THE DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY OF MUSKOKA CORPORATE & EMERGENCY SERVICES COMMITTEE MEETING NO. CES

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1 THE DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY OF MUSKOKA CORPORATE & EMERGENCY SERVICES COMMITTEE MEETING NO. CES PLACE: TIME: Council Chamber, District Administration Building 9:00 a.m. DATE: October 4, 2002 PRESENT: OFFICIALS PRESENT: ALSO PRESENT: Committee Chair, T. Pinckard; District Chair, G. Adams; Members, M. Kennedy, J. Klinck, H. Mackenzie, S. Northmore, S. Pryke J. Green, Chief Administrative Officer; J. McRae, Commissioner of Finance & Corporate Services Councillors H. Coupland, J. Dymond, A. Fairfield, S. Martin, S. Miglin, J. Peake; A. Morson, Muskoka Lakes Association; K. Jaffary, Lake of Bays Association; N. Smellie & G. Botko, Muskoka.com; Inspector M. Armstrong, Bracebridge O.P.P. ; Staff Sgt. D. Gordon, Huntsville O.P.P.; Staff Sgt. G. Skinner, Midland O.P.P.; J. Moore, Muskoka Ambulance; N. Cox- Godfrey, Manager of Administrative Services; C. Lees, Executive Assistant CALL TO ORDER Chair Pinckard called the meeting to order and noted that discussion on the item regarding the Muskoka Municipal Taxation Task Force Report would be postponed until Councillor Miglin arrived at approximately 9:30 a.m. DELEGATION MUSKOKA.COM Mr. Botko and Mr. Smellie attended the meeting to request that they be permitted to provide input into the proposed development of a policy which would set out the terms and conditions under which equipment may be installed on Muskoka s elevated water tanks. They requested representation on any committee or task force that may be established in this regard. Chair Pinckard acknowledged this request.

2 AMENDMENTS TO BRACEBRIDGE WATER AND SEWER URBAN SERVICE AREAS A AND B Moved by M. Kennedy and seconded by S. Pryke 50/2002 THAT the Corporate and Emergency Services Committee recommends to District Council that by-laws be passed with respect to amending the Bracebridge Water and Sewer Urban Service Area by-laws. ANTENNA ON DISTRICT WATER TOWERS Councillor Pryke expressed concern regarding the number of antennae proposed to be installed by the one firm on one water tank and felt that a policy should be established in this regard before approval is given. Councillor Martin commented on the lack of detailed information regarding the proposed installation and advised that he wants to see exactly what is proposed before it proceeds. Committee members discussed the matter and agreed that the matter be deferred pending the development of a policy regarding installation of equipment on water tanks. Moved by H. Mackenzie and seconded by S. Northmore 51/2002 THAT the matter of the installation of antennae on Muskoka s elevated water tanks by F1 Connex Inc. be deferred. TENDER PURCHASE OF TWO BACKHOES Ms. Cox-Godfrey outlined her report with respect to the proposed purchase of two backhoes. Councillor Klinck expressed concern with respect to the expenditure and suggested that it might be appropriate to examine the possibility of having the private sector provide equipment for these uses. Ms. Cox-Godfrey and Chair Pinckard commented that there were difficulties in such a scenario in terms of equipment being available when required and the associated costs. Moved by S. Pryke and seconded by M. Kennedy 52/2002 THAT Corporate and Emergency Services recommend to District Council the purchase of two New Holland LB35.B backhoe/loaders with the trade-in of a 1987 JCB Backhoe/Loader from McCauley Equipment Sales, Orillia at a total combined cost of $138, plus taxes.

3 INFORMATION ITEMS a) Correspondence Dr. & Mrs. Babb Taxation Task Force ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, 2001 Mr. Green reviewed Mr. Royston s report regarding the requirements of the Ontarians With Disabilities Act, 2001 and the proposed measures to be taken in terms of the establishment of a accessibility advisory committee. Councillor Pryke suggested that the requirements are not applicable to those municipalities under a certain population. In addition, she expressed concern that the advisory committee members may require special transportation arrangements to carry out their duties and noted that the by-law does not provide for reimbursement of expenses. Councillor Pryke requested that Section 6 of the draft by-law be revised in this regard. Moved by M. Kennedy and seconded by S. Pryke 53/2002 Councillor Miglin arrived at the meeting. THAT a by-law similar to the draft by-law attached to the report of the District Solicitor dated October 3, 2002 be presented to Council for consideration. MUSKOKA MUNICIPAL TAXATION TASK FORCE REPORT a) Delegation A. Morson, Muskoka Lakes Association Mr. Alan Morson, Muskoka Lakes Association (MLA), provided a presentation to the Committee (included with the background material to the minutes) to outline the Association s position and recommendations with respect to the Task Force report. He advised that the MLA and the Lake of Bays Association had formed a coalition to prioritize the recommendations and work towards implementation. Mr. Morson encouraged the implementation of the two recommendations that could be made at the sole discretion of District Council the phasing-in of large tax increases and the inclusion of roads in development charges and he noted those recommendations which must be implemented by provincial legislation or regulation. Mr. Morson emphasized that all recommendations are intended to stop further shift of taxes to the waterfront properties and not to right any perceived existing inequities. He encouraged the adoption of the recommendations as soon as possible. Mr. Karl Jaffray, Lake of Bays Association, commended the Task Force report stating that it was a thorough and fair examination of the issue. He reiterated Mr. Morson s comments that they want to stop further shift of taxes to the waterfront properties.

4 b) Committee Discussion Councillor Mackenzie commented on the importance of a timely but thorough decision with respect to the recommendations contained in the Task Force s report and felt that they should move forward as a package. He inquired as to the position of each Committee member s area municipality in terms of the process of considering the report. Councillor Pryke advised that the Township of Muskoka Lakes had held a public meeting that was well attended and noted that she had received 200 letters from waterfront residents. She commented that she was concerned that she had not heard from rural residents, but did receive one letter from Mrs. Jean Andrews who lived on Bear Cave Road in a rural area of the Township. Councillor Pryke read the letter which illustrated some parallels between rural and waterfront residents in terms of the available and use of municipal services in the areas in which they live. Councillor Pryke suggested that a cost analysis be undertaken to determine the impact of the recommendations on taxpayers across the District. Councillor Kennedy noted that one of the Township of Georgian Bay representatives on the Task Force, Mr. Guy Crombie, had attended a Township Council meeting to outline the report. Councillor Kennedy advised that the matter was to be a topic of discussion at the Georgian Bay Association s conference the following day and also commented that the Township Council has suggested that a public meeting be held. He suggested that it might be appropriate for the Task Force to meet again to address any questions that may arise regarding the report and felt that the recommendations should be addressed as soon as possible. Councillor Klinck advised that the Town of Gravenhurst had not had a public meeting, however he had met with the Gravenhurst Task Force representatives and senior staff to discuss the report and there were some interesting issues raised regarding the recommendations. He noted that he has drafted correspondence to be sent to the various ratepayer associations to make them aware of the implications of the report s recommendations. Councillor Klinck stated that he had received several messages regarding the report and noted that Gravenhurst was somewhat unique in that it had a fairly equal number of permanent and seasonal residents, which made the issues even more sensitive. He commented that they had concerns regarding the timing of taking the matter forward to the Province and the potential impact of provincial elections in this regard. Councillor Mackenzie advised that the Task Force representatives from Huntsville had made a thorough presentation of the report to Huntsville Council and the Council planned to discuss the recommendations and future direction at a meeting the following week. He noted that no decision had been made to schedule a public meeting. Councillor Mackenzie commented that time needs to be taken to examine the issues to come to a positive conclusion and he noted that there are some issues between Huntsville and the Lake of Bays Association that need to be sorted out in the process. He suggested that the report s recommendations can be divided into two sections; those that are specific and those that can be viewed as a menu of approaches to resolve certain common issues.

5 Councillor Northmore advised that his Council had had a meeting with their Task Force representatives regarding the report where a thorough discussion was held and some positive comments were made. As one member of his Council was away, he advised that he wanted the opportunity to review the Town s position with him before taking any further action. Councillor Northmore advised that he concurred with many of the comments made by Committee members. Chair Pinckard stated that the Township of Lake of Bays Council had had a presentation from their Task Force members, had held a public meeting and had advertised the report s recommendations in the newspaper. A Council meeting to discuss the report in detail will be held He noted that the Township is monitoring the number of calls received and copies of the report that have been picked up and he commented that while he is receiving some of the same type of correspondence as the other areas, nothing has been received from non-waterfront residents. District Chair Adams commented on the complexity of the issue and the impact of recommendations which he feels would almost constitute a new tax system. He noted the Province s position that whatever is developed should be applicable across the Province. Committee members discussed a proposed process to deal with the recommendations at the Committee and Council levels. Councillor Fairfield commented that the District Solicitor indicated there would be some issues with respect to timing and required implementation procedures if certain recommendations were adopted, in particular with respect to changes to development charges policy. Councillor Pryke reiterated earlier remarks regarding the development of a cost analysis to determine the impact of recommendations. In response to a question from Councillor Kennedy regarding the future role of the Task Force, Councillor Miglin stated that it was not anticipated the Task Force would meet again. It was agreed that the matter would be discussed at the Corporate & Emergency Services Committee meeting scheduled for November 15 th with a recommendation to be considered at the District Council meeting scheduled for December 2 nd. Councillor Dymond requested that the Committee consider in its deliberations a request to the provincial government that Muskoka be provided with a percentage of gas tax for every litre of gas sold within the District for the purpose of on-going road repairs to the downloading of responsibilities. Councillor Mackenzie left the meeting. REPORTS FROM DETACHMENT COMMANDERS a) Huntsville Detachment Staff Sgt. Gordon reviewed the Huntsville Detachment report, noting changes to the complement and initiatives such as the fatigued driving program.

6 b) Midland Detachment Staff Sgt. Skinner reviewed the Midland Detachment report noting that the staffing situation had improved and he reported on community outreach activities. Staff Sgt. Skinner highlighted the O.P.P. s involved in a recent situation at the Penetang correctional facility. Councillor Kennedy commented that it was a pleasure to see the O.P.P. working with the RCMP on various initiatives. c) Bracebridge Detachment Inspector Armstrong highlighted the Bracebridge Detachment report noting that the staffing level was proposed to increase to a full complement by January He also reported on his temporary secondment to the Orillia Detachment. Councillor Pryke noted the absence of complaints in Port Carling during the summer and felt that it might be a positive result of the paid duty officer initiative. She raised the issue of the Community Safety Zone designation and wondered if it might be appropriate in Muskoka Inspector Armstrong stated that the designation provided for increased fines for traffic violations in certain areas but it was felt that the personnel have to be there and available to enforce those zones in order for the program to be successful. The program has not been pursued because of a lack of resources. Inspector Armstrong reported on substantial drug arrests and seizures that occurred recently in the Bracebridge and Gravenhurst areas. In response to a question from Chair Pinckard regarding a formal evaluation of the paid duty officer program, all detachment commanders commented that it was successful in their areas however they had not gathered any formal statistics. Chair Pinckard suggested that a formal evaluation would be beneficial for the information of District Council. REPORT ON LAND AMBULANCE Mrs. Moore highlighted the August 2002 land ambulance report. She noted that the response times often take into account the attendance of supervisory staff at the scene of an incident when required. Mrs. Moore reported on community activities undertaken by staff. Councillor Fairfield inquired as to a recent article which reported on a patient experiencing a delay in getting a CT scan because there was no ambulance available. Mrs. Moore advised that she was contacted about the story but was not given sufficient details to provide an explanation. She did note, however, that on the day in question there was a large number of calls and that the delay may not have been solely attributable to the availability of an ambulance; the incident would have also required medical personnel to be available to accompany the patient which may have been a factor in the delay.

7 ADJOURNMENT Moved by S. Pryke and seconded by M. Kennedy THAT the Corporate and Emergency Services Committee adjourns until Friday, October 25, 2002 at 9:00 a.m. or the call of the Chair. Chair, Corporate & Emergency Services Committee District Clerk