COMMITTEE MINUTES Brockville Railway Tunnel Committee Thursday, September 08, 2016, 4:00 pm City Hall, Boardroom Members Present: Mr. Dave LeSueur, Councillor, Chair Mr. James Clark Mr. Jack Kenny Mr. Brian Porter Mr. Jim Rawlings Mr. George A. Smith Regrets: Mr. Doug Grant Mrs. Linda Eyre Mr. Keith Hare Mr. Doug Smith Staff: Mr. Conal Cosgrove, Director of Operations Ms. Lynn Murray, Deputy City Clerk (Recording Secretary) Others: Mr. Mike McClintock DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST Nil. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA Moved by: Brian Seconded by: Jim THAT the Agenda for the September 8, 2016 meeting of the Brockville Railway Tunnel Committee be approved. Page 1 of 6
City of Brockville BRTC Meeting Minutes - Thursday, September 08, 2016 CHAIR'S REMARKS Dave shared that they had received work from GHD today and it appears to be incomplete. Dave noted that he will not be able to attend the next Tunnel meeting as he will be climbing Mount Everest. ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES Moved by: Brian Seconded by: George THAT the minutes of the Brockville Railway Tunnel Committee meeting dated August 11, 2016 be adopted as circulated. SUB-COMMITTEE AND MEMBER REPORTS/PROJECT UPDATES 1. Marketing Jack reported that the sub-committee is meeting every second week and the meetings are well attended. He added that the store is running well and they have quite a few visitors going through. Jack explained that Mike has 6 new volunteers that will be getting trained to help out at the store. Jack proposed buying more shirts. He suggested that some volunteers who work at the store and events often require more than one, plus the new volunteers will need one. In addition, George will be drafting a schedule for the next few weeks, so please let him know when you are available. Moved by: Jack Seconded by: Brian THAT the Committee approve the purchase of a maximum 17 golf shirts with the tunnel logo at a cost of $35/each from the same vendor as the original shirts. Page 2 of 6
City of Brockville BRTC Meeting Minutes - Thursday, September 08, 2016 2. Construction Tendering Process Project Timelines Architect RFP Jim has prepared a draft RFP for the Development Plans. He will forward a copy to Conal for review prior to circulation to interested contractors. Conal stated that he will meet with Pheonix tomorrow morning on site for the first time. At that time he will discuss with them the possibility of becoming the general contractors for the project. There was a discussion regarding identifying and tagging any trees in the north gorge that are worth keeping. The committee discussed possible contractors who may be able to perform this task. George and Brian will call these contractors. 3. Heritage Designation Moved by: Doug G. Seconded by: Brian THAT the Heritage Committee recommend to the Brockville Railway Tunnel Committee that at this time no change be sought to the City of Brockville By-law 243-92; and THAT no effort should be made to secure a Federal Heritage designation for the tunnel. PUBLIC RELATIONS 1. Fundraising Mike reported that they are currently working on an application for a grant from the Ontario 150 Fund which is due next week. He added that they are applying for an amount of $250,000. NEW BUSINESS Page 3 of 6
City of Brockville BRTC Meeting Minutes - Thursday, September 08, 2016 1. Volunteers - Shirts This item was covered under marketing. 2. Volunteers - Schedule at Store This item was covered under marketing. 3. Amazing Places Committee members have met with Liz Harder of the Frontenac Arch Biosphere, who explained that they would like to list the tunnel as one of their "Amazing Places". The members felt this would be a great way to promote the tunnel. Moved by: Jack Seconded by: Brian THAT the Committee enter into an agreement with the Frontenac Arch Biosphere to be listed in their "Amazing Places". ADJOURNMENT Moved by: George THAT the Brockville Railway Tunnel Committee be adjourned until its next regular meeting scheduled for October 13, 2016. The meeting adjourned at 5:53 pm. Page 4 of 6
BROCKVILLE RAILWAY TUNNEL COMMITTEE: HERITAGE SUBCOMMITTEE CONSIDERATION OF SEEKING FEDERAL HERITAGE DESIGNATION FOR THE TUNNEL A meeting was held on August 12, 2016 at the King Street location. Present were: Doug Smith, Chair Doug Grant Brian Porter Jim Rawlings Guest: Paul Bulloch of Heritage Brockville The possibility of seeking federal designation for the tunnel arose when the federal government announced special funding in 2016 and 2017 as part of Canada 150 celebrations for federally designed heritage sites. The tunnel portals were designated by the City of Brockville in 1992 in By-law 243-92. With this municipal heritage designation, the tunnel portals are recognized under the Ontario Heritage Act. Consideration was given to seeking an amendment to By-law 243-92 to designate the entire tunnel. Inquiries to the Heritage Division of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport revealed that because the proposed change would be substantial and predate the April 2005 Ontario Heritage Amendment Act, it would be necessary to start the entire process from scratch with a new heritage report and extended public consultation process. The Historic Sites and Monuments Board will only consider an application for federal designation after a site is designated by the municipality. The Committee does not recommend that such a process be implemented for the following reasons: 1. the tunnel portals already have both municipal and Ontario heritage designations; 2. the tunnel will undergo major changes with a new cement base for the walking trail and special lighting these could make it difficult to have the tunnel portion designated under the Page 5 of 6
standards applied to heritage designation at the federal level. Placing the tunnel under federal heritage designation could require that federal approval be sought for any future changes or work in the tunnel; 3. the federal funding for federally designated properties is only available through 2017. The federal Historic Sites and Monuments Board only meet in the spring and fall of each year to consider applications for heritage designation. As the municipal designation must be secured before any application can be made to the federal Board, it is too late to complete the necessary process for consideration by the Board this fall and there is no certainty a new by-law could be completed in time for any application to be considered for review by the Board. 4. The 2016 funding has already been committed and by the time 2017 funding is allocated contracts for most of the tunnel work will have been issued and the work completed. It is hard to see how the committee could seek funding for work on the tunnel that is completed and funded by others. The following recommendation resolution was passed by the Heritage Subcommittee: Doug Grant moved, seconded by Brian Porter, that the Heritage Committee recommend to the Brockville Railway Tunnel Committee that at this time no change be sought to the City of Brockville By-law 243-92 and that no effort should be made to secure federal heritage designation of the tunnel. Respectfully submitted, Doug Smith Chair, Heritage Subcommittee Page 6 of 6