Ted Salisbury in the Chair ROLL CALL DOWNTOWN ACTION COMMITTEE MINUTES TUESDAY, JUNE 15, 2010 10:10 A.M., CHARLIE WARD ROOM PRESENT: Ted Salisbury, Mark Gladysz, Annette Fitch, Paisley MacKenzie, Rose Vespa, Susan Sager, Glenn Brown, Russ Thomson, John Frabotta, Maria Cantalini-Williams, Rick Farrell, Maureen Sinclair, Mike Bradley (arrived at 10:40 a.m.), Russ Loukes (arrived at 10:50 a.m.) ABSENT: Chuck Wheeler, Jack Jackowetz, Paul Madden, Deanne Osborne, Paul Armstrong, Elisabeth Vandermade, Larry Tansley, Kelly Wilkin, Patrick Telfer, Wendy Doucette, Terry Spiers, Junaid Asghar, Derek McElveny, Keri Korfmann ABSENT WITH REGRETS: ALSO PRESENT: Tony Araujo, Sandra Lawson, David Prang, Doug Clark, Joanne Procter Anna McKee, Engineering Department Michelle Mecca, Laurier Student s Union Councillor John Bradford Barb Day, Recording Secretary 1. ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA 1.1 Road Closure - Charlotte Street 2. ADOPTION OF PROPOSED MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING 2.1 THAT the minutes of May 11, 2010 BE ADOPTED.
Downtown Action Committee Page 2 3. BUSINESS 3.1 City Road Closure Proposed Plans Wilfrid Laurier University Michelle Mecca from Laurier Student s Union provided details on Orientation Week events. Move-in day for 500 students will take place on Monday, September 6, 2010. The main road closure will be for the two residences on Colborne Street. This is affected by the demolition on the south side of Colborne Street. One lane will be used for the move-in from 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Traffic will be rerouted during this time. Mark Gladysz advised that Laurier met with City staff and provided plans and maps showing the routing. Engineering, Police and Fire have accepted Plan B. Wharfe Street will be blocked off, but it will be made clear to volunteers that emergency vehicles be allowed access to the Beckett Building. The Soapbox Derby is taking place on Icomm Drive in the morning. Only one floor at the back of Wharfe Street will be used to move students in the afternoon. Demolition will not occur in the morning of Tuesday September 7, as opening ceremonies for Laurier and Nipissing are taking place in Harmony Square. Sandra Lawson will arrange that demolition not take place during this time. 3.2 Request for Temporary Road Closure - Telephone City Car Show Sunday, July 25, 2010 The Engineering Department circulated a memo to ward councillors. Due to the south side of Colborne Street being closed, that area will be kept clear of patrons involved in the car show. A map was circulated showing the changes. Additional roadways will be closed, and registration areas have been relocated. - Nelson Street On-Street Parking Russ Loukes to speak on this matter when he arrives at the meeting. - Road Closure - Charlotte Street (addition to the agenda) Charlotte Street will be closed around the Laurier construction site for
Downtown Action Committee Page 3 two days to install water and sewer improvements. It was pointed out that this is Convocation Day for Nipissing. There are approximately one thousand people coming to Victoria Park and the Sanderson Centre, and the improvements should be avoided on June 23rd if possible. Parking may also be an issue, and businesses in the area should be notified. Mark Gladysz will speak to Tony Araujo. Mike Bradley arrived at 10:40 a.m. 3.3 Nipissing University - Schulich Faculty of Education Maria Cantalini-Williams showed a PowerPoint presentation. Brochures were also distributed. The opportunity to be part of the Schulich Faculty of Education opens vast opportunities. Laurier and Nipissing work together collaboratively. Nipissing s program is transitioning from a four year to a five year. By September 2011, there will be approximately 1,000 Laurier/Nipissing students in Brantford. The Library has benefited from students assisting with the Read-On Program. There are nine literacy tutors and a halftime librarian. Students tend to go home on weekends due to close proximity for their practicum and use local resources. If the practicum model were changed, it might have an impact on library use and students remaining on campus on weekends. Regarding summer activity for Nipissing, only professional teachers attend classes. Year round schooling and a co-op program would be beneficial. This would guarantee two thirds of the students on campus all year. Economics will drive this forward. 3.4 Downtown Brantford Streetscape Design Plan - Summary Mark Gladysz provided a copy of the summary outlining the roles of committee members that include the operating departments of the City, post-secondary and the BIA. This committee is the task force for the project and will be the review body for the report before it goes to Council. The Technical Committee will receive the final version of the Request for Proposal and be responsible for hiring the consultant. The RFP will go out this week, and the committee is looking at optional interview dates. The deadline for questions is June 30th, with a July 14th closing date. The
Downtown Action Committee Page 4 Steering Committee will review on July 15 th. Interviews are optional. A report will to go to Committee of the Whole on August 3 rd with the RFP being awarded on August 24 th. The completion date will be by the end of November for presentation to Committee of the Whole early in the new year. Note: Mark Gladysz and Ted Salisbury will discuss further. Consequently Project timelines have been revised. New timelines will be distributed at the next meeting. 3.5 Toronto Tour Tuesday, June 29, 2010 This is a continuation of the Successful Downtowns tour last year. There are eight people attending the tour of Ryerson University and Downtown Yonge BIA. 3.6 Downtown Master Plan Project Updates 3.6.1 Integrate Downtown Master Plan into Planning Documents Tara Tran has been hired in the Planning Department and will assist with the downtown concept for this committee. A brief overview will be ready for review at the next DAC meeting. 3.6.2 City-wide Economic Development Strategy The Economic Development Strategy is in the final stages. The consultant is making changes to the draft and the report will go to Committee of the Whole on August 3, 2010. When the final draft is completed, it will go to the Steering Committee and Senior Management. Russ Loukes arrived at 10:50 a.m. 3.6.3 Reconstruct Colborne/Dalhousie (Phase 1) The Environmental Assessment is being posted on the Ministry of Environment website for a 30-day review program. Any public comments will be collected by the Ministry. The road construction is unfunded at this time, but the Environmental Assessment is good for ten years. There are underground deficiencies that should be brought forward as a budget priority, as they need to be repaired or
Downtown Action Committee Page 5 replaced as soon as possible. 3.6.4 Restart Downtown Incentives for Private Sector A program review is being undertaken by the Downtown Business Performance Grants Committee (PAC). The committee will come back with a decision to revise or abandon the grant program. Council will review the recommendations in January. 3.6.5 Parking Strategy Comments were received on the Parking Implementation Study and are being addressed. The parking strategy will go to Committee of the Whole in August and then back to this committee. 3.6.6 New Signage to and from Downtown Susan Sager and Tony Araujo will show a presentation at the July DAC meeting. At the Tourism Advisory Committee, Frank and Nancy DiFelice provided an update on the Jazz Festival. They expressed concern with parking and road closures due to demolition on the south side of Colborne Street. The Engineering, Fire and Police Departments will look at the plans and decide what will work. Lori-Dawn Cavin works with groups to make sure that critical events happening at Harmony Square go forward smoothly. Susan Sager will contact staff to direct Frank DiFelice to a point person. It was suggested there be signs stating the demolition schedule. Billboards on the demolition site could be used. The City is the owner of the land and will receive revenue from the billboards. John Bradford will raise this with staff at the Advertising and Promotion Committee and at Council. 3.6.7 Expansion and Development of Post Secondary Institutions Laurier University There was nothing further to report.
Downtown Action Committee Page 6 Nipissing University There was nothing further to report. Mohawk College There were no representatives present to report. 3.6.8 Transit Terminal Feasibility Study/EA The Transit Terminal was deferred until the next budget to obtain funding. There will be nothing in place for at least one year. 3.6.9 Current Planning Update 3.7 BIA Updates There were no updates at this time. The BIA has a new website. A letter went out to receive comments, and all feedback was positive. A motion was passed to participate in First Impressions. Brantford will be paired with another city to evaluate each other s communities. DAC members that want to participate should contact Mark Gladysz to obtain more information. This exercise will determine how we come across to potential investors. OMAFRA will provide a report and template to work from. A presentation will be made to Brantford City Council, and Brantford will go the other community to present to their Council. A memo will be sent from the Chair of the BIA advising Council we are participating in this activity and will advise Council of the results. Nelson Street Road Closure Issues were raised regarding parking between driveways, adjacent to driveways by City Hall. This will go to Council. 3.8 BEAT Unit Stats There was no one in attendance to report.
Downtown Action Committee Page 7 4. OLD BUSINESS There was no old business at this time. 5. INFORMATION ITEMS There were no information items at this time. 7. NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING Reminder: The next meeting is Tuesday, July 13, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. in the Charlie Ward Room. 8. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m. Ted Salisbury, Chairperson Barb Day, Recording Secretary