City of Kingston Report to Council Report Number

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1 To: From: Resource Staff: Date of Meeting: Subject: City of Kingston Report to Council Report Number Mayor and Members of Council Lanie Hurdle, Commissioner, Community Services Luke Follwell, Director, Recreation & Leisure Services Renovation of Breakwater Park - Community Infrastructure Program and Lake Ontario Waterkeeper Grant Awards Executive Summary: The Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) issued a call for grant proposals in 2016 to municipalities and other partners in celebration of the Canada Sesquicentennial. The program is known as the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program (CIP 150). Staff applied for this grant for the renovation of Breakwater Park and were recently notified that the project was approved for a non-repayable contribution of up to $1M from the program. Lake Ontario Waterkeeper is a Canadian charity that strives to improve the lake for swimming, drinking and fishing. Their corporate name is Swim Drink Fish Canada. In early 2017, the charity contacted the City to learn more about how they could contribute to advancing the Waterfront Master Plan. In particular, they expressed interest in the improvements to the shoreline associated with the Breakwater Park project. In February, staff were notified that the project had been approved for a non-repayable contribution of $500,000 from the charity. The Breakwater Park project is currently forecasted to occur in 2018, in the 15 year Capital Plan. The overall project budget is estimated at $5.4M. Breakwater Park was identified as the highest priority large signature waterfront project in the Waterfront Master Plan. Recommendation: That Council approve the renovation of Breakwater Park and approve a budget amendment of $5.4M to advance the renovation of Breakwater Park to 2017, with funding of $1M from the 150 Council Meeting

2 Page 2 of 8 CIP grant program, $500K from the Swim Drink Fish Canada - Lake Ontario Waterkeeper grant and $3.9M from the Municipal Capital Reserve Fund, including up to $2.5M funded through the issuance of debt; and That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to enter into a contribution agreement with Her Majesty The Queen in Right of Canada represented by the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency of Southern Ontario for the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program Project Application # Renovation of Breakwater Park, for the funding amount of $1M, in a form satisfactory to the Director of Legal Services; and That the Mayor and Clerk be authorized to enter into a contribution agreement with Swim Drink Fish Canada Lake Ontario Waterkeeper for the Renovation of Breakwater Park, for the funding amount of $500K, in a form satisfactory to the Director of Legal Services. Council Meeting

3 Page 3 of 8 Authorizing Signatures: Lanie Hurdle, Commissioner, Community Services Gerard Hunt, Chief Administrative Officer Consultation with the following Members of the Corporate Management Team: Denis Leger, Commissioner, Corporate & Emergency Services Jim Keech, President and CEO, Utilities Kingston Desiree Kennedy, Chief Financial Officer & City Treasurer Council Meeting

4 Page 4 of 8 Options/Discussion: Background In 2012, the City consulted with the community and engaged Claude Cormier + Associés and 8-80 Cities to create a park renovation plan for Breakwater Park which included renovations to the former Utilities Kingston dock. The project focused on improvements to the existing pathway, shoreline improvements, gathering spaces, an upland beach area, a shade shelter and a pedestrian bridge connecting the park to the dock. In June 2013, following an extensive public consultation process, the design and proposed renovations to Breakwater Park were approved by Council and the project was directed to be included in future capital budgets for consideration. In June 2015, Council endorsed the renovation of Breakwater Park as a project for the Canada CIP 150 grant program. Staff applied for the grant but the project was not selected for funding. The 2015 call for proposals for the Canada 150 CIP was the first of two rounds of funding. In March 2016, the Waterfront Master Plan was approved by Council. The Master Plan identified that the Breakwater Park renovation was the second highest ranking project overall for priority of implementation. The Master Plan includes six large scale, or signature, projects. Breakwater Park is the highest ranked signature project. Richardson Beach was the highest ranking project overall but is not a large scale signature project as identified in the Waterfront Master Plan. Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program FedDev Ontario released a call for proposals for a second round of CIP 150 funding in The program supports the rehabilitation, renovation and expansion of existing community infrastructure assets that are non-commercial in nature and located in southern Ontario. Community infrastructure projects include, but are not limited to recreational, leisure and cultural amenities. Projects were assessed on the eligibility requirements, as well as the following priority areas and selection criteria: Project Readiness: Applicants were required to prove that the project was construction ready and would be substantially performed by March 31, Project Scope: In order to ensure that projects could be completed within the program timeframes and that the program benefits are shared broadly, priority may have been given to smaller-scoped projects. Extent to which Other Funding is Leveraged: The ability for a given project to leverage funding from other sources was a consideration. Link to Canada's 150 th Anniversary: Applicants were asked to outline how their infrastructure improvement project was linked to Canada's 150 th anniversary. For example, would the project contribute to modernizing Canada's infrastructure, would the Council Meeting

5 Page 5 of 8 upgrades provide long-term benefits to a community, would it have historical significance related to Confederation, or would its improvement contribute to celebrating Canada's 150 th anniversary. Incrementality: Applicants were required to attest that the work was an incremental construction activity that would not otherwise have been constructed or constructed as quickly, were it not for funding from the CIP. Based on the criteria of the grant program, direction in the Waterfront Master Plan and previous direction of Council on the project endorsement to the CIP 150, staff applied for the second round of funding for the renovations to Breakwater Park. The rationale for applying for Breakwater Park over other projects in the Waterfront Master Plan was based on its high ranking in the plan and a number of eligibility requirements in the grant program. Notably, Breakwater Park was the only project in the plan that had an essentially complete design and could be ready for construction. The project modernized community infrastructure and the scale of the project was large enough to garner the highest possible grant funding of the identified potential maximum grant of $1M. Breakwater Park is a significant waterfront destination within the downtown core and the award of this project under the Canada 150 CIP aligns with Council s priority to advance a vibrant waterfront. Notification of the grant was received by staff and requires the project to be duly authorized or endorsed by a resolution of Council. A contribution agreement has been subsequently provided by FedDev Ontario for this grant. Council resolution must be received before the contribution agreement can be executed. Lake Ontario Waterkeeper Lake Ontario Waterkeeper is a Canadian charity with the mission statement to work for a day when every person in our watershed can safely touch the water, when the water is pure enough to drink, and when the lake is clean and wild enough that you could toss in a line anywhere and pull out a fish. The name of the charity has been recently changed to Swim Drink Fish Canada while the Lake Ontario Waterkeeper brand was retained as one of their programs. The organization was founded in 2001 and raises environmental awareness of challenges to Lake Ontario and also funds cleanup and shoreline improvements within the framework of its mission. Some of the main focuses of the charity have been pollution, contamination, aging infrastructure and habitat restoration. The charity also advocates for changes to environmental law and policy issues at all levels of government. The charity is independently operated. It is affiliated with the broader global Waterkeeper Alliance. The organization also created a website and a free smartphone app called the Waterkeeper Swim Guide that delivers real time water quality information for over 7,000 beaches, lakes, rivers and swimming holes in Canada, the USA, Mexico and New Zealand. Council Meeting

6 Page 6 of 8 The funding for the Breakwater Park project would come from a new initiative known as the Weston Family Swim Drink Fish Great Lakes Challenge. The charity receives funding from a broad range of donors including corporations and private foundations. The private foundation that would donate the funds for the Great Lake Challenge initiative, through the charity, is the W. Garfield Weston Foundation. The executive committee of this foundation has approved the funding to go to the Breakwater Park project. In early 2017, the charity contacted the City to learn more about how they could contribute to advancing the Waterfront Master Plan. In particular, they expressed interest in the improvements to the shoreline associated with the Breakwater Park project. A series of shoreline improvement features within the approved Breakwater Park plan were provided for the charity and its donating foundation to consider. In February, staff were notified that the project had been approved for a non-repayable contribution offer of $500K from the charity. Subsequently, a formal grant offer has been received from Swim Drink Fish Canada (Exhibit C - Swim Drink Fish Canada - Lake Ontario Waterkeeper Award Letter). The funding would be required to be directed specifically toward the pebble beach renewal works, the central beach access and over water pedestrian bridge improvements associated with the Breakwater Park renovation. Terms of the Grants The Canada 150 CIP funding is not required to be repaid by the City. The project contract is required to be substantially performed by March 31, Recognition of the federal funding is required as a condition of the grant and the specific details have been outlined in the contribution agreement provided by FedDev. In general, the City s responsibility includes recognition acknowledged by ceremony at the grand opening of the project and through signage suitable to the public space or asset. The Swim Drink Fish Canada - Lake Ontario Waterkeeper program funding is not required to be repaid by the City. Recognition of the charity and the donor is, in general, acknowledged by ceremony at the grand opening of the project and through signage suitable to the public space or asset. Pace and Capacity The Waterfront Master Plan identified that unplanned priorities or partnerships could occur, such as the advancement of Breakwater Park, and that additional resources may be required or that other projects may be required to be displaced in order to accommodate an unplanned priority. The Master Plan also identified that, during consultation, feedback received indicated a strong public desire for a more rapid pace of implementation than was recommended in the plan. The Master Plan report indicated that, should acceleration of implementation be considered, it would require a consideration of capacity and resources. At this time, the current approved Recreation & Leisure Services work plan is largely underway and/or contractually committed. There are no un-started projects of significant enough scale that could be deferred in order to free up additional resources needed to comfortably manage the Breakwater Park project. While there are some smaller scaled park development projects in the work plan that have yet to begin, they, even if pooled and deferred, would only free up a modest Council Meeting

7 Page 7 of 8 level of staff resource capacity. The proposed $5.4M budget for the Breakwater Park project does include adequate budget to ensure additional resources and support associated with its development. It is expected that, if approved, the Breakwater Park project would be able to be completed in adequate time to satisfy the eligibility of the FedDev Ontario grant funding. Since the notification of the Canada 150 CIP grant award, staff have been preparing the project documents to ensure a rapid deployment of the works to the marketplace in the spring of 2017, should the project be approved by Council. The grand opening would occur in the summer of Existing Policy/By-Law: Not applicable Notice Provisions: Not applicable Accessibility Considerations: The Breakwater Park renovation plan complies with the City s Facility Accessibility Design Guidelines and has been reviewed with the Municipal Accessibility Advisory Committee project team. Financial Considerations: The total project cost is expected to be $5.4M. $1M would be funded from a non-repayable grant from FedDev Ontario, $500K from the Swim Drink Fish Canada - Lake Ontario Waterkeeper grant and $3.9M from the Municipal Capital Reserve Fund, including up to $2.5M funded through the issuance of debt. Grant funding has reduced the need for debt issuance originally projected for this project. The actual timing of other approved projects funded from the Municipal Capital Reserve Fund may allow for an increased pay-as-you-go funding strategy reducing the need for the maximum $2.5M debt issuance as recommended.the expected maintenance of the increased capital infrastructure investment is anticipated to impact operational budgets for the park. At the time of the 2013 approval of the design and proposed renovations to Breakwater Park, it was estimated that a $20,000 annual impact to the Public Works operating budget would be anticipated. This operational impact would be assessed following the renovated park s first full year of operation and any additional costs considered as part of future operational budget requests. Contacts: Lanie Hurdle, Commissioner, Community Services extension 1231 Luke Follwell, Director, Recreation & Leisure Services extension 1815 Council Meeting

8 Page 8 of 8 Other City of Kingston Staff Consulted: Alan McLeod, Senior Legal Counsel, Legal Services Department Damon Wells, Director, Public Works, Public Works Department Chris Phippen, Manager, Utilities Engineering, Utilities Kingston Stephen Dickey, Director, Financial Services Neal Unsworth, Manager, Parks Development, Recreation & Leisure Services Department Exhibits Attached: Exhibit A Exhibit B Exhibit C Breakwater Park Plan FedDev Ontario CIP 150 Award Letter Swim Drink Fish Canada - Lake Ontario Waterkeeper Award Letter Council Meeting

9 Exhibit A Council Meeting

10 Exhibit B Mr. Neal Unsworth Manager, Parks Development The Corporation of the City of Kingston 216 Ontario Street Kingston, ON K7L 2Z3 Re: Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program Project Application # Renovation of Breakwater Park Dear Mr. Unsworth: I am pleased to inform you that the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) has approved your application for project funding under the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program (CIP 150). Your CIP 150 project has been approved for a non-repayable contribution of up to $1,000,000, representing 21% of total eligible project costs for the above-noted project. You will be contacted in the near future to complete the CIP 150 contribution agreement for your project. This agreement will outline the contracting details, claims information, and communication opportunities for your funded project. Also, if you have not already submitted one with your application, a resolution of your Council duly authorizing or endorsing your CIP 150 project must be provided along with the signed contribution agreement. Please ensure that the resolution demonstrates that it has been passed and references FedDev Ontario, the CIP 150 contribution agreement, the CIP 150 project title, and the approved CIP 150 funding amount. Should you have any immediate questions, please feel free to contact FedDev Ontario toll-free at The FedDev Ontario team is looking forward to working with you on your project. Regards, Frank Lofranco Vice President Business Innovation and Community Development Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario Council Meeting

11 Exhibit C February 23rd, 2017 Luke Follwell Director, Recreation and Leisure Services, City of Kingston 216 Ontario Street Kingston, Ontario K7L 2Z3 Subject: Kingston Beach Restoration Project Dear Luke, FUNDING PROPOSAL Swim Drink Fish Canada (formerly Lake Ontario Waterkeeper ) is prepared to contribute up to $500,000 in funding to the Corporation of the City of Kingston to assist with the restoration of Breakwater Park and adjacent beach and lake access. This document is a preliminary proposal, which summarizes the purpose of the funding contribution. PROJECT SUMMARY The Breakwater Park Beach Restoration Project will create and/or improve a deep water swimming zone, sand and cobble beach, kite boarding access, and shoreline habitat in Kingston, Ontario. The financial contribution from Swim Drink Fish Canada will help to fund 3 of the 6 components of the Park Restoration: (1) pebble beach renewal (and removal of hazardous boulders); (2) improved access to the beach and deep water swimming areas for swimmers and kite-boarders erosion protections; and, (3) installation of a pedestrian bridge over the deep water swimming area. As part of the project, Swim Drink Fish Canada requests that information be provided by the appropriate authority regarding beach water quality monitoring frequency and test results at Breakwater Park for inclusion in the Swim Guide beach information app. If necessary to achieve this, additional funding to assist with monitoring may be available. Shoreline restoration work will be accompanied by park upgrades, resulting in a $4.8-million investment in the park in the next year, with spinoff benefits for residents and businesses in the area. FUNDING Swim Drink Fish Canada will contribute up to $500,000, which can be allocated to any/ all of the components listed above. It is anticipated that these funds will be used for materials, equipment, and labour. Council Meeting

12 Exhibit C PROGRAM BACKGROUND Funding will come from a new initiative, the Weston Family Swim Drink Fish Great Lakes 1 Challenge. The Great Lakes Challenge is a one-year initiative that will provide $1-million in funding for remarkable restoration initiatives on Lake Ontario and complementary public education and engagement activities that will promote water literacy and connection to the Great Lakes. The Breakwater Park Restoration Project will be the largest recipient of funding from the initiative. It was selected because of its immediate benefits to people living near Lake Ontario, the marked improvement in recreational water access that the project offers, its potential to inspire similar restoration projects in other communities, and in recognition of the community s long-standing commitment to enhancing its connection to Lake Ontario. Guiding Principles for Restoration Projects Restore Swimmability Drinkability Fishability: Projects must result in tangible improvements to a community s swimmability, drinkability, or fishability score: Swimmability means suitability of water quality for secondary recreational contact and safe, sustainable public access to the water; Drinkability means protection of source water (surface or groundwater) and suitability of source water quality for drinking; Fishability means presence of diverse, healthy native fish populations, whether used for fishing or not. Protect Vulnerable Places: Projects should help protect places on the Great Lakes where swimmability, drinkability, and/or fishability are threatened; Engage Communities: Local residents should be engaged at all stages of the Challenge; Get It Done: Project should not take longer than one year to plan and complete, so they must be an appropriate scale, have community support, and have the required approvals; Ensure Sustainability: Resources will be earmarked to ensure projects are documented, best practices are identified and can be replicated, projects leave a lasting benefit for their communities and others. FUNDING SOURCE The Weston Family Swim Drink Fish Great Lakes Challenge is funded by the W. Garfield Weston Foundation. It is administered by Swim Drink Fish Canada, who will be the 1 Program name subject to change. Council Meeting

13 Exhibit C primary liaison for the project. TIMELINE The project must commence in 2017, with the components of the project funded by the Great Lakes Challenge completed by spring PAYMENT Specific payment dates and reporting requirements TBC. It is anticipated that funds will be issued in one or two payments after expenses have been incurred, most likely in or around November 2017 and June The preferred funding structure is to issue funds in the form of a grant from Swim Drink Fish Canada to the Corporation of the City of Kingston. RECOGNITION AND PUBLIC AWARENESS REQUIREMENTS Tangible, physical recognition in the form of a sign, plaque, etc. situated in a prominent location, with aesthetics and wording TBC to be displayed for a minimum of 10 years. Reasonable participation (e.g, on camera interview, sharing of images) in project documentation efforts, such as a video to be prepared by Swim Drink Fish Canada that explains the site history and significance that could be used in local schools to promote local water literacy. Participation in a public event (e.g., ribbon-cutting, media tour) to be mutually agreed upon, with speaking opportunities for Swim Drink Fish Canada and the Weston Foundation. Krystyn Tully Vice President, Swim Drink Fish Canada Council Meeting