Open Council

13th Meeting of the Civic Works Committee

Open Council

13th Meeting of the Civic Works Committee

October 2, 2024, at 9:30 AM

Original link

The meeting was called to order at 9:31 AM.

1.   Disclosures of Pecuniary Interest

That it BE NOTED that no pecuniary interests were disclosed.

2.   Consent

Moved by D. Ferreira

Seconded by J. Pribil

That Items 2.1 to 2.7 BE APPROVED.

Motion Passed (3 to 0)

2.1   10th Report of the Integrated Transportation Community Advisory Committee

2024-09-18 ITCAC Report

Moved by D. Ferreira

Seconded by J. Pribil

That the 10th Report of the Integrated Transportation Community Advisory Committee, from the meeting held on September 18, 2024, BE RECEIVED.

Motion Passed

2.2   2025 Stormwater Management Remediation Project Consultant Award

2024-10-02 SR 2025 Stormwater Management Remediation Project - Part 1

2024-10-02 SR 2025 Stormwater Management Remediation Project - Part 2

Moved by D. Ferreira

Seconded by J. Pribil

That, on the recommendation of the Deputy City Manager, Environment and Infrastructure, the following actions be taken with respect to the staff report, dated October 2, 2024, related to the 2025 Stormwater Management Remediation Project Consultant Award:

a)    Matrix Solutions Inc. BE APPOINTED Consulting Engineers in the amount of $119,279.00, including contingency (excluding HST) in accordance with Section 15.2 (d) of the City of London’s Procurement of Goods and Services Policy;

b)    the financing for the project BE APPROVED in accordance with the “Sources of Financing Report” as appended to the above-noted staff report;

c)    the Civic Administration BE AUTHORIZED to undertake all the administrative acts that are necessary in connection with this project;

d)    the approvals given, herein, BE CONDITIONAL upon the Corporation entering into a formal contract; and,

e)    the Mayor and the City Clerk BE AUTHORIZED to execute any contract or other documents, if required, to give effect to these recommendations. (2024-A05)

Motion Passed

2.3   Contract Amendment - RFP 17-20 Detailed Design for Sunningdale Road Improvements

2024-10-02 SR Contract Amend RFP 17-20 Sunningdale Road Improvements - Part 1

2024-10-02 SR Contract Amend RFP 17-20 Sunningdale Road Improvements - Part 2

Moved by D. Ferreira

Seconded by J. Pribil

That, on the recommendation of the Deputy City Manager, Environment and Infrastructure, the following actions be taken with respect to the staff report dated October 2, 2024, related to the Contract Amendment for RFP 17-20 Detailed Design for Sunningdale Road Improvements:

a)    the contract with AECOM Canada Limited BE INCREASED by $1,416,336 to a total amended value of $2,184,081(excluding HST) to complete the detailed design and tendering services for the road improvements to Sunningdale Road in accordance with Section 20.3 (e) of the Procurement of Goods and Services Policy;

b)    the financing for this contract amendment BE APPROVED as set out in the Sources of Financing Report as appended to the above-noted staff report;

c)    the Civic Administration BE AUTHORIZED to undertake all the administrative acts that are necessary in connection with the contract award and contract amendment; and,

d)    the Mayor and the City Clerk BE AUTHORIZED to execute any contract or other documents, if required, to give effect to these recommendations. (2025-T06)

Motion Passed

2.4   W12A Landfill Community Mitigative Measures Fund - W12A Community Beautification Plan

2024-10-02 SR W12A Landfill Community Mitigative Measures Fund - W12A Community Beautification Plan

Moved by D. Ferreira

Seconded by J. Pribil

That, on the recommendation of the Deputy City Manager, Environment and Infrastructure, and based on the approved motion of the W12A Landfill Public Liaison Committee, funding of $60,000 BE APPROVED from the W12A Landfill Community Mitigative Measures Fund for the preparation of a W12A Community Beautification Plan. (2024-F11)

Motion Passed

2.5   Pond Mills Pumping Station Single Source Pump Purchase

2024-10-02 SR Pond Mills Pumping Station Single Source Pump Purchase - Part 1

2024-10-02 SR Pond Mills Pumping Station Single Source Pump Purchase - Part 2

Moved by D. Ferreira

Seconded by J. Pribil

That on the recommendation of the Deputy City Manager, Environment and Infrastructure, the following actions be taken with respect to the staff report dated October 2, 2024, related to the Pond Mills Pumping Station Single Source Pump Purchase under Section 14.4(d) of the City’s Procurement of Goods and Services Policy:

a)     the price submitted by Directrik Inc. of $69,268.00, CAD (excluding HST) for the supply of one vertical turbine pump BE ACCEPTED;

b)    the financing for this project BE APPROVED as set out in the Sources of Financing Report as appended to the above-noted staff report;

c)    the Civic Administration BE AUTHORIZED to undertake all the administrative acts that are necessary in connection with this purchase;

d)    the approval given, herein, BE CONDITIONAL upon the Corporation entering into a formal contract; and,

e)     the Mayor and the City Clerk BE AUTHORIZED to execute any contract or other documents, if required, to give effect to these recommendations. (2024-E03)

Motion Passed

2.6   Mud Creek East Branch Phase 2A - RFT-2023-128 - Oxford Street Culvert Installation - Construction Cost Increases

2024-10-02 SR Mud Creek East Branch Phase 2A - Oxford St Culvert Installation - Part 1

2024-10-02 SR Mud Creek East Branch Phase 2A - Oxford St Culvert Installation - Part 2

2024-10-02 SR Mud Creek East Branch Phase 2A - Oxford St Culvert Installation - Part 3

Moved by D. Ferreira

Seconded by J. Pribil

That, on the recommendation of the Deputy City Manager, Environment and Infrastructure, the following actions be taken with respect to staff report dated October 2, 2024, related to the Mud Creek East Branch Phase 2A – RFT-2023-128 – Oxford Street Culvert Installation – Construction Cost Increase:

a)    the Mud Creek East Branch Phase 2A – Culvert Installation Project (Tender RFT-2023-128) construction contract value with Birnam Construction Ltd. BE INCREASED by $900,000.00 including contingency, for a total contract value of $4,256,250.56 (excluding HST) in accordance with Section 20.3 (e) of the Procurement of Goods and Services Policy;

b)    the Contract Administration fees for AECOM Canada Ltd. BE INCREASED in accordance with the estimate on file, by $177,117 (excluding HST), from $172,022.25 to a total upset amount of $349,139.25 in accordance with Section 15.2 (g) of the Procurement of Goods and Services Policy;

c)    the financing for these projects BE APPROVED as set out in the Sources of Financing Report as appended to the above-noted staff report;

d)    the Civic Administration BE AUTHORIZED to undertake all the administrative acts that are necessary in connection with these projects; and,

e)    the Mayor and the City Clerk BE AUTHORIZED to execute any contract or other documents, if required, to give effect to these recommendations. (2024-T04)

Motion Passed

2.7   Appointment of Consulting Engineer - Highbury Avenue North Sidewalk and Cycle Track - Detailed Design and Tendering

2024-10-02 SR Highbury Ave N Sidewalk and Cycle Track Detailed Design and Tendering - Part 1

2024-10-02 SR Highbury Ave N Sidewalk and Cycle Track Detailed Design and Tendering - Part 2

Moved by D. Ferreira

Seconded by J. Pribil

That, on the recommendation of the Deputy City Manager, Environment and Infrastructure, the following actions be taken with respect to the staff report dated October 2, 2024, related to the Appointment of Consulting Engineer - Highbury Avenue North Sidewalk and Cycle Track – Detailed Design and Tendering:

a)    BT Engineering Inc. BE APPOINTED to carry out the detailed design and tendering in the amount of $145,662 (excluding HST) in accordance with the Procurement of Goods and Services Policy;

b)    the financing for this project BE APPROVED as set out in the Sources of Financing Report as appended to the above-noted report;

c)    the Civic Administration BE AUTHORIZED to undertake all the administrative acts that are necessary in connection with this project;

d)    the approvals given, herein, BE CONDITIONAL upon the Corporation entering into a formal contract with the consultant for the work; and,

e)    the Mayor and the City Clerk BE AUTHORIZED to execute any contract or other documents, if required, to give effect to these recommendations. (2024-T04)

Motion Passed

3.   Scheduled Items

3.1   9th Report of the Environmental Stewardship and Action Community Advisory Committee

2024-09-04 ESACAC REPORT

Moved by J. Pribil

Seconded by D. Ferreira

That the following actions be taken with respect to the 9th Report of the Environmental Stewardship and Action Community Advisory Committee (ESACAC):

a)    the following actions be taken with respect to the Climate Change Adaptation Discussion Primer Climate Emergency Action Plan / Get Involved London presentation:

i)    the presentation from M. Fabro, Manager, Climate Change Planning, BE RECEIVED; and,

ii)    the Climate Emergency Action Plan Working Group BE REQUESTED to review and report back at a future Environmental Stewardship and Action Community Advisory Committee meeting;

b)    clauses 1.1, 2.1, 3.1 to 3.5, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2 and 6.1 BE RECEIVED;

it being noted that a verbal delegation from B. Samuels, Chair, ESACAC, with respect to this matter, was received.

Motion Passed (3 to 0)

3.2   Memorandum of Understanding with the London Chamber of Commerce for Action on Climate Change

2024-10-02 SR MoU with the London Chamber of Commerce for Action on Climate Change

Moved by D. Ferreira

Seconded by J. Pribil

That, on the recommendation of the Deputy City Manager, Environment and Infrastructure, the proposed by-law, as appended to the staff report dated October 2, 2024, BE INTRODUCED at the Municipal Council meeting to be held on October 15, 2024 to:

a)    authorize and approve a Memorandum of Understanding, as appended to the above-noted by-law, with the London Chamber of Commerce with respect to advancing joint climate action objectives with the mutual understanding that the combined expertise, influence and commitment are better applied together to support common goals; and,

b)    authorize the Mayor and the City Clerk to execute the above-noted Memorandum of Understanding;

it being noted that a verbal delegation from G. Henderson, London Chamber of Commerce, with respect to this matter, was received. (2024-L15)

Motion Passed (3 to 0)

4.   Items for Direction

None.

5.   Deferred Matters/Additional Business

None.

6.   Confidential

Moved by D. Ferreira

Seconded by J. Pribil

That the Civic Works Committee convene In Closed Session for the purpose of considering the following:

6.1 Personal Matter/Identifiable Individual

A personal matter pertaining to identifiable individuals, including municipal employees, with respect to the 2025 Mayor’s New Year’s Honour List.

Motion Passed (3 to 0)

The Civic Works Committee convened In Closed Session from 10:29 AM to 10:33 AM.

7.   Adjournment

Moved by J. Pribil

Seconded by D. Ferreira

That the meeting BE ADJOURNED.

Motion Passed

The meeting adjourned at 10:35 AM.

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 (1 hour, 18 minutes)

[10:07] Good morning everyone, it looks like we do have quorum, so we’ll get ourselves started.

[18:23] Welcome to the 13th meeting of the Civic Works Committee. Please check the city website for additional meeting detail information. Meetings can be viewed via live streaming on YouTube and the city website. The city of London is situated on the traditional lands of the Yarnishnabek, the Haudenosaunee, the Lupine Walk, and the Adwondron. We honor and respect the history, languages, and culture of the diverse indigenous people who call this territory home.

[18:56] The city of London is currently home to many First Nations, Métis, and Inuit today. As representatives of the people of the city of London, we are grateful to have the opportunity to work and live in this territory. Welcome members, we do have quorum counselors, Trisole, and Frank will not be able to attend this morning. The city of London is committed to making every effort to provide alternate formats and communication supports for meetings upon request.

[19:31] To make a request specific to this meeting, please contact cwc@london.ca or 519-661-2489 extension-2425. Looking for any disclosures of pecuniary interest. We see none moving on to our consent items. We have a number of consent items looking for a motion to put them on the floor before we start a discussion. Councillor Ferrera and seconded by Councillor Pribble.

[20:12] And I’ll open it up. I wanna welcome Councillor Ramen here to Pacific Works as well. So any questions, comments from committee members first? Councillor Ferrera. Thank you chair. I won’t ask too many questions. I guess I’ll start with, I guess the contract amendment for the detailed design for Sunnydale Road improvements. Just asking, I saw that the report kind of makes mention that we’re extending it from one road.

[20:44] I forget what it is, black, water, blue, blue, something. I can’t remember the roads, but it was extending it. It seems from one road to the other. So just a few hundred meters. I just wanted to know, is that’s the only change for the road improvements? Mr. McQuay. Through the chair, thank you for the question. That is certainly one component of extending the limits easterly from blue bell to black water. And that’s a function of utility relocations and also the storm water management.

[21:23] So it’s a logical phase noting that works over to Sunnydale are also programmed in the longer term. And there’s other components such as more utility of negotiations and engineering work associated with relocations. There is updated work required for environmental approvals, particularly associated with the Medway Creek Bridge, excess soils requirements of a variety of work. But you’re right that the extension of the limits is a key component of that.

[21:57] And it’s all part of the revised phasing in order to manage risks and deliver the project. Councillor? Thank you. Thank you chair. Two more questions. I have to touch on the Palm Mills pumping station, the vertical oriented turbine pump. Just I guess for interest, I see that it’s a hundred horsepower. Now I’m not an engineer, but that does seem kind of low. I just wanted to know, I was doing some research on the pumps, but I wanted to know like a hundred horsepower, is that normal? I guess the industry to so to speak, the other pumps relatively speaking that I saw that were also discussed in the report, I think we’re around 75 horsepower.

[22:37] So I guess just kind of like a summary on just the amount of power that it has and maybe even gallons per minute that it’s able to move as well. Ms. Chair? Thank you, Madam Chair. I’m actually not going to answer the question, but I did want to take the opportunity to introduce our relatively new division manager of water operations, Johnny Bose, who will have that answer for you. Through the chair. Yes, thank you for the question. So a hundred horsepower is very standard for a pump station of this size.

[23:13] And typically we will have multiple pumps at these sites, they’re running conjunction with one another, and we’ll have a third one on standby. So it has to do the pump sizes, typically often have to do with the footprint of the facility itself. These older stations are located in kind of tight areas. So multiple smaller pumps would suit as opposed to one larger pump where if that one pump fails, we might not have space for a second redundant one. To put it in the context, the six of the eight pump stations that we currently have in the water system, the pumps range from 25, 50, 75, 100 horsepower is typical depending on the size.

[23:50] But if you look at our two larger sites, Arva pump station on Medway Road, and then our southeast reservoir pump station, those pumps are 900, 1000 horsepower, like very, very large pumps. So it all depends on what the demand for that area of the system is hydraulically is what would be required for that. Thank you, Mr. Bose, and welcome to Civic Works Committee as well. Councillor. Thank you, Chair. I won’t go too much longer, thank you for that answer. And I would love to go check that station out if it’s a possibility at one point. Okay, so my last question would be the Highbury Avenue North sidewalk and cycle tracks.

[24:28] So just a simple question. Is there any plans to bring that further than beyond the bridge? ‘Cause I know Fanshawe Park Road is right up there and there’s a neighborhood up there too. I think it’s where pot rush lane is. So I just wanted to know if there’s any plans to extend that further than what we see in the report. Mr. McRae. The impetus for this project is driven by the sidewalk. The cycle track is part of the package of Boulevard improvements.

[25:06] North of the river, the sidewalk exists. So it’s not envisioned as not requiring near-term work. That said, as part of the mobility master plan and on ongoing annual programs, we could look to that area for a matching Boulevard cycle track. Councillor. Good chair, no further questions. Thanks for the answers for some of them. It was just, you know, the pump was my interest. So I appreciate it. Thank you for your questions.

[25:39] Moving on, Councillor Pribble. Thank you, and sort of chair to the staff. I’ll start with 2.3, which is the Sunnydale Road as well. We do have the issue already from Richmond in terms of relocation of the pipeline at east of Richmond going towards Adelaide. I didn’t know to understand either. Why don’t we, if we are dealing with the engineering, why don’t we take it all the way to Adelaide and potentially even Highbury? All the way, if we already doing it, why don’t we look at a big picture?

[26:12] And then I do realize that it says here that, you know, the Sunnydale improvements through the Adelaide Street intersection will be coordinated with the consideration of the Adelaide Street corridor in the mobility master plan. Yes, that’s great, but again, why can’t we look at it? And if we already giving it all the way from Wonderland, why can we go at least to Adelaide? Or why can’t we go all the way to Highbury? So we have our clear vision and explore all the options we have. Councillor, this is the one on Sunnydale, 2.3, and looking for, why aren’t we doing a bigger picture with this project?

[26:59] Through the cherry, it’s a reasonable question. We certainly have near-term plans to extend the works through Adelaide, like Sunnydale, through Adelaide Street. And it’s just a function of keeping the consultant’s assignment focused on the priority projects and breaking it down into phases, but that is a near-term priority. Extension of improvements over to Highbury would require identification in a master plan. It’s not currently in the smart moves transportation master plan.

[27:33] That kind of consideration comes through the mobility master plan that’s underway, and there’ll be consultation on the infrastructure recommendations, such as that later this year. Councillor, thank you and to follow up, through the chair, so I understand then, why not all the way to Highbury, but why not all the way to Adelaide? Why can we look at already right now, engineering, and so we see the clear options, and we know the pipeline where it’s going across by canvas, but why can we go all the way to Adelaide, so we have division where we want to go?

[28:13] Mr. McQuaid. There is a project extending the improvements through to Adelaide. Working on the design at this time, we’re working on a phasing approach, primarily driven by the Imperial Oil and utility relocations associated with it, but there are near-term plans to extend the work through Adelaide Street, and that will flow through a separate consultant assignment, just to manage the scope, and to keep the consultant focused on the priorities and the phases as we want to roll them out.

[28:53] Thank you, so I understand that there was going to be two different consultants that will be engineering groups, that will be dealing with one part, and then the second part. How do we coordinate to work together then? Then one is going to be focusing on the Adelaide Sunningdale area, and let’s say 100 meters to the west, and then the other one to the east. How do they coordinate that actually it comes together, and it’s the best for our city? To the chair, just to clarify, it’s not necessarily a different consultant.

[29:31] It could be the same consultant, and that’s one of the mechanisms that we use to manage consultant performance. So when I refer to it as a separate assignment, it could be, and probably most likely, will be with the same consultant, so there’s continuity in the corridor, and knowledge of the adjacent phases, breaking the work down into phases, helps us manage the consultants, and let them know that their work on one phase is important for them to obtain the future phases of work, so that they’re incentivized to do a good job.

[30:11] Councillor? Thank you, and just in case, and again, it’s not just this project, it’s just for me, for my knowledge. So let’s say if there’s someone for the phase two, let’s say will be the intersection, Adelaide Sunningdale, will be a different consultant. Do we coordinate it, or do they work together? But again, so they come up with the best picture, best for our city. So do we coordinate it between the two consultants, or do we say consultant A, consultant B, get together guys, come up with the best?

[30:47] I’m just trying to understand it, how we put the pieces of puzzle the best together. Mr. McQuay. Through the chair. So that phase, since the current consultant AECOM did the environmental assessment, it will likely be awarded to AECOM, so that there’s continuity amongst the project team, so the same consultant for the entire Sunningdale corridor. There are instances where we have two different consultants working in proximity to one another for various reasons, and that is when the role of city staff to coordinate the projects is important.

[31:30] Thank you, no more questions regarding this one. 2.4, which is the landfill, and there will be sort of a chair to Mr. Stanford. I know I do attend the meetings, but I just want to make sure that everything that is covered is also per the committee members, and it’s fully supported by the membership. Through the chair, as you’re aware with public liaison committee, this idea came forward from that group. We were very supportive of the staff, that results in the report coming forward today. We have captured what we believe is the good practices that we put forward in the request for proposals.

[32:08] We believe it meets the intent, and most important, meets the intent of good planning policies, and working forward with our colleagues in a number of different areas. What we see here today, this report, when public was shared with the public liaison committee, I’ve not heard anything since in the last week or so, so we’re at the point where what you have before you today is a very fascinating and a unique project on working on a landscaping, essentially, project around the landfill site. That is the opportunity for many different enhancements to make it much more of an attractive area in an area of a city that is often cited as just a landfill only.

[32:46] Well, this has an opportunity to bring in some other amenities that meet the needs of the local community in the city. Thank you for that answer, and I’m also very happy to see that because I do think the beautification and for us to improve the area is very important. And as I said, VR, the entire city is using this area and the beautification and anything, how we can improve it, is absolutely fantastic and certainly very respectful to the neighbors. And again, majority is coming from the community mitigative measures fund, which the funds are there, and that’s exactly what the funds are there for to make it better for the residents around, so thank you for that.

[33:27] And the last one is 2.7, and through the chair, it’s actually, to be honest with you, it’s more of a comment. I’m very happy to see that, even though it is not in my ward, there are a lot of residents in my ward that are coming down the hill, and then they wanna go across to their adjacent plaza, and I had this request frequently from my resident, so I’m really happy to see that, and hopefully it’s gonna be implemented soon, so thank you for addressing that, and that is the 2.7, the high-pressure sidewalk. Thank you all, no more questions.

[34:03] Thank you, Councillor, and I noticed that Councillor Elizabeth Ploza is with us online. I will go to Councillor Ramen first, and then Councillor Ploza, I’ll go to you. Councillor Ramen, welcome. Thank you, and through the chair, my first question pertains to the report on the stormwater management remediation project, and the consultant contract award. Specifically, it’s in regards to the next steps, that’s outlined in 2.3.

[34:37] So in that part of the report, it says that the tendering by spring 2025, and all construction is expected to complete it by the end of 2025. I’m just wondering what kind of notification residents in the neighborhood would receive with respect to the design of that project as it moves forward. You through the chair, so typically we do send out advanced notification of these projects to the residents, that the construction is going to be taking place. So this is designed in a little bit different sense than say like an infrastructure renewal project, whereas the design on this is in terms of the amount of sediment removal that needs to be done, repairs to pathways, access, that sort of thing.

[35:22] So it’s a little bit different, in that it’s really more maintenance. But that said, there are rooms we do in improvements of pathways and so on that have been impacted out as well. So residents will receive that notification. That this is going on so that if they have concerns that they would like the team to address, we can do that. Councillor. Thank you. And with reference to the Sunningdale 6B pond, there’s considerable pathway disruption from all of the additional invasive species growth, causing the pathway to basically crumble or creep buckle in certain spots, as well as there’s a portion that isn’t necessarily connected to the stormwater management pond, but is almost like a runoff area that’s separate, that is continuously flooding in the area and causing the trail to be flooded around that area in the former nine hole golf course that exists on that side.

[36:31] And I’m sure you guys are aware of that. But, and I know I contacted your team to get some answers as well. I’m just wondering what residents can expect in terms of addressing some of those concerns and if that will be part of the topic that, or part of the scope of the project. And I know part of it is potentially, but not all of it. So I’m just wondering if you might be able to comment on that. Sure, thank you through the chair. So yes, we do typically look at everything that’s happening within that swim block when we do this work, since we are going in and causing disruption.

[37:06] As for the specifics for that particular swim facility, I’m not privy to the maximum at this point, but I will go to Mr. Weber and see if he has anything to add on that. Thank you, through the chair. For sure, we have been made aware of those concerns. Although this area is not part of the same stormwater management block, it is just immediately east of this pond and very near to the outlet of the facility as well. So it is something that we will take a closer look at during the design phase.

[37:38] And if there are some quick wins, some opportunity to improve safety in that location, then we’ll definitely review that and consider it as part of the project. And Councilor? Thank you. Just a quick question about wildlife mitigation in the area as we go through this process of some rehabilitation in these stormwater ponds. There are two beavers that are near and dear to the neighborhood, Haley and Justin Beaver. And for that reason, we wanna make sure that their habitat is preserved.

[38:14] So I’m just wanting to check in and see what steps will be taken. Taking care of the two beavers. For sure, thank you. Go ahead. Through the chair, thanks for that information. We weren’t aware of that, but it is standard and it is standard for us to review all wildlife in the area, including beavers. We work closely with the Upper Thames Conservation Authority and doing so and planning for the project. So yeah, that’ll be something where that will be on our radar and now that we know their names, that’s helpful as well. So we appreciate that too, but all kidding aside, we do take it seriously and we try to coexist with the wildlife and care for their wellbeing.

[38:55] Thank you. Councilor? Thank you. I appreciate the answer to that question and I will let residents know that our beavers will be protected. I’m looking to move on to the Sunningdale Road Improvement Contract for my next series of questions, specifically around the phasing of the project. I see that with the contract extension, we’re looking to find some efficiencies within the phasing as well. And I know I’ve had extensive conversations with the team about that and appreciate their openness to the conversation.

[39:32] This is something residents are very interested in, of course, with the phase one of this project, we’re looking at the Richmond and Sunningdale intersection and it says still that we’re pending subject to final approvals. I’m just wondering if we have any information on where we are with that. Thank you and through the chair, yes, the Sunningdale Richmond intersection has been an important project for the neighborhoods.

[40:08] We’ve certainly heard similar concerns about an interest in seeing the project proceed. I think we’re in fairly good shape in terms of the final approvals. There are some details associated with the work to finalize with Imperial Oil and some utility relocations but otherwise the project looks to be in good shape for construction starting next year. Councillor. Thank you, glad to hear that.

[40:42] As we continue to move through the phases, I see that we’re looking at a 2A and 2B phase that involves some additional design work and construction work to happen in 2025. I know that that’s of significance because we’re looking to move on this as quickly as possible. In the report, you mentioned that there’s some work being done with some of the developers in the area to bring services at the same time. I’m just wondering if you might be able to comment on how that is planned out.

[41:18] Mr. Dales. Thank you through the chair. So yes, those discussions are ongoing related to coordination with development occurring along the corridor. And certainly that’s important to aspect of the ongoing design to ensure sort of those efficiencies can be achieved through the design and ultimately the construction process. Thank you. And for phase 2A and I’ll actually stick with phase 2A, the Wonderland Road to Medway Creek Bridge portion is there any sign off needed by Imperial Oil?

[42:03] Through the chair. So for that section, no, we’re outside of the regulatory area related to the gas line. Wonderful. Is there an opportunity if let’s say we’re still on hold with some of our permitting with Imperial? Is there a way to move that phase of the project forward separately while we await further approvals? Mr. Dales. Thank you through the chair.

[42:36] So we are looking at those opportunities, but within this section, it is sensitive from an environmental perspective. So we’re dealing with some of those issues and really looking at those opportunities to advance it, but it will be subject to those final approvals as well. Okay, sorry, I must be confused ‘cause I thought phase 2A is up to the bridge, not including the bridge. So I understand that phase 2B has environmental approvals that have to happen, but I’m just wondering on phase 2A.

[43:15] So through the chair, the sequencing that we’ve identified here does give us that flexibility to combine phases, but again, we want to ensure that we have those, all of the approvals in place, including the environmental aspects. Thank you. And so for construction timelines, technically phase 1 and phase 2A could be done relatively at the same time if the design team and the contractors were amenable to it. Through the chair.

[43:53] So we will be looking at those opportunities to advance the 2A, but as we’ve stated in the report, we could see some activities, some early activities occur within the phase 2A, but essentially we’d be looking for construction, major construction to start in 2026. Councillor. Thank you. Driving in on Sunnydale this morning, I can tell you that the community can’t wait till 2026 for mitigations at this point.

[44:27] Construction along the Fanshawe Park Road corridor right now in Richmond corridor, sorry, is obviously complicating traffic in the area, but to what extent is really unknown at this point? My concern is that we finish up the intersection of Fanshawe and Richmond and traffic actually doesn’t change in terms of pattern and volume on Sunnydale because of the amount of growth that has happened in the northwest part of the city. So I don’t think we have the opportunity to really wait any longer. The environmental assessment for this project was done in 2013 and we’re still sitting here at the same timeline basically with new phasing on this project.

[45:09] And it’s a real concern to residents. It’s right now people are running across Sunnydale Road with no sidewalks trying to get to bus stops, especially in the metallands area. I know we’ve spoken about some temporary mitigations in the interim, but those still are not coming till 2025. Traffic is backed up all day long across Sunnydale. And there’s really at this point that the timeline is really challenging for people to wrap their heads around.

[45:44] One of the things I’m trying to better understand is what tools we have available at the city level as we continue to prove more development in the corridor. And I want to be very clear that I will not be approving any additional development without a holding provision in this area, in this corridor, until we have an understanding of where we are going with this road improvement. ‘Cause I don’t think at this point, we can continue to approve development in an area where we are still in some cases very unsure whether or not we’ll be able to move forward because of some approvals.

[46:21] So I hope our partners, including Imperial Oil, will get to the table with some serious negotiations so that we can move forward. But until that time, I plan not to support any applications for additional planning in the area until we’re able to deal with this substantial issue in the northwest part of the city. And I hope my colleagues in the area will do the same. Thank you, Councillor, for those comments. And if I could just add to that, I think with the increase of development, we are experiencing challenges with our infrastructure projects.

[47:02] And I do feel your concern no matter what part of the city, I think we’re all experiencing the growth in our infrastructure behind. And obviously, we don’t have those tools to bring forward projects because I think we’ll all be fighting for those tools as well. And I do sympathize and sympathize with staff a little bit and how you manage these projects. So I really do appreciate your comments, Councillor. Yeah, just to follow up.

[47:36] So this isn’t my concern with staff. It’s my concern with Imperial Oil. And it’s my concern that they have an absolute sign-off and authority in a corridor that is developing very fast. And what we’re seeing is their continual leverage that they’re using against the city to be able to hold up projects. And it’s just at this point, if the city is to move and to grow the way it needs to, we need a willing partner to get to the table and solve this issue.

[48:09] Thank you for that clarification. Moving on, Councillor Palosa, welcome. Good morning, Madam Chair and committee. Thank you for hearing me today. Just here briefly to speak about, I am 2.4 being the W12A Landfield Community Mitigation Fund. Thank you to staff for working on this. I’ve been attending those community meetings for about six years. And it does take some time to get to consensus, though they came to it in this case.

[48:41] So happy for your committee’s support on it. I’ll also be able to speak to it at council, realizing that we don’t always think of the landfill areas being beautiful, but this is their neighborhood and their home. And this is a project they’d like to see and realizing we are currently expanding W12A and going out vertically that these trees can help provide some visual screening as well to the area and some can be beautification as well to the residents in the area and those outs. Using that area, recognizing the plan where tennis courts recently received some upgrades too, that’s being well received out in the area.

[49:17] And just thank you to staff, Mr. Lewis and Mr. Stanford, as these meetings aren’t always agreeable. Lots of passion in the room being discussed. Realizing this area was annexed in the city years ago and some of these are still original residents. So thank you to everyone for their support of this and for the community litigation funds and then the city’s beautification funds to help make this project even bigger. Just thank you. Thank you for being here with us as well.

[49:52] And if the committee will allow me just as a quick follow-up on the W12A landfill community mitigation measures fund, click question to staff on how much money is existing in that fund. I know as we go forward and approve this and just wanna just double check. Madam Chair, over the years the fund has been building based on the number of tons that arrive at the site. It currently sits at about 1.2 million. So a project of this size can easily be accommodative. Good to know and really supportive of beautifying landfill.

[50:29] I know other municipalities do it and I’m really pleased as we grow as a city to take advantage and beautify some of these areas and create public engagement as well as land becomes a little bit more valuable. And the need for parks in our city grows as well. So thank you for that. And I do have one last quick question on 2.6, which is the Mud Creek East Branch phase. I know we’ve got some increases and costs there.

[51:06] I’ve got a, I’m just wondering how our development charges or will this be sort of funded by development charges? I’m never sure with all the changes from the provincial government as we do these projects who pays for what? So just a bit of clarification. Thank you through the chair. So, yes, so because this is a project that has a significant portion of it is based in development charges. So as we do have cost increases due to some of these unforeseen circumstances, that split remains typically the same.

[51:42] So you’ll see in the start of financing that some of those that drawdown is from like the DC Reserve funds, not just city rate funds. Thank you, good to know. And with that, I see no further questions. We can proceed to vote. Closing the vote, the motion carries three to zero.

[52:22] Thank you. Moving on to our scheduled items. We have two, 3.1 is our first delegation. Sir Samuels is here. He’s chair of the Environmental Stewardship and Action Committee Advisory Committee and speaking to the ninth report. Welcome, Mr. Samuels. You have up to five minutes. Good morning, members of the Civic Works Committee. Always great to be back here, good to see you. I’m here, as you mentioned, to present the report from our advisory committee and also to speak to one specific item that we wanted to bring to you our attention.

[52:57] At our meeting last month, we received a couple of updates from staff on the Climate Emergency Action Plan Progress Report and the Climate Change Adaptation Discussion Primer. We held some good discussions and also received some specific direction for ways that our committee can help support the city and staff. Our next meeting will actually be this afternoon and we’ll be presenting an update on what our working group has been up to in the time since. We just had a few ordinary consent items. And the item for your consideration that I included as an attachment with this report is a report that came from one of our working groups dedicated to exploring a national urban park in London.

[53:40] You’ll find in your agenda the submission, it’s very brief just discussing the concept of a national urban park. The federal government has established the National Urban Park Program beginning with the Rouge National Urban Park near Toronto. There are a number of other municipalities jurisdictions across Canada now exploring, creating a national urban park and we see there being potential value to do the same here in London. We held preliminary discussions with city staff, all human, about the feasibility of doing this. They were tentatively supportive but pointed to the upcoming Mobility Master Plan update, not wanting to get ahead of processes that are already underway.

[54:21] That said, we wanted to bring this to your attention sooner than later, recognizing sort of the timing context of what we’re working on. There is an upcoming federal election and the process of applying for a national urban park may take some time. We wanted to just make Council aware of this as an idea. Part of the value that we see in creating a national urban park is it would enable the city to access federal resources to support management of park land where there might be existing challenges locally. For example, the Rouge National Urban Park is funded and supported largely by Parks Canada.

[54:59] We don’t mean as a working group to prescribe where the park would go or what it would look like. We just wanted to make the city aware of this opportunity to work with the federal government to enhance park land here. So that update is in your agenda and if you have any questions, we’d be happy to address them. Otherwise, I would maybe refer you to the city staff for any questions about feasibility. Thank you. Thank you very much for being here and with that, I’ve turned off my mic, my apologies.

[55:35] Did we need to open up the delegation? No, we didn’t. Sorry, I’m thinking public participation meeting here. So any, I’d say there’s a question from Councillor Ferreira and go ahead Councillor and then I’ll follow up as well. Thank you, Chair. Just to confirm, that’s the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. There’s no mobility master plan work going into that, right? Yes, sorry, if I misspoke. I was referring to the Parks and Recreation Master Plan update. There’s a lot of updates going on.

[56:08] All right, I figured you did. I just wanted to confirm. Thank you. No worries. Okay, so my question would be, I guess this is a hard one ‘cause we can’t really predict what’s in the future, but is there any deadline or any risk of not having this program available in the future? Ms. Chair, through you, Madam Chair. So it’s difficult to predict what federal governments current or future might do with existing programs. Staff are not in a position to take on this work beyond as integrated in part of the Parks and Recreation. Oh my goodness, I almost combined the issue of them.

[56:41] We would’ve had a Parks and Mobility Master Plan. There is a bit of an overlap in active transportation, but Parks and Recreation Master Plan is the right venue where we do have the capacity to do this work and do this well. It’s a very interesting idea and certainly something we’d like to explore through that process but are not able to deliver in advance of an unknown date for a federal election at this time. I’m sorry. Thank you. Thanks for the answer. I do like this idea. I do like, you know, our working groups and our community advisory committees kind of putting together just kind of doing the search and bringing us these ideas.

[57:17] I think this is a good one. How do we coordinate this with the Parks and Recreation Master Plan? Like I hear what staff is saying with resources and just plugging it in in a proper way, but is there a motion that you would need to plug that in or can we, okay, I think, yeah, you got the question. Yeah, do we need a motion or do we, how do we take advantage of the funding and how do we deal with the master plan, the Recreation Parks and Recreation Master Plan? And I’m a little confused too would this be at this committee as well.

[57:53] So if you can just kind of give us a little bit more information that we need as a committee to make some decisions here. Thank you, Madam Chair and we’re stealing a little thunder from our friends on caps. Mr. Yeoman and Ms. Wilson are working currently on bringing a report to cap shortly that will discuss the scope and schedule for the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. We’re launching in earnest now and intend to be complete later next year. It’s easy for us to integrate pursuing possible National Park designation as part of the scope of work and identify that in the report, which will form the basis of the consulting RFP. Part of the plan will to be ensure that we are costed on all recommendations and generally that also will include an assessment of where there’s an opportunity to leverage funding from other levels of government and potentially even from the private sector as that’s not uncommon in other communities.

[58:40] So definitely part of the scope. I don’t need a motion and you can stay tuned for many updates from caps. Councilor. Thank you for that answer. I look forward to seeing that somewhere in the report in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. Thanks. Thank you. And I know with changes in, well, with elections coming forward, I think we’re all anxious in taking advantage of the funding. And thank you, Mr. Samuels for making us aware and looking forward to further updates as well from staff.

[59:18] So moving on to our next delegation. Hold on. Sorry, before we move on, we do have a motion to receive the ninth report from the advisory committee. So I’m looking for a motion. Councilor Pribble, seconded by Councillor Ferriero, if we can just vote on that. Closing the vote, the motion carries three to zero.

[1:00:03] And now moving on to 3.2, we do have a delegation here. Mr. Henderson is here, welcome. And before we proceed, I just wanna let you know, you have up to five minutes. Thank you. Thank you, Chair. So on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce, I wanna speak to the memorandum of understanding that’s in front of you. And I just wanna communicate what an extraordinary opportunity we feel this to be. And we are so grateful to have worked with Jay and the team on the city staff to reach this point.

[1:00:42] It’s an incredible opportunity. It’s going to allow the Chamber to center its activities for at least two years around climate emergency action plan and improvement measures. We are a conduit to a thousand businesses and tens of thousands of employees. And we want that conduit to be available to the city. So just a couple of things about what we plan to do. On the 31st of October, we will have our kickoff event at the Chamber of Commerce.

[1:01:16] We’re going to follow that up with something done with the city and partnership on the circular economy. That’s on the 14th. We have a themed business after five where we are inviting businesses that are engaged in climate mitigation and have done things in that to join us to have tables. And we’ll be doing that on the 21st. And then the key point for is our community outreach event, which is on the 28th of November at Goodwill. We have Susan the Glucart, June award-winning Inuit Singer, who will be providing music and advice to the community for about an hour and then a panel of academics, students, business leaders to talk about what we can do.

[1:02:05] What are we going to do else over the course of this MOU? Well, first of all, we’re going to declare that November for us is Climate Action Month. We will be sending eBlasts to our entire membership for the next couple of months. You might have noticed that the city presented the Environmental Award at the Business Achievement Awards. We’re going to work with the city to rebrand that and get a better title, which has climate in it. And that will be featured again next year.

[1:02:40] We intend to refocus our summit. You might remember it at summit scaling up. We’d like to focus on businesses that are working in this area. We are in the third year of a strategic plan. We’re using this year to wrap up our strategic plan and the centerpiece for this year will be actions in this area. We already have three actions in our economic prosperity and social progress pillar, but we’re also doing a refresh of that strategic plan.

[1:03:18] And we’re very excited to be doing this because we’re going to extend it another year. And one of the things that we’re looking at is what did we do well, what can we do better? And one of the things that we can do better is partnerships like this on climate, the climate emergency that we’re all facing. So you can look for more actions, more specific actions to come from the chamber in the extended two years of our strategic plan. We are going to devote considerable staff resources to this. And what I can tell you is the staff is incredibly excited about that. We had a meeting yesterday.

[1:03:52] Mines are buzzing, people are excited. I’m excited, the board is excited. And the opportunity to put our resources, our network at the disposal of the city so that we can make actions and take actions and create opportunities in this next three year period, I would say we are so grateful for this opportunity. And I want to thank you also for the opportunity to speak. Thank you very much for being here.

[1:04:28] And I would think with all these events and work that’s going to be going forward, I would think anyone can reach out on your website, site the London Chamber of Commerce website to get all that information ‘cause there’s lots going on. That’s correct, it’s under upcoming events and you just go to that on the website and it all spills out. But we are also, we’re gonna send reminders to staff and to the council. And so we’re hoping for lots of participation. Thank you very much for being here with us this morning as well.

[1:05:04] And any, oh, I do need a motion for the recommendation which is the MOU between the London Chamber of Commerce and the City of London, Councillor Ferrera, seconded by Councillor Preble, any comments? Councillor Ferrera. Thank you Chair and I will say to Mr. Henderson, thank you for coming and speaking to us today, everything you touch just develops and prospers. And I’ll also say to Brendan Samuels, everything you touch grows very nicely out of the ground. So I fully supported this, I do have one question, just about timelines and reporting mechanisms for the MOU.

[1:05:44] I just wanted to know, is there a way that we can integrate any type of reporting mechanism into the MOU at this stage? Or is it too late just to have, I guess, more of an engagement between Council and the Chamber? Mr. Stanford, how is Council informed or updated, I think with the MOU between the Chamber and the City? Through the Chair, as Greg Henderson noted, very much tied to the Climate Emergency Action Plan, which we do report to SPPC our twice per year, a progress report in the summer months and then an update report in usually January of the year.

[1:06:27] So we will be reporting on this item, and we’re, as you heard some exciting news here today, we’re extremely excited. So this would be something that would be part of our highlight reel that we would bring to your attention at least twice per year. And if more frequent is required, that will be addressed as well. Councillor. Okay, thank you for that, I’m fully supportive. And I look forward to, I guess, hearing from the highlight reel and seeing what comes out of this. I know that the memorandum of understanding at this point doesn’t have any contracts associated with it, but something could come in the future.

[1:07:01] So looking forward to that. Councillor Pueblo. Thank you, and thank you also for this report. And I do think this is a positive initiative, as I believe that to us as the City, we need to work with organizations like Jim Brof-Commerce, more closely and more tightly and really deliver the best possible results for our city. I love to read the words, share, participate in and co-develop assist with funding application discussions, negotiations with potential partners. I think those are great key words.

[1:07:36] But my question is, this is one error that we are addressing. And actually, this would be a question also to Mr. Henderson. Positive MOU, we are working together. But on the other hand, if I look at the other part, when we look at yesterday’s news, highest vacancy downtown, business is struggling downtown, all these village. You mentioned take actions, create opportunities. And right now, if you were to ask many local business owners, they wouldn’t see this way, they would not.

[1:08:08] And I think this is a MOU positive, addressing one issue, one concern. How about the economic development side? Are we planning or are you working with our city on the other side and how to push our economy forward and making businesses more sustainable and having a brighter future? Mr. Henderson. Sure, well, Councilor, as you know, we’ve been very engaged in the Health and Homelessness Initiative. We’re keenly supportive of every single effort that’s being made to make the downtown to create a framework for businesses in the downtown, which makes it possible for them to make more money and to remain in the community.

[1:08:53] So that’s one thing. We’ve also supported, strongly supported, the UNESCO City of Music Initiative, because all of the research I did in my years at Music Canada tells us that a vibrant, cultural downtown, in particular featuring live music, attracts young people to the community, keeps young people in the community, it attracts businesses and conventions, and it keeps businesses in the community because it brings folks in from outside and they learn about the downtown and so they’re buying.

[1:09:28] So the revitalization of downtown is of great importance to the board and to my staff. Councilor? Thank you for the follow-up. And I do agree with you. And the initiatives you mentioned are really, they are positive. I would love to see though, and it’s a challenge to you and to our staff as well, like this MOU addressing this issue where we will have specific dates, specific goals, specific targets, because I do believe from this MOU, this is gonna, that should be the next step for us to accomplish it and to make this MOU really 100% for our city, those should be the next steps.

[1:10:12] I believe that we need to do some same thing on the other side, on the economic growth, because again, that’s gonna keep us in line, targets, goals, and we can follow and track the progress and learn potentially from mistakes, learn from the things that we’ve done well. So I do think this is positive. Thank you for bringing that forward. Thank you for staff, but I really, it’s a challenge, I’m challenging our staff and the chamber to do this in the other area as well. Yeah, if I may, Chair, just quickly just on.

[1:10:45] Through the chair, and this is not a conversation between the two of you, but go ahead, Mr. Henderson, if you’d like to make a comment. So through the chair, I just wanted to say that we are very concerned about the attraction of businesses to downtown. There was an initiative that the city launched two years ago, and we were not involved. We were not asked, we did not participate. We would have been delighted to do that, because 85% of our members are small businesses, people who employ 15 or fewer.

[1:11:17] So going forward, I would welcome opportunities to work with the city to encourage small business to migrate to the city. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Pribble. Thank you, photos, comments, and we will correct that. Thank you. Councillor Ralman. Thank you and through you. I’ll keep my comments to the topic at hand and with respect to civic works and what’s on their agenda. So with respect to the MOU that’s in front of us and the efforts made first, I want to say thank you to staff because I do know that this was staff led in getting in front of the chamber to have these conversations.

[1:12:05] It’s amazing to see what the chamber has planned to do based on that conversation. I’m actually really excited because as you mentioned, with the amount of small businesses we have in our community and all communities are fueled by small business, we have the opportunity to make some significant shifts if we can get small business on board with some tangible projects to be able to look at climate mitigation. I do think that what you’ve proposed is ambitious. I like the idea of November being a targeted month looking at some of the actions that can be taken and really embed this into the work of the chamber.

[1:12:47] I would like to see us do more on our side as members of council as well to further help to promote and explore how to better support your efforts as you move forward. What I love about the work you do at the chamber as well is the way that you have integrated music into all aspects of the chamber’s work. And what a big talent and securing such a performer as Mr. Glue Clark.

[1:13:20] I do think that there is going to be buzz around that. And we do know that to engage our memberships and to engage our citizens, we need to come at these topics in different ways. So I appreciate the fact that the chamber and the city are looking at this through a different lens. One of my concerns when we started doing the green bin project is how will businesses adapt and how will businesses come on side with green bins or look to support our green bin initiative. And I think this is a great way for us to further those conversations, to further the dialogue on how business can play a more active role.

[1:14:00] So thank you for being partners and leaders in that work. Thank you to the city for your work on this. I think that this is a step in the right direction. And I truly believe in the triple bottom line. I do believe that it’s Planet People Profits. So I do think that no matter what we do, if we look at this from that perspective, we’re going to see value and economic development benefits as well. So thank you and Kudos. Thank you for those comments as well. Councillor ramen. And if I, the committee will allow me just to give my thanks to the London Chamber of Commerce, to, I’ll speak to the recommendation that’s in front of us, the MOU and that relationship with the city of London.

[1:14:45] I think it is vital. We become stronger when we work together. I do want to commend your work in our community when it comes to supporting small businesses, integrating the indigenous community and really supporting that, supporting the business community as well. We are stronger, I think as we work together, working with your expertise and the city’s expertise. I do think we are very committed working alongside together with the climate action objectives.

[1:15:26] So thank you very much. And with that, we can vote. Using the vote, the motion carries three to zero. There are no items for direction. No deferred matters, additional business. We do have a confidential matter to attend to. So I’m looking for a motion to go in camera.

[1:16:02] Councillor Ferreira, seconded by Councillor Privel. And that is a vote as well. So we can proceed closing the vote, the motion carries three to zero.

[1:18:17] I’d like to go to Councillor Ferreira. Thank you, Chair. And I can report that progress has made in our in-camera session. Thank you for that. And I’m looking for adjournment. Councillor Privel, seconded by Councillor Ferreira. Can we do a hand vote on that? Hand vote. Thanks everyone.