:56] this is where there's some flexibility involved, where we can't
[47:59] get that full compliment at certain terms because of where
[48:03] the universities are in their cycles with their co op
[48:05] students, and that but the intention here and the way
[48:07] it's costed over this assumption that there's, Ten co op
[48:10] students the entire two years, but that we anticipate that
[48:14] will change. Especially as we get further into it, we
[48:17] might see. Okay, there's not a need. This term for
[48:22] ten students. We can get away with six or what
[48:24] have you, and that might be all that's available to
[48:27] us. So. That's how we approached it. Okay. Going to
[48:31] move on. And, folks, I'm going to ask you make
[48:33] the questions concise. Where we have a time issue here.
[48:37] We have a special council meeting we got to do.
[48:40] And Councilor Foxton, I'm watching you go. Ahead. I saw
[48:43] you watching. Chair Craig just a quick comment about what
[48:49] Ms. McCabe said. Councilor McCabe, in regards to the size
[48:52] of the bins. I would like you to know that
[48:54] on a daily basis. My staff are going out and
[48:57] picking up garbage that is dumped in the countryside, not
[49:00] just the countrysides. Believe it or not, we get a
[49:02] lot of calls from rare of people dumping. On their
[49:05] borders that we have to pick up as well. So
[49:08] let's do this. Right. I think a lot of people
[49:12] are quite good about it, but there are those that
[49:15] if they've got extra garbage. They're going to dump it
[49:18] and we've seen them. Dump them in blue bins at
[49:20] schoolyards and everything else. I'm sorry, chair Redman. You're the
[49:25] last speaker. Chair Craig, I will try. To be really
[49:28] quick and say, I do appreciate the fact that this
[49:31] proposal has no impact on the levy and that we
[49:34] are going to have some remuneration. It says in part
[49:37] a it's a one time. Revenue. I'm wondering if we
[49:43] have. Our arms around what that actually looks like. If
[49:48] there's any leftover from the 1.25 million. And then what
[49:52] happens with B and C, because. I'm assuming there will
[49:55] be no more revenue coming in. So if the 1.25
[49:59] million isn't used up, that's going to be. What we
[50:02] fund BNc out of. Through the chair. That's correct. I
[50:06] think the 1.25. I have to do. Mine is pretty
[50:10] close to what we anticipate we'll get. In terms of
[50:12] that one time revenue, that will be the end of
[50:14] this year. What's available to us. But on this premise
[50:18] of once the hiring is done and all that understanding,
[50:20] whatever is left over. Would go back into the pot
[50:24] for, say, to be moved forward. So right now, though,
[50:28] we anticipate utilizing, or would be expected, that we'd utilize.
[50:31] Pretty much the entire revenue, one time revenue from this
[50:34] year. Thank you. All right, ladies and gentlemen, I'm going
[50:38] to move on. In terms of the recommendation, need a
[50:43] mover and seconder, there's three parts to this. You have
[50:46] it in front of you. Moved by Councillor Foxton, seconded
[50:51] by Councillor McCabe, go to escribe now, folks.
[51:01] Thank you very much. Councilor Wolf.
[51:13] Yeah, paver. That carries. Okay. It's Kerrie, folks.
[51:27] Moving on, folks. Regular business. Call on Doug Spooner, acting
[51:33] commissioner, transportation services, to introduce the report on the GRT
[51:38] 2025 fair change proposal. Yeah. Thank you, chair, council. So
[51:45] this report proposes changes to the fees and charges bylaw
[51:48] to amend affordable transit program fares. And there's an emotion.
[51:52] There's an emotion included. So we identified a gap that
[51:57] we here in chambers had created inadvertently when we froze
[52:00] the monthly affordable transit pass program. During the plan and
[52:04] budget process. So I think good decision. We all knew
[52:06] why we did that. What had happened when we did
[52:09] that was that the monthly affordable transit product is now
[52:12] at a 54% discount and the other affordable transit program
[52:16] discounts are at 50%. So somebody only able to buy
[52:18] a daily ticket is getting less of a discount than
[52:21] somebody able to buy a monthly. So. What is proposed
[52:25] in the report would correct it. It also deepens the
[52:27] discount for those who need it most, which is all
[52:30] of our ATP customers. It would apply a consistent 55%
[52:34] discount. On all fair products for customers who. Qualify for
[52:38] ATP. We're here today because we've got a lot of
[52:42] back end work to get. That ready for the July
[52:44] 1 fair changes. No impact on the tax levy here
[52:48] will absorb the changes. Into GRT. We'll do it in
[52:52] the following way. 10,000 of the 30,000. Gap created. We'll
[52:58] use increased ridership because we've got this product drop. So
[53:00] we anticipate some increased ridership through the program. And the
[53:03] second spot is to pull 20,000 from our customer acquisition
[53:06] budget. This is what we use to run programs like
[53:09] seniors training when we support the UPAss vote that just
[53:12] happened. So we do have a bit of flexibility in
[53:14] year to how we apply that, and we think this
[53:15] is the right place to put it. This is only
[53:18] a 2025 challenge, as you know. All of the GRT
[53:21] fair products are being evaluated as part of our new
[53:23] business plan. So when we're back in April, we've actually
[53:25] got a proposal on this program. That would address this.
[53:29] So again, the proposal today is that we flatten that
[53:31] ATP discount. We make it the same across all products
[53:34] at 55%. And I'm welcoming if any questions. Or comments.
[53:38] Thank you, chair. Let's start councilor Foxton again, please. I
[53:43] was going to move it, but I'm. Going to ask
[53:44] that the church used somebody to move it, because I
[53:47] think it's. A no brainer. Let's just move on. Sorry.
[53:51] While calling you the second with councilor hunch, please. Yeah.
[53:56] Thank you. Sorry. I was confused, everyone. Thank you. Doug.
[54:01] You're awesome. Well, I forgot your name initially, too. Mr.
[54:08] Speaker, I want to get away from the idea that
[54:11] special customers. Get special deals on special services all the
[54:16] time. Can you speak to. Fare parody around the price
[54:21] of MP tickets. It was a little bit difficult to
[54:25] understand because they're going down. And. That doesn't typically happen.
[54:31] Yeah, through your chair, Councilor Huinink. Thank you for the
[54:33] question. So, confirming that we have fair parity across our
[54:36] conventional services and our mobility, plus service. So in this
[54:39] proposal, An electronic fare would be $3, a ticket for
[54:44] mobility plus, and a ticket book would be $3 those
[54:47] enjoying the affordable transit program discount, and both of those
[54:50] cases would pay a dollar. 35. So we're consistent across
[54:53] the business lines, buses, trains, ion, all of it. Everything
[54:57] is the same in terms of what people pay. Thank
[54:59] you very much. I love equity. And consistency. All right.
[55:02] Thank you, Councilor Foxton. Are you going to move a
[55:04] motion I believe chair Redman had a hand up, and
[55:07] I've moved enough for this afternoon, so. Chair Redman. Moved
[55:11] by chair Edmund, seconded by councilor Huinink. Okay, we'll call
[55:15] the question on escribe, folks. Are we just moving on?
[55:41] That's carried, folks. Okay, we're going to move on to
[55:48] the next item for the regular business. Again. I'll call
[55:52] on Doug Spooner, acting commissioner. Introduce the report. Shared Micro
[55:58] mobility program. Through your chair. Thank you again, counsel. I
[56:02] hope you're feeling the partnership in the room. Today through
[56:04] Isaac's presentation and a thank you to Isaac and his
[56:07] team and our city. Partners for continuing to deliver this
[56:09] program with us based on Councilor Huinink's earlier encouragement, we
[56:12] may need to plan another council ride along like we
[56:15] had at Kitchener City hall. Last year. Council today, the
[56:19] region and our city partners are looking to align with
[56:21] the MTO's. Extension of the provincial escooter program that's extended
[56:25] five years to 2029. So, to be clear, the ask
[56:28] in front of you today, with motion included, Neuron, will
[56:31] be operating again in 2025 starting in April. The ask
[56:34] today is you grant me the commissioner of transportation, the
[56:36] ability to issue plus. One contractual years 2627-2829 provided region
[56:43] and city staff deemed the performance satisfactory as they have
[56:46] done for the last two riding seasons. This doesn't mean
[56:49] I won't. Return with an annual report. We'll absolutely do
[56:52] that. This is more to ensure we hit the timelines
[56:55] to give neuron enough time to prep for the following
[56:57] riding season. As you heard this morning. Neurons going to
[57:02] introduce an accessible fleet option for us. Another area of
[57:06] innovation in micromobility. And this was identified for the project
[57:09] team, so we're very excited. To kind of work on
[57:12] the community feedback and push in this direction. Council, in
[57:15] closing this one's pretty straightforward. The program has no levy
[57:18] impact. We receive a $60,000 licensing fee that we reinvest
[57:22] in the program. The ebike and escooter. Network is growing
[57:26] again. Thank you to our city partners. We move from
[57:28] 40 in the past year. We're seeing our safety record
[57:33] increase, which remains a focus for ourselves and the neuron.
[57:36] Team, and we've got an established user base with over
[57:39] 170,000 rides in 2024. And a lot of those. Converting
[57:44] to daily commuters. So I'll recommend that we continue our
[57:47] partnership with Neuron. And welcome any questions or comments. Thank
[57:49] you, chair. All right. Councilor Huinink, please. I'm happy to
[57:53] move this chair, Craig. You know, movement. Yeah. Okay. Do
[57:57] you have a seconder, please? Councillor McCabe. Okay, turn to
[58:02] your escribe, folks. Let's go.
[58:22] All right. That passes, folks. Okay? The next item is
[58:28] a moving on to the item. It's Rod Regier would like
[58:32] to. Commissioner. Planning, development and legislative services. Going to introduce
[58:37] the report. He said he only needed 30 seconds. Thank
[58:41] you very much. Apologies to Ryan and Danielle, who. Have
[58:47] been sitting here for the presentation. Just a very brief
[58:50] summary. We did a really great survey of businesses and
[58:55] workplaces in the Waterloo region last in 2024. We surveyed
[59:00] about 11,000 establishments. Of which 8300 successfully completed the survey,
[59:08] and the report simply outlines the findings of this survey.
[59:12] One of the very interesting things about the project was
[59:14] that we did extensive work amongst our rural. Workplaces and
[59:21] got some very interesting results that are helping to inform
[59:24] our economic development strategy that the townships are working with.
[59:29] Waterloo economic development on so this is a great piece
[59:33] of work. It illustrates some excellent collaboration between our area
[59:36] municipalities, our business community and the region. So thank you
[59:40] very much to staff for facilitating this work. If there's
[59:46] any questions. Chair Redman chair Craig just a comment to
[59:49] say that I think this data. Is just a goldmine
[59:55] of information, and we often have conversations about how we
[59:59] go to other levels of government, and this gives. Us
[1:00:03] the data and the illustration in the profile of our
[1:00:05] entire region when we go forward. So whether it's at
[1:00:08] Roma or Amo or FCM, it arms us as politicians
[1:00:13] and advocates for the things. And the focus that we
[1:00:16] have in our community. With the actual information, so thank
[1:00:19] you. Great job. And such a rich. Resource. Thank you,
[1:00:25] chair Redman. Okay, we're just going to move on, folks.
[1:00:29] You have the information correspondence, the council committee tracking list.
[1:00:36] Letter of support for neuron mobility. Any other business members
[1:00:40] of council? You're being very good today. Good? Okay. Next
[1:00:46] meeting is March 4, and I need a motion to
[1:00:51] adjourn, please. Councilor Foxton, councilor Huinink. Go to Escribe,
[1:00:57] folks. That passes. And just a reminder,
[1:01:07] folks, we have a quick special council meeting.