Minutes of Guelph City Council

Tuesday, December 13, 2022 at 6:30 P.m. - 10:00 P.m.

Council Chambers

Guelph City Hall, 1 Carden Street

Council:

• Mayor C. Guthrie
• Councillor P. Allt
• Councillor C. Billings
• Councillor L. Busuttil
• Councillor L. Caron
• Councillor E. Caton
• Councillor K. Chew
• Councillor D. Gibson
• Councillor R. Goller
• Councillor C. Klassen
• Councillor D. O'Rourke
• Councillor M. Richardson

Absent:

• Councillor C. Downer

Staff:

• S. Stewart, Chief Administrative Officer
• C. Clack-Bush, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, Public Services
• J. Holmes, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, Infrastructure, Development and Enterprise Services
• T. Lee, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, Corporate Services
• R. Jelacic, General Manager, Internal Audit
• A Fischer, Manager, IT Service Desk
• S. Hare, Program Manager, Customer Service and Experience
• S. O'Brien, General Manager, City Clerk's Office/City Clerk
• J. da Silva, Council and Committee Coordinator
• G. Meades, Council and Committee Coordinator
• C. Murray-Sprague, Council and Committee Coordinator

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2.

Call to Order

Mayor Guthrie called the meeting to order. (6:32 p.m.)

2.4

Disclosure of Pecuniary Interest and General Nature Thereof

Councillor Gibson declared a conflict of interest regarding item 5.1 Alectra Convergent Development LP Battery Energy Storage Project Proposal, as his employer is involved other in battery storage projects.

3.

Team Ontario Lacrosse Champions

Mayor Guthrie recognized the following Team Ontario Lacrosse champions:
Brayden McGarr
Nolan Battler
Gracin Jones

4.

Confirmation of Open Minutes

• Moved By Councillor Goller
  Seconded By Councillor Caron

  That the minutes of the open Council Meetings held November 1 and 22, 2022, be confirmed as recorded and without being read.

  Voting in Favour: (12)

  Mayor Guthrie, Councillor Gibson, Councillor Goller, Councillor Allt, Councillor O'Rourke, Councillor Billings, Councillor Caron, Councillor Caton, Councillor Klassen, Councillor Richardson, Councillor Busuttil, and Councillor Chew

  Carried (12 to 0)

5.

Council Consent Agenda

Councillor Gibson left the meeting.

5.1

Alectra Convergent Development LP Battery Energy Storage Project Proposal - 2022-338

• Moved By Councillor Goller
  Seconded By Councillor O'Rourke
  1. That Council review Alectra Convergent Development LP’s Battery Energy Storage (BESS) project proposal as explained in Attachment-1 and adopt the resolution of support for the project contained in Attachment-2.

  Voting in Favour: (12)

  Mayor Guthrie, Councillor Allt, Councillor Billings, Councillor Caron, Councillor Gibson, Councillor Goller, Councillor O'Rourke, Councillor Chew, Councillor Caton, Councillor Klassen, Councillor Richardson, and Councillor Busuttil

  Carried (12 to 0)

  Councillor Gibson rejoined the meeting.

  
  

6.

Items for Discussion

6.2

County of Wellington Request - Drop-In Hours in Downtown Guelph - 2022-375

Colleen Clack-Bush, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, Public Services, introduced the item and spoke on the timing of the implementation of the proposed program.

The following delegate spoke on this item:
Shakiba Shayani, Co-chair of the Strategic Advisory Group, Downtown Guelph

• Moved By Councillor Allt
  Seconded By Councillor Goller

  That Pastor Kevin Coghill be added to the list of delegates.

  Voting in Favour: (12)

  Mayor Guthrie, Councillor Gibson, Councillor Goller, Councillor Allt, Councillor O'Rourke, Councillor Billings, Councillor Caron, Councillor Caton, Councillor Klassen, Councillor Richardson, Councillor Busuttil, and Councillor Chew

  Carried (12 to 0)
• Moved By Councillor Allt
  Seconded By Councillor Klassen
  1. That the City of Guelph will provide a one-time operating contribution of $250,850 to facilitate the 2023 extension of drop-in service hours at Royal City Mission beginning January 1, 2023.
  2. That the $250,850 is taken from the Tax Rate Operating Contingency Reserve.
  3. That Royal City Mission be requested to submit progress reports to the City of Guelph, no later than May 1, 2023 and September 1, 2023, summarizing both the results and impact of the extension of drop-in service hours.
  4. That any future funding requests related to shelter services be referred to the 2024-2027 multi-year budget process.

  Voting in Favour: (12)

  Mayor Guthrie, Councillor Gibson, Councillor Goller, Councillor Allt, Councillor O'Rourke, Councillor Billings, Councillor Caron, Councillor Caton, Councillor Klassen, Councillor Richardson, Councillor Busuttil, and Councillor Chew

  Carried (12 to 0)

6.1

Service Simplified Progress Report: implementing Guelph’s customer service strategy - 2022-374

Trevor Lee, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer, Corporate Services, provided opening remarks.

Stephen O'Brien, General Manager, City Clerk's Office/City Clerk, spoke to the vision, standards, and commitments included in the customer service strategy. He also provided closing remarks.

Stacey Hare, Program Manager, Customer Service and Customer Experience, explained how customer satisfaction is measured, outlined future milestones of the Service Simplified strategy, and presented an online tool for reporting issues across the city.

• Moved By Councillor Allt
  Seconded By Councillor Richardson

  That the report titled Implementing Service Simplified: Guelph’s Customer Service Strategy - 2022-374, dated December 13, 2022, be received.

  Voting in Favour: (12)

  Mayor Guthrie, Councillor Gibson, Councillor Goller, Councillor Allt, Councillor O'Rourke, Councillor Billings, Councillor Caron, Councillor Caton, Councillor Klassen, Councillor Richardson, Councillor Busuttil, and Councillor Chew

  Carried (12 to 0)

6.3

Service Rationalization Implementation Update 2022 - 2022-341

Councillor O'Rourke provided opening remarks.

• Moved By Councillor O'Rourke
  Seconded By Councillor Goller

  That staff propose a tracking and measurement plan for priorities identified in the KPMG Service Rationalization Report and approved by Council on July 19, 2021 to the audit committee by Q2 2023 and that staff report back to Council on an annual basis on the status or progress of each priority and its outcomes.

  Voting in Favour: (12)

  Mayor Guthrie, Councillor Gibson, Councillor Goller, Councillor Allt, Councillor O'Rourke, Councillor Billings, Councillor Caron, Councillor Caton, Councillor Klassen, Councillor Richardson, Councillor Busuttil, and Councillor Chew

  Carried (12 to 0)

7.

By-laws

• Moved By Councillor Caron
  Seconded By Councillor O'Rourke

  That By-laws numbered (2022)-20749, (2022)-20750, (2022)-20757, and (2022)-20762, are hereby passed.

  Voting in Favour: (12)

  Mayor Guthrie, Councillor Gibson, Councillor Goller, Councillor Allt, Councillor O'Rourke, Councillor Billings, Councillor Caron, Councillor Caton, Councillor Klassen, Councillor Richardson, Councillor Busuttil, and Councillor Chew

  Carried (12 to 0)

8.

Mayor’s Announcements

Mayor Guthrie recognized different holiday celebrations happening during the month of December.

9.

Adjournment

• Moved By Councillor Chew
  Seconded By Councillor Caton

  That the meeting be adjourned. (9:04 p.m.)

  Carried (12 to 0)