June 2005 Council Highlights

York Regional Council recognizes Character Community Day

York Region will recognize Wednesday, October 19, 2005 as Character Community Day.

Character Community Day provides the opportunity for business, educators, community organizations and families in the Region to focus on character attributes – respect, honesty and integrity among them – and the importance of incorporating them into every day actions and interactions.

For more information on York Region’s Charter Community initiative, please visit www.charactercommunity.com

York Regional Council recognizes Big Brothers Big Sisters Month

York Region will recognize September 2005 as Big Brothers Big Sisters Month.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of York is a leading child and youth-serving organization providing mentoring programs across the region.  Men and women (age 18 or older) give of their time to become mentors to youth who can greatly benefit from having an adult role model to look up to.

For more information on Big Brothers Big Sisters, please visit: www.bbbsy.ca

York Regional Council recognizes Terry Fox Run

York Regional Council received a letter and presentation by Mathew Bertin, Community Organizer of the 25^th Anniversary Terry Fox Run (Newmarket).

The Run is a non-competitive event where people get together as individuals, families and groups to raise money in Terry Fox’s name.  It is a day of celebrating his legacy and helps to keep his dream of a cure for cancer alive.  The run is truly a community event in which people can walk, run, cycle or roller blade.

The Newmarket run will take place on Sunday, September 18, 2005, commencing at 9 a.m. at the Ray Twinney Recreation Complex located at 100 Eagle Street, Newmarket.

York Regional Council bids farewell to three senior staff members

York Regional Council officially recognized the departure of three senior staff members:

• Kees Schipper, Commissioner of Transportation and Works, will be retiring this September and has served as Commissioner for nearly 11 years.  During his tenure, Mr. Schipper presided over numerous capital infrastructure expansion projects – in roads, water and wastewater – as well as York Region Transit and Viva Rapid Transit.

• Tom Webster, Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives and Administration, Office of the CAO, will be departing after nearly 13 years with York Region.  Mr. Webster will take up his new role as CAO for the Town East Gwillimbury in July.

• Dr. Hanif Kassam, Associate Medical Officer of Health, will become the Chief Medical Officer of Health for Peel Region.  Dr. Kassam headed York Region’s strategic operations during the SARS outbreak in 2003.

York Region Releases 2004 Annual Report

York Region has released its 2004 Annual Report, entitled "Focus".

The Annual Report highlights information on Regional Council, Committee and staff accomplishments, audited financial statements, plus a five-year review.  It also features a description of the nine area municipalities and a list of the core services provided by York Region.

The Annual Report is available at the York Region Administrative Centre information kiosk.  A Web-friendly version will be available via York Region's Web site in July.

York Regional Council provides support for Hwy 407/ETR  Martin Grove interchange study

York Regional Council approved support for the City of Vaughan’s request to the Ontario Minister of Transportation for the necessary studies for the construction of a partial (east orientated) interchange at Highway 407/ETR and Martin Grove Road.

York Regional Council enacts Development Charge By-law Amendment

Regional Council approved the amendment to the 2003 Development Charge (DC) By-law.  The enactment is a response to significant cost pressures on water and sanitary sewer projects.  The following table summarize the new rates as of June 23, 2005, taking into consideration the amended water and sewer DC rates, the phase-in of the transit DC, indexing of the DC rates and subsequent adjustments to the water capital costs.

York Regional Council appoints Second Alternative Regional Fire Co-ordinator

York Regional Council passed a by-law to appoint Steve Kraft, Deputy Chief, Town of Richmond Hill Fire Services, as the second Alternative Regional Fire Co-ordinator.  The Regional Fire Co-ordinator is responsible for the preparation and implementation of emergency fire services, plans and programs.

York Region amends water supply agreement with City of Toronto

York Regional Council has amended its agreement with the City of Toronto to supply water to York Region, delivering additional water supply to the Region’s residents and businesses.

Due to continued population growth in York Region, water supply increases have been negotiated to the following levels:

• The supply limit for maximum day volume will be increased to 501 ML/day by 2011
• The projected supply for 2031 will be increased to 530 ML/day

York-Peel water supply update

The York-Peel Feedermain is expected to be fully commissioned by the end of June.  The design-build project has taken three years to complete, and has been constructed jointly with a number of road upgrades.

The York-Peel Feedermain will put into service a major east-west water supply system to convey up to 388 ML/day of treated water from Peel Region to York Region.

Constructed wetlands

York Region will hire CH2M Hill to investigate the feasibility of constructing wetlands at Regional lagoon sites.  The Region operates four sanitary sewage treatment lagoons that have been or will be taken out of service in the near future.  The decommissioning offers an opportunity for environmental leadership, green expansion and habitat for plants and wildlife.

York Region adopts Economic Strategy

York Regional Council adopted the Economic Strategy, which incorporates comments from stakeholders and partners on the December 2004 draft that was circulated for input.

The Economic Strategy encompasses five strategic directions, with 18 strategic objectives and 90 action areas associated with them.  Working in collaboration with local municipalities, senior levels of government, the business community and other stakeholder groups, the Region’s goal is to improve and sustain the economic competitiveness of the Region in the global marketplace.

More than 450 copies of the Final Economic Strategy will be circulated to local municipalities, Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade, the business community and other groups.

To view a copy online, go to www.york.ca and look under “Publications.”

2005 York Region Business Directory supports creation of a vibrant economy

York Regional Council released the 2005 York Region Business Directory, a listing of approximately 11,600 businesses plus information on Regional business and employment trends, population and labour force analyses and economic development contact information.

The York Region Business Directory is an annual publication that serves the needs of York Region residents and businesses alike.  The directory is available in print form and electronically on CD-ROM and online.

As database products, the directories offer an additional revenue source for the Region that helps to offset their cost.  At $175 for the electronic directory and $50 for the print directory, demand for the CD and publication continues to grow.  Copies are available free of charge to non-profit organizations, local libraries and area municipalities.

The electronic version of the 2005 directory is currently available, with the print version becoming available by the end of June.

York Region launches new YorkAtlas

York Region authorized the release of a new enhanced version of YorkAtlas, a component of YorkExplorer, the Region’s popular Internet mapping site that provides users with the ability to view or create Regional maps based on their topic of interest.

YorkAtlas allows users to access detailed information, measure distances and even view photographs of the Region taken from the air.  This enables users to interactively create their own maps.  The new version includes:

·        Large map views

·        Faster and more detailed searches

·        Portable Document Format (PDF) technology which improves printing of maps

·        Ability to comment on and annotate maps

·        Easy saving of maps for future use

In addition to YorkAtlas, YorkExplorer makes geographic information available to the public through three other tools:

·        YorkMaps is a library of maps illustrating a number of themes, including recreational, health, infrastructure and environmental information

·        YorkLocator lets the user locate addresses or intersections or facilities including regional offices, schools and hospitals

·        YorkCatalogue functions the same way that a card catalogue works in a library through a keyword search, providing information about York Region maps, geographic information, applications and web map services.

To access YorkExplorer, click on the “Maps” icon in the yellow menu bar at the top of York Region’s main page at www.york.ca

Tsunami Immigration Settlement Support

York Regional Council requested that the Regional Chair and CEO write to the appropriate federal and provincial ministers to request that a fair share of the funding available for new immigrant settlement services be made available to York Region agencies.

York Region anticipates an increase of immigrants coming to York Region from tsunami affected areas.  Supporting new Canadians in participating in York Region’s community and economy is critical.  Due to low birth rates and an aging population, the growth of York Region’s work force and continued prosperity are dependant upon immigration.

York Region staff will continue to actively work with community agencies, the HSPC Inclusivity Action Plan Steering Committee and the Inter-governmental Settlement Strategy Leadership Team to prepare for the arrival and support of new immigrants including those affected by the tsunami and their families.

Quality Of Life reporting brochure details three FCM reports

York Regional Council approved Quality of Life in York Region, a brochure summarizing the content of three thematic Quality of Life reports prepared by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM):

• Incomes, Shelter and Necessities
• Dynamic Societies and Social Change
• Growth, the Economy and the Urban Environment

The Quality of Life Reporting System (QOLRS) was developed by FCM to measure, monitor and report on changes in social, economic and environmental factors to assess the quality of life in Canadian urban municipalities.

Overall, the quality of life in York Region compares favourably to the other QOLRS municipalities in the areas of education, employment, health, crime, income and water consumption.  Areas in which the Region compares less favourably than most other QOLRS municipalities include income gap, diversity of housing starts, wait times for social housing, rental vacancy rate, rental affordability, voter participation, volunteerism, waste diversion and use of public transit.

The FCM quality of life indicators assist in identifying and confirming the needs and strengths of York Region.  This comparative statistical data along with other data can be used by the Region and its municipalities to actively plan for the short and long-term needs of its rapidly growing and diversifying population.

Regional Council renews leases for Heart Alive Program

York Region has renewed equipment lease and a service agreement for the Heart Alive Program for an additional two years.  The Heart Alive Program strives to promote, influence and improve the way in which the community as a whole works to prevent sudden cardiac arrest, and how it responds when sudden cardiac arrest occurs.

Heart Alive is a Health Services Department program delivered by the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Branch.  Region paramedics are certified as instructors in First Aid, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillation (AED).  The Heart Alive Targeted Responder Course is open to full-time or permanent Regional Municipality of York employees who are willing and able to respond to a medical emergency in their workplace.

Since its inception on April 1, 2004, the Heart Alive Program has facilitated 34 responder courses, trained over 393 Regional employees from 28 different work locations, recertified 188 responders and installed 51 Automated External Defibrillators.

YRT ridership continues to increase

York Region Transit (YRT) continued to post excellent ridership numbers, with 1.24 million passengers in April.  Overall, passenger numbers for 2005 increased by 12.5 per cent over the same time period in 2004.

YRT has seen ridership increases of more than 10 per cent each year since the service was formed in 2001.

New Lodging Houses By-Law

Regional Council authorized the enactment of a new Lodging Houses By-law, to comply with the licensing requirements of the Municipal Act, 2001.  In York Region, this By-law also covers licensing of domiciliary hostels.

Sutton Youth Multi-Service Centre

York Regional Council authorized the Commissioner of Community Services and Housing to execute an agreement with the province pertaining to funding of $290,000 under the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program to help fund the creation of 10 units of affordable housing in the Sutton Youth Multi-Service Centre, an emergency shelter/transitional housing/recreation facility for homeless and at-risk youth.

In addition, another $800,000 under the federal Supporting Communities Partnership Initiative, a component of the National Homelessness Initiative, will be used to establish youth emergency shelter beds and transitional housing units.

Together, the contribution of more than $1 million will help to fund the conversion of a former elementary school at 20898 Dalton Road in the Town of Georgina for use as a 10-unit project for homeless and at-risk youth.  The housing units are part of a larger facility known as the Sutton Youth Multi-Service Centre.

The new Sutton Youth Multi-Service Centre delivers an important community service to youth who are in need of a supportive living environment that will prepare them to live independently in the future.  Helping vulnerable youth at important and critical junctures in their lives is in keeping with the Region’s goal to nurture a high quality of life for members of its communities.

The federal and provincial allocations complement more than $268,000 in municipal financial incentives, including $218,000 from York Region and $50,000 from the Town of Georgina.