Organics, infrastructure issues facing incoming regional council

By Dave Flaherty/ The Oshawa Express

When the next regional council sits at the table at the end of November, there is potential for a significant amount of change.

With the passing of former regional chair and CEO Roger Anderson in March, this will be the first new head of council for a term since the mid-1990s.

Gerri Lynn O’ Connor, who was named as Anderson’s successor, will also be absent after nearly three decades as a regional councillor.

There are 19 current members who are pursuing re-election, but dependant on results, a few will be shuffling their positions.

Oshawa Mayor John Henry is seeking the role of regional chair, while current councillor Dan Carter is running for the mantle of the mayor in the city.

Ajax Mayor Steve Parish will not be returning, with current regional councillors Shaun Collier and Colleen Jordan both     seeking to replace him.

Bobbie Drew currently sits as a councillor but is running for the mayorship of Scugog Township, as incumbent Tom Rowett is leaving office.

Current Oshawa councillors John Aker, Amy McQuaid-England and Joseph Kolodzie will not return.

On top of this, Oshawa will have two fewer representatives this term, dropping from seven to five, the results of reccommendations made from a regional council composition committee.

According to the committee’s findings, there was a need to rework the representation of Whitby and Ajax.

Those cities roughly have twice the number of residents per councillor as Oshawa, which had twice as many councillors as any other municipality in the region.

Besides the unfamiliar faces on the elected side, there will be some big changes in staffing.

CAO Garry Cubitt has announced his intentions to retire at some point in 2018.

The search for his replacement is the responsibility of the current council. Interviews are set to take place Aug. 29, and if need be, Sept. 14.

Long-time commissioner of finance Jim Clapp retired in April. Nancy Taylor succeeded him in July.

The way business takes place in council chambers is set to change after this fall’s    election as well.

In April, council supported a move back to the standing committee structure, which was utilized before September 2016.

At that time, council moved to a committee of the whole process as a pilot project.

The decision to move back to standing committee was far from unanimous.

Councillors originally supported staying the course, but the tide turned later on.

Supporters of the standing committee system said they could  address specific issues on a more constructive and detailed basis.

While it takes some time for a new council to gel, there will be many large issues facing the group.

At the top of the list is the region’s organics management strategy.

Currently, the region is in the midst of developing an organics waste management strategy in response to provincial plans, announced by the then-governing Liberal Party last year, to ban organic waste from landfills by 2022.

It is unknown whether the newly-elected Progressive Conservative Party will move ahead in a similar direction.

Regional staff has recommended anaerobic digestion (AD) as the preferred long-term solution. The other possibility is aerobic digestion.

Whatever council chooses, it will be costly.

Estimated capital costs for an organics waste management facility could range anywhere from $120 million to $200 million.

Yearly operating costs and debenture financing costs combined are expected to be more than $40 million.

Staff has delivered numerous repor ts on the strategy, but some councillors have criticized what they call a lack of information so far.

While some councillors expected to have a decision made already, senior staff in the region’s works and finance departments have stated that many unanswered questions remain.

“Given the timeframes around the upcoming municipal election and budget deliberations, it is prudent to use the next few months to further examine both the technologies and various project delivery models in order to bring recommendations to the new council on strategies to move forward with organics management,” director of works Susan Siopis told The Express in late-June.

With the turnover rate potentially high for regional council, this is an issue that new representatives will need to become well-read on quickly.

Earlier this year, the region’s updated Transportation Master Plan was approved by council.

The sprawling 260-page document will define the policies, programs and infrastructure investments needed to manage anticipated transportation demands through to the year 2031 and beyond.

To make these improvements, the region will need to invest $1.845 billion through 2031, including $1.525 billion on regional roads, $585 million on transit and $11 million on cycling facilities.

In the short term, the plan calls for $500 million in spending through 2021, investments to be overseen by the incoming council.

As Durham continues to a grow at a record pace, regional council must keep these needs in focus, and do as much as it can to address aging or insufficient infrastructure.

Booming communities must be prepared for the population influxes, or run the risk of facing even larger, or crumbling roads and bridges.

Work has already begun on a review of Durham’s official plan, but the brunt of the process will be overseen by the next round of regional councillors.

With a deadline of 2022, the project comes with an extensive timeline.

Initial studies and data analysis will occur over the next two years, followed by the first round of public consultation. No cost estimates for the review have been released.

The basic framework of the plan hasn’t changed since 1993, and there have been    significant changes in the process since then.

In 2016, the Liberal government enacted Bill 73, the Smart Growth of Our Communities Act.

With it came sweeping changes such as a two-year ban on applications seeking an amendment to a new official plan and removal of the ability to appeal an entire official plan.

Other major changes to provincial policy include the transition from the Ontario Municipal Board to the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal for the province’s land-use planning appeals system.

Updates to the Greenbelt Plan, Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, Ontario Planning Act, growth plans for the Greater Golden Horseshoe and new Source Water Protection Plans will also play a role in crafting an updated official plan.

With a new regional chair, and new CAO, the heads of both council and staff will both be learning on the job.

Cubitt and Anderson worked together for 25 years and had both a close professional and personal relationship.

While this isn’t guaranteed to happen again, strong leadership is key through some challenging waters.

This term may serve as one of the most important in the history of the Regional Municipality of Durham.