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General Committee – Wednesday, January 22, 2025, 7pm

Writer's picture: Accountability TeamAccountability Team
Jan 177 min read

Updated: Jan 27

Bright Futures grants, Conservation of Built Heritage Community Improvement Plan (CIP), Service Partners budgets


Meeting Location: Council Chambers or online



PRESENT: Thomson (Chair), Riepma, Nixon, Kungl, Courser, Nigussie, Harvey, Harris, Morales

ABSENT: Nuttall, Hamilton


🗣️🏙️ Public Meetings

  • Nil



🧑‍🏫📑 Presentations

  • Nil



⏸️⏯️ Deferred Business

  • Nil



📝📑 Reports of Reference, Advisory or Special Committees


💸🤷 Affordability Committee


🚸🚨 Community Safety Committee


💰✍️ Grant Applications

  • Direct staff to forward the list of selected organizations to receive funding through the Bright Futures Grant to the Community Safety and Well-Being Plan Committee for consideration

  • Once reviewed with the Community Safety and Well-Being Plan Committee, staff may contact the successful applicants

  • Allocate $68,299 - $25,000 from the Council Strategic Priorities Account and $43,299 from the Reinvestment Reserve - to be distributed as follows:

    • $24K to the City of Barrie Nature Parks Play Program

    • $35K for day camp programs for high risk communities

    • $9,299 to top up the Bright Futures Grant funding to ensure the selected organizations receive full funding of their request

  • Any funds allocated to an organization that aren't used will be reallocated to reduce the City's funding towards the City of Barrie Nature Parks Program and day camp programs for high risk communities

  • Once funding is confirmed and accepted by the successful applications, Recreation and Culture Department to provide a memorandum to the Community Safety Committee detailing the successful applicants

  • APPROVED on consent

  • Harris (belatedly) declared a potential conflict, as he's connected to an application for this funding


🏦🧑‍⚖️ Finance and Responsible Governance Committee


⛵️🏢 Sea Cadets - Use of General John Hayter Southshore Community Centre

🧑‍🏫📺 Amendment to Procedural Bylaw

👥👥 Committee Updates

  • Proposal by Nuttall:  https://barrie.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=13667132&GUID=8752E28A-2450-4713-A951-2A369CD9ED58

  • Make changes to Advisory Committees:

    • remove Kungl from Active Transportation and Sustainability (at her request) and replace her with Morales

    • remove Hamilton from the County of Simcoe Human Services Committee (at her request)

    • add Nixon to the Town and Gown Committee

    • remove Riepma as Chair of Heritage Barrie and replace him with Kungl

  • Direct the City Clerk to review the membership and mandate of the Seniors and Accessibility Advisory Committee to ensure that the provisions of the AODA continue to be met, and report back to Finance and Responsible Governance Committee if changes are required

  • Create a Parking Advisory Ad-Hoc Committee to review on street parking standards in the City, including provisions for new developments, current practices and potential modernization, and report back to the Community Safety Committee by the end of Q2 in 2026, with the following composition

    • Thomson

    • Riepma

    • 3 citizen members

    • 1-2 representatives from the Development Community

  • APPROVED on consent

🚤🛥️ Licensing of Watersports

  • Proposal by Hamilton:  https://barrie.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=13667160&GUID=CAA27031-07D1-4D29-AF32-09CCDCC6AA9F

  • Rescind the previous Council's decision to not allow operators to provide motorized activities on Barrie's waterfront

  • Direct staff to prepare a licensing protocol for the licensing of businesses operating motorized activities along the waterfront, including a limit on the vehicles permitted, fees and safety measures for their operation, and report back to General Committee

  • The previous Council prevented motorized activities along the waterfront in order to preserve the natural environment, as well as public safety. Considering all the discussion at Council about the Sea Cadets' safety when learning in Kempenfelt Bay, it seems quite contradictory to now introduce motorized watersports on the Bay

  • HELD by Courser

  • Courser had questions to legal staff:

    • Courser asked if it was true that the City didn't have jurisdiction on these businesses if they weren't touching shore? - Cooke indicated that determining the authority would be a part of the investigation, if this direction went through

    • Courser asked if it would take into account the water traffic, visitors swimming, scuba diving etc.? - Cooke said it would be taken into account as part of the report as well, along with potential bylaw changes, and where motorized vehicles could operate so as not to disturb beach areas

  • CARRIED - voting being hidden from viewers again


📑🗂 Staff Reports


📋🏛️ Conservation of Built Heritage Community Improvement Plan


💰📊 2025 Business Plan and Budget - Service Partners

  • Report: https://barrie.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=13684910&GUID=57EB9ACD-BA5B-4976-92A8-5A0EE8EDA81A

  • Approve the Barrie Police Services Board's funding request ($72.2M)

  • Approve the Barrie Public Library Board's funding request ($9.7M tax supported, $164.9K of Development Charges funding)

  • Approve the County of Simcoe budget request, including contributions to the County of Simcoe Capital Reserve ($32.9M total)

  • Approve the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority budget request ($376.5K tax supported, $1.1M of water rate funding)

  • Approve the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority's budget request ($475.4K tax supported, $83.9K water rate funding)

  • Approve the Barrie Area Physician Recruitment budget request ($60K)

  • Approve the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit's budget request ($2.3M)

  • Amend Capital Project 001416: EMS Campus - Solar PV installation to reduce Tax Capital Reserve funding of $125K in 2025 and $400K in 2026 and replace with partner funding from the County of Simcoe for their portion

  • APPROVED on consent



📑🗂 Reports of Officers of the Corporation

  • Nil



💡🗣️ Items of Discussion


💰⛺️ Support of County Funding for Accommodations for Encampment Residents



📥🔄 Circulation List Referrals


🚫🏙️ CIHA / MZO Update for 175 & 199 Essa Road and 50 Wood Street (Fairgrounds)


🧑‍⚖️💪 Mayor's Task Force

  • Media Release, January 20:  https://barrie.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=13686466&GUID=5766A9C9-645E-48C5-B0A7-F4F50B5FD750  "City of Barrie announces transition of Mayor's Taskforce into Permanent Executive Committee" 

  • Mayor's Decision:  https://barrie.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=13686467&GUID=EB77B6AF-EA00-43FE-89B0-9FADC79C0248 

  • Courser had a number of questions for the Clerk:

    • Courser noted the Mayor's Task Force did not have any public facing reporting, and members of Council who were not members of the Task Force did not receive any minutes or agenda items either. Now that it is transitioning to a permanent Executive Committee, will there be public agenda items and minutes available?

      • Cooke stated that agendas and minutes would be published on the City website, and the committee would be treated as a Reference Committee - agendas and minutes published; recommendations coming from it would go to General Committee, then Council for final approval; meetings will be open to the public, etc.

    • Courser noted that the was quorum on this committee, so asked if it was the case that the floor would be open to other members of Council to ask questions, if it was being treated like any other Reference Committee?

      • Cooke agreed that there was a quorum of Council members on this committee, but stated that there wasn't a quorum of votes - only a total of five votes, since the mayor doesn't vote and two of the members share one vote (this is a rather round-about way to avoid accountability to the procedural bylaw, considering the Committee is, in fact, made up of a quorum of Council members)

      • Cooke stated that since this was being treated as a Reference Committee, other members of Council would be able to attend and ask questions

    • Courser noted that this was under executive order by Nuttall under his Strong Mayor Powers, and asked about the legal obligation of declaring that it was a Strong Mayor Powers direction (since the media release had left that out)

      • Cooke stated that the media release is not obliged to declare how the decision / direction was made, and noted that under Strong Mayor Powers, the mayor has the authority to create committees made up entirely of members of Council

    • Courser noted that Strong Mayor decisions needed to be legally posted, and asked wouldn't this direction fall under that category?

      • Cooke agreed that all Strong Mayor decisions and directions to staff have to be made public, and are posted on the website, although sometimes it takes a while to post. The Clerk also circulates all Strong Mayor decisions to all members of Council

  • Morales then argued that the Procedural Bylaw doesn't specify that non-members of a Reference Committee are allowed to speak - repeating that it has been happening at Reference Committees, but is not required and is at the discretion of the Committee Chair

    • Cooke acknowledged that was the case, but indicated that there would be some amendments to the Procedural Bylaw coming forward to address that

    • Morales continued to argue that non-Committee members did not currently have the right to ask questions of the Mayor's Task Force




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