Lemonade from the Town’s 32 Acres

Council recently approved an agreement to sell 7.8 acres of the 32 acres of Town-owned land at Regional Road 20 and Rice Road. Because we successfully completed the East Fonthill Secondary Plan and worked together with a developer for a new Medical Centre and Retirement Home, we agreed to sell for $375,000 per acre ($2.9 million) plus applicable servicing costs. (Please click here for agreement.)

You may recall that in March 2005, a previous Town Council purchased the 32 acres from Westerra Equities and borrowed $3.6 million ($112,021 per acre) to pay for it.

While this transaction predates my service as Mayor, I understand that the concept was to consolidate most Town services – arena, indoor pool, soccer and baseball fields, Town Hall, Library, and a multi-purpose facility – onto the property.

The purchase was also contentious because many thought that the Town overpaid. For example, the 2004 property appraisal assumed full water and sewer services; in reality, water and sewers weren’t installed for another three years. The appraisal also assumed 8.2 acres of commercial lands (valued at $188,000 per acre) and 23.4 of “business park” ($91,000 per acre); in reality it was all designated “business park” and zoned as agriculture. Finally, similar adjacent lands sold for far less just days ($88,000 per acre) or weeks ($66,000 per acre) before.

After I became Mayor we started paying down the loan’s principal. As of December 31, 2013, the Town has invested $1,984,212 in principal and paid $980,447 in interest with $1.6 million owing on the loan. (For detailed financial information, please click here.)

Some might say that they knew that the property would be worth far more in the future.

In reality, however, nothing was guaranteed.

You see, at the urging of a majority Landowner’s / Developer’s Group, that previous Council deferred approval of a Secondary Plan for East Fonthill in April 2006. When the Province changed all municipal planning in June 2006 – just as had been warned – the Plan needed a total overhaul.

Then, in September 2006, that Council gave control of the overhaul to the Landowner’s Group.

So, how did we fix the mess? In 2007, Council hired an expert to work directly with the Landowner’s Group to complete the required studies and guide their work. When it became clear that the work was stuck in the mire, Council retook control in 2011 and acted quickly, approving the Secondary Plan in April 2012. After the Region approved it in October 2012, it was appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). Those small issues were settled in October 2013 and the OMB finally approved the Plan on January 30, 2014.

With hard work, vision, and determination we made major progress and turned “lemons” into “lemonade.”

We will continue to ensure more progress regarding this property over the coming months.

What Type of Growth for Pelham?

As I have written about before, Pelham has a few lands available for new growth – the largest being the “East Fonthill” area.

While much of the nearly 450 acres of East Fonthill lands have been farmed for years, the entire area was added to the Urban Boundary by an appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) in 2000.

Recent questions in local media about whether property owners should be allowed to develop on those lands would have been asked and answered during the OMB’s weeks of hearings nearly 15 years ago.

When the OMB gave those approvals back then, one thing became inevitable – that growth would occur in Pelham.

What wasn't inevitable was the type of development – how it looked, how it felt, how many people living and working in the areas.

The OMB’s East Fonthill decision, for example, required the Town to undertake a more detailed planning process – a “Secondary Plan” – before allowing development to proceed.

The Town started to carefully develop the Plan in 2001; this included significant public sessions and hearings. The community wanted East Fonthill to include “…a full range and mix of housing types, a linked open space network that includes a variety of types of public parks, …protection of existing environmental features, and the community structure…[to] maximize connectivity within the community itself and to the Town Centre.”

More recent additions to the Plan include “walkability and cyclability”, the potential for community facilities, and the protection of the recently revitalized Fonthill Downtown.

After working diligently for many years, Council approved such a Plan in April 2012. After the Region approved it in October 2012, it was appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board. Those small issues were settled in October 2013 and the OMB approved the Plan on January 30, 2014, making the Plan a reality.

What’s next? Other public planning approvals – a draft Site Master Plan, zoning, site plans, neighbourhood plans – are required before finalizing development and shovels hit the ground.

And, Council wants your help on these next phases of deciding the type of development.

As I wrote about last month, with the help of Nationally-recognized urban designers and planners, Council developed a draft Site Master Plan for the commercial / mixed use area of East Fonthill (the northern part along Regional Road 20). We are seeking your feedback on that draft plan. Did we get it right? Have we reflected the wishes on the community on the type of development? What can we do to make it even better?

Please help Council improve these plans and ultimately the type of development that will occur in Pelham. Only with your help can we fulfill one of our major strategic goals: “Maintain our small-town feel as we grow.”

Please review the East Fonthill draft Master Plan and other documents at www.pelham.ca/east-fonthill.

Taxpayer Relief? Not Now...Maybe Later

What started as a simple idea -- giving folks tax relief now instead of over the next four years -- turned into a debate about the authority of Regional Council.

During our finance committee meeting on February 19, Councillors approved Staff recommendations to allocate $13.7 million (M) in surpluses from 2013 into various reserves, including: $0.75M to Contingency Reserve; $0.75M to Niagara Regional Housing to mitigate a Federal funding loss; $0.85M to top-up Social Assistance Reserve; $3.9M to fund future waste management capital projects; $1.0M to Improvement Initiative Reserve (for cost saving measures); and $3.3M to Taxpayer Relief Reserve.

The $3.3M to the Taxpayer Relief Reserve was to “…be used in the operating budget" to provide a buffer against tax increases over the next four years. The reserve would allow future Councils to increase overall spending greater than increases in property taxes.

While one Councillor (Petrowski) suggested that some of the surplus be "given back to taxpayers" in 2014, he didn't try to amend the recommendations during our Committee meeting.

Upon reflection, his comments resonated with me as the Region's Budget Chair.

Why hold on to $3.3M of people’s money now when we are to "give it back" in 2015-18 anyway?

Having just had a visit from the credit rating service, we knew that the Region’s reserves are in good shape.

We are also expecting significant operational savings as we implement a new financial management system, reorganize the Region, and identify additional efficiencies.

In addition, not taxing residents and businesses $3.3M in 2014 would “hold our feet to the fire”; it would remove the temptation of spending the funds on non-priority initiatives and force us to justify any future tax increases.

So, at the February 27 Regional Council meeting, Councillor Heit and I tried to amend the motion and to use the $3.3M to reduce the 2014 Regional tax increase.

What happened? We debated our amendment for two-hours; some Councillors favoured the proposal, a few suggested we keep half, and some wanted to hold on to it all.

Then, immediately after Council voted to "call" the vote on our amendment, Staff said that we couldn’t because it would be a “reconsideration” of our Surplus / Deficit Policy.

Undaunted, I argued that the Surplus / Deficit Policy is administrative because it “…applies to all regional departments” and not to Regional Council. Further, the policy outlines the clear role of Staff (to recommend) and of Council (to approve/disapprove).

In the end, the majority of Council voted that the amendment was a “reconsideration” of the policy, required a week’s notice and two-third’s of Council to even contemplate!

That's how the straightforward idea of giving people tax relief now got stuck in the machinations of your Regional government.

Draft Site Master Plan Helps Maintain Small-Town Feel

At our regular meeting last week, Council received three presentations regarding a draft Site Master Plan for most-northern portion of the East Fonthill lands – approximately 54 acres South of Regional Road 20 and West of Rice Road.

Wanting to ensure that new development maintains Pelham’s small-town feel and to make the best use of the 32 acres of Town-owned-land at the corner of Regional Road 20 and Rice Road, Council directed staff in April 2013 to begin developing a joint Site Master Plan for the Town’s lands and approximately 22 acres owned by the Allen Group.

Representatives of the Planning Partnership (the firm that helped develop the recently approved East Fonthill Secondary Plan) unveiled concept drawings that outlined various possible permitted uses for these lands including institutional-medical, retail, retirement, community centre, mixed-use commercial, townhomes, single-detached residential, mixed-use residential and parks and trails.

Aiming to provide complete streets, which accommodate pedestrians, cyclists and motorists, the draft Plan incorporates roundabouts, trails, environmental areas, parks and public squares that complement the Town’s urban design guidelines. The draft Plan also links the area to Downtown Fonthill via a tree-lined road extension to Pelham Town Square. (Please review the draft Plan at www.pelham.ca/east-fonthill by scrolling down.)

Then, David Allen of the Allen Group outlined plans for the first phase of the development:

• a 30,000 square foot medical facility that includes family doctors, specialists, minor surgery, pharmacy, laboratory, physiotherapy, optometry, radiology, geriatric clinics, health and wellness clinic, nurses and nurse practitioners;
• an approximately 120 unit senior’s complex offering independent and assisted living options;
• an 80,000 square foot commercial retail complex that includes a grocery store, fast food establishments and various other retailers.

This first phase could also accommodate a potential multi-purpose community centre and/or arena (pending public feedback and Council decisions this Spring).

Council also received an overview of the legal agreement(s) that are being created to help facilitate the development: a servicing agreement that would follow the Town’s procurement bylaw; a sale of lands or land swap agreement that would respect the Municipal Act’s “anti-bonusing” provisions and provide a “net benefit” to the Town; and the use of an outside party to recommend Planning approval documents to Council.

Next steps include refining and approving a Site Master Plan, and amending the Town’s Official Plan and Zoning By-Law. Pending such approvals this Spring, utility construction could commence as early as late Summer 2014.

During this exciting time for Pelham, our priority is to continue to balance growth as we maintain our small town feel. Council and I hope this draft Site Master Plan will help us to achieve that vision.

Maintaining Our Small-Town Feel As We Grow

As I have written here several times, Pelham contains much land set aside for new growth.

The largest is in the “East Fonthill” area – between Rice Road and Station Street / Steve Bauer Trail and from Regional Road 20 to the Town’s boundary (south of Merritt Street).

While much of these nearly 450 acres are currently farmed, the entire area was added to the Urban Area by an appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) in 2000. (Questions about whether the Town should grow on those lands were asked and answered during the OMB’s consideration nearly 15 years ago.)

This 2000 OMB decision disallowed the inclusion of any lands East of Rice Road in the Urban Area and required the Town to undertake a “Secondary Plan” before allowing development to proceed.

All Towns and Cities must have “Official Plans” which contain planning policies and outlines where commercial, agricultural, industrial, and residential developments can occur. It uses a series of maps to demonstrate those areas.

Like an Official Plan covering the entire Town, a “Secondary Plan” contains detailed policies and guidelines for growth and development for a specific area – in this case, this East Fonthill area.

When the Province dramatically altered their planning policies in the mid-2000s – adding the Greenbelt, “Places to Grow”, and the Provincial Policy Statement – the Town needed to realign our own policies. That’s one of the major reasons why it took until October 2012 to finally approve the East Fonthill Secondary Plan.

The other major reason is because Council and I worked to ensure that the Plan maintains our small-town feel as we grow. You see, the East Fonthill Secondary Plan includes several important features:

• ensuring a well-designed, attractive, pedestrian-friendly development with a mixture of housing types;
• encouraging significant commercial and mixed-use development – medical, retirement housing, recreational facilities potential – while at the same time connecting and protecting Downtown Fonthill;
• providing a “Greenlands System” that protects existing environmental features and integrates with the Steve Bauer Trail; and
• developing a pedestrian / cyclist-friendly and transit-ready road network.

If approved in 2012, why hasn’t development occurred in the East Fonthill area yet? A developer, the Province, and Lafarge Canada appealed the Town’s Official Plan and this Secondary Plan to the Ontario Municipal Board. Following much discussion and some minor wording changes, the OMB approved the Secondary Plan on 30 January 2014. (The OMB will consider the remainder of the Town’s Official Plan during a pre-hearing on 11 March 2014.)

With this OMB hurtle crossed, the first-phases of construction in East Fonthill should begin this year and Pelham can maintain our small-town feel as we grow into a stronger, more complete community.

Library Discussion a Work-In-Progress

As you know, the provision of library services has been in the news lately – especially since Town Council and the Library Board have had a couple of joint meetings (one in December, another with representatives of the Friends of Maple Acres Library in January).

But, it really has been a work in progress for a number of months.

Some discussion started at the outset of this Council term; Council considered a motion in early-2011 for the Town to review Library operations; the initial understanding was that there wouldn’t be any Board involvement. The Library Board suggested, and Council agreed, that they work together with the Town to help to jointly streamline operations – like payroll, facility maintenance, computers, etc.

During this period, the Town continued to fund the Library services. For example, in 2010, the Town grant was $677,800 (up 2.5% from 2009); 2011 it increased by 1.4% to 687,290; 2012 to $728,387 up 6.0%; and 2013 to $746,597 up 2.5%. (The Town grant has actually increased by $252,387 (or 51%) since 2005.)

Despite best efforts in streamlining operations, the Library posted a year-end balance of negative $62,062 for 2012.

Council recognized that more effort was needed and the Town retained Performance Concepts Consulting in early-2013 to conduct a strategic facilities review of the existing Pelham Library system; this included Library usage analysis and public consultations. In late-spring, the Firm was also retained to undertake a separate Operational Review of Library services and systems for use by the Library Board.

The Library facilities review made several recommendations most notably that the Maple Acre branch become a satellite-type operation, instead of a full-service branch because of the very limited usage over the last five years. Because the Library Board recently rejected this recommendation and the future of Maple Acre is uncertain, Council held joint meetings with the Board and the community. This discussion and process continues, and we expect another joint meeting in February.

Meanwhile, the Library Board worked diligently through some staff changes in 2013 and ended with an estimated year-end deficit of $28,000. The Board requested a 2014 grant of $791,393 (up 6.0% from 2013); last week, Town Council “red-lined” (held their grant) to $752,258 (a 0.8% increase) pending joint discussions.

Because of the ongoing willingness of all parties to work together, I am optimistic that we can jointly evaluate ideas and take action soon to continue to maintain and improve Pelham’s Library services.

Arena & Indoor Recreational Facilities

As you know, the provision of recreational and cultural services in Pelham has been an issue for decades.

Last year, I wrote about a creative problem solving session in December 2012 where Council identified a way forward:
• stay focused on deciding what to do with Town facilities and the Town-owned-lands in East Fonthill (32 acres at Regional Road 20 and Rice Road);
• define the recreational and cultural services the Town needs now and for the future;
• develop the Town-owned-lands in East Fonthill in the best manner and in conjunction with other property-owner groups;

As part of achieving this, staff prepared an Executive Summary of all the recreational and cultural reports that various Councils received over the years. Staff informed Council that, “A review of all previous studies was undertaken which confirmed that no significant or meaningful financial work was completed, [thus] requiring additional financial analysis for both an arena and community centre.”

The Town hired LeisurePlan International last summer to develop a market analysis and business case study. So that they could develop a statistically significant report, LeisurePlan surveyed +1,000 residents about their recreation and culture habits and preferences.

After detailed analysis, LeisurePlan presented the Phase One results to Council on January 13 and 20.

Please click here for a copy of LeisurePlan's presentation to Council.
Please click here for a link to the video recording of LeisurePlan's presentation during our January 13, 2014 meeting (from ~0:10:00 to 01:23:00).

Arena Facilities:
The report suggests that there is not enough demand in the short / medium term for a twin-pad, but suggests "there may be sufficient demand...for a second ice pad in the time period just beyond 2023/24."

LeisurePlan recommends that the Town:
• replace the existing single-pad with a new arena facility within the next five years;
• design a new twin-pad facility and phase the construction – build one ice pad first (contingent on capital financing) and construct the second pad after 2023/24 (should the sustaining demand develop);

Please click here for a copy of LeisurePlan's Arena Facility Strategy Provision report.

Multi-Purpose Recreational Facilities:
Upon surveying all user groups and associations (14 in total), all service providers in Pelham (46 in total), and 1,091 residents, LeisurePlan recommends that the Town:
• provide a multi-purpose facility to accommodate demand for participation in fitness activities, walking/running on an indoor track, and gymnasium sports;
• provide multi-purpose program space;
• not provide an indoor pool facility due to lack of demand and to associated costs;

Please click here for a copy of LeisurePlan's Indoor Multi-Purpose Facility Provision report.

Over the next 5-6 weeks, LeisurePlan will complete Phase Two – examine the business case and various options associated with facility construction and operation.

When both Phases are complete, Council and I look forward to working together with you and your neighbours to review the options and finally move ahead on the future recreational facilities and needs for the Town.

Multi-Purpose Community Centre Provision Strategy

In addition to the Arena report, LeisurePlan International Inc. also presented to Council on Monday their final report on the Multi -Purpose Community Centre Provision Strategy.

Phase One of this strategy determined the magnitude and characteristics of the existing and potential future demand among community based recreation service providers and residents for indoor aquatic, fitness and gymnasium related programs, activities and facilities in the Town.

Upon surveying all user groups and associations (14 in total), all service providers in Pelham (46 in total), and 1,091 residents, the recommendations are to:
- provide a multi-purpose facility to accommodate demand for participation in fitness activities, walking/running on an indoor track, and gymnasium sports;
- provide multi-purpose program space;
- not provide an indoor pool facility due to lack of demand and to associated costs;

Please find a copy of the LeisurePlan presentation by clicking here.

For a complete copy of the LeisurePlan Multi -Purpose Community Centre Provision Strategy (which will be presented to Town Council on Monday, January 20) please click here.

Arena Facility Provisions Strategy -- Final Report

For your information, please find here a copy of the Phase 1 of the Recreation Facilities Reports -- the final report on the Pelham Arena.

This report is based on extensive analysis of current Arena usage, current demand that is accommodated elsewhere, expressed additional demand (like adding a second practice for all teams), and demand that may be required for the future as Pelham grows.

The report suggests that there is currently not enough demand in the short / medium term for twin pad, but suggests "there may be sufficient demand...for a second ice pad in the time period just beyond 2023/24."

The report recommends that the Town:
- plan for the replacement of the existing single ice pad with a new twin pad facility within the next five years;
- design a new twin ice pad and allow for a phased build -- building one ice pad during the next five years (contingent on capital financing), and construct the second pad after 2023/24 should the sustaining demand develop.

The report's author from LeisurePlan International will presented tonight to Pelham Town Council on Monday, January 13 at 6:30 PM at Pelham Town Hall.
This arena report is phase-one of reports on recreational facilities; LeisurePlan will report shortly on the demands for other facilities (community centre facilities) with a business case analysis of financial sustainability.

Review Designs for Downtown Fenwick Revitalization

Just before the Christmas break, residents and business owners were invited to see the latest plans to revitalize Downtown Fenwick.

You will recall that while Council budgeted funds to revitalize Downtown Fenwick in 2013, staff ran into delays with design, with added work (properly attaching the storm sewer to Church Street) and with coordinating with the utility’s schedules. Last September, because of these challenges, Council decided to postpone the revitalization until 2014.

Council made this decision after receiving a staff report outlining the project’s complexities. In essence, to properly deal with the storm sewers and to tie them correctly into adjoining streets, construction crews will have to dig fairly deep. Second, the requirement to bury the hydro lines and other overhead utilities meant that the Town must work closely with Ontario Hydro; Hydro had said they could not undertake that work until 2014.

In early December, Council approved $4.0 million budget to reconstruct the roads, bury the hydro lines, and make the Downtown more pedestrian friendly.

The consulting engineers met with the public on December 19 to review the nearly-final designs. While the event was well attended for the time of year (just before the Holiday) I spoke to a few people that would have liked to attend the open house and review the plans.

Well, now the Town has posted the plans on our new website at www.pelham.ca/current-construction-projects. What do you think about the streetscaping elements? What are your thoughts about the proposed locations of the hydro transformer boxes? Do the road sections make sense?

While there is still another, final stage of design work to be completed, now is the time to suggest any last improvements.

The tenders for the general contractor will go out in February; I hope that the first stages of construction can begin in March or April.

Council has directed staff to ensure as little negative impact on Downtown businesses and on traffic as possible. And, having learned from other major projects in recent years, Council is also looking for a clear process to keep businesses and the public informed about construction progress and a clearly defined person in charge to approach with any concerns.

We look forward to your feedback on the latest designs. With your help, the Town can ensure that the revitalization of Downtown Fenwick can be the best possible for now and for many years to come.