NON-AGENDA MAIL Thursday, April 28, 2011

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1 Page NON-AGENDA MAIL Thursday, April 28, 2011 ITEM April 28, 2011, AMO - Watch File 2. April 19, 2011, AMO - Firefighters Mandatory Retirement Legislation Introduced 3. April 26, 2011, Planning & Building Department - Official Plan Review on the City's Website 4. April 21, 2011, Committee of Adjustment - Decisions of April 19, April 19, 2011, City Solicitor/Clerk's Department - Liquor Licence Application - Swiss Chalet Rotisserie & Grill 6. April 8, 2011, Citizenship and Immigration Canada - Citizenship Award (Brochure Available in the City Solicitor/Clerk's Department) 7. April 26, 2011, MPAC - Update on MPAC's Delivery and Assessment Products and Services 8. April 28, 2011, Sarnia Heavy Construction Association - Association Membership Invitation 9. April 28, 2011, Bluewater Power - Shareholder's Update Meeting PowerPoint Presentation Page 1 of 35

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3 From: AMO Communications Sent: Thursday, April 28, :53 AM To: Brian Knott Subject: AMO Watch File - April 28, 2011 AMO Watch File not displaying correctly? View the online version Send to a friend Add Communicate@amo.on.ca to your safe list April 28, 2011 In This Issue - Three Private Member Public Bills introduced that impact municipalities. - Party leaders respond to FCM s call. - Win an AMO Gas Tax Award! - Make an impact with AMO s Media and Communications training in North Bay and Thunder Bay. - Weren t at the AMO Urban Symposium? You missed out onn some amazing presentations! - AMO Annual Conference keynotee information and companion s program now available online. - Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO) meeting. - Participate in an electronic waste municipal focus group. - Career opportunities with Durham Region and the City of Hamilton. - Links to full text articles below. Provincial Matters Three Private Member Public Bills were introduced and received First Reading including: Bill 182, Radon Awareness and Prevention Act, 2011; Bill 183, the Ombudsman Statute Law Amendment Act (Designated Public Bodies), 2011; and Bill 187, the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act (Vital Services), Federal Matters During this federal election, FCM highlighted the challenges our cities and communities face, and called on party leaders to address them. Please take a moment to watch and share the videos submitted by the federal parties. Get recognized for your innovative Gas Tax funded project by applying to AMO s 2011 Federal Gas Tax Awards. Submissions will be accepted until Friday May 20 th, 2011 and winners will be announced in August during the 2011 AMO Annual Conference being held in London, Ontario. Eye on AMO/LAS Events AMO s Media & Communications Training provides elected officials and staff the tools to communicate complex information in plain language, craft and deliver messages that stick, handle difficult conversations and much more. Don t miss out - register today! The AMO Urban Symposium was a success, see what you missed and check out the presentations from speakers such as Rob Spanier, Bonnie Patterson and more. Page 3 of 35

4 2011 Annual Conference program is shaping up. We are working to bring you the latest on current and emergingg Ontario municipal interests. The companion s program now available online too. Learn more on our website. The Municipal Wire* Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO) meeting 31 May - 2 June, 2011, Kingston. Members of COSSARO will be assessing the status of species thought to be at risk. These sessionss are open to observers. If you would like to sit in on a session, please complete the attached "Observe Form." Take part in a one-day municipal focus group discussion either on May 3rd or 4th, to provide feedback on the electronic waste program. Career/Employment Opportunities Manager, Communications (Social Services) - Region of Durham. (Temporary - up to 14 months) To learn more about this opportunity, please visit our website and apply directly to Job ID Senior Project Manager, Building Automation Systems - City of Hamilton. Please apply online or send your resume, by May 11, 2011, quoting competition number 7283, to: Staffing/Workforce Planning Specialist, Human Resources, c/o City Hall, 71 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8P 4Y5. Fax: About AMO AMO is a non-profit organization epresenting almost all of Ontario's 444 municipal governments. AMO supports strong and effective municipal government in Ontario and promotes the value of municipal government as a vital and essential component of Ontario's and Canada's political system. AMO Contacts AMO Watch File Team Conferences/Events Policy and Funding Programs LAS Local Authority Services Limited MEPCO Municipal Employer Pension Centre of Ontario OMKN Ontario Municipal Knowledge Network Media Inquiries Tel: Municipal Wire, Career/Employment and Council Resolution Distributions *Disclaimer: The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) is unable to provide any warranty regarding the accuracy or completeness of third-party submissions. Distribution of thesee items does not imply an endorsement of the views, information or services mentioned. Please consider the environment before printing this. Association of Municipalities of Ontario 200 University Ave. Suite 801,Toronto ON Canada M5H 3C6 To unsubscribe, please click here Page 4 of 35

5 AMO Firefighters Mandatory Retirement Legislation Introduced AMO BREAKING NEWS April 19, 2011 Firefighters Mandatory Retirement Legislation Introduced The provincial government today introduced legislation to amend the Fire Protection and Prevention Act (FPPA) that, if passed, will: i) impose a duty of fair representation on bargaining agents for firefighters and as such sets out that the process for enforcing the duty and enabling complaints is to be addressed through the Labour Relations Board, rather than the court system; and ii) authorize collective agreements to set age 60 or over as the mandatory retirement for firefighters who are regularly assigned to fire suppression duties and they shall retire at the age specified in their collective agreement, unless their employers can accommodate them without undue hardship. After two-years from the date of Royal Assent of the Bill, collective agreements that do not contain a mandatory retirement provision or that provide for a mandatory retirement age under 60, these agreements will be deemed to contain a provision requiring retirement at the age of 60. The Bill s provisions apply despite the Human Rights Code. Note: The legislation does not affect volunteer firefighters. Some Initial Comments from AMO: While the Bill proposes that complaints about representation will be addressed through the Labour Relations Board, rather than the court system, there are some unique elements about the process for fire fighters. For example, if the Labour Board determines that the bargaining unit has violated their duty of fair representation, the employer can be ordered to reinstate the firefighter with compensation. It would seem that the municipality holds the liability if the Fire Association has broken the law. The proposed legislation does not define fire suppression, but hinges on the phrase, regularly assigned to fire suppression duties. Does this include those who do fire suppression training? Does it include others? The Bill, as constructed, means that this too is negotiated locally. It may become a patchwork of different definitional approaches across Ontario. Setting aside the limited evidence that there is a health and safety risk due to the unique physical and hazardous work of suppression firefighters, the Bill proposes that a municipal employer is to provide accommodation if they do not wish to retire. While the tests of undue hardship contained in the Bill are those within the Human Rights Code, it appears that only the municipality has a role in the accommodation process and that the Fire Association and the individual firefighter do not. If passed, it is likely that this provision may provoke additional labour relation issues. Given the entry age of firefighters, and if 60 is the retirement age for fire fighters, we should expect to see fire suppression personnel not have their pensionable years by 60 and we should expect pressure to mount for the best three years rather than the current best five years of service. Status: There are a number of fire agreements currently in negotiations and more to come later in the year. Until the Bill is passed and receives Royal Assent, it is not law. We will keep members updated on the status of the legislation as it progresses. At this time, we are not certain of the other parties support for this Bill in contrast to the original motion (see below) that did receive all party support of members sitting on the day of the vote on the motion. There was a brief consultation period conducted by the government on this matter with stakeholders. AMO believes the Bill should be given the opportunity for public comment and that a committee hearing is held after second reading. Background: Page 5 of :49:24 PM]

6 AMO Firefighters Mandatory Retirement Legislation Introduced As reported to you in the March 21, 2011 AMO Breaking News, there was all party support (36-0) received for a private member s motion regarding firefighter mandatory retirement legislation in the Ontario Legislature on March 10, Mike Brown, Liberal MPP for Algoma Manitoulin, proposed the following motion: That, in the opinion of this House, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, in recognition of the role Ontario s firefighters plan every day in keeping our communities safe, and in recognition of the evidence of health and safety risks to firefighters over the age of 60, and in keeping with the recent Human Rights Tribunal decisions, call on the Government to introduce legislation allowing for the mandatory retirement of firefighters who are involved in fire suppression activities in the province of Ontario. Additional commentary on the proposed legislation can be found at: AMO Contact: Monika Turner, Director of Policy, at mturner@amo.on.ca or ext Page 6 of :49:24 PM]

7 D E P A R T M E N T C O R R E S P O N D E N C E People Serving People Date: April 26, 2011 To: From: Re: Mayor Bradley and Members of Sarnia City Council Kim Bresee, Director of Planning and Building OFFICIAL PLAN REVIEW ON THE CITY S WEB SITE ( As portions of the Official Plan Review are advancing to a stage where material can be shared with the public and additional public input is required, staff and the Planning Advisory Committee have been discussing ways to effectively connect with the public. One immediate initiative has been to change the City s web site so that the Official Plan Review is now a title in the Information Centre on the right hand side of the Home Page. This will provide direct access to the Official Plan Review section which will contain updates and other information pertaining to the OP Review such as information sheets, historical summaries, upcoming public meetings, background reports and draft or final reports. As there may be some large documents posted on this site our costs will be reduced by not having to widely distribute material in paper format. From time to time staff will provide memos such as this one to alert Council to new information on the web site. These memos may contain executive summaries of some of the material and they will direct the reader to the web site for the complete report. Similar alerts will be placed in the print and radio media so the general public can be made aware of the material on the City s web site. The latest material to be posted to the site at is the Blackwell Marsh Soils Investigation Report, August 2010 and the Draft Blackwell Marsh Agricultural Study, December Page 7 of 35

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9 D E P A R T M E N T C O R RE S P O N D E N C E People Serving People DATE: April 21, 2011 TO: FROM: RE: Brian Knott Solicitor/Clerk Beth Gray Secretary-Treasurer, Committee of Adjustment Committee of Adjustment Decisions Public Hearings April 19, 2011 Please find attached the Decisions that were approved at the above noted Public Hearings. The last date of appeal is: Variance, May 9, 2011 (20 days from Hearing date) attached: Decisions Page 9 of 35

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27 Shareholder Update Meeting Tuesday April 19 th 2011 AGENDA 2010 Financial Results Operations Update Smart Meter Update Generation Projects Conservation/Municipal Energy Plans Rates/Pricing Update Industry Update Page 27 of 35 1

28 2010 Financial Results Total consolidated net income after taxes of almost $4M in 2010 which represents a 33% increase over Successful year overall for Distribution Company higher summer weather consumption and greater billable revenue offset by a significant customer bankruptcy. Overall consolidated balance sheet strong, cash position at year end at $5.8 Million. Dividends payable (in May 2011) of $1.4M which is up by 22% over last year. Page 28 of 35 2

29 Bluewater Power Corporation Normal Operating Dividends Summary Paid to Municipal Holdcos OPERATING DIVIDENDS RECEIVED FROM: Cumulative Actual Actual Actual Actual Draft Total Bluewater Power Distribution Corp $ 403,710 $ 620,857 $ 637,313 $ 939,807 $ 1,165,917 $ 4,474,204 Bluewater Power Services Corp , , ,626 Electek Power Services Inc. - 19, , , , ,568 $ 403,710 $ 640,000 $ 777,729 $ 1,177,168 $ 1,440,191 $ 5,145,398 OPERATING DIVIDENDS PAID TO: Sarnia Power Corp $ 347,392 $ 550,720 $ 669,236 $ 1,012,953 $ 1,239,284 $ 4,427,614 Petrolia Holding Corp 29,713 47,104 57,241 86, , ,702 Warwick Holding Corp 8,761 13,888 16,876 25,544 31, ,655 Alvinston Holding Corp 2,907 4,609 5,600 8,476 10,369 37,049 Point Edward Holding Corp 13,605 21,567 26,209 39,670 48, ,397 Oil Springs Holding Corp 1,332 2,112 2,567 3,885 4,753 16,981 $ 403,710 $ 640,000 $ 777,729 $ 1,177,168 $ 1,440,191 $ 5,145,398 Operations Update Distribution Company Overall power reliability exceeds 99.9%. Total outages for 2010 of 95 caused mostly by weather, loss of supply and equipment failure. This compares to 74 in The major snowstorm in 2010 combined with excessive heat has reversed a three year positive trend towards reducing large outages. Number of Large Outages per Year Page 29 of 35 3

30 Operations Update Distribution Company For 2011, Capital improvements planned for each municipality we commit dollars to each shareholder area annually. Township of Warwick Station Upgrade Town of Petrolia Tank Street Upgrade and Maude Street Conversion Township of Brooke-Alvinston and the Village of Oil Springs General upgrades. Village of Point Edward Conversion on Village Green and Line extensions near Legion City of Sarnia Too numerous to list. Operations Update Electek Power and Services Company Both affiliate companies register strong performances both operationally and financially Continue to exceed budget projections Investigating growth opportunities Lines of business include: Engineering Technical equipment Industrial Work Street Lights Traffic Lights Water Billing Water Metering Work Hydro Vac Truck Line work Conservation programs Page 30 of 35 4

31 Smart Meter Update Bluewater Power has almost all smart meters installed. Working feverishly on the back-end Information Technology piece to make it all flow. Customers will be billed on hourly data once fully implemented as opposed to 60 days of blocked data. Smart Meter Update Time of Use (TOU) billing schedule for late 2011 (likely October/November) Pricing Overview Current Price /Kwh Proposed Pricing /Kwh 1 st Tier nd Tier 7.4 Off Peak 5.1 Mid Peak 8.1 On Peak 9.9 Page 31 of 35 5

32 Smart Meter Update Total price tag of approximately $9 Million funded by Infrastructure Ontario. Some utilities now are TOU billing Customer impact - as an example, my bill shows a 6% increase under TOU. Without behaviour changes, most bills likely to see minor increase. Bluewater Power Generation Landfill Gas to Energy project -- Sarnia Landfill Operating below expectations We will continue to operate provided the project continues to at least `break even` and has a positive outlook Landfill Gas to Energy project Petrolia Landfill Operating slightly above expectations 50% partnership with Waste Management Successful early results Both projects have very positive public relations High School class trips Environmental clubs Media Page 32 of 35 6

33 Bluewater Power Generation Solar Demonstration Projects Two 10kW projects Operational in May 2011 Will be used for customer education Renewable Generation Development All future generation development has been put on hold until after the Provincial election Conservation Issues The Province has given utilities conservation targets which must be met. Bluewater Power s targets are significant. Programs aimed at customer segments residential, commercial, industrial and low income. Programs include: Fridge and Freezer Pickup Heating and Cooling Incentive Peaksaver New Home Construction Conservation Coupon Booklet Appliance Exchange Events Midstream Electronics and Midstream Pool Equipment Demand Response Small Business Lighting Retrofit Program Audit Funding High Performance New Construction Page 33 of 35 7

34 Energy Management Plans With Respect to Energy Management Plans 1) If the goal is to produce a document we urge you to wait until after the Fall Election to determine if it continues to be a requirement. 2) If the goal is to promote sustainability, you will need buy in for process changes and commitments from the bottom up. 3) Overall we can help you. Rates/Pricing Update Four bill changes in the past year i. HST added July 2010 ii. 8% increase to fund OPG rate increase iii. 10% bill credit effective January 2011 iv. New distribution rates effective May 1, 2011 Overall total bills are up 3% over 5 years Distribution up 2% over 5 years this is the only part controlled locally Overall rates have been stable Page 34 of 35 8

35 Rates/Pricing Update 2011 Rate Increase effective May 1, 2011: 2.6% increase for residential customers ($3.09) 1.7% increase for small commercial ($4.94) To put that into perspective, of the $3 distribution increase $2 due to electricity costs true up; $1 due to smart meters We get to keep 2 Industry Update Always significant attention on the electricity industry. Soaring summer consumption, HST, smart meters, green energy, coal.. Electricity is provincially regulated What will happen in the Fall? Approached Hydro One (again) for rural assets we are waiting on a response. Page 35 of 35 9