May 27th Strategic Decisions by Council

Council Meeting Date: May 27, 2024

Strategic Decisions from Council

Consent Agenda Items

Council Schedule of Work in Progress
Wellington Agri-Food Systems (deferred from April 29, 2024)
Capital Projects Status - March 31, 2024
Toll Booth - Elora Firefighters
Multi-Year Accessibility Plan 2024-2028
2024 Tax Rates
Fee for Service Agreement between the Township of Centre Wellington and the Township of Mapleton for the Services of a Climate Change Coordinator
New Township Operations Centre Update
Riverfest in Bissell Park 2024

Elora Rocks Agreement 
At the April 29, 2024, Council meeting, Council resolved “THAT the Council of the Township of Centre Wellington defer consideration of the current agreement with the Elora Rocks Hockey Club to staff to outline additional options related to restructuring of the debt with the report to be brought back to Council at the June 10th meeting”.

Township Staff recently had discussions with the Elora Rocks about options for paying back their interest-free loan. Currently, the balance for the interest-free loan is $25,149.20. After discussions with the Elora Rocks, staff recommended revising the 2021 Agreement with the Elora Rocks to reflect a refinanced 10-year agreement which would commence this year. The club will remit an annual payment of $2,514.92 to the Township, starting December 31, 2024, and ending in 2033. Council approved the changes to the agreement between the Elora Rocks and the Township.

Report to Council

Retail Cannabis Update
On November 14, 2023, Council received a staff report regarding the retail sale of cannabis in the Township. Council referred the matter to the Economic Prosperity and Growth Advisory Committee (EPG) for their input. A staff report was presented to EPG on March 14, 2024, and after discussion the Advisory Committee adopted the following resolution:

THAT the Economic Prosperity & Growth Advisory Committee recognizes the economic opportunities and benefits of retail cannabis stores, however, until the municipality can control the location and number of retail stores, the Committee does not support opting-into permitting them at this time.

Council approved to continue to opt out of permitting the retail sale of cannabis within the municipal boundary.   Council also directed staff to report back to Council if the province changes any of the implementation regulations.

Report to Council

Recreation Program Priority Registration
The Township’s Recreation Services Division is experiencing an unprecedented demand for certain recreation programs such as Pickleball, Swimming lessons, Day camps, and Shinny hockey. Staff has recognized significant demand for certain peak programs, with high-demand days of the week and times of the day. Evidence of this issue includes, but is not limited to:

• Wait lists for programs.
• Swim lesson registration filling within the first-hour registration initiates. For example, for the Winter 2024 session, 199 registrants were within 1 minute of swim lesson registration opening, and 8 registrants were already waitlisted for some lesson times.
• Complaints from residents that non-residents are attending programs they were unable to get registered in, this has especially been witnessed at Pickleball.

Council directed staff to develop and implement a Priority Registration Policy and Procedure to the benefit of Centre Wellington residents, for Recreation Programs where waitlists or registration complaints exist. Staff will return to Council for approval of the Policy at a future meeting.

Report to Council

Decision Report - South Fergus Secondary Plan (OPA 14)
The effect of the subject Official Plan Amendment (OPA) is to implement detailed land use plans and policies to guide the orderly development of the remaining designated greenfield lands in South Fergus.

The South Fergus Secondary Plan provides a conceptual framework for the area and addresses the mix, arrangement, and density of land uses, collector road network, size and location of parks and school sites, the location of major services, and the natural heritage network. It is intended to provide the basis for the preparation of future Planning Act applications.

Key updates to the OPA include:

• Maximum height in the Mixed-Use Corridor designation is reduced to 6 storeys from 8 storeys permitted in the previous iteration of the OPA.
• Maximum height in the Low-Density designation is increased from 3 storeys to 4 storeys. This is to reach overall site density targets, which may be affected by the reduction in maximum height in the Mixed-Use corridor, and to allow for variety in housing mix and type, further expanded on in the permitted residential housing types, below.
• Fourplexes, cluster townhouse dwellings, back-to-back townhouse dwellings and stacked townhouse dwellings are added to the range of low-density residential building types permitted in the Low-Density Residential designation.
• In the Gateway Commercial designation, utilization of a stepback or variation in building materials for buildings with frontage facing Tower Street/Highway 6 and/or Second Line is encouraged.
• Reference to a Community Planning Permit System has been removed, as it will be addressed through a separate OPA later, as needed. The South Fergus Community Design Guidelines were also updated to remove reference to "low-rise" in the Residential Guidelines section and to modify the Mixed-Use Corridor and Gateway Commercial Guidelines to encourage variation in building materials and stepbacks.

Council approved and adopted the application which will be submitted to the County of Wellington for approval.

Report to Council

Tourism Washrooms Agreement to Build
Council authorized an Agreement between the Township and Kat Florence Canada Company Limited, for the design and construction of public washrooms, adjacent to the Elora Fergus Tourism Centre located at 10 East Mill Street, Elora

Kat Florence Canada Company Limited (Kat Florence) has offered to donate the design and construction of new public washrooms adjacent to the Tourism Information Centre in Elora.  

In 2023, during the 2024 Council budget meetings, Council directed staff to look to recover the cost of the temporary washrooms through a Community Partnership Agreement, to be in the space adjacent to the Tourism Information Centre at 10 East Mill Street. Through discussions with Kat Florence and staff, it was generously offered for Kat Florence to pay for the design and construction of permanent washrooms at the site. Through that donation, the space would also be improved to include lighting, seating, a water bottle fill station, a digital display, and a minimum of four public washrooms.

Review the Agreement, conceptual drawings, and the Report to Council here.

Municipally Owned Industrial Business Park Pricing
Council has approved the sale price of Township-owned business park land at $450,000 per acre.

Report to Council

Request for Tender #18-24: Asphalting of Various Roads 2024
Council awarded Tender #18-24 to provide asphalting of the following road segments:

• Section 1 - Eighth Line West, Sideroad 11 to Wellington Road 17, Pilkington
• Section 2 - St. George Street East, Herrick Street to Gartshore Street, Fergus
• Section 3 - Gregson Court, Gartshore street to Dead End, Fergus
• Section 4 - Gartshore Street, Glengarry Crescent to Sideroad 10, Fergus
• Section 5 - Fergus Fire Station, Fergus
• Section 6 - Centre Wellington Community Sportsplex, Main Entrance Parking
• Section 7 - Elora West Garage, Elora
• Section 8 - Pavement Management, Rout and Sealing, Centre Wellington
• Section 9 - Pavement Management, Micro Surfacing, Centre Wellington
• Section 10 - Jefferson Elora Community Centre, Elora (ice resurfacer area only)

Report to Council