City Council Preview - What's on the Agenda for the December 19 Meeting?

After a long year, the final council meeting of 2016 will tackle reports from the Committee-of-the-Whole earlier this month, along with committee appointments and an update on the Guelph Innovation District.

Closed Meeting - Confirmation of Minutes for closed Council meetings held November 28 and 30, 2016; C-2016.58 Lowes Road/Dawn Avenue Local Improvement Charge

CON-2016.68 Council Reappointments to the Business Licence Appeals Committee and the Committee of Management for the Elliott - A report for the information of the new members, who are also the old members, of the two committees in questions. Council will vote to reappoint to Cam Guthrie, Phil Allt, Christine Billings, June Hofland, and Mark MacKinnon to the Business Licence Appeals Committee, and Cam Guthrie, Christine Billings, Cathy Downer, James Gordon, and Andy Van Hellemond for Committee of Management for the Elliot. This for a term ending November 30, 2018.

CON-2016.69 Guelph Innovation District Implementation Update - The GID secondary plan was approved by council in 2014, but the plan is currently before the Ontario Municipal Board. Meanwhile, council gave the Business, Development, and Enterprise Committee direction to come up with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Province of Ontario to develop the Former Guelph Correctional Centre, but there's yet to be any progress. Infrastructure Ontario has now let the City know that the necessary real estate will soon be on the market, and an Expression of Interest (EOI) will be able to be submitted in late 2016 or early 2017; the province owns the majority of the GCC land. So what's the plan? The vision of the Guelph Innovation District Secondary Plan is: The creation of a compact, mixed-use community providing meaningful places to live, work, shop, play and learn; a knowledge-based innovation cluster that attracts employment and residential uses both anchored by a new mixed use urban village and main street; building on natural and cultural heritage resources of the area; working towards carbon neutrality through building performance standards, on and off-site renewable energy and potential district energy.

CON-2016.70 Social Services Committee Update - Earlier this year, the City of Guelph and the Country of Wellington came to an agreement to continue a relationship agreement that will see Mayor Cam Guthrie continue to sit on the County of Wellington’s Social Services Committee as an ex-officio, meaning non-voting, member. This vote will confirm that Guthrie will continue to serve as the City's rep on the committee.

Reports from Committee-of-the-Whole on December 5:

COW-AUD-2016.2 Internal Audit Work Plan 2017-2019

COW-CS-2016.9 Outstanding Motions of the Corporate Services Area

COW-CS-2016.10 City of Guelph Tartan Inventory

COW-PS-2016.5 By-law Service Review – Animal Control

Marketing Strategy for a Civic Tech Hub/Cluster - The following motion was brought to Committee by Mayor Cam Guthrie on December 5: "That Staff be directed to report back by Q2 2017 on a coordinated strategy (including Intergovernmental and Economic Development departments) for a specific marketing strategy to strengthen Guelph’s Position as a Civic tech Hub/Cluster along the Innovative corridor."