Loading...
2020-06-29_Agenda Packet--Dossier de l'ordre du jourCity of Saint John Common Council Meeting AGENDA Monday, June 29, 2020 5:00 pm Meeting Conducted by Electronic Participation Si vous avez besoin des services en francais pour une reunion de Conseil communal, veuillez contacter le bureau du greffier communal au 658-2862. Pages 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of Minutes 3. Approval of Agenda 4. Disclosures of Conflict of Interest 5. Consent Agenda 6. Members Comments 7. Proclamation 8. Delegations / Presentations 9. Public Hearings - 6:30 p.m. 10. Consideration of By-laws 11. Submissions by Council Members 11.1 Ernst and Young Operational Review (Norton) 12. Business Matters - Municipal Officers 12.1 Economic and Community Recovery: Open Streets and the City of Saint John 2-53 12.1.1 Open Streets Policy and Procedures - City Initiated 12.1.2 Traffic By -Law Amendment (3rd Reading) 12.2 Economic and Community Recovery - 15 Minute Parking Spaces (1 st and 2nd 54-59 Reading Traffic By -Law Amendment) 12.3 Sustainability Item - Arena Closure Plan Follow -Up 60-74 13. Committee Reports 14. Consideration of Issues Separated from Consent Agenda 15. General Correspondence 16. Supplemental Agenda 17. Committee of the Whole 18. Adjournment K Received Date June 24, 2020 Meeting Date June 29, 2020 Open or Closed Open Session His Worship Don Darling and Members of Common Council Your Worship and Councillors: Subject: Ernst & Young City of Saint John Operational Review Background: Ernst & Young ("EY") was selected by the Department of Environment and Local Government ("ELG") to conduct an independent operational review of the City of Saint John at a cost of over three hundred thousand dollars. It is in the public interest that Common Council hear directly from the third party commissioned to conduct the extensive operational review, which is detailed in a one hundred and seven page report. It is my impression that EY can help Common Council recognize our need for workforce adjustments, continuous improvement and carefully planned spending. Furthermore, a third party presentation by EY provides support for Common Council and the public we serve during the decision process. The third party, that being EY, are also able to help Common Council generate questions that we may not have thought of through our discussions with City of Saint John staff. Lastly, it is prudent to have the authors of a 303K study deliver a comprehensive presentation on the operational review they wrote for our benefit to achieve greater sustainability. Motion: Be it resolved that a Special Meeting of Common Council be scheduled in open, for the exclusive and comprehensive presentation of the Ernst & Young City of Saint John Operational Review. Be it resolved that the presentation of the Ernst & Young City of Saint John Operational Review be delivered by official agents of Ernst & Young, who were commissioned by the Department of Environment and Local Government to conduct an independent operational review of the City of Saint John. Be it resolved that the presentation of the City of Saint John Operational Review by Ernst & Young be scheduled within the next two weeks, with appreciation for the logistical and scheduling challenges that may make it difficult to meet this timeline. Respectfully Submitted, (Received via email) Greg Norton Councillor Ward 1 City of Saint John SAINT JOHN P.p. Box 1971 Saint John, NB Canada E21- 41-1 1 www,saintjohn.ca ( C.P. 1971 Saint John, N. -B. Canada E2L 41-1 COMMON COUNCIL REPORT M&C No. 2020-172 Report Date June 25, 2020 Meeting Date June 29, 2020 Service Area Growth and Community Development Services His Worship Mayor Don Darling and Members of Common Council SUBJECT: Economic and Community Recovery: Open Streets and the City of Saint John OPEN OR CLOSED SESSION This matter is to be discussed in open session of Common Council. AUTHORIZATION Primary Author Commissioner/Dept. Head City Manager Phil Ouellette Jacqueline Hamilton John Collin RECOMMENDATION Staff recommend that Common Council adopt the following resolutions: 1. Common Council adopt the 2020 Open Street Policy and Procedures for City -Initiated Open Streets; 2. Common Council give third reading of the Amendment to the Saint John Traffic By-law attached to M&C No. 2020-167 (see attachment). REPORT During the June 2211 Common Council meeting, Council adopted the staff recommendations for 2020 open streets initiatives, which included the first and second reading of the necessary bylaw amendments to proceed with the rotating temporary weekend open streets in the central peninsula. Staff intend to bring forward a verbal update to Common Council on June 291h which will include collected feedback from partners and local businesses over the past week, and report on any proposed changes to the open streets plans that were presented to Common Council on June 22nd The two recommendations before Common Council on June 291h is the third reading of the Traffic By -Law amendments to enable the rotating temporary K -2 - weekend open streets in the central peninsula as well as the 2020 policy and procedures for City -initiated open streets. Below is a summary of the updated timelines associated with the open streets initiative: • June 19' — staff recommendation made public through Common Council agenda packet. • June 22nd — Council to offer direction to staff and Common Council to proceed with 111 and 2nd readings of amendments to the Traffic By-law to enable three open street scenarios. • June 29th — Special Council meeting for 3rd reading of amendments to the Traffic By-law, present the final version of the 2020 Open Street Policy and Procedures for City -Initiated Open Streets for Council's consideration, 1" and 2nd readings of new 15 -minute metered parking spots in the Uptown, approval of the 2020 Open Streets Policy and Procedures for City -Initiated Open Streets. • July 31 — effective date for first open street in the Uptown. • July 6th — 3rd reading of new 15 -minute metered parking spots in the Uptown. The new 15 -minute metered parking spots will become effective once the signs indicating that the spots are 15 -minutes parking are installed. • July 20th — First and second reading of the amendments to the Traffic By- law to introduce a new community initiated application form and process for street events, including the elimination of the 90 -day requirement to submit an application. • August 3rd — Third reading of the amendments to the Traffic By-law to introduce a new community initiated application form and process for street events, including the elimination of the 90 -day requirement to submit an application. • August 4th — effective date for new community initiated application form and process for street events, including the elimination of the 90 -day requirement to submit an application. ATTACHMENTS 1. 2020 Open Streets Initiatives Agenda Packet from June 22nd, 2020 Common Council Meeting K3 COMMON COUNCIL REPORT M&C No. 2020-167 Report Date June 17, 2020 Meeting Date June 22, 2020 Service Area Growth and Community Development Services His Worship Mayor Don Darling and Members of Common Council SUBJECT: Economic and Community Recovery: Open Streets and the City of Saint John OPEN OR CLOSED SESSION This matter is to be discussed in open session of Common Council. AUTHORIZATION Primary Author Commissioner/Dept. Head City Manager Phil Ouellette Jacqueline Hamilton John Collin RECOMMENDATION Staff recommend that Common Council adopt the following resolutions: 1. Common Council give first and second reading of the Amendment to the Saint John Traffic By-law attached to M&C No. 2020-167; 2. In the event first and second reading is given to the proposed Amendment, direct the Common Clerkto schedule a special meeting of Common Council on the 291h of June, 2020, to consider third reading of the Amendment to the Saint John Traffic By-law and to present the final version of the 2020 Open Street Policy and Procedures for City -Initiated Open Streets; 3. Direct the City Manager to proceed with preparations for the implementation of rotating open streets over the weekends in the uptown area of the City and to permanently pedestrianize South Market Street as further detailed in M&C No. 2020-167; 4. Direct the City Manager to present Common Council with by-law amendments to introduce 15 -minute parking spots at pre-existing two- hour metered parking spots in the central peninsula as further detailed in M&C No. 2020-167 on the 291h of June, 2020; 5. Direct the City Manager to present Common Council with by-law amendments to introduce a new community initiated application form and process for street events, including elimination of the 90 -day requirement as further detailed in M&C No. 2020-167 on the 6th of July, 2020; CI -2- 6. Approve the allocation of up to $60,000 from the Growth Reserve Fund for City staff to efficiently execute open street initiatives outlined in M&C No. 2020-167 for the current year. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY After reviewing the feedback collected from over 2,000 respondents of the City of Saint John's open streets survey and considering the feedback from the over 80 participants of the virtual town halls, staff have developed four recommendations to support the delivery of open street programming in Saint John over the coming months. These recommendations are consistent the expectations of PlanSJ as well as the recently adopted Neighborhood Plan for the Central Peninsula. As an initial step towards opens streets, staff are recommendation the following four immediate initiatives: 1. rotating open streets over weekends in the Uptown; 2. the introduction of new 15 -minute pickup parking spots across the U ptown; 3. introduction of new community initiated application form and process (as previously announced) for street events, including the elimination of the 90 -day requirement to submit an application; 4. to permanently pedestrianize South Market Street as of July 3rd, 2020. Staff believe it has achieved a balanced -approach with these recommendations, incorporating parking considerations, rotating weekend -only open streets, pedestrianize permanently an existing street, and finally, streamline the ability for the City to support community -initiated street closures for events. The objective of these changes are to uphold Common Council's directive towards economic and community recovery planning, which is to "enable and accelerate local economic and community activity in response to the current public health pandemic." All the initiatives that are considered under the City's recovery efforts, including open streets, seek to drive additional people -traffic in the City's commercial areas, all while respecting mandatory orders of social distancing. 61 -3 - STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT Economic and Community Recovery On May 25, through the advice of the Growth Committee, Common Council adopted a series of resolutions to proceed with the City's Municipal Economic and Community Recovery Planning, including the implementation of immediate initiatives, added consultation on open streets and parameters to access funding from the Growth Reserve Fund earmarked for recovery. In addition, Council adopted the initiation of six additional recovery initiatives on June 81", which included the investment of $40,000 from Recovery Funding earmarked through the Growth Reserve Fund. Municipal Plan and Neighborhood Plan for the Central Peninsula As outlined in direction for the uptown neighborhood within the adopted Neighborhood Plan for the Central Peninsula: "The Uptown Core will feature the City's most interesting and vibrant public realm, with public art, amenities for pedestrians and cyclists, vibrant commercial streets, and pedestrianized streets and lanes." A specific action from the Neighborhood Plan includes: "Identify opportunities for piloting permanent or seasonal pedestrian streets as a future enhancement option for shared streets." Council also adopted a $500,000 capital budget allocation to support the implementation of the Neighborhood Plan, which included investments into South Market Street to help pedestrianize the street. Policy CF -32 of PlanSJ also speaks to the importance of using our streets to support innovative place -making, as it indicates the need to: "Promote periodic community use of streets for such events as block parties, festivals and farmers markets." REPORT Introduction The goal of Saint John's Economic and Community Recovery efforts is to "enable and accelerate local economic and community activity in response to the current public health pandemic." All the initiatives that are considered under the City's C.1 -4 - recovery efforts, including open streets, seek to drive additional people -traffic in the City's commercial areas, all while respecting mandatory orders of social distancing. The formulation of the recommendations found in this report were supported through a variety of sources, most notably: • Alignment with PlanSJ and the recently adopted Neighborhood Plan for the Central Peninsula; • Best practice scan of economic recovery -related open streets in Canadian municipalities during this public health pandemic; • Responses from the City of Saint John's Open Streets Online Survey during the week of June 111, 2020; • Feedback gathered from the resident and business virtual town halls on June 11th, 2020; • Coordination across a variety of City of Saint John Service Areas, including legal, parking, internal open streets team, internal economic and community recovery team; • Feedback from our growth partners involved in economic development; • Feedback collected from interaction with Growth Committee and Common Council in late May and early June 2020. Open Street Survey As outlined in more detail in the attached Power Point presentation, the survey data would suggest that open streets are considered a favorable option for both residents and businesses, especially in the commercial district of the Uptown and especially over the weekend. With over 2,000 respondents to the survey, including 83 businesses, the data points to 67% of residents favoring street openings all summer long, and 60% of businesses indicating they are extremely or very supportive of open streets. It is also important to note that the survey collected "unsupportive" open street sentiment by industry groups, including 23.8% of surveyed restaurants, 50% of surveyed Services/Personal Care businesses and 21.4% of surveyed retail stores. The data also indicated that 30 respondents were businesses located in the entertainment district of the Uptown, and of that segment, 77% believed that multiple weekend closures would have a positive or neutral impact on their business. The survey data also indicated that 62.5% of residents living in the entertainment district are also supportive of weekend closures. r� -5 - The data collected also offers insightful findings on the distance residents are willing to walk in order to access a business, feedback on the level of participation of play streets as well as consumer feedback on the importance of outdoor space when interacting with a business. Virtual Town Halls As outlined in more detail in the attached Power Point presentation, the virtual town halls were valuable to receive more detailed feedback on open streets and recovery -related programming and also confirmed much of what we discovered through the open streets survey. There were approximately 80 participants of the virtual town halls across the resident and business sessions. During the business meeting, staff polled the group on the impact a street closure would have on their business, and 40% indicated it would have a positive impact, 60% would have no impact, and no one indicated it would have a negative impact. Staff Recommendation Asan initial step towards opens streets, staff are recommendation four immediate initiatives: 1. rotating open streets over weekends in the Uptown; 2. the introduction of 11 new 15 -minute pickup parking spots across the U ptown; 3. introduction of new community initiated application form and process (as previously announced) for street events, including the elimination of the 90 -day requirement to submit an application; 4. to permanently pedestrianize South Market Street as of July 3rd, 2020. These recommendations are a first step towards open streets in 2020, and other recommendations can occur in the coming weeks and months, including inviting community applications for Play Streets. Staff are especially interested in the feasibility of open streets or additional economic and community recovery initiatives that target commercial districts in the east side, north end and west side of Saint John. (1) Rotating open streets Before sharing the staff recommendations, it is valuable to share the 10 -criteria staff used to formulate their balanced recommendation. Staff believe the proposed recommendation upholds these 10 -criteria, but staff can understand if E:3 -6 - Members of Council, and members of the public, may have differing views on the types of open streets most ideal for Saint John, which is why staff have included an "alternative recommendations" section for consideration. Here are the 10 characteristics of a great open street experience here in Saint John: 1. The open street requires animation in order to draw volume, and the nature of the animation should re -introduce pedestrians to a space formerly relegated to vehicles; 2. Participating businesses must support the animation of the space; 3. While it would be failure if no one showed -up to the open street, in turn, the open street cannot attract massive crowds that jeopardize the ability to uphold mandatory orders for social distancing; 4. Incorporate precautions to prevent major disruptions to resident and business parking; 5. Invite various businesses and partners to benefit from the initiative, not just a limited few; 6. Mitigate the timing and length of the open street, in order to make the initiative more palatable for those residents and businesses who oppose it; 7. Within the current financial and human resource constraints within the City of Saint John, any open street in 2020 must be supported by in-kind resources, it must be affordable and relatively feasible to implement; 8. The open street must ensure the safety of all who benefit from it; 9. The physical implementation of the open streets and its re -opening must be efficient and cannot leave behind remnants of the animation that would interfere with the regular use of the space (i.e. garbage, signage, materials, etc); 10. The first open street initiative must be approached as a pilot and be designed to allow for ramp -up or wind -down if it is observed that the initiatives have not achieved or exceeded their desired outcome. Staff is recommending to proceed with three open street scenarios in the Uptown, occurring one -at -a -time on a rotating basis, from Friday evening to Sunday evening. The first open street would be expected to occur on July 3rd (first open street is the Canterbury/Grannan scenario) and the rotating open streets would be expected to wrap-up for the year in late September. The three scenarios include (see map in attached Power Point): 1. Pedestrianize Prince William Street from Grannan Lane to Duke Street, and Princess Street from Water Street to Canterbury Street. 2. Pedestrianize Canterbury Street from King Street to Princess Street and Grannan Lane from Prince William to near to the access of Germain Street. 3. Pedestrianize Germain Street from Princess Street to Grannan Lane and a small section of the top of Grannan Lane. While the City will be responsible for closing the streets, it will be a partnership between the City and participating businesses that are located on the closed streets to determine how they can best use the open street to drive additional business activity. The City will work with local businesses to coordinate the animation of the street, and also grant the necessary municipal approvals (i.e. municipal approval letter in order to have existing liquor licenses extended) to allow restaurants to proceed with applications for provincially regulated liquor licensing. It should be noted that the City is not seeking a liquor license for these open streets, and it will be the responsibility of participating businesses to seek such license extensions, which is unlikely to occur throughout the entire open street. The City will require that the center of the closed street remain unencumbered by temporary installations, in order to allow for the flow of emergency vehicles in the event they are required. The unencumbered street center will also act as an additional active transportation lane way for pedestrians, bikes and skateboards to comfortably flow through the open street, and prevent the susceptibility of generating large crowds during the open street initiative. Protocols will be established on-site to support the necessary temporary removal of barriers, the disbursement of people, and the ushering -in of emergency or City vehicles, businesses -delivery and/or access to private residential parking lots, if required. In partnership with the City, participating businesses will be responsible to ensure the appropriate social distancing amongst those interacting with their business and the open street. Protocols will be established to direct the flow of visitors, monitor the size of the crowd, remind visitors of social distancing expectations, and if need be, disperse the crowd if the gathering become too large. ito] Staff have assembled a schedule of the open street scenarios for July, August and September, which indicates the sequence of the scenarios (see attachment). Staff intend to hold planning sessions with businesses from each open street scenario, which will occur prior to each identified schedule open street. These will be an excellent opportunity to share plans for the open street, maximize animation, review mandatory orders for social distancing, clarify roles and responsibilities and coordinate necessary communications to maximize the value that the open streets bring to businesses in that area. A draft Open Street Policy and Procedures has been developed to support City - initiated open streets in 2020, which incorporates the above mentioned considerations among others (see attachment). Staff will seek Council's adoption of this policy and procedure by third reading of the Traffic Bylaw amendments outlined in this report (expected for June 29th, 2020). As staff has mentioned to Council in previous meetings, open streets are not universally supported by those whom it impacts, and any recommendations will bring with it opposition from residents and businesses. These specific scenarios recommend a balanced approach for citizens and businesses alike, and were developed to: • reduce the impact that the open street would have on private parking lots on these streets; • prevent any alteration or delay in Saint John Transit; • eliminate the impact of normal weekday consumer and vehicle traffic from 9AMto5PM; • distribute the location of the open streets to different areas of the Uptown commercial area. (2) 15 -minute pick-up parking Staff is recommending "pick-up" parking across the Uptown, which will change the existing two-hour parking to 15 minutes for 11 metered parking spots across the Uptown (see map in attached Power Point). This adaption is needed to support businesses who are experiencing high volumes of curbside pick-up traffic, as customers are only starting to become comfortable with in-store interactions. The 15 -minute parking will allow more regular turnover of vehicles in that parking spot, and in turn, facilitate the turnaround time that customers can access their curbside "pick-ups." In the open streets survey, 75% of business respondents in the Survey indicated that 15 -minute parking spots would have a positive or neutral impact on their business. 11 -9 - Staff intend to return to Common Council on June 29th, 2020, with the necessary bylaw amendments to execute this initiative. These changes will require three readings in order to proceed to implementation. The location of these new spots were selected to ensure that one was installed in each major block in the commercial district of the Uptown, and prevented interference with loading zones and/or designated handicap parking. (3) New community initiated street closure application form and process On June 8th, Common Council received an updated from staff on improvements to the process for community -initiated street closures, which now includes a new streamlined application process for groups interested in temporarily closing City streets for events while upholding the expectations of the mandatory public health orders on social distancing. Staff intend to return to Common Council on July 6th, 2020, with the necessary by- law amendments to introduce a new community initiated application form and process for street events, including the elimination of the 90 -day requirement to submit an application. These changes will require three readings in order to proceed to implementation. These changes will support the turnaround time and simplicity of community -initiated street closures for events. 4) Permanently pedestrianize South Market Street The discussion to pedestrianize South Market Street has been active for many years in Saint John, and it is now time to proceed with making it a permanent reality. The necessary gates have been manufactured to prevent entry in the location, and it is expected to be installed by July 3rd, 2020. This will invite a new level of interaction with this space, not only for the night market on Thursdays, but a variety of future uses and animations for the community. It should be noted that some vehicles will be permitted to access the street, in the event of an emergency, or upon the approval of the City Market Manager for purposes of delivery for Market tenants. Timelines The timeline staff is proposing for implementation is the following: • June 19th — staff recommendation made public through Common Council agenda packet; 12 -10- • June 22nd — Council to offer direction to staff and Common Council to proceed with 1St and 211 readings of amendments to the Traffic By-law to enable three open street scenarios; • June 29th — Special Council meeting for 3r1 reading of amendments to the Traffic By-law, present the final version of the 2020 Open Street Policy and Procedures for City -Initiated Open Streets for Council's consideration, 1St and 2nd readings of new 15 -minute metered parking spots in the Uptown, approval of the 2020 Open Streets Policy and Procedures for City -Initiated Open Streets; • July 31 — effective date for first open street in the Uptown; • July 6th — 3rd reading of new 15 -minute metered parking spots in the Uptown, 1St and 2nd readings of the amendments to the Traffic By-law to introduce a new community initiated application form and process for street events, including the elimination of the 90 -day requirement to submit an application; • July 13th — effective date for new 15 -minute metered parking spots; • July 20th — 3rd reading of the amendments to the Traffic By-law to introduce a new community initiated application form and process for street events, including the elimination of the 90 -day requirement to submit an application. • July 21St—effective date for new community initiated application form and process for street events, including the elimination of the 90 -day requirement to submit an application. While there may be some concerns raised with the time required to implement the staff recommendation, it should be noted that this timeline offers businesses involved in the first open street (first open street is the Canterbury/Grannan scenario) from June 19th to July 10th to begin preparing for how to best utilize the open street to drive additional business. Alternative Open Street Recommendations While staff have assembled a preferred recommendation, we felt it was important to offer "alternative recommendations," in order to give Common Council an opportunity to consider additional options before proceeding with the implementation of the desired course of action. Staff assembled and considered a variety of iterations of open streets scenarios, including: Open street every day from July to September 2020: This option would facilitate an open street not only for the weekend, but the entire week starting in July and ending in September. The likely candidate for such an 13 -11 - approach would be sections of Grannan Lane or sections of Prince William Street. As mentioned earlier, this option would not allow for fairness across the Uptown for open streets, and the survey data would indicate less favorable sentiment for open streets during the work week. As a portion of Canterbury Street is closed for 10 -weeks this summer due to construction, this option would be especially difficult to manage for impacted businesses and residents. Slow Streets: This option would invite the closure of designated metered parking areas on one -side of the street across the Uptown from July to September and slowing down the speed of vehicle traffic in order to allow for more and safer pedestrian space to navigate our urban commercial space, but also to invite some level of animation in these parking areas from local businesses. While this option has been adopted by many other communities across Canada, this would require safety requirements in the space between vehicles and pedestrians increasing costs for implementation and it would also result in significant loss of revenue for the parking commission. Full reliance on community -initiated street closures: This option would rely fully on community -initiated street closures and the City would not initiate any of its own open street scenarios. With the activity of community -initiated street closures over the past weeks, this option will likely be exercised regardless of City -initiated open streets. While the City has announced it is improving the efficiency and simplicity of community - initiated street closures for events, it remains a significant undertaking for a business or community group to proceed with applying for such approvals from the City. The City's ability to proactively approve various streets is designed to eliminate the burden of that work for local businesses, and offer additional focus on needed street animation to entice greater consumer traffic. All three open street scenarios occurring at once each weekend: This option would invite a larger open street concept for the Uptown each weekend, and would no longer offer a rotation schedule. The proposed rotating schedule allows for some level of vehicle access to the Uptown, but if all three scenarios were occurring at once, it would invite larger frustration from those with vehicles. Staff believe this could become a feasible option if the volume of participation and public interest from the 14 -12 - rotating scenarios is strong, suggesting the need to expand -upon the rotating model. SERVICE AND FINANCIAL OUTCOMES In order to support the 12 weekend open street initiatives from July 3rd until September 20th as well as the implementation of the 11 new 15 -minute parking spots, staff is requesting that Common Council invest $60,000 from the Growth Reserve Fund that is earmarked for Economic and Community Recovery. These funds will be used to support the following categories of expenditures: • We will seek local partnerships in the delivery of event planning expertise, program coordination, create operational plan, workwith local businesses, create schedules, confirm activity and liaison with municipal and provincial departments ($25,000); • The safety planning, necessary materials, installation and removal of street closure barricades, signage ($15,000); • Communications -related needs, including communications plan, signage, marketing, mapping, and any materials to facilitate the implementation of necessary social distancing protocol during open street ($20,000). These funds will only be accessed if the need arises and costs cannot be mitigated through volunteer capacity, financial partnership or access to available federal and provincial funding. In addition, staff will uphold the eight Recovery Funding criteria, adopted by Common Council on May 25, 2020, for any expenditure from the $60,000 allocation. Staff will report back to Council periodically on the progress of this Growth Reserve Fund investment and, in addition, staff will seek approval from Common Council on any additional or larger scale investments from the Growth Reserve Fund. In addition to investments from the Growth Reserve, the recommendations from this report will place considerable expectations on City staff, which in turn invite the potential for the alteration of existing work plans, delaying of pre-existing priorities and invitation for potential for overtime costs. Notable resource demands on City staff include: • Installation of additional garbage containers on open street, garbage disposal and removal of containers; 15 -13- • Staff presence, especially during peak hours of open streets, to ensure social distancing, support emergency vehicle, or other vehicle, access into open street, if needed; • Legal team needed to support suite of necessary bylaw amendments to proceed with recommendations; • Communications team to support the creation of a communications plan; • Staff to support planning sessions with local businesses to prepare for each open street. INPUT FROM OTHER SERVICE AREAS AND STAKEHOLDERS Members of the Municipal Economic and Community Recovery Team include: Commissioner of Growth and Community Development; Population Growth Manager; Manager of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs; Manager of P.R.O. Kids and Community Development; Director of Strategic Affairs; Assistant Comptroller; Deputy Commissioner of Parks and Public Spaces; Deputy Commissioner of Engineering; Municipal Engineer; Arts and Culture Coordinator; Acting City Market Manager; Director of Corporate Performance and Chief Information Officer. Additional service areas engaged to support this report includes: GIS, Police, Fire and Parking. The Solicitor's Office drafted the necessary by-law amendments that enable the recommendation outlined in this report. As indicated by the Solicitor's Office, the nature of the Saint John Traffic Bylaw amendments will achieve the following: "The amendment will be one to the Traffic By-law and will constitute a regulation of traffic" - the street will remain available to the public but will be limited to pedestrian traffic, subject to identified exceptions. In a similar fashion as to what applies in the case of "special events," the Chief of Police will be authorized to reroute traffic on stipulated streets for identified dates/times in those instances where the City Manager has determined in writing that doing so would be conducive to the economic, social or cultural well-being of the community, and also confirms that certain pre -conditions have been or will be satisfied. The conditions attached to a re-routing of traffic in connection with an event proposed by a private entity, as found in the current Traffic By -Law, will serve as a reference point. -14 - This arrangement allows very considerable flexibility and will not require a By -Law amendment for each such rerouting." ATTACHMENTS 1. Scheduling and sequencing of three open street scenarios 2. Draft 2020 Open Street Policy and Procedures: City -Initiated Open Streets 3. 2020 Open Streets Recommendation Power Point 4. Amendment to the Saint John Traffic By-law 17 -15 - Schedule and sequencing of three open street scenarios Scenario #1: Pedestrianize Prince William Street from Grannan Lane to Duke Street, and Princess Street from Water Street to Canterbury Street. Scenario #2: Pedestrianize Canterbury Street from King Street to Princess Street and Grannan Lane from Prince William to near to the access of Germain Street. Scenario #3: Pedestrianize Germain Street from Princess Street to Grannan Lane and a small section of the top of Grannan Lane. Dates Scenario July 3rd —July 5th #2 July 10th—July 12th #3 July 17th—July 191h #1 July 24th—July 261h #2 July 3111 —August 2nd #3 August 7th — August 9th #1 August 14th — August 16th #2 August 21St —August 23rd #3 August 28th — August 30th #1 September 4th — September 6th #2 September 11th — September 13th #3 September 18th — September 20th #1 iF:3 n y hiffiated..... Open Streets 113rograrn General Policies and Procedures 1. The City Initiated Open Streets Program, hereafter called the Open Streets Program, is a program designed to permit pedestrian traffic only on streets or portions thereof. 2. The primary purpose of the Open Streets Program is to enable and accelerate local economic and community activity in Saint John and to drive additional pedestrian traffic in the City's commercial areas. 3. All legislation, by-laws, and regulations will be adhered to, including Mandatory Orders from the Province of New Brunswick. 4. The City will display clear messaging and required on-site signage on the street or portion thereof through the Open Streets Program. 5. The City will permit vendors, merchants, restaurants and other businesses to occupy designated areas of the street or portion thereof and sell their goods and services while the Open Streets Program is in effect. 6. Food Vendors are required to apply for and obtain appropriate licenses. Licenses must be displayed at all times. 7. At its own discretion, the City will designate areas available for businesses to occupy on the street or portion thereof. The boundaries of these designated areas can be used in applications for a liquor license by businesses. 8. Liquor sales and consumption will be permitted only in licensed areas. The responsibility of obtaining a liquor license is that of the business. Alcohol may not be sold or consumed outside of the licensed areas. SAINT JOHN RO. Box 1971 C.P. 1971 Saint John, NB Saint John, N.. -B, Canada E2L 4L1 Canada, E2IL 41 www.sauntJolhn.ca 9. The City will implement a safety plan for each instance pedestrian traffic only will be permitted on a street or portion thereof through the Open Streets Program. This plan will include Fire, Police, and Traffic Flow plans and will receive signoff by the corresponding service areas. 10. The City will designate a laneway through the middle of the street or portion thereof for emergency access. This laneway will act as the primary pedestrian corridor and no temporary structures or installations of any kind will be permitted on this laneway. 11. All motor vehicle traffic will be suspended on the street or portion thereof except for authorized emergency vehicles, City vehicles, business -delivery vehicles requiring access and/or passenger vehicles requiring access to private residential parking lots (if required). Any vehicle travelling through the street or portion thereof will need at least one guide that is standing outside the vehicle to watch out for pedestrians and direct the vehicle to its destination. 12. The City will have barriers or barricades at designated intersections restricting motor vehicle traffic. Barriers or barricades will be opened or removed in case of required access by exempted vehicles as described in paragraph 11. 13. The Fire Department will inspect the street or portion thereof to ensure all safety measures have been taken. 14. There will be a designated on-site liaison on the street or portion thereof who will verify that these policies and procedures are being complied with at all times. 15. The use of separate recycling and solid waste receptacles is required and they will be placed on the street or portion thereof. The City will ensure that the receptacles are emptied on a regular basis and no refuse overflows onto the sidewalks or street. Businesses are responsible for the collection of solid waste on their designated areas. 16. The City will notify in advance all businesses and residents located on the street or portion thereof by posting a notice on the City's website. SAINT JOHN RO. Box 1971 C.P. 1971 Saint John, NB Saint John, N.. -B, Canada E2L 4L1 Canada, E2IL 4L1 www.sauntJolhn.ca K91 17. The City will be responsible for street cleaning, set up and take down of barriers or barricades, City owned pylons, picnic tables, exterior lighting, staging, and any other City owned structures placed on the street or portion thereof. 18. Before any tents, in ground fencing, sign posts or other structures are staked to the ground, locates must be sought through obtaining utility locates from the Call Before You Dig service at 1 -866 -DIG LINE (344-5463). 19. All temporary structures must be indicated on the Site Plan. 20. City staff will notify all relevant services areas of the use of a street or portion thereof for pedestrian traffic only. Approved by Common Council Date RO. Box 1971 C.P. 1971 Saint John, NB Saint John, N.. -B, Canada E2L 4L1 Canada, E2IL 41 SAINT JOHN www.sauntJolhn.ca 21 I N rj -0 0. o I m _U I Lr) : : k _ \ m / ) 2 & � � � 4--J ° § 0 � - CL :\0 0 » #; \ « c C:CL & Cd : . : CL 0 a) » / & 0 : 0 » - \ % 0 # d � 0.—.— C : \ : / k} *< *< \ . § to § « \ ° w 2. . #< , >. E » #; » 0 : : . cr } \ k _ a \ k k ° ( � §r » 2 \ . M § o § k e � \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ I m k _ \ m / ) 2 k _ a \ k k ° ( � §r » 2 \ . M § o § k e � \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ I m Z5 U*I) 4--) Q) Q) L- 4--) ^) C) 0 L O o Lr) 00 cn =3 ? C: •— O ca O -0 C: •— •� O 4-J N N (f) O o _0 J L w i n O O O m i o sle 64 �� N � , U ate-+ i N O +-+ O Q 0.- 4 O 0 CAM _ '� o Ln ' N O r—I r—I L- 0 0 ¥# � #< 4— .4 4—J \ .r 4—J 0 0 \ — � . \ � 0 ,T 0 # \ .: < 0 04- \4 : 4-J , 4-J ° : #< `� C 0 \ � 2• ,� w «< : \ ` , 3 7 \� . 4 ^ % ~ < \ ? \0 CL ` a } . ~}\ .. \ ? 2 0-0 \ ° } #< r—I r—I N r -I V M uW� sur atm: Un q..x 41) Vu7 ILILP adl7 E V47, 7',`: 0 Vu7 all7 a✓u V�.P ¢' u �.,. V�II7 d'9 q,x II II.p Vu7; 4q:tl pWx i71, Vu'tl �i V ubu7 Ip �. E VIII a';,y t x;117 Va% .,,, C V92. � b w x .. '. d9 q..x a✓u Vu7, q,x 1117 u7 � � ������ IIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIII � o V M Iaw I LID aalm 00 0 o 11� q aJIU 0 o 0 q 0 o C; q 0 en 11, 0 OM �'*Ni[ OR R I LID aalm 11� 4--) U 4--) cn 0 4--) C6 C6 4--) cn Q) DC Q cn 4--) Q) Q) L- 4--) Q) Q N u I s/ UO 4--) Q) Q) 4--) V) Q) 0 0 4--) Q) 4--) m Q) U m C) Q) Q) H 9 I a 9 Q) 0 Q) (O 0 0 L. - r) UO 4--) Q) Q) 4--) V) Q) 0 4--) 0 ryoo () 0 0 L. - r) UO 4--) Q) Q) 4--) V) Q) 0 4--) 0 ryoo () 0 0 L. - r) El 12 2 g E, 41, P @6 x0 1 41 IV, Cu s. a a T. to p 0 7�2 eb v kv m 4 ij po 'a d1r, .4 "i f4 4 tAj 6 M N 2N u Lfi N ■ lD N MAI 4--) (O Q) D CT Q) nrooD H Q) Q) (O Q) nroo 4--) O r� V A BY-LAW TO AMEND A BY-LAW RESPECTING THE TRAFFIC ON STREETS IN THE CITY OF SAINT JOHN, BY-LAW NUMBER MV -10.1, AND AMENDMENTS THERETO ARRETE MODIFIANT VARRETE RELATIF A LA CIRCULATION DANS LES RUES DE THE CITY OF SAINT JOHN, ARRETE NUMERO MV -10.1, ET MODIFICATIONS AFFERENTES Be it enacted by the Common Council of Lors d'une reunion du conseil municipal, The City of Saint John as follows: The City of Saint John a decrete cc qui suit: A By-law of The City of Saint John entitled "A By-law respecting the Traffic On Streets in The City of Saint John, By-law Number MV -10.1" and amendments thereto, enacted on the 71' day of October, A.D. 2019, is hereby amended as follows: Par les presentes, 1' arrete de The City of Saint John intitule « Arrete relatif a la circulation dans les rues de The City of Saint John, Arrete numero MV -10.1 » et modifications afferentes, decrete le 7e jour d'octobre 2019, est modifie comme suit: 1. Subsection 2(2) is amended by adding the 1. Le paragraphe 2(2) est modifie par following definition: 1' adj onction de la definition suivante : "City Manager" means the City Manager of the City and includes his designate and successor (directeur generao;" directeur general » designe le directeur general de la municipalite et inclut son representant et successeur (City Manager) » 2. The following subsection is added 2. Le paragraphe suivant est ajoute immediately after subsection 16(7): immediatement apres le paragraphe 16(7) : "16(8) Pedestrian traffic only, including associated commercial and entertainment activity, is permitted upon a street or a portion thereof and on the dates and during the times stipulated by the City Manager, and the Chief of Police is accordingly authorized to re-route motor vehicle traffic, upon condition that the City Manager has first confirmed in writing and filed with the Chief of Police, his assessment that: (a) such restriction will be conducive to the economic, social or cultural well-being of the community; (b) adequate provision has been made to assure access and egress for: 16(8) Seule la circulation pietonniere, y compris les activites commerciales et les activites de divertissement qui y soot associees, est permise sur une rue ou sur un tron�on de rue, aux dates et heures stipulees par le directeur general, et le chef de police est ainsi autorise a detourner la circulation automobile, sous reserve que le directeur general ait d'abord confirme par ecrit et depose aupres du chef de police, son evaluation : a) qu'une telle restriction sera favorable au biers -etre economique, social et culturel de la communaute; b) que des dispositions adequates ont ete prises pour garantir 1' acces et la sortie : i) authorized emergency vehicles; i) des vehicules d'urgence autorises; 61► ii) commercial operations fronting on the street or portion thereof in question; and iii) tenants residing in buildings fronting on the street or portion thereof in question; (c) arrangements have been made for i) notification of the community generally and the residents or businesses located on the street or portion thereof in question; ii) personnel to erect, operate and remove barriers or barricades; and iii) the collection, separation and removal of recyclables and solid waste." IN WITNESS WHEREOF The City of Saint John has caused the Corporate Common Seal of the said City to be affixed to this by-law the day of , A.D., 2020 signed by: ii) aux exploitations commerciales donnant sur la rue ou le tron�on de rue en question; iii) des locataires qui resident dans des batiments donnant sur la rue ou le tron�on de rue en question; c) que des dispositions ont ete prises : i) pour Bonner avis a la communaute et aux residents et commerces situes sur la rue ou le tron�on de rue en question; pour permettre aux employes d' eriger, de manipuler et de retirer les barrieres ou les barrages; et pour permettre a la collecte, le tri et 1' enlevement des matieres recyclables et des ordures. » EN FOI DE QUOI, The City of Saint John a fait apposer son sceau municipal sur le present arrete le 2020, avec les signatures suivantes : Mayor / maire Common Clerk / greffier communal First Reading - Premiere lecture - Second Reading - Deuxieme lecture - Third Reading - Troisieme lecture - 6V COMMON COUNCIL REPORT M&C No. 2020-170 Report Date June 23, 2020 Meeting Date June 29, 2020 Service Area Growth and Community Development Services His Worship Mayor Don Darling and Members of Common Council SUBJECT: Economic and Community Recovery - 15 Minute Parking Spaces OPEN OR CLOSED SESSION This matter is to be discussed in open session of Common Council. AUTHORIZATION Primary Author Commissioner/Dept. Head City Manager Marc Dionne Jacqueline Hamilton John Collin RECOMMENDATION Staff recommend that Common Council adopt the following resolutions: 1. Common Council authorize 151 and 2nd readings of the Amendment to the Saint John Traffic By-law attached to M&C No. 2020-170; EXECUTIVE SUMMARY After reviewing feedback from 2000 respondents of the City of Saint John's, 80 participants in the virtual town halls, and consultation with external economic development agencies and partners, staff are recommending introducing 10 new 15 -minute pickup parking spots across Uptown. These spots are currently designated as 2 hour parking spaces, and it is believed that by changing these 10 spaces to 15 minute parking spaces, it will increase parking turnover in the Uptown peninsula, and will allow more customers to quickly visit businesses for take-out and pick-up. These 10 spaces will still be paid spaces, and will continue to be enforced by the Saint John Parking Commission. 6'i! -2 - PREVIOUS RESOLUTION Council directed staff to proceed with submission of this report on June 22, 2020 Resolved That: Council direct the City Manager to present Common Council with by-law amendments to introduce 15 -minute parking spots at pre-existing two- hour metered parking spots in the central peninsula as further detailed in M&C No. 2020-167 on the 29th of June, 2020; STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT Economic and Community Recovery On May 25, through the advice of the Growth Committee, Common Council adopted a series of resolutions to proceed with the City's Municipal Economic and Community Recovery Planning, including the implementation of immediate initiatives, added consultation on open streets and parameters to access funding from the Growth Reserve Fund earmarked for recovery. SERVICE AND FINANCIAL OUTCOMES Implementing this change will have a manageable service and financial impact. There will be a loss of 10 medium term (2 hour) parking spaces for the public which will be converted to 10 short term (15 minute) parking spaces. There are many medium term metered spaces that remain across the Uptown. 6191 -3 - Generally, the Parking Strategy of MoveSJ describes an over -abundance of parking in the South Central Peninsula. INPUT FROM OTHER SERVICE AREAS AND STAKEHOLDERS Members of the Municipal Economic and Community Recovery Team include: Commissioner of Growth and Community Development; Population Growth Manager; Manager of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs; Manager of P.R.O. Kids and Community Development; Director of Strategic Affairs; Assistant Comptroller; Deputy Commissioner of Parks and Public Spaces; Deputy & Traffic Engineer; Commissioner of Engineering; Municipal Engineer; Arts and Culture Coordinator; Acting City Market Manager; Director of Corporate Performance and Chief Information Officer. Additional service areas engaged to support this report includes: GIS & the Parking Commission. The Solicitor's Office drafted the necessary by-law amendments to enable the recommendation outlined in this report. ATTACHMENTS 1. Amendment to the Saint John Traffic By-law 67� A BY-LAW TO AMEND A BY-LAW RESPECTING THE REGULATION OF PARKING IN THE CITY OF SAINT JOHN, BY-LAW NUMBER LG -8, AND AMENDMENTS THERETO ARRETE MODIFIANT VARRETE RELATIF A LA REGLEMENTATION DU STATIONNEMENT DANS THE CITY OF SAINT JOHN, ARRETE NUMERO LG -8, ET MODIFICATIONS AFFERENTES Be it enacted by the Common Council of Lors d'une reunion du conseil municipal, The City of Saint John as follows: The City of Saint John a d&cr&t& cc qui suit: A By-law of The City of Saint John entitled "A By-law respecting the Regulation of Parking in The City of Saint John, By-law Number LG -8" and amendments thereto, enacted on the 271' day of January, A.D. 2020, is hereby amended as follows: Par les pr&sentes, 1' arret& de The City of Saint John intitul& « Arret& relatif a la r&glementation du stationnement dans The City of Saint John, Arrete num&ro LG -8 » et modifications aff&rentes, decrete le 27' jour d'janvier 2020, est modifi& comme suit : 1. The following subsection is added 1. Le paragraphe suivant est ajout& immediately after subsection 7(5): imm&diatement apr&s le paragraphe 7(5) : "7(6) No person shall park a vehicle in a parking space listed in Schedule "A-1" unless the fee that is shown on the parking machine for the use of the parking space has been paid and the time has not expired." 2. Schedule "A-1" — Parking Spaces for Specified Times is added immediately after Schedule "A": 7(6) 11 est interdit de stationner un v&hicule dans un emplacement de stationnement mentionn&e a 1'annexe « A-1 » a moires que les frais indiqu&s sur la machine pour payer le stationnement pour 1'utilisation de 1'emplacement de stationnement aient &t& acquitt&s et que le temps de stationnement permis ne soit pas &coul&. » 2. L'annexe « A-1 » — Emplacement de stationnement a des heures pr&cis&es est ajout&e immediatement apres 1' annexe « A » : SCHEDULE A-1 PARKING SPACES FOR SPECIFIED TIMES ANNEXE A-1 EMPLACEMENT DE STATIONNEMENT A DES HEURES PRECISEES Street Side Limits Time Rue C6t6 Limites Dur6e Canterbury East Commencing at a 15 rue est a partir d'un point 15 Street point 12 metres mins. Canterbury situ& a 12 metres au min north of Grannan nord de la rue Street and Grannan jusqu'a un extending 6.5 point situ& 6,5 metres northerly metres plus loin en direction nord 6'tl Charlotte East Commencing at a 15 rue est a partir d'un point 15 Street point 9.3 metres mins. Charlotte situ& a 9,3 metres min north of King au nord de la place Square North and King Nord jusqu'a extending 6.5 un point situ& 6,5 metres northerly metres plus loin en direction nord Germain East Commencing at a 15 rue est a partir d'un point 15 Street point 4 metres mins. Germain situ& a 4 metres au min north of North nord de la rue Market Street and North Market extending 6.5 jusqu'a un point metres southerly situ& 6,5 metres plus loin en direction sud Germain East Commencing at a 15 rue est a partir d'un point 15 Street point 46.5 metres mins. Germain situ& a 46,5 metres min south of King au sud de la rue Street and King jusqu'a un extending 6.5 point situ& 6,5 metres southerly metres plus loin en direction sud Germain West Commencing at a 15 rue ouest a partir d'un point 15 Street point 37.4 metres mins. Germain situ& a 37,4 metres min north of Princess au nord de la rue Street and Princess jusqu'a un extending 6.5 point situ& 6,5 metres northerly metres plus loin en direction nord King Square South Commencing at a 15 place King sud a partir d'un point 15 North point 14.4 metres mins. Nord situ& a 14,4 metres min east of Charlotte au 1'est de la rue Street and Charlotte jusqu'a extending 3.6 un point situ& 3,6 metres easterly metres plus loin en direction est Prince East Commencing at a 15 rue Prince est a partir d'un point 15 William point 17.2 metres mins. William situ& a 17,2 metres min Street north of Princess au nord de la rue Street and Princess jusqu'a un extending 6.5 point situ& 6,5 6'1:3 IN WITNESS WHEREOF The City of Saint John has caused the Corporate Common Seal of the said City to be affixed to this by-law the day of , A.D., 2020 signed by: EN FOI DE QUOI, The City of Saint John a fait apposer son sceau municipal sur le pr&sent arret& le 2020, avec les signatures suivantes Mayor / maire Common Clerk / greffier communal First Reading - Premiere lecture - Second Reading - Deuxi&me lecture - Third Reading - Troisi&me lecture - 6'1%] metres northerly metres plus loin en direction nord Prince West Commencing at a 15 rue Prince ouest a partir d'un point 15 William point 37.2 metres mins. William situ& a 37,2 metres min Street south of King au sud de la rue Street and King jusqu'a un extending 6.5 point situ& 6,5 metres southerly metres plus loin en direction sud Princess North Commencing at a 15 rue Princess nord a partir d'un point 15 Street point 8.9 metres mins. situ& a 8,9 metres min east of Canterbury au 1'est de la rue Street and Canterbury jusqu'a extending 6.5 un point situ& 6,5 metres easterly metres plus loin en direction est Princess North Commencing at a 15 rue Princess nord a partir d'un point 15 Street point 44.9 metres mins. situ& a 44,9 metres min west of Charlotte a 1'ouest de la rue Street and Charlotte jusqu'a extending 6.5 un point situ& 6,5 metres westerly metres plus loin en direction ouest IN WITNESS WHEREOF The City of Saint John has caused the Corporate Common Seal of the said City to be affixed to this by-law the day of , A.D., 2020 signed by: EN FOI DE QUOI, The City of Saint John a fait apposer son sceau municipal sur le pr&sent arret& le 2020, avec les signatures suivantes Mayor / maire Common Clerk / greffier communal First Reading - Premiere lecture - Second Reading - Deuxi&me lecture - Third Reading - Troisi&me lecture - 6'1%] COUNCIL REPORT M&C No. 2020-169 Report Date June 24, 2020 Meeting Date June 29, 2020 Service Area Transportation and Environment Services His Worship Mayor Don Darling and Members of Common Council SUBJECT: Sustainability Item - Arena Closure Plan Follow -Up OPEN OR CLOSED SESSION This matter is to be discussed in open session of Common Council. AUTHORIZATION Primary Authors Commissioner/Dept. Head City Manager Tim O'Reilly Michael Hugenholtz John Collin RECOMMENDATIONS Your City Manager recommends Common Council: 1. Lift item 12.3 on Common Council's June 22, 2020 agenda (M&C 2020- 155 "Implementing Arena Closure Plan — Sustainability Item") from the table, replacing your City Manager's recommendation in that report with the recommendations in M&C 2020-169. 2. Close the Hilton Belyea arena. 3. Withhold a decision to demolish the building, until and if recommendations 4 and 5 are pursued without success. 4. Direct your City Manager to continue to explore alternative uses for the property. These could range from new private development to the use of existing infrastructure under a different business model. 5. Endorse that any option for the Hilton Belyea property must result in a net savings of at least $155,000 to the City of Saint John Arena Operating & Maintenance Budget, including and specifically accounting for variances in associated revenues. 6. In addition to the short-term decisions associated with the closure of one arena, direct the City Manager to develop a long-term ice strategy for the City of Saint John, ideally in cooperation with our regional partners, and provide the necessary recommendations to Common Council in the second half of 2021. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY N/A -2 - PREVIOUS RESOLUTIONS On October 7, 2019, it was resolved by Council to receive and file M&C 2019- 249: 'Sustainability: Addressing the Deficit 2021-2022'. On December 16, 2019, it was resolved by Council to endorse the proposed 'Arena Closure — Sustainability Item' through the closure and divestment of one (1) of the four (4) arenas that are owned and operated by the City of Saint John as an option to be considered in addressing the entirety of the deficit in 2021 and 2022. On May 4, 2020, it was resolved that Common Council adopt the following: 1. Approve the implementation of the Sustainability Plan and all elements as presented to address the projected deficit of $10 Million through workforce adjustments (60%), revenue generation, service changes, and continuous improvement efforts in 2021 and 2022. 2. Direct the City Manager to return to Council as and when required for implementation plan approval, including any changes to bylaws, policies or Council guidance and direction. 3. Approve the implementation of Standby Sustainability Initiatives as prioritized to ensure the entirety of the deficit is addressed, inclusive of updated deficit figures, to balance the 2021 and 2022 general fund operating budgets. Staff notes the Sustainability Plan approved on May 4, 2020 included closure of one arena. On June 22, 2020 Common Council: 1. Tabled a City staff recommendation to "Authorize the City to seek a purchaser for the property upon which the Hilton Belyea arena and adjacent sorts field is located, with the condition that the site not be operated as an arena", and Referred a General Correspondence titled "A Community Based 5 -Year Sustainability Plan for the Charles Gorman Arena and Hilton Belyea Arena" to the City's Growth Committee. REPORT At its June 22, 2020 meeting Common Council tabled a recommendation by City staff to close the Hilton Belyea Arena and seek a purchaser of the associated property with the condition that the building not be used as an arena. City staff's report addressed two main themes, with a recommendation that the first theme be addressed now and the second theme be addressed no earlier than in the year 2021: AI -3- 1. Consistent with Prong 2 of the City's Restructuring Plan and Council's approved Sustainability Plan, the report recommended closing the Hilton Belyea Arena instead of the Charles Gorman Arena based on a multi- faceted analysis with the resulting $155,000 estimated net savings contributing to the $10 million estimated deficit in 2021, and 2. Consistent with Prong 3 of the City's Restructuring Plan, the report discussed developing a long term Ice Strategy that addresses topics such as arena ownership/operating models, investigating arena replacement options, and seeking regional collaboration on the management of arenas. The staff report discussed the oversupply of arenas in Saint John as a main factor in staff's recommendation that the closed arena should not be operated as an arena regardless of ownership/operating model. Until demand is reduced, City arena operations will not be able to maximize revenues. This will continue to put upwards pressure on hourly rates for our user groups, and increase costs to taxpayers. Ice Strategy City staff's report and presentation of June 22, 2020 briefly addressed the need for a long term Ice Strategy for the City. This report expands upon the intended scope and timing of this strategy. Regarding timing, 2021 is the earliest this strategy can be completed. The City of Saint John will have addressed its short-term sustainability challenges by the time this strategy is commenced in 2021. This will be an important milestone in advance of the City re-engaging our regional partners with an opportunity to undertake the Ice Strategy as a regional project. Stakeholder engagement will be an integral part of this strategy, and this takes time to get right. In addition, the closure of an arena and the introduction of non-resident user fees will alter the supply -demand equation. It is important that the proper time be allowed for demand to stabilize so that future arena requirements can be properly determined. This Ice Strategy must be a comprehensive analysis addressing multiple components within its scope including, in relative sequential order: 1. Re -Evaluating Commitment to Regional Approach - Ice arenas are truly regionally used recreation facilities. Regional agreement on management of arenas can introduce new opportunities such as evaluating regional demand and supply needs as decisions are made to replace older arenas in the region including those in Saint John, and incorporating values, views on subsidization levels and operating models of respective regional Council's. Concluding whether this strategy will or will not be a regional one early in the strategy's development will impact outcomes of the remaining components listed below. I' -4- 2. Updating or Confirming Prioritized Community Values — Through various policies, Common Council has prioritized several values in the management of City owned and operated arenas. These including financial and asset management, as well as prioritization of youth, senior, non-profit, and recreational based user groups in Council approved Ice Allocation and Recreation Subsidization policies. While these policies reflect the values of the community, there are associated costs. There are opportunities to maximize revenues that have not been explored because of these policies. For example, there would be increased revenues if more primetime ice times were allocated to adult user groups, or for-profit bookings. It is important for Council to reconfirm their commitment to these values, particularly in the context of the discussion around alternative operating models. 3. Subsidization Review — Common Council approved in December 2019 a series of Recreation Subsidization Policies, with both taxpayer and user contributions to operating and maintenance costs, as well as differential recovery values for youth, seniors, adults, non-residents, for-profit businesses, tournaments, and schools. This review would take place after a full ice arena season would have passed, creating an opportunity for reflection within this broader strategy. Are the current cost recovery values appropriate, need to be increased, could/should consider Capital costs, or alternatively, is the provision of ice arenas, or recreation services more broadly a core City service where more or full taxpayer subsidization is appropriate? 4. Community Versus Consolidation of Arena Inventory — PlaySJ recommends consolidating City owned and operated arenas into one or two multiplex ice arena facilities. The alternative is the current dispersed, community-based arena model. The current City owned arenas continue to get older and updated condition assessments have been completed creating even more opportunity to evaluate long term arena asset plans. The intent of this component of the Ice Strategy is to finalize a firm recommended approach for Common Council's consideration, with an aspirational goal of presenting a "shovel ready" recommendation to implement. S. Operating and Ownership Models — Various ownership and operating models of arenas within the City are to be assessed with a recommended approach. Decisions such as whether consolidated, new multi-plex facilities are to be built and confirmed or updated community values confirmed previously in this Strategy will impact which approaches are recommended. The process must be deliberate, fair, comprehensive, and allow interested proponents to respond to a scope of work developed by the City. This Ice Strategy must also: • Include extensive stakeholder consultations on each component of the plan's development, and W -5- • Align with other strategies and priorities such as PlanSJ, the City's Growth Strategy, and the City's Long Term Financial Plan. Addressing Feedback from Councillors During the discussion on this topic at the last meeting, certain Councillors expressed the desire that additional options for the closed arena should be explored before Common Council lifts this item from the table and considers a decision. Later in the same meeting, Common Council referred a proposal to explore alternate operating and/or ownership models for both the Hilton Belyea and Charles Gorman Arenas to the City's Growth Committee. City staff has reflected on Common Council's tabling and referral decisions of its June 22, 2020 meeting. City staff believes the revised and expanded staff recommendations in this report address previous Council decisions, continued alignment with Prong 2 and Prong 3 of the City's Restructuring Plan, as well as the comments, concerns, and related decisions of Common Council at this previous meeting June 22 meeting. City staff believe the revised recommendations in this report: 1. Align with Council's previous decision to close one city owned and operated arena, 2. Continue to contribute $155,000 toward the $10 million deficit projected for 2021, thus preventing a need to explore items on the Sustainability Plan's "stand-by" list, 3. Permit continued pursuance of a long term Ice Strategy, whether that be a regional or City -only strategy, 4. Expand upon the options the City Manager must pursue related to the closed arena, and 5. Permit alternate operating and ownership models for arenas to be viewed through multiple strategic lenses, including alignment with growth of the City, such as the proposal referred one week ago to the Growth Committee. Expression of Interest City staff intend to pursue an Expression of Interest (EOI) for the sale of the Hilton Belyea property as one example to demonstrate City staff's plan to implement your City Manager's recommendations in this report, if adopted by Council. This EOI would have the theme of an "all options" approach where proponents would consider the property and building "as is". The EOI would expressly indicate the need to consider financial impacts, including on City expenses and revenues. This would be to ensure this sustainability item delivers on the $155,000 net contribution to the $10 million deficit in 2021. A*I -6 - Toward Continuously Upholding the City's Arena Financial Values Re-examining Council's, and by extension the community's prioritized values entrenched in our arena management plan going forward will be an important exercise. The values can compete against each other. The value placed on the financial aspects of City arena management are important now more than ever, again always in context of the other values important to the community. As presented previously, City staff have implemented several continuous improvement initiatives and revenue generating projects, in an attempt to maximize revenues, reduce costs (and by extension reduce taxpayer subsidization and user fees) while upholding all other important community values within Council policies. The City has also recently completed an analysis of our existing arena infrastructure to better understand future investment needs. In a similar focus on these core values, financial in particular, City staff would be entertaining the notion of "non -competition" clauses within all EOI and/or sale options related to the Hilton Belyea arena. By way of example, it would not make sound financial sense to permit the Hilton Belyea arena to be sold where clients of City owned arenas (LBR included) are drawn away to this private enterprise. Doing so would reduce revenues the City collects, again to minimize financial exposure to both City taxpayers and user groups of City owned arenas. The City of Saint John is not a private business, but our "shareholders" (City taxpayers) and in this case important community stakeholders (our arena user groups) count on our leadership to protect their financial interests while upholding all other values important to the community. In this respect, City staff would strongly promote a "non -competition" clause as we explore opportunities for the Hilton Belyea property. STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT This report aligns with: • Common Council's "book -ended" priorities of Growth and Financial Stewardship, • 2021-2022 Sustainability Plan addressing the projected $10 million deficit, • The City's Restructuring Plan, • Common Council's commitment to pursuing recreation regionally as a partnership with our municipal neighbours, • Other strategic plans such as the City's Growth Strategy, asset management, Long Term Financial Plan, and PlaySJ AW SERVICE AND FINANCIAL OUTCOMES This report continues to meet a goal of contributing $155,000 toward the $10 million deficit projected for 2021, albeit with expanded opportunities to achieve the same outcome. Divesting of one arena will also reduce the City's Capital investment demands by over $4 million over the next 25 years. INPUT FROM OTHER SERVICE AREAS AND STAKEHOLDERS N/A ATTACHMENTS City staff presentation to Common Council C�� fat VY �e r, t � r 1P�f/ uwb w 1 .. i� rip � �OF,��: II r rr. a'n�'dGf� Yk' � v u Y l 'a I / r ✓i/� fat Q) Q) E �U D O U O N O N 1 N N Q) D h) D 4--) U D L.- 4-) UO Q) nC a--) U O Q) U Q) Q) nC Q) 4--) Q) Q) (O O U O 4 - UO Q) D O O Q) X W Q) Q) U Q) O 4- 0 UO Q) Q) m