2009-03-09_Minutes--Procès-verbalMarch 9, 2009
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Minutes of the P ortion of the Committ ee of the Whole Meeting O pen to the P ublic
Monday, March 9 , 2009, 5:00 p.m.
Council Chamber , City Hall
Present:
Mayor Court,
Deputy Mayor Chase and Councillors Court, F arren, Higgins, Killen, McGuire,
Mott, Sno ok, an d Sullivan.
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T. Totten, City Manager; P. Woods, Deputy City Manager; J. Nugent, City
Solicitor; G. Yeoman s, Commissioner of Finance and Treasurer; P. Groody,
Commissioner of Municipal Operations; A. Poffenroth, Deputy Commissioner of
Building s and Inspection Services; K. Forrest, Commissioner of Planning and
Development; B. Morrison, Commissioner of Leisure Services; E. Gormley,
Common Clerk, and J.Taylor Assistant Common Clerk .
1. Meeting Called To Order
The Mayor called the Committee of t he Whole meeting to order .
1. Expediting Saint John's Planning and Development Process
The Commissioner of Plannin g and Development introduced guest speaker Dr. M. Ircha .
Mr. Forrest informed Council that Dr. Ircha was engaged by The City of Saint John l ast
year to review the current practices being employed by the Planning and Development
Department.
Referring to a submitted report and presentation , Dr. Ircha, Honorary Research
Professor University of New Brunswick, updated Council with respect to his review of
The City of Saint John’s planning procedures . He noted that goal of the r eview was to
identify steps which would exped ite the planning process and would reflect best
practices within the industry. Dr. Ircha outlined many of the 46 recommendation s
appearing in his report and he responded to a variety of questions posed by Council
members.
On motion of Councillor Titus
Seconded by Councillor McGuire
RESOLVED that Council refer the report from Dr. Ircha
entitled Expediting Saint John’s P l anning and Development Process to the City Manager
and the Planning Advisory Committee , for a report outlining the specific actions to be
taken in response to Dr. Ircha’s recommendations .
Council lor Killen requested that Mr. Horgan, Chair of the Planning Advisory Committee,
be provided with an opportunity to respond to the comments made in D r. Ircha’s report
and presentation .
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Councillor Titus withdrew his motion with the consent of the Seconder.
On motion of Councillor Farren
Seconded b y Councillor McGuire
RESOLVED that the Chair of the Planning Advisory
Committee be provided with the oppor tunity to appear before Council to respond to the
Dr. Ircha presentation for a five minute period.
Councillor Killen sta ted that he is voting aga inst this mot ion as he does not agree with
having a time limit .
Question being taken, the motion was carried Councillor Titus and Killen voting nay.
Referring to a submitted report entitled Reply to the Report of Dr. Michael Ircha, S.
Horgan, Chair of the Planning Advisory Committee, appeared before Council and stated
that he was not in agreement with many of the C omments in Dr. Ircha’s report. Council
posed a variety of questions to which Mr. Horgan responded.
On motion of Councillor Farren
Seconded by Councillor Snook
RESOLVED that Council refer the report from Dr. Ircha
entitled Expediting Saint John’s Planning and Development Process to the City Manager
and the Planning Advisory Committee , for a report outlining the specific action s to be
taken in response to Dr. Ircha’s recommendations.
Question being taken, the motion was carried.
2. Urban Design in Saint John
Referring to a sub mitted report and presentation, Robert Boyce of the Urban Design
Committee updated Council on the top ic of urban d esign in Saint John. Mr. Boyce
presented the Urban D esign Committee ’s man dat e and he provided examples of where
urban design is being used , why it is being used, and how it woul d apply to Saint John.
He outlined the general observations made by the Urban Design Committee, the
challenges with which it is faced , and the committees recommendations. Council posed
several que stions to which Mr. Boyce respond ed .
On motion of Deputy Mayor Chase
Seconded by Councillor Farren
RESOLVED that the recommendatio ns outlined on page 3
of the submitted Urban Design report dated March 5, 2009 be referred to the next
regular meeting of Council.
Question being taken, the motion was carried.
3. South End Playground
Referring to a sub mitted report and presentation, t he Commissioner of Leisu re Services
updated Council with respect to the proposed upgr ades for the South End playground
located on Broad Street.
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Dan Glenn, President of the Glenn Group , explained that his company was engaged by
Th e City of Saint John to host a series of meetings with the South End community to
discuss revitali zing the South end Playgroun d .
Mr. Glenn outlined several of the problems with which the current park is faced . He
outlined the following proposed new changes : a rubberized play surface, a fitness
station, a splash pad, an outdoor skating centre, a community garden, a dog run, tennis
and basketball courts, and a skateboard park.
Council posed several questions to Mr. Glenn and Mr. Morrison, to which they
responded. Mr. Morrison informed Council that the estimated cost of this project is
$2,339, 000 .00 ; however, he noted that the project is at a concept stage and further
analysis would be required.
Responding to a question from Council, the City Manager indicated that a total
commitment of $1, 500,000.00 for this project was presented in the 2009 Capital B udget.
Mr. Totten stated that $500,000.00 was to come directly from The C ity of Saint John and
he noted that there was an indication that the other $1,000,000. 0 0 would be supplied to
the City contingent on the sale of the Lantic Sugar site .
On motion of Councillor Titus
Seconded by Councillor Farren
RESOLVED that the report and presentation respecting
Rainbow Park be received for information.
Question being taken, the motion was carried.
4. Shamrock Park Master Plan
The City Manager stated that the Council has approved $250,000.00 in the 2009 Capital
budget towards phase 1 of the Shamrock Park Master Plan.
Referring to a submitted report and presentation, the Commissioner of Leisure Se rvices
informed Council that Shamrock Park has not seen any major work since 1985 when it
was redeveloped for the Canada Games. He indicat ed that due to the park’s location in
a priority neighbourhood, the call for proposals emphasized that the park needed to
reflect greater use for the neighbourhood as well as enhancements as a sporting venue.
Mr. Glenn appeared before Council and present ed the Gle nn Groups concept plans for
Shamrock Park. He explained the process that was undertaken to devise th e plans and
he presented the results ob tained from interviews c onducted with the public.
Council members posed a number of questions to which M r. Glenn responded. He
concluded by stating that the total cost for all of the proposed upgrades to Shamrock
Park is estim ated at $8, 655,000.00.
On motion of Councillor Snook
Seconded by Councillor Court
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RESOLVED that the report and presentation ent itled Shamrock
Park Master Plan and the report and presentation regarding Rainbow Park be referred to
The City of Saint John’s Real Estate Department and Saint John Non - Profit Housing for
an examination and a request for feedback.
Question being taken, t he motion was carried.
Adjournment
The Mayor dec lar ed the meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m.
Common Clerk