Council Info – June 27, 2018

Council Info is a summary of discussion and the major items presented at Council meetings. It is circulated immediately following each meeting. You are encouraged to quote from and copy this information. Please refer to the minutes for an official record of the meeting.

Regional Council endorses preliminary Stage 2 ION LRT route

Regional Councillors endorsed the Project Teams’ Preliminary Proposed Route (2018)  for Stage 2 ION - LRT from Kitchener to Cambridge, but directed staff to continue to evaluate options in the Preston area. The route is fixed to the top of Shantz Hill and staff will be looking at alternatives to going down the hill, station location in Preston and track location in the area of Preston to connect into the abandoned spur line and, based on the recommendation, the route would be coming down Shantz Hill.  With Council’s endorsement of the preferred route, the Project Team will complete the preliminary design and identify property requirements, finalize station locations and names, identify potential locations for traction power substations and determine the location of the maintenance and storage facility. A business case for the project will be prepared.  

Opioid response in Waterloo Region

Council endorsed a plan to address the local opioid crisis. The Waterloo Region Opioid Response plan was developed in partnership with community agencies in response to the concerning number of opioid-related paramedic calls and overdose deaths locally. Recent Coroner’s data shows that 85 Waterloo Region residents died from an opioid overdose in 2017. The Plan was developed in consultation with a variety of stakeholders, including the Waterloo Region Integrated Drug Strategy, the LHIN, Police Services, School Boards, Community Services including Housing, Municipalities, Crime Prevention Council, Paramedic Services and people with lived experience of substance use. Council recently gave approval for Public Health and an implementation work group to further investigate the use of supervised injection/consumption services in Kitchener and Cambridge. Research has shown that these services are an important tool to help reduce overdose deaths, discarded needles, and the spread of HIV and hepatitis C. The feasibility of possible site locations will be studied extensively over the coming months.

 Region to hire community paramedics

Council approved the addition of two community paramedics to implement and operate a community paramedicine program in Waterloo region. The community paramedic’s role will be to enhance community and health care services to patients enrolled in the program. This will be achieved through scheduled home visits, which will include an overall health appraisal. This assessment will evaluate health risk factors, and provide health and community care referrals along with assistance with system navigation. The Community Paramedic will aim to be an advocate for these patients outside of the hospital environment, and within the patients’ familiar surroundings (i.e., residence, shelter, etc.) The intent of the $246,000 funding received for this program is to reduce unnecessary emergency department (ED) visits, hospital admissions, and address insufficiencies in timely access to care for high risk, high user and vulnerable populations.

Paramedic response times

Council approved the 2019 Response Time Performance Plan for Paramedic Services. This plan, which is required by the province, sets targets for response times to various medical emergencies (e.g. a six-minute response time for cardiac arrests). The 2019 plan maintains the same targets as the 2018 plan.

Housing and Homelessness Plan - a progress report

Council approved a progress report for year four of the 10 Year Housing and Homelessness Plan, which was created in 2014. The Housing and Homelessness Plan aims to prevent and end homelessness and address related low-income housing needs. Working toward a more coordinated approach to the delivery of housing resources continues to be a priority for local system planning.

New affordable housing

Three affordable housing priority projects were approved by Council:

• Ayr & District Citizens Association (10 units, $1.2 million)
• Elmira Developmental Support Corporation (four units, $600,000)
• Maxwell Building Consultants Ltd. (eight units, $1.04 million)

As proposed, the Priority Projects would result in 22 new housing units and requiring up to $2,843,700. This program will not impact the current property tax levy for housing programs as funds from senior levels of government are being utilized.

Region to administer development charge rebate program for Kitchener

The Region has been approved to administer a development charge rebate program on behalf of the City of Kitchener. This provincial rebate program gives approved municipalities development charge grants to help with the creation of purpose-built market rent housing.

Two new Level 2 Pedestrian Crossovers approved

Regional staff has been assessing a number of intersections within the Region. Two locations, Cedar Street at the entrance to Westgate Plaza in the City of Cambridge, and the intersection of Nafziger Road at Maple Leaf Street in the Township of Woolwich meet the criteria for a Level 2 Pedestrian Crossover. This type of crossover consists of new roadside signs and pavement markings and serves to enhance the mobility of pedestrians. The addition of the Level 2 Pedestrian Crossovers in these two locations will service to enhance pedestrians’ mobility and encourage active forms of transportation. The Level 2 Crossovers will be installed and operational prior to the 2018/2019 school season in September.

Council increases Children’s Services budget

The Region of Waterloo will increase the children’s services operating budget by $117,754 to help support the Children and Youth Planning Table (CYPT) after receiving funding from the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation. The CYPT, is an open membership collaborative of approximately 70 organizations serving children, youth and families in Waterloo Region. The group works towards the shared vision of happy, healthy children and youth – today and tomorrow. Their mission is to collectively mobilize as one system for children and youth in Waterloo Region that relentlessly strives to maximize wellbeing throughout generations.

Tenders/Contracts:

The following tenders/contracts were approved by Council:

• $1,495,071.00 to CDW Canada Corporation for supply and delivery of computers and equipment for a period of three years with an option to renew for two additional two year terms.
• $967,043.00 as an increase to WSP to cover the amended project scope and consulting services for the proposed Stage 2 ION LRT route.
• $699,758.00 to Call Construction Ltd. for transit pads, shelters and electrical work.
• $277,160.01 to Aardvark Drilling Inc. for monitoring well installations and testing in Cambridge.
• $242,058 to C3 Water Inc. to provide consulting engineering services for undertaking the review and updating of the Hidden Valley Low Lift intake Operating Protocol.

For more information, contact:
Bryan Stortz, Director, Corporate Communications, 519-575-4408
Regional Clerk’s Office, 519-575-4420