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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOctober 16, 2023 - Waterfront Advisory CommitteeTHE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF BAYHAM WATERFRONT ADVISORY COMMITTEE AGENDA TRACKLESS LOUNGE 56169 Heritage Line, Straffordville, ON Monday, October 16, 2023 5:00 p.m. 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. DISCLOSURES OF PECUNIARY INTEREST & THE GENERAL NATURE THEREOF 3. DELEGATIONS 4. ADOPTION OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING(S) A. Minutes of the Waterfront Advisory Committee Meeting held July 17, 2023 5. MATTERS OF BUSINESS A. Memo WAC-09/23 re Council Decisions – WAC Recommendations to Council B. Memo WAC-10/23 re 2023 Education Sessions / 2024 Blue Flag Application C. Memo WAC-11/23 re Committee Procedure and Terms of Reference D. Memo WAC-12/23 re 2024 Committee Meeting Schedule 6. ADJOURNMENT THE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF BAYHAM WATERFRONT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES PORT BURWELL EAST BEACH & TRACKLESS LOUNGE Port Burwell Beach & 56169 Heritage Line, Straffordville, ON Monday, July 17, 2023 5:00 p.m. PRESENT: CHAIR RAINEY WEISLER COMMITTEE MEMBERS EARL SHEA SERGE PIETERS MARNI WOLFE ASHLEY CARDINAL ED KETCHABAW (present from 6:24pm onwards as ex-officio) STAFF ATTENDANCE: CAO|CLERK THOMAS THAYER DEPUTY CLERK MEAGAN ELLIOTT MANAGER OF PUBLIC WORKS / DRAINAGE SUPERINTENDENT STEVE ADAMS 1. CALL TO ORDER Committee Chair Weisler called the meeting to order at 5:02 p.m. 2. DISCLOSURES OF PECUNIARY INTEREST & THE GENERAL NATURE THEREOF No disclosures of pecuniary interest were declared. 3. DELEGATIONS 4. ADOPTION OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING(S) A. Minutes of the Waterfront Advisory Committee Meeting held May 16, 2023 Moved by: Committee Member Pieters Seconded by: Committee Member Wolfe THAT the minutes of the Waterfront Advisory Committee Meeting held May 16, 2023 be approved as presented. CARRIED 5. MATTERS OF BUSINESS A. Memo WAC-05/23 re Beach Tour The Waterfront Advisory Committee Meeting recessed from 6:02 – 6:24 pm to relocate to the Trackless Lounge for the remainder of the Meeting 2 Moved by: Committee Member Shea Seconded by: Committee Member Wolfe THAT Memo WAC-05/23 re 2023 Beach Tour be received for information; AND THAT the Waterfront Advisory Committee recommends to Council that a line item regarding annual bioswale maintenance be referred to the 2024 Operating Budget discussions; AND THAT the Waterfront Advisory Committee recommends to Council that staff be directed to provide an information Report to Council on the history of bioswale maintenance prior to 2024 Operating Budget discussions. CARRIED B. Memo WAC-06/23 re Outcome of Recommendations to Council Moved by: Committee Member Pieters Seconded by: Committee Member Cardinal THAT Memo WAC-06/23 re Outcomes of Recommendations to Council be received for information. CARRIED C. Memo WAC-07/23 re Community BBQ Input Moved by: Committee Member Pieters Seconded by: Committee Member Shea THAT Memo WAC-07/23 re Community Barbecue Location Input be received for information; AND THAT the Waterfront Advisory Committee recommends to Council that there be no further consideration for a community barbecue location at the Port Burwell East Beach at this time due to concerns of safety and surveillance, vandalism, and revenue/cost implications. CARRIED D. Memo WAC-08/23 re 2024-2033 Port Burwell East Beach / Pier Capital Items Moved by: Committee Member Cardinal Seconded by: Committee Member Pieters THAT Memo WAC-08/23 re 2024-2033 Port Burwell East Beach / Pier Capital Items be received for information; AND THAT the Waterfront Advisory Committee recommends to Council to consider a playground to be included in the 10 year Capital Budget discussions. CARRIED 3 6. ADJOURNMENT Moved by: Committee Member Wolfe Seconded by: Committee Member Cardinal THAT the Waterfront Advisory Committee Meeting be adjourned at 7:25 p.m. CARRIED CHAIR CLERK MEMO WATERFRONT ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO: Waterfront Advisory Committee FROM: Thomas Thayer, CAO DATE: October 16, 2023 MEMO: WAC-09/23 SUBJECT: COUNCIL DECISIONS – WAC RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL BACKGROUND The Waterfront Advisory Committee had a meeting on July 17, 2023, from which three (3) motions included recommendations to Council. These were presented to Council at the August 17, 2023 Regular Meeting and the following motion was passed: Moved by: Deputy Mayor Weisler Seconded by: Councillor Chilcott THAT the recommendations to Council from the Waterfront Advisory Committee be received for information; AND THAT staff be directed to Report to Council with an informational report on the history of bioswale maintenance before the Operating Budget deliberations; AND THAT a line item regarding annual bioswale maintenance be referred to the 2024 Operating Budget discussions; AND THAT Council accepts the Waterfront Advisory Committee’s recommendation for no further considerations on a community BBQ at the Beach; AND THAT further discussion on a playground at the Port Burwell East Beach be referred to the Capital Budget Special Meeting. DISCUSSION With respect to the above, the bioswale Report is forthcoming in November to Council, with an Operating Budget line item to be included in the 2024 Draft Operating Budget. After Council receives the Report, it is expected it will be appended to a Memo that will come to the WAC in January 2024 and may include discussion regarding phragmite control. The Capital Budget meeting was held on October 3, 2023. Council resolved to approve the 2024-2033 Capital Budget in principle. The Budget included as a component of Capital Item PR- 02 – Playground Equipment the playground at the East Beach. This does not guarantee that the approved playground will not change in future budgets. Additionally, and from the previous WAC meeting, accessibility mats was also included in the Capital Budget deliberations. However, the item was not moved up; it is still a grant-contingent 2027 item as Council has not identified another funding mechanism. For note, one of the comments received during the budget consultation process included sand retention on the north edge of the beach, between the beach and the parking lot. This was not included in the budget by staff or Council, and has previously come before Council without any decision to proceed at this time. This would be a non-core enhancement that would also require regular maintenance. RECOMMENDATION THAT Memo WAC-09/23 re Outcomes of Recommendations to Council be received for information. MEMO WATERFRONT ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO: Waterfront Advisory Committee FROM: Thomas Thayer, CAO DATE: October 16, 2023 MEMO: WAC-10/23 SUBJECT: 2023 EDUCATION SESSIONS / 2024 BLUE FLAG APPLICATION BACKGROUND The Municipality makes application to Blue Flag International through Swim, Drink, Fish every fall in support of the Port Burwell East Beach’s bid for Blue Flag status in the following calendar year. Generally, this application period ends in November or December of the preceding year and costs $1,250 to submit. For the 2024 season, the application deadline is November 16, 2023. More detail is included in Council Report CAO-55/23 re Benefits and Costs – Blue Flag Status at the Port Burwell East Beach. One of the primary application components is Education. The Municipality must identify five (5) educational programs to be sought for the upcoming season. These can changes year-over- year, or be consistent with previous years, and should address visibility of the Blue Flag program and/or environmental stewardship and education. The final Blue Flag Beach Advisory Committee meeting was held on September 29, 2022. At the time, educational options for 2023 were discussed, including Beachfest and Otter Valley Naturalist bioswale clean-up/maintenance efforts. Also discussed was the option of having Ecodemy attend to provide a session, and the possibility of partnering with East Elgin Secondary School for clean-up and education efforts. DISCUSSION The Municipality has historically utilized educational signage at the East Beach as a component of the programming. Further in 2023, a Blue Flag flag-raising was conducted and Bayham Beachfest proceeded with their event, recovering from COVID-19. In September 2022, Ecodemy attended the East Beach as a close-of-season educational and clean-up event. Ecodemy performs education sessions on green practices and sustainability, including environmental stewardship. The event took place on September 9, 2023, and approximately 40 attendees were present. The clean-up efforts removed one full black garbage bag of refuse from the beach, and two car tires. Much of the feedback was positive with a number of individuals and children saying it was great to take part in hands-on action and learning about environmental protection for our lakes and beaches. The total cost for the event was $699 + HST, plus staff time to arrange for the event. Some pictures from the event are attached. With respect to educational events, staff generally take the lead to arrange for events that involve external bodies or organizations. WAC members may participate in these types of events as Municipal representatives. If WAC members wish to hold an event, they may do so with staff’s agreement and involvement. WAC members may also collaborate with other community groups to put on clean-up events at the beach so long as staff are made aware and approve of such an event taking place. The WAC’s role as far as education events is concerned is to provide input at the Q4 meeting on potential events for the upcoming season, contingent on a Blue Flag status award. The Municipality is open to discussing 2024 options for educational sessions at the East Beach. It is expected that educational signage, a flag-raising, and Ecodemy educational sessions will once more be primary options for programming in 2024. Staff are continuously looking for opportunities through schools for similar partnerships. Clean-up days arranged by external groups or community organizations would also qualify, so long as they are open to the general public. It is worth noting that education even plans can change within a year. A Blue Flag status beach and organization is afforded flexibility in regards to changes to potential programming. Last, as Report CAO-55/23 is before Council on October 19, 2023 for receipt and discussion, any plans for educational events in 2024 may be extinguished should Council choose to direct staff to withhold a 2024 Blue Flag application for the Port Burwell East Beach. Educational programming is only in support and maintenance of the designation and would not be required otherwise. Should Council choose not to seek designation in 2024, this would free up some staff time and associated hourly costs to arrange and execute educational programming. RECOMMENDATION THAT Memo WAC-10/23 re 2023 Education Sessions / 2024 Blue Flag Application be received for information. Ecodemy Photos – September 9, 2023 MEMO WATERFRONT ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO: Waterfront Advisory Committee FROM: Thomas Thayer, CAO DATE: October 16, 2023 MEMO: WAC-11/23 SUBJECT: COMMITTEE PROCEDURE AND TERMS OF REFERENCE BACKGROUND At its May 16, 2023 meeting, the Waterfront Advisory Committee (WAC) received Memo WAC- 01/23 re Waterfront Advisory Committee Documents. Two of the documents attached to Memo WAC-01/23 were the Procedural By-law No. 2023-021 (Procedural By-law) and the WAC Terms of Reference (TOR). The WAC passed the following motion: Moved by: Committee Member Wolfe Seconded by: Committee Member Pieters THAT Memo WAC-01/23 re Waterfront Advisory Committee Documents be received for information; AND THAT the Municipality of Bayham’s Procedural By-law No. 2023-021 be adopted as the Procedural By-law for the Waterfront Advisory Committee for the 2022-2026 term. This item is once more being included as a high-level Memo due to Committee member interest in discussing the Agenda structure and Committee composition. These documents are not attached – they were included as attached to WAC-01/23. DISCUSSION Procedural By-law Section 5.6 of the Procedural By-law refers to Advisory Board and Committee Agenda. Subsection 5.6.1 is specific with the headings intended to comprise a Committee Agenda. This Procedural By-law applies to all of Council’s Committees for the 2022-2026 term of Council. The only heading under which Business can be discussed is V. Matters of Business. There is no Other Business section, nor is there a section for General Discussion. The intent of this structure is to ensure all discussion on matters of Committee business is handled transparently. Sections such as Other Business and/or General Discussion open the meeting up to non-urgent walk-on matters from the Committee, which is not transparent practice. The intent is to have all discussion matters on a published Agenda ahead of the meeting date and time so, if members of the public see an item in which they have interest, they may attend to listen to the discussion and disposition of the item. Non-urgent walk-on discussion items do not allow for this and are not transparent. It is understood that historic Committees did operate this way, however, as the Municipality becomes aware of areas in which to improve process and service, staff act accordingly to develop better approaches to meetings and information provision. Our Procedural By-law restricts this function for all Committees and for Council. Terms of Reference The TOR for the WAC was adopted by By-law No. 2023-014. The WAC has received a copy of these TOR. Section 3 “Members” states: The Waterfront Advisory Committee is comprised of five (5) voting members consisting of four (4) members of the public and one (1) member of Council. The appointed member of Council shall be the Chair. The Mayor may attend meetings in an ex-officio capacity and does not have a vote. The size of the WAC is consistent with the size of the Museum Advisory Committee, which operates under a similar TOR (By-law No. 2023-013) and the same Procedural By-law. Council has provided direction for each of these Committees to operate with five members and has sought to appoint individuals from across the community – all wards are represented, including the previous Blue Flag Beach Advisory Committee. Staff do not recommend amendments be made to the Committee Agenda structure, nor do we recommend changes to the Committee membership composition at this time. However, the Committee does have the ability to recommend any amendments to both, or either, to Council for a decision. Staff would advise that should a recommendation be made to Council on either of these items, staff would be supporting the status quo and, instead, would entertain comments on committee procedure and structure nearer to the end of the term. RECOMMENDATION THAT Memo WAC-11/23 re Committee Procedure and Terms of Reference be received for information. MEMO WATERFRONT ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO: Waterfront Advisory Committee FROM: Thomas Thayer, CAO DATE: October 16, 2023 MEMO: WAC-12/23 SUBJECT: 2024 COMMITTEE MEETING SCHEDULE BACKGROUND By-law No. 2023-014 establishes a Terms of Reference for the Waterfront Advisory Committee (WAC). Section 5 “Meetings” states: The Waterfront Advisory Committee will meet a minimum of four (4) times a year with Regular Meetings set quarterly by the Committee at the first meeting of the year. Additional meetings may be scheduled by the call of the Chair if required. Further, at its May 16, 2023 meeting, the WAC passed the following motion: Moved by: Committee Member Wolfe Seconded by: Committee Member Cardinal THAT Memo WAC-03/23 re Waterfront Advisory Committee Meeting Schedule be received for information; AND THAT the following meeting dates be the Regular Meetings for the Waterfront Advisory Committee for 2023:  Monday, July 17, 2023 at 5:00 pm (Beach)  Monday, October 16, 2023 at 5:00 pm (Trackless) AND THAT the first meeting of 2024 be scheduled at the October 16, 2023 meeting. DISCUSSION The following date is proposed for the first WAC meeting in 2024:  January 15, 2024 This date is the third Monday of January. Meetings will continue to take place in the Trackless Lounge at the Straffordville Community Centre from 5 to 7pm local time. At the January 2024 meeting, the WAC will establish the remaining three (3) regular meeting dates of the calendar year. RECOMMENDATION THAT Memo WAC-12/23 re 2024 Committee Meeting Schedule be received for information; AND THAT the first meeting of 2024 will take place on January 15, 2024.