CKL COUNCIL HIGHLIGHTS - March 9, 2021
At the Committee of the Whole meeting on March 9, 2021, City of Kawartha Lakes Council received the following items. These items will return to Council on March 23 to be considered again before adoption.
Olde Gaol Museum funding request
Jane Gregory-Gill of the Victoria County Historical Society made a deputation to Council for support from the municipality to enable stability in the operations of the Olde Gaol Museum. The request was for $132,000 to hire two staff members to ensure archives are preserved and the museum is able to open for the 2021 season. Staff will bring back funding options to Council in April.
Progress on the Municipal Accessibility Master Plan
Barb Condie, Accessibility Officer, presented a 2020-2021 Municipality Accessibility Master Plan Progress Report. Barb highlighted a number of updates and accomplishments in the past year towards the municipality’s vision of creating one of the most accessible, inclusive communities in Ontario. These highlights included improvements to municipal communications and online tools, support from the Community Pandemic Task Force, increased participation in the Community Improvement Grants for businesses, new infrastructure in streets and parks and more.
Customer service update
A review of the last year and upcoming enhancements to customer service systems were discussed in a presentation by the CAO and Director of Community Services.
A review of call volumes showed the staff answered almost as many calls in 2020 despite having closed the call centre for two months due to the pandemic. Approximately 50,000 calls are handled each year.
A Case Management System was launched in 2017 to track and respond to resident inquiries and service requests. Issues can be reported by phone or via the website form at www.kawarthalakes.ca/reportit. In 2019, 8500 cases were recorded in the system. Common cases involve potholes, ditching, winter control, streetlights and litter. A supplemental report on the Case Management System outlines enhancements planned for 2021. A deputation was made suggesting additional ways the municipality can enhance customer service.
The Municipal Law Enforcement and Licensing division responsible for handling resident complaints and enforcement regarding by law issues such as property standards and animal control received 1900 cases in 2020. Cases were almost as high as pre-pandemic levels and this division actively follows up on COVID-19 safety issues in collaboration with the Health Unit and local police services.
Water and Wastewater Rate Study
Every five years, under the Safe Drinking Act, municipalities are required to conduct a review of their water and wastewater rates. Kawartha Lakes retained Watson & Associates to study and update the existing 2016 rate study to help ensure that the municipality is allocating costs appropriately to continue to maintain a sustainable system. During the presentation, Sean-Michael Stephen, Senior Consultant with the firm, delivered an overview of the calculation method, a combination of figures based on current and future infrastructure needs in combination with region growth. By conducting a 10 year forecast, Watson & Associates estimated that on an annual average, we will see 193 new users, increasing the need for both consumption and capacity resources for the municipality. Council then received multiple recommendations from the report that outlined anticipated costs and how to incorporate them into the long-term financial plan.
2022 to 2030 Paramedic Master Plan
In 2020, Performance Concepts Consulting (PCC) was brought on board to work with Kawartha Lakes Paramedics and municipal partners to develop a 10 year master plan that focuses service delivery centred around patient and community needs for the next decade.
Chief Randy Mellow, joined by Todd Macdonald and John Prno from PCC, delivered the current findings of the Paramedic Master Plan to Council. The presentation included looking at historic performance, growth and demographics for the region, developments of technology advancements in the paramedicine field and provincial modernizations around public health.
In the next decade, it is projected that the aging population will drastically increase for the region which will continue to drive demand forward – call volumes could increase by 4.1% on an annual basis. The Master Plan is currently in the draft phase with the working group and once finalized, will be brought back to Council for review and approval.
Long Range Financial Planning under way
In order to plan ahead for the needs of the municipality, Jennifer Stover, Director of Corporate Services took Council through a presentation of the plan moving forward. Using lessons learned from the first long range financial plan, established in 2017, Staff will develop a new 10 year rolling plan.
The first plan was heavily focused on the newly adopted Asset Management Plan. It was then updated slightly in 2018.
Although the approved plan included tax levy increases of 4%, Council recognized that this was unaffordable for many residents. Council was able to find ways to lower actual tax levy increases to an average of 3% over the first 4 years of the plan.
Although tax levy increases didn’t meet the targets set out in the plan at approximately 4%, they have been close to targets, averaging 3%. Tax support to Capital projects has been tracking well against the plan, especially in 2021 where many projects are moving forward despite the pandemic.
Goals of the new long range financial plan:
Increased focus on the impacts of the operating budget to ensure all needs are forecasted
Build in flexibility for unforeseen events such as a pandemic
Add a people strategy to ensure human resources are optimized, while technology is leveraged and a continuous focus on process improvements is maintained
Develop strategies for key pillars: debt, reserves, revenues and people
Target 3% tax levy increases, to ensure stability for property owners
The new plan is targeted to come to Council by the end of June.
Draft amendments to the Dock Encroachment Policy
After taking into consideration Council’s comments during Committee of the Whole on February 9, staff revised their proposed amendments to the Dock Encroachment Policy to address concerns regarding dock spacing, licensing fees and backlot owners. Council motioned to amend staff’s proposal further to allow existing Hazel Street, Thurstonia backlot owners to continue using their docks and for the Hickory Beach dock agreements to be brought back to Council for discussion before licence or renewal. More details on the proposed amendments are available in RS2021-016 Appendix A.
When passed at Regular Council, staff will proceed with a public consultation process to allow the public to weigh in on the draft amendments and provide their feedback. The public consultation will be open to any resident of Kawartha Lakes through the municipality’s online engagement tool Jump In, Kawartha Lakes. Public consultations will occur until the end of July and the public’s feedback will be reported back to Council in the fall.
Proposed program for backyard chickens
Last year Council revisited allowing backyard chickens in residential areas and staff held a public online survey. Following Council’s input, consultations with other stakeholders and the response in favour of backyard chickens from the public, Aaron Sloan, Manager of Municipal Law Enforcement, presented options for a backyard chicken program.
Council directed staff to amend the existing animal control by-law to permit backyard chickens in certain residential areas and to proceed with a two-year trial pilot project.
Memorandums
Staff provide an analysis and traffic count of a streetlight at the intersection of Porter Road and Highway 7A
Manvers Drive, Neals Drive, Janet Drive, William Ave and Arbour Court be reviewed and considered for the Janetville Subdivision Lifecycle Extension Program for 2021 or 2022
Staff investigate a section of Cedar Glen Road, from Highway 36 to Log House Road, for consideration of a speed reduction to 60 km/hr
Council to give support for a multilateral agreement between all parties regarding Pigeon Lake Management Plan
To watch the full Committee of the Whole meeting, visit the Kawartha Lakes’ YouTube.