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2000-01-04_Minutes 87-816 COMMON COUNCIL JANUARY 4, 2000 At a meeting of the Common Council, held at the City Hall in the City of Saint John, on Tuesday, the fourth day of January, AD., 2000, at 7:00 o'clock p.m. present Shirley McAlary, Mayor Deputy Mayor Chase and Councillors Ball, Chase, Court, Desmond, Fitzpatrick, Titus, Trites, Vincent and White - and - Messrs. P. Woods, Deputy City Manager; J. Nugent, City Solicitor; A Beckett, Commissioner of Finance and Commissioner of Corporate Services; J. C. MacKinnon, Commissioner of Environment and Development Services; P. Groody, Commissioner of Municipal Operations; S. Galbraith, Director of Works; J. Baird, Manager of Community Planning; W. Edwards, Building Inspector; S. Lodhi, Manager of Real Estate and Facility Management; P. Hanlon, Manager of Water and Sewerage Services; G. Tait, Fire Chief; C. Cogswell, Chief of Police; Mrs. M. Munford, Common Clerk; and Ms. C. Mosher, Assistant Common Clerk. 1. MeetinQ Called To Order - Prayer Mayor McAlary called the meeting to order, and Reverend David Nicholson, Pastor of Douglas Avenue Christian Church, offered the opening prayer. 2. Approval of Minutes On motion of Councillor Desmond Seconded by Councillor Vincent RESOLVED that minutes of the meeting of Common Council, held on December 20, 1999, be approved. Question being taken, the motion was carried. 3. Mavor's Remarks Mayor McAlary expressed appreciation to members of City staff, including the Emergency Measures Organization, the Police and Fire Departments, and the Public Safety Communications Centre, and to City Works crews for their efforts in preparing for the Y2K issue and for their extra work during the Christmas Season and the Bridging the Centuries event on the Harbour Bridge on New Year's Eve. 4. Committee To Review Council Remuneration Consideration was given to a letter from Councillor Titus advising his intention to present a motion to create an independent committee to review, recommend and report to Common Council on the current remuneration received by the Mayor and Councillors, such committee not to be limited to this item but could deal with other matters mandated by Council. Councillor Titus suggested that the current Council should receive no benefit nor detriment from anything an independent committee might say, but it would be for the next incoming Council, and also that such a committee could be mandated to look at, and report back on, such fundamental questions as the need for a full-time Mayor and if the present Mayor is full- or part-time based on the City Manager system of government, the need for a City Manager and a Deputy City Manager if there is a full- time Mayor, the adequacy of benefits such as salary and vehicle for example, the number of Council members, and whether or not there should be a ward or other system. 87-817 COMMON COUNCIL JANUARY 4, 2000 On motion of Councillor Titus Seconded by Deputy Mayor Chase RESOLVED that Council create an independent committee to review, recommend and report to Common Council on salary and benefits and any other items mandated by Council, and that this matter be referred to the Nominating Committee to come up with a list of names of people who could sit on this committee and report to Council. Councillor Trites advised that he would not be prepared to support the motion on the basis that, if Council wanted to take such action, any mandate of the committee would have to be well structured prior to doing so; thus the motion, if it were to be accepted by Council, would have to include the full mandate of the committee in its initial structure. Councillor Court advised that he could not support the motion as presented because Councillor Titus' concept appears to go way beyond the motion in his letter, whereupon Councillor Titus, on a point of order, made the observation that the full text of the letter should be read. Councillor Titus raised two subsequent points of order, and appealed to the whole Council for a ruling on them, during Councillor Court's indication that the concept seemed to go way beyond the original intention to look at salary and seemed to include the administration of City Hall which he did not think such a committee should be doing; and, in the first instance, the Mayor agreed that Councillor Court's comments were out of order and Councillor Court withdrew his comments, and in the second instance the Mayor asked Councillor Court to continue and not refer to any of the other Councillors. Councillor Desmond expressed the view that Council should set out the terms of reference before putting such a committee in place and the Nominating Committee could come back to Council with not only recommended nominees but also terms of reference for consideration; and Councillor Vincent expressed the opinion that the Nominating Committee would require more information so as to be able to pick the right type of people who could best serve the intent and purpose of such a committee, and how many people Council would want on such a committee and the name of the committee, and suggested that Council could ask the author of the above letter if he would consider taking it back and putting in a suggested number and some more infill so that Council would have more to consider. The Mayor advised that she would have difficulty handing over to a committee issues which have not been discussed by Council itself, such as a ward versus an at-large system of election, the number of Council members or the City Manager form of government. (Councillor Chase withdrew from the meeting during the above discussion.) On motion of Councillor Fitzpatrick Seconded by Councillor Court RESOLVED that the above matter be referred to a committee of Council chaired by the Deputy Mayor to come up with terms of reference of what such an independent committee would be mandated to do. Councillor Titus advised that the independent committee he proposed would not decide how to run the City but rather would make recommendations to Council for debate in the public forum and an ultimate determination, suggesting that it would not be like having a committee-in-waiting in that, if Council agreed in principle to its intent to set up such a committee, Council could then decide what it wanted this committee to look at and, at that point in time, look for citizens to sit on this committee. Question being taken, the referral motion was carried with the Mayor and Councillor Titus voting "nay". 5. Committee Of The Whole Report Read the report of the Committee of the Whole (as follows) To the COMMON COUNCIL of the City of Saint John The Committee of the Whole reports 87-818 COMMON COUNCIL JANUARY 4, 2000 Your Committee reports that it sat on Monday, December 20, 1999, when there were present Mayor McAlary, Deputy Mayor Chase and Councillors Chase, Court, Desmond, Fitzpatrick, Titus, Trites, Vincent and White, and your Committee submits the following recommendations, namely: 1. That as recommended by the Nominating Committee, Gordon A Thorne be re-appointed to the Aquatic Centre Commission for a term of three years. 2. That as recommended by the Nominating Committee, Michael D. Bonga be re-appointed and Terrance Gray and Ronald Palmer be appointed to the Environment Committee for a term of three years effective January 1, 2000. 3. That as recommended by the Nominating Committee, Harry Sanipass and James Theriault be re-appointed to the Fort LaTour Development Authority for a term of three years effective January 1, 2000. 4. That as recommended by the Nominating Committee, Martha Edwards and Henry Meinhardt be re-appointed to the Board of Commissioners of the Saint John Free Public Library for a term of three years effective January 1, 2000. 5. That as recommended by the Nominating Committee, Robert Tilley and Abbie M. Colwell be re-appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Lord Beaverbrook Rink at Saint John, Inc. for a term of three years effective January 1, 2000. 6. That as recommended by the Nominating Committee, David D. Garey, AI H. Bennett, Tim Flood and Clifford Lawrence be re-appointed to the Board of Directors of Saint John Non-Profit Housing Inc. for a term of three years effective January 1, 2000. 7. That as recommended by the Nominating Committee, Robert W. Ring be re-appointed and Abel LeBlanc be appointed to the Preservation Review Board for a term of three years effective January 1, 2000. 8. That as recommended by the Nominating Committee, Dorothy Dawson, Douglas S. Trentowsky, Chris Smith, Deborah MacDonald and Holly Haines be re- appointed to the Rockwood Park Advisory Board for a one-year term. 9. That as recommended by the Nominating Committee, Mayor McAlary and Patrick Woods be the City's representatives on the Cities of New Brunswick Association's unconditional grant committee. 10. That Councillor Fitzpatrick be the City's representative on the Cities of New Brunswick Association's gas pricing committee. 11. That as recommended by the City Manager, the City grant a license and consent to Thomas Construction Ltd. for a pipe to be placed beneath the Pipeline Road which traverses the Company's property fronting on the Latimore Lake Road, under the following terms and conditions: (1) a license to Thomas Construction Ltd. for a limited time, i.e. 12 months to operate, maintain, monitor and repair a pipe to be installed beneath the so-called Pipeline Road for the purpose of transporting water contaminated with silt; (2) a requirement that the pipe be installed by the City or the City's contractors; (3) the size, type and location of the pipe be at the City's discretion; (4) the cost would be entirely Thomas Construction Ltd.'s and secured by an irrevocable standby letter of credit in an amount to be determined by the Manager of the Water and Sewerage Division, the delivery to be a precondition to the granting of the license, and the letter of credit will also be available to cover the cost of effecting work to provide for the continuing proper operation of the pipe if, in the City's opinion, such work has not been attended to by Thomas Construction Ltd. in a timely and satisfactory manner; (5) Thomas Construction Ltd. must obtain the written approval of Fisheries & Oceans and the New Brunswick Department of Environment for the proposed installation of the pipe and all related facilities as a precondition to the City's granting the license; (6) the maintenance and inspection of that pipe and its operation would be entirely Thomas Construction Ltd. 's responsibility; (7) Thomas Construction Ltd. would be liable for any damages or loss arising in connection with the presence of the pipe, its use, misuse or failure to operate as intended; (8) insurance in an amount determined by the City's Insurance Coordinator be provided by Thomas Construction Ltd. naming the City as co- insured against any claims, damages or loss arising from the presence of or the use, misuse or failure to operate as intended of the pipe, excepting claims etc. for 87-819 COMMON COUNCIL JANUARY 4, 2000 environmental damages for which insurance is unavailable and in which case Thomas Construction Ltd. must indemnify the City; and (9) in exchange for the City granting the license to Thomas Construction Ltd., Thomas Construction Ltd. must simultaneously grant to the City a license for an equivalent period of time to continue with the arrangement now prevailing at the Phinney Hill location, and that license will contain an express acknowledgement that the City claims a right to establish and continue the arrangement now prevailing. January 4, 2000, Saint John, N.B. Respectfully submitted, (sgd.) Shirley McAlary, C h air man. 5.1. Aquatic Centre Appointment On motion of Councillor Desmond Seconded by Councillor White RESOLVED that section 1 of the above report be adopted. Question being taken, the motion was carried. 5.2. Environment Committee Appointments On motion of Councillor Desmond Seconded by Councillor Trites RESOLVED that section 2 of the above report be adopted. Question being taken, the motion was carried. 5.3. Fort LaTour Development Authoritv Appointments On motion of Councillor Ball Seconded by Councillor Desmond RESOLVED that section 3 of the above report be adopted. Question being taken, the motion was carried. 5.4. Library Board Appointments On motion of Deputy Mayor Chase Seconded by Councillor White RESOLVED that section 4 of the above report be adopted. Question being taken, the motion was carried. 5.5. Lord Beaverbrook Rink Appointments On motion of Councillor Court Seconded by Deputy Mayor Chase RESOLVED that section 5 of the above report be adopted. Question being taken, the motion was carried. 87 -820 COMMON COUNCIL JANUARY 4, 2000 5.6. Saint John Non-Profit HousinQ Inc. Appointments On motion of Councillor Court Seconded by Councillor Desmond RESOLVED that section 6 of the above report be adopted. Question being taken, the motion was carried. 5.7. Preservation Review Board Appointments On motion of Councillor Ball Seconded by Councillor Court RESOLVED that section 7 of the above report be adopted. Question being taken, the motion was carried. 5.8. Rockwood Park Advisorv Board Appointments On motion of Councillor Court Seconded by Councillor Desmond RESOLVED that section 8 of the above report be adopted. Question being taken, the motion was carried. 5.9. Cities Of New Brunswick Association Unconditional Grant Committee Appointments On motion of Councillor White Seconded by Councillor Ball RESOLVED that section 9 of the above report be adopted. Question being taken, the motion was carried. 5.10. Cities Of New Brunswick Association Appointment To Gas PricinQ Committee On motion of Deputy Mayor Chase Seconded by Councillor Desmond RESOLVED that section 10 of the above report be adopted. Question being taken, the motion was carried. 5.11. License & Consent To Thomas Construction Ltd. For Pipe Placement Beneath Pipeline Road On motion of Councillor Desmond Seconded by Councillor White RESOLVED that section 11 of the above report be adopted. Question being taken, the motion was carried. 87 -821 COMMON COUNCIL JANUARY 4, 2000 6. Planning Advisory Committee Street Assents. Mark Drive Area On motion of Councillor Trites Seconded by Councillor Fitzpatrick RESOLVED that as recommended by the Planning Advisory Committee, Common Council (1) assent to the submitted preliminary plan entitled "City of Saint John and Silver Falls Park Development Company Limited Subdivision" that would vest Parcel No.1, with an approximate area of 36 square metres (388 square feet), as a public street, and that would vest Parcel No.3, with an approximate area of 3944 square metres (42,454 square feet), as a future street; and (2) assent to the submitted plans by Godfrey Associated Limited that would vest Parcel A, with an approximate area of 1560 square metres (16,792 square feet), and Parcel B, with an approximate area of 2979 square metres (32,067 square feet), as a future street. Question being taken, the motion was carried. 7. Preservation Review Board - Election Of Officers On motion of Councillor Desmond Seconded by Councillor White RESOLVED that the letter from the Preservation Review Board advising of its election of the following slate of officers: Joan Pearce - Chair; Gaye Kapkin - 1 st Vice Chair; and David R. Colwell - 2nd Vice Chair, be received and filed. Question being taken, the motion was carried. 8. Rifle Range Residents Association Churchill Boulevard Sewer Line Proiect On motion of Councillor Desmond Seconded by Councillor Trites RESOLVED that the letter from the Rifle Range Residents Association referring to its letter to Council on April 19, 1999 concerning the North End sanitary sewer project and the installation of a new sewer line on Churchill Boulevard; and urging that the Churchill Boulevard sewer line project that was delayed in 1999 be completed in the capital works projects for the year 2000, along with the repaving and new sidewalks, be referred to the City Manager and the capital budget process. Question being taken, the motion was carried. * Added Item On motion of Councillor Trites Seconded by Councillor White RESOLVED that a letter from Horst Sauerteig (copies of which were distributed to Council members on this date), regarding the Fundy Region Solid Waste Commission's composting program, be added to the agenda of this meeting for consideration at this time. Question being taken, the motion was carried. *8A. Horst SauerteiQ - CompostinQ On motion of Councillor Desmond Seconded by Councillor Ball RESOLVED that the letter from Horst Sauerteig following up on his letter considered by Council at its December 20, 1999 meeting regarding the Fundy Region Solid Waste Commission's composting program, 87 -822 COMMON COUNCIL JANUARY 4, 2000 be referred to the Fundy Region Solid Waste Commission to respond to the questions therein, and a copy of the response be available for discussion with the Commission at the January 10, 2000 Council meeting. The Mayor noted that Council members had been provided, as an information item, with a letter from the Fundy Region Solid Waste Commission, including a list of questions which its package on composting, being prepared for the January 10, 2000 Council meeting, would address. Question being taken, the motion was carried. Adjournment On motion of Deputy Mayor Chase Seconded by Councillor White RESOLVED that this meeting be adjourned, and a Committee of the Whole meeting be held. Question being taken, the motion was carried. Common Clerk