Good afternoon everyone. Council is running behind in the closed session. So it will be probably 15 to 20 minutes more. Good afternoon. Again, council is on their last item, so they um it's scheduled for about 15 minutes. So, it's going to be at least 15 minutes. Good afternoon everyone. We'll look to resume our our council meeting. Apologies there. The previous meeting went uh a little bit over time. So, thank you for your patience. Um we will begin as we always do with a territorial acknowledgement. We would like to begin by acknowledging that the land on which we gather, land on which we are broadcasting from today is the land traditionally cared for by the Hudneson, Anesnab and Shenatan people. We also acknowledge the enduring presence and the deep traditional knowledge and philosophies of the indigenous peoples with whom we share this land today. And just as a a day of significance, we know that yesterday, October 4th was the day to honor and remember missing and murdered indigenous women, girls, and two spirit and gender diverse people. It's also called the Sisters in Spirit Day. This recognizes the strength and resilience of their families, loved ones, and their communities. We we remember those who were taken too soon and acknowledge the profound grief shared by families and communities across the country. We hold space for all those mourning the loss of their mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers, aunties, cousins, friends, and loved ones. As we remember those lost, we also commit to action through improving indigenous relations, fostering reconciliation, and amplifying indigenous voices to ensure safety and equity for all. And for a moment of reflection, at the beginning of this council meeting, we paused to think about the needs of our community. May we show wisdom and compassion in all our decisions. So council look for um the disclosure of pecuniary interest and the and the nature thereof. Seeing none. Oh sorry you do. Sorry apologies councelor Freeman. Um, I need to declare on item 12A, OPA ZVA, Z 2408 Northfield Equities, 170 to 200 Northfield Drive West and 570 655 Weaver Street North. >> Okay. Thank you very much. Sounds like you get out of our evening meeting then tonight. Um, all right. Thank you. So, noted. Um, we'll look to someone to move the approval of the minutes. Moved by councelor Wright, seconded by councelor Row. Um, all in favor? That is carried. So, we have a delegation today, a business licensing bylaw review. Um, Fang Louie Louie, sorry if I'm pronouncing that wrong. You're the Yep. You're Thank you for coming today. You're welcome to step up to the podium and you can turn the button on uh your right hand side. >> Great. Thank you, sir. You have uh 10 minutes. Okay. May I present some uh paper reference for better understanding because my accent? >> Sorry. Yes, you can. I think one of the members of the clerk staff can distribute that to council. Thank you. >> Yeah, it's five copies. Yeah. Uh I'm here, but the current bylaw uh item uh 35 schedule 15 is 10 uh F. Uh it states uh no person shall operate in uh food vehicle in a residential area except on specific request and with the written permission of residents to provide food to let residents and the guest at the residential address. There's some uh several problem with this wording for the exception. Uh first one and uh is the guest is not a defend. It's unclear whether it's a a paid or not whether it's a online order as a guest or not and uh from the operation of my neighbor and uh the guest are paid customer and the second one is the online uh platform I'm not addressed at all because right now it's a online platform for the business is the the normal term and uh also uh there's a a a letter from the enforcement department I've been punished uh penalty for online operation and uh there's nothing on the law and uh the third one is the bylaw does not address the situation where one person is sim uh you know simultaneously as a property owner owner which I am a property owner of the 60 689 high point avenue and a resident I'm a resident over there like address I'm the living there and the business owner I'm the business owner uh as a spring reps I'm the I'm the all all those three and it's not address this issue and what kind of you know situation is the the fourth is the interaction with the juning by law is unclear uh because on my license they put a condition to comply with the juning law and uh the food vehicle operation you know by law have everything you know standing there I don't know uh what section they conflict with the juning law and uh and all the all the you know residential area is on on the the one I the the schedule 15 you know is the one that 10 fs so it's unclear the fifth is the the bylaw does not state whether the occasion must be party or specific event or gathering and uh the the law need to distinguished distinguished for is for the particular party for the residence you as like like a you know uh big property you know owner and uh big influence you know residents is if it's not for the uh ordinary residents like me and uh like others you know uh the law should distinguish like because I got quite a few signature from other residents in my neighborhood they would love to this kind of service as a residence right because the statement the exception is said it's all about a residence right to get the affordable food you know get affordable service and as a resident you know I got the signature from them and they expressed the v willingness so if the law could not apply to the ordinary people and the the influential you know to reach the big property owner alike, you know, that's a deeper fairness issue. It's a class issue, you know. So, I I think, you know, I on the on the current, you know, situation, I've been told is not for the ordinary people. So, ordinary ordinary residents. So, I I would, you know, uh because I I I got the punish. So I would recommend to make the you know the the amendments to make it clear you know make it clear what kind of exception is define the exception like the guest and define the online platform the operation you know how how could it operate make it clear and classified the relationship with the junior law because it's only a residential area you covered at all. It's not clear. And if you know it's for the distinguished the the the you know the specific uh residence you just uh add you know must be approved by the city. Then they make it clear if the law is cleared for everybody for business owner for residents and for the uh city enforcement is uh good for everybody. And uh this kind of conflict will will never happen you know and also you know right now I have a condition on the on on the you know on my business license you know if I want to do some non you know the like like a free you know food distribution and I I I just unclear is is allowed or not because the city you know enforcement department put the condition and did not explain anything about the law and the enforcement. So that's why you know I I I suggest you know the recommendation you know amendment to write specific you know item 35 schedule 15 10 fifths to defend is allowed or is not and how is allowed how it's not allowed at all. all that's that's my you know my my recommendation. >> Thank you very much. Uh thank you very much for providing this information and for your delegation today. Um I I'll just look to council to ask if there's any questions of the delegate. And seeing none, certainly um we can take what you've said and what you've provided here and I'll look at um um uh our one of our commissioners that has responsibility for bylaws and and the review of those and ask them to take this and uh and do the requested review of them. So, thanks very much. We'll we will we'll we'll take a look. We regularly review bylaws. So we can certainly we through this give direction to staff to say that we'll we'll have them take a look at this bylaw particularly that you're looking at. I know you've got some specific recommendations. We're not promising that that will be what the outcome is, but they'll certainly take a look at uh at this bylaw. >> Okay, sounds good. >> Okay, thank you so much. Thanks for thanks for coming here today. >> Okay, with that thank you. Um so we'll council we'll move now to the consent agendas. Um is there anything anyone wants to remove from consent? Okay seeing none then I'll look for a mover of the moved by councelor row seconded by councelor Wright. All in favor that is carried. Okay. So then we will move now to facility accessibility design standards and we have a presentation by Amy Ross and Heather Liticote and I know we have a delegation uh following the presentation by Paula Saunders. So welcome Amy and Heather and we'll turn it over to you. Good afternoon everyone. We are pleased to share the facility accessibility design standards. Um you may have heard me talk about this in the past, but designing accessible and inclusive municipal spaces is critical. uh having spaces that go beyond minimum Ontario building code requirements that also help to identify, remove and prevent barriers, embed accessibility into planning, design and construction and create consistent accessibility expectations across uh city projects um will be a monumental change for us going forward. We have been using uh the city of London's accessibility design standards for a couple of years as kind of our guiding light. uh while we were developing our own and we've already seen some significant improvements but uh through the process of developing these we we feel that we've reached these uh expectations here. Uh so for background and engagement um the standards were originally developed by the city of London. Uh they've been in place there for a couple of decades. Uh but the most uh recent version was published in 2021. uh and so they did a lot of work with community organizations to develop what they have currently in place. Uh our review uh included extensive engagement with GRA. Uh we also did a little bit of um community engagement um through um uh the the website. Uh and then we brought uh lived experience and accessibility expertise into the process. And so we found that we've been able to identify barriers that maybe uh were not apparent through technical or code-based reviews previously. And so we've created uh what is to code and meets the AODA, but we've also offered what's optimum, what would be preferred by members in this community. And so great example of that is not using the tiny little round push buttons for automated door openers, using those long bars instead. uh that's a a much easier uh tool for more people to be able to access and reach because of their height and their style. Uh so looking at opportunities like that to create uh standards that uh meet more needs for more people and so how they will be applied uh they will be for new construction as well as renovation projects. uh and we are encouraging uh them to be used more broadly where accessibility can be improved. They support both inclusive and universal design. Uh and there is consistent direction for staff, designers, consultants and contractors in there. So it takes the guesswork away. So if some um uh contractor is on site and they have an apprentice and they say go and do this, they can say take the book and go and do this and then we'll have some more consistency available to us. uh and then it establishes accountability for meeting the accessibility requirements. We require these now and so with your approval uh of these documents then we would be able to say you haven't met our expectations. You'll need to make remediations to the space. Uh and so those deficiencies would be corrected at the contractor's expense. So the standards are quite comprehensive and look at accessibility more broadly than simply providing an accessible entrance or washroom. They cover elements people interact with throughout the facility. Things like doors, clearances, signages, and surfaces as well as exterior paths of travel, parking, and entrances. They also address interior spaces, service counters, controls, alarms, wayfinding, communication features along with the requirements for specialized spaces such as recreation and assembly facilities. So ultimately we are looking at the whole experience of moving through and using a city facility rather than the individual accessibility features in isolation. The real value of fads is the accessible design is much more effective when we think about it before a barrier is built into a space. Building co gives us minimum requirements, but those minimums don't necessarily address the range of disabilities and access needs that exist within our community. By considering these needs earlier in planning and design, we can identify potential barriers before construction starts. that generally results in better spaces and avoids having to come back later with costly or sometimes less effective retrofits. The goal is to design spaces that work well for as many people as possible from the outset. Ultimately, we're trying to create more accessible and inclusive city facilities and greater consistency in how accessibility is addressed from project to project. It also gives everyone involved, city staff, consultants, and contractors, clearer expectations and greater accountability for delivering those requirements. But I think the most important outcome is a shift in approach. Rather than identifying accessibilities after a facility has been designed or constructed, we want to prevent those barriers through good design in the first place. And ultimately, this should translate into a better experience for everyone when they use the city facility and services. We wanted to finish with an example of what this looks like in practice. This is the new universal change room at Albert McCormack Community Center completed as part of phase A energy and accessibility work. There are some larger very visible features in the space including a larger turning radius which accommodates a greater spectrum of mobility devices and a ceiling track lift that can be used for the adult change table. But FADS also makes us think about the smaller details that may not immediately seem significant but can have a major impact on somebody's ability to use a space independently. That includes things like the location and height of fixtures, controls and accessories. even something as simple as the placement of a paper towel dispenser. It really demonstrates that accessibility isn't one feature or one piece of equipment. It's about considering how someone will actually move through and use the entire space and making those decisions intentionally throughout the design process. Questions? >> Thank you very much. Sorry. Thank you very much uh Heather and Amy for that presentation. Um, I'll just ask council if you had questions now. Or did you or or we could go to the delegation and ask question. Sorry, we'll just stick with the process. We'll ask questions of the delegate of uh Heather and and Amy first. I don't know why I said that. I apologize. Um, sorry, did you have Okay, councelor Right. >> Okay. Thank you, Mayor. Um so in in the report um it it mentions uh it being a living document and I just want to get a sense of what that process of a living document is like how whe whether that's literally uh the formal review process or whether it's an an iterative thing and then how that would um potentially impact tendering and uh communication with uh with potential contractors. >> So, we would formally review it every four years as council changes over. However, there's things that come up through the life cycle of a project and it could be something as simple as uh recently we had installed the washrooms downstairs and we got feedback that the uh garbage uh containers the depth of the actual bin is not quite sufficient for uh the purpose and so that was feedback that we got right away. Um and so we've made note within our document and we've shared it with the team and then that can be implemented in the next project moving forward. So by living document things like that that come out up through the process we are keeping a track of what's happening and sharing that. Um that one would be maybe a little tougher to reinforce but at least within our project team we know what's going on and how how we want to adapt uh projects moving forward. So just so that I can have a clear sense of this, would would the document then be timestamped with the updates so that you can actually track things? I I'm just trying to imagine somebody working with the city, but the manual is changing on the fly. And so like I just want to understand how that works. It it would be a formal update every four years with a time stamp of the revise and then internally we would keep track of things we want to address and change in the next one. So what would be publicly available would be the original document um and then it would be my project team um and Amy as a support really highlighting some of these other items that have come up on past projects. >> Thank you very much. Uh other questions from members of council. Councelor Ro. >> Thank you through you, Chair Mayor. Um thank you for this report and it's really exciting and it's a significant amount of work. I'm curious really um from your perspective and your experience working on this, what the challenges were and what you feel the I mean this is a huge success, but are there any individual successes that you're um that you experienced as well? Uh I think the challenges that I found were trying to find a balance. Um accessibility for one individual does not mean accessibility for all. So trying to capture that correctly in the document and trying to figure out a balance of how we can implement different items within a facility. An example of this is for someone who's has low vision having dim lights would make it difficult to navigate a space whereas somebody with sensory um uh heightened sensory things it uh brightness might be overwhelming. So there's trying to find that balance and how do we capture that in the document. Um so we have there's throughout the document there's a lot of side notes and kind of best practices and how how can this apply. Um I think for me the greatest takeaway was that engagement with GRA. We sat for three or four days um full days and they walked us through their lived experience and when you actually hear it coming from an individual it changes the way you think about design. um you're just much more aware of how it actually impacts an individual. >> That's excellent. >> Thank you. >> Oh, I just wondered if Amy wanted to wanted to add to that. >> Okay. Thanks. >> I think the broader challenge is that these standards apply here if you approve them. Uh but they don't necessarily apply everywhere. And so consistency is still the thing that Gra and many community members want. They want to have a seamless experience going from one space to another knowing that what they can anticipate in a washroom. If they can have a ceiling track lift here and maybe not a ceiling track lift in Kitchener, what does that mean? So I I think the the work is still ongoing, right? we need to share that this is available and that we've we've gone to the level of optimum standards and while um while that is important and critical to the work that we're doing here maybe not everyone's on board with that but there are reasons why um they've been included in there and the reasons are the voices of GRA >> thank you sorry to interrupt you councelor Ro did you have a followup >> no I was just going to say thank you >> thank you for that um other questions Councelor Ro or Councelor Hanmer just a comment. Thank you through through you, Mayor. I've had the privilege as GRA's been working on on these for the last number number of years probably uh to say that there's been lots of um interaction and and updates from the committee and I think everyone has put a a good um standard on it and for us to go forward and have these standards in place I think just elevates waterlue even further that we truly are trying to be an inclusive uh inclusive community. Are we perfect with it? Not yet, but we'll get there for sure. One of the things that I really appreciated about the guide, if you have a chance to take a look at it, is there um there's standards that we're putting in place, but also best practices or suggestions of best practice. So, it's not just looking at what's good for today, but considering as we move forward. So, congratulations on including that. Um I'm really happy to be able to support this today. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Councelor Hammer, and thanks for your work on GRA and representing us at that uh important committee. Are there other comments or questions? Seeing none, I would echo um particularly what councelor Hanmer said and just thank you very much for this important work. Um, you know, it really is important, I think, to everyone around the horseshoe, but also to our our staff that we are building a Waterlue and, you know, hopefully Waterlue region um that's uh accessible as accessible and and inclusive and as safe for people whatever their age, their stage in life or their abilities or their income. So certainly that's something I know that we're all really committed to and this and what you've what you've created today these design standards um what you've what you've created for us today really helps move us much greatly in that direction. So thank you very much for that um and thank you of course for your work the work that you do on GRA as well because we know that's been really important and uh and particularly challenging over the last uh few months. Um but uh you know it's important to set the bar high and uh and uh and and and show leadership and I'm really grateful that this is what you've this is the path that you've taken us on. So thank you very much to both of you. So with that council we have two recommend apologies we have Paula Saunders so excited to move this forward but welcome Paula. Thank you very much. >> And yeah, thank you Paula for coming in today. So over to you. You have 10 minutes. >> Thank you. I'm dealing with a cough of a or throat issue of some sort. So I may I may be coughing on occasion. >> We do have some water available. >> I'm good. Yeah. So, um, as everyone knows, I'm Paula Saunders and I'm a member of, uh, the Grand River Accessibility Advisory Committee, and I'm here to support the adoption of this wonderful document, the city's facility accessibility design standards. As Amy mentioned, GRA was very involved in this and very proud of the members coming forward with their lived experience, the issues, the barriers that they faced. as I've um sat at this spot many times and made the same statement. We can't make everything totally accessible. I just I wish we could. I wish there was a magic wand that would say, "Okay, by doing this, this, and this, we're going to be okay." But it's always mentioned that people have different disabilities, different abilities. And those change as they age or their disability changes. So, what we need to do is to do the best we can in our public buildings for those who are visiting on a short-term basis. And I can't strive enough, as Amy has said, consistency. If we could come up with a washroom design that worked really well and do the same thing in anything new that we build, there's always new things being created as well. One of the things I've heard a lot of praise for is the fold down grab bar in a washroom. So, in most accessible washrooms, you have the grab bar against the wall and it works fine if it's if you're right-handed and it's on the right side. But what if your stroke was on the right side and you need something on the left side? It's just a fold down grab bar that's there and then it can be used by everyone. In the pictures of um the washroom at McCormick, I don't know if you noticed, but there was a black toilet seat on a white toilet. One of our members with low vision is just thrilled because then she can see the contrast and know where the toilet is. It isn't just all white. And she talks about being in washrooms and having to move her hands around on walls and things to feel things. We don't want to do that in public washrooms. So just putting a black toilet seat on a white toilet really helps a lot. And I'm just really excited that all of the staff will have the opportunity to use this document that we can all work together and not have one department doing this and one department doing that. They can work together by using the feds and um you know making the project exceptional. We've come up with some really great ideas lately and the projects really are exceptional and I'm thrilled to be part of it and um really looking forward to having the staff use it being involved in uh design build and implementation of these projects. So I would uh very much like to support the adoption of this really great document and hope that the facilities accessibility design standards will be well used. Thank you. >> Thank you very much, Paula. Really appreciate um you coming in today, but also your work on GRA and uh and work with Amy and Heather and the rest of the staff and the other users who uh contributed to to these uh the fads as you call them. Um so I just I'll do a a small personal reflection um as my prerogative as chair. I remember meeting you years ago and you taught me a very important life lesson. I don't think you realized it at the time, but you but you said um you know that uh people need to realize that they're temporarily aabled and that's something that really stuck with me. Um that's probably 15 years ago. You said that in the course of a conversation. Um because you and your your your example was that something can happen to you and it changes your abilities in the blink of an eye. Um, so I think that's really something that I've internalized over my over the since since you said that to me and I think it's really important that you've continued to bring that kind of leadership and perspective to the community. Um, I know you've been on GRA and been a leader in this space for many, many years. So, so thank you for that. And and also just to Amy and uh and GRA the the education opportunities that you organized and provided to council. Um, personally I think I I mean I know I found them really invaluable to walk to go around city hall but then also out into the square from here um and then into one of our facilities and really observe um you and some of the others who were there someone with low vision etc who were there to identify where you know where things could be improved and needed to be improved was really really helpful um for us and I think for senior staff to see. So, thank you for your time that you gave to us to to, you know, to to open our eyes um for that uh to to take the time to do that for us. So, it's really it's really um you know, it's really been really valuable. Thank you very much. So, um any questions to the delegate from other members of council? No. Okay. Thank you so much again, Paula. Really appreciate your leadership and your partnership with us. >> Thank you. Okay, now we're now we're at the looking for someone to move these recommendations and I think we have an eager mover and councelor Hammer. Did you want to speak to it or >> I think I thank you. I I wholeheartedly will be supporting this. I think it really does move our city further. Uh and I hope that we are able to roll it out through to other cities and the townships within Waterl region to to make Waterl region truly accessible for those that are not only living here but those that are coming to visit. So I'm very happy with this uh these standards and I look forward to the implementation. >> Thank you councelor Hanmer. And I see that councelor row wants to second it as well. Okay. Thank you very much. And I think the point about the consistency wherever like consistency across across municipal boundaries is really really important. So you know what you're getting. You know, it's like our traffic standards, right? You know what a traffic light looks like. It doesn't matter where you are. So why not why would that not why would that be different in in other facilities as you referenced? So thank you for that. Okay. So it's been moved and seconded and uh all in favor that is carried. Thank you again so much for your work on this. That's really really really appreciated. Okay. So, uh now we'll move to Rim Park Sports PLE Sports Plex refrigeration upgrades tender award. There's no presentation. Um but council, are there any questions of staff with respect to this? Okay, seeing none, um I guess this is uh really thank you Scott and the and Matthew and the team to for bringing this forward and this is another really important step for us and as we last Monday talked about some of our our facility upgrades that are needed but also which will contribute to some of our GHG reductions. So thank you very much for bringing this forward. So we'll look for a mover and a seconder moved by councelor Freeman, seconded by councelor Roach. All in favor? Thank you very much. That is carried. So, council, we're just going to have a slight change in the agenda. Um, we need to move the respectful behavior policy, which is F, up to now in front of C. And that's been reflected on the screen here. Um, so item, council, is there any questions about this respectful behavior policy? Uh, go ahead, councelor Wright. Thank you chair. I I just am wondering about the kind of training that now goes with this um this policy and the reason I'm asking this is that um just the growing complexity of interactions. This is obviously why we're updating the policy and so just wondering how um staff's capacity to deal with that complexity is also um being resourced. >> Thank you councelor. Right. Over to you, uh, Christina. >> Oh, just put your There we go. Okay. >> I'm not normally in. >> Oh, it's on. It's on now. Sorry. >> You can hear me? Y. >> Okay. Three merit counselor. Right. Um, the procedure is going to be rolled out through legal services. It's going to be it's going to be across the whole entire organization. And we're going to get into some specific examples and to allow staff to know exactly what to do. there is um it's going to be rolled out in a way that not the harshest punitive is going to happen and so we really want to just educate people on what is appropriate and what is not appropriate and then um yeah I think that the examples will speak to itself it's the procedure that will really have understanding it's hard to get into specifics on a policy that's where the procedure kind of comes in place >> okay just as a uh as a followup um and just noting that sometimes we have uh two different organizations cohabitating facilities. So like the perfect example with that of that would be libraries and recreation centers being together. Um and so I'm just curious how that comes together with this policy as well. >> I through you mayor to councelor Wright. I do believe that the the library and all of the other ones are going to be educated on it because it's across the whole entire division. Thank you, councelor Wright. Thank you, Christina. Are there any other questions or comments? Okay, seeing none, I'll look if if there's a mover of this council moved by councelor Wright, seconded by councelor Row. All in favor? That is carried. Thank you very much. Okay, so we'll go back to the regular agenda there. And um the next item is with respect to the Albert McCormack Community Center Sportslex and the Waterl Public Library McCormack branch renovation or library expansion and renovation phase two. We are very excited to see the presentation on this. So uh back over to you Heather. >> Uh good afternoon and members of council. I'm pleased to be here today to provide an update on the Albert McCormack and WPL McCormick branch renovation and expansion project and to seek council's approval to award the construction tender. The AMCC and McCormick branch library are undergoing their first major renewal in over 30 years. With phase A, the energy and accessibility project nearing completion, we've already made significant improvement to the building's energy performance and accessibility. Phase B builds on that work with a larger renovation and expansion of the McCormick Branch Library and Community Center, allowing the facility to better serve them to better meet the needs of the community for many years to come. In May 2025, staff presented the schematic design to council with a class D estimate of approximately 14.5 million. Council supported advancing the design and exploring options to address the funding shortfall. Since then, we've secured additional funding through DC funding for the growth related component and 775,000 through the Ontario government's community sports and recreation infrastructure fund. This allowed us to add important accessibility and facility improvements that weren't included in the original scope. Ultimately, this project will transform AMCC from a facility historically focused on arena activities into a more welcoming, accessible, and flexible community hub supporting a much broader range of library, recreation, and community services. So, as I mentioned in the previous presentation, phase A, the AMCC energy and accessibility project is nearing completion. The contractor is finalizing the LED retrofit and a few remaining deficiencies with a de dehumidifier scheduled for installation this spring due to long lead times. Phase A gave us an opportunity to make better use of existing space within the facility. Former sports offices beside the west rink have been converted into a new programming room similar in size to the bow prey room. It's currently serving as a temporary McCormick library, allowing WPL to maintain library services in the community during construction. The WPL McCormick branch and community center scope hasn't changed significantly since we were last at council. The project includes expanded and renovated library with dedicated programming space, a maker space, study areas, expanded collections. A new accessible entrance will connect the arena, library, and community room. We're also expanding the community room to support flexible recreation, community, and leisure programming, adding a new commercial kitchen, and creating a dedicated spirit control space on the second floor. Mezan on the screen are updated versions of the renderings previously shared with council reflecting changes made as the design has progressed. This is the uh children's programming space. The pink wall you see is currently a placeholder. WPL is working with a local indigenous artist, Alena Juul from Morning Star Designs on a mural that will bring the space to life and create a unique feature within the library. Finally, this rendering shows a new community room. As you can see, it's designed to be highly flexible, supporting active programming such as basketball and pickle ball, while also accommodating more passive recreation and community programming. Additional funding has allowed us to incorporate se several important improvements that weren't included when the project was last presented to council. A significant focus is accessibility. We're adding a sensory room, improving entrances and circulation, adding automatic door operators, and updating existing mail work to make it accessible. We're also adding a more visible customer service space to better support people using the community center. Finally, we're addressing broader facility improvements, including the concession, new flooring and painting, and new exterior siding. And this is the uh revised front entrance. Community engagement has been an important part of ensuring the design reflects what people need from this facility. For the McCormick branch, WPL got feedback that helped shape the design, including more programming and flexible community space, study and work areas, additional seating, and a more welcoming environment. Engagement around the community room reinforced the need for flexible space supporting a range of recreation, community, and leisure activities. The completed design was also presented to GRA with their feedback incorporated into the final design. With the expanded facility and increased level of service, there will be additional operating packs for both WPL and the city. For the library, the annual impact of full implementation is approximately $710,000. The expanded branch, additional programming space, and the new maker space will require additional staffing levels, bringing the McCormick more in line with the east side branch. On the city side, the annual operating impacts is approximately 600,000 annually, including additional customer service and programming staff, custodial and utility cost, and resources to support greater use of the facility. That investment also provides greater capacity for community programming and partnerships and allows us to make a much better use of AMCC beyond its traditional arena functions. These costs will be phased in through the 2027 budget and the 2028 to 2030 budget process. The project was tendered at the end of August to contractors pre-qualified prior to phase A and we receive seven compliant bids. The recommended award is SG Cunningham at approximately 13 million plus HST. And importantly, the tender is within the approved project budget. Subject to council's approval today, we anticipate construction beginning in November with completion targeted for early 2028. On this slide are the recommendations from our staff report. We are seeking council's approval of the items noted so we can move forward with the project and begin construction. Questions? >> Thank you very much, Heather. Um, this is really an exciting project. Are there questions? I'm going to look to councelor Roach. Go ahead. >> Ju just more of a comment. Mayor through you, Mayor. Heather, thank you so much for you and the team for for all the work you've done on this project. Uh Albert McCormack is such an important part of Ward 3. And it's much more than a renovation. You know, this is transforming this facility into primarily an arena into a true future community hub. you know, all those of us who've lived in the area or played hockey in the area just we always thought of Albert McCormack as as an arena. Um, but I'm especially glad to see the expanded library, uh, the flexible community space, the commercial kitchen, marketplace, uh, study areas. Uh, it's just incredible. And, um, I think these investments will allow the facility to serve far more people in in so many more ways. And finally, just to, as you just mentioned, I just want to recognize the work that got us here. I think you said seven bids and uh received and the lowest compliant bid came within the approved budget. So that's fantastic and that's important for residents to hear on a project this size. Thank you, Heather. >> Thanks. >> Thank you, Councelor Roach. Um and Councelor Wright as a member of the library board. Yeah, thanks. I' I'd uh I'd just like to echo uh councelor Roach's comment. So, the last four years on the library board, this has been one of the most exciting projects. Um, you don't always get a chance to be part of a library renewal like this. Um, and I think one of the really important aspects of it is that this becomes living space for the community. Um, you know, this is where kids do their homework. This is where families can come and congregate. um the the commercial kitchen. I know uh councelor Vasc mentioned um in last week's meeting that how the importance of u supporting food c culture at the neighborhood level and uh this project managed to to get that right as well. And lastly, I just want to comment on how we're preparing for extreme heat because here we have a facility coming on board that now has um temperature controls for summer camps and we didn't have that before. This neighborhood is getting a really valuable community asset that is doing everything that you want out of a community asset. So, I just kudos to the whole team for pulling this together. a lot of rabbits out of hats and um and yes, big congratulations. This is a huge achievement this term. Thanks. >> Okay. Well, I think we uh I think we have a mover and a seconder there. If unless there's any other comments from other members of council, but yeah, I think uh well done to the team on this and listening to getting that really deep and valuable engagement from many many users. I mean, you've reflected in the amount of comments and questions and input that were received like really really thorough and how it changed the project and moved it forward and and address multiple needs. So, so thanks for doing that and I'll look to councelor Roach as the mover then seconded by councelor Wright. All in favor? That is very unanimously uh approved. Thank you so much to everyone involved and I see uh Kelly and Lori back there as well. Thanks to you and your teams for working on this and we really look forward to the to getting this moving and then the the uh the grand opening in a couple of years. Okay, a very short celebration and now we're moving on to the next agenda item, the notice of intention to delegate delegate designate, sorry, designate 131 William Street West um under part four of the Ontario Heritage Act. Welcome Susan Susan Shar Sharpet. Sorry, just push that button. Yeah. Uh thank you uh madame mayor. It's it's Shappert and this will be a very short but sweet presentation. Um so I am here to uh recommend the designation of a lovely residential property on William Street West. Um all of the properties that we bring forward uh for designation under the Heritage Act to council are required to meet uh specific criteria set out by the province through Ontario regulation 906. The there are nine criteria roughly divided into three categories. Design, architectural value, historic or associative value, and contextual value. Um the province says that a property has to meet two of those criteria in order to be considered significant enough to warrant designation. And I'm pleased to report that the property before you today has met four of those criteria. And so we consider the cultural heritage value of this property be very strong. Retaining properties like this um are very important for our community to retain its unique historic identity. So, there's a a research report attached to um the staff report. I'm not going to go through all of it. Uh hopefully you found it an interesting read. The property is a lovely vernacular home with Italian8 details including the the front porch and the tall windows with their segmental arch tops. The property is historically associated with the Snyder family who are very prominent early settlers um in the Waterlue area and the property actually remained in and I guess adjacent to their family for well over a hundred years and actually include um one of uh Waterlue's I think most prominent um women citizens Ida B. Snider um who was responsible for the formation and the first was the first president of the women's menite charity circles. The designation process um that would follow council support is the issuance of a notice of intention to designate um to the property owner and also published on the city's website. Following that, there's a 30-day objection period, and after that, council can consider any objections received and may pass a designation bylaw. I would note that this is an owner supported and requested heritage designation. The owners were absolutely wonderful to uh to deal with um gave me a tour of their property and provided actually some of their own materials to assist with the historic research. We are not expecting an objection to the heritage designation bylaw. Um, following the passage of a bylaw, there's a further 30-day appeal period, at which point any appeals may be made to the Ontario Land Tribunal. Again, we're not expecting any given that this is an owner requested designation. But after uh the appeal period has passed with no um appeals or if appeals are resolved, the designation bylaw then gets registered on title. And so the recommendation before you today is as follows. in order to support the heritage designation of the property at 131 Williams Tree West. I'm happy to take any questions. >> Thank you very much. Are there any questions, council? Um, go ahead, councelor Ro. >> Thank you through you, chair. No questions, just a comment. I'm happy to see this come forward. It's always um exciting to see um when the owner is interested in heritage designation. So, I think this is two now that have come forward in the last little while. Um >> uh through you, Madame Mary. Yes, that is correct. >> Yeah. So, that's great. So, I'm happy to move it. Um, thank you. >> Thank you very much, councelor Rose. So, it's moved. Is there a seconder? Seconded by councelor Wright. Um, I don't see any other questions. So, all in favor that is carried. Thanks very much for your work on this to both of you. Um, it is a beautiful property. Okay. So, the next one is passing of heritage designation bylaws and it's a follow-up to a previous report. Um, is is there is I don't know if there's any opening comments from Dominic. No. Okay. Um, any Go ahead, Councelor Row. >> Again, happy to move this. >> Okay. Are there any questions from council? Seeing none, it's been moved and seconded by councelor Wright. All in favor? That is carried. All right. Two for two. Thanks very much for your work on this, both of you. Okay, so that brings us to the end of this part of our council meeting. We are now going to recess and reconvene at 6:30 this evening. So have a good hour and a half and we'll see you back here then. Thank you.