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2011/03/21 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE AGENDA FIFTH MEETING Monday, March 21, 2011 5:15 p.m. City Hall, Committee Room #2A & B 1) Approval of the February 28, 2011 Committee of the Whole minutes. 2) REPORTS: STAFF CONTACT: a) TS- 2011 -17 Downtown Board of Management Request for 2 -hour Free Parking on Queen StreetNalley Way Karl Dren b) HR-2011-02 Fire Department Full Time Recruitment Trent Dark 3) NEW BUSINESS: 4) ADJOURNMENT: IN- CAMERA SESSION a) Resolution to go into Closed Meeting. MINUTES OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Monday, February 28, 2011 Committee Room 2, 4:00 P.M. All members of Council were present. Councillor loannoni chaired the meeting. 1) MINUTES: a) MOVED on the motion of Councillor Maves, seconded by Councillor Wing that the minutes of the February 14, 2011 Committee of the Whole meeting be approved. Motion: Carried Action: Recommendation submitted to Council February 28, 2011. Councillor Pietrangelo arrived 4:15 p.m. 2) PRESENTATIONS: a) Presentation by Niagara Falls Soccer Club Tim Chamberlain, President, and Nick Montanaro of the Niagara Falls Soccer Club made a brief presentation to the Committee on the proposed indoor facility the Club would like to construct. They are looking to continue their partnership with the City and would appreciate any assistance possible. MOVED on the motion of Councillor Thomson, seconded by Councillor Kerrio that the information be referred to staff to come back with a report. Motion: Carried Action: Recommendation submitted to Council February 28, 2011. 3) REPORTS: a) R- 2011 -05 Implementation of a Smoke -free By -law for Parks, Recreation Outdoor Facilities and Greenspace MOVED on the motion of Councillor Wing, seconded by Councillor Maves that the report be deferred. Motion: Defeated Opposed: Councillors Gates, Kerrio, Morocco, Pietrangelo, Thomson and Mayor Diodati. MOVED on the motion of Councillor Kerrio, seconded by Councillor Morocco that smoking not be permitted at all City facilities, including bus shelters. Motion: Carried Opposed: Councillor Maves and Wing Action: Recommendation submitted to Council February 28, 2011. -2- b) MW- 2011 -11 2011 Water Conservation Program MOVED on the motion of Councillor Pietrangelo, seconded by Councillor Thomson that Council approve the 2011 Water Conservation Program including the Low -flow Toilet Replacement rebate program and the Rain Barrel program and that funding in the amount of $ 40,000 be included in the 2011 Municipal Utility Budget for these programs. Motion: Carried Action: Recommendation submitted to Council February 28, 2011. c) MW- 2011 -10 Mewburn Road Bridge Project Cost Sharing Referral to the Canadian Transportation Agency MOVED on the motion of Councillor Thomson, seconded by Councillor Wing that Council authorize staff to file an application with the Canadian Transportation Agency to resolve outstanding cost sharing issues with CN for the replacement of the Mewburn Road Bridge. Motion: Carried Opposed: Councillor Gates Action: Recommendation submitted to Council February 28, 2011. d) PD- 2011 -14 Final Location for Queen Victoria Monument MOVED on the motion of Councillor Wing, seconded by Councillor Thomson that the Queen Victoria Monument be located at the northeast corner of the Niagara Falls History Museum site. Motion: Carried Action: Recommendation submitted to Council February 28, 2011. e) HR- 2011 -01 Fire Services Full Time Recruitment MOVED on the motion of Councillor Thomson, seconded by Councillor Wing that the issue of Fire Service be recruiting be referred back to staff to return with a recruitment policy based on the Council discussion at the COTW meeting. Motion: Carried Action: Recommendation submitted to Council February 28, 2011. 3) ADJOURNMENT: MOVED on the motion of Councillor Kerrio, seconded by Councillor Wing that the meeting be adjourned at 6:00 p.m. and Committee move into an In- Camera Session. Motion: Carried TS- 2011 -17 NiagaraFalls March 21, 2011 REPORT TO: Councilor Carolynn loannoni, Chair and Members of the Committee of the Whole City of Niagara Falls, Ontario SUBMITTED BY: Transportation Services Department SUBJECT: TS- 2011 -17 Downtown Board of Management Request for 2 Hour Free Parking on Queen StreetlValley Way RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the request for free parking along Queen Street and Valley Way be deferred until after the completion of the comprehensive Parking Operations study due in June. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Downtown core has an equal number of on- street free parking as it does pay parking spaces. There is acceptance of pay parking along Queen Street during regular business day (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) as demonstrated by the fact that parking along Queen Street is fully utilized as opposed to the underutilized side street free parking. Providing parking free of charge makes prime parking spaces rarely available because they can be used by employees and customers for extended lengths of time, making it more difficult to find available prime parking space than when it was not free. Providing 2 hour free parking zones is more labour intensive then pay parking zones due to the fact that it requires documenting each licence plate every time the officer sees the vehicle, as opposed to just verifying whether someone has paid or not. In addition, we find that many people react to tickets negatively while paying a reasonable parking fee is accepted. When a BIA requests free parking, traditional methods of offsetting maintenance and operating costs for free parking requests in BIA areas are instituted through a yearly levy or the use of other funds such as CIP funds used to offset free parking on Queen Street and Valley Way last year. Providing Free parking will impact on the General Purposes Budget by approximately $34,900.00 and is contrary to the Strategic Priorities recently approved. Construction is slated to start in September. During the construction periods, parking will be free within the blocks being reconstructed when not conflicting with construction activities. This would aid the business in the development zones by providing a parking incentive to business most affected. The remainder of Queen Street and Valley Way, not impacted by the construction, will remain pay parking unless the BIA offsets the costs as outlined later in the report. All side streets will remain free "two hour" parking zones as always. March 21, 2011 -2- TS- 2011 -17 BACKGROUND Staff are currently in the process of undertaking a comprehensive review of operational and capital needs for the Municipal Parking System to be completed in June. The purpose of this review is to develop a ten (10) year Capital Infrastructure Program and a Rate Stabilization Plan. Since 1966, the Parking operation has been treated as a self- sustaining fund, in which, expenditures are offset by revenues. City Councils have reinforced the user pay philosophy for the parking operation on many occasions. The Downtown Board in the past has requested the removal of pay parking in the Downtown with the provision that it would institute a yearly levy to offset maintenance and operating costs. However, this method proved to be to costly for the Downtown Board, as well, not achieving the desired results. Queen Street is made up of a multitude of retail, restaurants, art galleries, theatre, commercial, government (local /provincial /federal), medical, financial professional and residential uses. The Municipal Parking System in the Downtown accommodates both short term and long term parking requirements of the visitors and employees. For employees and business owners /operators there are lease parking opportunities. For visitors, there is a mixture of on- street short/medium term free and pay parking options as well as long term pay parking available in municipal parking Tots. Parking Demand in the Downtown consists Short Term (Queen Street) - Banks, Post Office, Lawyers Accountants offices, Pharmacy, etc.; medium term (Side Streets) ie, Retail, Lawyers and Accountants offices, Doctors, etc. and Long Term (Parking Lots) ie. monthly employee /residential lease, doctors, Retail, etc. Services such as banks, pharmaceutical, post office, retail and other short visitation operations, rely on the availability of short term, convenient parking, to service their clientele. Pay parking adjacent to their businesses continues to successfully meet the needs of their customers. Providing parking free of charge makes it rarely available because it can be used by employees and customers for extended lengths of time and it is the first parking location everyone looks for, even though this makes it more difficult to find a space than when it was not free. We find that many people react to tickets negatively while paying a reasonable parking fee is accepted. Free parking would also have an impact on monthly lease parking as patrons migrate from paid off - street parking to free on- street parking, so the financial impact may be greater than projected above. The best and highest use parking opportunities occur on Queen Street. These parking spaces provide short term parking opportunities for those businesses that require it. By providing free parking along Queen Street, there would be an impact on the short term clientele that those businesses rely on. There is acceptance of pay parking along Queen Street during regular business day (9:OOam to 5:OOpm) as demonstrated by the fact that parking along Queen Street is fully utilized as opposed to the underutilized side street free parking. March 21, 2011 -3- TS- 2011 -17 The Downtown currently has a good balance of on- street free parking (for those who chose not to pay or who cannot afford to pay for parking) and on- street pay parking (for those who want the closest parking spaces and are willing to pay). Traditional methods of offsetting maintenance and operating costs for free parking requests in BIA Areas are instituted through a yearly levy or the use of other funds such as CIP funds used last year. The CIP funds utilized to offset budget shortfalls in 2010 were $22,000.00 (five months). The actual revenues were higher by $9,000.00 during the free parking period, due to the fact that even though parking along Queen/Valley Way was free, some patrons continued to pay for parking. ANALYSIS /RATIONALE • Currently the free parking areas in the Core Area are underutilized • Pay parking areas along Queen Street are well utilized. • The Downtown Core has an equal number of on- street free (shown in red on the map) parking as it does pay parking (shown in green on the map) spaces. • Short term service -based businesses on Queen Street rely on turnover parking to meet their needs, which best can be achieved by pay parking directly in front of those businesses. • Based on a full day of parking opportunity for a seven - day -a -week operation (9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.), there are more free parking hours then there are pay parking hours in the Downtown. FINANCIAL /STAFFING /LEGAL IMPLICATIONS Impact on the General Purposes Budget (not including construction period): Impact on Parking Operations Budget Gross Revenue $26,600.00 Impact on Parking Control Budget Gross Fine Revenue $ 5,700.00 Cost of signing changes $ 2,600.00 Total impact on the 2011 General Purposes Budget $34,900.00 Please note During the construction periods, parking in the sections indicated below will be unavailable or free when not conflicting with construction activities. This has been accounted for in the budget impacts listed above. March 21, 2011 -4- TS- 2011 -17 The Proposed construction periods are as follows: September 6 to November 18 - Queen St. - St. Clair Ave. and Chrysler Ave - St. Clair Ave. and Ontario Ave. - Ontario Ave. and Erie Ave. (north side only) - St. Lawrence Ave. and Chrysler Ave. CITY'S STRATEGIC COMMITMENT To continue the parking operations user pay philosophy. LIST OF ATTACHMENTS Request letter from the Downtown Board Municipal Parking System - Downtown Pay /Free Parking Map Recommended by: Karl Dren, Director of Transportation Services Respectfully submitted: . 4/64 - j K n Todd, Chief Administrative Officer S: \General Administration \GA 1.01 Reports \2011 Committee of the Whole \03 Mar 21 \TS- 2011 -17 Downtown Board of Management - Request for Free Parking.wpd (2/16/2011) Dean lorfida - Parking and Proxy.doc Page 1 P! DO \Vfl _ NATI NiaganFa11s 13 ,t,„., February 10, 2011 Mr. Dean lorfida City Clerk City of Niagara Falls 431D Queen Street P.O. Box 1023 Niagara Falls, ON L2E GX5 Dear Mr. lorfida: The BIA Board of Directors put forth and passed these motions at last night's meeting of February 9` in regards to 2 hours free parking and Proxy voting, they are as follows: 1. Put forth by Dave Govan, seconded by Tony Barranca The BIA accepts the 2 hours free parking for the remainder of the year on Oueen Street and Valleyway through City Funding not from the CIP Funding to make up the short fall in parking revenue as a result of this initiative'. — unanimous - passed 2. Put forth by Dave Govan, seconded by Tony Barranca No proxies will be permitted at the Annual General Members meeting therefore in- person attendance is required to cast your vote'. — Mordechai Grun opposed - passed If anything further is required please do not hesitate to contact the office. Sincerely, Toni Williams temporary I.ocation: 1 e1: 905- 356 -5444 4691 Ontario A'enue Fax: 905 - 356 -5667 Mailing Address: bia @niagarafallsdowntown.com P.O. Box 5 www.niagarafallsdowntown.com Niagara Falls. ON L2fL 6S8 www.queenstreetniagarafalls.com P � � � fir° ,�: � ; � s �. �. Pr ii f r r F 6. b. ;` .{ '. K %�'SY4 2 0.1:1 ,171:-./4,,, a. , g , . 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T .'^ WC VE '5'14.011' VF :. -� N 1 / i - Ht : . .. a7 b ry I ' 4 h # F --, ,c M I CTOR1AAVE '.a, yE '"'VICTO A VE "'R VICTORIA AVE .w a Yk cz FFes, �' � ' �� f�� i ;A HR- 2011 -02 NiagaraJalls March 21, 2011 REPORT TO: Councillor Carolynn loannoni, Chair and Members of the Committee of the Whole City of Niagara Falls, Ontario SUBMITTED BY: Human Resources /Fire Department SUBJECT: HR- 2011 -02 Fire Department Full Time Recruitment RECOMMENDATION In consideration of Council's request to review the full time recruitment process of the Niagara Falls Fire department, the following is suggested: 1. That the mandatory qualifications be amended to include an educational requirement and minimum of a post secondary diploma / certificate in Fire related courses and /or equivalent of at least three (3) years of volunteer fire fighting experience (currently a high school diploma). 2. That upon meeting the basic and mandatory qualifications (including the Brock testing), first candidate interviews shall be offered and prioritized to City fire fighter volunteers and residents of Niagara Falls. 3. Applicants receiving the best overall rating will be short- listed, selected, and interviewed for second interviews where references will be requested. Pending a successful medical examination, offers of employment may then be made to the volunteer and /or local candidates. 4. Notwithstanding the above, should it be necessary, the City of Niagara Falls reserves the right to interview and hire candidates outside Niagara Falls, looking firstly to offer the positions to residents of the Niagara Region and then residents of Ontario. 5. No external candidates (i.e., candidates living outside of Niagara Falls) shall be offered first interviews until all qualified Niagara Falls candidates /volunteers have been interviewed and considered for selection as noted above. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY /BACKGROUND At the meeting of February 28, 2011, City Council deferred HR- 2011 -01 (Fire Services Full Time Recruitment) and requested that staff revise this report by taking into account Council's direction. Working Together to Serve Our Community Corporate Services Department Human Resources March 21, 2011 - 2 - HR 2011 -02 To be eligible for the position within the Niagara Falls Fire department, the current mandatory and basic qualifications include a high school diploma, a valid class "D" Ontario Driver's License with a "Z" endorsement, a driver's abstract, a clean criminal background check, first aid and CPR certificates, legally eligible to work in Canada and successful completion of the Brock University Testing, which has become a provincial standard in fire fighting and a test designed to simulate the necessary skills and abilities involved in the position. The current fire fighting recruitment process attracts top talent across Canada, including the Niagara Region. Approximately ninety -four percent (94 %) of the full time fire department reside in the Niagara region (i.e., 53% living within the boundaries of the City of Niagara Falls). Fourteen fire fighters of the City's current full -time complement have been hired from the volunteer ranks. However, City Council has directed staff to amend the current recruitment process to further maximize the opportunities for local resident candidates and members of the City's volunteer fire fighting ranks. The hiring practice of volunteers varies in other municipalities, depending upon the City and department. There are many different configurations of volunteer and full time fire fighting operations. Each has employed local solutions to address their particular needs. CITY'S STRATEGIC COMMITMENT The revised Fire recruitment process is aligned with Council's strategic priority to recruit, select and retain the best local talent and facilitate customer service excellence within the organization. SUMMARY CONCLUSION The revised Niagara Falls Fire recruitment process will ensure that the City continues to attract high quality candidates and attract and provide opportunities for the best talent within the City of Niagara Falls, the Region and volunteer fire fighting ranks. Recommended by: Trent Dark, Director of Human Res urces __,7P7)4 Lee Smith, Fire Chief Respectfully submitted: Ken Todd, Chief Administrative Officer March 21, 2011 - 3 - HR 2011 -02 City of Niagara Falls Fire Fighter Recruitment and Selection Process Stage 1: Resumes screened according to Mandatory Qualifications including successful completion of Brock Testing kigammwm ,/, Stage 2: First interviews for qualified Niagara Falls residents /volunteers 4 Stage 3: Second interview of short- listed Niagara Falls residents /volunteers 4 Stage 4: Medical Examination and Offers of Employment to Niagara(Falls) residents /volunteers 4 Stage 5: Screening of External Candidates across Niagara Region (if necessary) 4 Stage 6: First and Second round interviews External Candidates 4 Stage 7: Medical Examination and Offers of Employment 11 , 1 5 7 -1 I CITY OF CANADA N IAGARA FALLS The City of Niagara Falls, Ontario Resolution No. Moved by Councillor Seconded by Councillor WHEREAS all meetings of Council are to be open to the public; and WHEREAS the only time a meeting or part of a meeting may be closed to the public if the subject matter falls under one of the exceptions under s. 239(2) of the Municipal Act, 2001. THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT on March 21, 2011 Niagara Falls Council will go into a closed meeting to consider a matter that falls under the subject matter of 239(2)(a) of the Municipal Act, 2001, security of the property of the municipality and 239(2)(f), solicitor - client privilege. Carried Unanimously AND The Seal of the Corporation be hereto affixed. DEAN IORFIDA JAMES M. DIODATI CITY CLERK MAYOR