City Council Meeting Wrap-Up – June 27, 2023

The City Council meeting on June 27 included decisions on several key initiatives, including a portion of the Community Safety Station Revitalization project and the proposal to freeze development charge rates. 

“The items on this evening’s agenda were ones that have a significant impact on our community and its future, and I know this is a meeting that many people have been anxiously awaiting,” said Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre. “I want to thank my colleagues on Council for their insight into these decisions, and the residents who have shared their feedback. Whether encouraging commercial and industrial investment or supporting vital infrastructure renewal, the decisions made this evening share a common theme of helping to foster sustainable growth and development here in our community.”

Community Safety Station Revitalization
Council approved five out of nine resolutions, some with amendments, to maintain, renovate or consolidate Greater Sudbury’s Fire and Paramedic Stations. The remaining four resolutions will be brought to the next Council meeting on July 11. 

By approving these resolutions, the City Council aims to renew or replace aging facilities and enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of fire and paramedic services, all while ensuring responsible allocation of limited resources.

The approved resolutions will result in the following actions: 
•    A new Fire and Paramedic stations will be constructed at an ideal location in Garson, with costs to be included in the draft 2024-2027 capital budget. Once operations begin running out of this new station, the Falconbridge station will be consolidated into it, and both the Falconbridge and the old Garson stations will be closed.
•    An amendment to the proposed resolution will see necessary repairs done to reopen the Skead station as soon as possible, with costs to be put forward in future budgets based on average staffing levels.
•    The Val Therese station will be renovated with costs to be included in the 2024-2027 capital budget. Once these repairs are completed, the Val Caron and Hanmer stations will be closed and those operations consolidated into the Val Therese station.
•    The Vermilion Lake station will be closed and consolidated into the Dowling station. The Dowling station will be renovated with costs to be included in future draft capital budgets.
•    An amendment to the resolution will see the Beaver Lake station remain open for a period of one year while efforts are expanded to recruit enough volunteer firefighters to match the average number of volunteers in other stations. If there are not enough volunteers in one year’s time, the Beaver Lake station will be closed and staff will negotiate an automatic aide agreement with the Nairn Centre Fire Service.

Most of the City’s 24 stations are in the latter stages of their expected 50-year life cycle and were not historically supported by asset management plans that identified appropriate maintenance expenditures. The average age of the combined 24 stations is 49 years of age. Only one of the 24 stations is under 30 years of age, and 10 of them are older than 50 years.

Development Charges 
Council voted to freeze development charges at the June 20, 2023 levels for a period of one year. The planned 9.9 per cent inflationary increase will not be implemented on July 1. This decision supports Council’s goals to address the need for residential development and growth and to grow the tax base by encouraging more commercial and industrial investment.

Municipalities collect development charges to recover growth-related capital costs associated with residential and non-residential growth. They are collected at the building permit stage to help the City pay for municipal services needed to support the new development. These services include water, wastewater, emergency services, stormwater, roads, libraries, recreation services and transit. 

Employment Land Community Improvement Plan (CIP)
Council adopted the Employment Land CIP, which will support projects that strengthen and diversify the community’s industrial sectors through increased employment and investment. Eligible projects can receive significant grants to offset the increased taxes driven by higher assessed property values at project completion. The City will begin accepting applications by September.

CIPs are a sustainable community planning tool used by municipalities to revitalize areas of a city or community through programs, grants and incentives. The Employment Land CIP is the first economic development driven CIP in the City’s history that is focused on investment attraction and expansion. 

Future-Ready Development Services Committee
A by-law was passed to officially establish the Future-Ready Development Services Committee and adopt its Terms of Reference. The first meeting of this committee, made up of five members of Council, including Mayor Lefebvre, is scheduled for July 11, 2023. More information will be provided in the coming days.

For more details on these and other items from the June 27 meeting, visit  www.greatersudbury.ca/city-hall/mayor-and-council/meetings-agendas-and-minutes.