January 18, 2022, at 4:00 PM

Original link

The meeting is called to order at 4:01 PM; it being noted that the following members were in remote attendance: Councillors M. Salih, J. Helmer, M. Cassidy, J. Morgan, A. Hopkins, P. Van Meerbergen, S. Turner and E. Peloza.

1.   Disclosures of Pecuniary Interest

That it BE NOTED that Councilor S. Turner disclosed a pecuniary interest in items 4.1 and 4.2, having to do with both having to do with appointments to the London Public Library Board, by indicating that his wife is employee of the London Public Library.

2.   Consent

Moved by S. Lewis

Seconded by A. Hopkins

That Consent Items 2.1 and 2.2 BE APPROVED.

Motion Passed (13 to 0)

2.1   Resignation from the Argyle Business Improvement Association

2022-01-18 Submission - Resignation from Argyle BIA

Moved by S. Lewis

Seconded by A. Hopkins

That the communication dated January 4, 2022 from R. Sidhu, Executive Director, Argyle BIA with respect to the resignation of Melanie O’Brien (Madison’s Boutique & Consignment) BE RECEIVED.

Motion Passed

2.2   Re-Establishment of the Waste Management Working Group

2022-01-18 Staff Report - Re-establishment of Waste Management Working Group

Moved by S. Lewis

Seconded by A. Hopkins

That, on the recommendation of the Deputy City Manager, Environment & Infrastructure, the Waste Management Working Group BE RE-ESTABLISHED, in accordance with the Terms of Reference as appended to the related staff report dated January 18, 2022.

Motion Passed

3.   Scheduled Items

None.

4.   Items for Direction

4.1   London Public Library Board

Moved by E. Peloza

Seconded by P. Van Meerbergen

That the following actions be taken with respect to Council appointments to the London Public Library Board:

a)     the resignation of Councillor S. Lewis, from the London Public Library Board BE ACCEPTED; and,

b)     Councillor J. Fyfe-Millar BE APPOINTED to the London Public Library Board, for the term ending November 14, 2022;

it being noted that the Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee received a communication dated December 9, 2021 from Council S. Lewis with respect to his resignation.

Motion Passed (12 to 0)

4.2   Resubmitting - London Public Library Board Vacancy

2022-01-18 Submission - Library - Resubmitting

Moved by J. Fyfe-Millar

Seconded by E. Peloza

That the following actions be taken with respect to Council appointments to the London Public Library Board:

a)     the re-submitted communication dated November 18, 2021 from M. Ciccone, CEO & Chief Librarian, London Public Library BE RECEIVED; and,

b)     Scott Andrew Collyer BE APPOINTED to the London Public Library Board, for the term ending November 14, 2022.

Motion Passed (12 to 0)

Appointment to the London Public Library Board

Majority Winner: No majority

Appointment to the London Public Library Board

Majority Winner: Scott Andrew Collyer

4.3   Full-Time Compensation Determination

2022-01-18 Submission - Fulltime Compensation Determination

Moved by S. Lewis

Seconded by P. Van Meerbergen

That the communication from Councillor M. van Holst, dated January 9, 2022, with respect to typical daytime office hours, BE RECEIVED and no action be taken.

Motion Passed (12 to 1)

5.   Deferred Matters/Additional Business

5.1   (ADDED) 6th Report of the Governance Working Group

2022-01-18 GWG Report 6

Moved by J. Morgan

Seconded by S. Lewis

That the 6th Report of the Governance Working Meeting from its meeting held on January 6, 2022 BE RECEIVED for information.

Motion Passed (13 to 0)

6.   Confidential (Enclosed for Members only.)

Moved by A. Hopkins

Seconded by E. Peloza

That the Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee convene, In Closed Session, with respect to a matter pertaining to labour relations and employee negotiations.

Motion Passed (13 to 0)

The Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee convenes, In Closed Session, from 4:27 PM to 4:51 PM.

7.   Adjournment

Moved by M. Hamou

Seconded by M. Cassidy

That the meeting BE ADJOURNED.

Motion Passed

The meeting adjourned at 4:51 PM.

Full Transcript

Transcript provided by Lillian Skinner’s London Council Archive. Note: This is an automated speech-to-text transcript and may contain errors. Speaker names are not identified.

View full transcript (30 minutes)

Colleagues, we’ll be starting in just a few moments. I’ll ask colleagues to have screens on, please. Well, colleagues, before we officially start, I’d like to welcome everyone back to SPPC and Committee of the Holes. Nice to see all our familiar faces.

I’m advised that Councillor Hillier and Councillor Van Holst will not be present at the meeting. However, I understand that Councillor Van Holst is going to make an effort to be present when we deal with one of the agenda items under 4.3. So just to make you aware, colleagues, that’s what I’m aware of in terms of absenteeism and the like. So I’d like to welcome everyone, including the public to the second meeting of the Strategic Parties and Policy Committee.

This is a virtual meeting held during the COVID-19 emergency. We’d invite you to check the city’s website for current details of COVID-19 service impacts. And meetings can be viewed via live streaming on YouTube and the city website. The City of London is committed to making every effort to provide alternate formats and communication supports for Council standing or advisory committee meetings and information upon request.

To make a request for any city service, please contact accessibility@london.ca or 519-661-2489, extension 2425 to make a request specific to this meeting, please contact SPPC@london.ca. Colleagues, I’ll look for any disclosures of the committee of interest, please. Councillor Turner. Your worship, I’m just trying to pull up the item right now, but there are a couple of items with respect to the appointments to the London Public Library Board.

I’ll declare a conflict on those as my wife as an employee of London Public Library. So noted. Thank you very much. Any other concerns or comments with regard to your interest?

Thank you, Councillor Turner. I see no others. Colleagues, we have two items on the consent agenda. One is the resignation, a resignation from the Argal Business Improvement Association 2.1 and 2.2, the re-establishment of the Waste Management Working Group.

I will look for any comments or questions or if not a motion to move those two consent agenda items unless you’d like them pulled and felt separately. Councillor Lewis. I’m prepared to move both your worship. I do have a comment on 4.1A, but wait, see if we got a seconder for the moving of the consent first.

All right, so 2.1 and 2.2, combined. Do you have a seconder? I see Councillor Hopkins. Thank you very much.

Councillor Lewis, please. Thank you, Your Worship. And through you, I just want to comment very briefly. And I’m sorry, I said 4.1 and I meant 2.0.

Yeah, we know. But you corrected me on that. The resignation from the Argal Business Improvement Association, Colleagues, I just want to draw to your attention the reality. And I’ve said this before.

I know Councillor Squire, when he was with us, mentioned this repeatedly as well. The effects of COVID-19 have not just impacted the downtown core. And here we have a resignation from a BIA board tonight as a result of a business closure. And so I just want to draw your attention to that and ask you to please keep in mind as we continue to discuss the LCRN initiatives and as we continue to support our community recovery that it’s everywhere in the city.

It is not just the downtown or OEV or Hyde Park. It’s not just one neighborhood, it’s all of them. And we have great community businesses in all of them. Unfortunately, this is an example of one small business that has made a goal for almost two years and just can’t continue anymore.

And so we’re going to lose a good BIA board member and we’re going to lose a good niche retail business in the Argyle area. And that’s sad news. I wish Ms. O’Brien all the best in her future endeavors, of course, and I reached out and extended that personally to her as well, but I just ask you to keep that in mind as we continue to deal with these situations.

You can’t sit on a BIA, you have to vacate that seat when you have to close your business. So thanks for the opportunity to just flag that for colleagues’ attention. Thanks, Casar Lewis, any other comments or questions? These are on 2.1 and 2.2 of the consent.

I see none, therefore we will call the question. Building the vote, Mr. Mayor. Councillor CASSIDY.

Yep, so it counts like— Good, Councillor CASSIDY. There’s something very weird going on in my e-scribe. It’s showing the vote, but it’s not giving me any buttons. So I will vote, yes.

Thank you very much, so noted. Mr. Chair, I post the vote to early, but I will make that correction in the report. My apologies, thank you.

The motion is carried, 13 to zero. Thank you, colleagues. I have no scheduled items, but we have three items for direction, 4.1 A and B and 4.2. Colleagues, 4.1 A deals with the resignation of Councillor Lewis from the London Public Library Board and B, a consideration of an appointment to the board where one of our colleagues, Councillor Fife Miller, has put his name forward.

I’m happy to deal with these all at once, but I’m also prepared to split them as per your wish if we have other colleagues who might feel that they would like to have their name considered for the library board made aware of any other individuals, therefore, could I get a motion to accept and receive the reports of 4.1 A and B? Councillor Ploza, seconded by Councillor van Mirberg and any comments or questions? Councillor Hopkins, please. Yeah, thank you, Mr.

Chair. And I just want to thank Councillor Fife Miller for stepping up being the downtown board member. I know how busy he is, and I’m sure he’ll be a great asset to the library board. Thank you.

Thoughtfully said, thank you very much, Councillor Ploza. Thank you, and as the remaining library board member is appointed by Council, I wanted to thank Councillor Sean Lewis for his time and dedication to the board up to this point, and I look forward to working with Councillor Fife Miller going forward, so thank you. Thank you, any other comments or questions, colleagues? Councillor Lewis, we miss you already, but please go ahead.

Thank you, Your Worship. I’m going to be really brief here. I just want to thank all the members of the library board publicly for the time I’ve had to work alongside them. It’s a great board.

The library does incredible things in our community. They’re often unsung things, but they make a huge positive difference in people’s lives, and I know that the board is in good hands with Councillor Ploza, and now Councillor Fife Miller representing us there. I know we’ve also got to fill a board vacancy with Councillor Humu joining us here, so lots of library council interaction on the agenda tonight, but it’s a great group of people over there, and I’m going to continue to follow along when I can, and I’ll just say to Councillor Ploza, I hope you encourage the board to make sure that there are one or two butter tarts available for guests when we’re allowed to meet in person again. That is what we consider shameless, shameless pitching, Councillor Lewis, Councillor Cassidy, please.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor, just a procedural question, so I know that there isn’t really a motion for Councillor Fife Miller. Are we receiving his thing, his communication? Do we have to make a nomination to him officially from the board, and if that’s the case, I’m happy to nominate Councillor Fife Miller to sit on the line of public library board.

I’ll go to the clerk just to clarify. We thought A and B might work together, but we’ll just get clarity around that. That’s a fair question. Yes, through the chair, if you refresh your screen, you should see that the motion is divided into a part A and a part B, and part B is the appointment of Councillor Fife Miller to the board.

Thank you. And the clerk has just clarified all one motion. Any other comments or questions? I appreciate that, Councillor Cassidy.

Any other comments? I see none. I’ll turn your attention then to the screen as we vote. 12-0 with one recused.

Thank you. I’d like to congratulate Councillor Stepping up, as has been indicated earlier to this appointment on the London Public Library to thank Councillor Lewis for his service as well. Colleagues, I’m going to turn your attention to 4.2 now, which is the vacancy that is a public vacancy for the library. But I am going to ask the clerk to speak to it because there will be an election that is required, and I would like her please to explain the process as we have done in past.

And that’s for the benefit of colleagues as well as the public clerk, if you would please. Thank you through the chair. The nominations, the individuals that are listed on the public agenda have been contacted because they have an application on file or have resubmitted an application for this appointment. All of these individuals are included on a slate for consideration.

Each member will have one vote, and the individual who receives an absolute majority of the voting will be considered for an appointment to the board. And if there is a tie or not a clear winner after the first ballot, the individuals with zero or the lowest number of votes will drop off and we will have a run-off ballot. Any comments or questions about the process, colleagues? We will not look for a mover and seconder to accept the appointee until we have an appointee.

So with that though, Councillor Sillied, did you have, I thought I saw your hand up a moment ago, does that still stand? Apologies, that’s just an error. All right, well, thanks very much. So we are going to be putting the names of the individuals who have agreed to allow their names to stand for the single appointment.

You will have one vote, and with that, I will turn to the clerk and ask her, please, to put those forward. Councillor, who do you have a question? Councillor Morgan. See, people are looking out for you, even when you’re on screen there, or even if I ignore you, sometimes.

Go ahead, Deputy Mayor. Yeah, thank you. I just, to my colleagues, and before we vote, previously I had declared an interest on appointments to the library board because of the members who had applied in their relationship to the board and covers of my employer. I wanted the colleagues to know, I sought formal advice from the integrity commissioner on this, and he has returned me some advice and writing, and I will be participating in this vote tonight based on that advice.

All right, so noted, thank you. Any other comments or questions before we look to the vote? Clerk, if you would, please. Vote is open.

Each member may choose one name. Councillor Turner. Based on the first round of voting, there is no majority winner, so there will be a runoff ballot presented momentarily. Runoff ballot will remove all individuals who received zero or one vote.

Benefit of the public, I wonder then, if you can just declare who the candidates are that are remaining, please, Clerk. Based on that review of the first round of voting, the names moving forward to a runoff ballot will be Scott Andrew Collier and Samuel Troso. Posing the vote, Scott Andrew Collier has received the majority, and motion was now required for that appointment. So I’ll look for a motion to appoint Scott Andrew Collier as the representative of the London Public Library, Councillor Fife Miller, seconded by Councillor Elizabeth Palosa, and with that, colleagues, we’ll turn your attention to the screen.

Posing the vote, the motion’s passed. 12 to zero with one recused. 4.3, the third item is the second determination. I’ll turn your attention to a piece of correspondence we received from one of our colleagues, Councillor Van Holst.

I don’t believe Councillor Van Holst, if he’s on the line, could he make himself known? I know that he was hoping he could come in to speak to this. He’s not in attendance, Councillors. Thank you, Your Worship.

Colleagues, I’m gonna move that we receive and take no action on this communication. And I’ll just say, well, I’ll let, see if there’s a second or first, and then I’ll just offer a brief comment on my rationale. If there’s a seconder, I’ll come back to you. Is there a seconder for this?

I see Councillor Van Mirbergen. All right, Councillor Lewis, go ahead. Thank you, Your Worship. Colleagues, we have a process in place.

The Council Compensation Task Force is an independent body that’s already working on this. We as members of council have an opportunity to provide individual input on our thoughts. There’s a public input session as well. I think it would be really inappropriate for us as council to provide further direction partway through the process to the compensation task force.

You know, I will say I actually agree that council is very much a full-time sort of job. Many of us put in beyond 40 hours a week, but this is not the way to have that conversation. I think we need to let the independent body do its work and come back to us with some recommendations from there. Thank you, any other comments or questions?

Excuse me, just a moment, Colleagues. I see none. This has been moved and seconded with that, we’ll call the question. Councillor Hopkins.

I don’t see the vote coming up, but I will vote yes. Closing the vote, the motion’s passed. Thank you very much, Colleagues. I’ll turn your attention under item five to deferred matters and additional business.

This is an added item. It’s the sixth report of governance working group. I’ll call on the deputy mayor to make that report, please. Yes, thanks, Colleagues.

So on your added agenda, you’ll find the sixth report of the governance working group. As per council’s direction, we held two engagement sessions with advisory committee members, although we did not make any decisions based on this particular report, it was simply to hold those consultations, receive their information. The meeting that we had, the debate discussion and forwarded some decisions on occurred yesterday. And so as per what we normally do, that would go to the next SPPC meeting.

And so this one is simply recognizing the consultation periods that we had, who was present and the motion to receive that information. So I’m happy to put the entire report on the floor for Colleagues approval. Thanks, so no, did you have a seconder for that? I see Councillor Lewis, thank you.

Comments, questions with respect to the governance working group report. This motion received the report. Councillor Almer, please. Thank you.

I just wanted to thank council colleagues for directing that consultation to occur. I attended both of those meetings where we heard from the advisory committee members directly. And I think it was quite productive to listen into what they had to say and they identified a number of issues, I think with the recommendations, but also broader issues that I think we’ll need to tackle. I really appreciated the discussion.

I know it was quite a lot of time, but I think it was well spent. noted, thank you very much, Councillor. Any other comments or questions with respect to receiving this report? Councillor Cassidy, please.

Thank you, Your Worship. I just want to agree with Councillor Halmer just said and just to note as well that the participation, the people that showed up, it was a good number of people that came out to both sessions of the governance working group. And I think they were very appreciative of the time that we spent with them and it was very valuable. So it was, as Councillor Halmer said, time well spent.

And I’m grateful to council for going ahead and directing the governance working group to hold these sessions. I know that there was some dispute over that at the SPBC when we discussed this, but I know that the members of the advisory committee were grateful to have the time with us. So thank you to council colleagues for directing the working group to conduct these sessions. Thank you, Councillor Cashier, Councillor Turner.

Thanks, I want to spend a lot of time reoccurring everything everybody said, but I agree with all of those. Additionally, thanks to the chair for holding it in the format to allow for free to do an open discussion. I think that really showed those opportunities to really explore ideas and thoughts with each other and in a bit more of an open dialogue than is normally permitted within our Roberts Rules format. And I think it showed that it can work.

And I hope we’ll look for opportunities to explore that where we might have less formal committing opportunities and discussions or even within a formal structure to be able to allow those opportunities to occur once in a while. I think it really improved quite worthwhile. Thank you, and as I recall, we did that once about not quite three years ago when we were discussing rapid transit options and the like. And again, that was Councillor Turner’s direction as well.

Councillor Silly, I see your hand up. I don’t have my hand up, I don’t know why that keeps indicating. Could be my cursor, but I don’t think so. All right, thank you very much.

And it has been before for the record. I want you to know any other comments or questions colleagues? Councillor Fe like another, please. Thank you, Your Worship, and through you.

Again, I won’t rehash everything, but I will say as someone who came in who’s been new here, I found the time that was spent extremely productive. I found it very informative about the committees as much as a learning tool from a perspective of someone new coming in. So there was a great deal of time, but I thought it was time really well spent to get a better idea of exactly where we’re gonna move forward with these committees. So to the Chair, thank you for the time spent and really appreciate it.

Thank you, any other comments or questions? I see none. So with that, to receive the report, the sixth report of the governance working group, we will call the question. Opposing the vote, the motion’s passed, 13 to zero.

Thank you very much. And one item that we were gonna be dealing with in confidential session, all up for a mover and a seconder to do that. And then I will ask the clerk to advise the public the issue that we’re dealing with. So I look for a mover.

I see Councillor Hopkins seconded by Councillor Palosa. Clerk, if you could please. Thank you, through the Chair. The committee will be considering one item and it is a matter pertaining to labor relations and employee negotiations.

So noted. So with that, colleagues, we will call the question. Opposing the vote, the motion’s passed. So we’ll just ask for a couple of minutes.

And to the public, we will be shutting off the streaming but returning back into public session at the end of confidential. So with that, a few moments, please. I ask colleagues for screens on, please. Just ask the clerk to confirm quorum.

Your worship, we have quorum. Thanks very much, so with that as well. I’ll now turn to the Deputy Mayor to report out from our confidential session, please. Yeah, I’m happy to report progress on the matter for which we went into camera, which is listed on the added agenda.

So noted, thanks very much. So with that then, colleagues, I look for a motion to adjourn. I see Councillor Hamou seconded by Councillor Cassidy. Can we do a hand vote on this clerk?

All those in favor with a hand vote? That motion’s passed. Colleagues, thanks for your kind attention today. We will see you again soon.

Bye for now.