City Council
Meeting Agenda

Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at 6:00 P.m. - 9:00 P.m.

Council Chambers

Guelph City Hall, 1 Carden Street

Changes to the original agenda are noted with an asterisk "*".

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1.

Call to Order

1.1

O Canada

1.2

Silent Reflection

1.3

Indigenous Territorial Acknowledgement

1.4

Disclosure of Pecuniary Interest and General Nature Thereof

2.

Confirmation of Open Minutes

• Recommendation:
  1. That the minutes of the open Council Meetings held March 18, 19 and 25, 2025, and the minutes of the open Committee of the Whole meeting held March 4, 2025 be confirmed as recorded and without being read.

3.

Committee of the Whole Consent Report

The following resolutions have been prepared to facilitate Council’s consideration of various matters and are suggested for consideration. If Council wishes to address a specific report in isolation of the Committee of the Whole Consent Report, please identify the item. It will be extracted and dealt with separately as part of the Items for Discussion.

3.1

Debenture Issue Authority, 2025-160

• Recommendation:
  1. That the capital projects identified in Table 1 of the Debenture Issue Authority report number 2025-160, dated April 1, 2025, be approved for debt financing in 2025 or 2026 in the amounts as listed.
  2. That the City Treasurer be authorized to proceed with the marketing, through the City’s fiscal agent, of the debenture issue(s) in the principal aggregate amount of not greater than $118.15 million for terms not exceeding 20 years.
  3. That the 2025 associated debt servicing costs be approved to be funded from the City’s applicable capital reserve funds as outlined in accordance with Table 2 in the Debenture Issue Authority report number 2025-160, dated April 1, 2025.

3.2

Municipal Service and Financing Agreements Policy, 2025-14

• Recommendation:
  1. That the Municipal Service and Financing Agreements Policy included as Attachment-1 of report 2025-14 - Municipal Service and Financing Agreements Policy, be approved and implemented using a phased approach, and that staff report back to Council with any recommended updates prior to full implementation.
  2. That the Delegated Authority By-law be updated at the earliest administratively convenient opportunity to reflect the authority provided to City staff in the Policy.
  3. That the User Fees and Charges By-law be amended to add the new application and administration fees as outlined in report 2025-14 - Municipal Service and Financing Agreements Policy.

3.2.1

MSFA Policy Amendments Memo, 2025-192

3.3

Private Tree Protection By-law Update, 2025-25

• Recommendation:
  1. That Council endorse the proposed updates to the Private Tree Protection By-law (“Private Tree By-law” or “By-law”), as attached to report 2025-25 as amended, and repeal the existing Private Tree Protection By-law 2010-19058.
  2. That staff be directed to place the proposed updated Private Tree By-law as amended, on the April 23, 2025 agenda for final adoption after which the By-law will come into effect.
  3. That a by-law be enacted to amend the applicable User Fees By-law 2025-21052 to include the permit fees set out in report 2025-25 when the Private Tree By-law takes effect.

3.4

Results of the Feasibility Study for Potential Future Arts and Culture Uses of the Drill Hall , 2025-56

• Recommendation:
  1. That the City retain 72 Farquhar St. (the Drill Hall) as a city-owned asset and continue to be responsible to fund and maintain the current state of the structural elements and primary systems, estimated at approximately $125 000 annually.
  2. That staff be directed to identify potential sources of capital funding for the development of a mixed use space including an arts and cultural centre in the former Drill Hall, as well as to identify operating budget implications as part of the MYB, and that Council supports the Mayoral direction to investigate allocating funds to move the project forward in the 2026 budget.
  3. That upon confirmation of available capital funds, city staff be directed to develop an open process to evaluate and identify a community partner(s) to transform the Drill Hall into a mixed use space including an arts and cultural centre, and also respect and incorporate the Council designated heritage attributes of the building per Bylaw (2018)-20332, reporting back to Council on the results of that RFP before awarding to any proponent.
  4. That the Chief Administrative Officer be directed to advocate to the provincial government for the necessary permissions to allow residential development at 72 Farquhar Street. 
  5. If necessary permissions are not obtained, or if no potential development proposals are received by September 30, 2025, that no further staff time to advocate for these permissions is required.

4.

Council Consent Agenda

The following resolutions have been prepared to facilitate Council’s consideration of various matters and are suggested for consideration. If Council wishes to address a specific report in isolation of the Consent Agenda, please identify the item. It will be extracted and dealt with separately as part of the Items for Discussion.

4.1

Grant Agreement - Funder Reporting Requirement of the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund Grant - 2025-185

• Recommendation:
  1. That in accordance with the Province’s reporting requirement under the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund transfer payment agreement, Council pass a by-law recognizing the awarding of the Wyndham-Wellington Water and Wastewater Capacity Improvement project’s construction contracts following tender, as outlined in the April 23, 2025 “Grant Agreement – Funder Reporting Requirement of the Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund Grant” report.

5.

By-laws

6.

Mayor’s Announcements

Please provide any announcements, to the Mayor in writing, by 12 noon on the day of the Council meeting.

7.

Adjournment