April 14 council briefs: Councillors oppose strong mayor powers

CONNOR LUCZKA, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Although Stratford Mayor Martin Ritsma previously told the Times that he was in favour of some, though not all, of the strong mayor powers dangled by the Government of Ontario earlier this month, some of his counterparts are not convinced.

Many Stratford city councillors spoke in opposition to the powers at the April 14 council meeting, when Coun. Mark Hunter requested a staff report on how these powers stand to affect the municipality if implemented.

“My intent is to bring a motion forward at the April 28 meeting that our city not use those strong mayor powers,” Hunter said. “But I think with that report brought forward, if we could have it in time for that meeting, it would let the public see this information, allow us to have a fulsome discussion.”

Coun. Jo-Dee Burbach and Coun. Larry McCabe shared his hesitation. McCabe alluded to the troubling autocratic developments in U.S. politics at the moment and said that he suspects the province wants to work with one individual rather than a collective council as a way to avoid complexity – something he opposed.

Burbach said that she is unconvinced that advancing housing starts is the reason for the powers, arguing that there is no correlation between the powers and the number of houses being built by any municipality in the province.

“I would oppose the use of strong mayor powers anywhere really in Ontario,” Burbach said. “And I don’t think it’s a particular issue with this council or this mayor, but in the future I have great concerns about the democracy being eroded in our system with the stronger powers going forward.”

Coun. Lesley Biehn didn’t agree or disagree with the other councillors sharing their concerns; however, she believed that the province was not looking for feedback from council and she worried that by opposing this matter, they would appear as oppositional and that would negatively affect the municipality’s prospects.

Ritsma, after being asked his opinion by Coun. Bonnie Henderson, largely repeated his position in the Times’ cover story this edition – that his office, whether he is granted the powers or not, will be one voice among council, though he can see the benefit of some of the powers on the table.

Furthermore, he invited any member of council to discuss the matter with him if they have concerns.

City-run affordable housing units move ahead

The city is moving ahead with plans for three affordable housing developments that are meant to be a whistle-stop approach to the housing crisis in Stratford.

First, council approved the two-bedroom unit renovation at 246 Railway Ave., which was awarded to Collard Properties for $179,765.58, after it had the successful bid among the 10 proposals received by investStratford (which is overseeing the project in conjunction with the municipality).

The small bungalow is city-owned and was previously used to store Christmas decorations, before Kendra Fry, housing specialist with investStratford, recommended renovating the space into a housing unit that will be run by the city’s social services department.

The project is expected to be completely finished by autumn of this year.

“I just don't think there's another way to have a two-bedroom rental unit at this kind of price,” Biehn praised. “I think it's a fantastic addition.”

Updates on the similar, though larger in scope, affordable housing projects at 161 East Gore St. and 38 Coriano St. were also provided to council. A request for expression of interest (RFEOI) was issued early 2025 and will be less straight forward than the Railway Avenue project, being surplus land rather than a surplus building.

The RFEOI is expected to be awarded and agreed to by late summer of this year.

Staff investigating changes to land lease procedure after airport deal falls through

Hunter put forward a motion to have staff prepare a report on implementing a deposit system for future lease opportunities, after council had to repeal an earlier agreed to RFEOI award to Peter Koot and Rachael Berta for leasing farmland at the Stratford Municipal Airport.

As Hunter said, the municipality was fortunate this time around that the second lowest bidder was still available to take on the project, though in the future a broken agreement could cost the municipality a lot of money if the second lowest bidder was not available.

He proposed accepting deposits from all bidders, which would be refunded if unsuccessful, but would be unrefundable for the winning bidder if they were to not go through with a project after an agreement had been made.

Hunter’s motion passed unanimously.

Community grants awarded, Stratford Arts and Culture Collective lose out

Council awarded $753,292 in community grants that evening. Most organizations received what they asked for; however, some didn’t receive any funds whatsoever.

The Stratford Arts and Culture Collective was one of those organizations. It requested $15,000 but the evaluation committee, and ultimately council, did not award it any funds this year.

After Burbach asked why the committee saw fit to recommend $0, Hunter (who sits on the committee) put it simply:

“One of the things we review is how the money was spent the previous year,” Hunter said. “And last year, that group donated money to another cause. So although it's not directly (linked), effectively, they took our city grant and gave it away, which violates the rules of our grants.”

The successful grant winners are:

• Civic Beautification and Environmental Awareness Committee, $1,000.

• Feline Friends Network, $5,000.

• Gallery Stratford, $60,000.

• Here for Now Theatre Company, $7,500.

• Hermione Presents – SpringWorks Festival, $9,500.

• Kinsmen Club – Canada Day Celebration, $10,000.

• Kiwanis Club Summer Concerts, $1,500.

• Off the Wall (Stratford Artists Alliance), $2,000.

• Playmakers! Theatre School, $7,500.

• Stratford and District Horticultural Society $9,000.

• Stratford Concert Band, $2,060.

• Stratford Division of Tillsonburg Power and Sail Squadron (Razzmajazz), $4,000.

• Stratford Lawn Bowling Club, $10,000.

• Stratford Summer Music, $15,000.

• Stratford Winterfest, $5,000.

• The Local Community Food Centre, $15,000.

• United Way Perth-Huron, $33,232.

• PTSD The Truth Behind The Smile, $2,000.

• INNERchamber, $1,500.

• Royal Canadian Legion Poppy Fund, $500.

• Kiwanis Festival of Performing Arts, $10,000.

• Stratford Symphony Orchestra, $10,000.

• Stratford Perth Pride Festival, $5,000.

• L’Arche Stratford, $15,000.

• Royal Canadian Legion Remembrance Day Ceremony, $1,000.

• St. Marys Healthcare Foundation, $6,000.

• Stratford General Hospital campaign, $500,000.

• Stratford Pride Community Centre, $5,000.

The last five organizations on the list are part of a multi-year plan from the municipality. Although the Stratford General Hospital campaign netted $500,000 this year, the city has pledged $5 million over 10 years, for instance.

As Karmen Krueger, director of corporate services and treasurer, said, there is an appeals process in place, where applicants can apply to be relooked at should they want another opportunity to make their case. Indeed, last year the Playmakers! Theatre School successfully xappealed and received a community grant after being left off the list originally.

National Stadium washrooms getting nearly $175k for renos

Council approved $174,686 for the washroom renovations at National Stadium, located at 251-261 Norfolk St.

The RFP was issued to Feltz Design Build, which was the lowest bidder. Still, the award was about $75,000 over the initial, now outdated, budget. According to the staff report, in 2020 staff developed a four-phase approach for implementing capital projects at the stadium, with each phase expected to cost $100,000 at the time. As noted, that budget is not sufficient anymore.

Still, Ritsma praised the renovations, saying that it was positive seeing projects at the stadium advance.