5) That City Council request an expedited response from the Special Events Resource Team to plans submitted by BIA’s;

6) That City Council waive fees for the closing of the public right of way for approvals granted to BIA’s in (5) above;

7) That all plans approved be subject to the satisfaction of City Administration and that City Administration be authorized to take all steps necessary in relation to the foregoing;

8) That a report be submitted to City Council outlining the approvals granted under this initiative.

Executive Summary:

n/a

Background:

Section 3.7 of Procedure By-law 98-2011 provides the following:

“Telephone and/or email polls of Members of Council shall be permitted only upon authorization by the Mayor or CAO, in emergency situations requiring Council direction where time does not permit holding a special meeting of Council and/or quorum of Council cannot physically convene to consider a matter. The results of a poll must be confirmed and ratified at the next public meeting of Council”.

Discussion:

The matter related to measures to immediately support small businesses that are suffering economically as a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Therefore, an email poll was conducted on Tuesday, May 19, 2020. All Councillors were in favour of the above recommendation and there were no “nay” votes cast.

Risk Analysis:

The only risk associated with this recommendation would be foregone revenue to the City from the various waived fees. This amount will be monitored by Administration and will be included in any submissions to the Province regarding the economic effects of the pandemic on the municipality.

Financial Matters:

The amount of foregone revenue and other costs associated with this resolution will be monitored by Administration and will be included in any submissions to the Province regarding the economic effects of the pandemic on the municipality.