BY VOICE STAFF
Monday, November 5 saw the farewell of Pelham’s outgoing Town council. About 15 onlookers were in the gallery, including former Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre Malcolm Allen, two councillors-elect, and members of the public.
Farewell comments
The outgoing council and Mayor Dave Augustyn shared a moment of reflection on what they asserted were their accomplishments over the past term, and offered “thank yous” to the community.
Councillor Catherine King began the comments by saying that not running for a third term was a decision that wasn’t easily made.
“While we didn’t always agree in our decisions, we worked as a team to grow this town and provide amenities for all residents, new and long-standing residents,” she said. “We earmarked the town and by doing so were honoured with many grants and awards there is every reason to celebrate our accomplishments.”
Councillor John Durley joked, “I’m leaving politics for health reasons, people got sick of me,” which drew a laugh from the room.
“I’ve always had the best interest of our community in mind,” said Durley, “and my focus was building on a better community for the future generations our Pelham.”
To the incoming councillors he said there’s a “time to campaign” and a “time to govern.”
“The easy part, the campaign, has ended, the difficult part, the governing, is just about to begin,” he said. “You need to know and appreciate the difference.”
Councillor Gary Accursi said council’s achievements were for the “betterment” of the community, despite the disagreements, “personal attacks and false allegations.”
“Eight years ago, this council established a vision encompassing a vibrant, creative and caring community in Niagara. At the time, this was a bold statement to make”
Over the years, Accursi said council made “tough decisions” to turn this vision into a reality.
Councillor Jim Lane extended appreciation towards Town staff and to the fellow council members he has served with over the past three partial terms in which he was appointed to council to fill a Ward 1 vacancy.
“No council can be successful without the support of a strong staff and knowledgeable senior management team,” Lane said. “Pelham is fortunate to have such a team.”
Councillor Richard Rybiak said that when he “rode in on my silver horse expecting to make a change” to how he thought public service should work, he quickly realized that people get things done in a way that “could be the envy of a lot of private businesses.”
“It wasn’t about the implementation of ideology or presenting ideas,” he said. “It was about solving problems and getting the work done.”
Councillor Peter Papp rounded out the farewell comments.
During his time as councilor, he said he enjoyed working with not only Town staff and fellow councillors, but also with members of the community’s service clubs and volunteers.
“What they contribute is enormous in this community and they can’t be overlooked.”
For the incoming council, Papp said he would like them to work with decency and respect, while acknowledging that people may disagree with their opinions.
“Do not forget who you who put you there, just like we have not forgotten.”
Mayor Dave Augustyn extended an emotional thanks to his family for supporting him during his time as mayor, saying that public service is “hard sometimes.”
Augustyn extended best wishes to the new council-elect.
“There’s a huge euphoria when you’re elected to council and rightly so,” he said. “When you come with your own strengths and vision for a community, one hopes that you can come together as a council and work with our staff and members of the community in order to continue to move the community forward.”
2018 Pelham Summerfest report
Chair of the Pelham Summerfest Committee John Wink presented Town council with a final report of this year’s event.
Pelham Summerfest’s eighth annual event took place July 19 to 22. Wink said that despite heavy rains that fell overnight Saturday and through Sunday morning, forcing a cancellation of all activities on Sunday, the event “was once again a major success and a tribute to our town.”
The attendance over three days was asserted to be 38,950 and of that, 43.6 percent came from Pelham, 46 percent visited from the outlying Niagara area, and 10.4 percent were visitors outside the Niagara Region. The returning visitor rate was at 70.5 percent, with new visitors at 29.5 percent. Wink said even though the Sunday activities were cancelled, Saturday’s attendance increased over previous years.
The event sponsorship contribution totaled $43,600, with $15,000 contributed by the Town. Also additional in-kind donations totaled $19,220. Over the eight years, Wink—who is also a Ward 2 councillor-elect—asserted that the Summerfest Committee has returned $57,567 back to the community. It was recommended that council receive the report for information, maintain the same level of funding for 2019 ($15,000), declare Pelham Summerfest 2019 a “Municipally Significant” event, and authorize the Clerk to make application for a Special Occasion Permit for Pelham Summerfest 2019.
Update: Conditional Sale of Haist Street Arena
Pelham Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Darren Ottaway reported to council that before the so-called “Lame Duck” period began during the election campaign, when it was clear that a majority of council was not running for re-election, resulting in curbs on their authority, the Haist Street Arena property was already designated as “surplus” land. With council’s authority limited, it fell under law to Town Clerk Nancy Bozzato and Ottaway to negotiate with prospective buyers.
Ottaway reported that a conditional offer has been placed on the property and said he “hopes” the deal will be closed by year-end.
Request for Kinsmen Home Show date change
Pelham council approved, in principle, the Kinsmen Club of Fonthill’s request to move its annual Home Show from the third weekend in April to the first weekend starting in 2019.
In a letter to council dated July 18, it states “Our club has determined a significant need to move our event to an earlier weekend in April as we are now in competition from other home shows [that weekend] in neighbouring Niagara communities in late April.”
The letter continued to say that the date conflicts with local seasonal businesses like landscapers, as it runs late into start-up season and are encouraging the club to seek alternate date. It also stated that show numbers over the past five years are trending neutral or have slightly decreased. “An effective and positive change is needed.” Town Treasurer Teresa Quinlin reported that schedules for three major user groups would be affected by the date change, especially if they face a play-off situation.
There are two options—the ice would have to be removed from the Duliban Arena, or covered, either of which would cost an additional $4,000. There is potential for this cost to be covered through a 2019 municipal grant.
Augustyn said the incoming council would be making the decision as it may or not be a budget item.
Over the past 23 years, the Kinsmen Home Show has cumulatively raised and donated over $380,000 to Pelham and surrounds.
“Idea Jamming” for proposed parks
Council was informed that Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds have been awarded the contract to develop Lookout and Weiland Heights neighbourhood parks, and will host a so-called “Idea Jamming Session” on Saturday, November 17 from 1 to 4 PM.
In a Town report to council by Director of Recreation, Culture and Wellness Vickie vanRavenswaay, “idea jamming” is described as an engaging process with residents. The design company is setting up a heated tent on site in Lookout Park during the session. Large maps of both sites will be available for the residents to view. In addition, the design team will walk with residents to Weiland Heights Park if necessary during this time. The project timeline projects completion of consultation and design of both parks by the end of December. By the end of February, the Weiland Heights Park components are expected to be completely built. By the end of April, the park will be completely assembled, with a May grand opening.
The Lookout Park project will begin in July with the production the park components, August and September being installation and an anticipated October grand opening.
Town finances update
It was presented by Treasurer Quinlin that the 2018 budget appears to be “on target” for both overall revenues and expenditures.
The report stated the Town is experiencing higher utility costs for the Meridian Community Centre than originally budgeted. The expected impact of increased utility costs is approximately $200,000 over budget, however, it’s unknown whether there will be cost savings in other expenditures to offset the increase.
Accursi questioned how the original hydro costs were calculated, as the original number was only around $147,000.
Ottaway responded by saying the projected costs were based on bringing the centre online with two rinks to be frozen at the same time. It is undetermined how much of the overage included start up and operating expenses because of the time of year.
He added another unknown factor is what will happen when the ice is removed and what the impact will be on the operating costs at that point.
“In essence, what we really need is a complete year of operation in order to get the actual expenses,” Ottaway asserted. “Then we’ll have to reflect those changes if there are changes in the operating budget.” Ottaway did agree with Accursi’s suggestion to consult with Hydro One to inspect the meters and ensure they are working properly, especially since there have been issues with the equipment and to determine whether there was an impact on consumption.
Accursi added the report would be beneficial information for the incoming council.
The September monthly financial report was presented to council for information and reflects the Town’s revenue and expenditure activity for the nine-month period ending September 30.
The report also stated that some provincial grants are uncertain at this time due to potential changes in government priorities and the amount of supplemental tax revenue to be received is uncertain depending on the timing of MPAC assessments.
