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Print | YORK REGION>Regional Government>Agendas Minutes and Reports>_2010 |
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INAUGURAL MEETING
COUNCIL
OF
THE
December 9, 2010
The Inaugural Meeting of Regional Council for the term of office December 1, 2010 to November 30, 2014 convened at 7:00 p.m. on December 9, 2010 in the Council Chambers, York Region Administrative Centre,
Procession
Regional Chair Fisch and the Members of Regional Council were piped into the Council Chambers by Sergeant Peter Fleming of the York Regional Police.
Attendance
The following Members of Council were in attendance:
Mayor Barrow (Town of
Mayor Bevilacqua (City of
Mayor Dawe (Town of
Mayor Emmerson (Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville)
Mayor Grossi (Town of
Mayor Hackson (Town of
Mayor Pellegrini (
Mayor Scarpitti (Town of
Mayor Van Bynen (Town of
Regional Councillor Di Biase (City of
Regional Councillor Heath (Town of
Regional Councillor Hogg (Town of
Regional Councillor Jones (Town of
Regional Councillor Landon (Town of
Regional Councillor Li (Town of
Regional Councillor Rosati (City of
Regional Councillor Schulte (City of
Regional Councillor Spatafora (Town of
Regional Councillor Taylor (Town of
Regional Councillor Wheeler (Town of
1 National Anthem
Constable Danielle Morrison of the York Regional Police led the singing of the National Anthem.
2 Presiding Officer
Denis Kelly, Regional Clerk, advised that in accordance with the Region's Procedure By-law he would act as Presiding Officer until Council appointed the Regional Chair. He extended congratulations to all Members of Council on their recent election and welcomed all the assembled guests to this, the 16th Inaugural Meeting of the Council of the Regional Municipality of York.
3 Introduction of Chair and Special Guests
The Regional Clerk introduced Regional Chair Bill Fisch and two special guests assisting with the Inaugural Meeting - The Honourable Regional Senior Justice Michael F. Brown of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and Reverend Vicki Cousins, Coordinator of Spiritual Care at Southlake Regional Health Centre.
4 Statutory Requirements
The Regional Clerk advised that the various statutory prerequisites leading up to the Inaugural Meeting had been complied with. These included the filing of Certificates of Election by each of the Clerks of the local municipalities, and each Member taking his or her Declaration of Office. He called the meeting to order.
5 Members' Declarations of Office
His Honour Regional Senior Justice Michael F. Brown led the elected Members of Council as they repeated their Declarations of Office together.
6 Prayer of Invocation
Reverend Vicki Cousins, Coordinator Spiritual Care at Southlake Regional Health Centre, led everyone in a Prayer of Invocation.
7 Process for Appointment of Regional Chair
The Regional Clerk advised that it was in order to proceed with the appointment of the Regional Chair. He indicated that under the Municipal Act, 2001 Regional Council was to appoint as Regional Chair for the 2010-2014 term one of the Members of Regional Council, or any other person nominated and seconded by a Member of Council. The Regional Clerk then provided a brief overview of the procedure that would be followed for the appointment of the Regional Chair.
8 Nominations
The Regional Clerk declared nominations to be open for the office of Regional Chair. He advised that he had received a completed Nomination Form by the requested time of Friday, December 3, 2010 at 4:30 p.m., indicating that Mayor Emmerson wished to nominate Bill Fisch for the position of Regional Chair, seconded by Mayor Scarpitti, and that Mr. Fisch had consented to the nomination.
Mayor Emmerson and Mayor Scarpitti confirmed that they were the mover and seconder of the nomination of Bill Fisch for the office of Regional Chair.
The Regional Clerk asked on three separate occasions if there were any further nominations for the office of Regional Chair. No further nominations were received.
9 Appointment of Regional Chair
It was moved by Mayor Barrow, seconded by Regional Councillor Wheeler, that nominations for the office of Regional Chair be closed and that Bill Fisch be appointed as Regional Chair.
Carried Unanimously
10 Remarks - Mover and Seconder
Mayor Emmerson and Mayor Scarpitti each made brief remarks commending Bill Fisch for his leadership as Regional Chair over the past four terms of Council.
11 Declaration of Office
The Honourable Regional Senior Justice Michael F. Brown, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, administered the required Declaration of Office to Mr. Fisch. Regional Chair Fisch assumed the chair.
12 Regional Chair's Inaugural Address
In his Inaugural Address to Council, Regional Chair Fisch outlined the numerous achievements of Regional Council during the past four years. These included a series of initiatives to improve transportation services and maintenance delivery, including the purchase of new York Region Transit vehicles and beginning construction of the first Viva rapidway in York Region; various waste management initiatives including the rollout of the Green Bin program and approval for the Durham-York Energy-from-Waste facility; various environmental initiatives resulting in York Region's drinking water ranking among the best in the Province; management of the pandemic H1N1 influenza activity; and addressing the fiscal imbalance between the Province and municipalities resulting in the GTA pooling being completely phased out in 2013.
The Regional Chair also addressed the various challenges during the upcoming term. These include investing in sustainable infrasture development to manage growth through our investment in Viva Rapid Transit, the first rapid transit service of its kind in Canada; Council's commitment to health protection and public safety including its multi-year commitment for hospital capital financing and reinforcement of its commitment to community-based policing; continued work on the development of a Regional strategy for affordable housing; upcoming key projects related to increasing critical wastewater capacity and securing and protecting drinking water for York Region residents; continuing Council's commitment to diversification of long-term waste management solutions; and shaping the future by endorsing a 40-year timeframe for the next update to Council's Vision statement - Vision 2051.
Regional Chair Fisch advised that he looked forward to working with Council and staff to develop solutions in each of these areas. He expressed how fortunate York Region is to benefit from the collective passion and expertise of York Region's employees, noting that York Region was recently recognized as one of the Top 100 Employers in the GTA for 2011.
Regional Chair Fisch expressed his appreciation to his Executive Assistant and Director of Government Relations, Lina Bigioni, who has played a large role in his success.
The Regional Chair then introduced his family and gave special recognition to his wife Tova for all of her support over the years.
13 Introductions by Regional Chair
The Regional Chair introduced each Member of Council and the dignitaries in attendance, including the following:
Julian Fantino, MP
Dr. Helena Jaczek, MPP
Frank Klees, MPP
Peter Shurman, MPP
Roger Anderson, Regional Chair,
Gerri-Lynn O'Connor, Mayor of Uxbridge
Armand P. La Barge, Chief,
Eric Jolliffe, Chief Designate,
Bruce Herridge, Deputy Chief,
Brian Burbidge, Regional Fire Coordinator
Regional Chair Fisch introduced the former Members of Regional Council in attendance, namely Ralph Aselin, Carole Bell, Margaret Britnell, Evelyn Buck, Don Cousens, Stan Daurio, Al Duffy, Ken Dunphy, Mario Ferri, Joyce Frustaglio, Linda Jackson, Tim Jones, Ron Moran, James Mortson, Bill O'Donnell, John Rogers, Fran Sainsbury, Joe Virgilio, Tom Taylor and James Young.
14 Introductions by Members of Council
Each Member of Council then introduced his or her guests including family members, past and current local Members of Council in attendance and Chief Administrative Officers and other staff. Each Member of Council made a few remarks regarding the opportunities and challenges facing the Region during the coming term.
15 Chief Administrative Officer's Remarks and Introduction of Senior Staff
Mr. Bruce Macgregor, Chief Administrative Officer, congratulated Regional Chair Fisch and Council. He indicated that York Region's staff is committed to providing continued excellent support to Council.
He then introduced the Commissioners and other senior staff consisting of Norm Barrette, General Manager, Emergency Medical Services; Adelina Urbanski, Commissioner of Community and Health Services; Dr. Karim Kurji, Medical Officer of Health; Erin Mahoney, Commissioner of Environmental Services; Brian Tuckey, Commissioner of Planning and Development Services; Kathleen Llewellyn-Thomas, Commissioner of Transportation Services; Mary Frances Turner, President, York Region Rapid Transit Corporation; Jim Davidson, Commissioner of Corporate Services; Joy Hulton, Regional Solicitor; and Lloyd Russell, Commissioner of Finance and Treasurer.
16 Confirmatory By-law
[The following link opens a .pdf file of the By-law]
It was moved by Mayor Dawe, seconded by Regional Councillor Shulte, that the following by-law be enacted to confirm the proceedings of this meeting of Council.
By-law No. 2010-77
To confirm the proceedings of Council at its meeting held on December 9, 2010.
Carried
17 Adjournment
It was moved by Mayor Bevilacqua, seconded by Regional Councillor Li, that Council adjourn its meeting.
Carried
The Council meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m.
____________
Regional Clerk
Minutes confirmed and adopted at the meeting of Regional Council held on the 16th of December 2010.
____________
Regional Chair
