Stratford Times July 12, 2024 __€2 City council briefs: Business resumes after June 24 meeting disruption CONNOR LUCZKA Local Journalism Initiative Reporter After Stratford city council was adjourned early on June 24 when a suspended citizen arrived unexpectedly in council chambers, a special council meeting was held on July 2 to catch up on delayed city business. In a meeting that lasted less than 15 min- utes, council made a number of. pe Hybrid vehicles purchase comes slightly over- ee but total reserve is still under-budge: Council ete the purchase of six hy- brid Ford F-150 XL trucks for $467,432.05 and one hybrid Ford Escape for $66,267.72 from East Court Metro Ford Lincoln and Lunar Contracting of Oakville respective- ly. The two successful bids were the lowest pricing submissions that met the City of Stratford’s specifications. These vehicles will replace an aging, gasoline-powered fleet as part of the city’s community climate action plan, reducing community-wide greenhouse gas emis- sions and improving fuel efficiency by about 30 per cent, according to the man- agement report provided to council. The 2024 capital budget approved $475,000, meaning the total $533,699.77 is over budget. Since the remaining fleet tenders have come “well under budget,” there are sufficient funds in the overall fleet reserve. Due to supply chain issues, the vehicles will take about 150 days or longer to be delivered. All of the new veucles will have expect- ed lifecycles of 10 y Asphalt Firtacine | tender approved A $1,716,649.69 contract for asphalt re- surfacing was approved by council. The project is partial and full-depth as- phalt replacement of Devon Street from 75 metres east of Pleasant Drive to Avon- wood Drive South, Greenwood Drive and West Gore Street from John Street to the water pollution control plant entrance. Quality of the road was deemed to be in poor or very poor condition in 2022, though a management report indicated the sewers and watermains are in acceptable condition. The Seetit tig from GIP Paving Inc. was the lowest. alifi- The total budget approved for asphalt re- surfacing is $2.25 million with that mon- ey also going towards annual crack seal- ing and the annual geotechnical-testing program for future projects, the latter of which is expected to cost $100,00 Health unit and Spruce Lodge appor- tioned-cost agreements approved Minor changes to the health unit cost apportionment agreement were approved by council, including revised dates, a clar- ifying clause and the correction of a minor The agreement is regulated by the Health Protection and Promotion Act, which requires municipalities to pay the expenses of the relevant health unit based on proportion either agreed to by the par- ties or apportioned using population. Huron County, Perth County, the City of Stratford and the Town of St. Marys are the partners for Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH) and will share the costs propor- tionally. The agreement is set to expire at the end of 2024, though a new term was approved until 2028. qua. cations were a a and found accept- able. , the apportioned agreement for the Spruce Lodge was approved as well, for a term lasting until Dec. 31, 2028. Like the agreement with HPPH, the changes are minor. References to legisla- tion have been updated to reflect changes to long-term care in recent years and dates have been properly adjusted. There was also the removal of a clause agreeing that all shared-services agree- ments like Ontario Works and land am- bulance will be brought to council as one package. If ministerial approval is not granted by Dec. 31, 2025, the 2017 agreement will re- main in effect. There is no impact on the 2024 oper- ating budget as a result of either of these approvals. ieewort approved for Diwali Festi- 3 are now allowed on the first day of the Diwali Festival after council approved an amendment to the fireworks bylaw. Prior to the amendment, “family fire- works” were only allowed on Victoria Day and Canada Day or, in the event of rain, fog, smog or wind, then the next day preceding. Additionally, sparklers were removed from the definition of “family fireworks.” Local paramedics working to make AEDs more accessible CONTINUED FROM FRONT programs or for the loaner programs for events people can apply for through the county website, as well as provide us op- portunities to identify other areas that need to have AEDs for certain events such as the Fullarton ball diamond when they have tournaments.” As part of this program, Kesyer said the paramedic service intends to update current program policies, conduct a sys- tem-wide analysis of the PAD program and work with its municipal partners to inventory AEDs in public spaces that were not initially associated with the original program. That inventory, Keyser said, is crucial for updating records and ensuring comprehensive coverage and maintenance of all AED units within the county. During the discussion that followed, Coun. Jerry Smith asked Keyser whether the paramedic service will create a pub- licly accessible map of AEDs in the coun- ty to help people find one when or before they need it. Keyser said he and his IT staff are looking at options for providing the most-accessible map to the public. What- ever map they land on, he continued, will need that up-to-date inventory of all public AEDs in the county. Coun. Jim Aitcheson also asked Keyser whether the paramedic service will ad- dress how AEDs kept inside public build- ings can be accessed by residents after ae when toss ee are ee “Improving accessibility will be one key of the program as we move forward,” Key- ser said. “With the introduction of digital systems that allow for entry and things like that, we do have options to be able to provide 911 access codes ... through the dispatch registry, but that’s something each facility has to come onboard with and then we may have to move locations and provide a safety net so we can protect the security of our facilities at the same time. “So yes, there are different options we're looking at and I’m also open to sug- gestions from you or your staff on how to improve accessibility. There are also out- door cases ~ there’s one in Perth South. They’re very costly because they have to be temperature and humidity controlled to protect the device itself.” At the beginning of this year, Keyser said paramedic services used capital-re- placement funding to purchase 27 new AED units. In response to a question about unit price from Coun. Dean Trentowsky, Keyser said they normally cost around $2,500 each, all in, however Perth Coun- ty. Paramedic Service’s good relationship with the provider and the service’s ability to trade in older units has resulted in some saving: ‘S. Going forward, Keyser said the para- medic service will regularly present re- ports to county council on the progress of the PAD program. CONNOR LUCZKA Local Journalism Initiative Reporter A fire at the Krug factory develop- ment at 93 Trinity St. is not deemed suspicious and had “little to no loss,” according to Stratford Fire Chief Neil Anderson. On June 25 at approximately 5 p.m., the Stratford Fire Department received a call from a worker at the facility re- porting a fire. Anderson said the contractors were prepping a steel hopper for removal by cutting it out with torches when the wall of the hopper ignited. “The contractors had extinguishers available on site, which were used t knock down the initial flames,” Ander- son said in an emailed statement. “Some of the residual items in and around the hopper such as chip and sawdust and ono To s” concerns and ay the external part of the stone wall that tg fire impinged weer was scorched, s the building ie dittle i for Better’s ‘acebook page, a beer or the BMI pees which is reimagining the facto- ry, the group thanked the site team and the fire department for their quick ac- tion to stop the fire. “Thanks to a well-prepared team equipped with comprehensive fire pro- tection measures and the prompt, ef- ficient response of the Stratford Fire Department, the fire was quickly con- tained,” the statement reads. “We're re- lieved to report that no one was hurt, only one window requires replacement and no further structural damage oc- curred.” ¢ group said they are items of the like ... d and caught fire.” When firefighters arrived on scene, flames were visible from outside. They extinguished the fire with their hose through a third-floor window with no interior fire attack required. Within the hour the fire was com- pletely out and the building ventilated. The fire department has no further ‘the fiplenedtiat enhanced safety proto- cols to scan and clear crevices of com- pacted sawdust before cutwork. “The Builders Block” as the devel- opers are calling it, is a 382-residential plan that will convert the seven-acre Krug factory into a residential neigh- bourhood that includes townhouses, apartments and a 10-storey feature. WWW.STRATFORDTIMES.COM { } } i i | : }