Municipal Council Notes

April 20, 2022

REPORTS

Municipal Levy to Kenora District Home for the Aged
Mayor Doug Lawrance put forward the following resolution, which council voted in favour of, directing staff to prepare a report on the history of the levy to the Kenora District Home for The Aged, the cost trend over time and the occupancy of Sioux Lookout residents at the William A. George Extended Care Facility.

104 Third Street - Zoning By-law Amendment No. Z02-2022 – Applicant: Bob David Consulting on behalf of Sioux Lookout Area Aboriginal Management Board (SLAAMB)
Kristen Bartmann, Planning Coordinator, and Jamie Robinson, MHBC Planning, shared in their written report to council, “A Zoning By-law Amendment application has been submitted by Bob David Consulting on behalf of Sioux Lookout Area Aboriginal Management Board (SLAAMB) for the subject property at 104 Third Street, Hudson. The Zoning By-law Amendment has been submitted to rezone the subject property from the Hudson Residential (HR) Zone to the Hudson Residential Exception Two (HR-2) Zone. The owner of the subject property is proposing to construct a single-detached dwelling that will be used as a Group Home for SLAAMB training program participants. A Group Home is not a permitted use within the HR Zone and a Zoning By-law Amendment is required to permit the use.”
Council voted to receive the Planning Report dated April 20, 2022, respecting Zoning By-law Amendment Z02-2022; and Council directed staff to prepare a subsequent Planning Report, for presentation to Council at a subsequent Council Meeting that considers the feedback received at the April 20, 2022, Statutory Public Meeting.
No concerns were voiced by municipal staff, government agencies or members of the public regarding this matter. The property can be connected to the municipal water system, but will need to provide its own on-site sewage system. Northwestern Health Unit, the approval authority for septic systems, will inspect the site for that purpose when the snow melts. The matter is expected to come back to council for consideration once that has taken place.

BY-LAWS

Wellington Street and First Avenue Intersection Reconstruction Project
Council awarded the Wellington Street and First Avenue Intersection Reconstruction Project to Makkinga Contracting and Equipment Rentals in the amount of $2,057,792.50 plus HST; and further Council authorized the passing of By-law No. 20-22, Being a Bylaw to Authorize and Direct the Mayor and the Clerk to Execute a Contract Between The Corporation of the Municipality of Sioux Lookout and Makkinga Contractors for construction of the Wellington Street and First Avenue Intersection Reconstruction Project.
Public Works and Infrastructure Manager Jeff Hawley shared background on the project and results of the construction tender process, “In September of 2019, the Municipality of Sioux Lookout was successful in applying for funding through the Rural and Northern Funding Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) for the Wellington Street and First Avenue Intersection reconstruction Project. The provincial funding for the project was not to exceed 83 percent of the project’s total eligible cost, up to a maximum of $1,605,926.12, and that eligible costs incurred after September 1, 2019 would be eligible for reimbursement through the transfer payment agreement.
“In January of 2020, Council passed By-law No. 14-20 being a By-law to enter into a contract with Keewatin-Aski Limited (KAL) of Sioux Lookout for the detailed designs, specifications, tendering and contract administration for the Wellington Street and First Avenue Intersection Reconstruction Project. KAL completed the design and the project was ready for tender for the 2021 construction season. However, due to works being conducted by the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) on the CN overhead (bridge) on Highway 72, known locally as the Ed Ariano Bypass during the summer of 2021, there would not have been adequate capacity to use this corridor as a by-pass for the Wellington Street and First Avenue Intersection Reconstruction Project. As such, Council approved delaying the Wellington Street and First Avenue Intersection Reconstruction Project until the 2022 construction season. MTOs work on the bypass is projected to be complete by the end of June 2022 and it is felt that this will provide adequate time for completion of the Wellington Street and First Avenue Intersection Reconstruction Project.
“On February 17th, 2022, KAL issued a tender invitation for the construction of the Wellington Street and First Avenue Intersection Reconstruction Project on behalf of the Municipality. The tender was posted on the Government Contract Portal, Biddingo. The tender for construction closed on March 10th, 2022 with three (3) bids received, the lowest of which was valued at $2,057,792.50 plus HST.
Total engineering, construction contract and contingency costs for the roundabout project come in at $2,556,573.
The total project cost is to be funded: 

• $1,605,926 – ICIP Funding
• $589,547 – Long Term Debt
• $361,100 – Road Reserves

Shoreline Road Allowance Closure and Sale – Applicant: Ryan Brazier
Council authorized the passing of By-law No. 26-22, Being a By-law to Permanently Close, Declare Surplus and Authorize the Sale of a Highway of the Municipality of Sioux Lookout.
In a Public Hearing earlier in the evening, Council had voted to receive the Planning Coordinator’s Report (No. 2022-35) dated April 20, 2022, respecting the Road Allowance Closure and Sale Application for the shoreline road allowance adjacent to Ryan Brazier’s property at 52 Loon Lake Road, Sioux Lookout.
Ryan Brazier owns the abutting property, 52 Loon Lake Road and plans to use the additional land to do some work along the shoreline related to the launching of personal watercraft and moving floating docks.

62 Drayton Road – Zoning By-law Amendment No. Z01-2022 - Applicant: Robyn Fenelon
Councillors Don Fenelon and Connor Howie declared interest in this item and did not participate in any of the discussion or vote on this application. Fenelon is a relative of the applicant and Howie lives near the subject property.
Council received the Planning Report dated April 20, 2022, respecting Zoning By-law Amendment No. Z01-2022; and further Council authorized the passing of By-law No. 24-22, Being a By-law to amend By-law No. 85-18, Being a Comprehensive Zoning By-law for The Corporation of the Municipality of Sioux Lookout, as amended (62 Drayton Road).
Kristen Bartmann, Municipal Planning Coordinator and Jamie Robinson, MHBC Planning, shared in their written report to council, “The subject lands are located in the Urban Sioux Lookout Settlement Area and are designated Residential in the Official Plan. The subject lands are currently located within the Rural Residential (RR) Zone. The subject lands have a lot frontage on Drayton Road of 101 metres and a lot area of 2,500 square metres (0.25 hectares or 0.62 acres).
“The subject lands currently contain storage units and a seacan container that are to be removed in Spring of 2022. The applicant is purchasing the subject lands and are proposing a residential use. The applicant has sought authorization from the owners to apply for the Zoning By-law Amendment application. The applicant is proposing to construct a four-unit dwelling (quadruplex) on the subject lands, which is a permitted use in the R2 Zone.
“Lots in the RR Zone are require to have a minimum lot area of 10,000 square metres and a minimum lot frontage of 40 metres. In order to comply to the RR Zone, an amendment would have been required to recognize the reduced lot area; however the applicants are proposing to rezone the subject lands to the R2 Zone in order to permit a quadruplex.”

REPORT FROM CLOSED SESSON

Coalition to reduce cost of policing
Council passed the following resolution after the closed session portion of their meeting.
WHEREAS, in 2015, the Ontario Government introduced a cost-formula for all municipalities using the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) to deliver local police services,
AND WHEREAS, the municipalities of Kenora, Sioux Lookout and Pickle Lake serve as hubs for dozens of northern and remote communities, providing healthcare, pharmacy, education, legal, transportation, and other critical services for First Nations peoples living in a geographical area larger than the country of Germany,
AND WHEREAS, this cost-formula fails to adequately recognize that the municipalities of Kenora, Sioux Lookout and Pickle Lake serve a population ten times the size of their respective municipal tax bases,
AND WHEREAS, the implementation of this cost-formula has resulted in the municipalities of Kenora, Sioux Lookout and Pickle Lake having, by a significant margin, the highest OPP community policing costs in all of Ontario,
AND WHEREAS, the median cost of all municipalities in Ontario that use the OPP to provide these same local police services is approximately $300 per property owner, while the cost charged to the municipalities of Kenora, Sioux Lookout and Pickle Lake, before any discounts, has been two-and-a-half to four-and-a-half times higher,
AND WHEREAS, it is estimated that the municipalities of Kenora, Sioux Lookout and Pickle Lake have collectively paid $30 million more for policing than the average cost paid in other municipalities in which the OPP provides these services,
AND WHEREAS, the monies paid out to the OPP for these unfair costs could have been invested in critical infrastructure projects such as shelter, housing, roads, bridges, and other community needs,
AND WHEREAS, every year since the cost-formula’s introduction, the municipalities of Kenora, Sioux Lookout and Pickle Lake have repeatedly attempted to convince the provincial government that the cost-formula is unfair and an overwhelming financial burden on their communities, 
AND WHEREAS, the response from the provincial government to these repeated requests have been different and remain unreasonable,
AND WHEREAS, we wish to work with the Government of Ontario to seek a solution that is financially sustainable for all our municipalities,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the municipal governments of Kenora, Sioux Lookout, and Pickle Lake form a coalition to reduce the significant costs of providing police services in their respective communities, and,
FURTHER, that we are asking all our local candidates in the provincial election held on June 2, 2022, and the leaders of their respective parties to commit to solving this issue and to deliver a solution to the coalition by the end of this calendar year.